Page 61 - History of Portuguese in the Gulf_Neat

I
156 APPENDIX A.
the Persian Gulf, landed in Mogostam,1 a part of Persia, and
settled there with Mahamed, his son, who had come with him.
Now the ruler of that land was a tyrannous lord in all his
doings.....................2
Xd Mahamed Dramkti, first king of Harmuz, was succeeded on
his death by Solcymon, his son. He was kindly, and beloved of
all for his virtue and justice; whereby his fame and state were
much increased. He died after a long and peaceful reign.3
I^a, son of Soleymon, the third king, succeeded on his father’s
death. He was a good prince, and in his time his folk had peace
and prosperity. He encouraged them to till the fields, and plant
palm orchards, with bounty and favour. In gratitude whereof
they did often risk life and goods in his service; so that he much
increased his dominion, and, dying there, left his son in possession.
Laxkary, son of I(^a, succeeded his father as fourth king. He
was good and just, a protector of the poor, and so much beloved
of his people. He had, amongst others, a son named Kaykobad,
to whom, for his princely qualities, he handed over the kingdom
and retired into seclusion, wherein he died some years later.
Kaykobad, son of Laxkary, the fifth king, fell not away from the
virtue of his fathers. He did justice, protected the poor, and
repressed the pride of the nobles.
On Kaykobad’s death, succeeded Iga his son, second of that
name, and sixth of the dynasty. This king was warlike, and
undertook several wars which he brought to good end. The
kingdom of Harmuz throve greatly in his day.
Mamud, son of I91, inherited the state on his father’s death.
He was a good prince, and had many children. Now the kings
of Harmuz, for peace and safety’s sake, were wont to keep all of
their blood royal, who might pretend to the throne, in separate
places and fortresses, and there they dwelt, unless upon other
command of the king. And so this Mamud held his nephew,
Mir Xabadin Molongh, in the fortress of Gat, which is in Persia,
in the lands of Brahemy and Mogostam, with many others, which
the kings of Harmuz yet hold in Persia, subject to the Portu­
guese.4
1 Mogistan, the district of Persia east of the Strait of Hormuz.
2 Here follows the widespread folk-tale of the “ Mercheta mulie-
rum.” The prince disguises himself as a bride, and stabs the vicious
tyrant. The people, of course, make him king. With the foregoing
very probable narrative before us, it is unnecessary to consider the
• choice so naively offered by Thuran Shah and Teixeira. i
3 Here, and from this onward, I take the liberty of curtailing the
mention of each succession, which Teixeira always gives doubly : at
the end of each king's reign, and at the start of his successor’s.
4 « Brahemy” may be represented by Bandar Ibrahim of some maps,
Khor Minaw of our charts and Pilot, on the Persian mainland east of
/*■»
>
K /
KINGS OF HORMUZ. '57
Now Mamud had warning that his nephew plotted his death,
and gave orders to confine him, meaning to slay him if that
treason should be proven. But Mir Xabadin Molongh, getting
word of this, fled to the fort of Seugon. The captain there
used and served him well, and gave him to wife a daughter of his
own, who bore him a son called Nocerat Requebdar, and a
daughter called Setalkatun (daughter of) Xabadin. Meanwhile,
Mamud died in Harmuz.
On Mamud’s death, his son Xaxanxa succeeded him, and kept
up the pursuit of Molongh, but could not lay hold on him with
all his efforts. In this way passed several years, and then great
hosts out of the land of Hyr1 invaded Harmuz and its territories,
and XdxanxS. marched out to fight them, albeit much out­
numbered. Mirxabadin Molongh, hearing of his kinsman's2
peril, thought the time fit to make his peace. So he took leave
of his father-in-law, gathered what force he could, and marched to
reinforce the king, to whom he submitted, and followed him with
his men. But Xaxanxa, with many tokens of his affection, called
him up to his own side. So they joined battle with the enemy,
wherein Xdxanxa was slain, and Xabadin Molongh presently
hailed king in his place.
This king prosecuted the war against the men of Hyr, and in
the end he beat them outright, and returned to Harmuz, where he
ruled with great success. He gave his daughter, Set Alkatun
Xabadin, in marriage to Amir Seyfadin Aben Azar, son of Aly his
brother,3 king of the Isle of Keys.4 Shortly after this marriage
Aly died, and the men of Keys, at Abadin’s instance, took
Seyfadin for king, who went thither with his wife. But not long
Hormuz. If so, its lands would be those about Minaw. [Barbosa
(,op. cit., p. 36) has “Ebrahemi.”—D. F.] “Gat” is perhaps “Gatan”
or “ Gez,” and “ Seugon” {infra) may be taken to be “ Sekui,” all on
the Royal Geographical Society’s Map, a little to the north of Kds-
al-Kuh.
1 I do not know what “ Hyr” represents. The “ great hosts” were
doubtless Mongol hordes.—D. F.
2 “ Tio ”== usually “ uncle.” But as that relationship is impossible
upon any construction of the foregoing text, I have preferred the
vaguer term.
5 “ Hemumo” = brother, viz., of the king of Harmuz. One cannot
be sure of the exact relationship, but this construction is rendered
likely by the Musalman custom of giving a girl to her father’s
brother’s son, if possible and convenient.
Keys” is marked “ Kenn ” on some modern maps, and lies
4 <»
within the Persian Gulf, about three degrees west of Hormuz Island,
and half a degree south of its latitude. We shall hear a good deal
more of it presently. It is the “ Kais” of our charts and The Persiati
Gulf Pilot.