Page:From Constantinople to the home of Omar Khayyam.djvu/95

Rh I reproduce from photographs purchased in Baku, shows that a part of the buildings must have existed long before, as it speaks of the palace as having been 'renewed,' or 'rebuilt,' in the year 709 of the Hijra = 1309 Its two lines in Arabic read:—

'Prince Sharaf ad-Din Mahmud, King of Nobles and Grandees, and son of Fakhr ad-Din, the King—may his glory be everlasting—ordered the renewal of this Palace. Dated Rajab 709 (= December, 1309).'

The second of the inscriptions (B), five lines in Persian, is undated, but mentions Shah Tahmasp of Persia, who reigned 1524-1576, and begins with the words: 'In the days of Shah Tahmasp, of the family of Husain.'

The third inscription (C), four lines in Persian and likewise undated, adjoins the latter tablet, being on its right, and is written in a somewhat larger script. It belongs to the sixteenth century, in the time of Khudabandah, the father of Shah Abbas, for it contains a glorification of God for the long life of Shah Khudabandah Muhammad, who, we know, ruled 1578-1587.

The fourth tablet (D), seven lines in Persian, belongs to the time of Shah Abbas, as it is dated 1024 (= 1615 ).

The last tablet, or rather two tablets, contains two inscriptions—a longer one in Persian (E) over an arch, and by its side a small one (F), which gives in Arabic the regular formula of the Bismillah, 'In the name of God the Most Merciful and Compassionate,' and adds the date 1204 (= 1789 ).

Within the grim enclosure of the citadel the Khans of Shirvan long held sway, and sombre tales are current of how they used to administer justice in days gone by. It is usually claimed that condemnation was speedily followed by consignment of the convicted unfortunate to a well—a true oubliette—which is said to have connected with the sea, so that the traces of the victims of their judgment were disposed of forever.