Page:From Constantinople to the home of Omar Khayyam.djvu/113

 expect, when mentioning the naphtha wells ; nor again is it spoken of by the European travelers Barbaro, Jenkinson, or Ducket in the sixteenth century, nor by Olearius in the seven- teenth century, nor by John Bell early in the eighteenth, when touching on Baku, nor yet, earliest of all, by Marco Polo — all of whom have been cited above. The oldest reference I have been able thus far to discover (though I stand ready for cor- rection) is by Jonas Hanway in the year 1747, who was prac- tically contemporaneous with the inscriptions given above. Hanway himself did not visit the temple when he was in Baku, but he gives a detailed and accurate account of it, based upon the worshipers as 'Indians,' 'Gaurs,' or 'Gebrs,' and devotes a chapter to describing the religion of Zoroaster, somewhat in detail.^ The heading of this chapter reads : —
 * the current testimony of many who did see it.' He speaks of

' A succinct account of the antient Persian religion, with several minute particulars relating to the everlasting fire near Baku, and the extraordinary efEects of this phaenomenon, to which the Indians pay divine honours.'

1 Hanway, Caspian Sea, bk. 3, ch. a flame issues ; but he will confine

57, 1. 379-384 = 3 ed. 1. 261-265. I himself to the facts of his visit to the

repeat again that in general the de- celebrated fire. I cite his remarks from

scription of the temple precinct is the footnote of the French translation

accurate, as based on trustworthy in- of George Forster, Voyage du Bengale

formation. Not all that is said about a St. Fetersbourg, tr. L. Langl6s, 2.

Zoroaster, however, would be accepted 357-368, Paris, 1802, as Cooke's English

today. As already stated (p. 32, n. 1, original is not accessible to me. The

above). Dr. John Cooke, Travels, 2. French runs: 'Le 11 f^vrier 1747,

382, impugned Hanway's statements, notre ambassadeur, avec plusieurs per-

on the ground of misrepresentation ; sonnes de sa suite, alia voir ce feu

he declares that he will not abuse his c616bre. Apr6s §tre descendus des

readers' patience by an account of montagnes dans la plaine situ^e au

Zoroaster and his successors, nor imi- nord de ces memes montagnes, k cinq

tate Hanway in the description which ou six verstes au plus de B§,kou, ils

he had given of different vaulted tem- entr^rent dans un petit foss6 carr^

pies 'from 10 to 15 feet high, which bati en pierres, dont I'aire avoit a

do not now exist and which probably peine un demi-acre, mesure d'Ecosse.

never existed ' [this latter criticism is Le sol ^toit compost d'un sable pur et

unjust, as Hanway simply refers to l^ger ; dans cette enceinte 6toit un

the cells] ; nor will he describe the puits. La surface de I'eau qui sor-

horizontal gap in the rock from which toit de cette source 6toit couverte de

�� �