kind. The stately kings of Persia, exchanging their vain pomp for more genuine greatness, freely mingled with the humblest but most useful of their subjects. On that day the husbandmen were admitted, without distinction, to the table of the king and his satraps. The monarch accepted their petitions, inquired into their grievances, and conversed with them on the most equal terms. "From your labours," was he accustomed to say (and to say with truth, if not with sincerity), "from your labours we receive our subsistence; you derive your tranquillity from our vigilance: since, therefore, we are mutually necessary to each other, let us live together like brothers in concord "and love."16 Such a festival must indeed have degenerated, in a wealthy and despotic empire, into a theatrical representation; but it was at least a comedy well worthy of a royal audience, and which might sometimes imprint a salutary lesson on the mind of a young prince.

66

66

Had Zoroaster, in all his institutions, invariably supported this exalted character, his name would deserve a place with Power of those of Numa and Confucius, and his system would be the Magi. ?' justly entitled to all the applause which it has pleased some of our divines, and even some of our philosophers, to bestow on it. But in that motley composition, dictated by reason and passion, by enthusiasm and by selfish motives, some useful and sublime truths were disgraced by a mixture of the most abject and dangerous superstition. The Magi, or sacerdotal order, were extremely numerous, since, as we have already seen, fourscore thousand of them were convened in a general council. Their forces were multiplied by discipline. A regular hierarchy was diffused through all the provinces of Persia ; and the Archimagus, who resided at Balch, was respected as the visible head of the church, and the lawful successor of Zoroaster.17 The property of the Magi was very considerable. Besides the less invidious possession of a large tract of the most fertile lands of Media,18 they levied a general tax on the fortunes and the industry of the Persians.19 "Though your good works," says the interested

16 Hyde de Religione Persarum, c. 19.

17 Hyde de Religione Persarum, c. 28. Both Hyde and Prideaux affect to apply to the Magian the terms consecrated to the Christian hierarchy.

18 Ammian. Marcellin. xxiii. 6. He informs us (as far as we may credit him) of two curious particulars; 1, that the Magi derived some of their most secret doctrines from the Indian Brachmans; and, 2, that they were a tribe, or family, as well as order."

19 The divine institution of tithes exhibits a singular instance of conformity between the law of Zoroaster and that of Moses. Those who cannot otherwise account for it may suppose, if they please, that the Magi of the latter times inserted so useful an interpolation into the writings of their prophet.

prophet, "exceed in number the leaves of the trees, the drops of "rain, the stars in the heaven, or the sands on the sea-shore, they "will all be unprofitable to you, unless they are accepted by the "destour, or priest. To obtain the acceptation of this guide to salva"tion, you must faithfully pay him tithes of all you possess, of your "goods, of your lands, and of your money. If the destour be satis"fied, your soul will escape hell tortures; you will secure praise in "this world and happiness in the next. For the destours are the "teachers of religion; they know all things and they deliver all men."20

These convenient maxims of reverence and implicit faith were doubtless imprinted with care on the tender minds of youth; since the Magi were the masters of education in Persia, and to their hands the children even of the royal family were intrusted.21 The Persian priests, who were of a speculative genius, preserved and investigated the secrets of Oriental philosophy; and acquired, either by superior knowledge or superior art, the reputation of being well versed in some occult sciences, which have derived their appellation from the Magi.22 Those of more active dispositions mixed with the world in courts and cities; and it is observed that the administration of Artaxerxes was, in a great measure, directed by the counsels of the sacerdotal order, whose dignity, either from policy or devotion, that prince restored to its ancient splendour.23

Spirit of

24

The first counsel of the Magi was agreeable to the unsociable genius of their faith, to the practice of ancient kings,25 persecution. and even to the example of their legislator, who had fallen a victim to a religious war excited by his own intolerant zeal.26 By an edict of Artaxerxes the exercise of every worship, except that of Zoroaster, was severely prohibited. The temples of the Parthians, and the statues of their deified monarchs, were thrown down with ignominy.27 The sword of Aristotle (such was the name 21 Plato in Alcibiad. [p. 122, § 37.]

20 Sadder, Art. viii.

22 Pliny (Hist. Natur. 1. xxx. c. 1) observes, that magic held mankind by the triple chain of religion, of physic, and of astronomy.

23 Agathias, 1. iv. [c. 24] p. 134. [ed. Paris; p. 258, ed. Bonn.]"

24 Mr. Hume, in the Natural History of Religion, sagaciously remarks that the most refined and philosophic sects are constantly the most intolerant.b

25 Cicero de Legibus, ii. 10. Xerxes, by the advice of the Magi, destroyed the temples of Greece.

26 Hyde de Relig. Persar. c. 23, 24. D'Herbelot, Bibliothèque Orientale, Zurdusht. Life of Zoroaster in tom. ii. of the Zendavesta.

27 Compare Moses of Chorene, 1. ii. c. 74, with Ammian. Marcellin. xxiii. 6. Hereafter I shall make use of these passages.

a

Agathias mentions the reign of Artaxerxes in this place, but says nothing about the Magi: the passage alluded to seems to be l. ii. c. 26, p. 122, ed. Bonn.-S.

Hume's comparison is rather between

theism and polytheism. In India, in Greece, and in modern Europe, philosophic religion has looked down with contemptuous toleration on the superstitions of the vulgar.-M.

given by the Orientals to the polytheism and philosophy of the Greeks) was easily broken;28 the flames of persecution soon reached the more stubborn Jews and Christians ;29 nor did they spare the heretics of their own nation and religion. The majesty of Ormusd, who was jealous of a rival, was seconded by the despotism of Artaxerxes, who could not suffer a rebel; and the schismatics within his vast empire were soon reduced to the inconsiderable number of eighty thousand.3 30 a This spirit of persecution reflects dishonour on the religion of Zoroaster; but, as it was not productive of any civil commotion, it served to strengthen the new monarchy, by uniting all the various inhabitants of Persia in the bands of religious zeal.b

royal autho

II. Artaxerxes, by his valour and conduct, had wrested the sceptre of the East from the ancient royal family of Parthia. There Establishstill remained the more difficult task of establishing, through- ment of the out the vast extent of Persia, a uniform and vigorous admi- rity in the nistration. The weak indulgence of the Arsacides had provinces. resigned to their sons and brothers the principal provinces and the greatest offices of the kingdom in the nature of hereditary possessions. The vitaxa, or eighteen most powerful satraps, were permitted to assume the regal title, and the vain pride of the monarch was delighted with a nominal dominion over so many vassal kings. Even tribes of barbarians in their mountains, and the Greek cities of Upper Asia,31 within their walls, scarcely acknowledged or seldom obeyed any superior, and the Parthian empire exhibited, under other names, a lively image of the feudal system 32 which has since prevailed in Europe. But the active victor, at the head of a numerous and dis28 Rabbi Abraham, in the Tarikh Schickard, p. 108, 109.

31

29 Basnage, Histoire des Juifs, 1. viii. c. 3. Sozomen, 1. ii. c. 1. Manes, who suffered an ignominious death, may be deemed a Magian as well as a Christian heretic. 30 Hyde de Religione Persar. c. 21.

31 These colonies were extremely numerous. Seleucus Nicator founded thirty-nine cities, all named from himself or some of his relations (see Appian in Syriac. [c. 57], p. 124). The æra of Seleucus (still in use among the eastern Christians) appears as late as the year 508, of Christ 196, on the medals of the Greek cities within the Parthian empire. See Moyle's works, vol. i. p. 273, &c., and M. Freret, Mém. de l'Académie, tom. xix.

32 The modern Persians distinguish that period as the dynasty of the kings of the nations. See Plin. Hist. Nat. vi. 25.

a It is incorrect to attribute these persecutions to Artaxerxes. The Jews were held in honour by him, and their schools flourished during his reign. Compare Jost, Geschichte der Israeliter, b. xv. 5, with Basnage. Sapor was forced by the people to temporary severities; but their real persecution did not begin till the reigns of Yazdegerd and Kobad. Hist. of Jews, iii. 236. According to Sozomen (ii. 8), Sapor first persecuted the Christians. Manes was put to death by Varanes

the First, A.D. 277. Beausobre, Hist. de Man. i. 209.-M.

b In the testament of Ardischer in Ferdusi, the poet assigns these sentiments to the dying king, as he addresses his son:

"Never forget that, as a king, you are at once the protector of religion and of your country. Consider the altar and the throne as inseparable; they must always sustain each other." Malcolm's Persia, i. 74.-M.

population

of Persia.

ciplined army, visited in person every province of Persia. The defeat of the boldest rebels, and the reduction of the strongest fortifications,33 diffused the terror of his arms and prepared the way for the peaceful reception of his authority. An obstinate resistance was fatal to the chiefs; but their followers were treated with lenity.34 A cheerful submission was rewarded with honours and riches; but the prudent Artaxerxes, suffering no person except himself to assume the title of king, abolished every intermediate power between the throne and the Extent and people. His kingdom, nearly equal in extent to modern Persia, was on every side bounded by the sea, or by great rivers, by the Euphrates, the Tigris, the Araxes, the Oxus, and the Indus; by the Caspian Sea and the Gulf of Persia. 35 That country was computed to contain, in the last century, five hundred and fiftyfour cities, sixty thousand villages, and about forty millions of souls.36 If we compare the administration of the house of Sassan with that of the house of Sefi, the political influence of the Magian with that of the Mahometan religion, we shall probably infer that the kingdom of Artaxerxes contained at least as great a number of cities, villages, and inhabitants. But it must likewise be confessed that in every age the want of harbours on the sea-coast, and the scarcity of fresh water in the inland provinces, have been very unfavourable to the commerce and agriculture of the Persians, who, in the calculation of their numbers, seem to have indulged one of the meanest, though most common, artifices of national vanity.

Recapitu lation of the war between the Par

As soon as the ambitious mind of Artaxerxes had triumphed over the resistance of his vassals, he began to threaten the neighbouring states, who, during the long slumber of his predecessors, had insulted Persia with impunity. He obtained some easy victories over the wild Scythians and the effeminate Indians; but the Romans were an enemy who, by

thian and

Roman empires.

33 Eutychius (tom. i. p. 367, 371, 375) relates the siege of the island of Mesene in the Tigris, with some circumstances not unlike the story of Nisus and Scylla.

34 Agathias, ii. [c. 26] p. 64 [ed. Paris; p. 122, ed. Bonn]. The princes of Segestan defended their independence during many years. As romances generally transport to an ancient period the events of their own time, it is not impossible that the fabulous exploits of Rustan, Prince of Segestan, may have been grafted on this real history.

35 We can scarcely attribute to the Persian monarchy the sea-coast of Gedrosia or Macran, which extends along the Indian Ocean from Cape Jask (the promontory Capella) to Cape Goadel. In the time of Alexander, and probably many ages afterwards, it was thinly inhabited by a savage people of Ichthyophagi, or Fishermen, who knew no arts, who acknowledged no master, and who were divided by inhospitable deserts from the rest of the world. (See Arrian de Reb. Indicis [c. 26]). In the twelfth century the little town of Taiz (supposed by M. d'Anville to be the Teza of Ptolemy) was peopled and enriched by the resort of the Arabian merchants. (See Geographia Nubiens. p. 58, and d'Anville, Géographie Ancienne, tom. ii. p. 283.) In the last age the whole country was divided between three princes, one Mahometan and two idolaters, who maintained their independence against the successors of Shah Abbas. (Voyages de Tavernier, part i. 1. v. p. 635.) Chardin, tom. iii. c. 1, 2, 3.

36

his arms.

their past injuries and present power, deserved the utmost efforts of A forty years' tranquillity, the fruit of valour and moderation, had succeeded the victories of Trajan. During the period that elapsed from the accession of Marcus to the reign of Alexander, the Roman and the Parthian empires were twice engaged in war; and although the whole strength of the Arsacides contended with a part only of the forces of Rome, the event was most commonly in favour of the latter. Macrinus, indeed, prompted by his precarious situation and pusillanimous temper, purchased a peace at the expense of near two millions of our money;37 but the generals of Marcus, the emperor Severus, and his son, erected many trophies in Armenia, Mesopotamia, and Assyria. Among their exploits, the imperfect relation of which would have unseasonably interrupted the more important series of domestic revolutions, we shall only mention the repeated calamities of the two great cities of Seleucia and Ctesiphon. Seleucia, on the western bank of the Tigris, about forty-five miles to the north of ancient Babylon, was the capital of the Mace- cities of donian conquests in Upper Asia.38 Many ages after the fall and Ctesiof their empire, Seleucia retained the genuine characters of phon. a Grecian colony-arts, military virtue, and the love of freedom. The independent republic was governed by a senate of three hundred nobles; the people consisted of six hundred thousand citizens; the walls were strong, and, as long as concord prevailed among the several orders of the state, they viewed with contempt the power of the Parthian: but the madness of faction was sometimes provoked to implore the dangerous aid of the common enemy, who was posted almost at the gates of the colony.39 The Parthian monarchs, like the Mogul sovereigns of Hindostan, delighted in the pastoral life of their Scythian ancestors, and the Imperial camp was frequently pitched in the plain of Ctesiphon, on the eastern bank of the Tigris, at the distance of only three miles from Seleucia. 40 The innumerable attendants on luxury and despotism resorted to the court, and the little village of Ctesiphon insensibly swelled into a great city.11 Under the reign of Marcus, the Roman generals penetrated as far as

37 Dion, 1. lxxviii. [c. 27] p. 1335.

Seleucia

41

38 For the precise situation of Babylon, Seleucia, Ctesiphon, Modain, and Bagdad, cities often confounded with each other, see an excellent Geographical Tract of M. d'Anville, in Mém. de l'Académie, tom. xxx.

39 Tacit. Annal. vi. 42. Plin. Hist. Nat. vi. 26.

40 This may be inferred from Strabo, 1. xvi. p. 743.

41 That most curious traveller, Bernier, who followed the camp of Aurengzebe from Delhi to Cashmir, describes with great accuracy the immense moving city. The guard of cavalry consisted of 35,000 men, that of infantry of 10,000. It was computed that the camp contained 150,000 horses, mules, and elephants; 50,000 camels, 50,000 oxen, and between 300,000 and 400,000 persons. Almost all Delhi followed the court, whose magnificence supported its industry.