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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: PER-PIG |
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PERSIS (mod. Fars, q.v.) , the south-western part of Iran
of Timur and his successors (see an account of the Zafarnama under PETIS DE LA CROIX) ; histories of sects and creeds, especially the famous Dabistan, or " School of Manners " (translated by Shea and Troyer, Paris 1843); and many local chronicles of Iran
and Turan. Next in importance to history rank geography, cosmography, and travels (for instance, the Nuzhat-ulieulub, by IIamdallah Mustaufi, who died in 1349, and the translations of Istakhri's and Kazvini's Arabic works), and the various tadhkiras or biographies of Sufis and poets, with selections in prose and verse, from the oldest of `Aufi (about 1220) to the last and largest of all, the Makhzan-ulghara'ib, or " Treasure of Marvellous Matters " (completed 1803), which contains bi sgraphies and specimens of more than 3000 poets. We pass over the well- stocked sections of philosophy, ethics and politics, of theology, law and Sufism, of mathematics and astronomy, of medicine (the oldest thesaurus of which is the " Treasure of the shah of Khwarizam," 1110), of Arabic, Persian and Turkish grammar and lexicography, and only cast a parting glance at the rich collection of old Indian folk-lore and fables preserved in the Persian version of Kalilah u Dimnah (see RUDAGI), of the Sindbad- in Greek and in the modern European languages. The natural be Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, rose in Yautiya, but was defeated features of Persis are described very exactly by Nearchus, the admiral of Alexander the Great (preserved by Arrian Indic. 40 and Strabo xv. 727). The country is divided into three parts, of very different character and climate: the coast is sandy and very hot, without much vegetation except date palms; it has no good harbours, and the climate is very unwholesome; the population is scanty. About 50 M. from the coast rise the chains of the mountains, through which some steep passes lead into the interior valleys (called Km)i7 IIepoLs, Strabo xv. 729), which lie about 5000 ft. above the sea. Here the climate is temperate, the country watered by many rivers and lakes, the soil fertile, the vegetation rich, the cattle numerous. These regions, which were thickly populated, form the real Persis of history. " This land Persis," says Darius, in an inscription at Persepolis, " which Ahuramazda has given to me, which is beautiful and rich in horses and men, according to the will of Ahuramazda and myself it trembles before no enemy." The third part is the north, which belongs to the central plateau, still much higher, and therefore rough and very cold in the winter. Towards the north-west it borders on the Median district of Paraetacene (about Isfahan); towards the north and north-east it soon passes into the great desert, of which only the oasis of Yezd (Isatichai in Ptolem. vi. 4, 2) is inhabitable. In the east, Persis proper is separated by a desert (Laristan) from the fertile province of Carmania (Kerman), a mountainous region inhabited by a Persian tribe. To Carmania belonged also the coast, with the islands and harbours of Hormuz and Bander Abbasi. In the west Persis borders on the mountains and plains of Elam or Susiana. For the ancient topography cf. Tomaschek, " Beitrage zur historischen Topographie von Persien," in Sitzungsber. der Wiener Akademie, phil. Cl. cii. cviii. cxxi. The Persians are not mentioned in history before the time of Cyrus; the attempt to identify them with, the Parsua, a district in the Zagros chains south of Lake Urmia, often mentioned by the Assyrians, is not tenable. The Parsua are perhaps the non-Arian tribe llapvwi in northern Media, Strabo xi. 508. Herodotus 1. 125, gives a list
The Persians of Cyrus (see PERSIA: Ancient History) were a vigorous race of husbandmen, living in a healthy climate, accustomed to hardship, brave and upright; many stories in Herodotus (especially ix. 122) point the contrast between their simple life and the effeminate nations of the civilized countries of Asia. They were firmly attached to the pure creed of Zoroaster (cf. Herod. i. 131 sqq. and the inscriptions of Darius).When Darius had killed the usurper Smerdis and gained the crown, a new usurper, Vahyazdata, who likewiae pretended to 1 To the Pateiskhoreis belongs the lance-bearer of Darius, " Gobryas (Gaubaruva) the Patishuvari," mentioned in his tomb-inscription; they occur also in an inscription of Esarhaddon as Patush-ara, eastwards of Media, in Choarene at the Caspian gates; the Kyrtii are the Kurds. in two battles by Darius's generals and put to death (Behistun inscription). Cyrus had built his capital with his palace and tomb, in Pasargadae (q.v.). Darius founded a new city about 30 M. farther south on the left bank of the Pulwar, near its confluence with the Kur, with a large terrace, on which his magnificent palace and that of his son Xerxes were built. As Pasargadae was named after the tribe in whose district it lay, so the new capital is by the Persians and Greeks simply called " the Persians "; later authors call it Persepolis (q.v.), " the Persian city." Another Persian palace lay in Taoke, near the coast (Strabo xv. 728; Arrian Ind. 39; Dionys. Perieg. 1069); Gabae, which Strabo mentions besides, is Isfahan in Paraetacene and belonged already to Media.Both in Persepolis and Pasargadae large masses of gold and silver from the tribute of the subject nations were treasured, as in Susa and Ecbatana. But Persis lies too far off from the centre of the Asiatic world to be the seat of government. Like Arabia and similar countries, it could exercise a great momentary influence in history and produce a sudden change throughout the world; but afterwards it would sink into local insignificance. So the Persian kings fixed their residence at Susa, which is always considered as the capital of the empire (therefore Aeschylus wrongly considers it as a Persian town and places the tomb of Darius here). After the reign of Xerxes, Persis and Persepolis became utterly neglected, in spite of occasional visits, and even the palaces of Persepolis remained in part unfinished. But the national feeling of the Persians remained strong. When Alexander had won the victory of Arbela
spring of 330) with strong resistance in Persia, where the satrap Ariobarzanes tried to stop his progress at the " Persian gates," the pass leading up to Persepolis. Here he set fire to the cedar
Alexander had planned to amalgamate the former rulers of the world with his Macedonians; but his death was followed by a Macedonian reaction. Peucestas, the new satrap of Persis, followed the example of Alexander, and thus gained a strong hold on his subjects (Diod. xix. 48); nor did Seleucus, to whom the dominion of the east ultimately passed (from 311 onwards), disdain the aid of the Persians; he is the only one among the Diadochi who retained his Persian wife, Apame, daughter of Spitamenes. At the same time Seleucus and his son Antiochus I. Soter
Seleucid Empire began to dissolve. While the central provinces, Media and northern Babylonia, were conquered by the Parthians, Mesene, Elymais and Persis made themselves independent. Persis never became a part of the empire of the Arsacids, although her kings recognized their supremacy when they were strong (Strabo xv. 728, 736). From the periplus of the Erythraean Sea 33-37 we learn that their authority extended over the shores of Carmania and the opposite coasts of Arabia. A Persian king, Artaxerxes, who was murdered by his brother Gosithros at the age of 93 years, is mentioned in a fragment of Isidore of Charax (Lucian, Macrobii, 1 s). Other names occur on their coins, the oldest of which are imitations of Seleucid coins, and were perhaps struck by local dynasts under their supremacy; most of the others show the king's head with the Persian tiara, and on the reverse a fire-altar with the adoring king before it, a standard (perhaps the famous banner of the smith Kavi, which became the standard of Iran under the Sassanids), and occasionally the figure of Ahuramazda; they were first explained by A. D. Mordtmann in Zeitschrift fur Numismatik, iii., iv. and vii.; cf. Grundriss der iranischen Philol. ii. 486 seq. The legends are in Aramaic characters and Persian (Pahlavi) language; among them occur Artaxerxes, Darius (from a dynast of this name the town Darabjird, " town of Darius," in eastern Persia seems to derive its name), Narses, Tiridates, Manocihr and others; the name Vahuburz seems to be identical with Oborzos, mentioned by Polyaenus 40, who put down a rebellion of 3000 settlers (Karoucoi) in Persis. From the traditions about Ardashir I. we know that at his time there were different petty kingdoms and usurpers in Persis; the principal dynasty is by Tabari called Bazrangi. The coins demonstrate that Hellenism had become quite extinct in Persis, while the old historical and mythical traditions and the Zoroastrian religion were supreme. There can be no doubt that at this time the true form of Zoroastrianism and the sacred writings were preserved only in Persis, whereas everywhere else (in Parthia
movement
The new capital of Persis was Istakhr on the Pulwar, about q m. above Persepolis, now Hajjiabad, where even the predecessors of Ardashir I. are said to have resided. It was a great city under the Sassanids, of which some ruins are extant. But it shared the fate of its predecessor; when the empire was founded the Sassanids could no longer remain in Persis but transferred their headquarters to Ctesiphon. (ED. M.) End of Article: PERSIS (mod. Fars, q.v.) If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
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