Travels in the Mogul Empire (Bernier) 3.6.2

3.6.2

The Bazars through which he passed were all newly decorated, and the cavalry lining both sides of the way extended beyond a league. Many Omrahs, accompanied with instruments of music, attended the procession, and a salute of artillery was fired upon his entering the gate of the fortress, or royal palace. Aureng-Zebe welcomed him with the greatest politeness; manifested no displeasure at his making the salam in the Persian manner, and unhesitatingly received from his hands the letters of which he was the bearer; raising them, in token of peculiar respect, nearly to the crown of his head. An eunuch having assisted him to unseal the letters, the King perused the contents with a serious and solemn countenance, and then commanded that the ambassador should be clad, in his presence, with a vest of brocade, a turban, and a silken sash, embroidered with gold and silver, called a ser-apah, as I have before explained. This part of the ceremony over, the Persian was informed that the moment was come for the display of his presents; which consisted of five-and-twenty horses, as beautiful as I ever beheld, with housings of embroidered brocade; twenty highly bred camels, that might have been mistaken for small elephants, such was their size and strength; a considerable number of cases, containing excellent rose-water, and another sort of distilled water called Beidmichk, a cordial held in the highest estimation and very scarce; five or six carpets of extraordinary size and beauty;