



Produced by Adrian Mastronardi and the Online Distributed
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  THE
  HISTORY OF ANTIQUITY.

  FROM THE GERMAN
  OF
  PROFESSOR MAX DUNCKER,


  BY
  EVELYN ABBOTT, M.A., LL.D.,
  _FELLOW AND TUTOR OF BALLIOL COLLEGE, OXFORD._


  VOL. V.


  LONDON:
  RICHARD BENTLEY & SON, NEW BURLINGTON STREET,
  Publishers in Ordinary to Her Majesty the Queen.
  1881.



  Bungay:
  CLAY AND TAYLOR, PRINTERS.




CONTENTS.


BOOK VII.

_THE ARIANS OF EASTERN IRAN._

  CHAPTER I.                                                      PAGE
  THE LAND AND THE TRIBES                                            3

  CHAPTER II.
  THE KINGDOM OF THE BACTRIANS                                      19

  CHAPTER III.
  THE SCRIPTURES OF IRAN                                            49

  CHAPTER IV.
  ZARATHRUSTRA AND THE DATE OF THE COMPOSITION OF THE AVESTA        68

  CHAPTER V.
  THE GODS OF THE ARIANS IN IRAN                                   106

  CHAPTER VI.
  THE REFORM OF THE FAITH                                          129

  CHAPTER VII.
  THE DOCTRINE OF THE AVESTA                                       149

  CHAPTER VIII.
  THE PRIESTHOOD OF IRAN                                           184

  CHAPTER IX.
  THE LAW OF THE PRIESTS                                           201

  CHAPTER X.
  THE LATER DEVELOPMENT OF EASTERN IRAN                            239


BOOK VIII.

_THE EMPIRE OF THE MEDES AND PERSIANS._

  CHAPTER I.
  THE FOUNDATION OF THE MEDIAN KINGDOM                             267

  CHAPTER II.
  THE EMPIRE OF THE MEDES                                          292

  CHAPTER III.
  THE TRIBES OF THE PERSIANS                                       319

  CHAPTER IV.
  THE FALL OF THE MEDIAN KINGDOM                                   335

  CHAPTER V.
  THE RISE OF THE PERSIAN KINGDOM                                  382




BOOK VII.

THE ARIANS OF EASTERN IRAN.




EASTERN IRAN.




CHAPTER I.

THE LAND AND THE TRIBES.


Between the valley of the Indus and the land of the Euphrates and
Tigris, bounded on the south by the ocean and the Persian Gulf, on the
north by the broad steppes which the Oxus and Jaxartes vainly attempt
to fertilise, by the Caspian Sea and the valley of the Aras, lies the
table-land of Iran. Rising to an average height of 4000 feet above the
level of the sea, it forms an oblong, the length of which from east to
west is something more than 1500 miles. The breadth in the east is about
1000 miles, but at the narrowest point, from the Caspian Sea to the
Persian Gulf, it is not much more than 500 miles; while the western
edge, reaching from the Persian Gulf to the mountains of Aderbeijan,
again extends over a distance of about 750 miles.

In this seclusion, neither penetrated by bays of the sea nor traversed
by mighty rivers, the region exhibits a certain similarity to the
highlands of Arabia. The centre of the Iranian land, like that of
Arabia, is occupied by a great desert where only nomadic life is
possible. But the soil of Iran is more diversified in regard to
elevation and depression. The northern half of the land is higher than
the southern, the centre is hollowed out in the form of a trough, so
that in the east, at any rate, the waters from the inner <DW72>s of the
mountainous rim fall into the depression, and collect in fructifying
lakes. The oases and fertile valleys are more numerous and extensive
than in Arabia, and though the rivers of the inner table-land, like the
streams of the northern edge, which flow to the north, are lost in the
sand or end in unimportant lakes, they nevertheless render agriculture
possible over wide tracts of country.

The northern side is more diversified and superior in formation to
the south. The southern edge, which sinks down to the ocean, closely
resembles Arabia in the climate and the nature of the country; the
mountains of the north, on the other hand, exhibit green pastures and
splendid forests where Arabia has nothing but bare peaks: in the Hindu
Kush, and Elburz on the Caspian Sea, as well as in Aderbeijan, they rise
into vast Alpine districts. The eastern edge, extending over a distance
of 900 miles, rises like a steep wall out of the valley of the Indus; a
few long and difficult passes lead from the Indus to the high ground,
which on the north commences with cold bare flats, and on the south with
<DW72>s still more desolate and barren, and at the same time intolerably
hot. Only the terraces of the valley of the Cabul, which flows down into
the Indus, allow a convenient exit towards the north, and present a soil
to a great extent so fertile that three harvests can be reaped in the
year. The western edge of Iran, on the other hand, is formed by parallel
ridges running from the north-west to the south-east, between which,
beside extensive mountain pastures, lie narrow and well-watered valleys.
In the north-west the low-lying regions are rich in meadows and forest;
while those between the abutting ridges of the western and southern edge
are warm, and even hot, in climate, rich and luxuriant in vegetation.

On this table-land the heat is softened, though not entirely, by the
elevation of the soil. After violent storms in the spring, no cloud
darkens the sky from May to September; the atmosphere is peculiarly dry
and clear, and through the fine air can be seen, bright and sharp, the
outlines of the mountains and the whole country, while at night the
star-lit sky almost replaces the light of day. The changes in
temperature are sudden and severe. From cold, snow-covered terraces,
8000 feet in height, we suddenly descend to the glowing heat of the
plains, lying barely 2000 feet above the sea. In the north-east
oppressive heat alternates with great cold; the north suffers from a
severe winter, with heavy falls of snow and icy storms, blowing over the
Caspian Sea and the broad steppes; in the south the air is filled with
the dust of the desert, here extraordinarily fine, and the hot winds
give the heaps of sand the appearance of changing waves, and roll masses
of it to the sky.[1]

As far back as our information extends, we find the table-land of Iran
occupied by a group of nations closely related to each other, and
speaking dialects of the same language. On the edges of that great
desert, which occupies the centre of the land, are tracts of pasture,
and further inland, treeless steppes, which, however, are watered here
and there by brackish pools, and produce a salt vegetation barely
sufficient to provide buffaloes and camels with sustenance, until the
soil becomes entirely barren. In the western part of these steppes
wandered a pastoral people, whom Herodotus calls Sagartians. They were
horsemen, but, according to the historian's statement, carried no
weapons of attack beyond a dagger and a rope of twisted straps, at one
end of which was a loop. In this they placed their confidence in battle;
they threw it over men and horses, and so dragged them down and
strangled them. In the inscriptions of the Achaemenids this nation is
called _Acagarta_.[2]

Close to the Indus, and beyond the bare, hot, treeless shores of the
ocean, the southern part of the plain consists of sandy flats, in which
nothing grows but prickly herbs and a few palms. The springs are a day's
journey from each other, and often more. This region was possessed by a
people whom Herodotus calls Sattagydae, and the companions of Alexander
of Macedonia, Gedrosians.[3] Among the nations of the East who were
subject to them, the inscriptions of the Achaemenids mention the
"_Thataghus_," which the Greeks understood as Sattagush and Gadrush.
Neighbours of the Gandarians, who, as we know, dwelt on the right bank
of the Indus down to the Cabul, the Gedrosians led a wandering,
predatory life; under the Persian kings they were united into one
satrapy with the Gandarians.[4] To the south of the Gedrosians, on the
coast, there dwelt, according to the Greeks, a miserable race, eaters of
fish and tortoises, who built their houses of the bones of whales
thrown up by the sea. They wove their nets from the bark of palms, and
their weapons were javelins hardened in the fire.[5] The edge on the
south allows no streams of any size to flow to the sea, so that even to
this day this coast presents only a few small fertile spots. About
equally distant from the northern and southern edge of the table-land,
to the east of the desert of the interior, lies a considerable lake, now
called Hamun, but known to the Greeks as Areios. It forms the centre of
a cultivated district, though the storms from the west often drive the
sand of the desert to its shores. This basin is formed by and receives
important streams flowing from the inner <DW72>s of the northern and
eastern edge. From the southern spurs of the Hindu Kush comes the
Hilmend, the Haetumat of the Avesta, _i.e._ rich in bridges, the
Etymandros of the Greeks, which has a course of about 400 miles, and
before falling into the lake is joined by the Arghandab. The Lora, which
flows from the east, but further to the south, does not now reach the
lake. From the north flow the Harut and Chashrud. Round this lake, and
on the banks of the Hilmend, the Arghandab, and the Lora, lies a
fruitful region; higher up the walls of the valleys are covered with
forests, until towards the east the upper course of the rivers is
enclosed by bare cliffs. On the shores of the Hamun, and in the valley
of the Hilmend, dwelt a people whom the inscriptions of the Achaemenids
call _Zaraka_, i.e. dwellers on the lake. A lake in Old Persian is
_Daraya_; in the ancient language of the East, _Zarayanh_; in modern
Persian, _Zareh_. Hence we understand why Herodotus calls this nation
Sarangians, the later Greeks, Zarangians and Drangians. According to the
Greeks the Zarakas were a warlike nation, armed with Median bows and
spears, unsurpassed in battle on horseback; and a tribe of them which
lived under good and equitable laws bore the name of Ariacpians.[6] The
ruins of cities and works of irrigation testify to the former prosperity
of this region. East of the Zarakas, up the valley of the Arghandab,
dwelt the Arachoti. In the inscriptions of the Achaemenids they are
called _Harauvati_; in the Avesta, _Harahvaiti_, i.e. the rich in
water. These names the Arachoti received from the river on which they
were settled, the older name of which was Arachotus (_Sarasvati_).[7]
Herodotus does not designate the Arachoti by this name derived from the
river of their land, but by the tribal name of Pactyes; he tells us that
they wore peculiar bows, daggers, and skins.[8] The Afghans, who in
ancient times occupied the region from the Suleiman mountains on the
east as far as the Arghandab on the west, Shorawak on the south, the
Cabul and the range of the Sefid-Kuh on the north, and in the middle
ages forced their way to Cabul and Peshawur, still call themselves
Pashtun and Pakhtun, or Rohilo, _i.e._ mountaineers. They still speak
their old rough mountain language, which is closely connected with the
dialects of the Arian tribes on the Indus.[9]

Eastward of Elburz, the point where the northern edge of Iran again
rises into a lofty range to the west (Demavend is more than 18,000 feet
in height), and then sinks down to the Caspian Sea, lay the Hyrcanians.
In the inscriptions of the Achaemenids their land is known as _Varkana_;
the modern name is Jorjan. Here, according to the Greeks, the mountains
were covered with forests of oaks, where swarms of wild bees had their
hives; in the valleys vines and fig-trees flourished, and the soil down
to the sea was so luxuriant that corn grew from the fallen grains
without any special sowing.[10] The description is hardly exaggerated.
The waters pouring from the heights and snow-fields of Elburz water the
soil of the coast so thoroughly, that a tropical growth flourishes in
Jorjan, Taberistan, and Ghilan, the luxuriance of which is assisted by
the volcanic heat of the earth. The lagunes of the coast are succeeded
by marsh forests; higher up are fields of rice and plantations of
sugarcane, and beyond these fertile meadows, above which splendid
forests of oaks, planes, and elms clothe the heights of Elburz. There is
abundance of water fruits, figs and mulberries, olives and