The conflict between the successors of Selim I and Shah Ismail in Armenia continued with varying fortunes. But one of the notable misfortunes that befel the people was in the reign of Shah Abbas, a magnificent barbarian. He was one of the Shahs of the Suffavian dynasty, and was preparing for a conflict with the Turks in 1605. Pretending that he was afraid he might be compelled to cede the province which he had conquered to the enemy, he gave orders to his army to vacate immediately as many cities and towns as possible, burn them to ashes, and drive the inhabitants into Persia. Within a short time many a city and town lay in ashes, and the country was reduced to a fearful condition of desolation. Thousands sought refuge in mountains and caves. Some found a refuge but others were found by the enemy, and twenty-five thousand families--some before and some after this event--were led into captivity. This great host of captives was composed of the venerable patriarchs, bishops, priests, old men and women; children of all ages; mothers with their infants in their arms, baptizing them with their tears; gallant young men and beautiful maidens. These all were indiscriminately driven by the Persian soldiers to the banks of the Araxes, where rafts and galleys were in readiness to hasten their crossing the swift waters of the river. With the pretense that the enemy was pressing hard, they compelled many to hasten the crossing by swimming the river, many of them were carried in the current. Opposite Ispahan these captives were settled and built New Jula (some write Julfa). The Jula proper in Armenia was destroyed by Shah Abbas. The Persians were conquerors in this war: “Upon the sword being drawn the Persians rapidly recovered the provinces wrested from them by Selim and Solimon; and a large Turkish army was signally defeated August the 24th, 1605. Five pashas were slain; the same number were taken prisoners; and the victor continued to receive the heads of his enemies till midnight, when more than twenty thousand had been counted. Shah Abbas performed pilgrimages on foot to the shrines of Moslem saints, and swept their tombs. Yet while doing this he allowed a Roman Catholic convent to be established at Ispahan, stood godfather to the child of Sir Robert Shirley, and even formally received baptism--events to which the Jesuits ascribed his execrable triumphs.”[67] Sultan Amurath (Murath) IV marched, with a large army, against the Persians, and recovered the provinces of Armenia from the Persians. He then marched and laid siege to Baghdad which the Persians had taken. Ten thousand of the Persian garrison lost their lives during the siege; and twenty thousand more, being the whole number in the town, were massacred during and immediately after the capture. A few days afterwards an equal number of the inhabitants, who were Sheahs, were slaughtered by the triumphant Sonnees (1638).