PERSI A. Boundaries.-N., Western Turkestan, the Caspian Sea, and Transcaucasia; W., Asiatic Turkey; S., Persian Gulf; E., Biluchistan and Afghanistan. Lat. 26° 27'-40° N.; lon. 44°61° E. Ispahan, the former capital, near the centre of the kingdom, is in the same latitude as the Bermudas, Madeira, Tripoli, Acre, Amritsir, and Nankin. Area and Population.-The area is estimated at 562,327 sq. m., and the population at 5,000,000. Persia is therefore six times the size of Great Britain, with only one-fourth its population. The population is believed to be steadily declining in numbers, owing to the ravages of the plague, the general absence of sanitary laws, and the results of polygamy. Surface. The central portion is an elevated plateau, about 3000 ft. high, and is traversed by mountain-ranges which in many places attain to the height of 7000 or 8000 ft. The Paropamisam Mts. (16,000 ft. high), and the Elburz (highest summit, the volcano of Demavend, 18, 464 ft.), form its northern frontier; while the southwestern and southern are formed by the Zagros Mts., and a chain running from them in a S. E. direction, parallel to the Tigris, skirting the Persian Gulf, and finally subsiding in the great plateau of the interior. Many fertile tracts exist in the W. portion of this elevated region, as also on the shores of the Caspian; but nearly all Eastern Persia is an irreclaimable salt desert, forming a part of that rainless and sterile zone which extends from the great African desert to the frontiers of the Chinese empire. Political Divisions.-Persia comprises the following thirteen provinces: ASTRABAD.-Astrabad 5 (Caspian). MAZANDERAN.-Saree 5, Balfrush 5, Amol 35 n. (Caspian). AZERBIJAN.-Tabriz 100 (Aji), Urumiah 25 n., Maragah 20 n., Dilman 15 n. (L. Urumiah), Khoi 30 (Kotura, affi. Kur). PERSIAN KURDISTAN.-Kermandshah 30, Sinna 25 (afl. Kizil Ouzan). LURISTAN.-Korumabad 5 (Koon, affl. Kerkhah). KHUZISTAN.-Shuster 8 (Karun), Dizful 15 (Dizful), Shus or Susa (Kerkhah). FARSISTAN.-Shiraz 25 (Rocknabad), Persepolis (Bundamir), Fasa 18, Darabjerd 20 (S. E. Shiraz), Bushire 18 (Persian Gulf). LARISTAN.—Lar 12 (S.E. Shiraz), Nackiloo (Persian Gulf). KERMAN.-Kerman 30 (E. L. Bakhtegan), Bumm, Neheemabad, Krook (S.E. Kerman). YEZD-Yezd 50 (140 miles N. Kerman). KHORASSAN.-Meshed 100 (Tejend), Nishapur 8 (W. of Meshed), Kabooshan 15 (Attruck). IRAK-AJEMI.-Teheran 80 n. (Kehveh), Kasbin 40 n. (KizilOuzan), Zenjan 15 (Zenjan), Hamadan 40 n. (Kara-su), Ispahan 60 (Zendarud), Khonsur 12 (N. W. Ispahan), Kashan 30, Koom 8 (S. W. Teheran). Descriptive Notes.-Astrabad, though admirably situated for commerce, has very little trade; it is so unhealthy as to be generally called "the city of the plague." Balfrush contains numerous bazaars and caravanserais, and has a large general trade. Resht, a well-built town, with extensive bazaars. Tabriz, surrounded by magnificent gardens, is the entrepôt of the trade between Persia, Russia, India, Constantinople, and the Black Sea. Urumiah claims to be the birthplace of Zoroaster. Maragah, noted for the cave-temples in its vicinity, and for its white marble, which, when cut thin, is capable of being employed as a substitute for window-glass. Khoi, one of the finest towns in Persia; here Shah Ismael totally defeated the Turks in 1514. Kermandshah, a prosperous town, with manufactures of carpets, swords, and muskets. Sinna, a romantic, flourishing town, in a deep, secluded valley, filled with orchards. Shuster was nearly depopulated by the plague in 1832. Shus (Susa), probably the Shushan of the Book of Daniel, is said to contain the bones of that prophet: here Alexander and his generals celebrated their nuptials with the Persian princesses, B.C. 325: in the extensive ruins around are found bricks and pottery with cuneiform inscriptions. Shiraz, at one time the capital of Persia, is the birthplace of the famous poets Saadi and Hafiz. Persepolis, the ancient capital of the Persian empire here Alexander the Great found immense riches on his journey eastward, B.C. 331, and at the end of a revel set fire to the palace with his own hand numerous tombs, cut out of the solid rock, are found in the adjoining mountains, and the ruins of the city are rich with inscriptions in the arrow-headed character. Murghab (Pasargada); here Cyrus the Great gained his decisive victory over Astyages, B.C. 559: the ruins contain numerous ancient remains, among which is the tomb of Cyrus. Bushire, more properly Abu-Shehr ("father of cities"), is the principal seaport of Persia on the Persian Gulf, and maintains an extensive trade with British India. Lar, formerly capital of an Arabian kingdom, has manufactures of arms, gunpowder, and cotton fabrics, and the finest bazaar in Persia. Nackiloo, a small town, busily engaged in the pearl-fishery. Kerman, carries on a trade in wool, which is celebrated for its fineness. Yezd, a fortified city, contains spacious bazaars, and has manufactures of silk, cotton, and woollen goods. Meshed, in a fertile plain, enclosed by strong walls, maintains an active trade with Bokhara, Herat, and other places. Here is a magnificent mausoleum of Imam Reza, and of the celebrated Haroun-al-Raschid, caliph of Bagdad, whose reign was the Augustan era of the Arabian dominions. He was contemporary with Charlemagne, and died in 809. Nishapur, celebrated for its turquoises, obtained from mines in the vicinity. Teheran, superseded Ispahan as the capital of Persia in 1798. It consists of splendid edifices and magnificent gardens, intermingled with wretched mud-built huts. In summer the heat is so intense that the Shah, and all who have the means, desert the city, and encamp on the plain of Sultania, about 150 miles to the N. W. of it. About 25 miles E. of Teheran are the extensive ruins of Rhagae, the capital of the Parthian kings, and the most important city in Media, the contemporary of Nineveh and Ecbat ana, and the birthplace of Haroun-al-Raschid. Kasbin, a large, fortified, and commercial city, 90 miles N. W. of Teheran, celebrated for its grapes and pistachio nuts. Hamadan, the ancient Ecbatana, at one time the capital of the Median kingdom, and afterwards the summer residence of the Persian and Parthian kings. It is the Achmetha of the Book of Ezra, and contains the reputed sepulchre of Esther and Mordecai. Ispahan (Aspadana), one of the most important cities in Persia, of which it was formerly the capital. Under Shah Abbas the Great, who died in 1627, it was one of the richest and most populous cities in Asia; but during the Afghan invasion in the eighteenth century its walls were destroyed, and the city reduced to a state of decay. It now presents a melancholy spectacle of deserted halls, ruined houses, and neglected gardens. It has numerous manufactures of woven fabrics, gold and silver wares, firearms, sword-blades, glass, earthenware, &c., which are exported to India and most parts of Western Asia. Kashan, a large town, with a royal palace and numerous manufactures. Islands.-Karak, N. W. of Bushire; Kishm or Kishma, and Ormuz, at the entrance of the Persian Gulf. Karak alone belongs to Persia, the others being subject to the Imam of Muscat. Karak is of coral formation, is very fertile, and has a pearlfishery on its N. coast. Kishm is the largest island in the Persian Gulf; is 70 m. long, with an average breadth of 12 m.; population 5000, who are chiefly Arabs. Ormuz is only a barren rock, but important as having been one of the richest commercial emporia in the East when in the possession of the Portuguese. On its N. coast is a town with a fort and a good harbour. This was once a large and splendid city, but its trade is now transferred to Gombroon. Seas, Bays, and Straits.-The Caspian Sea, forming a part of the N. frontier; Persian Gulf, and Gulf of Oman, between Persia and Arabia; Strait of Ormuz, connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Ormuz. Mountains. For the Elburz and Zagros ranges, see under "Surface;" and for the RIVER SYSTEM, under "Biluchistan." Lakes.—Urumiah in Azerbijan; Bakhtegan and Malluja in Far sistan. Lake Urumiah, 85 m. long and 25 m. broad, with water intensely salt, and incapable of supporting any of the higher forms of animal life, is famous for its zoophytes. Climate. The climate of Persia presents the greatest extremes of heat and cold. In the interior the summers are excessively hot and dry, and the winters rigorously cold. Scarcely any rain falls, and trees refuse to grow, except near watercourses fed by springs. N. of the Elburz Mountains the climate is almost tropical; a dry and rainy season regularly alternate; and vegetation presents a luxuriance not often seen in much lower latitudes. The district lying between the table-land and the Persian Gulf is burnt up in summer with a scorching heat. It is called the Duhtistan, and greatly resembles the Tehama of Arabia. The scarcity of water is, indeed, the greatest disadvantage under which Persia lies. Minerals. Copper in the N. provinces; lead in Fars and Kerman; rock-salt, coal, iron, naphtha, in many places. The most celebrated minerals of Persia are the turquoise or calaite, found at Nishapur, and the fine white marble of Maragah, so translucent as to be employed in windows. Botany. The interior is chiefly a desert, devoid of vegetation, except in the oases, where the date-tree attains unusual luxuriance. The principal forests are confined to the lowland region between the Caspian and the Elburz Mountains, where are found the oak, beech, elm, walnut, box, cypress, cedar, &c. Here also the orange, melon, pomegranate, cotton plant, mulberry, sugar-cane, and vine come to perfection. The grains raised are rice, barley, and wheat; and the principal other products are tobacco, opium, assafoetida, gum-ammoniac, and other drugs, with madder, gall-nuts, &c. Zoology.-Persia belongs zoologically to the Transition Province of continental Asia, a province which forms a connecting link between the three zoological kingdoms of the Old World (p. 57). Among the wild animals are the lion, leopard, bear, panther, wild-boar, tiger-cat, lynx, hyena, wolf, jackal, porcupine, and the booz or mountain goat. Domestic animals include most of the species common in Europe, with the camel and argali sheep. The horses are very superior, and, with cattle and sheep, compose the principal wealth of the wandering tribes. Ethnography.-The population is very mixed: that of the towns and settled districts is a race descended from Persians, Turks, Tartars, Georgians, Armenians, Arabs, and all the other nations who have at different periods held sway in the country. The Parsees, who appear to preserve more fully than the rest their purity of descent from the ancient Persians, are now nearly confined to the city of Yezd and some towns in Kerman. The nomadic tribes consist of Arabs in the S., Turcomans, Moguls, Ezbeks in the E. and N.E., and Kurds in the W. The settled tribes, who may be regarded as in general the descendants of the original inhabitants, are called Tajiks, and probably number abont 3,000,000; while the wandering population are designated Ilyats, and do not exceed 2,000,000. The Languages are as numerous as the races by whom the country is peopled, but those most predominant are the Persian and Turkish. The fatter prevails in the northern and western provinces; but even here the natives are also acquainted with Persian, which is invariably the vernacular of the Tajiks in all parts of the country. The origin of the Persian dates from the invasion of the Arabs in the seventh century. Prior to that period various idioms prevailed throughout the Persian empire, of which the principal were the Pehlvi, the Farsi or Parsi, and the Deri. The Pehlvi was closely allied to Chaldee, and was the dialect of Media; while the Parsi, together with its polished court-dialect the Deri, was the language of Persia proper. But the primitive type of the whole group is undoubtedly the Zend, a language closely allied to the Sanscrit. The Persian is remarkable for its softness and harmony, which admirably adapt it for the lighter forms of poetry; and it contains numerous works both in literature and science. Of the numerous poets who have adorned the language, Firdúsí, Ansarí, Anwarí, and especially Saadí and Háfiz, natives of Shiraz, are the best known to Europeans. In the department of history it contains many works which would do honour to any age or people, as those of Mirkhond, Tabarí, Abu-Said-Abdullah, and Mohammed Kásim Ferishtá. The works on ethics, theology, and jurisprudence are very numerous, and those on grammar are of a superior order. Religion.-The Tajiks are Mohammedans of the Sheah sect, who reject the authority of the first three caliphs. The Ilyats, on the contrary, are of the Sunnite sect: while the Parsees or Guebres are fire-worshippers. The Government is despotic: the sovereign, who is called the Shah, is assisted by a grand-vizier, who exercises control over the military and foreign departments; and by a lord high treasurer, who superintends the revenue and home arrangements. The chiefs of the nomadic tribes, who are called Sheiks, are nearly independent. The annual Revenue, which is chiefly derived from land and capitation taxes, custom duties, tribute from wandering tribes, &c., has been estimated at about £2,000,000 sterling. The Armed Force, which is very variable in amount, has been recently estimated at 105,000 men, many of whom have received European discipline. Manufactures and Commerce.-The principal manufactures are silk fabrics of all kinds (which, since 1863, have greatly fallen off, owing to disease among the silkworms), jewellery, attar of roses; and in the principal cities, shawls of goats' hair, carpets, felts, cotton cloths, cutlery, and arms, glass, pottery, leather, and saddlery. The commerce of Persia is extensive, notwithstanding the absence of roads. It is chiefly carried on with Russia by the Caspian; and with British India by way of the Persian Gulf. The chief exports are the native products already enumerated, together with copper wares, saffron, specie, skins, and sabres. Imports comprise indigo, calicoes, sugar, rhubarb, diamonds and other precious stones, from India, and a variety of manufactured goods from Europe. The annual value of exports and imports together amounts to about £4,000,000. The principal ports are Bushire and Gombroon on the Persian Gulf, and Enzeli, Balfrush, and Astrabad, on the Caspian. The maritime traffic on the Caspian is entirely in the hands of the Russians, while that of the Persian Gulf is shared in by the English and the Sultan of Muscat. AFGHANISTAN. Boundaries. · - N., Western Turkestan; W., Persia; S., Biluchistan; E., the Panjab, from which it is separated by the Suliman Mountains. Lat. 27° 50′-36° 30′ N.; lon. 61°-71° E. Kandahar, near the centre of the country, is nearly in the same latitude with Austin the capital of Texas, Savannah, Marocco, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Lahůr, and Shanghae. |