Followers of Zoroaster. The Persians usually treated the Jews kindly, and often, as we have seen, placed them in positions of power. This may have been due to the similarity of religious thought. King Darius and most of his people followed the teachings of Zoroaster and permitted no idolatry. In all the Oriental world the religion of the Persians stood next to that of the Hebrews in purity.

1. Read the beautiful story of Esther and Mordecai in the book of Esther, and if possible dramatize parts of it.

2. Will some boy or group of boys volunteer to look up in the book of Daniel the most important events of Daniel's life and give them to the class?

MODERN PERSIA

Persia, a part of the Plateau of Iran, is a tableland with a rim of mountains which shuts out the moisture from the interior. There are but few streams or lakes, and these are very shallow, having only two or three feet of water. The lack of navigable waters hinders the development of the country. The north slope of the Elburz Mountains, near the Caspian Sea, is fertile and well watered. When the winter rains are fairly abundant some other parts of the country produce good crops. Famines are frequent in many parts of Persia. One third of its area is desert. The population is only fifteen to the square mile, or a total of 9,500,000.

The farmers and their homes.-About one fourth of the land is under cultivation. The chief crops are grain, cotton, tobacco, opium, delicious fruits and melons. The farmers live in walled towns with unpaved streets and drive their flocks and herds inside at night for protection. The houses are of dried mud, and the stable is a part of the house, there being only one yard for both. The chief farm animals are donkeys, horses, fat-tailed sheep, which produce excellent wool, and goats.

The poorer women work very hard. They milk the goats, prepare the fuel, and, of course, cook the food. They have no conveniences in their homes, so the work is more difficult. Most families use the dirt floor for beds, tables, and chairs. The lamp is a dish of palm oil with a wick of twisted cotton. Their clothing consists of coarse cotton from the New England Mills. The men wear baggy trousers, long, loose blouses, and a cotton turban made of yards of cloth wound over their greasy black hair. In some sections of the country tall felt hats are worn. The women would look strange to us with their heavy veils and baggy garments, their ankles and feet bare.

Village life. There are many small villages where the entire family of nomads live during the winter. In the summer the women, children, and some of the old men stay to care for the crops while the rest go with the flocks to the high pastures in the hills.

In the towns and cities there is running water from springs supplied by rain and snow on the mountains. Each person is allowed a given amount, which is let into his field by the water keeper. This water is turned on a certain number of hours every few days. The family is given a small amount daily for washing and cooking.

Life in the larger towns.-The people in the larger towns, especially that part of the country near the Caspian Sea, raise abundant crops. Much silk is produced, as the mulberry tree flourishes here. The forests furnish a supply of timber. Quantities of fish are obtained from the Caspian Sea and sent to the markets in Teheran. The flat-roofed, whitewashed houses face on narrow streets, and have high walls around them to keep the women hidden from view. The women's rooms are built around an inner court. As a man enters a Persian home he calls, "Women away," and never sees any members of the family except the men during his stay. The women of the well-todo families wear full trousers gathered in at the ankles and tied

over fine shoes. The women are not considered beautiful unless they are fat.

Modern Persia has better schools than the one described at the beginning of our lesson, yet the people are poorly educated. Only the boys are taught in the schools, which are held in the mosques or temples. The lessons in reading, writing, and arithmetic are read aloud by the master and repeated after him by the children.

Centers of population.-Teheran and Tabriz are the only cities in Persia that contain over two hundred thousand people. Several large towns are centers for the weaving of beautiful Oriental rugs. In Kerman the weavers are children, to whom a reader drones out the pattern, "Two red, three blue," while all follow the directions. Kashan, in the northern part of this country, is the center for the silk trade. Bushire, on the Persian Gulf, is a small seaport.

The

Tabriz is the principal commercial center of Persia. It has 5,000 little shops which line miles of narrow streets. bazaars are the most interesting part of the city.

Teheran, the capital, has many fine buildings, among which are the palace, the public treasury, theaters, and the royal college where Persian and Armenian boys are taught by modern methods. The water supply of the city is small and costly. There is much malaria, especially during the hot summer.

A land with many problems to solve. The Persian people would be able to overcome their difficulties if they were united, but they are not. The country has suffered greatly from the raids of the neighboring tribes. It is deeply in debt to Russia and Great Britain, both of whom have been anxious to gain control of this country, whose position between their Asiatic possessions has made it a bone of contention between them.

One of Persia's greatest needs is better transportation. The English have built caravan roads and opened up the shallow

rivers for navigation. Two proposed railroads have been looked upon with favor by the British, who probably will build at least one of them, now that Persia has become an independent republic. One of these routes lies along the Persian Gulf, passes through Bushire, and connects Bagdad with India. The other passes through Tabriz, Teheran, and Ispahan on the way from the Black Sea to India. When the people become more educated and the new government is firmly established, Persia will become a prosperous country and develop her resources.

I. With what States in the United States could you compare Persia as to latitude? As to climate and products?

2. Compare its population with that of your own State.

3. Name and locate the chief cities of Persia and tell for what each one is noted.

4. Why are there so few large cities in the country?

5. Which of the two proposed railway routes through Persia would be the more important to the country and why?

6. Why have England and Russia been so anxious to gain control

of Persia?