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Rh their merchants dispose of much capital, but the bulk live on the proceeds of agriculture and are poor.

The Nestorians in Persia, all living in cities and villages close to the Turkish frontier, numbered about 25,000 to 30,000 but many of them, some say half, together with two or three bishops, recently went over to the Greek Orthodox (Russian) Church, in consequence of the unsatisfactory protection afforded them by their patriarch, who resides in Mosul. These latter are now cared for by an archimandrite of Russian nationality and some Russian priests.

The Greek Orthodox Catholics are represented by Russians, who reside in northern Persia; they have a church at the Russian legation in Teherān, and another at the Russian consulate in Tabriz.

The Roman Catholics in Persia, Europeans and natives (mostly Armenians), number about three or four thousand, and have churches in Teherān, Julfa and Azerbaijan, served by members of the French Lazarist Mission. They also have some orphanages, schools and medical dispensaries, under the care of sisters of charity of St Vincent de Paul.

The Protestants, Europeans and natives (converted Armenians and Nestorians), number about 6500. The religious missions ministering to their spiritual welfare are: (1) The board of foreign missions of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, which has six establishments in Persia: Urmia since 1835, Teherān since 1872, Tabriz since 1873, Hamadan since 1880, Resht since 1902 and Kazvin since 1903. The establishments of Tabriz and Urmia form the Western Persia Mission, those of Teherān, Hamadan, Resht and Kazvin the Eastern Persia Mission. The former mission has 24 churches, 118 schools, 2 hospitals and 4 dispensaries, the latter has 4 churches, 11 schools, 2 hospitals and 4 dispensaries. (2) The Church Missionary Society, established in Persia since 1869. In June 1908 it had 4 places of worship (Julfa, Yezd, Kermān, Shiraz), 5 schools (Julfa, Isfahan, Yezd, Kermān and Shiraz). There are also hospitals and dispensaries for men and women at Julfa, Isfahan, Yezd and Kermān. The hospitals at Julfa and Isfahan have accommodation for 100 patients each, and are sometimes full to overflowing; the dispensaries are generally overcrowded. The establishment of the Church Missionary Society is under the care of a bishop, who resides at Julfa and is under the bishop of London. (3) The Anglican mission, which was established by Dr Benson, archbishop of Canterbury, and has its work among the Nestorians in Azerbaijan. (4) The London Society for promoting Christianity among the Jews, which was established at Teherān in 1876, and at Isfahan and Hamadan in 1889. It has in Teherān a church and a school, at Isfahan a school and at Hamadan a small school. (5) The British and Foreign Bible Society has been represented at Isfahan since 1879.

The Jews in Persia number about 36,000, and are found in nearly all cities of the country, but communities with synagogues and priests exist only in the larger cities like Teherān, Isfahan, Yezd, Shiraz, Hamadan, &c.

The Zoroastrians, commonly called “gabrs,” numbering about 9000, reside principally in the cities and villages of Yezd and Kermān, and only three or four hundred live in Teherān, Kashan, Isfahan and Shiraz, some engaged in trade and commerce but most of them employed in agricultural work and gardening. Their interests are attended to by a delegate who is appointed by the Bombay Parsis and resides at Teherān.

The non-Mussulman Persian subjects, particularly those in the provinces, were formerly much persecuted, but since 1873, when Nasru’d-Dīn Shah returned to Persia from his first journey to Europe they have been treated more liberally. In cities where many non-Mussulman subjects reside a special official is appointed to protect them, and the ministry of justice has a special section to look after them and see that they are protected against fanaticism and injustice.

Instruction.—Primary schools, maktab (where Persian and a little Arabic, sufficient for reading the Koran, and sometimes also a little arithmetic, are taught to boys between the ages of seven and twelve), are very numerous. These schools are private establishments, and are under no supervision whatever. The payment for tuition varies from fourpence or fivepence to tenpence a month for each child. Colleges, madrasah (where young men are instructed, fed, and frequently also lodged gratuitously), exist in nearly every town. Most of them are attached to mosques, and the teachers are members of the clergy, and receive fixed salaries out of the college funds. The students are instructed in Arabic and Persian literature, religion, interpretation of the Koran, Mussulman law, logic, rhetoric, philosophy and other subjects necessary for admittance to the clergy, for doctors of law, &c., while modern sciences are neglected. Families who have means and do not desire their children to become members of the clergy, employ private tutors, and several have latterly obtained the services of English and French professors to educate their children, while others send their boys to school in England, France, Germany and Russia. At

the beginning of Nasru’d-Dīn Shah’s reign, a public school on the lines of a French lycée was opened in Teherān, principally with the object of educating officers for the army, but also of introducing a knowledge of Western science and languages, and a ministry of public instruction was created at the same time. Military and civilian teachers were obtained from Europe, and the state granted a large sum of money for the support of the establishment. The tuition is gratuitous, and the pupils are clothed and partly fed at government expense. Some years later a similar school, but on a much smaller scale, was opened in Tabriz. After a time the annual grant for the support of these two schools was reduced, and during the years 1890–1908 amounted to only £5000 The average number of pupils was about 250, and until the beginning of 1899 these two schools were the only establishments under the supervision of the minister of public instruction. Soon after his accession in 1896 Muzaffar-ud-Dīn Shah expressed a desire that something more should be done for public instruction, and in the following year a number of Persian notables formed a committee and opened some schools in Teherān and other places in the beginning of 1898. A year later the new schools, until then private establishments, were placed under the minister of public instruction. The new schools at Teherān have from 1000 to 1400 pupils.

Army.—Persia had no regular army until 1807, when some regiments of regular infantry (sarbaz) were embodied and drilled by the first French military mission to Persia under General Gardane. Since then seven other military missions (two British, two French, two Austrian, and one Russian) have come to Persia at the request of the Persian government, and many officers and non-commissioned officers, and even civilians, of various nationalities, have been engaged as army instructors. The last serious attempt to reorganize the Persian army was made in 1879, when the second Austrian mission formed the “Austrian corps” of seven new battalions of 800 men each. These new battalions were disbanded in 1882. The Russian mission of 1879 has been the most successful, and the so-called “Cossack brigade” which it formed has always been commanded by Russian officers. The brigade has a strength of about 1800 men and costs £50,000 per annum. The total annual expenditure for the army amounts to about a. third of the total revenues of the government.

Navy.—The Persian government possesses nine steamers. One is the “Nasru’d-Dīn,” an old yacht of about 120 tons, presented in the ’seventies by the emperor of Russia, and stationed at Enzeli, the port of Resht. The others, all employed in the customs service in the Persian Gulf, are the following: The “Persepolis,” built 1884, 600 tons, 450 h.p., with three 7 cm. and one 8 cm. Krupp. The “Susa,” built 1884, 36 tons, with one Krupp. An old Belgian yacht “Selika,” purchased 1903 and renamed “Muzafferi,” with two Hotchkiss guns. Five launches built in the Royal Indian Marine Docks, Bombay, in 1905, at a cost of 60,000 rupees each, of about 80 tons.