The Raymer enterprise., 1921-10-20


fP, JARED BY the Ns,iensi oeo.raphic So
ciety. Washington. ID. @
Unlike Bnbyl0n!a. Assyria and
Chaldea, which existed little longel
than during their periods Of grea1
power. Persia, once the peer Of an,
Of them, has maintained Its entity
through an ebb and flow Of fortune
down TO the present day. And nov
the World war may be said to have
caused the "rediscovery" Of this his
toric country. though Its recent align
ment with soviet Russia holds ouI
possibilities that it may not receive
from the Western world the rejuve
nation that was promised.
Darius would fall TO recognize ai
his mighty empire the narrow limit
Of modern iran, i.s borders now fal
withdrawn from the waters Of the
Oxus and the Indus. from the shorei
Of The Mediterranean and the wide
spread Mes0p0tamian plains; but the
nucleus still is there In territory, race
language and customs.
Persia OF today includes within 4
territory still three times the size Of
France. ancient Media, mountainous
Parthia and the province Of Ears
whence sprang her first great dynasty
Such. monuments to the glory Of the
great kings as the ruined capitals Of
Susa. Persepolls and Ekbatana still
stand Oh Persian soil.
The majority Of the present inhabi.
tants. although tinged with the blood
Of Greek, Arab, Turk and Mongol con.
querors, are the lineal descendants Of
the original Iranian. or Aryan, popu.
lation, and speak language which
has for Its basic element the ancient
Persian tongue.
Sultan Ahmed Shah. the one hun.
dred fifty-six.h king of kings" sits
on the totterlng Persian throne, while
the future Of his kingdom rests In the
hands Of outside powers.
Vast Desert Plateau With Gases.
Modern Persia, with the exception
Of the prosperous northwest province
Of Turkish.speaking Azerbaijan and
the seni-troplcai region between the
Elburz mountains and the Caspian
sea. can be characterized us a vast,
monntain.ribbed desert plateau, stud
ded here and there with oascs which
NEST frequently form ribbons OF fer
tile green fringing the desert a. the
bases Of sterile mountain slopes from
whose snow-clad SUBMITS comes the
giving moisture.
The encircling mountain walls shut
out the rain from The central tnble
land. Rivers with sources but no
mouths flow half the year and lose
themselves In the Darched desert
wastes.
The density Of population Is less
than that Of Texas, and more lllah
half the country Is an uninhabited
Sahara, some Of It unexplored. Much
Of the remainder Is suitable only for
sheep-grazing part Of the year, thus
forcing upon fourth Of her ten NIL
lion people a semi.nomadic existence
between the high, well.wa.ered noun.
tain valleys In the summer and the
warm plains in the brief winter sea
son.
Some Of these tribes, like the kurls.
rarely leave their mountain homes,
where they exist independently of
central government control. Others,
like the Ghashgals and Balkt ai'is,
sometimes by coercion and sometimes
through necessity of political alliance,
are vassals Of the state, although they
pay allegiance only to their chiefs,
who arrange with regal authority for
their followers the matters Of taxes
and military service.
Citles are naturally few and small.
there being but two or three Of more
than 100000 inhabitants The lower
mountain valleys and the oases are
the centers for both town ind agrl-
cultural population. and the wonder
ful fertility Of these scattered areas,
from the blightIng grasp Of
the desert, forms the basis for the
startling contrasts In the climate Of
this unusual country.
Water Is the cklef concern Of the
Persian peasant. Wherever he can
divert the flow OF mountain stream
or build crude canal from n well
or spring. a small portion VI The lies.
ert becomes paradise AMI !.e pros