Sykes' History of Persia Vol 2 (pdf) - Heritage Institute

SHAH ABBAS THE GREAT 267
that he drank wine freely was but a trifling hindrance
to his reputation for exemplary piety,
Moslem ethics in
such matters being different from those of the West. 1
His Domestic Life. It is with revulsion that we are
forced to turn from the ^greatness of the Shah's public
achievements to the brutalities of his domesticJife. Yet
even here some allowance should be made for the position
of a sovereign of Persia whose ill-wishers would certainly
endeavour to make his heir the instrument of their
policy.
Briefly,
the facts to be recorded are these. Abbas
had_four sons, and when they grew np
he became jealous
pfL^h^ilL^-Qp-iilarity and his
regarded__their__adyisrs.._a
enemies. Whether he had good reason for his fears we
do not know. Safi Mirza^ his eldest ^ojy.w-as.-lh. Jirst
victim. The Shah was led to J^ejjevg that this prince,
who possessed the attractive
qualities of valour and
liberality, was__plntfifig against hi to avenge th.ft..Jau
executed. In order that he
might escape the odium of putting his popular son to
death, he apparently arranged- for him to b
a_j:ertain.Jlelibud Khan, who alleged,
that-he.
a,prJYJLte injury. Xhe._asj>assin took bast, or sanctuary, 2
in the Shah's stable, and was not only pardoned but
promoted to high nfflre. But remorse preyed on the
father's mind and, seeking in further cruelty
a strange
alleviation for his sufferings, he ordered the wretched
Behbud Khan to bring him the head of his own son.
The order was obeyed and the following dialogue ensued :
"
How dost thou feel ?
" asked the Shah.
" I am miserable,"
was the reply.
" Thou shouldst be happy," was the
Shah's rejoinder,
" for thou art ambitious, and now in
thy feelings thou art the peer of thy Sovereign." The
second son, tahmasp M^tf T--for-tu-nately -died- a natural
deathj but shortly after the murder of Safi Mirza the
y
two remaining sons became objects of their father's dreadful
jealousy. Khudabanda, the elder, had acquired much
1
In The Glory of the Shia fVorld, p. 139, the Persian point of view is given.
2 In Persia, Legations, Consulates, Shrines, Telegraph Offices, and Stables are
regarded as sanctuary. The bast in the British Legation is referred to in Chapter
LXXXII.