Persia. 3 1 



their trappings and equipages, and to this day 

 Pearls play a prominent part in all great festivals 

 in Persia. At the enthronement of a new king, 

 it is said to be the custom to shower Pearls upon 

 him. 



The unrivalled Pearl which king Perozes tore 

 from his right ear at the moment of falling into 

 the horrible pit-fall prepared for him and his army 

 by the Ephthalite Huns, and which he cast into 

 the abyss before him, was lost for ever. The 

 story is told by the old Greek historian, Procopius, 

 who adds that, although the Emperor Anastasius 

 promised the finder of the Pearl five hundred- 

 weight of gold pieces, the search was in vain. 



Babylonian dignitaries and priests wore strings 

 of beautiful Pearls. Most of these Pearls were, no 

 doubt, derived from the fisheries in the Gulf of 

 Persia, but possibly some may have come from 

 more distant sources. 



Huren, in his "Historical Researches,'' vol.. ii. 

 tells us that there can be no doubt that Pearls 

 were obtained from Ceylon, and exchanged with 

 the Babylonians for other merchandise, for we read 

 of Indian Pearl fisheries as well as those of the 

 Persian Gulf, Nearchus, in mentioning the latter 

 of these adds, " Pearls are fished up here as well 

 as in the Indian Sea." The best ancient account 



