‘GAZETTEER OF PERSIA VOL. I Comprising the Provinces of ASTARÁBÁD, SHÁHRUD-BÚSTAN, KHÚRÁSÁN, AND SÍSTÁN’ [‎267r] (540/722)

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fourth, the ‘ kalantar/ who, besides the real governor, resides in every city,
town, and village, and superintends the collection of the tribute; fifth, the
‘ kadkhuda/ who is the chief of a village; sixth, the f pakkar who is
servant, or hommes d’affaires to the kadkhuda, and who transacts business
Avith the raiyat or peasant. The pakkar accounts with the kadkhuda ;
and he, again, with the kalantar.
“ The kalantar is a man of consequence wherever he presides. He is an
officer of the crown, and once a year appears before the royal presence—an
honour which is not permitted to the kadkhuda. He also receives wages
from the king’s treasury, which the kadkhuda does not. The kalantar is the
medium through which the wishes and wants of the people are made known
to the king : he is their chief representative on all occasions, and brings
forward the complaints of the raiyats wheneA^er they feel oppressed. He
also knows the resources of every raiyat, and his means of rendering the
annual tribute. He, therefore, regulates the quota that eA T ery man must
pay; and if his seal be not fixed to the documents which the raiyat brings
forward in the time of the levy, the assessment is not valid and the sum
cannot be received.
Army .—“The army of Persia comprises a considerable body of irregular
horse, furnished by the military tribes of the country and commanded by
their own chiefs ; a numerous irregular militia, raised and supported by the
provinces and principal cities of the empire, and a corps of infantry and
artillery, clothed and disciplined in the European manner.
“The irregular horse of modern Persia are the same kind of troops which
opposed the Romans; and they have preserved not only the habits, but the
mode of fighting of their forefathers. As the men are robust and brave,
and their horses active and strong, there cannot be a cavalry more suited
for all the purposes of predatory warfare. The Persians assert that their
monarch can command a body of eighty thousand of this description of
troops, who perform military service in return for grants of land and liberty
of pasture. Every chief of a tribe is obliged to furnish a quota proportion
ate to the numbers of his followers. Each horseman receives provisions for
himself and horse when employed, and a small annual pay. dins class of
the army, unless there be a prospect of plunder, or their orvn chief is in
command, give their services very reluctantly. They are only obliged to
attend a few months in the year, and if not engaged in active hostilities,
always return home during the winter.
“ The monarch of Persia has constantly near his person a body of . hoise,
which are termed, as a distinction, his slaves, or royal guards. This favour
ite corps, which at present does not exceed three or four thousand men, is
formed promiscuously from Georgian slaves and the sons of the first nobles
of Persia. They are vyell-mounted and well-armed at the public expense;
and their pay is not only better than that of the other troops, but they are
employed on every service that is likely to add to their income..
“Almost all the population are armed ; and there is a militia m every part
of the country, which is equally formed from men of wandering tribes and
the inhabitants of cities and villages. The usual duties of this militia are
to defend their homes and to aid the police. They are maintained by the
province, town, or villages to which they belong, and are liable to be called
out on any emergency ; but when employed with the army or in distant
garrisons, they receive pay from government. The number of this registered
* Probably ‘‘pishkar.’