Jacob, the son of Assambei, on ascending the throne takes a wife of a wicked disposition, who, to raise her paramour to the throne, gives the king poison, which also causes her own death and that of her son. Jacob Patissa, as I have already mentioned, after the death of his father, made himself master of Tauris and Persia, and took for wife a daughter of the lord of San Mutra, who was of a lascivious disposition, and being enamoured of one of the principal lords of the court, sought wickedly to put her husband to death, that after his decease this lord might succeed to the throne. Then, having arranged a plan with her paramour for murdering Jacob, she prepared poison. The adulteress prepared a bath, as usual, with perfumes, knowing her husband’s habits, who, with his son of eight or nine years of age, entered the bath and remained from the twenty-second hour of the day, till sunset. When Jacob Sultan came out and entered the ladies’ seraglio, his wife, who had prepared a poisoned cup, knowing that Jacob was always accustomed to drink on coming out of the bath, came to meet him with a gold cup in which she had put the poison, appearing more friendly than usual. But he, seeing her face rather pale, became suspicious, as he had already seen some evil symptoms in her that day; but the wicked woman had dissimulated and excused herself so well, that he partly believed her, although his suspicions were not altogether cleared up. Therefore, when the lady came to meet him with such a pallid countenance holding the cup, Jacob commanded her to taste it first. The terrified woman could not refuse, and after she had drunk, her husband drank also, giving some to the little boy. This happened at the twenty-fourth hour of the day, and so noxious was the beverage, that by midnight they were all dead. The death of these three personages being announced the following day, all the great lords were thrown into consternation, and also the whole of Persia. Many of Jacob’s relatives seized different places, as you shall hear. After the death of Jacob Patissa, there being no other son of Assambei, the throne was seized by a lord, a relation of Jacob, named Julauer, who, although he reigned three years, did nothing of importance. To him succeeded a Baysingir,[411] who reigned two years. Rustan, a youth about twenty years of age, succeeded him and reigned seven years; in his time the father of the Sophi was killed, as the king himself was afterwards by the hands of a lord with the connivance of his own mother, with whom this lord, named Agmat,[412] was in love, who, after the death of Rustan, made himself king, and reigned five months. After Rustan’s murder his troops joined one of his captains, named Carabes, who lived at Van, and who, hearing of the king’s death and the succession, after biding his time, marched to Tauris, met this Agmat, and cut him to pieces. The kingdom now came to a youth named Aluan,[413] a relation of Ussun Cassano, who lived