ZENANA 



6410 



ZENOBIA 



vincial assemblies of Canada, but its powers are 

 much more restricted. There is a zemstvo for 

 each elective district and for each province. 

 Each is composed of a representative council 

 and an executive board. Most of the members 

 are elected by the householders in the towns 

 and by the landed proprietors, but a few are ap- 

 pointed by the provincial governor to represent 

 the peasants. The peasants may nominate 

 candidates, but the choice lies with the gov- 

 ernor, whose decision is final. This was the 

 condition of affairs at the date of the revolu- 

 tion of March, 1917. 



When the zemstvos were first established in 

 1864, they were given large powers over taxa- 

 tion, education, public health and other sub- 

 jects of local importance. In 1890, however, 

 the relative power of the landlords and no- 

 bility in the zemstvo was increased, the total 

 number of representatives was reduced, and 

 the peasants instead of choosing their repre- 

 sentatives directly could merely suggest names 

 from which the governor might select if he 

 desired to. In spite of the fact that the 

 zemstvos have gradually become little more 

 than servants of the provincial governors, many 

 of them have done much good, and have 

 worked, in spite of difficulties, for the better- 

 ment of conditions affecting the mass of Rus- 

 sians. 



ZENANA, zehnah'na, the name given in 

 India to that part of the house which is set 

 apart for the women. The word is derived 

 from the Persian, and is equivalent to the Eng- 

 lish queen. In Bengal the rules which govern 

 the seclusion of women are very strict, and 

 there the zenana is a separate building, to the 

 rear of the one occupied by the men. It is 

 built around a court, and upon this the win- 

 dows look out. No glimpse of outside life is 

 to be obtained by the inmates. In 1855 the 

 Zenana Mission was organized by the Prot- 

 estant missionary societies in India, and much 

 has been done to better the wretched condition 

 of the inmates of the zenanas, physically, men- 

 tally and spiritually. In Turkey a building 

 used for like purpose is called a harem (which 

 see). 



ZEND-AVES'TA, the Bible and prayer 

 book used by the Parsees, a religious sect of 

 India which follows the teachings of Zoroaster 

 (which see). The book is only a small part of 

 the original sacred writings of the Zoroastrians, 

 but is the only example we have of Iranian lit- 

 erature (see IRAN). It consists of songs of 

 praise, prayers, the priestly code and the lit- 



urgy. The first translation of the Zend-Avesta 

 was made in 1771 by Anquetil-Duperron, a 

 French Orientalist. See PARSEES. 



ZE'NITH, a term in astronomy denoting 

 the point in the heavens directly over a per- 

 son's head. It is the exact "opposite of nadir, 

 which is the point directly below one's feet, 

 toward the center of the earth. The two words 

 are derived from the Arabian language, the 

 Arabians having at one time been the world's 

 most famous astronomers. 



Zenith is used in a figurative sense in litera- 

 ture, to denote the highest attainable point. 

 Young, in Night Thoughts, aptly employs it 

 in 



Brutes soon their zenith reach. In ages they no 



more 

 Could know, do, covet or enjoy. 



ZE'NO, a Greek philosopher, born at Gitium, 

 in the island of Cyprus, who lived in the latter 

 part of the fourth and the beginning of the 

 third century B. c. He was the founder of the 

 Stoic school of philosophy (see STOICISM). 

 After a shipwreck he is said to have settled in 

 Athens, though declining citizenship there 

 through loyalty to his own country. Zeno was 

 first attracted to the ethics of the Cynic phi- 

 losophy, then turned to the teachings of Stilpo, 

 to Xenocrates and to Polemo. About 310 B.C. 

 he opened his own school, the Painted Porch, 

 and there practiced the virtues of moderation 

 and contentment and taught doctrines that 

 bore a close resemblance to the principles of 

 the Cynics. His death was honored by a public 

 burial and a bronze monument, erected in 

 Athens. None of his writings are extant. See 

 CYNIC SCHOOL OF PHILOSOPHY. 



ZENOBIA, zeno'bia, called the "Queen of 

 the East," was famed as the ruler of the rich 

 and splendid ancient city of Palmyra, in the 

 Arabian desert. She succeeded her husband 

 Odenathus, in A. D. 267, and was a woman of 

 great virtue as well as beauty, ruling with wis- 

 dom and tolerance. Her chief adviser was 

 Longimus, the celebrated Greek philosopher 

 and teacher. King Odenathus had pledged the 

 loyalty of Palmyra to Rome, but Zenobia as- 

 pired to rule over an independent kingdom and 

 she freed large Asiatic possessions from Roman 

 domination. She successfully resisted the 

 armies of two emperors, but was defeated by 

 Aurelian in 272, and was taken to Rome to 

 grace the victor's triumph. Her dignity, how- 

 ever, so impressed Aurelian that he gave her a 

 villa on the Tiber, where she lived with her 

 daughters, who made noble marriages. Her 



