kistan, as M. Burnouf contends, and that the Arg, the
sacred river which, according to the Boundehesfy'flowed
from it, was the Oxus or Jaxartes, would this intimate
anything as to the position of the* Arian people, in the
time of Zoroaster. It is evident that Albordj was a 'fabulous
mountain; the description of it coincides, in a variety of
points,: with that of mount Meru; it is kaid to ‘ go
round, perhaps rather to stand in the midst bf the world;
and at its feet are seven regions, spread out upon the waters,
answering to the seven d’wipas of the Hindoos. Thé fiction
of a primeval mountain,- nearer to heaven than the
abodes of mehj on which The gods and aerial beihgs^alighfc,
is common to many ancient nations. Each nation localised
the tradition, by fixing on some high mountain néat ^tte^r
own country, as the Greeks chose Olymphs. But it dees
not follow from this that Olympus, and Kaf, and Ruenlun,
nndrMeru, are all the same mountahf: nor dees it“ result
from the resemblance, between the fabulous Albordj, and
the fabulous Meru, that the real Albordj was any ether
than Elburz in thenorth of Media, or Demavend.
On the whole, though that opinion is maintained by writers
who are entitled to deference, it does not appear that the
historical and geographical parts of the Zendavesta contain
any decisive evidence that the northern region • of Bactria
was the seat of Zend literature or the abode of Zoroaster.
I t seems that a tradition was prevalent among the Persian
and Median people at the time when the Magian books
were composed, of an ancient migration of the race from
a country which maybe conjectured to have been near Sog’-
diana, sinee Sogdiana seems to be mentioned next to it.
From that primitive seat they brought with them their Zend
language and many ancient myths, nearly analogous to
those which the Hindoos derived perhaps from the same
sources. Those features, which are common to these two
systems may be regarded as the most ancient. On that
basis the Persians engrafted very much that was of a different
origin, in a more recent and western style, and analogous
to the fictions of the Chaldeans, mixed with some
relations which were perhaps indirectly derived from the
Hebrew Scriptures.
; S e c t io n . V.—Of the Modern Inhabitants of Iran.
We learn from modern travellers in Persia that the
people/of ’that country are divided into two distinct classes,
the stationary s/ip h ab ^p ^ of towns and cities, and the
wandering^■'dwOl.ler^ 'in tents and temporary villages. All
mhally acknowledge the t authority of the Shah, but the
nomadic tribes ®lffepndependent# and often elude, in
ifiei'r mountains!if ttempts to enforce’ obedience. ’ The latter
lire termed I]a|sPor iiiyjifs, more properly Iliyhhs, a name
'which ll'fpreign to. the Persialfflangua^e^ as is likewise that
of Tajik, which designates4 the . settled inhabitants of the
^country wno^miltivate the soil or dw|M in towns.* The
Tajiks are generally of the original Persian race. Of the
Iliyhhs sdmeiribes are P.erSiaii V others of Turkish, Arabian,
"or Mongolian origin.
* I shall begin byleollecting fpme brief notices, of the Thjik,
„or aboriginal Persian race, and shall afterwards proceed to
the nomadic trihps^ or Ihyahs.
Of the Tajiks, or Native Persians.
Although the name of Tajiks is little known to Europe,
IChas long been in the East the most generally prevalent
designation of the- native Persian race/ Its real- origin is
unknown. It has been supposed, to be derived from
the Mongolian language, in which “ Tajik” signifies “ tillers
gf the soil/’’, The people in Persia so , termed, are, in fact,
like the Helots of the Peloponnesus, or the Fellahs of
modern Egypt, everywhere a dependent class, in part
“ glebse ascripti”, or a rustic population, in part the
traders, or the lower class of the inhabitants of cities. In
the times of Tchinggis and of Timdr, the Mongoles and
Turks gave the name of Tajiks to people who spoke the
Persian language, and who appear to have been spread
through various countries beyond the limits of Iran,
* Sir William Ouseley’s Travels in
Geographical Society, vol. 7.
Persia.—Morier, Journal of the’ Royal
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