Chapter I
The Exodus of the Parsis
The Parsis are the descendants of the ancient Persians, whose fame has survived in the annals of the world. Reduced henceforth to perhaps the most restricted minority amongst all the nations of the globe, they are found dispersed all over the Presidency of Bombay, and in some districts of modern Persia, in Yezd and in Kirman, where they have been vegetating for centuries. The Bible,[1] the classical historians,[2] national traditions,[3] and epigraphical documents recently brought to light by European savants[4] give us some information concerning their history.
Fars represents in our days the little province of Parsua, which has given its name to one of the greatest civilisations of antiquity. It is bounded on the west by Susiana, on the north and on the east by the Deserts of Khavir and Kirman, with a coast-line along the Persian Gulf between Bushire and Bunder Abbas. In ancient times the inhabitants, divided into tribes, led a simple, rustic life, superior in all respects to their neighbours the Medes, already enervated by civilisation. Between the ages of five and twenty, says Herodotus, the young Persians are taught three things: to mount the horse, to stretch the bow, and to speak the truth (Her., Clio, cxxxi.). It was amongst them, and amongst the Bactrians, that the principles of the Zoroastrian religion had been maintained in all their purity.
With Cyrus, the descendant of Achæmenes, the real history of Persia begins. He founded the dynasty of the Achæmenides, which lasted for two centuries, and attained by its conquests a degree of splendour of which we find unmistakable traces everywhere. It was at Arbela[5] (331) that Alexander overthrew Darius, the last prince of this dynasty, and, on his death, Persia was numbered amongst the countries that had passed under the subjection of the Seleucidæ. In 225 B.C., Arsace, of the province of Parthia, revolted against Antiochus Theos, and laid the foundations of a new empire. The dynasty of the Arsacides reigned until a Persian prince of somewhat inferior birth, Ardeshir, founded in his turn a national dynasty, viz., that of the Sassanides (226 A.D.). The Romans were its constant enemies. However, the real danger revealed itself only with the advent of the Arabs, who, approaching nearer and nearer, had already conquered several provinces when King Yezdezard made preparations for resistance.
The first invasion took place under Khalif Omar (633).[6] Khalud Ben Walid at the head of ten thousand men, and Mosanna at the head of eight thousand, had marched against Hormuz, the Persian Governor of Irak, and had vanquished him. After this victory Khalud had gone forward and conquered Irak; but he was defeated at the battle of Marwaha (634). Four thousand Mussulmans were killed, and two thousand returned to Medina. Unfortunately the Persian general Behman did not follow up this advantage. The country was at this time divided into two factions, one under Rustam, the generalissimo of the Persian Empire, the other under Prince Firoz. Behman, instead of securing the independence of his country, hastened to support Rustam against Firoz. The Arabs, emboldened by their rapid successes, established their camp between Kadesia[7] and Koufah, where by the Caliph’s order hordes of Nomads came to reinforce their troops. The struggle lasted for three days and three nights; the Persian army was entirely destroyed, and the royal standard fell into the hands of the Arabs.[10] Yezdezard, informed of this misfortune, escaped to Holwan. Sa’d, having taken possession of Madain, pursued the fugitive monarch, who withdrew to Rei.
In the twentieth year of the Hejira, Omar recalled Sa’d, and Yezdezard took this opportunity to gather together a hundred and fifty thousand men, all the contingents having been drawn from the province of Khorassan and from the environs of Rei and Hamadan. Firouzan was appointed commander. The Caliph, hearing of the preparations of the Persian king, sent in his turn reinforcements, and placed at their head his general No’mân, with the strictest orders to destroy the impious religion of the Fire-Worshippers. It was at Nehawend[11] that, after a delay of two months, the shock of arms decided the fate of Iran. Thirty thousand Persians fell on the battlefield, and eighty thousand were drowned in the moats surrounding the camp. Firouzan was pursued into the mountains and killed by a detachment of Arabs.[12]
From that time Persia passed into the hands of the Caliphs. Yezdezard escaped at first to Seistan and then to Merv. The governor of this town offered to deliver up the fugitive prince to the Khân of Turkestan. The Turks entered the town in spite of the resistance of the inhabitants, and the king, taking advantage of the confusion, succeeded in hiding himself in a neighbouring mill. The miller at first gave protection to the king; but urged by a desire to get possession of his arms and his clothes, he, like a coward, killed the king. The irate people massacred the assassin, and the body of Yezdezard, son of Sheheriar, the last sovereign of the Sássánian dynasty, was sent to Istakhr, there to be deposited in the tomb of his ancestors (A.D. 650).
The conquest of Persia was accomplished with surprising rapidity. Shortly after the death of the king, Islamism was imposed upon all; but certain amongst the Mazdiens offered resistance, and even succeeded in remaining in their fatherland; others, unwilling to accept the law of the Koran, abandoned their hearths, and went and dwelt in the mountainous districts of Khorassan,[13] where, for a hundred years, they were enabled to live and practise their religion without being disturbed. They were, however, obliged to quit this asylum and to take refuge in large numbers in the little island of Hormuz,[14] at the entrance of the Persian Gulf. Here they made but a short sojourn, and finally decided to seek the protection of the Hindoos. They procured vessels and embarked with their wives and children.
The relations between Persia and India had been rather frequent, and it was precisely their former intercourse, rendered closer a few centuries before the Arab invasion, that made this migration possible. This we can see from an interesting résumé given in the Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, p. 247, and which we reproduce here:—