Page:The age of Justinian and Theodora (Volume 2).djvu/33

 Ardeshír did not, however, base his message of fortune solely on an appeal to the mystical emotions of his nation; but he also sought to attach them to himself by stimulating their patriotism. He professed that he would avenge the murder of Darius on the inheritors of Alexander, and asserted himself to be the rightful ruler of all western Asia, which had been unlawfully wrested from his ancestors. Thus the Persian empire, as restored by the Sassanians, was inspired with sentiments which urged it to maintain an inveterate conflict with Rome.

Although there is evidence of constant religious commotion in Persia under the Sassanidae, it does not appear that any considerable number of the historical adherents of Zarathushtra ever swerved from their faith. The numerous priestly tribe of the Magi not only surrounded the throne, but were fully disseminated throughout the provinces as the guardians of Mazdeism. The valley of the Euphrates and Tigris, however, the most densely populated district of the empire, was the site of a very heterogeneous ethnology, with archaeological records which extend backwards for some thousands of years prior to the descent of the Arians into Iran. There had existed the kingdoms of Sumer and Akkad, having an ancient mythology of their own, which was liable to be diversified by the infiltration of Semitic elements from

former writers.]
 * [Footnote: intention of Ardeshír. It has been cited as serious history by some