lying south-west of it, with its principal place Mashiz. In a
similar manner Mashiz was often, and is so now, called Bardshir. Another
old town sometimes confused with Bardshir was Sirjan or Shirjan, once more
important than Bardshir; it is spoken of as the capital of Kerman, of
Bardshir, and of Sardsir. Its name now exists only as that of a district,
with principal place S'aidabad. The history of Kerman, 'Agd-ul-'Ola,
plainly says Bardshir is the capital of Kerman, and from the description
of Bardshir there is no doubt of its having been the present town Kerman.
It is strange that Marco Polo does not give the name of the city. In
Assemanni's _Bibliotheca Orientalis_ Kuwashir and Bardashir are mentioned
as separate cities, the latter being probably the old Mashiz, which as
early as A.H. 582 (A.D. 1186) is spoken of in the _History of Kerman_ as
an important town. The Nestorian bishop of the province Kerman, who stood
under the Metropolitan of Fars, resided at Hormuz." (_Houtum-Schindler_,
l.c. pp. 491-492.)

There does not seem any doubt as to the identity of Bardashir with the
present city of Kerman. (See _The Cities of Kirman in the time of
Hamd-Allah Mustawfi and Marco Polo_, by Guy le Strange, _Jour. R. As. Soc._
April, 1901, pp. 281, 290.) Hamd-Allah is the author of the Cosmography
known as the _Nuzhat-al-Kulub_ or "Heart's Delight." (Cf. Major Sykes'
_Persia_, chap. xvi., and the _Geographical Journal_ for February, 1902, p.
166.)--H. C.]

NOTE 2.--A MS. treatise on precious stones cited by Ouseley mentions
_Shebavek_ in Kerman as the site of a Turquoise mine. This is probably
_Shahr-i-Babek_, about 100 miles west of the city of Kerman, and not far
from _Parez_, where Abbott tells us there is a mine of these stones, now
abandoned. Goebel, one of Khanikoff's party, found a deposit of turquoises
at Taft, near Yezd. (_Ouseley's Travels_, I. 211; _J. R. G. S._ XXVI.
63-65; _Khan. Mem._ 203.)

["The province Kerman is still rich in turquoises. The mines of Pariz or
Parez are at Chemen-i-mo-aspan, 16 miles from Pariz on the road to
Bahramabad (principal place of Rafsinjan), and opposite the village or
garden called God-i-Ahmer. These mines were worked up to a few years ago;
the turquoises were of a pale blue. Other turquoises are found in the
present Bardshir plain, and not far from Mashiz, on the slopes of the
Chehel tan mountain, opposite a hill called the Bear Hill (tal-i-Khers).
The Shehr-i-Babek turquoise mines