The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-06-20

place 10 still the real centre OF tho Shah reli.
gion. "Kcrbolsi." the title givon to q man who
has n,ndo the pilgrimage to Rcrbela, is moro
esteemed In Persia than HAIL" the designa-
tion of q pilgrim to Mecca Tho great difference
between tho two scots OF Sunnis and Shiahs
Is. ms wo have said. that the Shiahs receive
Ali as the direct successor Of Mohammod,
and as the first Caliph, while tho Sun
mis- interposo Abr Bekr, and Omar, and insist
that Ali was only the third on the roll. Tho Sum
mis- also believe that the caliphate has do.
seconded through tho dynasties Of the ommiads
and the Abbasslds to the Ottoman Sultan, who
is now tho orthodox Amir Of Muminim, or
Commander of the Faithful. The Shiahs, on
the other hand, maintain that tho right limo Of
descent was from Ali through his sons. Hassan
and Huscyn, to the Twelve Holy Imams, the last
Of whom disappeared in the twelfth century.
We repeat that tho Shiahs believe that this
Imam 10 still living and that he will eventually
return rs tho MRhdi and riGhtfuf Messiah Of
Islam. His coming was predicted by tho Prophet
In the following passage of the Koran. which
was held to justify the claims OF the alleged
Mnhdi who took Khartum, whose successor,
or Khnlifa. Is now ruling az 0indcrman. Tho
passage runs thus: when you SEQ black ban
nors coming out of Khorasan, go forth and Join
them, for the Imam of God will DO with those
banners, and his name is lei Mahdi. Ho will I'LL
tuc WOTlu Win equity anu JUSTICE. ftOlQlnE
those views, this Pcrsians, of course. do not look
upon the Shah rs anything moro than their tenn
poral sovereign; among them tho real power lies
In the hands of the Mollahs, whose chief lives ut
kerb ola. In Kurdistan, there arc even some
who say that Ali is God. and among orthodox
Persians the greatest religious event of tho
whole year is tho tenth day of Muharrcm, tho
anniversary Of the murder of Huseyn by tho
Caliph Omar. We nre told that no one who has
not witnessed this ceremony can realize to what
lengths the usually impassivo Oriental can be
carried by religious enthusiasm. In .Azerbajan
Europeans generally keep to their houses the
whole OF the tenth Muharrem, as the mob and
the soldiery nre in a state of uncomfortable
frenzy. Revcrencing Ali and his sons as they
do. 1t Is not surprising that the Persians prefer
to mako pilRrimaRes to Kerbela or Meshod.
where the eighth Imam. Ria, is buried, Mecca
being SO much further away and given over to
the Sunnis, with whom they have little in COM
mon. Pilgrimagcs to one OF the two shrines
mentioned set out every year from all the
big towns in Persia, tho men often taking
their families with them. They move very
slowly by day marches to their destina-
ton. preceded by q man with a red flag.
They stay at Kerbela or Meshed almost a
month. the richer pilgrims Offering gifts at the
shrine. and the poorer collecting relics. Then
they set out on the tedious way home again,
with the right to bear the title of Kerbelai, or
Meshedi, and with a certainty OF eternal saliva
ton. Mr.. Brigham met many caravans of pill
grims, and he says that they always seemed
devout and in earnest about their journey.
Their worst hardship is the extravagant de-
mands made by officials on the road In return
for a passport. 1t Is manifest that these rival
pilgrimages do much to keep up the hatred that
exists between the Turks and the Persians.
We have mentioned that MI Bigham, after
travelling from Bayazid to Teheran, traversed
Persia from north to south, thence passing into
Irak Arab. From tho last-named region he
proceeded through Kurdistan and Khorasan to
Meshed. from which city he entered Russian Tur-
kestan. visited Bokhara. Samarkand. and went
through Ferghana, across the Alai range into
China. terminating his journey in this direc-
ton at Kashgar whence he travelled north acrosa
the Steppe until he reached a station on the
rans-Siberian Railway. In the present notice
we shall mainly touch, SO far as Persia is con-
cerned, upon what no saw at Pasargade and
on the sites of Persepolis, Susa, and Ec-
BAHAMA. On his way southwark from Ispa-
han, when he had reached a point some sew
enty miles beyond Abadeh. he entered the plain
Of Pasargade, on which are the ruins of a very
uilSlClt Cltg ahu II toLuu VI SyEub IL uTtdI.
Cyrus built the city on the site o: his great vic
tory over Astyagcs, the Mede, and it subse.
quently became one OF tho royal cities OF the
Achamenian dynasty. the kings of which were
crowned here. Alexander the Great VISITED it
on his return from India in 1874 b. C. and found
the tomb rifed of its treasures. Tho ruins. of
course, cannot DO compared with those at Per
sepolis, but they seem to be interesting enough.
There 10 a halfruined wall, a square arch about
thirty feet high, a big pillar with n recess like a
sentry box in 1t. and a cuneiform inscription cut
above. On a mound not far of is a tall, slender
column nearly thirty-lve feet high. The sights
OF the place are the pillar and tomb OF Cyrus.
The pillar stands away from the road. and is
eleven feet high. 1t is Of hewn stone. and Is en-
graved with a picture of a four-winged and
crowned king. supposed to be the only
authentic portrait Of Cyrus in existence.
According to Mr.. Bigham the carving is
very fine. but the features are now almost
completely worn away. The inscription is cut
in triplicate cuneiform, in Persian. SUSAN, and
Assyrian, and reads: II am Cyrus, tho King.
the Achemenian." The tomb. which is abouta
quarter Of a milo from the pillar. and is sur
rounded by O graveyard and a small hamlet, Ia
now used as a mosque. 1t is a square building
of polished marble. raised on five gigantic steps.
and is about forty feet high. Our traveller
climbed up to see the inside. which consists of n
chamber about ten feet by eight feet. The walls
arc covered with inscriptions in Arabic and
hung with dirty bits Of rag. left as offerings by
the Persians.
Pursuing his journey through q rocky dcfle
called the Sangbur. Mr.. Bigham found a passage
cut along the face of the rock about sixty feet
above the surface of the Polwar River. The
passage is about two hundred yards long and
three feet broad. The outer edge is a rock
balustrade. beyond which there is a steep preci-
pice. 1t is described as a marvellous piece of
work. which shows what a pitch of engineering
skill the Persians had reached under Cyrus and
Darius. The next day tho traveller found him
self at Pusa, and, after resting. rode Off to
Persepolis. where he found the toll of a visit 10
Persia amply repaid by the spectacle of oven tho
relics of the palace that Cyrus built and Alex
ander burned.
We are hidden to imagine an immense plat
form about so feet high. and with n frontage of
a quarter of a mile. built entirely of huge blocks
of hewn stone. The two flights of stone steps
which lead up to this platform from the ground