Ch.XXVI, p.599, f.3
"In the morning, the king went out for a horseback ride. Before him, as
usual, went equerries carrying long lances, grooms leading horses with
embroidered saddle cloths, and a group of nomad riders with their rifles
slung over the shoulder and their swords hanging from their saddles. This
vanguard preceded the king in order that he might not be annoyed by the
dust raised by the cavalry, and the king followed along slowly, a little
distance from the retinue of the great lords, chiefs and officers who
accompanied him everywhere. He was near the palace and had barely passed
the small door of the garden of Muhammad-Hasan, Sanduq-dar or treasurer of
the Savings, when he noticed, at the side of the road, three men, three
gardeners, standing two on the left, and one on the right side, seemingly
waiting for him. He did not suspect danger and rode on. When quite close,
he saw them bow very low and he heard them cry out together, `We are your
sacrifice! We make a request.' This is the traditional formula, but
instead of remaining aloof as is customary, they rushed on him repeating,
`We make a request!' Surprised, the king shouted, `Rascals, what do you
want?' At that moment, the man on his right took hold of the bridle of
the horse and fired upon the king. In the meantime, the two men on the
left fired also. One of the shots cut the collar of pearls adorning the
horse's neck, another riddled with buckshot the right arm and back of the
king. Immediately, the man on the right pulled on the leg of His Majesty
and would have unsaddled him, had it not been that the two assassins on the
left were pulling on the other side. The king was striking his assailants
on the head with his fists, while the jumping of the frightened horse
paralyzed their efforts and delayed their aggression. The royal retinue,
at first dumbfounded, hurried towards their master. Asadu'llah Khan, the
grand equerry, and one of the nomad riders killed the man on the right with
their swords. In the meantime, several lords threw down the other two men
and bound them.
"Doctor Cloquet, the court physician, had the king brought quickly into
the garden of Muhammad-Hasan, Sanduq-dar; as no one seemed to know what
had really happened, and those who sensed an imminent danger, had no idea
of what a catastrophe it might be. During more than an hour, a great
tumult reigned in the city of Niyavaran, while ministers headed by the
Sadr-i-A'zam rushed into the garden. The bugles, the drums, the
tambourines and the fifes were calling the troops together; the ghulams
came riding at full speed; everyone was giving orders, no one saw, heard or
knew anything. In the midst of this confusion a courier arrived from
Tihran, sent by Ardishir Mirza, governor of the city, to enquire what
had happened and what measures should be taken in the capital, for, on the
previous evening, the rumor had grown into a certainty that the king had
been assassinated. The bazaars, policed by men in arms, had been deserted
by the merchants. All night long, bakeries had been surrounded, everyone
trying to store up provisions for several days, as people do when they
foresee trouble.
"At dawn, as the agitation grew, Ardishir Mirza had ordered the gates
of the citadel of the town closed, put the regiment on a war footing, and
pointed his guns, although he did not know who the enemy was; and now he
was asking for orders." (Comte de Gobineau's "Les Religions et les
Philosophies dans l'Asie Centrale," pp. 231-233.)