Persia

PERSIA, a kingdom of western Asia, bounded on the N. by the Caspian Sea and the Russian Transcaucasian and Transcaspian territories, on the E. by Afghanistan and Baluchistan, on the S. by the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf, and on the W. by Turkish territory. Long before the Christian era the satrapies of Darius com.prehended roughly an immense range of territory, from the Mediterranean to the Indus and, from the Caucasian chain and Jaxartes to the Persian Gulf and Arabian Ocean. In the 17th and 18th centuries A.D. the conquests of Abbas and Nadir kept up these boundaries more or less on the east, but failed to secure them on the west, and were limited to the Caucasus and Oxus on the north. Persia of the present day is not only, in the matter of geographical definition, far from the vast empire of Sacred Writ and remote history, but it is not even the less extensive dominion of the Safawi kings and Nadir Shah. It may be said, however, to comprise now quite as much settled and consolidated territory as at any period of its political existence of which we can speak with authority.

Boundaries.The region of Ararat presents a good starting point for the definition of the western and northern frontiers of Persia. A line 20 m. in length from a point /, Western on the river Aras, in 39 45 N. and 44 40 E. to Frontier. Mt Ararat, in the south-westerly direction, divides Persia from Russia. Southwards from Mt Ararat the PersoTurkish frontier extends about 700 m. to the mouth of the Shatt el Arab in the Persian Gulf in 30 N. and 48 40 E., but is undefined with the exception of the western boundary of the little district of Kotur. A mixed commission was appointed in 1843 for the settlement of the Perso-Turkish frontier. The labors of this commission resulted in the Erzerum treaty of 1847, by which both powers abandoned some lands and agreed to appoint commissioners to define the frontier. The comrn missioners met in 1849, 1850 and 1851 at Bagdad and Muhamral without arriving at an.y result. In 1851 Lord Palmerstor proposed that the general line of frontier should be traced by thf agents of Turkey and Persia at Constantinople, assisted by th commissioners, in conformity with the treaty of Erzerum, leaving doubtful localities to be settled in future. The Russian government agreed to this proposal, and the work of surveying the country from Mt Ararat to the Persian Gulf was then undertaken. When this was done the preparation of a map, embracing territory 700 m. in length by 20 to 40 m. broad,

was put in hand, and this work lasted from November 1857 till March 1865, when the Porte was informed in May of that year that in the opinion of the mediating Powers, the future line of boundary between the respective dominions of the sultan and the shah was to be found within the limits traced o~i the map; that the two Mahommedan governments should themselves mark out the line; and that in the event of any differences arising between them in regard to any particular locality, the points in dispute should be referred to the decision of the governr~ients of England and 1~ussia. This boundary has remained unsettled, and disputes have frequently arisen between the Turkish and Persian governments with regard to their respective claims to land (Hertslet, Persian Treaties). In the autumn of 1907 Turkish troops occupied not only doubtful localities but also adjoining lands which were indisputably Persian territory. The want of a determined line of demarcation C 6O D - 1 - C - Longitude East 6c~ of GreenwIch J)

between the two countries may have political advantages, but is inconvenient to the geographer and most unfavourable tc the cause of order and good government.

From the point on the Aras River 20 m. north-east of Mt Ararat, the river forms the northern boundary down to 480 E. The frontier line then runs about 35 m. in a southeasterly direction through the Moghan steppe to Pilsowar on the Bulgharu River and then south with a bend to the west to the Astara River and the port of Astara in 3~ 27 N. and 48 53 E. From Astara eastwards the boundary is formed by the shore of the Caspian until it touches the Bay of Hassan Kul north of As arabad. East of the Caspian Sea and beginning at Has an Kuli Bay the river Atrek serves as the frontier as far as Chat. It then extends east and south-east to Serrakhs on the Tejen River in 36 40 N. and 6I 20 E. The distance from Mt Ararat to Serrakhs in a straight line is about 930 m. The frontier from Mt Ararat to Astara was defined by the treaty of Turkmanchai (Feb. 22, 1828), and a convention of the 8th of July 1893. The frontier east of the Caspian was defined by the Akhal-Khorasan Boundary Convention of the 21st of December 1881 and the frontier convention of the 8th of July 1893.

The eastern frontier extends from Serrakhs to near Gwetter on the Arabian Sea in 25 N. and 61 30 E., a distance of about 800 m. From Serrakhs to near Kuhsan the boundary Eastern .

Frontier. is formed by the Tejen River (called Han Rud, or river of Herat, in its upper course); it then. runs almost due south to the border of Seistan in 31 N., and then through Seistan follows the line fixed by Sir Frederick Goldsmids and Sir Henry McMahons commissions in 1872 and1903-1905to Kuh i Malik Siah. From this point to the sea the frontier separates Persian territory from British Baluchistan and runs south-east to Kuhak and then south-west to Gwetter. This last section was determined by Sir Frederick Goldsmids commission in 1871.

The southern boundary is the coast line of the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf from Gwetter to the mouth of the Shatt el Arab, a distance of about 870 m., comprised Southern ,

Frontier. between 48 40 E. and 61 30 E. The islands situated close to the northern shore of the Persian Gulf are Persian territory; they are, from east to west, Hormuz (Ormus), Larak, Kishm, Hengam, Furur, Kish (Kais), Hindarabi, Shaikh-Shuaib, Jebnin, Kharak, Kharaku (Khorgu).

PhysicoJ Geography.Modern Persia occupies the western and larger half of the great Iranian plateau which, rising to a height of from 4000 to 8000 ft. between the valleys of the Indus and Tigris, covers more than a million square miles. Taking the Kuren Dagh or Kopet Dagh to form the northern scarp of this plateau east of the Caspian, we find a prolongation of it in the highlands north of the political frontier on the Aras, and even in the Caucasus itself. On the north-west Persia is united by the highlands of Armenia to the mountains of Asia Minor; on the north-west the Paropamisus and Hindu Kush connect it with the Himalayas. The lines of boundary on the western and eastern faces are to be traced amid high ranges of mountains broken here and there by deserts and valleys. These ranges lie for the most part north-east and southeast, as do those in the interior, with a marked exception between Teheran and Bujnurd, and in Baluchistan, where they lie rather north-east and south-west, or, in the latter case, sometimes east and west. The real lowlands are the tracts near the sea-coast belonging to the forest-clad provinces of the Caspian in the north and the shores of the Persian Gulf below Basra and elsewhere. The Persians have no special names for the great ranges. Mountains and valleys are known only by local names which frequently cover but a few miles. Even the name Elburz, which European geographers apply to the chains and ranges that extend for a length of over 500 in. from Azerhaijan in the west to Khorasan in the east, stands with the Persians only for the 60 or 70 m. of mountains north and north-east of Teheran, including the cone of Demavend. The great central range, which extends, almost unbroken, for nearly 800 m. from Azerbaijan in the north-west to Baluchistan in the south-east, may aptly be called the Central Range. It has many peaks 9000 to 10,000 ft. in height, and some of its summits rise to an elevation of 11,000 ft. and near Kerman of nearly 13,000 ft. (Kuh-i-Jupar). The valleys and plains west of the Central Range, as for instance those of Mahallat, Joshekan, Isfahan, Sirjan, have an elevation of 5000 to 6500 ft.; those within the range, as Jasp, Ardahal, So, Pariz, are about 1000 ft. higher; and those east of it slope from an elevation of 5000 to 6000 ft. down to the depressions of the central plateau which, east of Kum, are not more than 2600 ft. and east of Kermgn 1500 to 1700 ft. above the sea-level. Some of the ranges west of the Central Range, which form the highlands of Kurdistan, Luristan, Bakhtiari and Fars, and are parallel to it, end near the Persian Gulf; others follow the Central Range, and take a direction to the east at some point between Kermgn and the sea on the western frontier of Baluchistan. Some of these western ranges rise to considerable elevations; those forming the TurkoPersian frontier west of the lake of Urmia have peaks 11,000 ft. in height, while the Sahand, east of the lake and south of Tabniz, has an elevation of 12,000 ft. Farther south, the Takht-i-Bilkis, in the Afshar district, rises to 11,200 ft., the Elvend (ancient Orontes), near Hamadan, to 11,600. The Shuturun Kuh, south of Burujird, is over 11,000 ft. in height, the Shahan Kuh, Kuh-iGerra, Zardeh Kuh and Kuh-i-Karan (by some writers called Kuh-i-Rang), all in the Bakhtiari country west of Isfahan, are 12,800 to 13,000 ft. in height; and the Kuh-i-Dina (by some writers wrongly called Kuh-i-Dinar) has an elevation of over 14,000 ft. Still farther south, towards Kerman, there are several peaks (BidKhan, Lalehzar, Shah-Kuh, Jamal Bariz, &c.) which rise to an elevation of 13,000 ft. or more, and the Kuh-i-Hazar, south of Kermn, is 14,700 ft. in height. Beginning near Ardebil in Azerbaijan, where the cone of Savelan rises to an elevation of 15,792 ft. (Russian trigonometrical survey), and ending in Khorasan, the great Elburz range presents on its southern, or inward, face a more or less abrupt scarp rising above immense gravel slopes, and reaches in some of its summits a height of nearly 13,000 ft.; and the peak of Demavend, north-west of Teheran, has a height of at least 18,000 ft. There are several important ranges in Khorasan, and one of them, the Binalud, west of Meshed and north of Nishapur, has several peaks of 11,000 to 12,000 ft. in height. In south-eastern Persia the Kuhi-Basman, a dormant volcano, 11,000 to 12,000 ft. in height, in the Basman district, and the Kuh-i-Taftan, i.e. the hot or burning mountain (also called Kuh-i-Nushadar from the sal ammoniac, nushadar, found on its slopes), an active triple-peaked volcano in the Sarhad district and I2,681 ft. in height (Captain Jennings), are notable features.

Taking the area of Persia at 628,000 sq. m. the drainage may thus be distributed: (I) into the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf, 135,000 sq. m.; (2) into the Caspian, 100,000; (~) into irs the Seistan depression, 43,000; (4) into the Urmia Lake, 20,000; (5) into the interior of Persia, 330,000. The first district comprises most of the south-western provinces and the whole of the coast region as far east as Gwetter; the second relates to the tracts west, south and east of the southern part of the Caspian Sea. The tracts south of the Caspian are not more than 20 to 50 m. wide; those on the west widen out to a depth of 250 m., meeting the watershed of the Tigris on the one side and that of the Euphrates and Lake Van on the other, and embracing between the two the basin of Lake Urmia. On the east the watershed of the Caspian gradually increases in breadth, the foot of the scarp extending considerably to the north of the south-eastern angle of that sea, three degrees east of which it turns to the south-east, parallel to the axis of the Kopet Dagh. The third drainage area comprises Persian Seistan with part of the Helmund (Hilmend) basin and a considerable tract adjoining it on the west. The fourth is a comparatively small area on the western frontier containing the basin of Lake Urmia, shut off from the rest of the inland drainage, and the fifth area takes in a part of Baluchistan, most of Kermgn, a part of Fars, all Yezd, Isfahan, Kashan, Kum, Irak, Khamseh, Kazvin, Teheran, Samnan, Damghan, Shahrud, Khorasan and the central desert regions.

Four rivers belonging essentially to Persia, in reference to the Caspian watershed, are the Seafid Rud or Kizil Uzain on the southwest, the Herhaz on the south and the Gurgan and Atrek at the south-eastern corner of that inland sea. The Seafid Rud rises in Persian Kurdistan in about 35 50 N. and 46 45 E., a few miles from Senendij. It has a very tortuous course of nearly 500 m., for the distance from its source to the Caspian, 57 m. east of Resht, is only 210 m. in a straight line. The Kizil Uzain takes up some important affluents and is called Seafid Rud from the point where it breaks through the Elburz to the sea, a distance of 70 m. It drains 25,000 to 30,000 sq. m. of the country. The Herhaz, though not important in length of course or drainage, also, like the Seafid Rud, breaks through the Elburz range from the inner southern scarp to the north. It rises on the slopes of the Kasil Kuh, a peak 12,000 ft. in height within the Elburz, and about 25 m. north of Teheran, flows easterly through the Lar plateau, where it is known as the Lar River, and takes up several affluents; turns to the northeast at the foot of Demavend, leaving that mountain to the left, and flows due north past Amol to the Caspian. Its length is about 120 m. The Gurgan rises on the Armutlu plateau in Khorasan east of Astarabad, and enters the Caspian in 37 4 N., northwest of Astarabad, after a course of about 200 m. The Atrek rises a few miles from Kuchan and enters the Caspian at the Bay of Hassan Kuli in 37 21 N., after a course of about 300 m. From the sea to the Russian frontier post of Chat the river forms the frontier between Persia and the Russian Transcaspian region.

The drainage of the rivers which have no outlet to the sea and form inland lakes and swamps (kav-ir) may be estimated at 350,000 sq. m., including the drainage of Lake Urmia, which is about 20,000 sq. m. Fourteen rivers flow into the lake: the Aji Chai, Safi Chai, Mundi Chai and Jaghatu from the east, the Tatau (Tatava) from the south, and nine smaller rivers from the west. During heavy rains and when the snows on the hills melt, thousands of streams flow from all directions into the innumerable depressions of inner Persia, or help to swell the perennial rivers which have no outlet to the sea. These latter are few in number, and some of them barely suffice for purposes of agricultural irrigation, and in summer dwindle down to small nills. The perennial streams which help to form the kavirs (salt swamps) east of Kum and Kashan are the Hableh-nud. nisine east of Demavend. the Tairud.

rising north of Teheran, the Kend and Kerej rivers, rising nrthwest of Teheran, the Shureh-rud (also called Abhar-rud), rising near Sultanieh on the road between Kazvin and Tabriz, and the Kara-su, which rises near Hamadan and is joined by the Zarinrud (also known as Do-ab), the Reza Chai (also called Mazdakanrud), the Jehrud River and the Kum-rud. The river of Isfahan, Zendeh-rud, i.e. the great river (from Persian zendeh to the bearing of the axes of the great mountain chains. A dry and warm wind comes down from the snowy Elburz to Gilan in December and January, and much resembles the fhn of the Alps (Dr Tholozan, Sur les vents du Nord de la Perse et sur le foehn du Guilan, Corn pies rendus, Acad. d. Sciences, March 1882).

Station. Lat. N. Long. Alti- ~ Year. Au tude. ,i, Feet. Years.

Lenkoran. 3846 485f 60 283/4 4682 Supan.1

Resht -. 37 17 49 35 50 2 56.45 British Ashurada - 36 54 53 55 80 19 17.17 Supan.i Astarabad - 36 51 54 25 40 7 I6~28 Symons Meshed -. 36 17 59 36 3180 9 933 British Quetta - - 30 II 673 5500 19 10.09 Supan.1

Kalat.. - 28 53 66 28 6500.15 8.98 ,,

Maskat - - 23 29 58 33 3 6f~

Jask -. - 25 39 57 46 10 3.24 English Bushire.. 2859 50049~ 19 13.36 Supan.

Isfahan. - 32 37 51 40 5370 7 544 English TeherAn - 3541 5I2~ 3810 15 9.86 Thewr, Urmia (Sair). 37 28 45 8 6225 I 21.51 Syrnons Bagdad. - 33 19 44 26 7 10.59 Supan.1

Merv - 37 35 61 50 700 1 6.36 Symon~

Observations for temperature have been taken for many years at the stations of the Indo-European Telegraph and for a few years at the British consulate in Meshed, and the monthly and annual means shown in the following table have been derived from the indications of maximum and minimum thermometers in degrees Fahrenheit.

Station. Jan. Feb. Mar. April. May. June. July Meshed.. - 32 34 49 59 68 76 ~8

TeherAn -. 38 38 48 51 7! 8i 84

Tabriz -. - 17 25 39 54 63 74 79

Kashan.. - 35 36 43 o 74 83 90

1sf ahan -.. Abadeh -. - 41 41 47 56 68 75 79

Dehbid. - - 27 30 38 45 57 65 69

Shiraz.. - 48 47 55 63 73 80 85

Kazerund -. 51 50 52 67 84 93 95

Borazjuan1f - - 55 57 66 80 94 97 I0(

Bushire. - - 58 60 65 74 82 86 90

Very few hygrometrical observations have been taken, and only those of the British residency at Bushire are more or less trustworthy, and have been regularly registered for a number of years. In inner Persia the air is exceptionally dry, and in many districts polished steel may be exposed in the open during a great part of the year without becoming tarnished. Along the shores of the Caspian, particularly in Gilan and Mazandaran, and of the Persian Gulf from the mouth of the Shatt el Arab down to Bander Abbasi, the air during a great part of the year contains much moisturedry- and wet-bulb thermometers at times indicating the same temperatureand at nights there are heavy falls of dew. In Gilan and Mazandaran the air contains much moisture up to considerable elevations and as far as 30 to 40 m. away from the sea; but along the Persian Gulf, where vegetation is very scanty, stations only a few miles away from the coast and not more than 20 or 30 ft. above the sea-level have a comparatively dry climate.

1 Dr A. Supan, Die Vertheilung des Niederschlags auf der festen Erdoberflnche, Pet. Mitt., Suppl. 124 (1898).

2 Consular report (Gilan, 1897).

Symonss Monthly Meteorological Mag. (Dec. 1893).

~ f8~~i~o7.

Observations taken at the telegraph stations, and kindly communicated by Mr R. C. Barker, C.I.E., director of the IndoEuropean Telegraph Department in Persia. Those for Isfahan are during the years 1900-1907.

38 5 N.; 46 18 E.; altitude 4423 ft.

34 ,,; 51 27 ,,; ,, 3190

31 18 ,,; 52 38 ,,; ,, 6200 ,,

30 37 ,,; 53 10 ,,; ,, 8o00

10 29 37 ,,; 52 32 ,,; ,, 5000

n 29 37 ,,; 51 43 ,,; ,, 2800

12 29 15 ,,; 51 3 ,,; ,, 100 ..

Frequently when the temperature in the shade at Bushire is not more than 85 or 90, and the great humidity of the air causes much bodily discomfort, life is almost pleasant 12 or 20 m. inland with a temperature of over ioo.

Fauna.Mr W. T. Blanford has described with great care and minuteness the zoology of Persia. In company with Major St John, R.E., he made a large collection of the vertebrate fauna in a journey from Gwetter to Tehergn in 1872. Having added to this a previous;hority. collection made by the same officer with the assist ance of a native from Calcutta, he had before him the principal materials for his work. Before com mencing his analysis he adverted to his prede cessors in the same field, i.e. Gmelin (whose travels were published in 1774-1784), Olivier (1807), Pallas (181i),Mntries (1832), Belanger (1834), Eichwald ..onsul.2 (1834-1841), AucherEloy (185,), Loftus, Count Key serling, Kokschy, Chesney, the Hon. C. Murray, De Filippi (1865), Home (1873), and Professor Strauch onsul.4 of St Petersburg. All of these had, more or less, contributed something to the knowledge of the subject, whether as writers or as collectors, or in both capacities, and to all the due meed of credit was Telegraph.5 assigned. Blanford divided Persia into five zoological provinces: (1) the Persian plateau, or from the Kopet Telegraph.5 Dagh southwards to nearly 28 N. lat., including all ter. Khorasan to the Perso-Afghan border, its western limit being indicated by a long line to the northwest from near Shiraz, taking in the whole upper country to the Russian frontier and the Elburz; (2) the provinces south and south-west of the Caspian; (3) a narrow strip of wooded country south-west of the Zagros range, from the Diyala River in Turkey in Asia to Shiraz; (4) the Persian side of the Shatt-el-Arab, and Aralictan, east of the Tigris; and (5) the shores of the Persian Gulf and Baluchistan. The fauna of the Persian plateau he described as Palaearctic, with a great prevalence of desert forms; or, perhaps more correctly, Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Year. ~ a 70 67 55 48 40 56.3 91 15 76

81 73 64 53 43 60.4 III 3 108

81 73 62 48 34 54.1 99 iS 117

85 77 68 53 42 62.2 ii~ 9 104

58.o 106 3 109

75 7! 59 55 46 595 96 14 82

65 61 52 43 36 49O 91 19 110

8i 76 67 55 49 65.o 113 21 92

94 87 79 70 56 73~2 110 36 74

99 92 83 72 64 8o~o 117 48 69

90 87 8o 71 62 75.4 109 41 68

as being of the desert type with Palaearctic species in the more fertile regions. In the Caspian provinces he found the fauna, on the whole, Palaearctic also, most of the animals being identical with those of south-eastern Europe. But some were essentially indigenous, and he observed a singular character given to the fauna by the presence of certain Eastern forms, unknown in other parts of Persia, such as the tiger, a remarkable deer of the IndoMalayan group, allied to Cervus axis, and a pit viper (Halys). Including the oak-forests of Shiraz with the wooded slopes of the Zagros, he found in his third division that, however little known was the tract, it appeared to contain, like the second, a Palaearctic fauna with a few peculiar species. As to Persian Mesopotamia, he considered its fauna to belong to the same Palaearctic region as Syria, but could scarcely speak with confidence on its characteristic forms. The fifth and last division, Baluchistan and the shores of the Persian Gulf, presented, however, in the animals common to the Persian highland for the most part desert types, whilst the characteristic Palaearctic species almost entirely disappear, their place being taken by Indian or Indo-African forms. The Persian Gulf Arab, though not equal to the pure Arabian, is a very serviceable animal, and has always a value in the Indian market. Among others the wandering Turkish tribes in Fars have the credit of possessing good steeds. The Turkoman horse of Khorasan and the Atak is a large, bony and clumsy-looking quadruped, with marvellous power and endurance. Colonel C. H. Stewart stated that the Khorasan camel is celebrated for its size and strength, that it has very long hair, and bears cold and exposure far better than the ordinary Arabian or Persian camel, and that, while the ordinary Persian camel only carries a load of some 320 lb and an Indian camel one of some 400 Ib, the Khorasan camel will carry from 600 to 700 lb. The best animals, he notes, are a cross between the Bactrian or two-humped and the Arabian or one-humped camel, Sheep, goats, dogs and cats are good of their kind; but not all the last are the beautiful creatures which, bearing the name of the country, have arrived at such distinction in Europe. Nor are these to be obtained, as supposed, at Angora in Asia Minor. Van or Isfahan is a more likely habitat. The cat at the first place, called by the Turks Van kedisi, has a certain local reputation. Among the wild animals are the lion, tiger, leopard, lynx, brown bear, hyena, hog, badger, porcupine, pole-cat, weasel, marten, wolf, jackal, fox, hare, wild ass, wild sheep, wild cat, mountaingoat, gazelle and deer. The tiger is peculiar to the Caspian provinces. Lovett says they are plentiful in Astrabad; he measured two specimens, one 10 ft. 8 in., the other 8 ft. 10 in. from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail. Lynxes and bears were to be found in the same vicinity, and the wild pig was both numerous and destructive.

According to Blanford there are about four hundred known species of birds in Persia. The game birds have admirable representatives in the pheasant, karkavul (Phasianus coichicus, L.); snowcock or royal partridge, kebk-i-dari (Tetraogallus Caspius, Gmel.); black partridge, durraj (Francolinus vulgaris, Steph.); red-legged partridge, kebk (Caccabis chukar, Gray); sandpartridge or seesee, tihu (Ammoperdix bonhami, Gray); Indian ~rey partridge, jirufti (Ortygornis ponticerianus, Gmel.); quail, belderjin (Coturnix communis, Bonn.); sandgrouse, siyahsineh (Plerocles arenarius, Pall.); bustard, hubareh (Otis tetrax, L. and 0. McQueenii, Gray); woodcock, snipe, pigeon, many kinds of goose, duck, &c. The flamingo comes up from the south as far north as the neighborhood of Teheran; the stork abounds. Poult7 is good and plentiful. A large kind of fowl known as Lan (from the province Lar, in southern Persia) is said to be a descendant of fowls brought to Persia by the Portuguese in the 16th century.

The fish principally caught along the southern shore of the Caspian are the sturgeon, sagmahi, dogfish (Acipenser ruihenus and A. huso); sheat-fish or silure, simm, summ (Silurus glanis); salmon, azad mahi (Salmo solar); trout, maseh (Salmo trutta); carp, kupur (Cyprinus ballerus and C. car pio); bream, subulu (Abramis brama); pike-perch, mahi safid(Perca lucsoperca or Lucioperca sandra). There is also a herring which frequents only the southern half of the Caspian, not passing over the shallow part of the sea which extends from Baku eastwards. As it was first observed near the mouth of the river Kur it has been named Cia pea Kurensis. Fish are scarce in inner Persia; salmon trout and mud-trout are plentiful in some of the mountain streams. Many underground canals are frequented by carp and roach. The silure has also been observed in some streams which flow into the ljrmia lake, and in Kurdistan.

Flora.ln the provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran and Astarabad on the Caspian, from the shore to an altitude of about 3000 ft. on the northern slopes of the great mountain range which separates those provinces from the highlands of Persia, the flora is similar to that of Grisebachs mediterranean region. At higher altitudes many forms of a more northern flora appear. As we approach inner Persia the flora rapidly makes place to steppe vegetation in the plains, while the mediterranean flora predominates in the hills. The steppe vegetation extends in the south to the outer range of the hills which separate inner Persia from the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. Beyond this outer range and along the shore of the sea the flora is that of the Sahara region, which extends eastwards to Sind.

Generally speaking, everywhere, excepting in the northern lowlands and in a few favored spots in the hilly districts, the vegetation is scanty. In inner Persia the hills and plains are bare of trees, and steppe and desert predominate. The date-palm thrives well as far north as Tabbas in latitude 33 36 and at an altitude of 2000 ft. and in the south extensive date-groves, producing excellent fruit, exist at altitudes of 2000 to 5000 ft. The olive is cultivated at Rudbar south of Resht in Gilan, and a few isolated olive-trees have been observed in central and southern Persia.

Of fruits the variety is great, and nearly all the fruits of Europe are well represented. The common, yet excellent melons, watermelons, grapes, apricots, cherries, plums, apples, are within the reach of the poorest. Less common and picked fruits are expensive, particularly so when cost of transport has to be considered; for instance, a good orange costs 2d. or 3d. in Teheran, while in Mazandaran (only 100 m. distant), whence the oranges are brought, it costs 1/8d. Some fruits are famous and vie in excellence with any that European orchards produce; such are the peaches of Tabri2 and Meshed, the sugar melons of Kashan and Isfahan, the apRIes of Demavend, pears of Natanz, figs of KermgnshAh, &c. Ihe strawberry was brought to Persia about 1859, and is much cultivated in the gardens of Teherfln and neighborhood; the raspberry was introduced at about the same time, but is not much apprecIated. Currants and gooseberries are now also grown. The common vegetables also are plentiful and cheap, but only a few, such a1 the broad-bean, egg-plant (Solanum melongena), onion, carrot, beetroot, black turnip, are appreciated by the natives, who gener. ally do not take kindly to newly-introduced varieties. The potato although successfully cultivated in Persia since about 1780, has not yet found favor, and the same may be said of the tomato, asparagus celery and others. Flowers are abundant, but it is only sinc~ ~hs h~o-in,,~no of Nssr M cm Shahs reign (18&81. when Eurooeal gardeners were employed in Persia, that they were rationally cultivated. Nearly all the European garden flowers, even the rarer ones, can now be seen not only in the parks and gardens of the rich and well-to-do but in many unpretentious courtyards with only a few square yards of surface.

Population.In 1881 the present writer estimated the population of Persia at 7,653,600; 1,963,800 urban, 3,780,000 rural and 1,909,800 wandering (Bevolkerung der Erde, p. 28; Ency. Brit. gth ed. p. 628); and, allowing for an increase of about 1% per annum the population for 1910 may be estimated at 10 millions. No statistics whatever being kept, nothing precise is known of the movement of the population. During the ninth decade of the 19th century many Persian subjects emigrated, and many Persian villages were deserted and fell to ruins; since then a small immigration has set in and new villages have been founded. Persians say that the females exceed the males by so to 20%, but wherever the present writer has been able to obtain trustworthy information he found the excess to be less than 2%. Of the deaths in any place the only check obtainable is from the public body-washers, but many corpses areburied without the aid of the public body-washers; and the population of the place not being accurately known, the number of deaths, however correct, is useless for statistical purposes. Medical men have stated that the number of deaths, in times when there are no epidemics, amounts to 59 or 20 per thousand, and the number of births to 25 to 40 per thousand.

The prices of the staple articles of food and all necessaries of life have risen considerably since 1880, and, particularly in the large cities, are now very high. As salaries and wages have not increased at the same rate, many of the upper classes and officials are not so well off as formerly. By dismissing their servants in order to reduce expenditure, they have thrown great numbers of men out of employment, while many laborers and workmen are living very poorly and often suffer want. Tradesmen are less affected, because they can sell the articles which they manufacture at values which are more in proportion with the increased prices of food. In 1880 a laborer earning 25 krans, or LI sterling a month, could afford to keep a family; by 1908, in krans, he earned double what he did in 1880, but his wage, expressed in sterling, was the same, and wherever the prices of food have risen more than his wages he could not afford to keep a family. In many districts and cities the number of births is therefore reduced, while at the ,same time the mortality, in consequence of bad and often insufficient food, is considerably increased.

The description of the Persian character by C. J. Wills, in his In I/ic Land of the Lion and Sun (1883), iS still worth quoting: The character of the Persian is that of an easy-going man with a wish to make things pleasant generally. He is hospitable, obliging, and specially well disposed to the foreigner. His home virtues are many: he is very kind and indulgent to his children and, as a son, his respect for both parents is excessive, developed in a greater degree to his father, in whose presence he will rarely sit, and whom he is in the habit of addressing and speaking of as master. The full stream of his love and reverence is reserved for his mother; he never leaves her to starve, and her wishes are laws to him. The mother is always the most important member of the household, and the grandmother is treated with veneration. The presence of the mother-in-law is coveted by their sons-in-law, who look on them as the guardians of the virtue of their wives. The paternal uncle is a much nearer tie than with us; while men look on their first cousins on the fathers side as their most natural wives.

Black slaves and men-nurses or lallahs are much respected; the dayah or wet nurse is looked on as a second mother and usually provided for for life. Persians are very kind to their servants; a master will often be addressed by his servant as his father, and the servant will protect his masters property as he would his own. A servant is invariably spoken to as bacha (child). The servants expect that their master will never allow them to be wronged. The slaves in Persia have a good time; well fed, well clothed, treated as spoiled children, given the lightest work, and often given in marriage to a favorite son or taken ar segah or concubine by the master himself, slaves have the certainty of a well-cared-for old age. They are looked on as confidential servants, are entrusted with large sums of money, and the conduct of the most important affairs; and seldom abuse their trust. The greatest punishment to an untrustworthy slave is tc give him his liberty and let him earn his living. They vary ir color and value: the Habashi or Abyssinian is the most valued the Suhali or Somali, next in blackness, is next in price; the Born bassi, or coal-black negro of the interior, being of much less price and usually only used as a cook. The prices of slaves in Shira are, a good Habashi girl of twelve to fourteen iso, a good Somal same age, half as much; while a Bombassi is to be got for 14, being chosen merely for physical strength. They are never sold, save on importation, though at times they are given away.. .. I have never seen a Persian unkind to his own horse or his slave, and when overtaken by poverty he will first sell his shirt, then his slave.

In commercial morality, a Persian merchant will compare not unfavourably with the European generally.. .. To the poor, Persians are unostentatiously generous; most of the rich have regular pensioners, old servants, or poor relations who live on their bounty; and though there are no workhouses, there are in ordinary times no deaths from starvation; and charity, though not organized, is general.. .. Procrastination is the attribute of all Persians, to-morrow being ever the answer to any proposition, and the to-morrow means indefinite delay. A great dislike is shown generally to a written contract binding the parties to a fixed date; and, as a rule, on breaking it the Persian always appeals for and expects delay and indefinite days of grace. .

Persians are clean in their persons, washing themselves and their garments frequently. The Persian always makes the best of his appearance; he is very neat in his dress, and is particular as to the sit of his hat and the cut of his coat. All Persians are fond of animals, and do not treat them badly when their own property.

Cruelty is not a Persian vice; torture and punishments of an unusual and painful nature being part of their judicial system. There are no vindictive punishments, such as a solitary confinement, penal servitude for long terms of years, &c. Seldom, indeed, is a man imprisoned more than twelve months, the rule being that there is a general jail delivery at the New Year. Royal clemency is frequently shown, often, perhaps, with want of judgment.

Costume.The costume of the Persians may be shortly described as fitted to their active habits. The men invariably, wear an onstarched shirt of cotton, sewn with white silk, often, particularly in the south of Persia, elaborately embroidered about the neck. It fastens in front by a flap, having two small buttons or knots at the left shoulder, and seldom comes below the hips. It has no collar, and the sleeves are loose. The lower orders often have it dyed blue; but the servant and upper classes always prefer a white shirt. Silk shirts are now seldom seen on men. Among the very religious during the mourning month (Muharram) the shirt is at times dyed black. The zir-jamah, or trousers,i are of cloth among the higher classes, particularly those of the military order, who affect a garment of a tightness approaching that worn by Europeans. The ordinary zir-jamah are of white, blue or red cotton, very loose, and are exactly similar to the pyjamas worn by Europeans in India. They are held up by a thin cord of red or green silk or cotton round the waist, and the laboring classes, when engaged in heavy or dirty work, or when running, generally tuck the end of these garments under the cord, which leaves their legs bare and free to the middle of the thigh. The amplitude of this part of his attire enables the Persian to sit without discomfort on his heels; chairs are only used by the rich, great or Europeanized. Over the shirt and zir-jamah comes the arkhalik, generally of quilted chintz or print, a closely-fitting garment, collarless, with tight sleeves to the elbow, whence, to the wrist, are a number of little metal buttons, fastened in winter, but not in summer. Above this is the kamarchin, a tunic of colored calico, cloth, Kashmir or Kermn shawl, silk, satin or velvet (gold embroidered, or otherwise), according to the time of the year and the purse and position of the wearer. This, like the arkhalik, is open in front, and shows the shirt. It sometimes has a small standing collar, and is double-breasted. It has a pocket-hole on either side, giving access to the pockets, which are always in the arkhalik, where also is the breast-pocket in which watch, money, jewels, and seals are kept. The length of the kamarchin denotes the class of the wearer. The military and official classes and the various servants wear it short, to the knee, while fops and sharpers wear it even shorter. Priests, merchants, villagers, especially about Shiraz, townsmen, shopkeepers, doctors and lawyers wear it very long, often nearly to the heels. Over the kamarchin is worn the kulijah, or coat. This is, as a rule, cast off in summer, save on formal occasions, and is often borne by a servant, or carried over the shoulder by the owner. It is of cloth, shawl or camel-hair cloth, and is lined with silk or cloth, flannel or fur. It has, like the Turkish frockcoat, a very loose sleeve, with many plaits behind. It has lapels, as with us, and is trimmed with gold lace, shawl or fur, or is worn quite plain. It has a roll collar and false pockets.

Besides these garments there are others: the long jubba, or cloth cloak, worn by mirzas (secretaries), government employs of high rank, as ministers, farmers of taxes, courtiers, physicians, priests; the abba, or camel-hair cloak of the Arab, worn by travellers, priests and horsemen; the pustin, or Afghan skincloak, used by travellers and the sick or aged; the nimtan, or common sheepskin jacket, with short sleeves, used by shopkeepers and the lower class of servants, grooms, &c., in winter; the yapanjah, or woollen Kurdish cloak, a kind of felt, having a shaggy side, of immense thickness, worn generally by shepherds, who use it as greatcoat, bed and bedding. There is also the felt coat of the Zir jamah are loose trousers and also drawers worn under the .shaivar, or tight trousers.

villager, very warm and inexpensive, the cost being from 5 to 15 krans (a kran = Iod.). The kamarband, or girdle, is also characteristic of class. It is made of muslin, shawl or cotton cloth among the priests, merchants, bazaar people, the secretary class and the more aged government employs. In it are carried, by literati and merchants, the pen-case and a roll of paper; its voluminous folds are used as pockets; by the bazaar people and villagers, porters and merchants servants, a small sheath knife is struck in it; while by farrashes, the carpet-spreader class, a large khanjar, or curved dagger, with a heavy ivory handle, is carried. The headgear is very distinctive. The turban worn by priests is generally white, consisting of many yards of muslin. When the wearers are saiyid of the Prophet, a green2 turban is worn, also a kamarband of green muslin, or shawl or cotton cloth. Merchants generally wear a turban of muslin embroidered in colors, or of a yellow pattern on straw-colored muslin, or of calico, or shawl. The distinctive mark of the courtier, military, and upper servant class is the belt, generally of black varnished leather with a brass clasp; princes and courtiers often replace this clasp by a huge round ornament of cut stones. The kulah, or hat, is of cloth or sheepskin on a frame of pasteboard. The fashions in hats change yearly. The Isfahan merchant and the Armenian at times wear the hat very tall. (The waist of the Persian is generally small, and he is very proud of his fine figure and broad shoulders.)

The hair is generally shaved at the crown, or the entire head is shaved, a kakul, or long thin lock, being sometimes left, often 2 ft. long, from the middle of the crown. This is to enable the prophet Mahomet to draw up the believer into paradise. The lower orders generally, have the hair over the temporal bone long, and brought in two long locks turning backwards behind the ear, termed zulf; the beaux and youths are constantly twisting and combing these. The rest of the head is shaven. Long hair, however, is going out of fashion in Persia, and the more civilized affect the cropped hair worn by Europeans, and even have a parting in it. The chin is never shaved, save by beauty men, or kashangs, though often clipped, while the moustache is usually left long. At forty a man generally lets his beard grow its full length, and cherishes it much; part of a Persians religious exercises is the combing of his beard. Socks, knitted principally at Isfahan, are worn; they are only about 2 in. long in the leg. The rich, however, wear them longer. They are of white cotton in summer and colored worsted in winter. Villagers only wear socks on state occasions. Shoes are of many patterns. The urussi, or Russian shoe is the most common; next, the kafsh or slipper of various kinds. The heel is folded down and remains so. The priests wear a peculiar heavy shoe, with an ivory or wooden lining at the heel. Green shoes of shagreen are common at Isfahan. Blacking is unknown to Persians generally. Boots are only used by horsemen, and are then worn much too large for ease. Those worn by couriers often come up the thigh. With boots are worn shaiwars, or baggy riding breeches, very loose, and tied by a string at the ankle; a sort of kilt is worn by couriers. Pocket-handkerchiefs are seldom used, save by the rich or the Tehernis. Most Persians wear a shah kulah, or night hat, a loose baggy cap of shawl or quilted material, often embroidered by the ladies.

Arms are usually carried only by tribesmen. The natives of the south of Persia and servants carry a kammah, or dirk. The soldiery, on or off duty, always carry one of these or their sidearms, sometimes both. They hack but never thrust with them. On the road the carrying of weapons is necessary.

The costume of the women has undergone considerable change in the last century. It is now, when carried to the extreme of fashion, highly indecent and must be very uncomfortable. The garment doing duty as a chemise is called a pirahan; it is, with the lower orders, of white or blue calico, and comes down to the middle of the thigh, leaving the leg nude. Among the upper classes it is frequently of silk. At Shiraz it is often of fine cotton, and elaborately ornamented with black embroidery. With the rich it is often of gauze, and much embroidered with gold thread,pearls, &c. The head is usually covered with a char-kadd, or large square of embroidered silk or cotton, folded so as to display the corners, and fastened under the chin by a brooch. It is often of considerable value, being of Kashmir shawl, embroidered gauze, &c. A jika, a jewelled feather-like ornament, is often worn at the side of the head, while the front hair, cut to a level with the mouth, is brought up in love-locks on either cheek. Beneath the, charkaddis generally a small kerchief of dark material, only the edge of which is visible. The ends of the char-kadd cover the shoulders, but the gauze pirahan is quite transparent. A profusion of jewellery is worn of the most solid description, none hollow; silver is worn only by the very poor, coral only by negresses. Necklaces and bracelets are much affected, and chains with scent-caskets attached, while the arms are covered with clanking glass bangles called alangu, some twenty even of these being on one arm. Jewelled bazubands, containing talismans, are often worn on the upper arm, while among the lower orders and south Persian or Arab women nose-rings are not uncommon, and bangles or anklets of beads.

1 Green turbans are now rarely seen; the color is generally dark blue, or black.

The face on important occasions is usually much painted, save by young ladies in the heyday of beauty. The color is very freely applied, the cheeks being as much raddled as a clowns, and the neck smeared with white, while the eyelashes are marked round with kuhi. This is supposed to be beneficial to the eyes, and almost every woman uses it. The eyebrows are widened and painted till they appear to meet, while sham moles or stars are painted on the chin and cheek; even spangles are stuck at times on the chin and forehead. Tattooing is common among the poor and in villages, and is seen among the upper classes. The hair, though generally hidden by the char-kadd, is at times exposed and plaited into innumerable little tails of great length, while a coquettish little skull-cap of embroidery, or shawl, or colored silk is worn. False hair is common. The Persian ladies hair is very luxuriant and never cut; it is nearly always dyed red with henna, or with indigo to a blue-black tinge; it is naturally a glossy black. Fair hair is not esteemed. Blue eyes are not uncommon, but brown ones are the rule. A full-moon face is much admired, and a dark complexion termed narnak (salt) is the highest native idea of beauty. Most Persian women are small, with tiny feet and hands. The figure is always lost after maternity, and no support of any kind is wOrn.

A very short jacket, of gay color, quite open in front, having tight sleeves with many metal buttons, is usually worn in summer, and a lined outer coat in cold weather. In winter a pair of very short white cotton socks are used, and tiny slippers with a high heel; in summer, in the house ladies go often barefoot. The rest of the costume is composed of the tumbun or shalvar, short skirts of great width, held by a running stringthe outer one being usually of silk, velvet, or Kashmir shawl, often trimmed with gold lace, or, among the poor, of loud-patterned chintz or print. Beneath are innumerable other garments of the same shape, varying in texture from silk and satin to print. The whole is very short, among the women of fashion extending only to the thigh. In winter an over-mantle like the kulijah, or coat of the man, with short sleeves, lined and trimmed with furs, is worn. Leg-coverings are now being introduced. In ancient days the Persian ladies always wore them, as may be seen by the pictures in the South l~ensington Museum. Then the two embroidered legs, now so fashionable as Persian embroideries (nalfsh), occupied a girl from childhood to marriage in making; they are all sewing in elaborate patterns of great beauty, worked on muslin in silk. The outdoor costume of the Persian women is quite another thing. Enveloped in a huge blue sheet, with a yard of linen as a veil perforated for two inches square with minute holes, the feet thrust into two huge bags of colored stuff, a wife is perfectly unrecognizable, even by her husband, when out of doors. The dress of all is the same; and, save in quality or costliness, the effect is similar.

As for the children, they are always when infants swaddled; when they can walk they are dressed as little men and women, and with the dress they generally ape the manners. It is a strange custom with the Persian ladies to dress little girls as boys, and little boys as girls, till they reach the age of seven or eight years; this is often done for fun, or on account of some vowoftenQr to avert the evil eye.

Towns.The principal cities of Persia with their populations as estimated in 1908 are: Teheran (280,000); Tabriz (200,000);

Isfahan (100,000); Meshed (8o,ooo); Kerman, Resht, Shiraz (6o,ooo); Barfurush, Kazvin, Yezd (5o,ooo); Hamadan, Kermnshah (40,000); Kashan, Khoi, Urmia (35,000); Birjend, Burujird, Bushire, Dizful, Kum, Senendij (Sinna), Zenjan (25,00o to 30,000); Amol, Ardebil, Ardistan, Astarabad, Abekuh, Barn, Bander, Abbasi, Bander Lingah, Damghan, Dilman, Istahbanat, Jahnim, Khunsar, Kumishah, Kuchan, Marand, Maragha, Nishapur, Sari, Sabzevar, Samnan, Shahrud, Shushter (1o,ooo to 20,000).

Political and Administrative Divisions.The empire of Persia, officially known as Mamalik i Mahruseh i Iran, the protected kingdoms of Persia, is divided into a number of provinces, which, when large, and containing important sub-provinces and districts, are called mamlikat, kingdom, when smaller, vilayat and ayalat, and are ruled by governors-general and governors appointed by and directly responsible to the Crown, These provinces are further divided into sub-provinces, vilayats districts, sub-districts and parishes, buluk, na/ziyeh, mahal, and towns, cities, parishes and villages, shehr, kassabeh, mahalleh diii, which are ruled by lieutenant-governors and other functionaries appointed by and responsible to the governors. Al] governors are called hakim, or hukmran, but those of largc provinces generally have the title of vali, and sometimes firman. firma. A governor of a small district is a zabit; a deputygovernor is called naib el Izukumeh, or naib el ayaleh; an administrative division is a kalamro, or hukumat. Until recently th~

principal governorships were conferred upon the shahs sons, brothers, uncles and other near relatives, but now many of them are held by men who have little if any connection with the royal family. Also, the governors are now, as a rule, resident in theii provinces instead of being absentees at the capital. There are also some small districts or dependencies generally held in fief, turyul, by princes or high functionaries who take the revenues in lieu of salaries, pensions, allowances, &c., and either themselves govern or appoint others to do so.

Every town. has a mayor, or chief magistrate, called beglerbegi, lord of lords, kalantar, the greater, and sometimes darogha, overseer, or chief of police; every ward or parish, niahalleh, of a town and every village has a head-man called ked khoda, house-lord. These officers are responsible to the governor for the collection of the taxes and the orderly state of their towns, parishes and villages. In the important provinces and subprovinces the governors are assisted by a man of experience, to whom the accounts and details of the government are entrusted. This person, called viziar, or paishkar, is often nominated by the shah, and his functions in the provincial government are similar to those of the grand vizir in. the central government, and corn. prise very extended administrative powers, including at times the command of the military forces in his province. Among the nomads a different system of titles prevails, the chiefs who are responsible for the taxes and the orderly conduct of their tribes and clans being known as ilklzani, ilbegi (both meaning tribe-lord, but the latter being considered an inferior title to the former), khan, rais, amir, mir, shaikh, tushmal, &c.

The governors and chiefs, excepting those possessing hereditary rights, are frequently changed; appointments are for one year only and are sometimes renewed, but it does not often occur that an official holds the same government for longer than that period, while it happens rarely that a province is governed by the same person for two or three years. This was not so formerly, when not infrequently an official, generally a near relation of the shah, held the same governorship for five, ten or even more years. The governorship of the province of Azerbaijan was an exception until the end of ioo, being always held by the Valiahd, heir apparent, or crown prince.

The political divisions of Persia, provinces, sub-provinces, districts, &c., ruled by, hakims number over 200 (cf. the statement in Noldekes Geschichte des Artachlir Edpakdn, after Alexanders death there were in Iran 240 local governors), but the administrative divisions, hukumat, or kalamro, with governors appointed by the Crown and responsible to it for the revenues, have been under fifty for sixty-five years or more. In 1840 there were twentynine administrative divisions, in 1868 twenty-two, in 1875 twentynine, in 1884 nineteen, in 1890 forty-six, and in 1908 thirty-five, as follows:

(a) Provinces I. Arabistan and Bakhtiari. 14. Kamseh.

2. Astarabad and Gurgan. 15; Khar.

3. Azerbaijan. 16. Khorasan.

4. Fars. 17. Kum.

5. Gerrus. 18. Kurdistan.

6. Gilan and Talish. 19. Luristan and Burujird.

7. Hamadafi. 20. Mazandaran.

8. Irak, Gulpaigan, Khunsar, 2!. Nehavend, Malayir and Kamereh, Kezzaz, Fera- Tusirkhan.

kan. 22. Savah.

9. Isfahan. 23. Samnan and Damghan.

10. Kashan. 24. Shahrud and Bostam.

II. Kazvin. 25. Teheran.

12. Kerman and Baluchistan. 26. Zerend and Bagdadi 13. Kermanshah. Shahsevens.

(b) Dependencies, or Fiefs :

1. Asadabad. 6. Natanz.

2. Demavend. 7.

3. Firuzkuh., 8. Tarom Ulia.

4. Josehekan. 9. Kharakan.

5. Kangaver.

Roads.With the exception of five short roads, having an aggre. gate length of less than 900 m., all the roads of the country are mere mule tracks, carriageable in the plains and during the dry season, but totally unfit for continuous wheeled traffic during all seasons, and in the hilly districts often so difficult ,as to cause mucF damage to goods and the animals carrying them. There are s few miles of roads in the immediate neighborhood of Teher~ii leading from the city to royal palaces, but not of any commercia importance. The five exceptions areS (I) ReshtKazvinTehern, 227 m.; (2) JulfaTabriz, 80 m.; (3) TeheranKum-Sultanabad, ifio m.; (4) MeshedKuchanAskabad, 150 m.; 30 of which are on Russian territory; (5) IsfahanAhvaz, 280 m. The first of these roads consists of two sections: ReshtKazvin, 135 m., and Kazvin Teheran, 92 m. The first section was constructed in1897-1899by a Russian company, in virtue of a concession which the Persian government granted in 1893; and the second section was constructed in1878-1879by the Persian government at a cost of about 20,000, ceded to the concessionnaire of the first section in 1896, and repaired and partly reconstructed by the Russian company in i8981899. Both sections were officially opened to traffic in August I899. The capital of the company is 3,200,000 roubles (~34i,33o), of which 1,700,000 is in shares taken by the public, and 1,500,000 in debentures taken by the Russian government, which also guarantees 5% on the shares. About two-thirds of the capital has been expended on construction. The companys income is derived from tolls levied on vehicles and animals using the road. These tolls were at first very high but were reduced by 15% in 1904, and by another io% in 19ci9. If all the trade between Russia and Teheran were to pass over this road, the tolls would no doubt pay a fair dividend on the capital, but much of it goes by way of the TeherAnMeshed--i-Sar route, which is much shorter and has no tolls. The second road, JulfaTabriz, 80 m., was constructed by the same Russian company in 1903. The third road, TeherflnKum Sultanabad, 160 m., also consists of two sections: the first, Teheran Kum, 92 m., the other, KumSultanabad, 68 rn. The first section was constructed by the Persian government in 1883 at a cost of about 12,000, purchased by the Imperial Bank of Persia in 1890 for 10,000, and reconstructed at a cost of about 45,000. The second section formed part of the Ahvaz road concession which was obtained by the Imperial Bank of Persia in 1890 with the object of connecting Teheran with Ahvaz on the Karun by a direct cart road via Sultanabad, Burujird, Khorremabad (Luristan), Dizful and Shushter. The concession was ceded to Messrs Lynch, of London, The Persian Road and Transport Company, in 1903. The fourth cart-road, MeshedAskabad, 120 m. to the Persian frontier, was constructed by the Persian government in1889-1892in accordance with art. v. of the Khorasan Boundary Convention between Russia and Persia of December I88f. The Persian section Cost 13,000. The fifth road, IsfahanAhvaz, 280 rn., is the old mule track provided with some bridges, and improved by freeing it of boulders and stones, &c., at a total cost of 5500. The concession for this road was obtained in 1897 by the Bakhtiari chiefs and ceded to Messrs Lynch, of London, who advanced the necessary capital at 6% interest and later formed the Persian Road and Transport Company. The road was opened for traffic in the autumn of 1900. The revenue is derived from tolls levied on animals passing with loads. The tolls collected in 1907 amounted to 3100.

Railways.Persia possesses only 8 m. of railway and 63/4 m. of tramway, both worked by a Belgian company. The railway consists of a single line, one-metre gauge, from Teheran to Shah-abdul-Azim, south of TeherAn, and of two branch lines which connect the main line with some limestone quarries in the hills south-east of the city. The tramway also is a single line of one-metre gauge, and runs through some of the principal streets of TeherAn. The length of the main railway line is 53/4 m., that of the branches 23/4. The main line was opened in 1888, the branches were constructed in 1893, and the tramway started in 1889. The capital now invested in this enterprise, and largely subscribed for by Russian capitalists, amounts to 320,000. There are also ordinary shares to the amount of 200,000 put down in the companys annual balance-sheets as of no value. The general opinion is that if Russian capitalists had not been interested in the enterprise the company would have liquidated long ago. (On railways in Persia, the many concessions granted by the Persian government, and only one having a result, ch. xviii. of Lord Curzons Persia enterprise, Lorinis La Persia economica Teheran-Meshed line (555 m.), however, is looked after by an English inspector and two English clerks at Meshed, and since 1885 the Indian government has allowed a sum not exceeding 20,000 rupees per annum for its maintenance; and the Meshed Seistan line, 523 m., is looked after by twelve Russian inspectors and clerks. The Persian lines are farmed out for 1,800,000 krans (about 36,000) per annum and no statistics are published. There are in all 131 stations. Statistics of the traffic on the Indo-European line are given in the administration reports of the Indo-European telegraph department, published by government, and from them the figures in the following table have been obtained:

Traffic over Lines Earnings in N r~ fit f th between adon ih~san~sof Government Dept.

Year o.2

- Number of a Total Messages p ~ ~. amount. ~ 0 transmitted. ~, i~ Rupees ~

i8871888 83,031 74 100 198,381.75

1892-1893 117,500 84 116 437,668 3.80

i8971898 146,988 106 45 758,172 6.57

1902-1903 178,250 III 155 589,571 4.50

1905-1906 211,003 113 157 774,368 5.39

f9o6--f907 259,355 108 149 458,559 3.09

Manufaclures, &c.The handbook on Persian art published by Colonel Murdoch Smith, RE., in 1876, with reference to the collection purchased and sent home by him for the Victoria and Albert Museum, has an instructive account of the more common manufactures of the country. They are classified under the respective heads of porcelain and earthenware, tiles, arms and armour, textile fabrics, needlework and embroidery, metal-work, wood carving and mosaic-painting, manuscripts, enamel, jewelry and musical instruments. Specimens of the greater number are not only to be procured in England, but are almost familiar to the ordinary Londoner. It need scarcely be said that tiles have rather increased in value than deteriorated in the eyes of the connoisseur, that the ornamentation of metal-work, wood carving and inlaying, gem and seal engraving, are exquisite of their kind, and that the carpets manufactured by skilled workmen, when left to themselves and their native patterns, are to a great extent unrivalled. Of the above-mentioned articles, carpets, shawls, woollen and cotton fabrics and silk stuffs are the more important. Carpets may be divided into three categories: (I) Kali, with a pile, and cut like plush; (2) gilim, smooth; (3) nimads, felts. Only the two first are exported. The Kali and its smaller sizes, called Kaiicheh (in Europe, rugs), are chiefly made in Ferahan, Sultanabad (Irak), Khorasan, Kurdistan, Karadagh, Yezd, Kerman, and among the nomad tribes of southern Persia. From the two first-mentioned localities, where a British firm has been established for many years, great quantities, valued in some years at 100,000, find their way to European and American markets, while rugs to the value of 30,000 per annum are exported from the Persian Gulf ports. Of the second kind, galim (used in Europe for curtains, hangings, and chair-covers), considerable quantities are exported from Shushter and Kurdistan. The value of the carpets exported during the year I9061907 was close upon 900,000, Turkey taking 613,300, Russia 196,700, United States 40,600, Great Britain 20,700, Egypt 18,500 and India 5400. Shawls are manufactured in Kerman and Meshed, and form an article of export, principally to Turkey. Woollen fabrics are manufactured in many districts, but are not exported in any great quantity. Coarse cotton stuffs, chiefly of the kind called Kerbaz, used in their natural color, or dyed blue with indigo, are manufactured in all districts but not exported; cottons, called Kalamkar, which are made in Manchester and block-printed in colors at Isfahan and Kumishah, find their way to foreign markets, principally Russian. Of silk fabrics manufactured in Persia, principally in Khorasan, Kashan and Yezd, about 100,000 worth per annum is exported to Turkey, Russia and India. In the environs of Kashan and in Fars, chiefly at Maimand, much rose-water is made, and a considerable quantity of it is exported by way of Bushire to India and Java. Many attempts have been made to start manufactures, supported by foreign capital and conducted by foreigners, but nearly all have resulted in loss. In 1879 the Persian government was induced to spend 30,000 on the erection of a gas factory in Teheran, but work was soon stopped for want of good coal. A few years later a Persian bought the factory and plant for 10,000, and made them over in 1891 to the Compagnie gnrale pour lclairage et le hauffage en Perse, which after bringing out much additional plant, and wasting much capital in trying for some years in vain to make good and cheap gas out of bad and dear coal, closed the factory. In 1891 another Belgian company, Socit anonyme des verreries nationales de Perse, opened a glass factory in Teherr~, but the difficulty of obtaining the raw material cheaply and in large quantities was too ereat to make it a paving concern~ and the factory had to be closed. A third Belgian company, Socit anonyme pour Ia fabrication du sucre en Perse, with a large capital, then came to Persia, and began making beetroot sugar in the winter of 1895. But, like the gas and glass companies, it found the cost of the raw material and the incidental expenses too great, and ceased its operations in 1899. In 1890 a Russian company started a match factory near Teheran with an initial outlay, it is said, of about 20,000, but could not successfully compete with Austrian and Swedish matches and ceased operations very soon. A Persian gentleman erected a cotton-spinning factory at Teheran in 1894 with expensive machinery; it turned out some excellent yarn but could not compete in price with imported yarns.

Agricultural Products.Wheat, barley and rice are grown in all districts, the two former up to considerable altitudes (8000 ft.), the last wherever the water supply is abundant, and in inner Persia generally along rivers; and all three are largely exported. The most important rice-growing districts which produce more than they require for local consumption and supply other districts, or export great quantities, are Astarabad, Mazandaran, Gilan, Veramin, (near Teheran). Lenjan (near Isfahan), and some localities in Fars and Azerbaijan. Peas, beans, lentils, gram, maize, millet, are also universally cultivated, and exported, from the Persian Gulf ports to India and the Arabian coast. The export of rice amounted to 52,200 tons in I9o6t9o7, and was valued at 472,550. The Persian fruit is excellent and abundant, and large quantities, principally dried and called khushkbar (dry fruit), as quinces, peaches, apricots, plums (of several kinds), raisins, figs, almonds, pistachios, walnuts and dates (the last only from the south), as well as oranges (only from the Caspian provinces), are exported. The fruit exported during1906-1907had a value of 1,019,000. Nothing is being done to improve the vine, and the Persian wines, until recently of world-wide reputation, are yearly getting thinner and poorer. The phylloxera has done much damage. The naturalist S. G. Gmelin, who explored the southern shores of the Caspian in 1771, observed that the wines of Gilan were, made from the wild grape. Cotton is largely grown, principally in the central districts and Khorasan, and some qualities are excellent and command high prices in the European markets; 18,400 tons of raw cotton, valued at 838,787, were exported to Russia in I 906f 907. Good hemp grows wild in Mazandaran. Tobacco of two kinds, one the tumbaku (Nicoliana persica, Lindl.), for water pipes, the other the tutun (Nicoliana ruslica, L.), for ordinary pipes and cigarettes, is much cultivated. The tumbaku for export is chiefly produced in the central districts round about Isfahan and near Kashan, while the tumbaku of Shiraz, Fessa, and Darab in Fars, considered the best in Persia, is not much appreciated abroad. Tutun is cultivated in Azerbaijan, near Urmia and other places near the Turkish frontier, in Kurdistan, and, since 1875, in the district of Resht,in Gilan. About 1885 the quantity of tobacco exported amounted to between 4000 and 5000 tons. In1906-1907only 1820 tons, valued at 42,000, were exported. The cultivation of poppy for opium greatly increased after 1880, and it was estimated in 1900 that the annual produce of opium amounted to over 1000 tons, of which about two-fifths was consumed and smoked in the country. The principal opium-producing districts are those of Shiraz, Isfahan, Yezd, Kerman, Khorasan, Burujird and Kermnshh. While the quantity consumed in the country is now probably the same, the quantity exported is much less: 239 tons, valued at 237,270 in 1906-1907. The value of the silk produced in Persia in the sixties was f,000,ooo per annum, and decreased in consequence of silk-worm disease to 30,000, in 1890. The quantity produced has since then steadily increased and its yearly value is estimated at half a million. Cocoons and raw silk valued at 316,140 were exported in 1906-1907. Of oil-yielding plants the castor-oil plant, sesame, linseed and olive are cultivated, the last only in a small district south of and near Resht. Very little oil is exported. The potato, not yet a staple article of food, tomatoes, celery, cauliflower, artichokes and other vegetables are now niuch more grown than formerly, chiefly in consequence of the great influx of Europeans, who are the principal consumers.

Among the valuable vegetable products forming articles of export are various gums and dyes, the most important being gum tragacanth, which exudes from the astragalus plant in the hilly region from Kurdistan in the north-west to Kermn in the south-east. Other gums are gum-ammoniac, asafetida, galbanum, sagapanum, sarcocolla and opoponax. In 1906-1907, 3310 tons of various gums of a value of 300,000 were exported. Of dye-stuffs there are produced henna (Lawsonia iijermis) principally grown at Khabis near Kermn, woad and madder; a small quantity of indigo is grown near Dizfu and Shushter. The export of dyes in1906-1907was, 985 tons, valued at 32,326.

Horses, mules and donkeys, formerly exported in great numbers, are at present not very abundant, and their prices have risen much since 1880. Some nomad tribes who owned many brood mares, and yearly sold hundreds of horses, now hardly possess sufficient animals for their own requirements. The scarcity of animals, as well as the dearness of fodder, is one of the causes of the dearness of transport, and freights have risen on the most frequented roads from 3d. per ton-mile in 1880 to iod., and even 13d., per ton-mile.

The prices of staple articles of food rose steadily from 1880 and reached a maximum in 1900 and 1901, as will be seen from the following table: Average Price, April Price, June Price, 1880.1900.1908.

s. d. s. d. s. d.

Wheat,perkharvar. - 22 6 102 0 32 0

(649 th)

Rice ,, 56 3 64 0 64 0

Bread, ordinary, per mann (61/8 Ib) - - 36o 9.60 3.84

Meat,mutton(permann) I 2.40 2 9~6o I 5~28

Cheese ,, 162480 I 0

Clarified butter ,, 2349.60 5 480

Milk 4.50 9fio 7.68

Eggs, per 100. - I 6 ~ 7.20 3 2~40

Forests and Timber.Timber from the forests of Mazandaran and Gilan has been a valuable article of export for many years, and since about 1870 large quantities of boxwood have also been exported thence; in some years the value of the timber and boxwood exported has exceeded 50,000. This value represented about 200,000 box trees and quite as many others. Much timber is also used for charcoal-burning, and occasionally large parts of forest are burned by the people in order to obtain clearings for the cultivation of rice. The destruction of the forests by timbercutters and charcoal-burners has been allowed to go on unchecked, no plantations have been laid out, and nothing has been done for forest conservation. Indiscriminate cutting has occasionally been confined within certain bounds, but such restrictions were generally either of short duration or made for the convenience and profit of local governors. The oak forests of Kurdistan, Luristan and the Bakhtiari district are also being rapidly thinned. A small step in the right direction was made in 1900 by engaging the services of an official of the Prussian forest department, but unfortunately, beyond sending him to inspect the Mazandaran forests belonging to the Crown, and employing him to lay out a small plantation in the Jajrud valley, east of Teheran, nothing was done. The monopoly for cutting and exporting the timber of the Mazandaran forests is leased to European firms, principally for box and oak. Boxwood has become scarce. There are many kinds of good timber-yielding trees, the best known being alder (Alnus glutinosa, Wild., A. barbata, A. cordifolia, Ten.), ash (Fraxinus excelsior, L.), beech (Fagus sylvatica), elm (Ulmus campestris, U. effusa, - U. pedunculata), wych-elm (Ulmus montana), hornbeam (Carpsnus betulus, L.), juniper (Juniperus excelsa, J. communis, J. sabina), maple (Acer insigne, Boiss., A. campestre, A. pseudo-piatanus, L.), oak (Quercus ballota, Q- castaneaefolia, Q. sessilifiora, Q. pedunculata), walnut, nettle tree (Celtis australis, L.), Siberian elm (Zelkova crenata, Spach), and various kinds of poplar. Pipe-sticks, from the wild cherry tree, are exported to Turkey. -

Fisheries.Fish is a staple food along the shores of the Persian Gulf, but the Crown derives no revenue from fisheries there. The fisheries of the Caspian littoral are leased to a Russian firm (since 1868), and most of the fish goes to Russia (31,120 tOns, value 556,125, 10 1906-1907). The fish principally caught are sturgeon, giving caviare, sheat fish or silure, salmon, carp, bream and perch.

Minerals and Mining.Persia possesses considerable mineral riches, but the absence of cheap and easy means of transport, and the scarcity of fuel and water which prevails almost everywhere, make any exploitation on a remunerative scale impossible, and the attempts which have been made to work mines with European capital and under European superintendence have been financially unsuccessful. Deposits of rich ores of copper, lead, iron, manganese, zinc, nickel, cobalt, &c., abound. A few mines are worked by natives in a primitive, systemless manner, and without any great outlay of capital. There are turquoise mines near Nishapur (for description of mines, manner of working, &c., see A. HoutumSchindler, Report on the Turquoise Mines in Khorasan, F. 0. Reports, 1884, and Die Gegend zwischen Sabzwar und Meschhed, Jahrbuch k. k. geol. R. A. Wien, vol. xxxvi.; also E. Tielze, Verhandi. k. k. geol. R. A., 1884, p. 93); several copper mines in Khorasan, Samnan, Azerbaijan and Kerman; some of lead, two considerably argentiferous, in Khorasan, Tudarvar (near Samnan), Anguran, Afshar (both west of Zenjan), and Kerman; two of iron at Mesula in Gilan and Nur in Mazandaran; two of orpiment in Afshar and near Urmia; one of cobalt at Kamsar (near Kashan); one of alum in Tarom (near Kazvin); and a number of coal in the Lar district, north-east of Teheran, and at Hiv and Abyek, north-west of Teheran. There are also many quarries of rock-salt, gypsum, lime and some of marble, alabaster, soapstone, &c. The annual revenue of ~he government from the leases, rents and royalties of mines does not amount to more than 15,000, and about 6000 of this amount is derived from the turquoise mines near Nishapur. As the rentf and royalties, excepting those on the turquoise mines, amount to about one-fifth of the net proceeds, it may be estimated that th value of the annual output does not exceed 50,000, while thi intrinsic value of the ores, particularly those of lead, iron, cohali and nickel, which have not yet been touched can be estimated al millions. There are also some very rich coal seams in eastern Persia, far away on the fringe of the desert, and under existing conditions quite valueless. The richest deposits of nickel, cobalt and antimony ores are also situated in localities where there is little water and the nearest useful fuel some hundred miles away. Auriferous alluvial strata have been discovered in various localities, but everywhere the scarcity of water has been a bar to their being exploited with profit. A rich naphtha-bearing zone stretches from the Luristan hills near Kermnshgh down to the Persian Gulf. Competent engineers and specialists have declared that borings in the Bakhtiari hills, west of Shushter, would give excellent results, but the difficult hilly country and the total absence of roads, as well as the antipathy of the inhabitants of the district, would make the transport and establishment of the necessary plant a most difficult matter. A British syndicate has been boring at several places in the zone since 1903.

Commerce.The principal centres of commerce are Tabriz, Teheran, Resht, Meshed and Yezd; the principal, ports Bander Abbasi, Lingah, Bushire and Muhamrah on the Persian Gulf, and Astara, Enzeli, Meshed i Sar and Bander i Gez on the Caspian.

Until 1899 all the customs were farmed out (1898-1899 for 300,000),, but in March of that year the farm system was abolished in the two provinces of Azerbaijan and Kermgnshh, and, the experiment there proving successful, in all other provinces in the following year. At the same time a uniform duty of 5% ad valorem was established. In October 1901 a treaty fixing a tariff and reserving the most favored nation treatment for the countries already enjoying it was concluded between Persia and Russia. It was ratified in December 1902 and came into force on the i4th of February 1903. The commercial treaty with Great Britain, concluded in 4857, provided for the most favored nation treatment, but nevertheless a new treaty under which the duties levied on British imports would be the same as on Russian imports was made with Great Britain a few days before the new tariff came into force and was ratified in May.

For the value of imports and exports previous to 1901 the oni statistics available were the figures given in consular reports, whic were not always correct. In 1897 it was estimated that the value of the imports from arid exports to Great Britain, including India, amounted to 3,250,000. About a quarter of this trade passed over the western frontier of Persia, while three-quarters passed through the Persian Gulf ports. The value of the trade between Russia and Persia was then about 3,500,000. Since 1901 detailed statistics have been published by the customs department, and according to them the values of the imports and exports in thousands of pounds sterling for the six yeaa-s1901-1907were as follows:

Imports. Exports. Total.

1901-1902 5429 2738 8,167

1902f 903 4970 3388 8,358

1903-1904 7000 4632 11,632

1904-1905 5832 4132 9,964

1905-1906 6441 4886 11,327

1906-1907 7982 6544 14,526

The imports and exports during the year1906-1907(total value 14,526,234) were distributed as follows (values in thousands sterling) :

Russia 8292 U.S. America.. 69

Great Britain.. 3128 Italy 65

Turkey 1335 Egypt 41

France 700 Netherlands.. 37

Austria 277 Belgium. .. 24

Afghanistan.. - 203 Switzerland.. 22

Germany. .. 182 Sweden 8

China 142 Other countries.. I

14,526

While the value of the trade between Great Britain and Persia in1906-1907was almost the same as in 1897, that of the trade with Russia had increased from 31/2 millions to 83/4 or i37%. The average yearly value of the trade between Great Britain and Persia during the six years was 2,952,185 (imports 2,435,016, exports 517,169); between Russia and Persia 6,475,866 (imports 3,350,072, exports 3,125,794). The average values of the trade with other countries were: France 666,000, Austria 246,000, Germany 124,000, Italy 79,ooo,United States of America 52,000,Netherlands ao,000.

The principal imports into Persia in approximate order of value are cottons, sugar, tea, woollens, cotton yarn, petroleum, stuffs of wool and cotton mixed, wool, hardware, ironmongery, matches, iron and steel, dyes, rice, spices and glass-wdre. The principal exports are fruits (dried and fresh), carpets, cotton, fish, rice, gums, wool, opium, silk cocoons, skins, live animals, silks, cottons, wheat, barley, drugs and tobacco.

Shipping and Navigation.Shipping under the Persian flag is restricted to vessels belonging to the Persian Gulf ports. Some of the larger craft, which are called baglah, and vary from 50 to 300 tons, carry merchandise to and from Bombay, the Malabal Coast, Zanzibar, &C.; while the smaller vessels, called Oagarah, and mostly under 20 tons, are employed in the coasting trade and the pearl-fisheries on the Arabian coast. It is estimated that the four principal ports and the many smaller ones (as Mashur, Hindian, Zaidin, Bander, Dilam, Rig, Kongan, Taheri, Kishm, Hormuz, &c.) possess at least 100 baglahs and several hundred bagarahs, besides a large number of small boats. The following figures from the commercial statistics published by the Persian Customs Department show the total shipping at the four principal Persian Gulf ports, Bushire, Bander Lingah, Bander Abbasi and Muhamrah during the years 1904-1907.

1904-1905.1905-1906.1906-1907.

Tons. Tons. Tons.

British .. 671,386 827,539 826,594

Persian.. - 36,797 25,069 6,425

Russian -. - 24,121 29,182 40,616

Arabian.. - 22,487 I 6,749 7,932

Turkish.. 3,176 3,877 5,005

French. - 2,901 570

German.. - 52,935

Total. - 760,868 902,986 939,507

The British shipping amounted to 89.2% of the total shipping at the four ports during the years 1904-1907. There was no German shipping in the gulf before 1906, but in the first year of its appearance (1906-1907), its tonnage at the gulf ports was almost as much as that of all other nations with the exception of Great Britain.

The shipping of1906-1907was distributed among the four ports as follows: Bushire. .. 354,798 tons. Bander Abbasi. 245,746 tons. Bander Lingah 155,720 ,, Muhamrah.. 183,243

Bander Lingah being the port where most of the pearls obtained on the Arabian coast of the gulf are brought to and exported from, has more native shipping (all sailing vessels) than the other ports.

All the shipping on the Caspian is under the Russian flagi and no returns of the arrivals and departures of vessels at the Persian ports were published before 1906. According to the statistics of the customs department the shipping of the Persian ports amounted in1906-1907to 650,727 tons. The shipping at the principal Persian ports on the Caspian in the year1906-1907was:

Astara 137,935 tons; Enzeli 292,132 tons; Meshed i Sar 90,799 tons; Bander-i-Gez 56,135 tons. Two or three flat-bottomed sailing vessels navigate the lake of Urmia in north-western Persia, carrying merchandise, principally agricultural produce, from the western and south-western shores to the eastern for the supply of Tabriz. The navigation is a state monopoly, leased out for 250 per annum.

Coinage, Weights and Measures.The monetary unit is the kran, a silver coin, formerly weighing 28 nakhods (88 grains), then reduced to 26 nakhods (77 grains), and now weighing only 24 nakhods (71 grains) or somewhat less. Before the new coinage came into use (1877) the proportion of pure silver was from 92 to 9~%; subsequently the proportion was for some time 90%; now it is about 894%. In consequence of this depreciation of the coinage and the fall in the price of silver, partly also in consequence of exchange transactions by banks, the value of the kran has since 1895 rarely been more than 4.8od., or half what it was in 1874, and fell to less than 4d. in 1905. In 1874 the kran was worth a franc; in June 1908 the exchange for a Li bill on London was 50 krans which gives the value of 1 kran as 4~d. Taking this value of the kran, the values of the various nickel and silver coins in circulation work out as:

Nickel Coins. Silver Coins.

Shahi = 2 pul -. 0.24d. Five shahis = 3/4 kran - I~2od.

Two shahis = 4 pul. o.48d. Ten shahis = 4 kran. 2.40d.

One kran = 20 shahis =

40 pul. ... 480d.

Two krans. ... ~6od In 1899 from 80 to 83 copper shahis (weighing about # Ib) were being given for one silver kran. This was owing to the depreciation of the copper coir~age from 1896 onwards, consequent upon there being an excess of coinage due to the excessive quantities formerly put in circulation from the mint. Accordingly the government in 1900 replaced the copper by a nickel coinage (face value of nickel coin in circulation end of 1907, 4,000,000 bans). Accounts are By article v. of the Treaty of Gulistan of 1813, confirmed by article viii. of the Treaty of Turkmanchai of 1828, it was declared that Russia alone should have the right of maintaining vessels of war on the Caspian, and that no other Power should fly the military flag on that sea; and by a crecision of the council of the Russian Empire, published on the 24th of November 1869, the establishment of companies for the navigation of the Caspian, except by Russian subjects, and the purchase of shares of such companies by foreigners were prohibited. (State Papers, vol. lxiii. 925.)

kept in dinars, formerly a gold piece, now an imaginary coin Tdvl of a kran. Ten thousand dinars are equal to one tornan (a word meaning ten thousand), or 10 krans silver, and 50 dinars are one shahi.

Gold coins are: 3/4, 3/4, I, 2, 5, and 10 toman pieces, but they are not in circulation as current money because of their ever-varying value in silver krans, which depends upon the exchange on London.

The unit of weight is the miskal (7f grains), subdivided into 24 nakhods (2.96 grains), a nakhod being further subdivided into 4 gandum (7k grains). Larger weights, again, are the sir (i6 miskals)

and the abbasi, wakkeh, or kervankeh (5 sir). Most articles are bought and sold by a weight called batman, or man, of which there are several kinds, the principal being: Man-i-Tabriz=8 abbasis = 640 miskals = 6-49 lb Man-i-Noh abbasi=9 abbasis = 720 ,, = 730

Man-i-Kohneh (the old man) = 1000 ,, = 10.14

Man-i-Shah= 2 Tabriz mans = 1280 ,, = 12.98 ,,

Man-i-Rey 4 ,, ,, = 2560 ,, = 25.96

Man-i-Bander abbasi = 840 ,, = 8-52

Man-i-Hashemi=i6 mans of 720 ,, = 116.80 Corn, straw, coal, &c., are sold by kharvar = 100 Tabriz mans =649 lb.

The unit of measure is the zar or gez, of which, as in the case of the man, there are several variants. 40.95 in. is the most common length for the zar, but in Azerbaijan the length is 44.09 in. Long distances are calculated in farsakhs, a farsakh being equal to 6000 zar. Probably the zar in this measure =4095 in., which makes the farsakh 3.87 m., but the other length of the zar is sometimes used, when the farsakh becomes 4.17 m. Areas are measured in jeribs of from 1000 to Io66 square zar of 40.95 in., the surface unit thus being from 1294 to 1379 sq. yds.

Constitution and Government.Up to the year 1906 the government of Persia was an absolute monarchy, and resembled in its principal features that of the Ottoman Empire, with the exception, however, that the monarch was not the religious head of the community. The powers of the Shah (Shahanshah,2 or king of kings) over his subjects and their property were absolute, but only in so far as they were not opposed to the shar, or divine law, which consists of the doctrines of the Mahommedan religion, as laid down in the Koran, the oral commentaries and sayings of the Prophet, and the interpretations by his successors and the high priesthood. In 1905, however, the people began. to demand judicial reforms, and in 1906 cried out for representative institutions and a constitution. By a rescript dated the 5th of August Muzaffar-ud-DIn Shah gave his assent to the formation of a national council (Majlis I shora i mliii), to be composed of the representatives of the various classes:

princes, clergy, members of the Kajar family and tribechiefs and nobles, landowners, agriculturists, merchants and tradesmen. By an ordinance of the 10th of September the number of members was fixed at 162 (60 for Teheran, 102 for the provinces) to be raised to 200 if necessary, and elections were held soon after. Electors must be males and Persian subjects of not less than 25 years of age and of good repute. Landowners must possess land of at least 1000 tomans (~2oo) in value, merchants and tradesmen must have a fixed and well-known place of business or shop with an annual value of not less than the average values in the localities where they are established. Soldiers and persons convicted of any criminal offence are not entitled to vote. The qualifications for membership are knowledge of the Persian language and ability to read and write it and good repute in the constituency. No person can be elected who is an alien, is under the age of 30 years or over the age of 70 years, is in the employ of the government, is in the active service of the army or navy, has been convicted of any criminal offence, or is a bankrupt.

On the 7th of October the national council, or as many members of it as could be got together, was welcomed by the shah and elected a president. This was considered as the inauguration and formal opening of parliament. An ordinance signed We see this title in its old Persian form, Khshayathiya Khshayathiy, in the cuneiform inscriptions; as Bao-iMwr Bao-nX&ip on the coins of the Arsacides, and as the Pahlavi Malkan MaTha on the coins and in the inscriptions of the Sassanians. With the Mahommedan conquest of Persia and the fall of the Sassanians the title was abolished; it was in use for a short time during the ioth Century, having been granted to Shah Ismail Samani by the Caliph Motadid A.D, 900; it appeared again on coins of Nadir Shah, 1736-1747, and was assumed by the present dynasty, the Kajars, in 1799.

by Muzaffar-ud-Din Shah, Mahommed Ali Mirza (his successor) and the grand vizir, on the 3oth of December 1906, deals with the rescript of the 5th of August, states the powers and duties of the national council and makes provision for the regulation of its general procedure by the council itself. The members have immunity from prosecution except with the knowledge of the national council. The publicity of their proceedings except under conditions accepted by the council is secured. Ministers, or their delegates may appear and speak in the national council and are responsible to that body, which also has special control of financial affairs and internal administration. Its sanction is required for all territorial changes, for the alienation of state property, for the granting of concessions, for the contracting of loans, for the construction of roads and railways, for the ratification of treaties, &c. There was to be a senate of 60 members of whom 3d were to be appointed to represent the shah and 30 to be elected on behalf of the national council, 15 of each class being from Teheran and 15 from the provinces (the senate, however, was not immediately formed).

By a rescript dated February 2, 1907, Mahommed Ali Shah confirmed the ordinance of the 3oth of December, and on the 8th of October 1907 he signed the final revised constitution, and took the oath which it prescribes on the 12th of November in the presence of the national council.

In accordance with the constitution the shah must belong to the Shiah faith, and his successor must be his eldest son, or next male in succession, whose mother was a Kajar princess. The shahs civil list amounts to 500,000 tomans (~ioo,ooo).

The executive government is carried on under a cabinet composed of seven or eight vizirs (ministers), of whom one, besides holding a portfolio, is vizir azam, prime minister. The vizirs are the ministers of the interior, foreign affairs, war, justice, finance, commerce, education, public works.

Until 1906 the shah was assisted in the task of government by the sadr azam (grand vizir), a number of vizirs, ministers or heads of departments somewhat on European lines, and a grand council of state, composed of some ministers and other members nominated by the shah himself as occasion required. Many of the ministers would have been considered in Europe merely as chiefs of departments of a ministry, as, for instance, the minister for Crown buildings, that for Crown domains, the minister of ceremonies, those for arsenals, army accounts, &c.; also an accumulation of several offices without any connection between their functions, in the hands of a single person, was frequently a characteristic departure from the European model. The ministers were not responsible to the Crown in a way that ministers of a European government are: they rarely took any initiative, and generally referred their affairs to the grand vizir or to the shah for final decision.

There were twenty-seven vizirs (ministers), but only some of them were consulted on affairs of state. The departments that had a vizir at their head were the following: court, ceremonies, shahs secretarial department, interior, correspondence between court and governors, revenue accounts and budget, finance, treasury, outstanding accounts, foreign affairs, war, army accounts, military stores, arsenals, justice, commerce, mines and industries, agriculture and Crown domains, Crown buildings, public works, public instruction, telegraphs, posts, mint, religious endowments and pensions, customs, press. In addition to these twenty-seven vizirs with portfolios, there were some titulary vizirs at court, like Vizir i Huzur i Humayun (minister of the imperial presence), Vilir i makhsus (extraordinary minister), &c., and a number in the provinces assisting the governors in the same way as ,the grand vizir assists the shah. Most of these ministers were abolished under the new constitution, and the heads of subsidiary departments are entitled mudir or rais, and are placed under the responsible ministers.

ReligionAbout 9,000,000 of the population are Mahommedans of the Shiah faith, and 800,000 or 900,000, principally Kurds in north-western Persia, are said to belong to the other great branch of Islam, the Sunni, which differs from the former in religious doctrine and historical belief, and is the state religion of the Turkish Empire and other Mahommedan countries. Other religions are represented in Persia by about 80,000 to 90,000 Christians (Armenians, Nestorians, Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholics, Protestants), 36,000 Jews, and 9000 Zoroastrians.

Society in Persia, being based almost exclusively on religious law, is much as it was in Biblical times among the Jews, with this difference, however, that there exists no sacerdotal caste. In Persia any person capable of reading the Koran and interpreting its laws may act as a priest (mullali), and as soon as such a priest becomes known for his just interpretation of the s/1ar and his superior knowledge of the traditions and articles of faith, he becomes a muftahid, literally meaning one who strives (to acquire knowledge), and is a chief priest. The mullahs are referred to in questions concerning religious law, hold religious assemblies, preach in mosques, teach in colleges, and are appointed by the government as judges, head-preachers, &c. Thus the dignitaries, whose character seems to us specially a religious one, are in reality doctors, or expounders and interpreters of the law, and officiating ministers charged with the ordinary accomplishment of certain ceremonies, which every other Mussulman, true believer, has an equal right to fulfil. Formerly there were only four or five mujtahids in Persia, now there are many, sometimes several in one cityTeheran, for instance, has ten; but there are only a few whose decisions are accepted as final and without appeal. The highest authority of all is vested in the muftahid who resides at Kerbela, or Nejef, near Bagdad, and is considered by many S/ziites as the vicegerent of the Prophet and representative of the imam. The shah and the government have no voice whatever in the matter of appointing mullahs or mujta/zids, but frequently appoint s/zeilths-ul-islam and cadis, and occasionally chief priests of mosques that receive important subsidies out of government funds. The chief priest of the principal mosque of a city, the masfid i jami, is called imam juma, and he, or a representative appointed by him, reads the kljutba, Friday oration, and also preaches. The reader of the khutba is also called khatib. The leader of the prayers in a mosque is the pishnamaz, and the crier to prayers is the muazzin. Many priests are appointed guardians of shrines and tombs of members of the Prophets family (imains and imamzadeiis) and are responsible for the proper administration of the property and funds with which the establishments are endowed. The guardian of a shrine is called mutavali, or, if the shrine is an important one with much property and many attendants, mutavali-bashi, and is not necessarily an ecclesiastic, for instance, the guardianship of the great shrine of Imam Reza in Meshed is generally given to a high court functionary or minister as a reward for long services to the state. In the precincts of a great shrine a malefactor finds a safe refuge from his pursuers and is lodged and fed, and from the security of his retreat he can arrange the ransom which is to purchase his immunity when he comes out.

Formerly all cases, civil and criminal, were referred to the clergy, and until the 17th century the clergy were subordinate to a kind of chief pontiff, named sadr-us-sodur, who possessed a very extended jurisdiction, nominated the judges, and managed all the religious endowments of the mosques, colleges, shrines, &c. Shah Safi (1629-1642), in order to diminish the influence of the clergy, appointed two such pontiffs, one for the court and nobility the other for the people. Nadir Shah (1736-1747) abolished these offices altogether, and seized most of the endowments of the ecclesiastical establishments in order to pay his troops, and, the lands appropriated by him not having been restored, the clergy have never regained the power they once possessed. Many members of the clergy, particularly those of the higher ranks, have very liberal ideas and are in favor of progress and reforms so long as they are not against the shar, or divine law; but, unfortunately, they form the minority. -

The Armenians of Persia, in so far as regards their ecclesiastical state, are divided into the two dioceses of Azerbaijan and Isfahan, and, since the late troubles in Turkey, which caused many to take refuge in Persia, are said to number over 50,000. About three-fifths of this number belong to the diocese of Azerbaijan, with a bishop at Tabriz, and reside in the cities of Tabriz, KhoI, Selmas, Urmia and Maragha, and in about thirty villages close to the north-western frontier; the other two-fifths, under the diocese of Isfahan, with a bishop in Julfa, reside in Teheran, Hamadan, Julfa, Shiraz, Bushire, Resht, Enzeli and other towns, and in some villages in the districts of Chahar Mahal, Feridan, Barbarud, Kamareh, Kazaz, Kharakan, &c. Many Persian Armenians are engaged in trade and commerce, and some of their merchants dispose of much capital, but the bulk live on the proceeds of agriculture and are poor.

The Nestorians in Persia, all living in cities and villages close to the Turkish frontier, numbered about 25,000 to 30,000 but many of them, some say half, together with two or three bishops, recently went over to the Greek Orthodox (Russian) Church, in consequence of the unsatisfactory protection afforded them by their patriarch, who resides in Mosul. These latter are now cared for by an archimandrite of Russian nationality and some Russian priests.

The Greek Orthodox Catholics are represented by Russians, who reside in northern Persia; they have a church at the Russian legation in Teheran, and another at the Russian consulate in Tabriz.

The Roman Catholics in Persia, Europeans and natives (mostly Armenians), number about three or four thousand, and have churches in Teheran, Julfa and Azerbaijan, served by members of the French Lazarist Mission. They also have some orphanages, schools and medical dispensaries, under the care of sisters of charity of St Vincent de Paul.

The Protestants, Europeans and natives (converted Armenians and Nestorians), number about 6500. The religious missions ministering to their spiritual welfare are: (1) The board of foreign missions of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, which has six establishments in Persia: Urmia since 1835, Teheran since 1872, Tabriz since 1873, Hamadan since 1880, Resht since r902 and Kazvin since 1903. The establishments of Tabriz and Urmia form the Western Persia Mission, those of Teheran, Hamadan, Resht and Kazvin the Eastern Persia Mission. The former mission has 24 churches, ii 8 schools, 2 hospitals and 4 dispensaries; the latter has 4 churches, I, schools, 2 hospitals and 4 dispensaries. (2) The Church Missionary Society, established in Persia since 1869. In June 1908 it had 4 places of worship (Julfa, Yezd, Kerman, Shiraz), 5 schools (Julfa, Isfahan, Yezd, Kerman and Shiraz). There are also hospitals and dispensaries for men and women at Julfa, Isfahan, Yezd and Kerman. The hospitals at Julfa and Isfahan have accommodation for 100 patients each, and are sometimes full to overflowing; the dispensaries are generally overcrowded. The establishment of the Church Missionary Society is under the care of a bishop, who resides at Julfa and is under the bishop of London.

(3) The Anglican mission, which was established by Dr Benson, archbishop of Canterbury, and has its work among the Nestorians in Azerbaijan. (4) The London Society for promoting Christianity among the Jews, which was established at Teheran in 1876, and at Isfahan and Hamadan in 1889. It has in Teheran a church and a school, at Isfahan a school and at Hamadan a small school.

(5) The British and Foreign Bible Society has been represented at Isfahan since 1879.

The Jews in Persia number about 36,000, and are found in nearly all cities of the country, but communities with synagogues and priests exist only in the larger cities like Teheran, Isfahan, Yezd, Shiraz, Hamadan, &c.

The Zoroastrians, commonly called gabrs, numbering about 9000, reside principally in the cities and villages of Yezd and Kerman, and only three or four hundred live in Teheran, Kashan, Isfahan and Shiraz, some engaged in trade and commerce, but most of them employed in agricultural work and gardening. Their interests are attended to by a delegate who is appointed by the Bombay Parsis and resides at Teheran.

The non-Mussulman Persian subjects, particularly those in the provinces, were formerly much persecuted, but since 1873, when Nasru d-Dfn Shah returned to Persia from his first journey to Europe they have been treated more liberally. In cities where many nonM ussulinan subjects, reside a special official is appointed to protect them; and the ministry of justice has a special section to look after them and see that they are protected against fanaticism and injustice.

Instruction.-Primary schools, maktab (where Persian and a little Arabic, sufficient for reading the Koran, and sometimes also a little arithmetic, are taught to boys between the ages of seven and twelve), are very numerous. These schools are private establishments, and are under no supervision whatever. The payment for tuition varies from fourpence or fivepence to tenpence a month for each child. Colleges, madrasah (where young men are instructed, fed, and frequently also lodged gratuitously), exist in nearly every town. Most of them are attached to mosques, and the teachers are members of the clergy, and receive fixed salaries out of the college funds. The students are instructed in Arabic and Persian literature, religion, interpretation of the Koran, Mussulman law, logic, rhetoric, philosophy and other subjects necessary for admittance to the clergy, for doctors of law, &c., while modern sciences are neglected. Families who have means and do not desire their children to become members of the clergy, employ private tutors, and several have latterly obtained the services of English and French professors to educate their children, while others send their boys to school in England, France, Germany and Russia. At the beginning of Nnlrud-Din Shahs reign, a public school on the lines of a French lyce was opened in Teheran, principally with the object of educating officers for the army, but also of introducing a knowledge of Western. science and languages, and a ministry of public instruction was created at the same time. Military and civilian teachers were obtained from Europe, and the state granted a large sum of money for the support of the establishment. The tuition is gratuitous, and the pupils are clothed and partly fed at government expense. Some years later a similar school, but on a much smaller scale, was opened in Tabriz. After a time the an.n.ual grant for the support of these two schools was reduced, and during the years1890-1908amounted to only 5000. The average number of pupils was about 250, and until the beginning of 1899 these two schools were the only establishments under the supervision. of the minister of public instruction. Soon afVcr his accession in 1896 Muzaffar-ud-DIn Shah expressed a desire that something more should be done for public instruction, and in the following year a number of Persian notables formed a committee and opened some schools in Teheran and other places in the beginning of 1898. A year later the new schools, until then private establishments, were placed under the minister of public instruction. The new schools at Teheran have from 1000 to 1400 pupils.

A German school with an annual grant of 2400 from Persia and qf 1000 from Germany was opened at Teheran in 1907. There is also established a French school under the auspices of the Alliance Francaise. Much has been and is being done for education by the Armenians and the Protestant and Roman Catholic missions in Persia, and a large percentage of the pupils is composed of Mussulmans. The Alliance Israelite has opened a school in Teheran. In 1907 the American Protestant mission had 129 schools with 3423 pupils, the English Protestant missions had 5 schools with 425 pupils, the Roman Catholic mission (Lazaristes) had 3 schools with 400 pupils, and the Armenians had 4 schools and 646 pupils. All these schools are supported by voluntary subscriptions and ,donations, and instruct both boys and girls.

Arsny.Persia had no regular army until 180