sea coast. The houses, which were built on posts driven into the ground, were scattered in twos and threes all over the principality, and in case of civil war or invasion from without, the people retired into one or other of ten castles, placed in the midst of a forest so dense that it could only be penetrated by those who possessed the clue and who were unopposed from within.
Georgia is furnished by nature with everything that can contribute to render a population prosperous and happy. The climate is dry and very cold in winter, and if for a part of the summer the heat is excessive, a refuge from it may be found in the neighbouring mountains. The ground has to be artificially watered; but this element is abundantly supplied by the river Kur, the stream which gave his name to Cyrus, the conqueror of Persia. The earth when watered produces grain in abundance, and excellent fruit of almost every kind. Cattle and game abound in the country, and the river Kur and the Caspian Sea supply fish of fresh water and of the ocean. The vineyards of Khakheti yield the best wine of Asia, and at a price so moderate as to bring it within the reach of the poorest people. Such a country might well excite the cupidity of its powerful neighbours, and accordingly we find it passing under the protection of one of these after another. Shah Ismail of Persia compelled the Czar of Georgia to pay him tribute and to send him hostages. This tribute was continued to his son, Tahmasp; but after his death, the Georgians threw off the Persian yoke:[1] which, however, was soon again re-established, and was confirmed by Abbass the Great, who marched to Tiflis, and sent the Czar of Georgia a prisoner to Mazen-
- ↑ Chardin. Vol. ii. p. 49.
