Page:History of Art in Persia.djvu/21

 6 History of Art in AuTiQurry. itself suffice to explain why Iian chose the site of her capitals and centre of grainty from time immemorial towards the Persian Gulf and Zagros ; the distribution of social and physical life was determined by the physical conditions of the country* In the East» subterraneous waters are buried at considerable depth, and as a consequence tapped with difficulty ; towards the edge of the high levels are, indeed, a few streams that descend from the neighbouring mountains, but they are short-lived, and soon dis- appear in the sandy wastes, alternating with day and salt Bitterly cold in winter, scorchingly hot in summer and despair- ingly dry, the dimate is simply deadly to man. No wonder, therefore, that Khorasan — such is the name of this unkind region — is sparsely populated, the only signs of habitations being around some rare oasis sprinkled about the arid surface. In such condi- tions as these, it is hard to imagine a ro3ral city, the seat of the head of a great empire, having been here, surrounded and isolated as it would have been in wildernesses often dangerous and always difficult to traverse. As a matter of fact, no towns, except of secondary importance^ were ever built in this district The aspect changes in the north-west, west, and south-west of the plateau, towards the belt of mountains, which, broadly speak- ings rise to a height of 3000 m., whilst the Demavend, the culminating peak of the Elburz range, attains 5628 m. Towards the Caspian, the slopes of Ghilan and Mazanderan (andent Hyrcania) are clad with magnificent forests, green pastures, orchards, and gardens of luxuriant vegetation. The district is certainly outside of the natural frontiers of Iran; politically, however, it has always been allied thereto. Green patches and orchards still abound in the vicinity of Lake Urumiyeh, in the province of Azerbijan (ancient Atropat^ne). Further south, in Media, or Irak-Ajeni, Susiana (now Khuzistan), and Fars (Persia properly so called), cultivation is scarcely possible except at the bottom of valleys watered by rivers, such as the Katun, and streams, as the Polvar-Rud, or by aqueducts buried underground, locally called kanauts. The fauna and flora are exceedingly varied, and the native breeds of horses, mules, camels, asses, and sheep are justly esteemed. The products of the soil change according to altitudes; in Arabistan, formerly Elam, on the border of the Persian Gulf, towns and villages are embosomed in plantations of palm trees. Higher up, in Fars proper, around Digitized by Google