or Mosul, a large city of Turkey in Asia, and capital of a beglerbegate, stands on the west bank of the Tigris, in the latitude, according to Mr Ives's observation, of 36° 30' north. It is surrounded with stone walls, but has many of its streets lying waste. Tavernier speaks of it as a ruined place, with only two blind markets and a sorry castle; yet, he says, that it is much frequented by merchants, and that its bazaars commands 3000 men. There is a bridge of boats over the Tigris; and the city is a thoroughfare from Persia to Syria, which makes it a place of trade, and which is more augmented by a constant traffic from this place to Bagdad. The country on this side the river is sandy and barren; but on the opposite side it is exceedingly fruitful, yielding good crops of corn and fruit in abundance. Mr Ives says it was the best built city he had seen in Turkey; but had nothing in it to attract the notice of an European. It was besieged for near six months by Nadir Shah without success. Breaches were frequently made in the walls, and assaults continued for three days unsuccessfully; but the assailants were constantly repulsed, and the breaches made in the daytime repaired during the night. The besieged had unanimously resolved to die rather than to submit. The Turks declared, that should the place be forced to surrender, they were determined to put to death all their wives and daughters first, that they might not fall into the vile hands of the abhorred Persians. The place was therefore defended with uncommon bravery; even the women and children exerted themselves with the greatest alacrity. The Christians behaved in such a manner as to gain the esteem and admiration of the other inhabitants; and some of their churches being demolished, they were afterwards repaired at the expense of government.

In this city there are a great many mosques, the largest and most flatly of which is ornamented on the top with green tiles. At the doors of these houses there are usually inscriptions in gilt letters, declaring the awfulness of the building, as being the house of God. One of them has a minaret which bends like those of Bagdad. Some of the most bigoted Turks say, that Mahomet saluted this minaret as he passed; on which it bent its head in reverence to the prophet, and ever after continued in that situation. The manufacture of this city is muslin (muslin), which is made very strong and pretty fine. In the year 1757, this city and the country adjacent were visited by a dreadful famine, owing to the preceding hard winter, and innumerable multitudes of locusts, by which the fruits of the earth were destroyed. When Mr Ives was there in 1758, the country was comparatively depopulated. Almost all the brute creation had been destroyed for the subsistence of man. During the famine, the people had eaten dogs, and every kind of animal which is held in abhorrence at any other time, not sparing even their own children; and the dead bodies lay in the streets for want of people to bury them. Their fruit trees were also destroyed by the frost; so that when our author was there scarcely any fruit could be had. The neighbouring mountains afford silver mines; and they would yield much quicksilver if the Turks had either the skill or inclination to work them to advantage. Lanza says, that some time ago an Englishman who travelled through this country got two or three bottles of it, which he presented to the basha as a specimen of what might be done in that way; but no farther attempt was made. Here also are some lead mines, which supply as much of that metal as furnishes them with bullets and some necessary utensils.