Get ebook downloads in full at ebookmeta.

com

Advanced Electromagnetic Wave Propagation Methods

1st Edition Gonzalez

https://ebookmeta.com/product/advanced-electromagnetic-wave-
propagation-methods-1st-edition-gonzalez/

OR CLICK BUTTON

DOWNLOAD NOW

Explore and download more ebook at https://ebookmeta.com

 Recommended digital products (PDF, EPUB, MOBI) that
you can download immediately if you are interested.

Wave Fields in Real Media: Wave Propagation in

Anisotropic, Anelastic, Porous and Electromagnetic Media
4th Edition José M. Carcione
https://ebookmeta.com/product/wave-fields-in-real-media-wave-
propagation-in-anisotropic-anelastic-porous-and-electromagnetic-
media-4th-edition-jose-m-carcione/
ebookmeta.com

Radio Wave Propagation Fundamentals, Second Edition Artem

Saakian

https://ebookmeta.com/product/radio-wave-propagation-fundamentals-
second-edition-artem-saakian/

ebookmeta.com

Electromagnetic Vortices: Wave Phenomena and Engineering

Applications 1st Edition

https://ebookmeta.com/product/electromagnetic-vortices-wave-phenomena-
and-engineering-applications-1st-edition/

ebookmeta.com

Disruptive Technology in Banking and Finance 1st Edition

Timothy King

https://ebookmeta.com/product/disruptive-technology-in-banking-and-
finance-1st-edition-timothy-king/

ebookmeta.com
Empire at War 1st Edition Dan Abnett

https://ebookmeta.com/product/empire-at-war-1st-edition-dan-abnett/

ebookmeta.com

U.S. Export Controls and Economic Sanctions 4th Edition

Eric L. Hirschhorn

https://ebookmeta.com/product/u-s-export-controls-and-economic-
sanctions-4th-edition-eric-l-hirschhorn/

ebookmeta.com

Certified OpenStack Administrator Study Guide: Get

Everything You Need for the COA Exam 2nd Edition Andrey
Markelov
https://ebookmeta.com/product/certified-openstack-administrator-study-
guide-get-everything-you-need-for-the-coa-exam-2nd-edition-andrey-
markelov/
ebookmeta.com

Yoga Fascia Anatomy Movement 1st Edition Joanne Avison

https://ebookmeta.com/product/yoga-fascia-anatomy-movement-1st-
edition-joanne-avison/

ebookmeta.com

Gender and the Law 1st Edition Judith Bourne Caroline

Derry

https://ebookmeta.com/product/gender-and-the-law-1st-edition-judith-
bourne-caroline-derry/

ebookmeta.com
Engineering Fundamentals and Problem Solving, 8th Edition
Arvid R. Eide

https://ebookmeta.com/product/engineering-fundamentals-and-problem-
solving-8th-edition-arvid-r-eide/

ebookmeta.com
 ADVANCED
ELECTROMAGNETIC
WAVE PROPAGATION
METHODS
 ADVANCED
ELECTROMAGNETIC
WAVE PROPAGATION
METHODS

Guillermo Gonzalez
First edition published 2022
by CRC Press
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742
and by CRC Press
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
© 2022 Guillermo Gonzalez
CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author
and publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the
consequences of their use. The authors and publishers have attempted to trace the copyright
holders of all material reproduced in this publication and apologize to copyright holders if
permission to publish in this form has not been obtained. If any copyright material has
not been acknowledged please write and let us know so we may rectify in any future reprint.
Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted,
reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other
means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission
from the publishers.
For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, access
www.copyright.com or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood
Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. For works that are not available on CCC please
contact [email protected]
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Gonzalez, Guillermo, 1944- author.

Title: Advanced electromagnetic wave propagation methods / Guillermo Gonzalez.
Description: First edition. | Boca Raton : CRC Press, [2022] | Includes bibliographical
references and index. |
Summary: “This textbook provides a solid foundation into the approaches used in the
analysis of complex electromagnetic problems and wave propagation. The techniques
discussed are essential to obtain closed-form solutions or asymptotic solutions and meet an
existing need for instructors and students in electromagnetic theory”‐‐ Provided by
publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021025797 (print) | LCCN 2021025798 (ebook) | ISBN
9781032113708 (hbk) | ISBN 9781032114002 (pbk) | ISBN 9781003219729 (ebk)
Subjects: LCSH: Electromagnetic waves‐‐Transmission‐‐Mathematical models. |
Electromagnetic theory Mathematics. | Radio wave propagation.
Classification: LCC QC665.T7 G67 2022 (print) | LCC QC665.T7 (ebook) | DDC
539.2‐‐dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021025797
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021025798

ISBN: 978-1-032-11370-8 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-032-11400-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-21972-9 (ebk)
DOI: 10.1201/9781003219729

Typeset in Times
by MPS Limited, Dehradun
Contents
Preface.......................................................................................................................xi
Author ......................................................................................................................xv

Chapter 1 Maxwell’s Equations ........................................................................... 1

1.1 Maxwell’s Equations in Vacuum .............................................1
1.2 Polarization, Magnetization, and Conductivity........................ 7
1.3 Maxwell’s Equations in Terms of the Constitutive
Parameters ...............................................................................13
1.4 Other Forms of Maxwell’s Equations....................................19
1.5 Vector Potentials.....................................................................21
1.6 Gauge Transformations and Lorenz’s Conditions .................26
1.7 Hertz’s Vectors .......................................................................28
1.8 Boundary Conditions ..............................................................31
1.9 The Uniqueness Theorem.......................................................34
Problems ............................................................................................36

Chapter 2 Radiation Fields.................................................................................39

2.1 The Hertzian Electric Dipole .................................................39
2.2 The Line Current Source of Infinite Length..........................46
2.3 Far-Field Relations ................................................................. 51
2.4 Solution to the Inhomogeneous Wave Equation ...................53
2.5 The Small-Loop Radiator .......................................................55
2.6 The Hertzian Magnetic Dipole...............................................60
2.7 Duality..................................................................................... 65
2.8 Images ..................................................................................... 67
Problems ............................................................................................70

Chapter 3 Plane Waves ......................................................................................73

3.1 Properties of Plane Waves .....................................................73
3.2 Reflection and Transmission of Plane Waves .......................79
3.2.1 Perpendicular Polarization ........................................ 79
3.2.2 Parallel Polarization .................................................. 88
3.3 Reflection and Transmission in Dielectric Regions ..............93
3.4 Reflection and Transmission in Lossy Regions ....................98
3.4.1 Normal Incidence ...................................................... 98
3.4.2 Oblique Incidence.................................................... 101
3.5 Other Types of Plane Waves ...............................................103
3.5.1 The Zenneck Wave ................................................. 103
3.5.2 The Lateral Wave.................................................... 105

v
vi Contents

3.5.3 The Trapped Wave.................................................. 107

3.5.4 Other Types of Surface Waves............................... 109
3.6 Reflection and Transmission from Interfaces ......................109
3.7 Waves in Inhomogeneous Regions ......................................119
3.7.1 Rectangular Coordinates ......................................... 119
3.7.2 Cylindrical Coordinates........................................... 134
3.8 The WKBJ Method ..............................................................140
3.8.1 Normal Incidence .................................................... 140
3.8.2 Oblique Incidence.................................................... 151
Problems ..........................................................................................153

Chapter 4 Solutions to the Wave Equation .....................................................157

4.1 Wave Equations ....................................................................157
4.2 Wave Equation in Rectangular Coordinates........................ 157
4.3 Wave Propagation in Rectangular Geometries....................163
4.3.1 Rectangular Waveguide .......................................... 163
4.3.2 Rectangular Cavity .................................................. 166
4.3.3 Partially Filled Rectangular Waveguide................. 169
4.3.4 Rectangular Waveguide Partially Filled with
an Inhomogeneous Dielectric.................................. 176
4.3.5 The Rectangular Dielectric Waveguide.................. 180
4.3.6 Dielectric Waveguide above a Conducting
Plane ........................................................................ 187
4.4 Wave Propagation in Cylindrical Geometries .....................189
4.4.1 The Cylindrical Waveguide .................................... 193
4.4.2 The Cylindrical Cavity............................................ 196
4.4.3 The Sectoral Waveguide ......................................... 199
4.4.4 The Radial Waveguide............................................ 201
4.4.5 The Wedge Waveguide........................................... 203
4.4.6 The Sectoral Horn ................................................... 204
4.4.7 The Bend Waveguide.............................................. 206
4.4.8 The Cylindrical Dielectric Waveguide ................... 207
4.4.9 The Dielectric Resonator ........................................ 214
4.5 Wave Transformation from Rectangular to Cylindrical
Coordinates ........................................................................... 216
4.6 Wave Equation in Spherical Coordinates ............................217
4.6.1 The Conical Waveguide.......................................... 226
4.6.2 The Spherical Cavity............................................... 228
4.6.3 The Ideal Earth-Ionosphere Cavity......................... 231
4.7 Wave Transformation from Rectangular to Spherical
Coordinates ........................................................................... 234
Problems ..........................................................................................235

Chapter 5 Sturm-Liouville Equation and Green Functions.............................239

5.1 The Sturm-Liouville Equation..............................................239
Contents vii

5.2 The Green Functions ............................................................244

5.3 Electromagnetic Fields Sources ........................................... 252
5.4 Green Function Using Eigenfunctions Solutions ................257
5.4.1 One-Dimension Green Functions in
Rectangular Coordinates ......................................... 257
5.4.2 Two-Dimensional Green Functions in
Rectangular Coordinates ......................................... 260
5.4.3 Two-Dimensional Green Functions in
Cylindrical Coordinates........................................... 264
5.4.3.1 An Angular Sector ......................................264
5.4.3.2 A Cylindrical Region .................................. 269
5.4.4 Green Functions in Spherical Coordinates............. 271
5.5 Green Functions with Continuous Eigenvalues...................275
5.5.1 Green Function for an Infinite-Length Angular
Configuration ........................................................... 278
5.6 Direct Method for Green Function Solutions......................280
5.6.1 One Dimension........................................................ 282
5.6.2 Rectangular Region ................................................. 285
5.6.3 Angular Sector......................................................... 287
5.6.4 Infinite-Length Angular Configuration ................... 290
5.6.5 Cylindrical Region .................................................. 292
5.6.5.1 Source Inside the Cylinder .........................292
5.6.5.2 Source Outside the Cylinder....................... 295
5.6.6 Spherical Region ..................................................... 296
5.6.7 Spherical Conductor ................................................ 300
Problems ..........................................................................................303

Chapter 6 Integral Transforms for Green Functions .......................................307

6.1 Integral Transform for the Wave Equation in Rectangular
Coordinates ........................................................................... 307
6.1.1 One-Dimensional Green Function .......................... 310
6.1.2 Two-Dimensional Green Function.......................... 312
6.1.3 Three-Dimensional Green Function........................ 316
6.2 Integral Transform for the Wave Equation in Cylindrical
Coordinates ........................................................................... 319
6.2.1 The Hankel Transform ............................................ 320
6.2.2 Two-Dimensional Green Function.......................... 324
6.2.3 Three-Dimensional Green Function........................ 327
6.3 Integral Transform for the Wave Equation in Spherical
Coordinates ........................................................................... 328
6.3.1 The Spherical Hankel Transform............................ 329
6.3.2 Three-Dimensional Green Function........................ 334
Problems ..........................................................................................336
viii Contents

Chapter 7 Some Mathematical Methods..........................................................337

7.1 The Watson Transformation.................................................337
7.2 The Method of Stationary Phase..........................................345
7.3 The Method of Laplace ........................................................347
7.4 The Method of Steepest Descent .........................................349
7.5 Pole Near the Saddle Point ..................................................378
Problems ..........................................................................................385

Chapter 8 Further Studies of Electromagnetic Waves in Rectangular

Geometries .......................................................................................389
8.1 The Parallel-Plate Waveguide ..............................................389
8.1.1 TM Modes ............................................................... 389
8.1.2 TE Modes ................................................................ 392
8.2 Parallel-Plate Waveguide with a Step Discontinuity ..........393
8.3 Electric Line Source above a Perfect Conductor ................396
8.3.1 Electric Line Source above a Lossy Surface ......... 400
8.4 Radiation from a Narrow Slit ..............................................405
8.5 Vertical Hertzian Dipole above a Lossy Surface ................408
8.5.1 Electric Hertzian Dipole.......................................... 408
8.5.2 Magnetic Hertzian Dipole....................................... 420
8.6 Horizontal Electric Hertzian Dipole above a Lossy
Surface ..................................................................................426
8.7 Vertical Electric and Magnetic Dipoles in a Lossy
Region ................................................................................... 433
8.7.1 Electric Dipole......................................................... 433
8.7.2 Magnetic Dipole ...................................................... 436
8.8 Radiation from an Aperture in a Plane................................437
8.8.1 Rectangular Aperture .............................................. 446
8.8.2 Circular Aperture..................................................... 448
8.9 Radiation from Apertures Using the Equivalence
Principle ................................................................................450
Problems ..........................................................................................456

Chapter 9 Further Studies of Electromagnetic Waves in Cylindrical

Geometries .......................................................................................457
9.1 Diffraction by a Conducting Cylinder ...............................457
9.2 Diffraction by a Lossy Dielectric Cylinder ....................... 473
9.3 Conducting Cylinder and an Infinite-Length Current
Source..................................................................................476
9.3.1 Conducting Cylinder and a Dipole Source .......... 481
9.4 Lossy Dielectric Cylinder and an Infinite-Line Current
Source..................................................................................484
9.5 A Wedge and an Infinite-Length Current Source ............. 490
9.5.1 A Wedge and a Dipole Source............................. 492
Contents ix

9.6 Vertical Electric Hertzian Dipole above a Lossy

Surface ................................................................................495
9.6.1 Fields in the Air Region ....................................... 498
9.6.2 Fields in the Lossy Region ................................... 516
9.7 Vertical Magnetic Hertzian Dipole above a Lossy
Surface ................................................................................519
9.8 Vertical Electric Dipole in a Three-Layer Region ............522
9.9 Lateral Waves .....................................................................529
9.10 An Infinite-Length Slot in a Circular Cylinder .................535
9.11 Radiation from an Aperture in a Circular Cylinder ..........543
Problems ..........................................................................................551

Chapter 10 Further Studies of Electromagnetic Waves in Spherical

Geometries .......................................................................................555
10.1 Diffraction by a Conducting Sphere ................................555
10.2 Diffraction by a Dielectric Sphere ...................................563
10.3 A Vertical Electric Dipole above a Conducting
Sphere................................................................................566
10.4 A Vertical Electric Dipole above a Spherical
Surface ..............................................................................573
10.5 A Vertical Electric Dipole in a Spherical
Waveguide—Zonal Harmonics Solution .........................584
10.6 A Vertical Magnetic Dipole in a Spherical
Waveguide—Zonal Harmonics Solution .........................595
10.7 A Horizontal Electric Dipole in a Spherical
Waveguide—Zonal Harmonics Solution .........................600
10.8 A Vertical Electric Dipole in the Earth-Ionosphere
Waveguide—Modal Solution ........................................... 614
10.9 A Vertical Magnetic Dipole in the Earth-Ionosphere
Waveguide—Modal Solution ........................................... 620
10.10 A Horizontal Electric Dipole in the Earth-Ionosphere
Waveguide—Modal Solution ........................................... 623
Problems ..........................................................................................630

Appendix A Nomenclature and Units..................................................................633

Appendix B Vector and Other Identities.............................................................637

Appendix C Bessel Functions..............................................................................641

C.1 Bessel Functions of the First and Second Kind .................641
C.2 Hankel Functions ................................................................. 646
C.3 Modified Bessel Functions ..................................................650
C.4 Spherical Bessel Functions ..................................................654
C.5 Complex Arguments ............................................................660
C.6 The Sommerfeld Integrals ...................................................662
x Contents

Appendix D Airy Functions .................................................................................665

Appendix E Legendre Functions .........................................................................675

E.1 Legendre’s Equation ............................................................675
E.2 Associated Legendre Equation ............................................ 679
E.3 Spherical Harmonics ............................................................682
E.4 Complex Order .....................................................................685

Appendix F The Transformations λ = k sin β and λ = k cos β .........................687

Appendix G Error Function .................................................................................693

Appendix H Orthogonality of Radial Solutions in Mode Theory ......................697

Index......................................................................................................................699
Preface
The field of electromagnetic wave propagation has its origins in the work of James Clerk
Maxwell, and the common forms used for his equations are due to Oliver Heaviside. The
four basic Maxwell’s equations, together with the continuity equation, are the foundation
of many studies in electrical engineering and physics. His equations are the underlying
basis of amazing advances in the field of optics, cosmology, antennas, electromagnetic
wave propagation, quantum electrodynamics, microwaves, etc.
This book is written for graduate students and for researchers in this field. It is
suitable for a graduate course in electromagnetic wave propagation for students with a
good background in undergraduate electromagnetics and mathematics. Graduate
students, as well as researchers, usually have some difficulty following some of the
published material in professional journals. This book closes such gaps by providing a
comprehensive view of some of the advanced techniques used in electromagnetic
wave propagation.
The book is comprehensive in nature, and the Table of Contents illustrates the
topics covered. The analysis and methods used for the large variety of electromagnetic
propagation problems discussed in this book show that a formal procedure can be
followed to determine the resulting fields. Also, various mathematical techniques used
in the evaluation of the fields are discussed in detail showing again the procedures
needed. The aim is to teach the techniques that should be followed in order to obtain
closed-form and asymptotic solutions for the fields in electromagnetic propagation
problems that involve rectangular, cylindrical, and spherical geometries.
A short highlight of the various chapters follows. Starting in Chapter 1, the various
forms that Maxwell’s equations appear are introduced. This is followed with a discussion
of the auxiliary vector potentials A and F, as well as the Hertz vectors, and the wave
equations that they satisfy. The various forms of expressing the wave equation in terms of
different forms of the propagation constants are presented. The Lorentz conditions are
discussed in detail. Boundary conditions are discussed, including the Leontovitch
boundary condition. Chapter 2 discusses the fundamental radiators. Electric and
magnetic Hertzian dipoles are described, as well as the resulting fields in lossless and
lossy media. The fields due to an infinite-length line source are presented. Duality
relations are obtained. The useful applications of images are presented for both electric
and magnetic radiators. Chapter 3 discusses the propagation of plane waves. The Fresnel
reflection coefficients are derived and expressed in various forms which depend on the
way that the propagation constant is defined. The topics of reflection and transmission
from a dielectric and from a lossy region are included. Other topics covered in Chapter 3
are the plane wave reflection and transmission from interfaces, the Zenneck, lateral, and
trapped waves. A discussion of plane waves in various regions where the dielectric and
conductivity changes as a function of position (i.e., inhomogeneous regions) is presented
for both rectangular and cylindrical regions. The chapter ends with a discussion of the
WKBJ method. Chapter 4 is concerned with the solution to the wave equation in
rectangular, cylindrical and spherical coordinates, with examples of wave propagation
in the various coordinates systems. In rectangular coordinates: the partially-filled and

xi
xii Preface

empty waveguides, cavity, and dielectric waveguides. In cylindrical coordinates: the

cylindrical waveguide and cavity, sectoral waveguide, radial waveguide, wedge, sectoral
horn, bend waveguide and dielectric resonator. In spherical coordinates, the Debye gauge
is discussed and the resulting wave equations in terms of the Debye potentials
are obtained. Examples include the conical waveguide, cavity and the Earth-
Ionosphere cavity. The wave transformation from rectangular to cylindrical coordinates
and from rectangular to spherical coordinates is included. In Chapter 5, the Green
functions are discussed. Green functions provide a convenient method to solve
inhomogeneous wave equations. First, the Green functions are obtained using
the eigenfunctions method, followed by the direct method. Delta functions repre-
sentations are also discussed. Situations where the use of Green functions are appropriate
are discussed. Green functions in rectangular geometries are derived for both electric and
magnetic sources. The same is done for Green functions in cylindrical and spherical
coordinates. Several forms of Green functions in spherical coordinates are derived,
including the Green function in terms of the Schelkunoff-Bessel functions. Chapter 6
shows how Green functions can be obtained using integral transforms. Spatial Fourier
transforms are used to develop integral representations of Green functions in rectangular,
cylindrical and spherical coordinates. The use of the Hankel transform in the solution of
the wave equation is shown for cylindrical coordinates, and the spherical Hankel
transform for spherical coordinates. Integral representations of the delta function are also
given. The required radiation conditions that the fields must satisfy are derived for
problems in rectangular, cylindrical and spherical coordinates. In Chapter 7, the
mathematical methods required for obtaining asymptotic solutions for the fields are
presented. It contains an extensive discussion of the Watson transformations, the
stationary point method and the method of steepest descent (i.e., the saddle point
method). The emphasis is on the use of these methods in the evaluation of the resulting
field expressions in electromagnetic wave propagation. The classical problem of a pole
near a saddle point and the resulting solution in terms of the complementary error
function is discussed in detail. In Chapter 8, further problems of wave propagation in
rectangular coordinates are considered. Using the knowledge from the previous chapters,
closed-form solutions and asymptotic expressions are obtained for the fields of many
problems, such as the parallel-plate waveguide, the narrow slit, the vertical electric dipole
and the magnetic dipole above a conducting and lossy surface. The radiation for an
aperture in a conducting plane is analyzed using spatial Fourier transforms, as well as
using the Equivalence Theorem. Chapter 9 deals with propagation problems in cylindrical
geometries. The classical problems of the diffraction of a plane wave by a conducting and
by a lossy cylinder are first presented. This is followed by the fields produced by an
electric line source and a dipole in the presence of a cylindrical surface, where Green
function solutions are used and an asymptotic evaluation of the fields is obtained. The
fields from vertical electric and magnetic dipoles above a lossy surface are discussed in
detail, as well as the fields due to a horizontal electric dipole. The chapter ends with a
discussion of the radiation from an aperture in a circular cylinder. In Chapter 10, further
problems of electromagnetic wave propagation in spherical geometries are analyzed. It
begins with the classical problem of plane-wave diffraction by a conducting and by a
dielectric sphere. Then, the fields due to a vertical electric dipole above a conducting
sphere and the fields above a spherical surface are obtained and asymptotically evaluated.
Preface xiii

The problem of a vertical electric dipole and of a vertical magnetic dipole in a spherical
waveguide are solved in terms of zonal harmonics. This is followed by the modal
solution of the problem. Appendices associated with vector relations, Bessel functions,
Airy functions, Legendre functions, error functions, certain integral transformations, and
orthogonality properties are included.
I had the privilege to study under Prof. George Tyras at the University of
Arizona. Two other distinguished faculty members who taught there were
Prof. Donald G. Dudley and Prof. James R. Wait. It was an honor to know them
and to have some interaction with them. I also wish to mention Prof. Vern R.
Johnson for his guidance and friendship.
My gratitude goes to Profs. Manuel A. Huerta and James C. Nearing in the
Physics Department at the University of Miami, for their help over the years. Their
clarity in electromagnetics and mathematics will always be appreciated. Also,
thanks to Dr. Kamal Premaratne for his help with the graphs of the special functions
in the Appendices.
My love goes to my wife Pat, my children Alex and Donna, my daughter- and
son-in-law Samantha and Larry, and my grandkids Tyler, Analise, Mia, and Nina.
Thank you for being there for me!

Guillermo Gonzalez, PhD

Professor Emeritus
University of Miami
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Other documents randomly have
different content
favour Pietro declined, but at the same time he eagerly accepted of
the permission to visit at his house; and was no sooner completely
established in his own dwelling than he fully availed himself of this
permission.
The family to which he became thus suddenly known was
originally of Mardin, but about fourteen years previously had been
driven from thence by the Kurds, who sacked and plundered the city,
and reduced such of the inhabitants as they could capture to slavery.
They were Christians of the Nestorian sect; but Della Valle, who was
a bigot in his way, seems to have regarded them as aliens from the
church of Christ. However, this circumstance did not prevent the
image of Sitti Maani, the eldest of the old man’s daughters, and the
beauty of whom he had heard so glowing a description in the desert,
from finding its way into his heart, though the idea of marrying having
occurred to him at Aleppo, he had written home to his relations to
provide him with a suitable wife against his return to Italy. Maani was
now in her eighteenth year. Her mind had been as highly cultivated
as the circumstances of the times and the country would allow; and
her understanding enabled her to turn all her accomplishments to
advantage. In person, she was a perfect oriental beauty; dark, even
in the eyes of an Italian, with hair nearly black, and eyes of the same
colour, shaded by lashes of unusual length, she possessed
something of an imperial air. Pietro was completely smitten, and for
the present every image but that of Maani seemed to be obliterated
from his mind.
His knowledge of the Turkish language was now of the greatest
service to him; for, possessing but a very few words of Arabic, this
was the only medium by which he could make known the colour of
his thoughts either to his mistress or her mother. His passion,
however, supplied him with eloquence, and by dint of vehement
protestations, in this instance the offspring of genuine affection, he at
length succeeded in his enterprise, and Maani became his wife. But
in the midst of these transactions, when it most imported him to
remain at Bagdad, an event occurred in his own house which not
only exposed him to the risk of being driven with disgrace from the
city, but extremely endangered his life and that of all those who were
connected with him. His secretary and valet having for some time
entertained a grudge against each other, the former, one day seizing
the khanjar, or dagger, of Pietro, stabbed his adversary to the heart,
and the poor fellow dropped down dead in the arms of his master.
The murderer fled. What course to pursue under such circumstances
it was difficult to determine. Should the event come to the knowledge
of the pasha, both master and servants might, perhaps, be thought
equally guilty, and be impaled alive; or, if matters were not pushed to
such extremities, it might at least be pretended that the deceased
was the real owner of whatever property they possessed, in order to
confiscate the whole for the benefit of the state. As neither of these
results was desirable, the safest course appeared to be to prevent, if
possible, the knowledge of the tragedy from transpiring; a task of
some difficulty, as all the domestics of the household were
acquainted with what had passed. The only individual with whom
Pietro could safely consult upon this occasion (for he was unwilling
to disclose so horrible a transaction to Maani’s relations) was a
Maltese renegade, a man of some consideration in the city; and for
him, therefore, he immediately despatched a messenger. This man,
when he had heard what had happened, was of opinion that the
body should be interred in a corner of the house; but Pietro, who had
no desire that so bloody a memorial of the Italian temperament
should remain in his immediate neighbourhood, and moreover
considered it unsafe, thought it would be much better at the bottom
of the Tigris. The Maltese, most fortunately, possessed a house and
garden on the edge of the river, and thither the body, packed up
carefully in a chest, was quickly conveyed, though there was much
difficulty in preventing the blood from oozing out, and betraying to its
bearers the nature of their burden. When it was dark the chest was
put on board a boat, and, dropping down the river, the renegade and
two of his soldiers cautiously lowered it into the water; and thus no
material proof of the murder remained. The assassin, who had taken
refuge at the house of the Maltese, was enabled to return to Italy;
and the event, strange to say, was kept secret, though so many
persons were privy to it.
 When this danger was over, and the beautiful Maani irrevocably
his, Pietro began once more to feel the passion of the traveller
revive, and commenced those little excursions through Mesopotamia
which afterward enabled Gibbon to pronounce him the person who
had best observed that province. His first visit, as might be expected,
was to the ruins of Babylon. The party with which he left Bagdad
consisted of Maani, a Venetian, a Dutch painter, Ibrahim a native of
Aleppo, and two Turkish soldiers. For the first time since the
commencement of his travels, Pietro now selected the longest and
least dangerous road, taking care, moreover, to keep as near as
possible to the farms and villages, in order, in case of necessity, to
derive provisions and succour from their inhabitants. Maani, who
appears to have had a dash of Kurdish blood in her, rode astride like
a man, and kept her saddle as firmly as any son of the desert could
have done; and Pietro constantly moved along by her side. When
they had performed a considerable portion of their journey, and,
rejoicing in their good fortune, were already drawing near Babylon,
eight or ten horsemen armed with muskets and bows and arrows
suddenly appeared in the distance, making towards them with all
speed. Pietro imagined that the day for trying his courage was now
come; and he and his companions, having cocked their pieces and
prepared to offer a desperate resistance, pushed on towards the
enemy. However, their chivalric spirit was not doomed to be here put
to the test; for, upon drawing near, the horsemen were found to
belong to Bagdad, and the adventure concluded in civility and mutual
congratulations.
Having carefully examined the ruins of Babylon, the city of Hillah,
and the other celebrated spots in that neighbourhood, the party
returned to Bagdad, from whence he again departed in a few days
for Modain, the site of the ancient Ctesiphon, near which he had the
satisfaction of observing the interior of an Arab encampment.
His curiosity respecting Mesopotamia was now satisfied; and as
every day’s residence among the Ottomans only seemed more and
more to inflame his hatred of that brutal race, he as much as
possible hastened his departure from Bagdad, having now
conceived the design of serving as a volunteer in the armies of
Persia, at that period at war with Turkey, and of thus wreaking his
vengeance upon the Osmanlees for the tyranny they exercised on all
Christians within their power. Notwithstanding that war between the
two countries had long been declared, the Pasha of Bagdad and the
Persian authorities on the frontier continued openly to permit the
passage of caravans; and thus, were he once safe out of Bagdad
with his wife and treasures, there would be no difficulty in entering
Persia. To effect this purpose he entered into an arrangement with a
Persian muleteer, who was directed to obtain from the pasha a
passport for himself and followers, with a charosh to conduct them to
the extremity of the Turkish dominions. This being done, the Persian,
according to agreement, left the city, and encamped at a short
distance from the walls, where, as is the custom, he was visited by
the officers of the custom-house; after which, Pietro caused the
various individuals of his own small party to issue forth by various
streets into the plain, while he himself, dressed as he used to be
when riding out for amusement on the banks of the Tigris, quitted the
town after sunset, and gained the place of encampment in safety.
When the night had now completely descended upon the earth,
and all around was still, the little caravan put itself in motion; and
being mounted, some on good sturdy mules, and others on the
horses of the country, they advanced at a rapid rate, fearing all the
way that the pasha might repent of his civility towards the Persian,
and send an order to bring them back to the city. By break of day
they arrived on the banks of the Diala, a river which discharges itself
into the Tigris; and here, in spite of their impatience, they were
detained till noon, there being but one boat at the ferry. In six days
they reached the southern branches of the mountains of Kurdistan,
and found themselves suddenly in the midst of that wild and hardy
race, which, from the remotest ages, has maintained possession of
these inexpugnable fastnesses, which harassed the ten thousand in
their retreat, and still enact a conspicuous part in all the border wars
between the Persians and Turks. Living for the most part in a
dangerous independence, fiercely spurning the yoke of its powerful
neighbours, though continually embroiled in their interminable
quarrels, speaking a distinct language, and having a peculiar system
of manners, which does not greatly differ from that of the feudal
times, they may justly be regarded as one of the most extraordinary
races of the Asiatic continent. Some of them, spellbound by the
allurements of wealth and ease, have erected cities and towns, and
addicted themselves to agriculture and the gainful arts. Others,
preferring that entire liberty which of all earthly blessings is the
greatest in the estimation of ardent and haughty minds, and
regarding luxury as a species of Circean cup, in its effects debasing
and destructive, covet no wealth but their herds and flocks, around
which they erect no fortifications but their swords. These are
attracted hither and thither over the wilds by the richness of the
pasturage, and dwell in tents.
In Kurdistan, as elsewhere, the winning manners of Della Valle
procured him a hospitable reception. The presence of Maani, too,
whose youth and beauty served as an inviolable wall of protection
among brave men, increased his claims to their hospitality; so that
these savage mountaineers, upon whom the majority of travellers
concur in heaping the most angry maledictions, obtained from the
warm-hearted, grateful Pietro the character of a kind and gentle
people. On the 20th of January, 1617, he quitted Kurdistan, and
entered Persia. The change was striking. A purer atmosphere, a
more productive and better-cultivated soil, and a far more dense
population than in Turkey, caused him, from the suddenness of the
transition, somewhat to exaggerate, perhaps, the advantages of this
country. It is certain that the eyes of the traveller, like the fabled
gems of antiquity, carry about the light by which he views the objects
which come before him; and that the condition of this light is greatly
affected by the state of his animal spirits. Pietro was now in that
tranquil and serene mode of being consequent upon that enjoyment
which conscience approves; and having passed from a place where
dangers, real or imaginary, surrounded him, into a country where he
at least anticipated safety, if not distinction, it was natural that his
fancy should paint the landscape with delusive colours. Besides,
many real advantages existed; tents were no longer necessary, there
being at every halting-place a spacious caravansary, where the
traveller could obtain gratis lodgings for himself and attendants, and
shelter for his beasts and baggage. Fruits, likewise, such as
pomegranates, apples, and grapes, abounded, though the earth was
still deeply covered with snow. If we add to this that the Persians are
a people who pique themselves upon their urbanity, and, whatever
may be the basis of their character, with which the passing traveller
has little to do, really conduct themselves politely towards strangers,
it will not appear very surprising that Della Valle, who had just
escaped from the boorish Ottomans, should have been charmed
with Persia.
Arriving at Ispahan, at that period the capital of the empire, that is,
the habitual place of residence of the shah, his first care, of course,
was to taste a little repose; after which, he resumed his usual custom
of strolling about the city and its environs, observing the manners,
and sketching whatever was curious in costume and scenery. Here
he remained for several months; but growing tired, as usual, of calm
inactivity, the more particularly as the court was absent, he now
prepared to present himself before the shah, then in Mazenderan.
Accordingly, having provided a splendid litter for his wife and her
sister, who, like genuine amazons, determined to accompany him to
the wars should he eventually take up arms in the service of Persia,
and provided every other necessary for the journey, he quitted
Ispahan, and proceeded northward towards the shores of the
Caspian Sea. The journey was performed in the most agreeable
manner imaginable. Whenever they came up to a pleasant grove, a
shady fountain, or any romantic spot where the greensward was
sprinkled with flowers or commanded a beautiful prospect, the whole
party made a halt; and the ladies, descending from their litter, which
was borne by two camels, and Pietro from his barb, they sat down
like luxurious gipsies to their breakfast or dinner, while the
nightingales in the dusky recesses of the groves served them
instead of a musician.
 Proceeding slowly, on account of his harem, as he terms it, they
arrived in seven days at Cashan, where the imprudence of Maani
nearly involved him in a very serious affair. Being insulted on her
way to the bezestein by an officer, she gave the signal to her
attendants to chastise the drunkard, and, a battle ensuing, the
unhappy man lost his life. When the news was brought to Pietro he
was considerably alarmed; but on proceeding to the house of the
principal magistrate, he very fortunately found that the affair had
been properly represented to him, and that his people were not
considered to have exceeded their duty. His wife, not reflecting that
her masculine habits and fiery temperament were quite sufficient to
account for the circumstance, now began to torment both herself and
her husband because she had not yet become a mother; and
supposing that in such cases wine was a sovereign remedy, she
endeavoured to prevail upon Pietro, who was a water-drinker, to
have recourse to a more generous beverage, offering to join with
him, if he would comply, in the worship of Bacchus. Our traveller,
who had already, as he candidly informs us, a small family in Italy,
could not be brought to believe that the fault lay in his sober
potations, and firmly resisted the temptations of his wife. With
friendly arguments upon this and other topics they beguiled the
length of the way, and at length arrived in Mazenderan, though
Maani’s passion for horsemanship more than once put her neck in
jeopardy on the road. The scene which now presented itself was
extremely different from that through which they had hitherto
generally passed. Instead of the treeless plains or unfertile deserts
which they had traversed in the northern parts of Irak, they saw
before them a country strongly resembling Europe; mountains, deep
well-wooded valleys, or rich green plains rapidly alternating with
each other, and the whole, watered by abundant streams and
fountains, refreshed and delighted the eye; and he was as yet
unconscious of the insalubrity of the atmosphere.
Pietro, who, like Petronius, was an “elegans formarum spectator,”
greatly admired the beauty and graceful figures of the women of this
province,—a fact which makes strongly against the idea of its being
unhealthy; for it may generally be inferred, that wherever the women
are handsome the air is good. Here and there they observed, as they
moved along, the ruins of castles and fortresses on the acclivities
and projections of the mountains, which had formerly served as
retreats to numerous chiefs who had there aimed at independence.
A grotto, which they discovered in a nearly inaccessible position in
the face of a mountain, was pointed out to them as the residence of
a virgin of gigantic stature, who, without associates or followers, like
the virago who obstructed the passage of Theseus from Trœzene to
Athens, formerly ravaged and depopulated that part of the country.
This and similar legends of giants, which resemble those which
prevail among all rude nations, were related to our traveller, who
rejected them with disdain as utterly fabulous and contemptible,
though not much more so, perhaps, than some which, as a true son
of the Roman church, he no doubt held in reverence.
At length, after considerable fatigue, they arrived at Ferhabad, a
small port built by the Shah Abbas on the Caspian Sea. Here the
governor of the city, when informed of his arrival, assigned him a
house in the eastern quarter of the city, the rooms of which, says
Pietro, were so low, that although by no means a tall man, he could
touch the ceiling with his hand. If the house, however, reminded him
of the huts erected by Romulus on the Capitoline, the garden, on the
other hand, was delightful, being a large space of ground thickly
planted with white mulberry-trees, and lying close upon the bank of
the river. Here he passed the greater portion of his time with Actius
Sincerus, or Marcus Aurelius, or Ferrari’s Geographical Epitome in
his hand, now offering sacrifices to the Muses, and now running over
with his eye the various countries and provinces which he was proud
to have travelled over. One of his favourite occupations was the
putting of his own adventures into verse, under a feigned name. This
he did in that terza rima which Dante’s example had made
respectable, but not popular, in Italy; and as he was not of the
humour to hide his talent under a bushel, his brain was no sooner
delivered of this conceit than he despatched it to Rome for the
amusement of his friends.
 Being now placed upon the margin of the Caspian, he very
naturally desired to examine the appearance of its shores and
waters; but embarking for this purpose in a fishing-boat with Maani,
who, having passed her life in Mesopotamia, had never before seen
the sea, her sickness and the fears produced in her mind by the
tossing and rolling of the bark among the waves quickly put an end
to the voyage. He ascertained, however, from the pilots of the coast,
that the waters of this sea were not deep; immense banks of sand
and mud, borne down into this vast basin by the numerous rivers
which discharge themselves into it, being met with on all sides;
though it is probable, that had they ventured far from shore they
would have found the case different. Fish of many kinds were
plentiful; but owing, perhaps, to the fat and slimy nature of the
bottom, they were all large, gross, and insipid.
The shah was just then at Asshraff, a new city which he had
caused to be erected, and was then enlarging, about six perasangs,
or leagues, to the east of Ferhabad. Pietro, anxious to be introduced
to the monarch, soon after his arrival wrote letters to the principal
minister, which, together with others from the vicar-general of the
Carmelite monks at Ispahan, he despatched by two of his domestics;
and the ministers, according to his desire, informed the shah of his
presence at Ferhabad. Abbas, who apparently had no desire that he
should witness the state of things at Asshraff, not as yet
comprehending either his character or his motives, observed, that
the roads being extremely bad, the traveller had better remain at
Ferhabad, whither he himself was about to proceed on horseback in
a day or two. Pietro, whose vanity prevented his perceiving the
shah’s motives, supposed in good earnest that Abbas was chary of
his guest’s ease; and, to crown the absurdity, swallowed another
monstrous fiction invented by the courtiers, who, as Hajjî Baba would
say, were all the while laughing at his beard,—namely, that the
monarch was so overjoyed at his arrival, that, had he not been
annoyed by the number of soldiers who followed him against his will,
he would next morning have ridden to Ferhabad to bid him welcome!
 However, when he actually arrived in that city, he did not, as our
worthy pilgrim expected, immediately admit him to an audience. In
the mean while an agent from the Cossacks inhabiting the north-
eastern shores of the Black Sea arrived, and Della Valle, who
neglected no occasion of forwarding his own views, in the shaping of
which he exhibited remarkable skill, at once connected himself with
this stranger, whom he engaged to aid and assist by every means in
his power, receiving from the barbarian the same assurances in
return. The Cossack had come to tender the shah his nation’s
services against the Turks; notwithstanding which, the business of
his presentation had been negligently or purposely delayed, probably
that he might understand, when his proposal should be afterward
received, that, although the aid he promised was acceptable, it was
by no means necessary, nor so considered.
At length the long-anticipated audience arrived, and Della Valle,
when presented, was well received by the shah; who, not being
accustomed, however, to the crusading spirit or the romance of
chivalry, could not very readily believe that the real motives which
urged him to join the Persian armies were precisely those which he
professed. Nevertheless, his offers of service were accepted, and
the provisions which he had already received rendered permanent.
He was, moreover, sumptuously entertained at the royal table, and
had frequently the honour of being consulted upon affairs of
importance by the shah.
Abbas soon afterward removing with his court into Ghilan, without
inviting Della Valle to accompany him, the latter departed for Casbin,
there to await the marching of the army against the Turks, in which
enterprise he was still mad enough to desire to engage. On reaching
this city he found that Abbas had been more expeditious than he,
and was already there, actively preparing for the war. All the military
officers of the kingdom now received orders to repair with all
possible despatch to Sultanieh, a city three days’ journey west of
Casbin; and Pietro, who had voluntarily become a member of this
martial class, hurried on among the foremost, in the hope of
acquiring glory of a new kind.
 The shah and his army had not been many days encamped in the
plains of Sultanieh, when a courier from the general, who had
already proceeded towards the frontiers, arrived with the news that
the Turkish army was advancing, although slowly. This news allowed
the troops, who had been fatigued with forced marches, a short
repose; after which they pushed on vigorously towards Ardebil and
Tabriz, Pietro and his heroic wife keeping pace with the foremost. In
this critical juncture, Abbas, though in some respects a man of
strong mind, did not consider it prudent to trust altogether to
corporeal armies; but, having in his dominions certain individuals
who pretended to have some influence over the infernal powers,
sought to interest hell also in his favour; and for this purpose carried
a renowned sorceress from Zunjan along with him to the wars, in the
same spirit as Charles the First, and the Parliament shortly
afterward, employed Lily to prophesy for them. Their route now lay
through the ancient Media, over narrow plains or hills covered with
verdure but bare of trees, sometimes traversing tremendous
chasms, spanned by bridges of fearful height, at others winding
along the acclivities of mountains, or upon the edge of precipices.
Notwithstanding his seeming ardour to engage with the Turks,
Pietro, for some cause or another, did not join the fighting part of the
army, but remained with the shah’s suite at Ardebil. This
circumstance seems to have lowered him considerably in the
estimation of the court. A battle, however, was fought, in which the
Persians were victorious; but the Turkish sultan dying at this
juncture, his successor commanded his general to negotiate for
peace, which, after the usual intrigues and delays, was at length
concluded. Abbas now returned to Casbin, where the victory and the
peace was celebrated with great rejoicings; and here Della Valle,
who seems to have begun to perceive that he was not likely to make
any great figure in war, took his leave of the court in extremely bad
health and low spirits, and returned to Ispahan.
Here repose, and the conversation of the friends he had made in
this city, once more put him in good-humour with himself and with
Persia; and being of an exceedingly hasty and inconsiderate
disposition, he no sooner began to experience a little tranquillity,
than he exerted the influence he had acquired over the parents of his
wife to induce them, right or wrong, to leave Bagdad, where they
lived contentedly and in comfort, and to settle at Ispahan, where they
were in a great measure strangers, notwithstanding that one of their
younger daughters was married to an Armenian of that city. The
principal members of the family, no less imprudent than their adviser,
accordingly quitted Mesopotamia with their treasures and effects,
and established themselves in the capital of Persia.
This measure was productive of nothing but disappointment and
vexation. One of Maani’s sisters, who had remained with her mother
at Bagdad, while the father and brothers were at Ispahan, died
suddenly; and the mother, inconsolable for her loss, entreated her
husband to return to her with her other children. Then followed the
pangs of parting, rendered doubly bitter by the reflection that it was
for ever. Pietro became ill and melancholy, having now turned his
thoughts, like the prodigal in the parable, towards his country and his
father’s house, and determined shortly to commence his journey
homeward. Obtaining without difficulty his dismission from the shah,
and winding up his affairs, which were neither intricate nor
embarrassed, at Ispahan, he set out on a visit to Shiraz, intending,
when he should have examined Persepolis and its environs, to bid
an eternal adieu to Persia.
With this view, having remained some time at Shiraz, admiring but
not enjoying the pure stream of the Rocnabad, the bowers of
Mesellay, and the bright atmosphere which shed glory on all around,
he proceeded to Mineb, a small town on the river Ibrahim, a little to
the south of Gombroon and Ormus, on the shore of the Persian Gulf.
Maani, whose desire to become a mother had been an unceasing
source of unhappiness to her ever since her marriage, being now
pregnant, nothing could have been more ill-judged in her husband
than to approach those pestilential coasts; especially at such a
season of the year. He quickly discovered his error, but it was too
late. The fever which rages with unremitting violence throughout all
that part of the country during six months in the year had now seized
not only upon Maani, but on himself likewise, and upon every other
member of his family. Instant flight might, perhaps, have rescued
them from danger, as it afterward did Chardin, but a fatal lethargy
seems to have seized upon the mind of Pietro. He trembled at the
destiny which menaced him, he saw death, as it were, entering his
house, and approach gradually the individual whom he cherished
beyond all others; time was allowed him by Providence for escape,
yet he stood still, as if spellbound, and suffered the victim to be
seized without a struggle. His wife, whose condition I have alluded to
above, affected at once by the fever, and apprehensive of its
consequences, was terrified into premature labour, and a son dead-
born considerably before its time put the finishing stroke, as it were,
to the affliction of her mind. Her fever increased in violence—medical
aid was vain—death triumphed—and Maani sunk into the grave at
the age of twenty-three.
A total change now came over the mind of Della Valle, which not
only affected the actions of his life, but communicated itself to his
writings, depriving them of that dashing quixotism which up to this
point constitutes their greatest charm. A cloud, black as Erebus,
descended upon his soul, and nine months elapsed before he could
again command sufficient spirits or energy to announce the
melancholy event to his friend Schipano. He, however, resolved that
the body of his beloved wife should not be consigned to the earth in
Persia, where he should never more come to visit or shed a tear
over her grave. He therefore contrived to have it embalmed, and
then, enclosing it in a coffin adapted to the purpose, placed it in a
travelling trunk, in order that, wherever his good or bad fortune
should conduct him, the dear remains of his Maani might accompany
him to the grave. Certain circumstances attending this transaction
strongly serve to illustrate the character of Della Valle, and while they
tell in favour of his affection, and paint the melancholy condition to
which his bereavement had reduced him, likewise throw some light
upon the manners and state of the country. Dead bodies being
regarded as unclean by the Mohammedans, as they were in old
Greece and Rome, and most other nations of antiquity, no persons
could be found to undertake the task of embalming but a few old
women, whom the auri sacra fames reconciled to the pollution.
These, wrapping thick bandages over their mouths and nostrils, to
prevent the powerful odour of the gum from penetrating into their
lungs and brain, after having disembowelled the corpse, filled its
cavities with camphor, and with the same ingredient, which was of
the most pungent and desiccating nature, rubbed all its limbs and
surface until the perfume had penetrated to the very bones. Pietro, at
all times superstitious, was now rendered doubly so by sorrow.
Having somewhere heard or read that the bodies of men will be
reanimated at the general resurrection, wherever their heads happen
to be deposited, while, according to another theory, it was the
resting-place of the heart which was to determine the point, and
being desirous, according to either view of the matter, that Maani
and himself should rise on that awful day together, he gave orders
that the heart of his beloved should be carefully embalmed with the
rest of the body. It never once occurred to him that the pollinctores
(or undertakers) might neglect his commands, and therefore he
omitted to overlook this part of the operation; indeed his feelings
would not allow him to be present, and while it was going on he sat
retired, hushing the tempest of his soul in the best manner he could.
While he was in this state of agony, he observed the embalmers
approaching him with something in their hands, and on casting his
eyes upon it he beheld the heart of Maani in a saucer! An
unspeakable horror shot through his whole frame as he gazed upon
the heart which, but a few days before, had bounded with delight and
joy to meet his own; and he turned away his head with a shudder.
When the operation was completed, the mummy was laid out upon
a board, and placed under a tent in the garden, in order to be still
further desiccated by the action of the air. Here it remained seven
days and nights, and the walls being low, it was necessary to keep a
strict and perpetual watch over it, lest the hyenas should enter and
devour it. Worn down as he was by fever, by watching, and by
sorrow, Pietro would intrust this sacred duty to no vulgar guardian
during the night, but, with his loaded musket in his hand, paced to
and fro before the tent through the darkness, while the howls of the
hyenas, bursting forth suddenly quite near him, as it were, frequently
startled his ear and increased his vigilance. By day he took a few
hours’ repose, while his domestics kept watch.
When this melancholy task had been duly performed, he departed,
in sickness and dejection, for the city of Lâr, where the air being
somewhat cooler and more pure, he entertained some hopes of a
recovery. Not many days after his arrival, a Syrian whom he had
known at Ispahan brought him news from Bagdad which were any
thing but calculated to cheer or console his mind. He learned that
another sister of Maani had died on the road in returning from
Persia; that the father, stricken to the soul by this new calamity, had
likewise died a few days after reaching home; and that the widow,
thus bereaved of the better part of her family, and feeling the
decrepitude of old age coming apace, was inconsolable. Our
traveller was thunderstruck. Death seemed to have put his mark on
all those whom he loved. Persia now became hateful to him. Its very
atmosphere appeared to teem with misfortunes as with clouds.
Nothing, therefore, seemed left him but to quit it with all possible
celerity.
Pietro’s desire to return to Italy was now abated, and travelling
more desirable than home; motion, the presence of strange objects,
the surmounting of difficulties and dangers, being better adapted
than ease and leisure for the dissipating of sharp grief. For this
reason he returned to the shore of the Persian Gulf, and embarked
at Gombroon on board of an English ship for India, taking along with
him the body of his wife, and a little orphan Georgian girl whom he
and Maani had adopted at Ispahan. As even a father cannot remove
his daughter, or a husband his wife, from the shah’s dominions
without an especial permission, which might not be granted without
considerable delay, Pietro determined to elude the laws, and
disguising the Georgian in the dress of a boy, contrived to get her on
board among the ship’s crew in the dusk of the evening, on the 19th
of January, 1623.
 Traversing the Indian Ocean with favourable winds, he arrived on
the 10th of February at Surat, where he was hospitably entertained
by the English and Dutch residents. He found Guzerat a pleasant
country, consisting, as far as his experience extended, of rich, green
plains, well watered, and thickly interspersed with trees. From Surat
he proceeded to Cambay, a large city situated upon the extremity of
a fine plain at the bottom of the gulf of the same name. Here he
adopted the dress, and as far as possible the manners of the
Hindoos, and then, striking off a little from the coast, visited
Ahmedabad, travelling thither with a small cafila or caravan, the
roads being considered dangerous for solitary individuals. At a small
village on the road he observed an immense number of beautiful
yellow squirrels, with fine large tails, leaping from tree to tree; and a
little farther on met with a great number of beggars armed with bows
and arrows, who demanded charity with sound of trumpet. His
observations in this country, though sufficiently curious occasionally,
were the fruit of a too hasty survey, which could not enable him to
pierce deeply below the exterior crust of manners. Indeed, he seems
rather to have amused himself with strange sights, than sought to
philosophize upon the circumstances of humanity. In a temple of
Mahades in this city, where numerous Yoghees, the Gymnosophists
of antiquity, were standing like so many statues behind the sacred
lamps, he observed an image of the god entirely of crystal. On the
banks of the Sabermati, which ran close beneath the walls of the
city, numerous Yoghees, as naked as at the moment of their birth,
were seated, with matted hair, and wild looks, and powdered all over
with the ashes of the dead bodies which they had aided in burning.
Returning to Cambay, he embarked in a Portuguese ship for Goa,
a city chiefly remarkable for the number of monks that flocked thither,
and for the atrocities which they there perpetrated in the name of the
Church of Rome. Della Valle soon found that there was more
security and pleasure in living among pagans “suckled in a creed
outworn,” or even among heretics, than in this Portuguese city,
where all strangers were regarded with horror, and met with nothing
but baseness and treachery. Leaving this den of monks and traitors,
he proceeded southward along the coast, and in a few days arrived
at Onore, where he went to pay a visit to a native of distinction,
whom they found upon the shore, seated beneath the shade of some
fine trees, flanked and overshadowed, as it were, by a range of small
hills. Being in the company of a Portuguese ambassador from Goa
to a rajah of the Sadasiva race, who then held his court at Ikery, he
regarded the opportunity of observing something of the interior of the
peninsula as too favourable to be rejected, and obtained permission
to form a part of the ambassador’s suite. They set out from Onore in
boats, but the current of the river they were ascending was so rapid
and powerful, that with the aid of both sails and oars they were
unable to push on that day beyond Garsopa, formerly a large and
flourishing city, but now inconsiderable and neglected. Here the
scenery, a point which seldom commanded much of Della Valle’s
attention, however picturesque or beautiful it might be, was of so
exquisite a character, so rich, so glowing, so variable, so full of
contrasts, that indifferent as he was on that head, his imagination
was kindled, and he confessed, that turn which way soever he might,
the face of nature was marvellously delightful. A succession of hills
of all forms, and of every shade of verdure, between which valleys,
now deep and umbrageous, now presenting broad, green, sunny
slopes to the eye, branched about in every direction; lofty forests of
incomparable beauty, among which the most magnificent fruit-trees,
such as the Indian walnut, the fawfel, and the amba, were
interspersed, small winding streams, now glancing and quivering and
rippling in the sun, and now plunging into the deep shades of the
woods; while vast flights of gay tropical birds were perched upon the
branches, or skimming over the waters; all these combined certainly
formed a glorious picture, and justified the admiration of Pietro when
he exclaimed that nothing to equal it had ever met his eye. On
entering the Ghauts he perceived in them some resemblance to the
Apennines, though they were more beautiful; and to enjoy so
splendid a prospect he travelled part of the way on foot. The
Western Ghauts, which divide the vast plateau of Mysore from
Malabar, Canasen, and the other maritime provinces of the Deccan,
are in most parts covered with forests of prodigious grandeur, and in
one of these Pietro and his party were overtaken by the night.
Though “overhead the moon hung imminent, and shed her silver
light,” not a ray could descend to them through the impenetrable
canopy of the wood, so that they were compelled to kindle torches,
notwithstanding which they failed to find their way, and contented
themselves with kindling a fire and passing the night under a tree.
Ikery, the bourn beyond which they were not to proceed towards
the interior, was then an extensive but thinly-peopled city, though
according to the Hindoos it once contained a hundred thousand
inhabitants. Around it extended three lines of fortifications, of which
the exterior was a row of bamboos, thickly planted, and of enormous
height, whose lifted heads, with the beautiful flowering parasites
which crept round their stems to the summit, yielded a grateful
shade. Here he beheld a suttee, visited various temples, and saw
the celebrated dancing girls of Hindostan perform their graceful but
voluptuous postures. He examined likewise the ceremonial of the
rajah’s court, and instituted numerous inquiries into the religion and
manners of the country, upon all which points he obtained
information curious enough for that age, but now, from the more
extensive and exact researches of later travellers, of little value.
Returning to the seacoast, he proceeded southward as far as
Calicut, the extreme point of his travels. Here he faced about, as it
were, turned his eyes towards home, and began to experience a
desire to be at rest. Still, at Cananou, at Salsette, and the other parts
of India at which he touched on his return, he continued assiduously
to observe and describe, though rather from habit than any delight
which it afforded him.
On the 15th of November, 1624, he embarked at Goa in a ship
bound for Muskat, from whence he proceeded up the Persian Gulf to
Bassorah. Here he hired mules and camels, and provided all things
necessary for crossing the desert; and on the 21st of May, 1625,
departed, being accompanied by an Italian friar, Marian, the
Georgian girl, and the corpse of Maani. During this journey he
observed the sand in many places strewed with seashells, bright and
glittering as mother-of-pearl, and in others with bitumen.
Occasionally their road lay over extensive marshes, covered thickly
with reeds or brushwood, or white with salt; but at this season of the
year every thing was so dry that a spark falling from the pipe of a
muleteer upon the parched grass nearly produced a conflagration in
the desert. When they had advanced many days’ journey into the
waste, and beheld on all sides nothing but sand and sky, a troop of
Arab robbers, who came scouring along the desert upon their fleet
barbs, attacked and rifled their little caravan; and Della Valle saw
himself about to be deprived of his wife’s body, after having
preserved it so long, and conveyed it safely over so many seas and
mountains. In this fear he addressed himself to the banditti,
describing the contents of the chest, and the motives which urged
him so vehemently to desire its preservation. The Arabs were
touched with compassion. The sight of the coffin, enforcing the effect
of his eloquence, interested their hearts; so that not only did they
respect the dead, and praise the affectionate and pious motives of
the traveller, but also narrowed their demands, for they pretended to
exact dues, not to rob, and allowed the caravan to proceed with the
greater part of its wealth.
On arriving at the port of Alexandretta another difficulty arose. The
Turks would never have allowed a corpse to pass through the
custom-house, nor would the sailors of the ship in which he desired
to embark for Cyprus on any account have suffered it to come on
board. To overreach both parties, Pietro had the body enveloped in
bales of spun cotton, upon which he paid the regular duty, and thus
one further step was gained. After visiting Cyprus, Malta, and Sicily,
where he remained some short time, he set sail for Naples. Here he
found his old friend Schipano still living, and after describing to him
the various scenes and dangers through which he had passed,
moved forward towards Rome, where he arrived on the 28th of
March, 1626, after an absence of more than twelve years.
His return was no sooner made known in the city than numerous
friends and relations and the greater number of the nobility crowded
to his house, to bid him welcome and congratulate him upon the
successful termination of his travels. His presentation to the pope
took place a few days afterward, when Urban VIII. was so charmed
with his conversation and manners, that, without application or
intrigue on the part of the traveller, he was appointed his holiness’s
honorary chamberlain,—a compliment regarded at Rome as highly
flattering. In order to induce the pope to send out missionaries to
Georgia, Pietro now presented him with a short account of that
country, which he had formerly written; and the affair being seriously
taken into consideration, it was determined by the society De
Propaganda Fide that the proposed measure should be carried into
effect, and that Pietro should be regularly consulted respecting the
business of the Levant missions in general.
Early in the spring of 1627, he caused the funeral obsequies of his
wife to be celebrated with extraordinary magnificence in the church
of Aracœli at Rome. The funeral oration he himself pronounced; and
when, after describing the various circumstances of her life, and the
happiness of their union, he came to expatiate upon her beauty, his
emotions became so violent that tears and sobs choked his
utterance, and he failed to proceed. His auditors, according to some
accounts, were likewise affected even unto tears; while others relate
that they burst into a fit of laughter. If they did, the fault was in their
own hearts; for, however extravagant the manner of Della Valle may
have been, death is a solemn thing, and can never fail properly to
affect all well-constituted minds.
However, though his love for Maani’s memory seems never to
have abated, the vanity of keeping up the illustrious name of Della
Valle, and the consequent wish of leaving a legitimate offspring
behind him, reconciled a second marriage to his mind, and Marian
Tinatin, the Georgian girl whom he had brought with him from the
East, appears to have been the person selected for his second wife.
M. Eyriès asserts, but I know not upon what authority, that it was a
relation of Maani whom he married; but this seems to be extremely
improbable, since, so far as can be discovered from his travels, no
relation of hers ever accompanied him, excepting the brother and
sister who spent some time with him in Persia.