Travels through Northern Persia, 1770-1774 / by Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin ; translated and annotated by Willem Floor.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gmelin, Samuel Gottlieb, 1744-1774.

Contributor:

Floor, Willem M.

Hazel M. Hussong Fund.

Standardized Title:

Reise durch Russland zur Untersuchung der drey Natur-Reiche. Selections. English

Language:

English

German

Subjects (All):

Iran--Description and travel.

Iran.

Physical Description:

xxvii, 381 pages : illustrations, maps ;c28 cm

Place of Publication:

Washington, DC : Mage Publishers, 2007.

Summary:

In 1770 the young German scientist and explorer Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin embarked on a journey on behalf of the Russian Academy of Sciences and in the service of Catherine the Great. These heretofore little-read accounts of his travels and broad research in Northern Persia, first published in German in St. Petersburg in the 1770's, have now been translated for the first time into English by renowned scholar Willem Floor. In the two voyages recounted in this volume, Gmelin kept journals describing the customs, industry, political world, warfare, geography, and plant and animal life of Northern Persia, until his capture and imprisonment in the village of Parakay near the Caspian Sea in 1774--a misfortune that he also was able to record, and which is included here in the final volume of his travelogue.

Contents:

Departure from Astrakhan - Darband

Darband to Niyazabad and Kuba

Departure for Baku

Arrival at Baku

Naphtha

Baku town

Departure to Shamakhi

Shamakhi

Saliyan

Enzeli

Description of birds

Use of reeds and methods of fishing

Sojourn at Enzeli

1st section: The current political condition in Persia in view of its form of government

2nd section: The current situation in Persia concerning justice, Persian money, weights and measures

3rd section: The disposition and temperament of present-day Persians, their corporal characteristics, dress code, health and diseases as well as their knowledge in sciences

4th section: Eating and drinking habits of the Persians, the incivility of the rabble, and the cleanliness, circumcision, marriage and funeral customs

5th section: The current Khan of Gilan, Hedayat: his revenues, government and court

6th section: the Persian calendar and the festive days

7th section: The principal religion of the Persians

8th section: Persian monks

9th section: The Caspian Sea in general

Continuation of my journey: Rasht Province

Smoking

Paper-making and writing implements

Gilani fruits

Catching of birds and jackals

Making of syrup and bathhouses

Persian medical science

New year and other forms of merry-making

naturalist observations

The Jews of Rasht

Moharram festival

Visit to Lahejan and Langerud and the examination of the Gilani shoals

The Gilani language

A journey from Rudesar to the mountains, returning to Rasht

Sojourn in Shaft

The Persian attitude toward Christians

Types of melons and prayer for rain

Departure from Shaft

Masula

Kasma

Rasht again

Departure to Mazandaran

Amol

Mazandaran: recent history and administrative structure

Barforush

Mazandaran: fortified line; products; trade

Sari

Ashraf

Qajars

Barforush: problems with the governor

Mazandaran: produce, wines, and Barforush Palace

Mountain sheep

Bezoar

Gazelle and small carnivores

Return to Enzeli

Return to Astrakhan

Departure from Astrakhan

Description of Mangyshlak Bay and its hinterland

Description of Tyub-Karagan and its hinterland

Turkmen tribes: their myth of origin, organization and other particulars

Nephtenoy Island

Bay of Astarabad

Qajars: their recent history

Departure for Enzeli

Journey from Enzeli to Talesh

Lenkoran and Talesh

Talesh: recent history

Journey from Lenkoran to Saliyan

Local politics-the battle for Shamakhi

Miscellaneous naturalist observations

Journey from Saliyan to Baku

Journey from Baku to Darband

Fate in the realm of the Usmi

The Qara-Qeytaq and other peoples of Daghestan

Who is the Usmi?

The Qeytaq

Appendices.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Hazel M. Hussong Fund.

ISBN:

1933823151

9781933823157

OCLC:

137244733