ow that arts and sciences must have been diligently
cultivated amongst them, and that magic and astrology were held in high
repute.

That the Persians were well acquainted with other nations is shown
clearly from the remains of their great city of Persepolis, where the
sculptured figures represent many types of mankind--the negro, with
thick lips and flat nose, and with his crisp, wooly hair, clearly cut;
and the half-naked Indian, with his distinguishing features, being
easily singled out from many others.

Persia held sway over a huge district of India--the limits of this are
not known; but, in addition, they were well acquainted with a large
portion of the north-western part of India.

The traditions and historical records of the Persians are contained in
the famous series of writings culled the Zend-avesta. These writings
are, it is thought, of an age even before the Persian dynasty was
established; and it has been shown by the researches of M. Anguetil and
Sir W. Jones that there is indeed a great probability of the Zend having
been a dialect of the ancient Sanscrit language. In the vocabulary
attached to M. Anguetil's great work on the Zend-avesta no less than 60
to 70 per cent. of the words are said to be pure Sanscrit.

As the oldest known language of Persia was Chaldaeic, we are again thrown
back on Indian sources for the origin of the great book of the ancient
Persians. Even the name of the priests of the Persian religion of
Zoroaster, Mag or Magi, is of Sanscrit derivation.

The Persians kept up an enormous army, which was spread through all the
various provinces and Satrapies, and consisted in great part of paid
auxiliaries. In at least the later period of Persian power the Greeks
were preferred to all others, and in the time of Cyrus the Younger they
composed the flower of the Persian army, and were employed in
garrisoning most of the chief cities of Asia Minor.

The description given by Herodotus of the vast army and fleet prepared
for the expedition of Xerxes against the Greeks gives us an idea of the
extent of the Persian power, and of the wide range of countries and
nations over which they held sway. The review held on the Plain of
Doriscus was perhaps the greatest military spectacle ever beheld either
before or since. Herodotus enumerates no less than 56 different nations,
all of them in their national dress and arms. Besides the Persians there
were "Medes and Bactrians; Libyans in war chariots w