The city of Bagdad continued to be the seat of the caliphs of the house of Abbas, and the capital of the Moslem empire, for the space of more than 500 years. During this long period it sustained several obstinate sieges, and was the scene of many a bloody revolution. In the 197th year of the Hegira, A. D. •812, it was attacked by Al Maroon, the second son of Haroun Al Raschid, who had rebelled against his elder brother Al Amin; and by a siege of twelve months, almost the whole eastern 'part of the city was laid in ruins. In the 334th of the Hegira, A. D. 915, it was afflicted by so severe a famine, that many persons were punished for feeding upon the flesh of children; and this dreadful scarcity was followed by pestilence, which swept away great num bers of the inhabitants. In the 417th of the Hegira, A.D. 1026, it was besieged by a numerous army of Turks, who plundered, and set it on fire ; by which means the best part of the city was consumed, and the inhabitants reduced to a state of extreme poverty. In the 447th of the Hegira, . D. 1055, it was pillaged.by the troops of or Togrol Beck, who assumed to himself the office of Emir-al-omra, and made great encroachments upon the power of the caliphs. At length, in the 656th of the Hegira, A. D. 1258, Bagdad was taken by Hulaku, or Hulagou, the grandson of Zengis, the.Mogul, or Tartar ; its reigning prince, Al Mostasom put to death ; the caliphate itself abolished ; and the city given up to pillage and massacre for the space of seven days. It remained in the possession of the Tartars or Moguls till the year of the Hegira 796, A. D. 1393, when it was taken by Timur Beg, or Tamerlane the Great, from Sultan Ahmed Ebn Weis, who abandoned his capital to the conqueror, and took refuge in the territories of the Greek Emperor; but who found means to regain the city in a short time, and to keep possession till the 803d of the Hegira, A. D. 14.00. It was then attacked a se cond time by Timur, and vigorously defended by Ahmed's governor Farruj. At the end of forty days, however, it was taken by assault, the inhabitants barbarously massacred, and the principal building levelled with the ground. From this period, it was alternately in the hands of Sultan Ahmed, of Abu bekr, grandson of Tamerlane, and of Kara Yuscf the Turkoman, till the year of the Hegira 815th, A. D. 1412, when it was completely secured by the last mentioned prince, and remained in the possession of his descendants, till the year of the Hegira 875th, A. D. 1470. It was then occupied by Usun Cassan, in whose family it continued till the 916th of the Hegira, A. D. 1510, when it was taken by Shah Ismael, surnamed Sofi ; and, for 120 years after, it was the object of perpetual contest between, the Turks and Persians.. In the year of the Hegira 1048th, A.D. 1638, it was besieged by Amurath, or Morad IV.; and though the Persian garrison, af ter a brave resistance, had procured an honourable capitulation, they were treacherously massacred, and the town given up to pillage by the cruel conqueror.
From this period Bagdad has greatly declined in extent and magnificence; but is still a place of great concourse, of considerable trade, and of more wealth than any other city in the world of the same size. It is the resort of great numbers of traders and tra vellers, who pass into Persia from Natolia, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. It is visited 'from a principle of religion, by multitudes of devout Mussulmen, who imagine that Ali once resided in the city. All the pilgrims also who go to Mecca by land, must pass through Bagdad, and pay to the Basha a kind of tax or toll, of four piastres. The professed religion is the Mahommedan ; but the greater part of the peo pie are called Rahedis, a sect of heretics, who are pc ' culiarly strict in separating themselves from persons of a different religious persuasion, and who would not drink out of the same cup with a Christian, or a Jew, and scarcely even with an orthodox Mahome dan. Various sects of Christians, however, are to lerated in the city, of which the Nestorians are the most numerous. "'here are several Jays, who are con fined to a remote quarter of the town.. They are hated and continually insulted by the Turks, and live here, as in most other places, in a state of political degra dation and oppression. Many also repair hither an nually to visit the sepulchre of the prophet Ezekiel, which they suppose to be in the neighbourhood of the city.
The inhabitants of Bagdad are composed of Per sians, Armenians, Turks, Arabs, and Jews ; but their number has been estimated very variously at different times by different travellers. By Tavernier, in 1652, they were supposed not to exceed 15,000; and by an officer of the East India Company, in 1779, they were computed at 100,000. They are not, however, the vile slaves we imagine them, and which we consider as the invariable consequence of a despotic government; but are, on the contrary, proud, enterprising, active, and inclined to mutiny. The higher classes are civil and generous, and obliging to strangers, whom they always treat with regard and distinction. It is true the lower classes are the same as in all the other cities of Turkey, ignorant, rude, full of superstition and insolence, and enervated by debauchery and idleness.
• The form and fortifications of the city seem to have undergone little alteration ; and the different descrip tions which have been given of its appearance during the last 150 years are very much the same. It looks, at a distance, like a grove of trees; and stands in the midst of a very fertile soil, which is left almost en tirely destitute of cultivation, but which nevertheless produces all the European fruits and vegetables in their proper seasons, and in the greatest perfection. The city is in the form of an irregular oblong square, about 1500 paces long, 800 broad, and not above three miles in circuit. The walls are built with brick, terrassed in several places on the top, strengthened with large towers like bastions, mounted with 60 pieces olcannon, of which the largest are five or six pounders, and surrounded by a wide ditch, about live or six fathoms in depth ; but these fortifications are very much broken down in several places, and the ordnance in such a decayed state, as to be scarce ly fit for service. There are four gates, one of which is on the side of the river ; and the entrance to the city in that quarter is by a bridge of boats, or rather pieces of timber fastened upon goat skins, which are blown like bladders. Near to one of these gates, on the north side, stands the castle or citadel, which has the command of the river, and which is planted with a number" of cannon, but is not capable of very much resistance. Some of the public buildings, the mosques, minarets, hummums, and the palace of the bashaw's lady, are built of hewn stone, and make a handsome appearance ; but there are neither pub lic schools, nor public libraries. The bazars, or mar kets, are very extensive, protected by arches from the excessive heat of the sun, divided into different streets, and filled with shops to the number of 1200, in `. which all kinds of merchandize are to be found. There are also to be seen the remains of several an cient edifices, of lofty structure and beautiful work manship ; especially a large khan, supposed to have been built about 850 years ago, and of which the bricks appear as fresh as if they had been newly made. " The houses," says a late traveller, " are generally large, built of brick and cement, and arched over ;. many of the windows are made of elegant glass ; the ceilings are mostly ornamented with a kind of chequered work, which has generally a noble appearance ; most of the houses have a court-yard before them, in the middle of which is a little plan tation of orange trees, &c. that has a very pleasing. effect." (Journeyfront Bassora to Bagdad in 1779; p. 46.) In the months of June, July, and August, (we are informed by the same traveller, as well as by Tavernier,) the weather is so extremely hot, that the inhabitants arc obliged to live in subterraneous apart ments, or at least to sleep upon the terrasses of their . houses. The Samiel rages here from the beginning of July to the middle of August, but is neither of such a pestilential quality, nor followed by those fa, tal accidents which often attend it in the desert., (See ARABIA, VOL. ii. p. 275.) The women of Bag • dad are very richly habited; and are loaded with jewels and rings, both at their ears and nose. Ex cept they be very poor, they never go out but ors horseback ; and• on these occasions, it is said, the courtezans are distinguished by putting their feet in to the stirrups, while others use only the leathers.