This king uses many contrivances for promoting his pleasures, and for this keeps people on purpose; and those who do most for it are greatly rewarded. He also gives women slaves to the Sultans, that they may not be an expense to him, and when he orders them to be brought to him, they are ornamented with jewels and rich garments. Although, in the things mentioned, the great avarice of the king is plainly to be seen, I shall go on to give to your Excellencies some particulars which will make it more evident. This king sent to the East for Boscasinian cloth, and to Carassam for close velvets and other silken fabrics, and to Aleppo for woollen cloths, and from these stuffs he had clothes given as payment to the soldiers, at ten times their value. He will accept any sort of present, however small, nor does he always make one in return. As another instance, a soldier, in time of war, captured the son of a certain Orbech, one of the king’s greatest enemies, who has great power on the frontiers of Cinasari, and to whom the king is forced to give every year four hundred talleri, which in our coinage make eight thousand scudi, that he may not molest the caravans coming from India. Another soldier offered to give this soldier, for his prisoner, a village and a thousand scudi, but he would not give him up, and presented him instead to the king, hoping to obtain a greater reward; the king, however, only gave him a horse in exchange for a prisoner of such importance. He shows the greatest liberality in making provisions for people, by appointing them to places which are never paid, except by force of great obligations and presents. He gives up, as a favour, many kinds of tribute, and taxes, but for the most it is not so in reality, since after two or three years, he generally requires all the arrears at once, as he did at the time when I was at his Court, in the territory of Zutta, inhabited by Armenians, who were all exempted from tribute. He suddenly required all the arrears, which caused the ruin of these poor Christians. Sending the majordomo of Sultan Caiadar Mirisce,[699] lieutenant of the king, to collect these moneys, he required twenty-five loads of cloths and shawls in addition, as he is accustomed to change his garments fifty times a day, which are afterwards distributed to the people at ten times their value. And no one dares to show reluctance in taking these clothes, but rather to be grateful to be allowed to have them. [Sidenote: Very heavy tolls in Persia.] [Sidenote: Service of the king.] [Sidenote: Seraglio.]