, 1873-05-11
THE SHAH OF PERSIA.


Among tie many notab1es whose presence is
expected at the opening Of the Vienna Exhibi-
ton, not the least interesting to Europeans will
DO the Shah Of Persis, commonly known as
Nusser-ea-Deen, but whose real name, On the
authority OF Mr. Eaatwick, is Naairud div Kaiar.
To most persons Eastern personages and Affairs
arc enreloped in sort Of traditional haziness
not without certain charm. The London
Times speaks Of jewels in the possession OF the
Shah valued at two or throe millions sterling, and
Which hare never been seen By any European,
This Is not correct. Mr.. Eastwick, formerly
in the diplomatic service, has seen them, and
has given an account Of them in the second vol
ume Of the "Journal OF d Diplomat, and esti-
mates their value at &c, 900, 900, or 10000, 900.
This is, no doubt, by far the most valuable col
lection Of precious stones in existence. Among
these Is the Darya Nur, the sister jewel to the
famous Kuh Nur, which, according to Pa1sian
tradition, was with it in the hlt Of the sword OF
Afrasib 5000 years before Christ Rustam took
it to Persia, Timour carried it away, and
Nadir Shah recovered it when he con-
carried away its treasures. The casket OF
jewels of the Mogu1 WAS taken to Meshed BY
Nadir Shah, and continued in the possession Of
his descendants till Aga Mahomet, the founder
OF LQ9 u}nAsL9 Oh WILL p&Eaduk 0Adu II Aut
fourth, oyerthrew the reigning monarch and car
ried of his treasure to foheran. It is not in
probable that so1ne Of the most famous Jewels
Of antiquity are in this collection, and among
them the sacred gems that once adorned the
breast-plate Of the jewish High Priest.
The present dynasty is not Persian, but Turk
iah, descended from the Kaja1s, tribe Of
Turks whom Timour transplanted7 for their 10y
elty to his person, from Syria to Persian Arme-
MIA. Under subsequent monarchs they obtained
.s-A A-Ao ~1n1 In
southeastern extremity OF the Caspian Sea,
where they remained vassals of the house Of
Sophi till the death OF khu1eem Khan in 1878.
In the civil wars which followed. Aga Mahomet
played his part so well that he attained the
crown few years before the close OF the last
century
The present Shah ia about a years OF ago, veil
educated, speaks Arabic. Persian, French, and
English with ease, and is endeavoring to bring
his kingdom into sympathy with the States sy1-
since, was conveyed across the Caspian by
Russian escort, has by this time landed II Rus
sin, aud will proceed BY train to st. Petersburg,
whero he will bo the guest OF the Gear till the
some weeks at Vienna he will proceed 70 Lon;
don as the guest OF the British Queen. He Will
doubtless be feted at both courts, and perhapa
subsidized by one or both ere he returns
It may interest the curious to know the titles
Of the Shah OF Persia, which are studiously re-
garded in all treaties and conventions to which
he becomes party. In these he is introduced
as 1.-THE shal, as exalted as the planet Saturn;
the Sovereign to whom the Sun serves as
o standard, whose splendor. and magnif-
Sublime Sovereign, tho Monarch whose ar1n:es
are rs numerous as the stars whose greatness
calls to mind that Of Djou,schid, whose
magnifcence equals that Of Darius; the heir OF
the crown and throne Of the Kayanians; the
Sublime Emperor Of all Persia, the Shah Yu
SHAH"
A concession was lately granted to Baron Von
Reuter- by the Shah for the construction OF tele-
graphs and railways within tho imperial domin-
relation with Western powers. This is, wo be-
lieye, the first time monarch Of his dynasty Inns
ever visited Europe. ~-