ON THE RELIGION, MANNERS, CUSTOMS, ETC., OF THE LATER PERSIANS.
_Religion of the later Persians, Dualism of the extremest kind. Ideas
entertained with respect to Ormazd and Ahriman. Representations of them.
Ormazd the special Guardian of the Kings. Lesser Deities subject
to Ormazd: Mithra, Serosh, Vayu, Airyanam, Vitraha, etc. The six
Amshash-pands: Bahman, Ardibehesht, Shahravar, Isfand-armat, Khordad,
and Amerdat. Religion, how far idolatrous. Worship of Anaitis. Chief
Evil Spirits subject to Ahriman: Alcomano, Indra, Caurva, Naonhaitya,
Taric, and Zaric. Position of Man between the two Worlds of Good and
Evil. His Duties: Worship, Agriculture, Purity. Nature of the Worship.
Hymns, Invocations, the Homa Ceremony, Sacrifice. Agriculture a part
of Religion. Purity required: 1, Moral; 2, Legal. Nature of each. Man’s
future Prospects. Position of the Magi under the Sassanians; their
Organization, Dress, etc. The Fire-temples and Altars. The Barsom. The
Khrafcthraghna. Magnificence of the Sassanian Court; the Throne-room,
the Seraglio, the Attendants, the Ministers. Midttude of Palaces. Dress
of the Monarch: 1, in Peace; 2, in War, Favorite Pastimes of the Kings.
Hunting. Maintenance of Paradises. Stag and Boar-hunts. Music. Hawking.
Games. Character of the Persian Warfare under the Sassanians. Sassanian
Chariots. The Elephant Corps. The Cavalry. The Archers. The ordinary
Infantry. Officers. Standards. Tactics. Private Life of the later
Persians. Agricultural Employment of the Men. Non-seclusion of the
Women. General Freedom from Oppression of all Classes except the
highest._
The general character of the Persian religion, as revived by the founder
of the Sassanian dynasty, has been described in a former chapter; but
it is felt that the present work would be incomplete if it failed to
furnish the reader with a tolerably full account of so interesting a
matter; more especially, since the religious question lay at the root
of the original rebellion and revolution which raised the Sassanidae
to power, and was to a considerable extent the basis and foundation of
their authority. An access of religious fervor gave the Persians of the
third century after Christ the strength which enabled them to throw
off the yoke of their Parthian lords and recover the sceptre of Western
Asia. A strong--almost fanatical--religious spirit animated the greater
number of the Sassanian monarchs. When the end of the kingdom came, the
old faith was still flourishing; and, though its star paled before that
of Mohammedanism, the faith itself survived, and still survives at the
present day.
It has been observed that Dualism constituted the most noticeable
feature of the religion. It may now be added that the Dualism professed
was of the most extreme and pronounced kind. Ormazd and Ahriman, the
principles of Good and Evil, were expressly declared to be “twins.” They
had “in the beginning come together to create Life and Death, and to
settle how the world was to be.” There was no priority of existence
of the one over the other, and no decided superiority. The two, being
coeval, had contended from all eternity, and would, it was almost
certain, continue to contend to all eternity, neither being able to
vanquish the other. Thus an eternal struggle was postulated between good
and evil; and the issue was doubtful, neither side possessing any clear
and manifest advantage.
The two principles were Persons. Ormazd was “the creator of life, the
earthly and the spiritual,” he who “made the celestial bodies, earth,
water, and trees.” He was “good,” “holy,” “pure,” “true,” “the Holy
God,” “the Holiest,” “the Essence of Truth,” “the father of all truth,”
“the being best of all,” “the master of purity.” He was supremely
“happy,” being possessed of every blessing, “health, wealth, virtue,
wisdom, immortality.” From him came every good gift enjoyed by man; on
the pious and the righteous he bestowed, not only earthly advantages,
but precious spiritual gifts, truth, devotion, “the good mind,” and
everlasting happiness; and, as he rewarded the good, so he also
punished the bad, though this was an aspect in which he was but seldom
represented.
While Ormazd, thus far, would seem to be a presentation of the Supreme
Being in a form not greatly different from that wherein it has pleased
him to reveal Himself to mankind through the Jewish and Christian
scriptures, there are certain points of deficiency in the
representation, which are rightly viewed as placing the Persian very
considerably below the Jewish and Christian idea. Besides the limitation
on the power and freedom of Ormazd implied in the eternal co-existence
with him of another and a hostile principle, he is also limited by the
independent existence of space, time, and light, which appear in
the Zenda vesta as “self-created,” or “without beginning,” and must
therefore be regarded as “conditioning” the Supreme Being, who has to
work, as best he may, under circumstances not caused by himself. Again,
Ormazd is not a purely spiritual being. He is conceived of as possessing
a sort of physical nature. The “light,” which is one of his properties,
seems to be a material radiance. He can be spoken of as possessing
health. The whole conception of him, though not grossly material, is far
from being wholly immaterial. His nature is complex, not simple. He may
not have a body, in the ordinary sense of the word; but he is entangled
with material accidents, and is far from answering to the pure spirit,
“without body, parts, or passions,” which forms the Christian conception
of the Deity.
Ahriman, the Evil Principle, is of course far more powerful and terrible
than the Christian and Jewish Satan. He is uncaused, co-eternal with
Ormazd, engaged in a perpetual warfare with him. Whatever good thing
Ormazd creates, Ahriman corrupts and ruins it. Moral and physical evils
are alike at his disposal. He blasts the earth with barrenness, or
makes it produce thorns, thistles, and poisonous plants; his are the
earthquake, the storm, the plague of hail, the thunderbolt; he causes
disease and death, sweeps off a nation’s flocks and herds by murrain, or
depopulates a continent by pestilence; ferocious wild beasts, serpents,
toads, mice, hornets, mosquitoes, are his creation; he invented and
introduced into the world the sins of witchcraft, murder, unbelief,
cannibalism, sodomy; he excites wars and tumults, stirs up the bad
against the good, and labors by every possible expedient to make vice
triumph over virtue. Ormazd can exercise no control over him; the utmost
that he can do is to keep a perpetual watch on his rival, and seek to
baffle and defeat him. This he is not always able to do. Despite his
best endeavors, Ahriman is not unfrequently victorious.
In the purer times of the Zoroastrian religion it would seem that
neither Ormazd nor Ahriman was represented by sculptured forms. A
symbolism alone was permitted, which none could mistake for a real
attempt to portray these august beings. But by the date of the Sassanian
revival, the original spirit of the religion had suffered considerable
modification; and it was no longer thought impious, or perilous, to
exhibit the heads of the Pantheon, in the forms regarded as appropriate
to them, upon public monuments. The great Artaxerxes, probably soon
after his accession, set up a memorial of his exploits, in which he
represented himself as receiving the insignia of royalty from Ormazd
himself, while Ahriman, prostrate and seemingly, though of course not
really, dead, lay at the feet of the steed on which Ormazd was mounted.
In the form of Ormazd there is nothing very remarkable; he is attired
like the king, has a long beard and flowing locks, and carries in his
left hand a huge staff or baton, which he holds erect in a slanting
position. The figure of Ahriman possesses more interest. The face wears
an expression of pain and suffering; but the features are calm, and in
no way disturbed. They are regular, and at least as handsome as those of
Artaxerxes and his divine patron. He wears a band or diadem across the
brow, above which we see a low cap or crown. From this escape the heads
and necks of a number of vipers or snakes, fit emblems of the poisonous
and “death-dealing” Evil One.
Some further representations of Ormazd occur in the Sassanian
sculptures; but Ahriman seems not to be portrayed elsewhere. Ormazd
appears on foot in a relief of the Great Arta-xerxes, which contains two
figures only, those of himself and his divine patron. He is also to be
seen in a sculpture which belongs probably to Sapor I., and represents
that monarch in the act of receiving the diadem from Artaxerxes, his
father. In the former of these two tablets the type exhibited in the
bas-relief just described is followed without any variation; in the
latter, the type is considerably modified. Ormazd still carries his huge
baton, and is attired in royal fashion; but otherwise his appearance is
altogether new and singular. His head bears no crown, but is surrounded
by a halo of streaming rays; he has not much beard, but his hair, bushy
and abundant, flows down on his two shoulders; he faces the spectator,
and holds his baton in both his hands; finally, he stands upon a
blossom, which is thought to be that of a sim-flower. Perhaps the
conjecture is allowable that here we have Ormazd exhibited to us in a
solar character, with the attributes of Mithra, from whom, in the olden
time, he was carefully distinguished.
Ormazd seems to have been regarded by the kings as their special
guardian and protector. No other deity (unless in one instance) is
brought into close proximity with them; no other obtains mention in
their inscriptions; from no other do they allow that they receive the
blessing of offspring. Whatever the religion of the common people, that
of the kings would seem to have been, in the main, the worship of this
god, whom they perhaps sometimes confused with Mithra, or associated
with Anaitis, but whom they never neglected, or failed openly to
acknowledge.
Under the great Ormazd were a number of subordinate deities, the
principal of whom were Mithra and Serosh, Mithra, the Sun-God, had been
from a very early date an object of adoration in Persia, only second
to Ormazd. The Achaemenian kings joined him occasionally with Ormazd
in their invocations. In processions his chariot, drawn by milk-white
horses, followed closely on that of Ormazd. He was often associated
with Ormazd, as if an equal, though a real equality was probably not
intended. He was “great,” “pure,” “imperishable,” “the beneficent
protector of all creatures,” and “the beneficent preserver of all
creatures.” He had a thousand ears and ten thousand eyes. His worship
was probably more widely extended than that of Ormazd himself, and was
connected in general with a material representation.
In the early times this was a simple disk, or circle; but from the reign
of Artaxerxes Mnemon, a human image seems to have been substituted.
Prayer was offered to Mithra three times a day, at dawn, at noon, and
at sunset; and it was usual to worship him with sacrifice. The horse
appears to have been the victim which he was supposed to prefer.
Sraosha, or Serosh, was an angel of great power and dignity. He was the
special messenger of Ormazd, and the head of his celestial army. He was
“tall, well-formed, beautiful, swift, victorious, happy, sincere, true,
the master of truth.” It was his office to deliver revelations, to show
men the paths of happiness, and to bring them the blessings which Ormazd
had assigned to each. He invented the music for the five most ancient
Gathas, discovered the barsom or divining-rod, and first taught its use
to mankind. From his palace on the highest summit of the Elburz range,
he watched the proceedings of the evil genii, and guarded the world
from their attempts. The Iranians were his special care; but he lost
no opportunity of injuring the Powers of Darkness, and lessening their
dominion by teaching everywhere the true religion. In the other world
it was his business to conduct the souls of the faithful through the
dangers of the middle passage, and to bring them before the golden
throne of Ormazd.
Among minor angelic powers were Vayu, “the wind,” who is found also in
the Vedic system; Airyanam, a god presiding over marriages; Vitraha, a
good genius; Tistrya, the Dog Star, etc. The number of the minor
deities was not, however, great; nor do they seem, as in so many other
polytheistic religions, to have advanced in course of time from a
subordinate to a leading position. From first to last they are of small
account; and it seems, therefore, unnecessary to detain the reader by an
elaborate description of them.
From the mass, however, of the lower deities or genii must be
distinguished (besides Mithra and Serosh) the six Amesha Spentas, or
Amshashpands, who formed the council of Ormazd, and in a certain sense
reflected his glory. These were Vohu-mano or Bahman, Ashavahista
or Ardibehesht, Khsha-thra-vairya or Shahravar, Spenta-Armaiti or
Isfandarmat, Haurvatat or Khordad, and Ameretat or Amerdat. Vohu-mano,
“the Good Mind,” originally a mere attribute of Ormazd, came to be
considered a distinct being, created by him to be his attendant and his
councillor. He was, as it were, the Grand Vizier of the Almighty King,
the chief of the heavenly conclave. Ormazd entrusted to him especially
the care of animal life; and thus, as presiding over cattle, he is the
patron deity of the agriculturist. Asha-vahista, “the best truth,” or
“the best purity,” is the Light of the universe, subtle, pervading,
omnipresent. He maintains the splendor of the various luminaries, and
presides over the element of fire. Khsha-thra-vairya, “wealth,” has the
goods of this world at his disposal, and specially presides over metals,
the conventional signs of wealth; he is sometimes identified with the
metal which he dispenses. Spenta-Armaiti, “Holy Armaiti,” is at once
the genius of the Earth, and the goddess of piety. She has the charge of
“the good creation,” watches over it, and labors to convert the desolate
and unproductive portions of it into fruitful fields and gardens.
Together with Vohu-mano, she protects the agriculturist, blessing his
land with increase, as Vohu-mano does his cattle. She is called “the
daughter of Ormazd,” and is regarded as the agent through whom Ormazd
created the earth. Moreover, “she tells men the everlasting laws, which
no one may abolish,” or, in other words, imparts to them the eternal
principles of morality. She is sometimes represented as standing next
to Ormazd in the mythology, as in the profession of faith required of
converts to Zoroastrianism. The two remaining Amshashpands, Haurvatat
and Ameretat, “Health” and “Immortality,” have the charge of the
vegetable creation; Haurvatat causes the flow of water, so necessary
to the support of vegetable life in countries where little rain falls;
Ameretat protects orchards and gardens, and enables trees to bring their
fruits to perfection.
Another deity, practically perhaps as much worshipped as Ormazd and
Mithra, was Anaitis or Anahit. Anaiitis was originally an Assyrian and
Babylonian, not a Zoroastrian goddess; but her worship spread to the
Persians at a date anterior to Herodotus, and became in a short time
exceedingly popular. It was in connection with this worship that
idolatry seems first to have crept in, Artaxerxes Mnemon (ab. B.C. 400)
having introduced images of Anaitis into Persia, and set them up at
Susa, the capital, at Persepolis, Ecbatana, Bactra, Babylon, Damascus,
and Sardis. Anaitis was the Babylonian Venus; and her rites at Babylon
were undoubtedly of a revolting character. It is to be feared that they
were introduced in all their grossness into Persia, and that this was
the cause of Anahitis great popularity. Her cult “was provided with
priests and hieroduli, and connected with mysteries, feasts, and
unchaste ways.”
The Persian system was further tainted with idolatry in respect of the
worship of Mithra, and possibly of Vohu-mano (Batman), and of Amerdat;
but on the whole, and especially as compared with other Oriental cults,
the religion, even of the later Zoroastrians, must be regarded as
retaining a non-materialistic and anti-idolatrous character, which
elevated it above other neighboring religions, above Brahminism on the
one hand and Syro-Chaldaean nature-worship on the other.
In the kingdom of Darkness, the principal powers, besides Ahriman,
were Ako-mano, Indra, Qaurva, Naonhaitya, Taric, and Zaric. These six
together formed the Council of the Evil One, as the six Amshashpands
formed the council of Ormazd. Ako-mano, “the bad mind,” or (literally)
“the naught mind,” was set over against Vohu-mano, “the good mind,”
and was Ahriman’s Grand Vizier. His special sphere was the mind of man,
where he suggested evil thoughts, and prompted to bad words and wicked
deeds. Indra, identical with the Vedic deity, but made a demon by the
Zoroastrians, presided over storm and tempest, and governed the issues
of war and battle. Qaurva and Naonhaitya were also Vedic deities turned
into devils. It is difficult to assign them any distinct sphere.
Taric and Zaric, “Darkness” and “Poison,” had no doubt occupations
corresponding with their names. Besides these chief demons, a countless
host of evil genii (_divs_) and fairies (_pairicas_) awaited the orders
and executed the behests of Ahriman.
Placed between the two contending worlds of good and evil, man’s
position was one of extreme danger and difficulty. Originally set upon
the earth by Ormazd in order to maintain the good creation, he was
liable to the continual temptations and seductions of the divs or devas,
who were “wicked, bad, false, untrue, the originators of mischief, most
baneful, destructive, the basest of all things.” A single act of sin
gave them a hold upon him, and each subsequent act increased their
power, until ultimately he became their mere tool and slave. It was
however possible to resist temptation, to cling to the side of right, to
defy and overcome the deltas. Man might maintain his uprightness, walk
in the path of duty, and by the help of the asuras, or “good spirits,”
attain to a blissful paradise.
To arrive at this result, man had carefully to observe three principal
duties. These were worship, agriculture, and purity. Worship consisted
in the acknowledgment of the One True God, Ormazd, and of his Holy
Angels, the Amesha Spentas or Amshashpands, in the frequent offering of
prayers, praises, and thanksgivings, in the recitation of set hymns,
the performance of a certain ceremony called the Homa, and in the
occasional sacrifice of animals. The set hymns form a large portion
of the Zendavesta, where they occur in the shape of Gathas, or Yashts,
sometimes possessing considerable beauty. They are sometimes general,
addressed to Ormazd and the Amesha Spentas in common, sometimes
special, containing the praises of a particular deity. The Homa ceremony
consisted in the extraction of the juice of the Homa plant by the
priests during the recitation of prayers, the formal presentation of
the liquor extracted to the sacrificial fire, the consumption of a small
portion of it by one of the officiating priests, and the division of
the remainder among the worshippers. As the juice was drunk immediately
after extraction and before fermentation had set in, it was not
intoxicating. The ceremony seems to have been regarded, in part,
as having a mystic force, securing the favor of heaven; in part, as
exerting a beneficial effect upon the body of the worshipper through the
curative power inherent in the Homa plant. The animals which might be
sacrificed were the horse, the ox, the sheep, and the goat, the horse
being the favorite victim. A priest always performed the sacrifice,
slaying the animal, and showing the flesh to the sacred fire by way of
consecration, after which it was eaten at a solemn feast by the priest
and people.
It is one of the chief peculiarities of Zoroastrianism that it regarded
agriculture as a religious duty. Man had been placed upon the earth
especially “to maintain the good creation,” and resist the endeavors of
Ahriman to injure, and if possible, ruin it. This could only be done
by careful tilling of the soil, eradication of thorns and weeds, and
reclamation of the tracts over which Ahriman had spread the curse of
barrenness. To cultivate the soil was thus incumbent upon all men;
the whole community was required to be agricultural; and either as
proprietor, as farmer, or as laboring man, each Zoroastrian was bound to
“further the works of life” by advancing tillage.
The purity which was required of the Zoroastrian was of two kinds, moral
and legal, Moral purity comprised all that Christianity includes
under it--truth, justice, chastity, and general sinlessness. It was
coextensive with the whole sphere of human activity, embracing not only
words and acts, but even the secret thoughts of the heart. Legal purity
was to be obtained only by the observance of a multitude of trifling
ceremonies and the abstinence from ten thousand acts in their nature
wholly indifferent. Especially, everything was to be avoided which
could be thought to pollute the four elements--all of them sacred to the
Zoroastrian of Sassanian times--fire, water, earth, and air.
Man’s struggle after holiness and purity was sustained in the
Zoroastrian system by the confident hope of a futurity of happiness.
It was taught that the soul of man was immortal, and would continue to
possess for ever a separate conscious existence. Immediately after death
the spirits of both good and bad had to proceed along an appointed path
to “the bridge of the gatherer” (_chinvat peretu_). This was a narrow
road conducting to heaven or paradise, over which the souls of the pious
alone could pass, while the wicked fell from it into the gulf below,
where they found themselves in the place of punishment. The steps of
the good were guided and supported by the angel Serosh--the “happy,
well-formed, swift, tall Serosh”--who conducted them across the
difficult passage into the heavenly region. There Bahman, rising from
his throne, greeted them on their entrance with the salutation, “Happy
thou who art come here to us from the mortality to the immortality!”
Then they proceeded joyfully onward to the presence of Ormazd, to the
immortal saints, to the golden throne, to paradise. As for the wicked,
when they fell into the gulf, they found themselves in outer darkness,
in the kingdom of Ahriman, where they were forced to remain and to feed
on poisoned banquets.
The priests of the Zoroastrians, from a time not long subsequent to
Darius Hystaspis, were the Magi. This tribe, or caste, originally
perhaps external to Zoroastrianism, had come to be recognized as a true
priestly order; and was intrusted by the Sassanian princes with the
whole control and direction of the religion of the state. Its chief was
a personage holding a rank but very little inferior to the king. He bore
the title of Tenpet, “Head of the Religion,” or _Movpetan Movpet_, “Head
of the Chief Magi.” In times of difficulty and danger he was sometimes
called upon to conduct a revolution; and in the ordinary course of
things he was always reckoned among the monarch’s chief counsellors.
Next in rank to him were a number of _Movpets_, or “Chief Magi,” called
also _destoors_ or “rulers,” who scarcely perhaps constituted an order,
but still held an exalted position. Under these were, finally, a large
body of ordinary Magi, dispersed throughout the empire, but especially
congregated in the chief towns.
The Magi officiated in a peculiar dress. This consisted of a tall peaked
cap of felt or some similar material, having deep lappets at the side,
which concealed the jaw and even the lips, and a long white robe, or
cloak, descending to the ankles. They assembled often in large numbers,
and marched in stately processions, impressing the multitude by a grand
and striking ceremonial. Besides the offerings which were lavished upon
them by the faithful, they possessed considerable endowments in land,
which furnished them with an assured subsistence. They were allowed by
Chosroes the First a certain administrative power in civil matters; the
collection of the revenue was to take place under their supervision;
they were empowered to interfere in cases of oppression, and protect the
subject against the tax-gatherer.
The Zoroastrian worship was intimately connected with fire-temples
and fire-altars. A fire-temple was maintained in every important city
throughout the empire; and in these a sacred flame, believed to have
been lighted from heaven, was kept up perpetually, by the care of the
priests, and was spoken of as “unextinguishable.” Fire-altars probably
also existed, independently of temples; and an erection of this kind
maintained from first to last an honorable position on the Sassanian
coins, being the main impress upon the reverse. It was represented with
the flame rising from it, and sometimes with a head in the flame; its
stem was ornamented with garlands or fillets; and on either side, as
protectors or as worshippers, were represented two figures, sometimes
watching the flame, sometimes turned from it, guarding it apparently
from external enemies.
Besides the sacerdotal, the Magi claimed to exercise the prophetical
office. From a very early date they had made themselves conspicuous as
omen-readers and dream-expounders; but, not content with such occasional
exhibitions of prophetic power, they ultimately reduced divination to
a system, and, by the help of the barsom or bundle of divining rods,
undertook to return a true answer on all points connected with the
future, upon which they might be consulted. Credulity is never wanting
among Orientals; and the power of the priesthood was no doubt greatly
increased by a pretension which was easily made, readily believed, and
not generally discredited by failures, however numerous.
The Magian priest was commonly seen with the barsom in his hand; but
occasionally he exchanged that instrument for another, known as the
_khrafgihraghna_. It was among the duties of the pious Zoroastrian, and
more especially of those who were entrusted with the priestly office,
to wage perpetual war with Ahriman, and to destroy his works whenever
opportunity offered. Now among these, constituting a portion of “the bad
creation,” were all such animals as frogs, toads, snakes, newts, mice,
lizards, flies, and the like. The Magi took every opportunity of killing
such creatures; and the _Jchrafgthraghna_ was an implement which they
invented for the sake of carrying out this pious purpose.
The court of the Sassanian kings, especially in the later period of
the empire, was arranged upon a scale of almost unexampled grandeur
and magnificence. The robes worn by the Great King were beautifully
embroidered, and covered with gems and pearls, which in some
representations may be counted by hundreds. [PLATE XLV.] The royal
crown, which could not be worn, but was hung from the ceiling by a gold
chain exactly over the head of the king when he took his seat in his
throne-room, is said to have been adorned with a thousand pearls, each
as large as an egg. The throne itself was of gold, and was supported on
four feet, each formed of a single enormous ruby. The great throne-room
was ornamented with enormous columns of silver, between which were
hangings of rich silk or brocade. The vaulted roof presented to the
eye representations of the heavenly bodies, the sun, the moon, and the
stars;no while globes, probably of crystal, or of burnished metal, hung
suspended from it at various heights, lighting up the dark space as with
a thousand lustres.
[Illustration: PLATE XLV.]
The state observed at the court resembled that of the most formal and
stately of the Oriental monarchies. The courtiers were organized in
seven ranks. Foremost came the Ministers of the crown; next the Mobeds,
or chief Magi; after them, the hirbeds, or judges; then the sipehbeds,
or commanders-in chief, of whom there were commonly four; last of all
the singers, musicians, and men of science, arranged in three orders.
The king sat apart even from the highest nobles, who, unless summoned,
might not approach nearer than thirty feet from him.
A low curtain separated him from them, which was under the charge of an
officer, who drew it for those only with whom the king had expressed a
desire to converse.
An important part of the palace was the seraglio. The polygamy practised
by the Sassanian princes was on the largest scale that has ever been
heard of, Chosroes II. having maintained, we are told, three thousand
concubines. The modest requirements of so many secondary wives
necessitated the lodging and sustenance of twelve thousand additional
females, chiefly slaves, whose office was to attend on these royal
favorites, attire them, and obey their behests. Eunuchs are not
mentioned as employed to any large extent; but in the sculptures of
the early princes they seem to be represented as holding offices of
importance, and the analogy of Oriental courts does not allow us to
doubt that the seraglio was, to some extent at any rate, under their
superintendence. Each Sassanian monarch had one sultana or principal
wife, who was generally a princess by birth, but might legally be of
any origin. In one or two instances the monarch sets the effigy of his
principal wife upon his coins; but this is unusual, and when, towards
the close of the empire, females were allowed to ascend the throne, it
is thought that they refrained from parading themselves in this way, and
stamped their coins with the head of a male.
In attendance upon the monarch were usually his parasol-bearer, his
fan-bearer, who appears to have been a eunuch, the _Senelcapan,_ or
“Lord Chamberlain,” the _Maypet_, or “Chief Butler,” the Andertzapet,
or “Master of the Wardrobe,” the _Alchorapet_, or “Master of the
Horse,” the _Taharhapet_ or “Chief Cupbearer,” the _Shahpan_, or “Chief
Falconer,” and the __Krhogpet, or “Master of the Workmen.” Except
the parasol-bearer and fan-bearer, these officials all presided over
departments, and had under them a numerous body of subordinates. If the
royal stables contained even 8000 horses, which one monarch is said to
have kept for his own riding, the grooms and stable-boys must have been
counted by hundreds; and an equal or greater number of attendants must
have been required for the camels and elephants, which are estimated
m respectively at 1200 and 12,000. The “workmen” were also probably
a corps of considerable size, continually engaged in repairs or in
temporary or permanent erections.
Other great officials, corresponding more nearly to the “Ministers” of
a modern sovereign, were the _Vzourkhramanatar_, or “Grand Keeper of the
Royal Orders,” who held the post now known as that of _Grand Vizier_;
the _Dprapet Ariats_, or “Chief of the Scribes of Iran,” a sort of
Chancellor; the _Hazarapet dran Ariats_, or “Chiliarch of the Gate
of Iran,” a principal Minister; the _Hamarakar_, a “Chief Cashier” or
“Paymaster;” and the _Khohrdean dpir_, or “Secretary of Council,” a sort
of Privy Council clerk or registrar. The native names of these officers
are known to us chiefly through the Armenian writers of the fifth and
seventh centuries.
The Sassanian court, though generally held at Ctesiphon, migrated to
other cities, if the king so pleased, and is found established, at
one time in the old Persian capital, Persepolis, at another in the
comparatively modern city of Dastaghord. The monarchs maintained from
first to last numerous palaces, which they visited at their pleasure and
made their residence for a longer or a shorter period. Four such palaces
have been already described; and there is reason to believe that many
others existed in various parts of the empire. There was certainly one
of great magnificence at Canzaca; and several are mentioned as occupied
by Heraclius in the country between the Lower Zab and Ctesiphon.
Chosroes II. undoubtedly built one near Takht-i-Bostan; and Sapor the
First must have had one at Shapur, where he set up the greater portion
of his monuments. The discovery of the Mashita palace, in a position
so little inviting as the land of Moab, seems to imply a very general
establishment of royal residences in the remote provinces of the empire.
The costume of the later Persians is known to us chiefly from the
representations of the kings, on whose figures alone have the native
artists bestowed much attention. In peace, the monarch seems to have
worn a sort of pelisse or long coat, partially open in front, and with
close-fitting sleeves reaching to the wrist, under which he had a pair
of loose trousers descending to the feet and sometimes even covering
them. A belt or girdle encircled his waist. His feet were encased in
patterned shoes, tied with long flowing ribbons. Over his pelisse he
wore occasionally a long cape or short cloak, which was fastened with
a brooch or strings across the breast and flowed over the back and
shoulders. The material composing the cloak was in general exceedingly
light and flimsy. The head-dress commonly worn seems to have been
a round cap, which was perhaps ornamented with jewels. The vest and
trousers were also in some cases richly jewelled. Every king wore
ear-rings, with one, two, or three pendants. A collar or necklace was
also commonly worn round the neck; and this had sometimes two or more
pendants in front. Occasionally the beard was brought to a point and had
a jewel hanging from it. The hair seems always to have been worn long;
it was elaborately curled, and hung down on either shoulder in numerous
ringlets. When the monarch rode out in state, an attendant held the
royal parasol over him.
In war the monarch encased the upper part of his person in a coat of
mail, composed of scales or links. Over this he wore three belts; the
first, which crossed the breast diagonally, was probably attached to his
shield, which might be hung from it; the second supported his sword;
and the third his quiver, and perhaps his bow-case. A stiff, embroidered
trouser of great fulness protected the leg, while the head was guarded
by a helmet, and a vizor of chain mail hid all the face but the eyes.
The head and fore-quarters of the royal charger were also covered with
armor, which descended below the animal’s knees in front, but was not
carried back behind the rider. The monarch’s shield was round, and
carried on the left arm; his main offensive weapon was a heavy spear,
which he brandished in his right hand.
One of the favorite pastimes of the kings was hunting. The Sassanian
remains show us the royal sportsmen engaged in the pursuit of the
stag, the wild boar, the ibex, the antelope, and the buffalo. To this
catalogue of their beasts of chase the classical writers add the lion,
the tiger, the wild ass, and the bear. Lions, tigers, bears, and wild
asses were, it appears, collected for the purpose of sport, and kept in
royal parks or paradises until a hunt was determined on. The monarchs
then engaged in the sport in person, either singly or in conjunction
with a royal ambassador, or perhaps of a favorite minister, or a few
friends. The lion was engaged hand to hand with sword or spear; the more
dangerous tiger was attacked from a distance with arrows. Stags and
wild boars were sufficiently abundant to make the keeping of them in
paradises unnecessary. When the king desired to hunt them, it was only
requisite to beat a certain extent of country in order to make sure of
finding the game. This appears to have been done generally by elephants,
which entered the marshes or the woodlands, and, spreading themselves
wide, drove the animals before them towards an enclosed space,
surrounded by a net or a fence, where the king was stationed with his
friends and attendants. If the tract was a marsh, the monarch occupied
a boat, from which he quietly took aim at the beasts that came within
shot. Otherwise he pursued the game on horseback, and transfixed it
while riding at full speed. In either case he seems to have joined to
the pleasures of the chase the delights of music. Bands of harpers and
other musicians were placed near him within the enclosure, and he could
listen to their strains while he took his pastime.
The musical instruments which appear distinctly on the Sassanian
sculptures are the harp, the horn, the drum, and the flute or pipe. The
harp is triangular, and has seven strings; it is held in the lap, and
played apparently by both hands. The drum is of small size. The horns
and pipes are too rudely represented for their exact character to be
apparent. Concerted pieces seem to have been sometimes played by harpers
only, of whom as many as ten or twelve joined in the execution. Mixed
bands were more numerous. In one instance the number of performers
amounts to twenty-six, of whom seven play the harp, an equal number
the flute or pipe, three the horn, one the drum, while eight are too
slightly rendered for their instruments to be recognized. A portion of
the musicians occupy an elevated orchestra, to which there is access by a
flight of steps.
There is reason to believe that the Sassanian monarchs took a pleasure
also in the pastime of hawking. It has been already noticed that among
the officers of the court was a “Head Falconer,” who must have presided
over this species of sport. Hawking was of great antiquity in the East,
and appears to have been handed down uninterruptedly from remote times
to the present day. We may reasonably conjecture that the ostriches and
pheasants, if not the peacocks also, kept in the royal preserves, were
intended to be used in this pastime, the hawks being flown at them if
other game proved to be scarce.
The monarchs also occasionally amused themselves in their leisure hours
by games. The introduction of chess from India by the great Chosroes
(Anushirwan) has already been noticed; and some authorities state
that the same monarch brought into use also a species of tric-trac or
draughts. Unfortunately we have no materials for determining the exact
form of the game in either case, the Sassanian remains containing no
representation of such trivial matters.
In the character of their warfare, the Persians of the Sassanian period
did not greatly differ from the same people under the Achaemenian kings.
The principal changes which time had brought about were an almost entire
disuse of the war chariot, [PLATE XLVI. Fig. 3.] and the advance of the
elephant corps into a very prominent and important position. Four main
arms of the service were recognized, each standing on a different level:
viz. the elephants, the horse, the archers, and the ordinary footmen.
The elephant corps held the first position. It was recruited from India,
but was at no time very numerous. Great store was set by it; and in some
of the earlier battles against the Arabs the victory was regarded as
gained mainly by this arm of the service. It acted with best effect in
an open and level district; but the value put upon it was such that,
however rough, mountainous, and woody the country into which the Persian
arms penetrated, the elephant always accompanied the march of the
Persian troops, and care was taken to make roads by which it could
travel. The elephant corps was under a special chief, known as the
_Zend-hapet_, or “Commander of the Indians,” either because the beasts
came from that country, or because they were managed by natives of
Hindustan.
[Illustration: PLATE XLVI.]
The Persian cavalry in the Sassanian period seems to have been almost
entirely of the heavy kind. [PLATE XLVI., Fig. 4.] We hear nothing
during these centuries of those clouds of light horse which, under the
earlier Persian and under the Parthian monarchy, hung about invading or
retreating armies, countless in their numbers, agile in their movements,
a terrible annoyance at the best of times, and a fearful peril under
certain circumstances. The Persian troops which pursued Julian were
composed of heavily armed cavalry, foot archers, and elephants; and
the only light horse of which we have any mention during the disastrous
retreat of his army are the Saracenic allies of Sapor. In these
auxiliaries, and in the Cadusians from the Caspian region, the Persians
had always, when they wished it, a cavalry excellently suited for light
service; but their own horse during the Sassanian period seems to have
been entirely of the heavy kind, armed and equipped, that is, very much
as Chosroes II. is seen to bo at Takht-i-Bostan. The horses themselves
wore heavily armored about their head, neck, and chest; the rider wore a
coat of mail which completely covered his body as far as the hips, and a
strong helmet, with a vizor, which left no part of the face exposed but
the eyes. He carried a small round shield on his left arm, and had for
weapons a heavy spear, a sword, and a bow and arrows. He did not fear a
collision with the best Roman troops. The Sassanian horse often charged
the infantry of the legions with success, and drove it headlong from
the field of battle. In time of peace, the royal guards were more simply
accoutred. [See PLATE XLVI.]
The archers formed the elite of the Persian infantry. They were trained
to deliver their arrows with extreme rapidity, and with an aim that was
almost unerring. The huge wattled shields, adopted by the Achaemenian
Persians from the Assyrians, still remained in use; and from behind a
row of these, rested upon the ground and forming a sort of loop-holed
wall, the Sassanian bowmen shot their weapons with great effect; nor
was it until their store of arrows was exhausted that the Romans,
ordinarily, felt themselves upon even terms with their enemy. Sometimes
the archers, instead of thus fighting in line, were intermixed with the
heavy horse, with which it was not difficult for them to keep pace. They
galled the foe with their constant discharges from between the ranks
of the horsemen, remaining themselves in comparative security, as the
legions rarely ventured to charge the Persian mailed cavalry. If they
were forced to retreat, they still shot backwards as they fled; and it
was a proverbial saying with the Romans that they were then especially
formidable.
The ordinary footmen seem to have been armed with swords and spears,
perhaps also with darts. They were generally stationed behind the
archers, who, however, retired through their ranks when close fighting
began. They had little defensive armor; but still seem to have fought
with spirit and tenacity, being a fair match for the legionaries under
ordinary circumstances, and superior to most other adversaries.
It is uncertain how the various arms of the service were organized
internally. We do not hear of any divisions corresponding to the Roman
legions or to modern regiments; yet it is difficult to suppose that
there were not some such bodies. Perhaps each satrap of a province
commanded the troops raised within his government, taking the actual
lead of the cavalry or the infantry at his discretion. The Crown
doubtless appointed the commanders-in-chief--the _Sparapets, Spaha-pets,
or Sipehbeds_, as well as the other generals (_arzbeds_), the head of
the commissariat (_hambarapet_ or _hambarahapet_), and the commander of
the elephants (_zendkapet_). The satraps may have acted as colonels of
regiments under the arzbeds, and may probably have had the nomination of
the subordinate (regimental) officers.
The great national standard was the famous “leathern apron of the
blacksmith,” originally unadorned, but ultimately covered with jewels,
which has been described in a former chapter. This precious palladium
was, however, but rarely used, its place being supplied for the most
part by standards of a more ordinary character. These appear by the
monuments to have been of two kinds. Both consisted primarily of a pole
and a cross-bar; but in the one kind the crossbar sustained a single
ring with a bar athwart it, while below depended two woolly tassels; in
the other, three striated balls rose from the cross-bar, while below the
place of the tassels was taken by two similar balls. It is difficult to
say what these emblems symbolized, or why they were varied. In both the
representations where they appear the standards accompany cavalry,
so that they cannot reasonably be assigned to different arms of
the service. That the number of standards carried into battle was
considerable may be gathered from the fact that on one occasion, when
the defeat sustained was not very complete, a Persian army left in the
enemy’s hands as many as twenty-eight of them.
During the Sassanian period there was nothing very remarkable in the
Persian tactics. The size of armies generally varied from 30,000 to
60,000 men, though sometimes 100,000, and on one occasion as many as
140,000, are said to have been assembled. The bulk of the troops were
footmen, the proportion of the horse probably never equalling one third
of a mixed army. Plundering expeditions were sometimes undertaken
by bodies of horse alone; but serious invasions were seldom or never
attempted unless by a force complete in all arms; comprising, that
is, horse, foot, elephants, and artillery. To attack the Romans to any
purpose, it was always necessary to engage in the siege of towns; and
although, in the earlier period of the Sassanian monarchy, a certain
weakness and inefficiency in respect of sieges manifested itself, yet
ultimately the difficulty was overcome, and the Persian expeditionary
armies, well provided with siege trains, compelled the Roman fortresses
to surrender within a reasonable time. It is remarkable that in the
later period so many fortresses were taken with apparently so little
difficulty--Daras, Mardin, Amida, Carrhse, Edessa, Hierapolis, Berhasa,
Theodosiopolis, Antioch, Damascus, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Caesaraea
Mazaca, Chalcedon; the siege of none lasting more than a few months, or
costing the assailants very dear. The method used in sieges was to open
trenches at a certain distance from the walls, and to advance along
them under cover of hurdles to the ditch, and fill it up with earth and
fascines. Escalade might then be attempted; or movable towers, armed
with rams or balistae, might be brought up close to the walls, and the
defences battered till a breach was effected. Sometimes mounds were
raised against the walls to a certain height, so that their upper
portion, which was their weakest part, might be attacked, and either
demolished or escaladed. If towns resisted prolonged attacks of this
kind, the siege was turned into a blockade, lines of circumvallation
being drawn round the place, water cut off, and provisions prevented
from entering. Unless a strong relieving army appeared in the field, and
drove off the assailants, this plan was tolerably sure to be successful.
Not much is known of the private life of the later Persians. Besides the
great nobles and court officials, the strength of the nation consisted
in its _dilchans_ or landed proprietors, who for the most part lived on
their estates, seeing after the cultivation of the soil, and employing
thereon the free labor of the peasants. It was from these classes
chiefly that the standing army was recruited, and that great levies
might always be made in time of need. Simple habits appear to have
prevailed among them; polygamy, though lawful, was not greatly in use;
the maxims of Zoroaster, which commanded industry, purity, and piety,
were fairly observed. Women seem not to have been kept in seclusion,
or at any rate not in such seclusion as had been the custom under
the Parthians, and as again became usual under the Arabs. The general
condition of the population was satisfactory. Most of the Sassanian
monarchs seem to have been desirous of governing well; and the system
inaugurated by Anushirwan, and maintained by his successors, secured
the subjects of the Great King from oppression, so far as was possible
without representative government. Provincial rulers were well watched
and well checked; tax-gatherers were prevented from exacting more than
their due by a wholesale dread that their conduct would be reported
and punished; great pains were taken that justice should be honestly
administered; and in all cases where an individual felt aggrieved at
a sentence an appeal lay to the king. On such occasions the cause was
re-tried in open court, at the gate, or in the great square; the king,
the Magi, and the great lords hearing it, while the people were also
present. The entire result seems to have been that, so far as was
possible under a despotism, oppression was prevented, and the ordinary
citizen had rarely any ground for serious complaint.
But it was otherwise with the highest class of all. The near relations
of the monarch, the great officers of the court, the generals who
commanded armies, were exposed without defence to the monarch’s caprice,
and held their lives and liberties at his pleasure. At a mere word
or sign from him they were arrested, committed to prison, tortured,
blinded, or put to death, no trial being thought necessary where the
king chose to pronounce sentence. The intrinsic evils of despotism thus
showed themselves even under the comparatively mild government of the
Sassanians; but the class exposed to them was a small one, and enjoyed
permanent advantages, which may have been felt as some compensation to
it for its occasional sufferings.
[Illustration: FAMILY-TREE]