Bassora, City

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Bassora, the Capital of a Kingdom called of Bassora, scituated at the farther Corner of Arabia deserta, upon the Borders of the Province of I•rak, near the River Schat-el-Arab, which is nothing but the Euphrates and Tigris joyned together. It is twelve Leagues from the Persian Gulph, which is thereabouts call'd the Gulph of Bassora. Its Port is very good and safe, and since the Ruine of Ormus, a great number of Ships with Goods from the East-Indies come hither. The Scituation of this Town is so very advantagious, that it might be made one of the finest Places in the World, and as rich as any, because it lyes so well for Commerce, that all Nations may Trade with it. Though there grow abundance of excellent Grapes about Bassora, yet none dares to make either Wine or Brandy, both being prohibited under very great Penalties; the Bassa indeed had given the Carmelites Leave to make Wine, but this Priviledge cost them so much, that now they send to Schi•as for the Wine they use at Mass. The Bassa of this Place is not changed every three years, as the others of Turkey, but is in some manner Hereditary, and sometimes he prevails with the Grand Signior, by making him some considerable Present, to have his Son succeed him. Besides his ordinary Revenues, he is a great Gainer by the Persians that go to Mecha, for they come all by Bassora, and he furnishes them with Camels for their Journey, and makes them pay what he pleases for them. He has moreover, 35 Sequins of every one of them to guard them to Mecha and back again. This Bacha's Subjects are either Arabians or Sabeans; he has also some that are Persians, and some Indians, who have two Pagodes at Bassora. There are no other Francs or Christians here, but bare-footed Carm•lites, whose Church serves the Nestorians and Armenians, who pray, but never say Mass in it. The other Francs that come to Bassora, as English, French, Dutch, &c. come only to Traffick. The Bacha possesses all the Country of Gaban towards Persia, and on Bagdat side; and has Dgezair, an Island with a Fort in it to command the Euphrates and Tigris, which meet at the Point of this Island and in Arabia Foelix; he is Master of Port Elcatif, and the Town of Lehsa. * This City was built by Omar II. Calif of the Sarazens, about the year of Christ 643, as Abul. Pharais saith. It is fifteen days Journey from Babylon, six hundred Miles from Ormus, and twenty Leagues from the Euphrates. Taver. P. 65. Within two Leagues of it stands the Ruines of Teredon, an ancient City, and of great Circuit. Balsara stands half a League from the Euphrates, and the Tide runs up beyond this City as far as the Fort of Gozno. About 150 years agone, this City belonged to the Arabians, and then it was taken by the Turks, and by one of their Bashas, sold to Effrasias, who was the Grand-Father of Hussen Prince of Balsara in 1652, and so they revolted from the Turks. Sha-Abas and Amurath, both attempted this City; the latter, after he had taken Bagdat, the other after he had reduc'd Ormus, both unsuccessfully. This Prince has since made it a free Mart for all the World, and governs it with great Order and Justice; so that it is thronged with all Nations, and is a Center of Trade between the Indies and the rest of Asia, to the West and North, as far as Smyrna and Moscow. The Prince takes not above 4 per Cent, yet is able to lay up three Millions of Livres in a year; his principal Gain arising from Horses, Camels, Dates, and Money re-minted. The Christians of St. John are very numerous hereabout, amounting to 25000 Families, but of a degenerate corrupted Faith, for want of Knowledge, and the Books of the Scriptures, which the Mahometans have deprived them of. It is worth observing what dreadful Ignorance follows this Loss, most excellently described by Tavernier, B. 11. Chap. 8. The Nubian Geographers every where calls it Basra, and placeth it fifteen Stations from Bagdat, eight from Waset, and two from Abadan (that is, thirty six Miles, as he explains it) to the North, Pag. 120, 121. Avicenna, the great Arabian Physician, was born here in the year of the Hegyra 370, An. Ch. 992, and dy'd at Hamada, being 58 years old.—Frederick Venetus, who saw it in 1563, calls it Basora, an Arabian City, now under the Turk, who keeps it by an Army with vast Charges. The Arabians, called Zizarii, possess the Country about it, and the Turks cannot yet conquer them, they being a warlike populous Nation. This City is from the Gulph of Persia fifteen Miles, and drives a great Trade with Ormus for Spice and Drugs, carrying thither Rice and Dates of her own Growth; from Ormus it is distant 600 Miles. Hack. T. 2. P. 215. Ib. P. 251. It has store of Wheat, Rice, and Dates, wherewith they serve Babylon, Ormus, and all Parts of India. It is one English Mile and half in Circuit; all the Buildings of the Castle and Walls, are of Brick dry'd in the Sun. Every Month there came then hither from Ormus, divers Ships, from 40 to 60 Tuns, laden with Spices, Drugs, Indico, and Calecut Cloth, now called Caleco. Hack. P. 270. The•en•t.