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THE


SUN WORSHIPERS
OF
ASIA.
BY


CHARLES D. POSTON.
Reprinted for the Author from the London Edition.
-
SAN FRANCISCO:
A. ROMAN & Co., PUBLISHERS.
1877.




I
ki     k, -  '~,
i;111   i  A. l
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Copyright 1877
By A. ROMAN & CO




I NTRODUCTION.
The materials for the preparation of the following Lecture were collected during an official
visit to India, China, Japan, etc., accredited by
the Government of the United States.
Personal intercourse with the Parsees, particularly in India, excited a lively interest in the
religion and history of the followers of the
ancient Zoroaster.
In submitting these crude observations, made
upon a subject far beyond my capacity, the
concluding paragraph of a circular letter issued
by His Excellency, the late Earl of Mayo, Viceroy and   Governor-General of India, recommending the writer and his secretary, Colonel
Grant, is appended as a grateful tribute to the
memory of that eminent representative of Her
Majesty's Government in India.




INTRODUCTION.
"It is the particular desire of His Excel"lency, the Viceroy and Governor-General in
" Council, that all respect and honor be shown
" to these gentlemen who are on the eve of
"starting for Upper India, and that every fa"cility be afforded them in their inquiries at
"any stations or places where they may stop.
" His Excellency in Council will rely upon
"everything being done to show to these repre"sentatives of a great and friendly power the
"high estimation in which it is held by the
"British Government in the East."




THE PARSEES.
THE SUN WORSHIPERS.
In the crowded cities of Asia the soul becomes surfeited by contact with myriads of
human beings and longs for companionship with
nature.
If you wander to the beach at sunset to inhale the breezes from  the Spice Islands, you
will there observe a congregation of the most
interesting people in Asia.
They are the Parsees, or sun-worshipers of
Persia, the followers of the ancient Zoroaster,
the teacher of the religion of the Magi.
As we stand upon the shore, and witness the
adoration paid to the sun by this mysterious
remnant of a nearly extinct race, we are carried
back to the dawn    aye, to the darkness, for




6


T''1!E SUN WORSHIPERS


but little light can be gathered from the faint
glimmerings of history.
The Maji first appeared in Jerusalem  as a
part of the retinue of Nebuchadnezzar, from
which it may be inferred that they were the
chief priests at the Babylonian Court.
Their religious doctrines are compiled in a
sacred volume called the Zenzd-Avesta, of which
Zoroaster is the reputed author, claiming to
have written it under the direct inspiration of
God.
THE " ZEND-AVESTA."
He does not presume to say that the Creator
of the Universe condescended to appear before
him, but that he learnt His will "from   the
"choir of arch-angels, who sang to his mental
"ears when in a state of ecstacy; his mind
"was raised to heaven."
The Zend-Avesta does not attempt to give any
account of the creation.
The idea pervading the Parsee theology from
the first is, that "eternity," or "boundless time,"




OF ASIA.


7


has neither beginning nor end, and is the only
thing that can neither be created nor destroyed,
but is that which creates and destroys everything else; therefore, time is considered as the
great first cause or creator.
They believe that originally there were two
spirits,- good and evil,-typified by light and
darkness, each of peculiar activity.
That Oromasdez (Almighty), the Good Spirit,
was evolved from  the purest light, and is in
all his attributes what we call God, and resides
as far beyond the sun as the sun is distant
from the earth.
That Ariemanios, the bad spirit, corresponding to our Devil, was evolved from the blackest
darkness, is the embodiment of evil, and resides
in Hades.
That these two spirits are now, and always,
have been, engaged in antagonistic strife, and
will be at war until light prevails.
Oromasdez   (Almighty), the God of light,
created six other gods or archangels, whose
attributes are



8


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


Benevolence.      Truth.      Order.
Wisdom.           Beauty.     Wealth.
Ariemanios, the god of darkness, created six
gods or devils of precisely opposite attributes,
to counteract them.
They created many other gods, and waged
war against each other, -the sentiment underlying the whole fabric of the Parsee doctrine
being, that human life is an eternal struggle
between right and wrong, in which the good
and   vil spirits assist and assail mankind.
(   Dualism  ervades the entire structure.  There
are two lives, mental and physical; there are
two intellects, one from the source of light, or
the original vital spark; the other of the earth,
or that which is acquired.
In this eternal strife the starry firmament was
arrayed under the leadership of the sun.
Twelve companies were organized under the
heads of the twelve signs of the Zodiac, ranged
in four great divisions, North, South, East, and
West.   Mars was placed over the North; Mer



OF ASIA.


9


cury was placed over the South; Jupiter was
placed over the East; Saturn was placed over
the West.    Venus commanded     the  centre.
Oromasdez now continued the creation of the
material world, making a bridge from the top
of the highest mountain to the source of light,
suspended over a chasm of unfathomable darkness.
This bridge is called "Chinvat," or the Bridge
of the Judge, and is under the guardianship
of Sirius.
In the meantime the spirit of darkness had
not been idle. For every good being created
by Oromasdez, he had created a corresponding
evil spirit.
The two hosts now confronted each other in
eternal strife.
Ariemanios sprang forward to the attack, followed by the hosts of darkness; but, after a
terrible conflict, was defeated, and fell back to
earth in the form of a serpent —that same old
serpent.
Oromasdez, thus having vanquished the spirit




IO


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


of darkness, proceeded with the creation of the
material world, and made a man and a woman
to inhabit the earth.
The serpent tempted them and they drank of
the milk of goats, which caused libidinous desires and final shame.
The human race, which thus became miserable by the sin of its first parents, was left
standing between the two worlds of light and
darkness, between the two spirits of good and
evil, dependent upon its own free will.
As the creatures of the spirit of light, they
ought to worship   Oromasdez; but they are
continually surrounded by the spirits of darkness, and seduced to the worship of the spirit
of evil.
In this dilemma the God of Light sends them
Zoroaster with a revelation of His will, which
to obey will lead them to the mansions of
light and to eternal happiness.
ZOROASTER.
The earliest authorities we have upon the age
of Zoroaster are the Greek writers.




OF ASIA.


II


All the Greek authors who wrote on the
religion of the Magi, anterior to the Christian
era, state that Zoroaster lived 6,ooo years, B.c.
According to ancient writers, the founder of the
religion  of the Magi lived not only before
Moses, but even before Abraham.
Herodotus, the father of history, says:"I know   that the Persians observe these
" customs. It is not customary among them
"to have idols made, temples built, and altars
"erected; they even upbraid those with folly
"who do so.    They are accustomed to bring
"sacrifices to Zeus on the summits of moun"tains. They sacrifice to the sun, moon, earth,
"fire, winds, and waters; these elements being
"originally the only objects of worship."
Aristotle states that "Zoroaster lived about
"6,ooo years before the death of Plato, which
"would make it about 6350 years B.C."
Pliny reports, upon the authority of Hermippos, a Greek philosopher, "that he lived
"several thousand years before Moses, and that
"he composed two millions of verses, which




12


THE SUN WORSHIPERS.


"were written upon twelve thousand parchments,
"and preserved in a vault cut out of the solid
"rock in the temple of Persepolis."
Marcellus, a Latin writer states:"That the Bactrian Zoroaster in remote ages
"made many additions to the religion of the
"Magi, which additions were derived from the
"mysteries of the Chaldeans."
Apuleius states that "Pythagoras was taken
"prisoner by Cambyses, and carried with other
"prisoners to Babylon, where, in his intercourse
"with the Magi, he was instructed by the
"priests in the Zoroastrian religion."
Strabo, the geographer, says:"To whatever deity the Persians make sac"rifice, they first invoke fire, which is fed at
"their sacred places with dry pieces of bark"less wood, which is never to be extinguished."
Agathias says:"The present Persians almost entirely neglect
"their former customs, and observe the doctrine
"of Zoroaster, the son of Oromasdez."
" The time when this Zoroaster flourished




OF ASIA.


I3


"and gave his laws to the Medes and Persians
"is not to be ascertained.  At whatever time
"it may have been, he was at all events their
"prophet and the master of the magic rites."
Damascius, a Grecian writer, says:-" Of the
"Magi and Aryan nation some consider space
"and others time, as the universal cause out
"of which the good God, as well as the Evil
"Spirit, were separated, while others assert, that
"light and darkness, existed before these two
"spirits arose."
Agonakes, a Magian priest, who was teacher
of Hermippos, states that "Zoroaster lived 5,000
"years before the Trojan war, which would
"carry us back to 6I80 B. c."
Rollin says:-"As the Magi held images in
"utter abhorrence, they worshipped God only
"under the form   of fire, on  account of its
"purity, brightness, activity, subtlety, fecundity,
"and incorruptibility, as the most perfect sym"bol of the Deity."
The "Dabistan," a book professedly compiled
from  the works of the ancient "Guebers," or




14


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


" fire worshipers," states that the Persians, long
before the mission of Zoroaster, venerated a
prophet called Mahabad, whom they considered
the father of mankind; but that the ancient
Persians deemed it impossible to ascertain who
were the first parents of the human race.
In any event, without contesting the uncertain chronological calculations which have been
handed down to us through many changes, we
must admit that Zoroaster lived at a very remote period, and that he was the founder of
a pure and sublime religion based upon the
eternal principles of right and wrong, good and
evil, light and darkness, and that he was far
in advance of any teacher of which human
annals have preserved a record.
The religion of Zoroaster may be stated in
three words:" Homute," purity of thought.
" Hookte," purity of speech.
"Viruste," purity of action.


Before Moses proclaimed the bloody code




OF ASIA.


I5


delivered to him amidst the thunders of Mount
Sinai for the government of the wandering Israelites, the great Zoroaster had promulgated the
sublime laws announced to him by the "Bright
shining essence of light" for the government
of mankind.
He says to his disciples:-" I will now tell
"you, who are assembled here, the wise sayings
"of the most wise; the praises of the living
"God; the songs of the Good Spirit; the
"sublime truth which I see arising out of these
" sacred flames.
"In the beginning were two spirits, each of
"peculiar activity-good and evil.  Of these
"two spirits you must choose one; you cannot
"belong to both of them.
"Therefore perform the commandments which,
"pronounced by God Himself, have been given
"to mankind..They are the fountain of hap" piness.
"The souls of the good go joyfully to the
"immortal saints, to the golden throne, to para" dise.




THE SUN WORSHIPERS


"The good man is made pure after death."
Centuries before Plato reasoned of the immortality of the soul, the great Zoroaster had drawn
the celestial fire from the sun, and worshiped
it as the emblem  of immortality.
Long before the Pharisees and the Sadducees
had desecrated the holy city of the Jews with
their disputes about the resurrection of the body,
the Magi believed according to the text"That life would be everlasting, undecaying,
"imperishable, imputrescible, incorruptible, for"ever-existing, for-ever-vigorous, full of power at
"the time when the dead will arise again, and
"imperishableness of life will exist, making life
"lasting without further support.
"The good man is to be made pure after
"death, and shall enjoy the happy life of the
"blessed in the land of light and splendor.
"All the world will remain for eternity in a
"state of purity; the devil will disappear, and
"all his brood and creatures will be doomed
"to destruction."
Ages before the Testament was given, which




OF ASIA.


I7


caused Saint Paul to reason of "temperance,
righteousness, and a judgment to come," Zoroaster had declared as a revelation from God"That when a man is dead, when a man
"has departed this life, then after the third
"night, when  Aurora is shining, he reaches
"Mithra the Redeemer, rising above the moun"tains resplendent of their own spotless lustre.
"The archangel meets the souls of the good
"when crossing the celestial mountain, and guides
"them over the bridge of the heavenly spirits.
"The archangel speaks thus to the soul,
"'How happy that you have come here to us
"'from  mortality to immortality.'
"He dismisses the sinful soul of the bad
"into darkness."
The spiritual life of the Jews was not manifested until after the Babylonian captivity.
They brought their bodies from the Nile, but
their souls from  the Euphrates.
The very prophecy of the coming of the Messiah had the same origin as the star which
heralded His birth.




THE SUN WORSHIPERS


The spirit of Christianity, inspired from the
East, was cradled upon the shores of the Mediterranean, and now spreads over all seas and
all lands.
In a sacred song of the Parsees, the purport
is, that though it may not appear to short-sighted
mortals how the body, if once dissolved into
its elements and scattered to the winds, could
be restored again, yet nothing is impossible
for the  hand  of the Almighty who created
heaven and earth, endows with life and renews
vegetation.
The Parsees also believe in the coming of the
Messiah or prophet, a son of Zoroaster, to be
begotten in a supernatural way, who is to proclaim  an additional revelation of the  will of
God, which will perfect human nature, and produce a new era of perfect happiness in the
world.
The doctrine taught by the Magi was that
all life, chiefly that of man, bodily as well as
spiritual, was a sacred pawn entrusted by the
Creator to man for his advancement; that it




OF ASIA.


I9


was his duty to keep the body clean and pure,
and the soul free from sin.
If death destroys the body in its natural
course, it is not the fault of man, who must
submit to inexorable fate; but it is considered
the duty of God, who is the preserver of all
life, to restore that which has fallen a prey to
mortal death, and to overcome mortality by
making life everlasting in the bright world.
Thus is foreshadowed the grand act of resurrection.
CAT ECHISM.
A Catechism of the Parsee faith has been
attached to the Zend-Avesta for the instruction
of children, which gives a primitive account of
the Zoroastrian doctrines, from which a few
extracts may not prove uninteresting:QUES. Whom do we believe in?
ANS. The God who created the heavens, the
earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, the angels,
the four elements, and all things; that God we
believe in, Him we worship, Him we invoke,
Him we adore.




20


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


QUES. Do you believe in any other God?
ANS. No. Who believes in any other God is
an infidel, and shall suffer the punishment of hell.
QUES. What is the form   of our God?
ANS. Our God has neither face nor form,
color nor shape, nor fixed place.   There is
no other like Him; He is Himself singly, such
a glory that we cannot praise nor describe Him,
nor can our mind comprehend Him.
QUES. Is there anything that God cannot
create?
ANS.   Yes, he cannot create another like
himself.
QUES. What is our religion?
ANS. Our religion is the worship of God.
QUES. Whence did we receive our religion?
ANS. From   Zoroaster, the true prophet, who
brought it directly from God.
QUES. Where should we turn when worshiping God?. ANS. We should turn towards some of his
creatures of light, of glory, and of brightness.
QUES. Which are those things?




OF ASIA.


21


ANS. The sun, the moon, the stars, fire,
water, and such things as have a spark of His
glory.
QUES. What commands has God sent. us
through the exalted Zoroaster?
ANS. To know God as One; to know His
prophet Zoroaster; to believe in the Avesta;
to believe in the goodness of God; to obey
His commands; to avoid evil deeds; to exert
for good deeds; to pray five times a day; to
believe in the reckoning of justice the third
day after death; to hope for heaven, and to
fear hell; to believe in a day of general resurrection and destruction; to submit to the will
of God.
QUES. If we commit any sin, will our prophet
save us?
ANS. Never commit any sin under that faith,
because our prophet-our guide to the right
path-has distinctly commanded, "You    shall
receive according to what you do." Your deeds
will determine your return into the other world.
If you do virtuous and pious actions, your




THE SUN WORSHIPERS


reward shall be heaven.  If you sin, and do
wicked things, you shall be punished in hell.
If you repent your sins and reform, and if
the. Great Judge consider you worthy of pardon, He will be merciful to you, — He will
save you.
QUES. What are those things by which a
man is blessed and benefited?
ANS. To do virtuous deeds; to give in charity, to be kind, to be humble, to speak sweet
words, to wish good to others, to have a clean
heart, to acquire learning, to speak the truth,
to suppress anger, to be patient, to be contented, to be friendly, to feel shame, to pay
due respect to both old and young, to be
pious, to respect our parents and teachers.
All these things are the friends of good men,
and the enemies of bad men.
QUES. What are those things by which a
man is lost and degraded?
ANS. To tell untruths, to steal, to gamble,
to look with wicked eye upon a woman, to
commit treachery, to abuse, to be angry, to




OF ASIA.


23


wish ill to another, to be proud, to mock, to
be idle, to slander, to be avaricious, to be disrespectful, to be shameless, to be hot-tempered,
to take another's property, to be revengeful,
to be unclean, to be obstinate, to be envious,
to do harm to any man, to be superstitious,
to do any other wicked and iniquitous action.
These are all the friends of the wicked, and
the enemies of the righteous.
PRAYER.
The Parsees believe in the efficacy of prayer,
and spend much time in devotion.
An impression of their religious sentiments
can be gathered from the forms of prayer in
use, such as the following:"Oromasdez, great Judge, full of glory and
"brightness, the highest, the greatest, the best,
"the purest - Invisible - I worship  Thee, I
"invoke Thee, I adore Thee.
"By my deeds I honor and exalt Thee.
"Creator of my soul.
"Moulder of my body, may I reach Thee.




24


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


" 0 great and wise Lord, the reward that is
" due to the religious may I and mine receive.
" That reward mayest Thou give from the stores
"of Thy bounty in such a way in this and the
"spiritual world, that I may be exalted and
"may live for ever and ever under Thy holy
"leadership and virtuous protection.
" If I have by thought, word or deed inten*' tionally or unintentionally not kept Thy com"mands, and thereby saddened Thee, I invoke
"Thee, I pray Thee, I beseech Thee, for pardon.
"May all men and women in the world
"become Thy followers. —May sinners become
"virtuous.
" May the virtue of the virtuous endure, and
"may wickedness vanish.
"I am   of the religion of the worship of
i God.
"I praise that religion, and declare it before
"the wicked, and profess it with good con"science, with  virtuous words, and virtuous
"deeds.
Whoever accepts this religion, praises it,




OF ASIA.


25


"meditates upon it, and practices it, God will
"be a friend a brother, and a father, and will
"pass him  over the bridge of Chinvat, on the
"third  morning after death, to the celestial
"world
"I invoke the success and benefit of prayer
— a virtuous conscience, good deeds, good
"words.
" I love prayer, for it is a joy to me; 0
"Oromasdez, I worship Thee on earth, and in
"heaven I will worship Thee much!"
OTHER RELIGIONS
In the cycle of time the faithful worshipers
of the sun have witnessed the rise and reign
of Buddha, and have seen his ashes scattered
from the seven-storied pagoda of his typical
heaven, without wavering in their devotion to
the God of Light.
They have seen Brahma rise and grow mighty,
and thunder over the plains of Asia in his car
of Juggernaut, and have witnessed his calcined
remains swept by the sacred Ganges into the




26


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


sea; and yet they scorned the idolatries of
Hindustan, and worshipped the God of light
and life.
Their wandering traders carried the perfumes
of the East to embalm the Egyptian kings
before Abraham visited the pyramids; but they
were not seduced by the idolatries of the
Egyptians, and turned from the worship of Isis
and Osiris to prostrate themselves before the
embodiment of all goodness —the source of light,
of life, of happiness.
They discard the doctrines of Confucius as
the material philosophy of a man who did not
know God; and turn from the inanimate creed
of the Chinese sage to worship the God of
light, or life, of generation, of vegetation.
They have read the essays of the grave Laotsze, teaching the religion of reason, and proclaiming that there was no other God worthy
of worship; but the faithful Parsee turns to his
living, breathing, vitalizing deity, and proclaims
his own to be the most reasonable worship.
Their " Wise Men " followed the star which




OF ASIA.


27


the shepherds descried upon the Chaldean
plains, until it rested over the village of Bethlehem, and were the first to make "offerings
of gold, and myrrh, and frankincense," at the
cradle of the Saviour, as the oriental tributes
to royalty and divinity, and to fall down and
worship Him    as the Christ!
The sun worshipers have witnessed the rise
of the  impostor of Mecca, and      were crushed
under the iron heel of his Moslem hordes because they would not abjure their ancient faith,
and worship an invisible God, and an infamous
Prophet; but in the changes of time, the crescent wanes like a dying moon, whilst the God
of the Parsees rides in undimmed splendor, the
source of light, of life, and of existence.
The following division of the human race has
been made according to religion:
* And when they were come into the house, they saw the
young child with Mary his mother, and fell down and
worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures,
they presented unto him gifts, gold, and frankincense, an d
myrrh.-Matt. ii., verse I.




28


2THE SUN WORSHIPERS


Buddhists................ 31.2 per cent.
Christians.................30.7
Mahommedanls............. 15.7 "
Brahmins....................3.4  "
Heathens.................... 8.7  "
Jews........................  0.3  "
Parsees......................  0.01  "
HISTORY.
At the time of the conquest of Persia by
Alexander the Great, the sun worshipers were
crushed under the heel of the devastator of
Asia. Their temples were destroyed, their books
burnt, and their religion suppressed.
The conquerer of the world sat upon the
throne of the great Cyrus, drunk with Persian
wine and inflamed with the love of the beautiful Thais,
"Who sat by his side,
"Like a blooming Eastern bride,"
and persuaded him to dim the lustre of his
conquest by burning Persepolis, with all its
stores of art and learning.




OF ASIA.


29


A thousand years later in the annals of time,
the Moslem hosts overran Persia like a sirocco,
and another desolation spread over the followers
of Zoroaster.
Such as would not embrace the faith of the
conquerors, either fled to the mountains or
betook themselves to the more desolate plains.
" Never was Iran doomed to bend
" Beneath a yoke of deadlier weight.
" Her throne had fallen, her pride was crushed,
" Her sons were willing slaves, nor blushed
" In their own land, no more their own,
" To crouch beneath a stranger's throne.
" Her towers where Mithra once had burned
" To Moslem shrines, oh shame! were turned,
" Where slaves, converted by the sword,
" Their mean apostate worship poured,
" And cursed the faith their sires adored."
In the course of half a century after the
Mahommedan conquest, a large proportion of
the followers of Zoroaster had sought-refuge in
the island of Ormuz, in the Persian Gulf.
Here they remained about a quarter of a
century, when they removed to Gujerat, in India.




3~


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


Since the conquest of India by the British
(;overnment, they have been esteemed the most
faithful, the most intelligent, and the most enterprising subjects of the Indian Empire.
Their principal residence is now the city of
B( mbay, where they number at least one hundred thousand souls.
They have not been slow to gather the
i Wealth of Ormuz and of Ind,
"Where the gorgeous East with richest hand
Showers on her kings barbaric pearls and gold."
THE DESERT.
The scattered remnants of the Parsee tribes
have kept up a communication by means of
annual caravans, exchanging the pearls of the
Sea of Oman and the gems of India for the
silks and shawls of Persia and Cashmere.
In the long exile which they have endured,
many branches of the family of Zoroaster have
become apostates from the religion of their
fathers, and have fallen into the Pantheistic
worship of the Hindus.




OF ASIA.


31


The' preparations for the march of a caravan
commence in the early dawn, before the burning sun begins to play upon the exposed earth.
The camels kneel for their burthens, complaining all the while in a gutteral grunt peculiar
to the patient and enduring " ship of the desert."
The burthens are adjusted, and the drivers
mount the beasts, and stretch out upon the
trackless waste.
The sun rises from his oriental couch, and
wooingly kisses the dew drops from    the face
of his fair bride the earth.
The caravan presses on amidst the silence
of the desert, their busy feet rustling the sand
as the tinkling bells vibrate upon the stillness
of the desert air.
Invisible bells are ringing in the ears of the
drivers, and the men, and the apostate Parsee
hears the bells ringing for the followers of Zoro
aster to assemble for worship in the "fire temples"
around the sacred altar; and he sees a pillar
of fire shining before him on a hillock of sand,
and in the lap of the wave of the desert he




32


TIIE SUN WORSHIPERS


sees the bright. waters of his boyhood invitingly
shining.  But these are  the illusions of the
desert-the bells are the vibrations of the desert
air, the pillar of fire the sun's reflection, and
the valley of water the deceptive mirage.
The sun rides in mid-heaven at noonday glaring
upon the earth like an angry God.
The clouds have disappeared before his gaze,
the sky is brass, the earth is iron, the sun is
a ball of molten copper.
The snakes have crawlede into their holes in
the sand, the panting lizards seek the shade of
a leafless shrub, the solitary hyena scours the
desert, scratching the sand to cool his blistered
feet.
The sun rides in solemn majesty, saying to
the apostate Parsee"I am   the God of your fathers; fall down
and worship me or die."
On the trackless deserts of Asia the sun
calcines the brain; the parched lips crack with
the intense heat; the tongue swells and impedes respiration; the  glowing  eyes turn  to




OF ASIA.


33


heaven for pity, but close in death under the
piercing rays of the angry sun.
The riderless camels huddle together in despair, and, moaning a requiem over their stricken
masters, bury their heads from the fury of the
sun in the sands of the desert.
The hot air escapes from the parched earth
to the serene atmosphere of heaven, and the
vacuum is filled by the dreadful simoon, which
comes thundering over the desert in a tornado
of sand.
The sirocco eddies around the lost caravan,
and covers it from the pitiless rays of the sun.
The merciful clouds shed a flood of tears
upon the mound, moistening the seeds of a few
date palms, causing them to fructify and grow
a grove of stately palm trees, under which pious
sun worshipers stop on their journeys from
India to Persia, and relate to their young men
the fate of the caravan which refused to worship the God of their fathers, the God of the
desert. Long may the palm grove shade the
remains of the perished caravan!




34


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


The palm tree is the nursling of the sun,
and in many lands, it is the only living thing
between earth and heaven.
Stately and beautiful, its branches are outspread to the sun imploring mercy.
Placid and calm in the mellow moonlight, it
is inlaid upon the sky.
Blessed be the peaceful palm tree!
BIRTH.
A Parsee must be born upon the ground
floor of the house, as the teachings of their
religion require life to be commenced in humility, and by good actions alone can an elevated position be attained either in this world
or the next.
The mother is not seen by any member of
the family for forty days.
Upon the seventh day after the birth of the
clild, pen, paper and ink are placed within
the prohibited enclosure, in order that the goddess "Chhatti" may write out the destiny of
the child.




OF ASIA.


35


If the goddess should not appear, it is possible that the mother may amuse her convales,
ence by writing out such a career for her
new-born babe as she would desire. This paper
is preserved in the family archives as a guidance and encouragement to the child through
life, and may exert some influence in shaping
its destiny.
At the age of seven years or thereabouts,
according to the judgment of the priest, the
first religious ceremony of the Parsees is performed upon the young Zoroastrian.
He is first subjected to the process of purification, which consists of an ablution with
"nirang."
The ceremony consists in investing the young
Parsee withthe cincture, or girdle of his faith.
This cincture is a cord woven by the women
of the priestly class only. It is composed of
seventy-two threads, representing the seventy-two
chapters of the Zend-Avesta, in the sacredness
of which the young neophyte is figuratively
bound.




36


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


The priest ties the sacred cord around the
waist as he pronounces the benediction upon
the child, throwing upon its head at each sentence  slices  of fruits, seeds, perfumes  and
spices.
He is thus received into the religion of Zoroaster.
After the performance of this ceremony, the
child is considered morally accountable for its
acts.
If a child should die before the performance
of this ceremony, it is considered to have gone
back to the spirit which gave it, as pure as it
entered into this world, not having reached the
age of accountability.
The ceremony of "Kusti," or encircling with
the girdle, is closed by the distribution of refreshments to the friends and relatives of the
family who have attended the investiture of the
young follower of Zoroaster with the sacred
girdle of his faith.




OF ASIA.


37


MARRIAGE.
Early marriages are customary in Asia.
The betrothal of young Parsees frequently
occurs directly after they are born-in some
instances before.
The wedding day is fixed by an astrologer,
who consults the stars for a happy period of
conjunction for the young adventurers upon the
matrimonial sea.
The wedding day being fixed, a Parsee priest
goes from house to house with a list of the
guests to be invited, and delivers the invitations with much ceremony.
The father of the bride waits upon near relations and distinguished personages, soliciting
the honor of their attendance.
A little before sunset a procession is formed
at the house of the bridegroom, and proceeds
with a band of music, amid great pomp and
ceremony to the house of the bride's father.
At the house of the bride's father, a number of relatives and friends are collected at


i




38


TIlE SUN WORSHIPERS


the door to receive the bridegroom with due
honor.
Presents are sent before, according to the
time-honored customs of the East.
Upon the arrival of the procession at the
house of the bride, the gentlemen gallantly remain outside, leaving room for the ladies to
enter the house with the bridegroom, as his
escort.
As he passes the threshold, his future motherin-law meets him with a tray filled with fruits
and rice, which she strews at his feet.
The fathers of the young couple are seated
side by side, and between them stands the
priest ready to perform the magic ceremony.
The young couple are seated on two chairs
opposite each other, their right hands tied together by a silken chord, which is gradually
wound around them as the ceremony progresses,
the bride in the meantime being concealed
with a veil of silk or muslin, such as covered
the face of Rebecca until she became the wife
of Isaac.




OF ASIA.


39


The priest lights a lamp of incense, and repeats the following ceremony in the old Persian
language:" Know ye, that both of you have loved
"each other, therefore you are united as man
"and wife.
"Look not with impious eye upon other
people, but make it your study to love, honor,
" and cherish each other as long as you both
"remain in this world.
" May quarrels never arise between you, and
"may your love for each other increase day
"by day as long as you live.
*4 "May you both learn to adhere to the truth,
"and be always pure in your thoughts, words,
"and deeds, and always try to please the Al"mighty, the lover of truth and righteousness.
"Shun evil company, abstain from avarice,
"envy, pride, idleness; cultivate friendship, be
"charitable; respect your parents above all others.
t" May success crown your efforts; may you be
"blessed with children; may you exalt the re



40


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


" ligion of Zoroaster; may the blessing of heaven
" descend upon you."
At the conclusion of the ceremony they each
throw upon the other some grains of rice, and
the most expeditious in performing this feat is
considered to have got the start of the other
in- the future control of the household, and
receives the applause of the male or female
part of the congregation, as the case may be.
The priest now throws some grains of rice
upon the heads of the married pair in token
of wishing them abundance; and bouquets of
flowers are handed to the assembled guests,
and rose-water is showered upon their heads.
The bride and bridegroom now break some
sweetmeats,  and, after  having  served  each
other, the company are invited to partake of
refreshments.
At the termination of this feast the procession forms, and, with lanterns and music, escorts
the bridegroom  back to his own house, where
they feast until midnight.
As midnight approaches they return to the




OF ASIA.


4I


house of the bride, and escort her, with her
dowry, to the house of the bridegroom, and,
having delivered her safely to her future lord
and master, disperse to their respective homes.
Eight days after the bridal ceremony a wedding feast is given by the newly married couple,
to which only near relations and particular
friends are invited.
This feast is composed entirely of vegetables,
but wine is not forbidden; and at each course
the wine is served, and some of the guests
propose a toast, as
"Glory to God."
" Happiness to the young couple."
"Abundance and fruitfulness."
DEATH.
The funeral ceremonies of the Parsees are
solemn and imposing.
When the Divine Essence receives back into
its bosom the vital spark which has animated
a human body, the relations and friends of the




42


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


deceased are naturally drawn nearer to the source
of life.
When the medical attendant declares the case
of a Parsee hopeless, and announces that the
immortal spirit is about leaving the body, the
priest advances to the bed of the dying man,
and says:" May the Almighty pardon you for anything
you may have done against His will, His
" commandments, and the dictates of the true
"religion of Zoroaster.
" May the Merciful God give you a good
"and happy abode in the world which you are
"about to enter, and have mercy upon your
soul. "
After the spirit has departed from the body,
a funeral sermon is delivered by the priest, in
which the inanimate clay before them is made
the subject of an exhortation to the relatives
and friends of the deceased to live pure, holy,
and righteous lives, so that they may hope, by
the mercy of the Almighty, to be allowed to




OF ASIA.


43


cross the bridge of Chinvat, and meet in Paradise.
The body is taken to the ground floor where
it was born, and, after being washed and perfumed, is dressed in clean white clothes and
laid upon an iron bier.
A dog (the most faithful companion of man)
is then brought in to take a last look at its
inanimate master.
This may be considered by us a superstition,
but it is an essential part of the Parsee funeral ceremony.
A number of priests attend and read prayers
from the holy books of their religion for the
repose of the soul of the" departed Parsee.
All the male friends of the deceased go to
the door, bow down and raise their two hands,
from touching the floor to their heads, indicative of their deepest respect for the departed.
The body, after being put upon the bier, is
covered over from head to foot. Two attendants bring it out of the house, holding it low
in their hands, and deliver it to four pall



44


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


bearers outside; the attendants at the bier, as
well as the pall-bearers, being clad in wellwashed, clean, white, but old clothes.
All the people present stand up as the body
is taken out of the house, and bow to it in
respect as it passes by.
A procession is now formed by the friends
of the deceased, headed by a number of priests
in full dress, to follow the body to the dokhma,
or "temple of silence," the last resting-place of
the departed Parsee.
These "temples of silence " are towers, which
may be seen on the beautiful hills around the
harbor of Bombay, and wherever else this mysterious race remain.
They are constructed of stone, and rise some
twenty-five feet high, with a small door at the
side for the entrance of the body.
Upon arriving at the " temple of silence,"
the bier is laid down, and prayers are again
said.  The attendants then raise the body to
its final resting-place, lay it upon its stony bed,
and retire.




OF ASIA.


45


A round pit about six feet deep is surrounded
by an annular stone pavement about seven feet
wide, on which the bodies are placed.
This pit has communication with gutters,
through which the rain washes out the liquid
of the dead bodies into subterranean pits prepared for their reception.
The remains of the human body are distributed to the four elements of which it is composed:
Earth to earth.
Air to air.
Water to water.
Fire to fire.
The worms of the earth shall not consume
the forms that were loved and cherished in
life: the sun warmed them into existence, the
sun shall receive their vital essence.
From the sun thou comest to the sun thou
goest-child of the sun.
On the third day after death, an assemblage
of the relatives and friends of the deceased




46


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


takes place at his late residence, and thence
proceed to the "temple of fire."
The priests stand before the urns in which
the celestial fire is kept burning, and recite
prayers for the soul of the departed.
The son or adopted son of the deceased
kneels before the high priest, and promises due
performance of all the religious duties and obsequies to the dead.
The relatives and friends then hand the
priest a list of the contributions and charities
which have been subscribed in memory of the
deceased, which concludes the ceremony of "rising from mourning," or "the ressurrection of
the dead."
On each successive anniversary of the death
of a Parsee, funeral ceremonies are performed
in his memory.
An iron framework is erected in the house,
in which shrubs are planted and flowers cultivated to bloom in memory of the departed.
Before the frame, on iron stands, are placed




OF ASIA.


47


copper or silver vases, filled with water and
covered with flowers.
Prayers are said before these iron frames two
or three times a day.
These observances are called "Mooctads," or
ceremonies of departed souls.
COSTUMES.
The every day life of the Parsee may be
interesting to those who are not familiar with
Oriental customs.
On getting out of bed in the morning, an
orthodox Parsee first says his prayers. He then
rubs a little  "nirang" upon his hands, face,
and feet, reciting during the ceremony a prayer
or incantation against the influence of devas or
evil spirits, for which the "nirang" is considered a specific. He next takes his bath, cleans
his teeth, and repeats his prayers.  He then
takes his morning meal, consisting of tea or
chocolate, fruits and bread,-a light repast, which
fits him for the duties of the day.
His costume is loose and flowing, very pic



48


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


turesque in appearance, and admirably adapted
to the climate in which he lives.
The sudra, or shirt, which is considered the
most sacred garment, because it is worn next
the skin, is a plain loose vest, usually made
of muslin, or with the opulent of fine white
linen.
A long coat or gown is worn over the sudra,
extending 'to the knees, and fastened around
the waist with the kusti, or sacred cord, which
is carried around three times, and fastened in
front with a double knot.
The pyjamis, or loose trowsers, are fastened
around the waist by a silken cord with tassels
at the ends, which.are run through   a hem.
The material of these pyjamis, among the common classes, is cotton, but the rich indulge in
fancy colored silks and satins.
The head is covered with a turban, or cap,
of a fashion peculiar to the Parsees: it is
made of stiff material, something like the European hat, without any rim, and has an angle
from  the top of the forehead backwards.




OF ASIA.


49


The color is chocolate or maroon, except
with the priests, who wear a white turban.
It would not be respectful to uncover in
presence of an equal nor even of a superior.
The shoes are of red or yellow morocco,
turned up at the toes.
The dress of a Parsee lady is something
gorgeous. They are enveloped in a maze of
mysteriously wound silk, far beyond my power
of description.
They appear as houris floating about the
earth in silk baloons, with a ballasting of
anklets, necklaces, earrings, and jewelry, intended, as may be the case with many other
finely dressed ladies, to bind them to the earth.
The dressmakers' bills, fortunately for the
head of the family, are not exorbitant, as their
costumes have not been through the hands of
the modiste, but are composed of many yards
of fancy-colored silks wound round the nether
limbs and gradually enfolding the body, covering part of the bosom, and are then thrown
over the shoulders and head, drooping on the




50


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


left arm, as a shield against the inquisitive
gaze of a stranger.
The pyjamis, or drawers, are common to
both sexes, but the ladies, of course, excel in
the fine texture and fanciful colors of these
picturesque coverings of their fair extremities.
CUSTOMlS.
The men are well formed, active, handsome
and intelligent.  They have light olive complexions, a fine aquiline nose, bright black eyes,
a well-turned chin, heavy arched eyebrows, thick
sensual lips, and usually wear a light curling
moustache.
The women are delicate in frame, with small
hands and feet, fair complexions, beautiful black
eyes, finely arched eyebrows, and a luxuriant
profusion of long black hair, which they dress
to perfection, and ornament with pearls and
gems.
The Parsees are much more liberal in their
treatment of females than   any other Asiatic
race; they allow them to appear freely in pub



OF ASIA.


51


lic, and leave them the entire management of
household affairs.
They are proverbial for their benevolence, hospitality and sociability. They are apt scholars,
and usually learn several languages. The Gujerati, Hindustani, and English are necessary
to their business.
The Parsees are notoriously fond of good
living, and do not hesitate to spend their money
freely for the best the market affords.
They indulge in wines, but do not reach the
vice of intoxication.
Their first meal, according to the customs of
the East, is a light breakfast, say, tea, bread
and fruits.
The dinner is more abundant, and is composed of/ the dishes of the country-meats,
stews, vegetables, rice, fruits, etc.
These   dishes  are  seasoned  with  pungent
sauces, curries, chutneys, pickles, etc., etc., one
of which, famous in Bombay, is marked with
the mild initials H. F. (hell-fire.)
The evening meal is taken after sunset, when




52


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


the labors and ceremonies of the day are over,
and is the signal for license in eating, drinking and conversation.
A "tat " or parting drink for the night is
the time-honored custom among the Parsees as
well as the Western nations.
THE SACRED FIRE.
The antiquity of sun worship mocks history.
It flourished in Japan at the remotest period of Japanese tradition, and to-day a red
sun upon a white shield is the national banner
of the Japanese empire.
The city of Baal, or Baal-bec, is the grandest ruin which the sun worshipers have left
upon the earth.
The monuments are so great that Oriental
nations will not believe that they were erected
by human hands, but attribute them to the
genii, who they believe were coerced to the
Titanic labor by the talismanic seal of King
Solomon.
An eminent writer says:- "If all the ruins




OF ASIA.


53


"of ancient Rome were gathered together in
"one group, they would not equal in extent
"the ruins of Baal-bec."
"Baal-bee, thou city of the sun,
Why art thou silent, mighty one."
Heliopolis in Egypt was also a city of the
sun.  The   obelisk  erected  3600 years ago,
stands upon the ruined temples of the sun
worshipers.
In the western hemisphere the glory of his
brightness was heralded from the golden temples of the Incas of Peru to the teocallis of
the Pima Indians.
The sacred fire of the Parsees, drawn from
the sun b   Zoroaster has been preserved with
care throughout all their vicissitudes.
It is always kept burning in their temples,
representing the essence of nature, the divine
spark of immortality, the fluid pervading the
whole earth-electricity-the cause of all growth,
vigor, and splendor.
Therefore it is regarded with much reverence
by the Parsees.




154


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


In religious processions, or in time of war,
the sacred fire is carried on silver altars surrounded by the Magi singing hymns, and followed by three hundred and    sixty-five youths
clad in scarlet, representing the days of the year.
When the crescent triumphed over the sun
at Nahavand, the faithful sun worshipers carried  the  sacred  fire into  the mountains of
Khorasan, where they concealed themselves in
caves, and continued to keep the sacred fire
burning, and to worship the God it represents.
"The orb that with surpassing glory crowned,
' Looks from his sole dominion like a God
Of that new world, at whose sight all the stars
Veil their diminished heads."
The sun worshipers were well known to the
ancient Israelites, who had frequent intercourse
with them.
Moses first ordered the destruction of the
sun temples.-Deut. chap. xii.
Ezekiel warned the Jews against falling into
the idolatries of the Persians in worshiping
the sun.-Ezek. chap. viii. v. i6, 17.




OF ASIA.


55


Cyrus the Great, King of Persia, was highly
esteemed by the sacred writers, and was lauded
by them as an instrument in the hands of
God to subdue the heathens.
He was called "the Eagle from the Orient"
(as the eagle was the ensign of the ancient
Persians); "the annointed of the Lord;" "the
shepherd who carries out the Lord's decrees."
-Isaiah chap. xlv. v. I.
YEZDIJIRD.
The last stand made by the Parsees for
empire, for religion, and for fatherland, was
near Ecbatana, where there is a cenotaph to
Ahasueras, and his Hebrew wife, the beautiful
Esther.
The Persian army at the battle mustered
150,000 men, commanded by Thiranzin, and
fought under the eye of King Yezdijird.
The Moslem force was gathered by the Caliph
Omar, and fought under command of Norman
Ben Makran Mazanni.
The followers of Mahomet, shouting "Alla




56


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


Akbar," charged the Persian host with irresistible fury, and  the sun went down    upon the
broken and scattered  ranks of its worshipers.
AWhen it rose again, the Persian kingdom, clming to be coeval with the sun, had ceased to
exist.
The Parsees compute time from    the fall of
Yezdijird, which makes this (i877, A. D.) the
year 1246.
Their calendar is divided into twelve months
of thirty days each (the other five days being
added for holy days, are not counted).
Each day in the year is named after some
particular angel of bliss, under whose especial
protection it is passed.
On feast days a division of five watches is
made under the protection of five different
divinities.
In midwinter a feast of six days is held in
commemoration of the six periods of creation.
About the 21st of March (the vernal equinox)
a festival is held in honor of agriculture, when
planting begins.




OF ASIA.


57


In the middle of April a feast is held to
celebrate the creation of trees, shrubbery, and
flowers.
On the fourth day of the sixth month, a
feast is held in honor of Shahrevar, the deity
presiding over mountains and mines.
On the sixteenth day of the seventh month
a feast is held in honor of "Mithra," the deity
presiding over and directing the course of the
sun.
Also a festival to celebrate truth and friendship.
On the tenth day of the eighth month a
festival is held in honor of Farvardin, the deity
who presides over the departed souls of men.
This day is especially set apart for the performance of ceremonies for the dead.
The people attend on the hills where the
"Temples of Silence" are situated, and there
perform prayers for the departed souls.
The Parsees are enjoined by their religion
to preserve the memory of the dead by annual
religious ceremonies performed in the house;




THE SUN WORSHIPERS


but such of their friends as die on long voyages, or in unknown places, and   the date of
whose death cannot be known, are honored by
sacred rites on this day.
The Parsee scriptures require the last ten
days of the year to be spent in doing deeds
of charity, and in prayers of thankfulness to
God.
On the day of Yezdijird, or new year's day,
the Parsees emulate the western world in rejoicing and social intercourse.
They rise early, and after having performed
their prayers and ablutions, dress themselves in
a new suit of clothes, and sally forth to the
"fire temples," to worship the emblem of their
divinity-the sacred fire, which is perpetually
burning on the altar.
Unless they duly perform this ceremony, they
believe their souls will not be allowed to pass
the bridge of "Chinvat," leading to heaven.
After they have performed their religious services, they visit their relations and friends, when




OF ASIA.


59


the ceremony of "Hamijur," or joining of hands,
is performed.
This ceremony is a kind of greeting by
which they wish each other "a happy new
year."
Their relations and friends are invited to
dinner, and they spend the balance of the day
in feasting and rejoicing; alms are given to the
poor, and new suits of clothes are presented
to servants and dependents.
The ancient Persians possessed a profound
knowledge of astronomy.
They did not speak of "the four corners of
the earth," as the Jews did, but compared the
universe to a chariot drawn by four horses,
continually in motion.
They believed in the revolution of the earth
before the land was raised from the sea upon
which Galileo was born.
The sun was worshiped as the symbol of
divinity under the name of Baal, or Moloch.
The moon was worshiped as the Queen 6f
Heaven, under the name of Astarte, or Astaroth.




6o


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


The firmament was mapped and a catalogue
of over one thousand stars was made before
the Christian era.
The Parsees claim the ancient order of Freemasonry, with all its customs, ceremonies, hieroglypllics, and chronology, as an offshoot from
the religion of the Magi.
They have several flourishing Masonic Lodges
in Bombay, and are received in fellowship by
the Masonic Lodges in England and France.
Their religion teaches them benevolence as
the first principle, and no people practice it
with more liberality. A beggar among the Parsees is unknown, and would be a scandal to
the society.
In the city of Bombay alone they have thirtytwo different charitable institutions.
The sagacity, activity, and commercial enterprise of the Parsees are proverbial in the East,
and their credit as merchants is almost unlimited.
They frequently control the opium  product
of India, which amounts annually to something
like ten million pounds sterling.




OF ASIA.


They have some fifty large commercial houses
in Bombay, fourteen in Calcutta, twenty in Hong
Kong, ten in Shanghai, four in London, three
in Amoy, one in Foo-Chow, one in Yokohama,
and many throughout India, Persia, and Egypt.
The most eminent Parsee of modern times
was Sir Jamseetjee Jeejeeboy, a merchant prince
of India, who was made a baronet by the
Queen of England and Empress of India, in
recognition of his many acts of benevolence
and charity.
He had given away something over ~250,000
for the amelioration of the condition of his
fellow-creatures.
His son succeeds to his title, and has a
legacy of,io,ooo per annum, safely invested
in the British funds, to enable him to keep up
the distinguished  honor conferred  upon  the
founder of his family, with suitable dignity.
A beautiful fountain has recently been erected in Regent's Park, London, by the munificence of Cowasjee Jehanger, a wealthy Parsee
gentleman of Bombay.




62


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


It has been said that the Parsees were superstitious about extinguishing fire, but this is
probably a mistake.
They are the only people in the world who
do not smoke tobacco, or some other stimulating weed.
Their reverence for fire as a symbol of purity prevents them from dealing with it lightly.
They would not play with fire, nor extinguish
it unnecessarily; and generally welcome the
evening blaze with a prayer of thankfulness.
Their religion forbids them  to defile any of
the creations of God, such as the earth, water,
trees, flowers, &c.; and on no account would
a Parsee indulge in the disgusting habit of expectoration.
They have been accustomed to the refinement of finger-bowls after meals, for several
thousand years, and resort to ablutions frequently.




OF ASIA.


63


PANCHAYAT.
The secular affairs of the Parsees are managed by an elective committee, or "Panchayat,"
composed of twelve priests and six bishops,
making a council of eighteen.
Its functions resemble the Jewish Sanhedrim
or the Venetian Council of Ten, and its objects
are to preserve unity, peace, and justice amongst
the followers of Zoroaster.
One law of the Panchayat is singular in its
difference from the law or custom of any other
native community in Asia. It is this:
"That nobody who has a wife living shall
marry another."
The strength of the authority of the "Panchayat" was severely tried in a recent case at
Bombay.
A very rich and influential member of the
society having committed bigamy, was cited to
appear before the "Panchayat" to answer this
violation of the law; and under threat of excommunication, not only to the offender, but to all




64


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


who harbored or associated with him, the culprit surrendered himself to the judgment of
the ancient tribunal of his faith.
The decree of the Panchayat was:
That he should deposit 2,000 rupees as security for the maintenance of his first wife, and
restore to her all her maiden jewels; that he
should appear in the presence of the "Panczayat" with sackcloth around his neck, and,
holding his shoe in his hand, should beat himself five times over the face with the sole, in
token of humility; and that he should undergo
purification for forty days before he again appeared in society.
A sentence which the ladies will no doubt
approve.
CASTE.
There are only two distinct castes among the
Parsees,-the Priests and the People.
The priestly office is hereditary, and no one
can become a Priest who was not born in the
purple; but the son of a priest may become a
layman.




OF ASIA.


65


PARSEE POETRY.
The Parsees have not been without members
who aspired to woo the Muse of Poetry.
The loves of Joseph and Potiphar's wife
(whom they call the beautiful Zuleika) seem to
have formed a prolific theme for song.
They gave Joseph the credit of being the
Adonis of the East, and frequently refer to him
as the physical type of manly beauty in the age
in which he lived.
The.Poet Jami says:
"Zuleika, at night, impatient and distracted,
"the twin sister of affliction, to which sorrow
"was a familiar friend,"Drank to the very dregs the cup of wretch"edness, from  the burning anguish of passion
" passed the night without repose."
The fair Zuleika does not seem to have been
so cruel or indifferent to the fate of Joseph
as his Israelitish brethren have taught us to
believe.
She says:




66


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


"When a prison becomes the residence of
"such a lovely rose, it loses the horrors of a
"prison, and possesses the charms of spring.
"If in paradise we were not to behold the
"face of the person we adore, paradise would
"appear dreary to a lover's eye."
More charitable than Moses, and perhaps exercising a poetic license, the Parsee writers
crown the passion of the fair Zuleika with happiness, and unite her in marriage to the virtuous Joseph who becomes King of Egypt.
The Parsee effusions are warm in praise of
wine, women, and flowers; in fact, they are
altogether too warm to repeat in the frigid atmosphere of America, where the blood is not
w*armed by the Persian sun.
The lover sings to his mistress:" 0 you with large eyes, bright and open as
cups,
" You have two young citrons nestled on your
breast;
" Your teeth are mother-of-pearl and your lips
are honey;




OF ASIA.


67


" Your hair is like a fragrant bush, and spreads
on your shoulders;
" The down on your face is like violets under a
bed of roses;
" Your body is a garden with buds opening on
your breast.
"Whoever comes to gather flowers, tell him
they are mine.
" Thou art my nightingale and my shrub of roses.
" Red-skirted girl, thy forehead is like the moon.
" Should the nightingale behold thee, he would
no longer woo the rose.
" 0 my beautiful girl, my beautiful girl, your
hair is plaited in forty tresses.
"You wear a golden comb in your head and a
silver buckle on your foot.
"You tie around your waist a shawl of a thousand colors.
"My soul, my dear, I die of the brand of love
upon my heart.
"When a day passes without sight of thee, I
ask the flying birds.




68,THE SUN WORSHIPERS


"Thou hast roasted me by the fire of thine
eyes.
"I was a bird of freedom; but now I am tangled in thy net.
" O let the bloom of beauty remain on thy face
for ever, and adorn it with everlasting
graces.
"The rose of thy face has many black moles.
' He kisses them who has great riches; but I
am poor.
" The lover must have gold, but I have not a
grain of barley.
" I amuse myself about this wonderful ordination
of God that wicked men should have such
beautiful wives.
" I wish a sheaf of love arrows would strike
your heart as the fire that spreads a gleam
on the sea.
" Come, maiden, in token of our love, throw
thy arms, painted with henna, around my
neck.
"In the evening, if you do not call for me, I
shall become a devil for the whole night."




OF ASIA.


69


The girl dutifully refefs him to her mother.
"Thou wishest for a kiss.
"The kiss lies behind the lips.
"My mouth is locked;
"My mother has the key."
The following is a more familiar quotation:
"Sweet maid, if thou wouldst charm my sight,
"And bid these arms thy neck infold,
"That rosy cheek, that lily hand,
"Would give thy poet more delight
"Than all Bokhara's vaulted gold,
"Than all the gems of Samarcand."
An old man says:
' The snows of age descend upon my head,
"Yet from my gaiety of disposition I am young."
The heaviest curse in poetry is:
"May you milk forty cows,
"And have no buttermilk
"To quench your thirst."




70


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


SHIRAZ.
The valley of Shiraz, in the province of
Farsistan, through which the bright waters of
the Araxes find their way to the sea, is described as the paradise of the world.
(By   the  way, paradise is an   old Persian
word, and means a park, or beautiful garden.)
On the south of this valley the great range
of mountains called the Hindu-Kush, dividing
India from Persia, furnishes game for the hunter,
and sustenance for flocks and herds.
On the mountains to the north a ruined
"Temple of the Sun" bears melancholy evidence of the departed grandeur of the Parsee
race.  The base of this temple is 1,400 feet
long, by 900 feet broad, and a hundred columns stand as sentinels upon the watch towers
of time,-the ruined pillars of Chilmanar.
The statuary represents the mythology of a
perished race, and the inscriptions defy the
learning of to-day.




OF ASIA.


7 I


The poet says:
"The spider holds the veil in the Palace of
Cxesar,
'The owl stands.sentinel upon    the watch
towers of Afrasiab.
The natural rock was hewn down to form
the platform upon which the "Temple of Fire"
stood, and then faced around with masonrythe interior space or courtyard being 430 by
3 I  feet.
The stairway cut in the solid rock for ascending to the altar, is so regular and easy,
that an army of horsemen could ride to its
summit.
The entrance is guarded by sphynxes, forming portals to the sanctuary, and you pass
through a ghostly avenue of statuary, representing goods, men, animals, and supernatural beings.
An inscription has been deciphered, which is
translated as follows:
" Ormadz, who has created the earth, heaven,




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THE SUN WORSHIPERS


"and men, made Xerxes king and ruler over
"many.
"What Xerxes has done has been by the
grace of Ormadz."
Zoroaster is represented here with his feet
resting upon a star, and his head encircled
with a glory.
An arch i60 feet high and 80 feet span,
attests the architecture of the age.
"Where are the days, thou wondrous sphere,
" When Iran like a sunflower turned
" To meet that eye where'er it burned;
"When from the banks of Bendemeer
" To the nut groves of Samarcand,
"The temples flamed o'er all the land?
"Where are they? Ask the shades of them,
" Who on Cadessia's bloody plains
"Saw fierce invaders pluck the gem
" From Iran's broken diadem,
"And bind her ancient faith in chains."
The valley is loaded with the golden grain
of a luxuriant harvest; it is bright with ferti



OF ASIA.


73


lizing streams and the play of fountains. The
atmosphere is cooled by refreshing showers and
perfumed by the fragrance of flowers.
The highways are shaded by fruit trees, which
furnish the traveler with the most luscious apples,
peaches, grapes, figs, oranges, dates and pomegranates.  The   cedar-built cottages  are the
abodes of industry and happiness.   The spinning-wheel sings under the busy hand of the
Parsee maiden as the shining silk unwinds from
the soft cocoon, and the treadle of the loom
responds to the pressure of dainty feet as the
silk-laden shuttle flies from side to side, coquetting with the rose-leaved fingers.
At eventide the turtle doves coo in the cypress groves, and the nightingale pours his
liquid note of love into the ear of his blushing mistress the rose.
The black-eyed maids of Shiraz come out
clad in gossamer silk (the work of their own
hands), wound in mysterious folds around their
polished limbs.
Their jewelled caps sit jauntily upon their




74


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


heads, and their necklaces of pearls rival the
snowy bosoms upon which they rest.
Their black eyes, powdered with surmah, flash
like fire-flies in the moonlight, and their hennatipped fingers are as dainty as rose leaves.
They dance to the music of the lute, keeping time with the bells on their golden anklets;
whilst the young Parsees make love with the
intensity of the Children  of the Sun, warm
with the wine of Shiraz, and sing the song of
Hafiz:
' Boys, let your liquid ruby flow,
"And bid your pensive hearts be glad:
"Whate'er the frowning zealots say,
Tell them their Eden cannot show
"A stream so clear as Rocnabad,
" A bower so sweet as Mosselay."
CONCLUSION.
I hope that the extracts which have been
given will convince you that the "Sun Worshippers of Asia" are worthy of a higher place
in your estimation than mere idolaters; that




OF ASIA.                75
they are the followers of a pure and sublime
religion which deserves respect for its great antiquity, and for the persecutions it has survived.
As Christians, we venerate the Cross as the
emblem of a crucified Saviour, who mediated
with his life as an atonement for sin.
The Parsees worship the sun as the brightest- creation of God, as the emblem    of His
-purity, as the mirror of His brightness, as the
evidence of His omnipotence, as the majestic
throne around which illimitable worlds revolve
in their orbit, subject to His will.




76


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


THE RUINS OF PERSEPOLIS.
Copied by permission, from "Remains of Lost Empires,"
by P. V. N. MYERS, A. M.,
Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, 1875.
Far eclipsing all other memorials of the past
in Persia are the ruins of Persepolis, whose
stately columns, massive propylaea, gigantic wardens, and cyclopean stages are as largely responsible for the lofty conceptions we entertain
of Persia's early greatness and magnificence as
the pompous periods and gorgeous pictures of
her historians. "Not only youthful travelers,
glowing with imagination," writes Vaux, "but
those of sober judgment, matured by the experience of many years, seem, as they approach
these venerable monuments, to be inspired with
the genius of Eastern romance, and their res



OF ASIA.


77


pective languages scarcely furnish epithets capable of expressing with an adequate energy the
astonishment and admiration excited by such
stupendous objects."
If before examining these antiquities we hastily trace a slight sketch of the ancient Persian
Empire, we shall find that the same will be of
service to us in enabling us to refer the different ruins and monuments to their proper place
in history; and thus we shall proceed to our
survey of these remarkable architectural remains
with more interest, and with prospects of fuller
instruction, from having first seen at what time,
under what influence, and by what ancient
kings they had their birth.
The early history of Persia, with true fidelity to the genius of development as exhibited
by almost every nation, is embodied in the
songs of her poets or in the tales of her fabulists. In the Rustem of her bards we find
the Hercules of the Greeks- and Romans; and
in the long line of heroes and demigods of




78


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


her traditionists we discover an exact reflection
of the storied mythologies of the classical writers.* It is not until we descend to the sixth
century B.C. that we find ourselves free from
the mist of antiquity, and treading on sure
historic ground.     The   patient industry   of the
investigators of the cuneiform records of Assyria has, however, thrown a few rays of light
through the obscurity of the two or three centuries preceding that date.     We know     now that
as late as the ninth     century   B.C. the Persians
were broken up into independent tribes, incapable of acting in concert, and thus offering an
easy prey to the Assyrian kings, who overran
the country and exacted tribute from the subjected chieftains. t With just this glimpse at the
* The great historical poem of Persia, called the "Shah
Nameh," or " Book of Kings," written during the latter part of
the tenth century A.D., by Firdusi, the " Homer of Persia," is a
compilation of all the mythological, traditional, and historical
memorials of the Persian Empire, from the earliest times to the
Mohammedan conquest, A.D. 636.
t Rawlinson's " Ancient Monarchies," vol. iii., p. 365.




OF ASIA.


79


condition of the primitive Persian tribes, we
pass over three centuries to find them consolidated into a state or monarchy, and Pasargadoe, not far from the later capital, Persepolis, the abode of a Persian court. B.C. 588,
the rising Persian power came in contact with
the Median monarchy: Persia lost her king,
and Media her kingdom. Cyrus the Great, son
of the fallen Persian monarch, Cambyses, became the universal master of the Medes and
Persians; and under his soldierly genius the
vastest empire the world had yet seen arose
upon the ruins of the Median and Babylonian
monarchies; for scarcely had Media fallen, before the Babylonian power was broken into
pieces, and her sceptre transferred to "Darius
the Mede," to whom was delegated, by Cyrus,
the government of Babylon. Thus were fulfilled
the high purposes of heaven.
While leading an expedition against some
Scythian tribe-probably the Massagetae-Cyrus
rcceived the wound that in a few days termi



8o


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


nated his life.-   He was buried      at Pasargadae,
and there his tomb stands to-day, surrounded
by the   remains    of the   magnificent structures
with which he beautified     that city.   And    it is
to this Cyrus, as we shall hereafter see, that
we must ascribe some of the most interesting
and important of the Persepolitan ruins.
It is not needful, for our purpose, that we
follow in any way closely the succeeding brilliant periods of the empire. Under Cambyses,
we see her leading her troops along the Upper
Nile; and   but a little later, under Xerxes, reviewing her fleets upon the shores of the Hellespont.   The East for the first time presumes
to  measure her strength     with the West.      The
insult is not forgotten.     At the    battle of the
Issus, Alexander strikes the blow that at once
* Although we have accepted that version of the death of
Cyrus which seems the most probable after a comparison of
authorities, still we admit that there is a very great discrepancy upon this point among the early writers: "Herodotus
and Justin, as well as Diodorus Siculus, state that he was
taken prisoner and put to death by Tomyris, queen of the




OF ASIA.


8i


avenges Greece and shatters the whole fabric of
the  Persian   Empire.    The    battle  of Arbela
quickly succeeds; the gates of Babylon open to
him of their own accord; Persepolis is scarcely
taken before its splendid palaces are heaps of
ruins; at Parsargadae even the sanctity of the
tomb is violated, and within the sepulchre,
basely opened, Alexander reads this inscription:
"0   man, whoever thou     art, and whencesoever
thou comest, I am Cyrus, the founder of the
Persian Empire; envy me not the little earth
that covers my body."      (Vaux's "Nineveh and
Persepolis," p. 99.)  And thus meet the founder
and the destroyer of one of the most magnificent empires the world had ever seen.
Alexander soon afterward dies at Babylon.
Persia for fifty years forms a portion of the
Massagetae.  Ctesias says he was slain by the javelin of an
Indian, while making war on the dervises of that country;
but Xenophon informs us that he died in his bed, after delivering an edifying address to his two sons, and was buried
at Pasargade, in the year B.C. 529." —Fraser's "Persia," chap.
iii.




82


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dominion of the Seleucidae. Then the Parthians
wrest the province from   them, and for five
hundred years maintain in Persia the Parthian
monarchy. A.D. 266 the authority reverts to a
line of native princes: the Sassanian dynasty is
founded; and though the rule of these kings
is at first vigorous, it gradually becomes weak
and inefficient, and offers but feeble resistance
to the impetuous outbreak of the tribes of
Arabia.  The conquest by the Arabs is followed by that of the Turks; and then again
at the beginning of the sixteenth century the
Persian line is restored, and the Saffanean dynasty established.  To-day it is one of the
weakest and most despicable governments on
the face of the earth, and its conceited Shahin-Shaw, or King of Kings, the puppet-show of
Europe.
The antiquities to which we shall now direct
our attention will be seen to belong entirely to
the earliest and most brilliant period of Persia's
history-to the reigns of Cyrus, Darius, and
Xerxes.  And thus these monuments are in



OF ASIA.


83


vested with all the interest of a hoary antiquity,
scarcely yielding in this respect to the remains
of Assyria and Babylonia.
The ruins of Persepolis, as they have come
to be called, lie about forty miles in a northerly direction from Shiraz, on the eastern edge
of the extensive plain of Merdasht. When we
saw this plain, in early spring, portions were
beautifully green with irrigated fields; but the
larger part lay waste and barren, presenting a
very different aspect from  what it did when
the Persian kings, from the elevated terraces
of their palaces, overlooked one of 'the most
beautiful and carefully kept valleys in the world.
Low, gray, sunburnt hills, thrice as barren and
forbidding as ever Virgil imagined the Ithacaean
rocks, hem in the plain on all sides, and instead of heightening by contrast, as formerly,
the beauty of the emerald valley, now intensify
its repulsive desolation.
The ruins, as we have already said, lie jus
at the foot of the hills that border the plain
on the east. Although these remains are usually




84


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


spoken of as the "Ruins of Persepolis," they
are not the remains of that capital-few traces
of which are existing-but are the ruins of the
great palaces, which were situated a considerable distance from  the city. The entire group
is called by the natives, "Chehl Minar" (forty
columns), or "Tukhti Jemshid" (Jemshid's
throne).  Almost every thing  of a wonderful
nature in Persia is attributed by the natives to
this fabulous character; just as Hercules among
the Greeks and Romans, and Semiramis among
the Babylonians, were the names about which
gathered  all the wonderful tales from  every
source; and just as Nimrod or Solomon with
the Arabs to-day has the credit of every thing
remarkable to be found in Assyria or Babylonia.
The   first palace  built at Persepolis was
founded by Cyrus the Great; others were raised
by succeeding kings, especially by Darius, Xerxes, and Artaxerxes Ochus. The mass of buildings was destroyed, at least partially, upon the
overthrow  of the empire by the Macedonian;
and, indeed, Alexander himself is said to have




OF ASIA.


85


fired the edifices during a "drunken frolic, and
at the instigation of a courtesan."+
As at Baalbec, it is the massive substructions
upon which the buildings stood that constitute
one of the most imposing features of the remains. This immense platform is fifteen hundred feet in length, and nine hundred and
thirty-six feet in width; as the ground slopes
slightly from the hill toward the plain, the platform  is supported    by   walls  upon    three  sides
only, the fourth abutting upon the hills that
overhung the palace. The platform is composed
of three terraces, the central being by far the
longest and highest, presenting to the plain an
imposing and massive front seven hundred and
*The name of Thais at least has as sure a place in history
as that of Herostratus, the ambitious youth who thought to
immortalize himself by firing the temple of Diana, at Ephesus. According to Plutarch, as quoted by Fraser, the palace,
though greatly damaged by the fire kindled by Alexander, was
in existence as late as the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes.
Some accounts attribute the final destruction of Persepolis and
its palaces to the Moslem iconoclasts.




THE SUN WORSHIPERS


seventy feet in length, and over forty feet in
height.
This gigantic platform  is the most remarkable work of its nature in the world, far exceeding in its dimelsions the famous substructions of the temple of the Sun at Baalbec.
The   Syrian  platform, however, surpasses the
Persepolitan in the size of the stones used in
its construction.  There are, however, blocks of
sufficiently gigantic dimensions occurring in the
supporting walls of the Persepolitan stage. We
measured one, in the wall of the southern terrace, which gave a length of twenty-seven feet
and a width of seven. The entire face of this
block was covered with cuneiform   inscriptions.
There were many other stones near the one
measured of nearly equally gigantic dimensions.
These massive blocks give the walls a strength
and solidity that insure to them a perpetuity
as lasting as the surrounding hills.  We have
already, in connection with our description of
the great palace-mound at Nineveh, alluded t'>
the purposes subserved by the enormous mounds,




OF ASIA.


87


stages, terraces, or platforms, which we now find
loaded with the debris of the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian palaces. The fact that the
Persepolitan platform that supported the Persian
royal residences was constructed of stone, and
has thus been able to preserve through so many
centuries its prominent features, especially its
wonderful stairways, unimpaired by the wear of
time, is what adds greatly to the interest that
attaches itself to this stupendous monument of
the world's ancient builders.
The surface of the platform is reached from
the front by means of a grand staircase over
twenty feet in width, consisting of two flights
of broad stone steps: each step is so low and
wide that, encouraged by the assurance of
worthy predecessors and the example of our
guide, we mounted on horseback, and with such
ease that it would be an exaggeration to call
it any kind of a feat. Both Niebuhr and Fergusson unite in pronouncing this stairway the
finest work of the kind that the ancient or
even modern world can show. As if depend



88


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


ing on its grand proportions for admiration, it
is entirely  free  from   sculptures   or  ornamentation of any kind; while the smaller staircases
that lead   from   the northern    and   southern   terraces to the central one, are most profusely
decorated with sculptural designs and figures.
The effect of the     stern, stately simplicity which
the broad sweep of steps imparts would be injured were the eye allowed to be led off in
the survey of any thing subordinate and simply
sculpturesque.
Ascending    this  stairway, we    found   ourselves
upon the northern terrace, confronted by two
colossal bulls, wardens of the ancient palace.
In their gigantic dimensions they seem to belong to Egypt,* but in conception and execution
": That Persian art felt the influence of Egyptian, scarcely
admits of doubt. Nebuchadnezzar spoiled Egypt, and one-fourth
century after, Cyrus sacked Babylon.  Cambyses rifled the hundred-gated Thebes, and bore away many trophies into Persia.
Through these mediate and direct contacts with the Egyptians, the Persian artists must have received many suggestions
which had much to do in giving character to Persepolitan
architecture.




OF ASIA.


89


to Assyria.  These colossal figures flanked an
imposing propylaeum, twelve feet wide and over
thirty high. About one hundred feet from the
first gateway is a second of equal dimensions,
likewise flanked by two bulls looking toward
the hills.  These differ from  those facing the
plain in being represented with wings and the
human face divine. These grand propylaea formed the appropriate portals to a magnificent hall,
of which only two stately fluted pillars, sixty
feet high, ornamented.with curious and elaborate capitals, that constitute a considerable portion of the height of the column, are left to
enable us to judge of the nature of the structure.  The excessively elongated capital forms
one of the most peculiar features of the architecture of the Achmmean kings. "It may have
contented them," writes Loftus, "to borrow indiscriminatively from all [nations], so that each
of the hundred columns surrounding their throne
might bear upon its fluted shaft the lotus, the
palm, and the bull, and symbolize the glories
which the victorious arms of the Persians had




90


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


gathered upon the battle-fields of Egypt, Ass —
ria, Greece and Babylonia."
But although, save the pillars mentioned, the
hall to which the propylyea gave entrance has
almost entirely disappeared, and time has swept
away the greater portion of the palaces themselves, whose last master l)assed out through
these portals more than  twenty centuries ago,
and has thrown down the architrave of the
propylaea, and left many a defacing mark on
the giant wardens themselves, yet, time-worn
and scarred, they still sentinel the surrounding
desolation, and, if spared from iconoclastic hands,
will be for many centuries to come the worthy
guardians of the ruins of the palaces of the
Persian kings.
It is a somewhat ludicrous anachronism    to
find these ancient propylka and hulls, besides
bearing cuneiform inscriptions, covered all over
with English initials.  By and by, after the English has become a dead language, some curious
antiquarian will have a real time determining
whether it were Cyrus, Darius, and Xerxes, or




OF ASIA.


91


Rich, Malcolm, and MacDonnald who set up
these winged bulls.  Perhaps Stanley, too, in
those distant times, will be honored, not only
as the discoverer of Livingstone, but also as
founder of the Persepolitan palace: "STANLEY,
NEw YORK HERALD," being engraved between
the legs of one of the colossal bulls in letters
as bold as the Ujiji expedition.
Besides the propylea and the ruined hall to
which they led, there are no remains of importance on the northern terrace.  So, these
examined, we ascend the stairway that leads to
the great central terrace which supports the
grandest fragments of buildings that are found
on the platform. This staircase is elaborately
ornamented with sculptures, representing triumphal processions, where conqueror and captive,
crowned king and long-robed priest, warriors
armed with lance and shield, bow and quiver,
and chariots drawn by led horses, march along
in stone with us to the " Hall of Xerxes,"
the audience-chamber, or throne-room, of the
Great King. Thirteen lofty columns, that rise




92


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


up grandly to a height of sixty feet, are the
principal remains of the magnificent pillared
hall, the grandest and most stately audiencechamber that Eastern monarch ever sat beneath
to hear and judge the matters of his subjects.
The bases of many of the columns that have
fallen are still in place, and thus antiquarians
have been able to restore at least the prominent features of the edifice. The hall proper
consisted of a group of thirty-six columns, each
rising to the great height of sixty-four feet.
Three pillared porticoes inclosed  this central
group on three sides, at a distance of seventy
feet, thus making the dimensions of the structure 350 feet in length and 246 feet in breadth.
The main cluster of pillars, like each of the
porticoes, supported  a roof.  Fergusson thinks
that the edifice was still further protected by
walls of inferior construction, which time may
have removed.    But Rawlinson   supposes the
structure to have been a "summer throne-room,
open to all the winds of heaven, except so far
as it was protected by curtains."




OF ASIA.


93


Besides this hall of Xerxes, there was another
of similar construction standing upon the same
terrace, and called the "Hall of a Hundred
Columns."   It consisted of a square of one
hundred pillars, fronted by a deep portico.
Every column has been thrown down, but massive doorways and monolithic window-frames of
black polished marble render it easy to trace
the lines of the inclosing walls; for, unlike the
hall of Xerxes, the phalanx of pillars was here
surrounded by thick walls. This structure, though
it must have been sufficiently magnificent, was
never so imposing as the lofty audience-hall of
Xerxes, as the columns of the central cluster
and porch were only a trifle over half the
height of those of that stately edifice. It was
doubtless used by the earlier Persian kings for
the same purposes for which the later monarchs
employed the hall of Xerxes.
The originality of conception and boldness of
execution displayed by the Persian architect in
these stately "halls of audience," will have been
remarked. There is nothing in the architecture




94


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


of any other people with which we may compare them, unless we except the audience-halls
of the great Mogul sovereigns of India.   But
the one that formed an adjunct of the palace
at Delhi, while beautiful and sumptous as to
its ornamentation, in stern grandeur and bold
stateliness falls far behind the Persepolitan edifices. Considering the early age in which they
had their birth, they cannot fail to excite alike
our astonishment and admiration.
From a description of these public structures
we now pass to the residences of the Persian
kings. There are the remains of four palatial
edifices lying upon the platform. These have
been identified as the royal residences of Cyrus
or Cambyses, Darius, Xerxes, and Artaxerxes
Ochus. The remains of the first are scanty,
as much of the material was used in the construction of the later palaces. There are, however, enough blocks left to render it possible
to trace a hall and portico that indicate a
structure small in dimensions compared with the
palaces of the last two sovereigns.  The ruins




OF ASIA.


95


of the Palace of Darius lie near those of the
great   audience-hall   already   described.     These
remains    consist principally   of massive     portals
and windows; the jambs of the door-ways and
the entire window-frames being monolithic.*
The jambs of the doors are adorned with
sculptures, a tiresome repetition being maintained: the constantly recurring figures are those
of the king, accompanied by two attendants,
one holding a sun-shade, and the other a brush
for driving   away   flies-from   which   we may infer what were some of the annoyances of life
in a Persian palace; or the royal personage is
represented as engaged in combat with a horned
monster, which he seizes by the horn with his
*This is simply another instance of the direction taken by
the pride or ambition, rather than the taste, of the ancient
builders of the world. It was the style to cut and place gigantic blocks of stone because they witnessed to the power and
resources of the sovereign. It was this pride which raised the
vast obelisks of Egypt, that hoisted to their places the huge
blocks that form the substructions at Baalbec, that cut and polished the Persepolitan monoliths.




96


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


left hand, while with his right he plunges a
dagger into the body of the rampant beast
This figure is thought by Ravenshaw     to be
entirely symbolical, "indicating the sun passing
through or conquering the signs of the zodiac."
In confirmation of this view he quotes Dupuis
to the effect that "the twelve labors of Hercules were in like manner myths, founded on
the annual labors of the sun."-   The remains
of the Palace of Xerxes repeat the features of
the preceding one; while the royal residence
of Artaxerxes Ochus is represented  by scanty
fragments of walls and columns.
As in the case of the Assyrian palaces, there
is a diversity of opinion as to the existence
of a second   story in the Persepolitan royal
residences.  Fergusson, who always seems to be
inclined toward the side of grandeur, supports,
without much apparent evidence, the theory that
would give the palaces all the imposing effect
* "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society," vol. xvi, art. vii,
p. 109.




OF ASIA.


97


to be gained by a second story; but Rawlinson rejects this view, as no staircases nor other
evidences of such a plan of construction have
been discovered.  The buildings, if but onestoried, must have presented a somewhat low
and massive appearance, which wuold, however,
be in part counteracted by their commanding
position upon the terraces. The chambers and
different apartments, 'we may infer, had the
gloom consequent upon such a massive style of
construction, relieved by all those sumptuous
decorations and luxurious arrangements that are
the invariable adjuncts of royal residences 'in
the East.
The gradual growth of the successive Persepolitan palaces has been remarked by different
writers. From the comparatively small structure
which we may without much hesitation attribute
to Cyrus the Great, we advance to the extensive palace of Artaxerxes Ochus, which equaled
in size the famous palace of the Assyrian Sargon. But we think that Rawlinson is the first
to call attention to the change that may be




98


THE SUN WORSHIPERS


observed in the tone of the ornamentation of
the earlier and  later palaces.  The sculptures
that adorn the residences of the first kings,
Cyrus and Darius, represent the royal person
engaged in bold and manly combat with lions
or other monsters; while in the halls and chambers of the palace of Xerxes we see that these
give place to representations of servants bearing
articles of luxury intended for royal use.  "A
tone of mere sensual enjoyment is thus given
to the   later edifice  which  is very far from
characterizing  the earlier; and the decline at
the court, which history indicates as rapid about
this period, is seen to have stamped itself, as
such  changes usually  do, upon   the national
architecture. "*
At Persepolis "it is but a step from     the
palace to the tomb." Directly back of the ruins,
in the face of the rock that overhangs the
great platform, is an artificial recess, sunk just
deep enough to protect a beautiful richly sculp

7' Rawlinson's "Ancient Monarchies," vol. iii., p. 293.




OF ASIA.


99


tured facade. The elaborately carved rock recalls  the  sculpturesque    fronts of Petra.    This
is one of the famous       rock-tombs of the      Persian  kings.   Prominent among the multitude of
figures that adorn the tomb is a robed personage, doubtless intended to represent the sovereign himself, in the position of adoration before a fire-altar and a globe, symbolizing the
sun, the chief object emblematic of the deity
worshiped by these Magian kings.*         Thus here,
as is always the case, religion and the sepulchre
are intimately connected. A low door, toward
the base of the facade, gives entrance to a
small vaulted chamber, containing niches for the
reception   of the   bodies.   There are seven      of
* Zoroasterism, or the worship of fire, is simply a corruption
of the earlier Chaldaan Sabianism-the adoration of the " hosts
of heaven." The Ghebers and Parsees of the present day still
hold the doctrines and customs of their ancestors with little
change. They worship the element fire only as the most perfect type or symbol or the Supreme Deity. They esteem it irreverent to extinguish a flame. We once asked a Parsee 'if
when a candle or lamp was lighted it must be allowed to burn
till it consumed itself?  "No," said he, "for though it may not
be extinguished, still the tip of the candle or wick may be cut




100


TIHE SUN WORSHIPERS


these  rock-hewn tombs in the face of the hills
about Persepolis; but only one has any inscription, and that has been identified as the sepulchre of Darius Hystaspis.
Nearly two    miles north of the group of ruins
we have been      describing, a broad     valley leads
the inconsiderable stream     of the Pulwar through
the  hills that form    the  eastern   border of the
plain of Merdasht.      Just at the opening     of this
valley stood the capital of the later Persian
Empire-Istakr, as       known    in the   language   of
the   country, but    which, through     the   Greeks,
has passed into history under the name of Persepolis, or " City of the     Persians."   The    ruins
off and " —" Thrown into the fire," suggested we. " No,'
continued he, "placed carefully in the fire."  Yet their practical
view of things sometimes gets the better of their veneration, as
when the " fiend" is consuming their property. In India they
have been known to work energetically in extinguishing conflagrations. Great numbers of the Ghebers have been driven by
Moslem persecution into India, where they are known as Parsees.  We found some in the Vale of Cashmere. More than
the Japanese, they merit the distinction of being called the
" Yankees of Asia."  They appear more like Europeans than
Asiaticsi are enterprising, intelligent and progressive.




OF ASIA.


I 01


we have already examined may be considered
as the relics of the royal suburb of the capital.
The remains marking the site of the city proper
are scanty and unimportant compared with those
that cover the great stage. Of the palace that
stood within the city nothing remains save a
solitary column and some fragments of walls and
massive doorways which preserve the ancient site.
The most interesting ruin here, however, is
a heap of enormous blocks, that is supposed
by some to mark the position of one of the
city gates, but which Rawlinson suggests may
be the remains of a "fortified gate," similar to
the Pylae Ciliciae, or the Pylae Syriae, described
by Xenophon in the Anabasis-intended to close
the valley against the passage of a hostile
army.  We do not know      that we have any
authority for saying, yet we suppose that the
ancient custom of fortifying with walls and heavy
gates narrow valleys that formed the natural
pathway through mountainous countries, is what
leads us often to speak of difficult passes as
mountain gates."




I02


1THE SUN WORSHIIPERS


In the face of the rocks that form the northern wall of the Pulwar valley, are four tombs,
similar to the one above the great palace platform.  Beneath those royal sepulchres are numerous tablets of a comparatively recent date,
most of which are the work of the Assacidan
(Parthian) and Sassanian kings, who ruled Persia during the first centuries of our era. We
shall not attempt to give any description of
these sculptures, as they are very similar to the
rock-tablets of Shapur, of which we have given
a brief account in another chapter.
Standing near the base of the cliffs that contain  these tablets is a solitary tower, about
twenty feet square and thirty or forty feet in
height, solidly constructed  of immense stones.
A doorway fifteen feet above the ground gives
access to a single lofty chamber, roofed by
massive marble beams, six feet in width and
twenty-four in length.  In external appearance
the structure resembles the tower-tombs of Palmyra, save in the cyclopean nature of its masonry.  Morier believes it to be a fire-temple, or




OF ASIA.


Io3


more properly, a fire-altar, of the earlier Magians.
We have now glanced at the most important
of the Persepolitan remains. We have not attempted a minute delineation of the various
ruins, but have simply aimed to give a general
yet accurate description of their most prominent
and interesting features. These ruins give us
almost all the knowledge we possess respecting
the architecture of the ancient Persians.      The
remains at Pasargade,* the capital of the earlier
kings, and also those at Susa, on the Susianian plains, are insignificant compared with
those that mark the site of the Persepolitan
palaces.
Keppel, in speaking of the Turks, observes
that a people who never look back to their ancestors will never look forward to their pos* The tomb of Cyrus the Great, which stands at Pasargadae,
is the most interesting structure existing on that ancient site.
For full descriptions of this tomb, and the other remains at Pasargadae and Susa, see Loftus, " Chaldae and Susiana " Rawlinson, " Ancient Monarchies i" and Ker Porter, " Travels."




O14         'T'HE SUN WORSHIPERS
terity.  Persia to-day witnesses the truth of this
reflection. She has no care, nor even curiosity,
respecting the memorials of her former grandeur; and probably there is no nation in this
broad world more forgetful of the claims of
posterity. But fortunately the monuments of her
golden days are of such a nature that they find
protection in their own cyclopean strength.  As
long as the monuments of Egypt overlook the
Nile, so long will the giant wardens of the
Persian palaces look out over the plains of Iran,
and tell to wondering centuries the story of the
magnificence that they witnessed so long ago.




OF ASIA.


Io5


Par'-sees [per. pdrsi] is the name generally given to the
modern followers of Zoroaster. When, in 651 A. D., the last of
the Sassanides, Yezdezird. was defeated by the caliph Omar in the
battle of Nahavand, and Persia was conquered and subjugated by
the Arabs, the whole population was converted to Islam.  Only
a small number of the Persians continued to cling to the national
faith, and these were subjected to severe persecutions.  The Mohammedans called them Guebres, "infidels," and allowed them
to settle only in the poorest districts of the country, around Yezd
and Kirmin.   Most of them, however, emigrated to the Western coast of India, and settled at Bombay, Surat, &awsario, Ahmedabad, etc. Those remaining in Persia were hard pressed;
they decreased in numbers, and sank into poverty.  At present
they number only about 7,000, but they are much respected by
the Europeans, on account of their honesty and reliability.
Those, on the contrary, who went to India, prospered much,
though at one time they too were exposed to persecutions by the
Mohammedans. They are said to number at present from 150,oo 0 to 200,000, and many of the wealthiest merchants of Bombay belong to their denomination.  In India, however, their
religion became mixed up with Hindoo ideas and practices, which
at present has occasioned a schism, and the establishment of a reform association.  Their morals underwent less change; they are
still highly respected and feel well-disposed towards European
civilization.  (For their 'octrines and tenets, see the articles
"Zend-Avesta," and " Zoroaster.")-Johnson's New Universal
Cyclopacdia.
Zoroa'ster [the corrupt Greek and Latin version of the old
Persian name Zarathustra, which the later Persians altered to
Zerdusht], the founder of the ancient Persian religion.  His fam



! o6  'THE SUN WORSHIPERS OF ASIA.


ily name was Spitama, and Zarathustra seems to have been a
title, meaning " chief," " senior," or " high priest."  He was
born in Bactria; his father's name was Pourushaspa, and he had
a daughter by the name of Pouruchista.  But this is all that is
known of his personal life. What the old Persian or Greek
authors tell about him is mere myth; even the time in which he
lived is utterly uncertain, some placing it at 5oo years before Christ,
others, 6,ooo years before Plato.  The religious system which he
developed is a complete dualism, Ormuzd being the creator and
ruler of all that is bright and good, Ahriman the chief of that
which is dark and evil.  To each of these Supreme beings belongs a number of subordinate spirits; Ameshaspentas to Ormuzd,
Devas to Ahriman; and all that exists is divided between these
two realms.  Man has to choose, and according to his choice, he
will, after death, go to Ormuzd or Ahriman; the way to the
first is pure thought, pure speech, and pure actions.  The only
object of worship was fire, the symbol of that which is bright and
goad, and to fire all temples and altars were dedicated.  The
priests who maintained the fire and conducted the worship, were
the Magi. The developments which this system underwent
from the time of Zoroaster up to our days are as yet points of contention.  The monotheism   which is now taught among the
Parsees, and according to which Ormuzd and Ahriman are two
principles only, not two causes, is by some scholars considered as
the original idea of the religion of Zoroaster, while by others it
is thought to be a later development.-yohnson's New Universal
Cyclopeadia.