FEUDALISM IN PERSIA DE MORGAN. . 605 



tions of this people whose morals and instincts are still very barbar- 

 ous ; it would be surprising not to meet such a class in so vast a terri- 

 tory. But in general there reigns among them a strict discipline, 

 which singularly contrasts with what we found in Kurdistan and 

 Luristan. 



These countries, it seems, have always been very nearly independ- 

 ent. All that can be positively stated, however, is that the tribes 

 which live there to-day occupied the country under the Achsemenidse, 

 but nothing hinders the thought. 



The royal route which connected Persepolis with Babylon crossed 

 the country now occupied by the Bakhtiyari, and we know that the 

 Great King himself paid a tax to tribes of these mountains when he 

 passed over their lands. The khans were even then seignors of much 

 importance. We made a short visit to a high Arab seignior, El 

 Mohammerah, a poAverful Gharal chief. We found him in his palace 

 built on the bank of the Persian river Chatt-El-Arab, in honor of 

 Mohammerah, below Basrah. He is an amiable man, keen eyed, in- 

 telligent, very polite. He keeps abreast of all that occurs both in 

 Europe and in Luristan, at Teheran, and among all the tribes of 

 Mesopotamia. 



Sheik Ghazal is one of the richest land proprietors. He personally 

 owns immense domains both in Persia and Turkey, and all the sheiks 

 of Arabistan recognize his supremacy, which is in a measure felt 

 likewise by the armies. He is a veritable Malkim Malek, controlling 

 an important treasurj'^, a numerous army, steamboats — in fact, every- 

 thing that can bring wealth, intelligence, and power. English boats 

 salute him with cannon, and from ashore he returns the salute with 

 his own artillery. No one would dare touch the Sheik Ghazal, who 

 smiles at revolutions and at the fall of sovereigns. He is king in 

 fact — what cares he for those who are such only in name? 



As one may judge from the preceding pages, the feudal seigniors 

 still play an extremely important role in the Persian Empire. Their 

 power is great, for the spirit of nearly the entire nation still rests in 

 feudalism. 



If we leave the domains of the seigniors and enter the cities in the 

 very heart of Persia, we find there among the merchants and the 

 artisans the same kinds of corporations and all the institutions that 

 prevailed in France in the Middle Ages — the tithe from gain for the 

 clergy^ immunity of beneficiaries of the church, and many other 

 privileges which formerly existed among us. 



Persia to-day represents what France was before Kichelieu, that 

 period when for the security of the Crown it was necessary to achieve 

 the work of Louis XI, to demantle the great forests, to crush the 

 remains of feudalism. 



