I'KliSIA 



change f character in the native Persian race, 

 fur they he leen from thin tinir constantly sub 

 ject to ihf domination of alien races. During 

 the reign* of Omar (the limt f the Arah mien 



!. . iithman. Ali. and tin- < Immiade* (634- 

 750) Persia wa regarded an an outlying pro 

 vine* of the califate, and was nileil by depot; 

 governor* ; lint after the HcoeMicm of the Abboside 

 dvnaMy (790) Bagdad became the capital, an<l 



KhonMUui the favourite provii of tin- early ami 



more energetic rulere of tliw race, and Persia con- 

 sequently came to be considered as the centre ami 

 nucleus of the califate. Hut the rule of the califs 

 noon became merely nominal, and ambition- govcr- 

 oora, or other asjiiring individual-, .- alili-hed in- 

 ile|>eii<lent principalities in varioun part- of the 

 country. Many of the dynasties were trim-it"! y, 

 other- la*ted for centuries, and created ext>Mi-he 

 ami powerful empires. The chief were the Taher- 

 iten (820-872), a TnrkUh dynasty in Khorassan ; 

 ifaridm ( Pereian, 869-903), in Sei-tan. l-'ais. 

 Irak, and Ma/anderan : theSamani, in Transoxiana, 

 Knonuaan. and SeUtan : the Dilemi i I'er-iiin. '.1:1:1 

 1036), in western Persia; and the Gha/ncvid- 

 (q.v.), in eastern Persia. These ily nasties sup- 

 planted each other, and were tinally rooted out by 



ink* (<|.v. i, whom dominion extended from 

 the Hellenpont t" Afghanistan. A branch of this 

 dynantv. which ruled in Kliaiire/m i now Khiva), 

 gradually acquired the greater iwirt of Persia, driv- 

 ing otii the i;h.i/nevid and their successors, the 

 Ghurid- ; Imt they, along with the numerous 

 l"-u\ dyim-tic- which ha<l established themselves 

 in the -onth WI--I.MU piotinci--. were all swept 

 away by tin- Mongol- under i ienghis Khan (q.v.) 

 and hi* grand-on. Huhigu Kluui. I lie latter of whom 

 foundeil a new dynasty, the- I'.-i-o Mongol (1253- 

 1335). ThU ran-, becoming effeminate, wax sup- 

 planted hv the Kylkhanian- in l.'t.Ti ; hut an irrup- 

 tion .if tV Tartan of Turke-taii under Tiniiir 

 (Q.V.) again freed Persia from the petty dynast ie 

 which mi-riileil it. After the death of Timur's son 

 JIM. I nuceemor. Shah Kokh. the Turkoman.- took 

 pOMBwion of the wii.-m p.ut of the country, 

 whirli. however, they rather preyed upon than 

 g.n.-ni">l ; while the eastern portion wax divided 

 and *ul>diviiled among Timur'- descendants, till, 

 at tin- rliiM- of the l.'ith oentuiy, they were -wept 

 away hy the l'/beg (q.v.), who joined eastern 

 Pema t their newly-founiliil khannte of Kliiva. 



A new dynasty (Sufi) now arose (1900) in 

 western Penda, the first prince of which ( Ismail, 

 toe descendant of a long line of devotees and 

 saint* ). having become the leader of a mimlx>r of 

 Tiirkih IrilxT" who were attached by strong ties of 

 gratitud.- to lii- family, overthn-w the |N)wer of the 

 Turkomnii". and M>ize<l A/erliijan. winch wan the 

 rat of Hi. -ii IMIWIT l-m:iil lapidlv -ulnlued the 

 wr-tTn priitince-. mid in l.'ill took Khorossaii and 

 lUIkh from the r/.lH-gi ; but in 1.114 he hod to 

 oeoontrr a much more formidable enemy to wit, 

 UM mighty Selim, the Sultan of Turkey, whose 

 wnl fur ronqurat wan further inllanied by' religious 

 nimo>ity against the Shiili (q.v.). The I' 

 were totally defeated in a battle on the frontier- : 

 but S^lirn rea|H-l no l*nelii fn>m his victory, and 

 fi-r hi* rrtreat Ismail attarkml and Hiibdunl 

 QwKgia. Thn Penianit dwell with rapture on the 

 rhararti-r of (hi. monarch, whom they dii-m to U- 

 not only !, .( 1'en.ia. but tlie .stablixher 



of tb* failh in wbi. Ii they glory- an the national 

 religion \u the .s7.,.iA. a> dintirigiii-be.1 fi,,iu ibe 

 .S'MMKI -l of Mohammmlamni. Hi- w>n Tamiisp 

 (190-76), a prudent and jiitite.l mlei. iepentlly 

 Inrre oat the prwlalory I zbpg from Khonuwan, 

 ssMrUined without lorn a war with the Turks, and 

 Msistrl Homavnn, toe son of Itaber, to regain the 

 throne of Delhi. 



After a considerable iieriod of internal re- 

 volution, during which the Turks and Uzbegs 

 attacked the empire without hindrance, Shall 

 Ahhos I. the Great (1585-1628) ascended the 

 throne, restored internal tranquillity, and repelled 

 the invasions of the Uzbegg and Turks. In li)n.*> 

 he inllided on the Turks such a terrible defeat as 

 kept them quiet during the rent of bio reign, ami 

 '. enabled him to recover the whole of Kurdistan, 

 Miwiil, ami Diarliekir, which had for a long time 

 been separated from Persia; and in the east Kan- 

 dahar wax taken from the Great .Mogul. A hi a.-' 

 government wan strict, but just and equitable ; 

 roads, bridges, caravanserais, and other conveni 

 i-nce- for trade were constructed at immen 

 pense, and the improvement and ornamentation of 

 the towns were not neglected. His tolerance was 

 remarkable, as he encouraged the Armenian 

 Christians to settle in the country. Of his sue- 

 se ors. Shah Snli, Shah Abbas II., and Shah Soli- 

 man, the two former were sensible and judicious 

 rulers, and advanced the prosperity of their sub 

 jecte. During the reign of Sultan Hussein, a weak 

 and bigoted fool, priests and slaves were elevated 

 to the most important and responsible offices of the 

 empire, and all who rejected the tenets of the 

 Shntes were persecuted. The consequence was a 

 general discontent, of which the Afghans took 

 advantage to declare their independence and sei/e 

 Kandahar (1709). Their able leader, Meer Vais, 

 died in 1715; but his successors were worthy of 

 him, and one of them, Mahnnid, invaded Persia 

 ( 1722), defeated Hussein's armies, and besieged the 

 king in Ispahan till the inhabitant- were reduced 

 to the extremity of distress. Hussein then ab- 

 dicated the throne in favour of his comiueioi. who, 

 on his accession, immediately devoted nis energies 

 to alleviate the distresses and gain the confidence 

 of his new subjects. Becoming insane, he \\ a> 

 de|Kised iii 17'J"> by his brother Ashraf ; but the 

 atrocious tyranny of the latter was speedily put nil 

 end to by the celebrated Nadir Shah (q.v.), who 

 first railed Tamasp (1729), of the Sullavean race, 

 to the throne, then deposed him and made his 

 young son the nominal sovereign, and finally, on 

 the hitter's early death, himself ,-ei/ed the sceptre 

 (1736). But on his death (1747) anarchy again 

 returned; the country was horribly devastated by 

 the rival claimants for the throne; Afghanistan 

 and Itcluchist.-in finally separated from Persia, and 

 the country was split up into a number of small 

 inde|M>ndent states till I7")T), when a Kurd, named 

 Kerim Khan, re-established peace and unity in 

 western Persia, and by his wisdom, justice, and 

 warlike talents acquired the esteem of his subjecta 

 and the respect of neighbouring states. After Un- 

 usual contests for the succession, ace panicd with 



the usual haihaiitie- and devastations, Kerim WHS 

 succeeded in 17H4 by Ali Murad, Jaafar, and Lutf- 

 Ali. during whose reigns Mazanderan liecame 

 iiide|H.nilent under Aga-Mohanimed, a Turkoman 

 eunuch of the Kajar race, who repeatedly defeated 

 the royal armies, and ended by depriving Lutf-Ali 

 of his crown (1795). 



The great eunuch-king, the first of the present 

 dynasty, on his accession announced nis in- 

 lention of restoring the kingdom as it had been 

 e-iabli-hcd by Kerim Khan, and accordingly 

 invaded Khorassan and Georgia. The Georgian's 

 besought the aid of Russia; but the I 

 monarch, with terrible promptitude, poured his 

 army like a torient into the country, and devas- 

 tated it with fire and sword. His conquest was, 

 however, hardly completed when he was assassin- 

 ated (1797). His nephew, Fath-Ali (1707 1884), 

 after numerous conflict*, fully established his 

 authority, and completely subdued the rebellious 

 tribes in Khorassan. But the great commotions in 



