PERSIA.

(ARJANA. ERAN.)

Reigning Shah.

Nassr-ed-Dín, born Sept. 4, 1829, eldest son of Shah Mohammed; succeeded to the throne at the death of his father, Sept. 10, 1848.

Sons of the Shah.

I. Muzaffer-ed-Din, heir-apparent, born in 1852, and has two sons, Mohammed Hassan Mirza, and Mohammed Hussein Mirza, and four daughters.

II. Zil-es-Sultan, born 1849, and has one son, Djilal-ed-Dauleh. III. Naib-es-Sultanah.

The Shah has also several daughters.

The Shah of Persia-by his official title, 'Shah-in-shah,' or king of kings-is absolute ruler within his dominions, and master of the lives and goods of all his subjects.

The whole revenue of the country being at their disposal, recent sovereigns of Persia have been able to amass a large private fortune. That of the present occupant of the throne is reported to amount to four millions sterling, one-half represented by diamonds-the largest the Derya-i-Noor, of 178 carats—and other precious stones, forming the crown jewels.

The present sovereign of Persia is the fourth of the dynasty of the Kadjars, which took possession of the crown after a civil war extending over fifteen years, from 1779 to 1794. The date of accession of each of the four members of the reigning dynasty was as follows:

It is within the power of the Persian monarchs to alter or to overrule the existing law of succession, and to leave the crown, with disregard of the natural heir, to any member of their family.

Government, Religion, and Education.

The form of government of Persia is in its most important features similar to that of Turkey. All the laws are based on the precepts of the Koran, and though the power of the Shah is absolute, it is only in so far as it is not opposed to the accepted doctrines of the Mahometan religion, as laid down in the sacred book of the Prophet, his oral commentaries and sayings, and the interpretation of the same by his successors and the high priesthood. The Shah is regarded as vicegerent of the Prophet, and it is as such that he

claims implicit obedience. Under him, the executive government is carried on by a ministry, formerly consisting of but two high functionaries, the Vizier-i-Azem, or grand vizier, and the Ameen-edDoulah, or lord treasurer, but in more recent times divided into seven departments, after the European fashion. However, the grand vizier and the lord treasurer are still the most important members of the executive, the vizier directing the foreign policy of the government, and acting as commander-in-chief of the army.

The country is divided for administrative and other purposes into twenty-one provinces. These (1883) are under ten governors, mostly members of the royal family, several being grouped under one governor. The provinces again are subdivided into districts, superintended by a Hakim, or governor-lieutenant, whose chief duty is the collection of the revenue. There is a certain amount of self-government in towns and villages, the citizens electing, at fixed times, a Ketkhodah, or magistrate, who administers justice.

The vast majority of the inhabitants of Persia are Mahometans, the total number of dissenters not amounting to more than about 74,000. The latter consist of Armenians, Nestorians, Jews, and Guebres, or Parsees. The Armenian population is estimated at 43,000; the Nestorians and Chaldeans at 23,000; the Jews at 19,000; and the Guebres at 8,000.

The Mahometans of Persia are mostly of the scct called Shiites or Sheahs, differing to some extent in religious doctrine, and more in historical belief, from the inhabitants of the Turkish empire, who are called Sunnites. There are 6,860,600 Shiites and 700,000 Sunnites. The Persian priesthood consist of many orders, the chief of them at the present time being that of Mujtehed, of whom there are but five in number in the whole country. Vacancies in this post are filled nominally by the members of the order, but in reality by the public voice, and the Shah himself is excluded from all power of appointment. Next in rank to the Mujtehed is the Sheik-ul-Islam, or ruler of the faith, of whom there is one in every large town, nominated by, and receiving his salary from, the government. Under these dignitaries there are three classes of ministers of religion, the Mootelli, one for each mosque or place of pilgrimage; the Muezzin, or sayer of prayers, and the Mollah, or conductor of rites. The Armenians are under two bishops, one of them Roman Catholic, and both residing at Ispahan. There is wide tolerance exercised towards Armenians and Nestorians, but the Jews. and Guebres suffer under great oppression.

Education is in a comparatively advanced state, at least as far as the upper classes are concerned. There are a great number of colleges, supported by public funds, in which students are instructed in religion and Persian and Arabic literature, as well as in a certain

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amount of scientific knowledge, while private tutors are very common, being employed by all families who have the means. larger portion of the population of Persia are possessed of the rudiments of education than of any other country in Asia, except China,

Revenue and Army.

The revenue and expenditure of the Government are known only from estimates. According to estimates, based on consular reports, the total receipts of the Government amounted, on the average of the years 1872 to 1875, to 1,900,000l. per annum, while the expenditure during the same period was at the rate of 1,756,000l. per annum. The receipts of the year 1882 amounted to 1,600,000l. in money, besides 280,000l. in kind, consisting of barley, wheat, rice, and silk, making the total revenue equal to 1,880,000l. Of the total revenue 1,520,000l. came from direct taxes and 353,600l. from customs. The expenditure amounted to 1,800,000l., of which 760,000%. was for the army, 360,000l. for regal court; priesthood, &c., 240,000l.; foreign affairs, 28,000l.; other departments, 60,000%.; education, 12,000l. The surplus is paid into the Shah's treasury.

sum,

About one-fourth of the receipts are constituted by payments in kind, mostly reserved for the use of the army and the Shah's own household. The whole revenue is raised by assessments upon towns, villages, and districts, each of which has to contribute a fixed the amount of which is changed from time to time by taxassessors appointed by the Government. Almost the entire burthen of taxation lies upon the labouring classes, and, among these, upon the Mahometan subjects of the Shah. The amount of revenue collected from the Christian population, the Jews, and the Guebres, is reported to be very small. The Government has no public debt.

The Persian army, according to official returns of the Minister of War, numbers 105,500 men, of whom 5,000 form the artillery, 53,900 the infantry, 31,000 the cavalry, regular and irregular, and 7,200 militia. Of these troops, however, only one-third are em ployed on active service, the standing army of Persia consisting, on the peace footing, of a total of 30,000 men.

By a decree of the Shah, issued in July 1875, it was ordered that the army should for the future be raised by conscription, instead of by irregular levies, and that a term of service of twelve years should be substituted for the old system, under which the mass of the soldiers were retained for life; but the decree has not been enforced to any extent.

The organisation of the army is by provinces, tribes, and districts. A province furnishes several regiments; a tribe gives one, and sometimes two, and a district contributes one battalion to the army. The commanding officers are almost invariably selected from the

chiefs of the tribe or district from which the regiment is raised. The Christians, Jews, and Guebres in Persia are exempt from all military service. In recent years the army has been under the training and organisation of European officers.

Area, Population, and Trade.

The area and population of Persia are known only by estimates. According to the latest and most trustworthy of these, the country -extending for about 700 miles from north to south, and for 900 miles from east to west-contains an area of 610,000 square miles. In the south the eastern frontier line includes a considerable part of South Baluchistan and Sistán proper. A vast portion of this area is, however, an absolute desert, and the population is everywhere so scanty as not to exceed, on the average, seven inhabitants to the square mile. According to estimates on the spot in 1881, the population of Persia numbers :

The largest cities of Persia are— -Teheran, with 100,000; Tauris, or Tabreez, 120,000; Meshed, 60,000; Ispahan, 60,000; Burfrash, 50,000; Urmia, 40,000; Hamadar, 30,000; Karmanshah, 30,000; Shiraz, 30,000; Resht, 25,000; and Yezd, 40,000 inhabitants. Good authorities, however, consider all these estimates much too high. The inhabitants of towns and agricultural districts constitute the pure Iranic race (Tajiks, Persians, Kurds, Lúrs, Leks, Baluchis); while other Aryan races are the Gipsies and Jats of the Indic branch, and the Armenians of the Haik branch; of Semitic stock are the Arabs, Jews and Chaldeans ('Nestorians'); of Mongol-Tartar type are the Aymaks, Hazárahs, Turkomans and Kizil-Bashis. Of the nomades 260,100 are Arabs, 720,000 Turks, 675,000 Kurds and Leks, 20,700 Baluchis, 234,000 Lúrs.

A great part of the commerce of Persia centres at Tabreez. Bushire is the principal port for British trade with Persia, while that of Russia comes by Tiflis and the Caspian. There are no official returns of the value of the total imports and exports, the former of which are estimated to have averaged 1,000,000l., and the latter 500,000l. per annum in the years 1876 to 1880. The principal article of import into Tabreez during the five years consisted of cotton goods of British manufacture; while the chief article of export was silk, shipped for France and Great Britain. The total value of the imports by Bushire and Lingah in the Persian Gulf in 1883 was 1,144,933l., according to a British Consular.

Report. The value of imports of English origin in 1883 was 530,7751., and from India 453,2507. Of the imports in 1883, 600,300l. was for cotton goods, 239,000l. metals, chiefly copper, and 127,412l. sugar. The total exports by these ports in 1883 was valued at 614,3417. Of the exports in 1883, 280,6831. was for opium, and 68,4501. for grain and pulse. Of the exports in 1883, 142,800l. went to England, and 140,3831. to India. Upwards of 100,000l. worth of carpets are now annually exported to Europe.

The direct trade of Persia with the United Kingdom is very small, according to the Board of Trade returns. In each of the five years 1879 to 1883 the value of the exports of Persia to Great Britain and of the imports of British produce and manufactures into Persia was as follows, according to the returns:—

The direct exports from Persia to Great Britain in 1883 consisted mainly of opium, valued at 63,0371., and wheat 69,2407. Cotton goods, of the value of 212,8617., were the staple article of British imports in 1883.

Persia has a system of telegraphs, established and worked mainly by Europeans. There are 3,647 miles of telegraph lines, and 5,947 miles of telegraph wire in operation. The number of telegraph offices was 78 at the same date. The number of despatches forwarded in the year 1878 was 500,000, the revenue of the year from telegraphs amounting to 15,000l.

The first regular postal service, also established by Europeans, was opened in January 1877. Under it, mails are conveyed from Julfa, on the Russian frontier, to Tabreez and Teheran, and from thence to the port of Resht, on the Caspian Sea.

In November 1882 the Persian Government arranged with a syndicate of French capitalists for the construction of a railway from Resht to Teheran, 250 miles, to be continued to the Persian Gulf. Arrangements have (1883) been made to place steamers on the river Karun, which enters the head of the Persian Gulf, and to construct roads from Shuster to Teheran, thus opening up a trade route from the south.