The Exodus of the Parsis

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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 savants4 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 Arbela5 (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 Kadesia7 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 Nehawend11 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:—

“In legendary times some religious connection had existed between the great prophet Zoroaster, who flourished about 1000 B.C. (see Haug, Essays, 299), and the Brahman Tchengreghatchah, who was sent back to convert his compatriots. (See also in Firdusi the story of Prince Isphandiar, son of Gustasp, who was such a fervent disciple of Zoroaster that he persuaded the Emperor of India to adopt the worship of fire,—Elliot, History, v. 568). The Hindoo tradition of the introduction of fire-worshipping priests from Persia into Dwarka in Kathyawar is probably of a much later date (Reinaud, MÉmoire sur l’Inde, 391–397). Another link, and this time of an entirely political nature, is discovered in the mythical conquests of Northern India, which, according to Persian writers, must have followed from the year 1729 B.C. (Troyer, Rajatarangini, ii. 441). In historical times the Punjaub formed part of the Persian dominions since its conquest by Darius Hystaspes (510 B.C.) down to the end of the dynasty of the AchÆmenides (350 B.C.). (Rawlinson, Ancient Monarchies, iv. 433.)

“Towards the commencement of the Christian era, as is seen from the fire altars on their coins, the Kanerkis or the Scythians of India, the rulers of the Punjaub, seem to have adopted the religion of the Magi (Lassen, in J. B. A. S. ix. 456; Prinsep, Note on Historic Researches from Bactrian Coins, 106). As far as Southern India is concerned, the mention of Brahmani Magi in Ptolemy (150) seems to indicate some relation with Persia, but the Kanarese word mag or ‘son’ gives a sufficient explanation.

“Closer connection between India and Persia dates from the restoration of the Persian power under the Sassanide dynasty (226–650 A.D.). In the fifth century the visit of the Persian prince Behram (436), who had come, doubtless, to implore aid against the White Huns (Wilson, Ariana Antiqua, 383), his marriage with a Hindoo princess, and, according to indigenous accounts, his founding the dynasty of the Ghardabin kings, made this intimacy closer (Wilford, As. Res. ix. 219; Masoudi, Prairies d’or, ii. 191; Reinaud, MÉmoire sur l’Inde, 112; Elliot, Hist. ii. 159). Later on Noshirwan the Just (531–579) and his grandson Parviz (591–628) allied themselves, by treaties and by the exchange of rich presents, to the rulers of India and Sindh (Masoudi, Prairies d’or, ii. 201). As to these treaties, it is interesting to notice that the subject of one of the paintings in the Caves of Ajanta is believed to represent the embassy of Noshirwan to Pulikesi, king of Badami, in the country south of that of the Mahrattas, whilst another is supposed to be a copy made after the portraits of Parviz and the beautiful Shirin (Fergusson, in Burgess’ Ajanta Notes, 92). According to certain narratives, a body of Persians landed, at the commencement of the seventh century, in Western India, and it is supposed that to one of these chiefs, regarded by Wilford as a son of Khosroo Parvis, is to be traced the origin of the Udeipore dynasty (Gladwin, Ain-i-Akbari, ii. 81; Dr. Hunter, As. Res. vi. 8; Wilford, As. Res. ix. 233; Prinsep, Jour. Ben. As. Soc. iv. 684). Wilford considered the Konkanasth Brahmins as belonging to the same race; but, although their origin is doubtful, the Konkanasths had settled in India long before the Parsis. Moreover, India and Persia had been connected by commercial treaties. Cosmas Indicopleustes (545) found some Persians amongst the principal traders settled along the coasts of the Indian Ocean (Migne, PatrologiÆ Cursus, lxxxviii. 446; Yule, Cathay, 1, clxxvii.–clxxix.), and his assertion as to the existence of a Persian bishop at the head of the Christian communities of Kalyan (Yule, Cathay, 1, clxxi.), discloses close relations between Thana and the Persian Gulf. Shortly after the time of Cosmas, the empire of the seas passed from the Romans to the Persians, and the fleets of India and China visited the Persian Gulf (Reinaud, AboulfÉda, 1–11, ccclxxxiii.–iv.). It was this connection between Western India and Persia which urged, in 638 (H. 16) Caliph Omar (634–643) to found the city of Bussorah, partly for the needs of commerce and partly to prevent the Indian princes from coming to the help of the Persians (Troyer, Rajatarangini, ii. 449; Chronique de Tabari, iii. 401), and, in the same year (638–639), prompted him to send a fleet to ravage the coasts of Thana (Elliot, Hist. i. 415). Tabari (838–921) and Masoudi (900–950) both prove that the district round Bussorah and the country under the subjection of the King of Oman were regarded by the Arabs as forming part of India (Chronique de Tabari, iii. 401; Prairies d’or, iv. 225). In the seventh century it has been noticed that several Indians had settled in the principal cities of Persia, where they enjoyed the free exercise of their religion (Reinaud, AboulfÉda, 1–11, ccclxxxiv.). It should also be noticed that from the sixth century, when the Persians commenced taking a leading part in the commerce and trade of the East, they visited not only India, but China also (Reinaud, AboulfÉda, 1–11, ccclxxxiii.). Towards the period of their arrival in India, the Parsis were settled in China as missionaries, merchants, or refugees. Anquetil du Perron (Zend-Avesta, 1, cccxxxvi.) speaks of Persians going to China, in the seventh century, with a son of Yezdezard. According to Wilford (As. Res. ix. 235), another band of emigrants joined them in 750, towards the beginning of the reign of the Abbassides. In 758 the Arabs and the Persians were so strong in Canton that they stirred up several riots and plundered the town (Reinaud, AboulfÉda, 1–11, ccclxxxv.). In 846 there is a mention made of Muhapas or Mobeds in Canton (Yule, Cathay, 1, xcvi.), and sixty years later Masoudi affirms that there were many fire-temples in China (Prairies d’or, iv. 86).”


It is scarcely probable that there could have been only one migration of the Persians. There must have been many such, at different periods, according as the spirit of persecution was more or less strong amongst the conquerors. The traditions concerning this subject are vague. We are in absolute ignorance as to the mode of their departure, and the number of those who, in despair, had to quit the Persian Gulf. The only information that we can get at concerning this subject is that contained in a book entitled Kissah-i-Sanjan,15 written towards the year 1600 by a Mazdien priest called Behram Kaikobad Sanjana, who dwelt in Naosari. According to this author, Diu,16 a small town on the Gulf of Cambay to the south of the Kathyawar coast, was the first port where the refugees landed. Here they dwelt for nearly twenty years, at the end of which they sought for another residence. There is a mysterious passage in the Kissah-i-Sanjan upon this second immigration, but it scarcely explains it. “An old Dastoor (high-priest) who had applied himself to the science of predicting from the stars, declared that they should leave this place and seek another residence. All rejoiced on hearing these words, and immediately set sail for Gujerat.” Scarcely had they left the coast of Diu when a storm burst upon them, and the Persians believed themselves hopelessly lost. They then implored the aid of Him for whom they had abandoned all, promising to light the sacred fire as soon as they should have touched the shores of India.

He heard the prayer of his faithful children. The tempest fell, and they were able to land at Sanjan,17 twenty-five miles south of Damman.18 The territory of Sanjan was, at that time, subject to the sage Jadi Rana,19 to whom the Persians sent a Dastoor, with presents, to obtain permission to settle in his country, and to inquire what conditions would be imposed upon them. The Dastoor, approaching the Rana, invoked blessings upon him, and after having explained to him the reasons that had determined the fugitives to quit their fatherland, he narrated their misfortunes, and asked for his countrymen authoritative permission to settle in Sanjan. The prince, it is said, struck by the warlike and distinguished appearance of these foreigners, at first conceived some fear, and desired to know something of their usages and customs. During their sojourn at Diu the Persians had learnt sufficiently well the spirit and character of the Hindoos, to answer his questions in a satisfactory manner. The most learned amongst them drew up sixteen Slokas or distichs, in which they summarised the duties enjoined by their religion20:—

1. We are worshippers of Ahura Mazda (the Supreme Being), of the sun and of the five elements.

2. We observe silence during bath, at prayers, while making offerings to the fire, and when eating.

3. We use incense, perfumes and flowers in our religious ceremonies.

4. We honour the cow.

5. We wear the sacred garment, the Sudra or the shirt, the Kusti or thread for the waist, and the twofold cap.

6. We rejoice ourselves with songs and musical instruments on marriage occasions.

7. We permit our women to wear ornaments and use perfumes.

8. We are enjoined to be liberal in our charities and especially in excavating tanks and wells.

9. We are enjoined to extend our sympathies to all beings, male or female.

10. We practise ablutions with gaomutra, one of the products of the cow.

11. We wear the sacred thread when praying and eating.

12. We feed the sacred fire with incense.

13. We offer up prayers five times a day.

14. We carefully observe conjugal fidelity and purity.

15. We celebrate annual religious ceremonies in honour of our ancestors.

16. We observe the greatest precautions with regard to our wives during their confinement and at certain periods of the month.

It is interesting to notice that, at this juncture, the Zoroastrians showed themselves singularly skilful and clever, avoiding all mention of the true basis of their religion, and only setting forth certain ceremonies, of no importance, which seemed of a nature likely to conciliate the goodwill of the Rana. Anxious to find some place of repose, the Parsis knew the Hindoos and their susceptibilities of caste and religion too well not to be willing to please them; and that is why they formulated their answers with a prudence and skill which won the favour of the Rana. He therefore permitted them to reside in the city on condition that they adopted the language of the country, and ceased to speak that of their ancestors; that their women should dress according to the Hindoo mode; that the men should no longer carry weapons, and should perform their marriage ceremonies at night, according to Hindoo custom. What could the unfortunate exiles, thirsting for peace and rest, do but accept these conditions? And this they did. They settled down in a vast tract of land not far from Sanjan, and with full hearts offered prayers to Hormuzd. They resolved to fulfil the vow they had made at the time of their memorable voyage from Diu to Sanjan, to raise the altar for lighting the sacred fire. The Hindoos, far from opposing this, helped to build the temple (721), and Zoroastrian rites and ceremonies began to be performed from that time on Indian soil. (Parsee PrÂkÂsh, p. 2.)

For nearly three hundred years the Parsis lived peacefully at Sanjan; but with time, their numbers having increased, some emigrated to other places: in the north, to Cambay,21 Ankleswar,22 Variav, Vankaner and Surat; in the south, to Thana23 and Chaul, places still to be found on the map of India. Their first migration from Sanjan seems to have been to Cambay (942–997). Several considerations attracted them to this place, and, besides, they seem to have prospered there.24 The settlement of Variav seems to have been as old as that of Cambay. A Pehlvi inscription on the sides of the Kanheri caves, tells us that a certain number of Parsis visited them on the 2nd of December, 999, and according to another similar Pehlvi inscription, other Parsis seem to have visited them on the 5th of November, 1021.25

We then find the Parsis at Naosari26; in 1142 a Mobed named Camdin Yartosht quitted Sanjan with his family, to perform there some religious ceremonies required by the Zoroastrians of that place. If we follow the authority of a certain manuscript preserved by the descendants of Meherji Rana, the celebrated High Priest who lived three centuries ago, it was from the Parsis that Naosari received its name. When they arrived there—511, Yezdezard—they found the climate as pleasant as that of Mazanderan, one of the provinces of Persia, and called it Navisari or Nao-Sari. Since then it has been called Naosari-Nagmandal instead of Nagmandal, its old name.27

From the narrations of different travellers it would seem that the Parsis had settled in a great many cities of Upper India; but it is impossible to say whether these came from Western India or from Persia. A Mahomedan traveller of the tenth century, Al Isthakhri, mentions several parts of India as being occupied by the Guebres: that is the name given by Mahomedan writers to the Parsis. An unexceptionable testimony of their presence at Dehra-Dun (1079) is furnished to us in the attack of Ibrahim the Ghaznevid against a colony of fire-worshippers living in that place. Similarly we find the Parsis in the Panjaub before 1178, if we are to believe the tradition of a voyage made that year by a Parsi priest named Mahyar; he had come from Uch, a town situated on the conflux of the five rivers of the Panjaub, to Seistan in Persia, in order to acquire a thorough knowledge of the religious rites. After six years of study under the Dastoors he brought into India, in 1184, a copy of the Pehlvi translation of the Vendidad.28 It seems also that there must have been some intercourse between the Parsis of Cambay and those of the Panjaub, since, in 1328, the former were in possession of some copies of the Vendidad acquired by Mahyar.

At the time of the invasion of India by Timur, we find Parsis or Magi amongst the captives. The men who have been represented as believing in the two principles of good and evil, and admitting at the same time Yazdan (God) and Ahreman (the Devil), and who offered a desperate resistance to Timur at Tughlikhpur, were the Parsis. It is said besides that the colony at Gujerat was reinforced by a large number of Parsis, who fled before the conqueror. The mention made by a Mahomedan writer of the destruction of fire-temples by the Emperor Sikandar (1504), shows that long before this date Parsi emigrants had dwelt in Upper India. Sir H. M. Elliot, in his History of India, following the opinion of Professor Dawson, affirms that the Guebres of Rohilkhand, the Magyas of Malwa, and the Maghs of Tughlikhpur, although at present they offer no religious peculiarities, are the remnants of the Parsis of Upper India. According to a communication anent Mount Abu by Sir Alexander Burnes, cited in the Gazetteer of Bombay, there had been a Parsi colony at Chandrauli towards the middle of the fifteenth century.

It is believed that the Parsis settled at Ankleswar in the middle of the thirteenth century of our era. One of their religious books, the Vispered, was in fact copied there in 1258. There is no doubt of their having been at Bharooch29 before the commencement of the fourteenth century, for we find that a “Dokhma” was built there in 1309 by a Parsi named Pestanji; and the ruins of a still older Tower are to be found in the suburb of Vajalpoor.

The settlements at Thana and Chaul must have been founded at an early date; Mahomedan and European travellers mention them in speaking of these two places, without giving them their true name. However, the description given of them agrees very much with that of the Parsis; and this idea is confirmed by Odoric, an Italian monk who was travelling in India about the beginning of the fourteenth century.30 The people (at Thana) were, according to him, idolaters, for they worshipped fire, serpents, and trees, and did not bury their dead, but carried them with great pomp to the fields, and cast them down as food for beasts and birds. Now, as the Hindoos either burn or bury their dead, the custom here described relates evidently to the Parsis who, later on, left this place in a body. A tradition preserved at Thana furnishes an amusing instance of the manner in which the colony contrived to escape a forced conversion to Christianity. The Parsis, constrained to renounce their faith, and having no means of escape, succeeded by cunning in avoiding the persecutions they were threatened with. They repaired in a body to the governor and declared themselves ready to embrace Christianity, demanding as an only favour a delay till the following Sunday before renouncing their faith, in order to take advantage of the few days of respite to worship the sacred fire and celebrate, for the last time, their festivals. The Portuguese were so pleased with this prompt submission to their will that a proclamation was issued to the effect that, on the day fixed, no one should interfere with the Mazdiens in the performance of their rites and ceremonies. The Parsis prepared a great feast, to which all the notables were invited; wine flowed freely, and while the guests were indulging themselves in it, the Parsis, to the sound of music and in the middle of the dancing, left the town and reached Kalyan, to the south of Thana, where they settled.31

Travellers in India from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries have found Parsis in different places. There is reason to believe that at that time nothing of any importance befell the community. The Parsis lived amicably with the Hindoos, and were chiefly occupied in agriculture. About 1305 an event of considerable importance occurred in their history, at the time of a struggle maintained by the Hindoo chief of Sanjan against Mahmood Shah or Ala-ud-din Khilji (Parsee PrÂkÂsh, p. 4), who had sent into Gujerat a strong army commanded by Alp Khan.32

The Mahomedan general arrived before Sanjan with thirty thousand men; the Hindoo prince, conscious of his danger, appealed to those whom his ancestors had so generously received into their country. The Parsis were not unmindful of this, and fourteen hundred of them, under the command of Ardeshir, joined the troops of the Rana. In defending his cause they were equally defending their own independence and religious liberty which they had come to seek under his kindly protection. The armies met not far from Sanjan. Already were the Hindoos giving way under the stress of the Mahomedans when the Parsis engaged directly in the combat. Ardeshir and his followers rushed into the thick of the fight and compelled Alp Khan to fly. But the Mahomedan general soon re-appeared with reinforcements. Ardeshir, addressing the Hindoo prince, swore to him the most complete fidelity, and although the enemy was in numbers superior to his handful of men, he returned to the field of battle.

It was at this time that a single combat took place between Ardeshir and one of the Mahomedan chiefs, a combat in which the latter was thrown from his horse and killed by the Parsi. Alp Khan, enraged by this scene, threw himself in the contest. A furious carnage followed, and Ardeshir was struck in his turn by a dart which threw him off his horse. The Rana perished, and Alp Khan became master of Sanjan. The Parsis had to seek a new residence.34

They had much to suffer from this Mahomedan conquest, and therefore many fled to the mountains of Bahrout, eight miles east of Sanjan; the cave where the sacred fire was deposited is still to be seen. According to the Kissah-i-Sanjan, the fugitives remained there only twelve years, after which they quitted this mountainous district and went to Bansdah,35 about fifty miles north-east of Naosari, where a few Parsi families had already settled. Fourteen years later (1331) they bore the sacred fire to Naosari, where their co-religionists were numerous and influential. But the date 1419 being generally accepted as the year in which the sacred fire was brought to Naosari, it may be presumed that between the flight of the Parsis from Sanjan and the era of their new independence, a whole century, and not twenty-six years, must have elapsed.

From Naosari the fire was removed to Surat, on account of the apprehensions of the inroads of the Pindaris, and was again removed to Naosari three years later; thence, owing to certain disputes among the priests, it was taken to Balsar. After being there for some time it was transferred to Udwada on October 28, 1742; here it is to this day; and here is to be seen the oldest fire-temple of the Zoroastrians in India, and the one held in the greatest veneration (Parsee PrÂkÂsh, p. 95).

In the midst of the calamities that followed the overthrow of the Rana of Sanjan, the Parsis continued to apply themselves to agriculture. A single incident deserves being related. One of their small colonies had settled in Variav, not far from Surat, and was under the rule of the Rajah of Rattampoor, a Rajput chief who attempted to impose an extraordinary tribute on the Parsis. They refused, and defeated the soldiers sent to enforce it. The Raja’s soldiers then sought an opportunity of avenging themselves, and seized the moment when the Parsis were invited to a wedding. These, surprised in the midst of their wives and children, were all ruthlessly massacred. The anniversary of this cruel carnage is still observed at Surat.

The settlement of the Parsis in this latter place is the most recent of all. The earliest mention made of it does not go further back than 1478. It was there that the community first acquired its great importance and came in contact with the Europeans. We shall see its destiny further on.

It is very difficult to assign a fixed date to the arrival of the Parsis in Bombay. It seems probable that they were induced to do this by English merchants, and that their first settlement in this island was a little before the time it was ceded to England by the Portuguese, as the dowry of Catherine of Braganza on her marriage with the Stuart king Charles II. (1668).

Dr. Fryer, who visited Bombay in the year 1671,36 says: “On the other side of the great bay, towards the sea, there is a sort of promontory called Malabar Hill, a rocky mountain covered with woods, on the top of which is a recently erected Parsi tomb.”37 Now, as the first care of the Parsis, wherever they settle, is to construct a “Tower of Silence,” it is to be presumed that the community could not have been of any importance before this period; it has prospered since. It is in Bombay at the present time that can be best studied the changes that have been going on for two centuries, and which make the modern Parsis the most loyal subjects of the British Crown, and the most active agents of civilisation and progress.

In this first chapter we have confined ourselves to a summary indication of their principal settlements in the Presidency and to a succinct recital of the most prominent events which have signalised their sojourn in India before the arrival of the Europeans. We will now freely approach the study we have proposed to undertake. The reader will not, we hope, lose sight of their grievous exodus; and, at the height of the fame of the Dadiseths, the Banajis, the Jamshedji Jijibhoys, the Camas, the Petits, and many other no less illustrious names, will remember the first fugitives of Persia, and their kindly reception by the Rana of Sanjan. “Welcome,” said the prince, “welcome to those who walk faithfully in the way of Hormuzd! May their race prosper and increase! May their prayers obtain the remission of their sins, and may the sun smile on them! May Lakshmi by her liberality and her gifts contribute to their wealth and to the fulfilling of their desires; and, for ever, may their rare merits of race and intellect continue to distinguish them in our midst!”


1 The first mention of the Persians is made in Jeremiah xxxix. 3.

2 Herodotus, Ctesias, Deinon, Theopompe, Hermippe, Plutarch, Diogenes Laertius, Pliny, Strabo, Pausanias, Dion Chrysostom, Damascius, Theodorus of Mopsuestia, &c.

3 Mahomedan writers: Firdousi, Mirkhoud, Tabari, Masoudi, Shahrastani, Dimisqhi, Ibn Fozlan, &c. Armenian writers: Eznik, ElisÉe, &c.

4 The cuneiform AchÆmenian inscriptions found in Persia and in other places, deciphered and published by Grotefend, Burnouf, Lassen, Rawlinson, Norris, Spiegel, de Saulcy, Oppert, Menant, Kossowicz, &c., &c.

5 Arrien, ExpÉdition d’Alexandre, liv. iii., cxxii.

6 Weil, Geschichte der Khalifen nach handschrift, Grosstentheils Quellen, &c., &c., ch. ii. pp. 54 et seq.; Mannheim, 1864. Caussin de Perceval, Histoire des Arabes, liv. ix. p. 400, 1848. Malcolm, Hist. of Persia, from the most early period to the present time, vol. i. c. vi. p. 170, London, MDCCCXV.

7Quadesyeh—A place celebrated for the battles fought there between the Mussulmans and the Persians.8 It is about fifteen farsakhs from Koufah and four miles from OzhaÏb; longitude, 69°; latitude, 31° 2' 3. It was in the year 16 of the Hejira, under the Caliphate of Omar ben Khatthab, that the Mussulmans, commanded by Sa’d ben Abi Waqqas, fought against the infidels. During the action, Sa’d had withdrawn into the castle9 to watch the movements of his troops. This step was regarded as a proof of cowardice, and a Mussulman in the army composed the following verses against him (thawil metre):—

“Seest thou not that God has sent us the victory, whilst Sa’d is hiding behind the gates of Quadesyeh?

He was thinking then of increasing his family and of making his wives mothers, for the wives of Sa’d know not the privations of celibacy.”

Another poet, Bischer ben Rebi’ah, has spoken of the battle of Quadesyeh in these terms (same metre):—

“My camel stopped at the gates of Quadesyeh; my chief was Sa’d ben (Abi) Waqqas.

Remember (may God guide thee) our prowess near QodaÏs, and the blindness of our perfidious enemies.

That evening many of us would willingly have borrowed the wings of the birds to fly away,

When their battalions advanced one after another against us, like unto moving mountains.

With my sword I threw their ranks into disorder, and my lance dispersed them; for I am a man worthy of wielding the lance,

I and my companions: Amr, father of Thawr, the martyr, Haschem, QaÎs, NÔ’man the brave, and Djerir.”

There exists a great number of poems composed in honour of this battle, one of the most celebrated, and fraught with the greatest blessings for the Mussulmans. Omar having written to Sa’d to ask for some information regarding the position of Quadesyeh, the latter sent him the following:—“Quadesyeh is situated between the moat and el-’Atiq (the canal of the Euphrates). On its left is the sea, a sort of bay, whence lead two roads to Hirah: the first, over high hills; the second, over the banks of a river called Khousous, which passes out between Khawarnaq and Hirah; on its right are numerous streams which water the country. All the tribes who have made peace with the Mussulmans before my arrival tremble before the Persians, and are ready to assist me.” The historians of the first conquests divide this affair at Quadesyeh into four battles. The first is called the battle of Ermath; the second, the battle of Aghwath; the third, the battle of Amas; the evening preceding the fourth, they called the evening of Herir or of the storm; and the last, the battle of Quadesyeh. The celebrated Rustam, son of Farrokh-Zad, lost his life in this battle, and the Persians could not replace this skilful general. (Dictionnaire geographique, historique et littÉraire de la Perse et des ContrÉes adjacentes, taken from the Mo’d’jem el-Bouldan of Yaqout, &c. Trans. Barbier de Meynard, Paris, 1861, p. 432.)

8 The town of Elkadder, not far from Kerbela, marks the old site of Kadesia. As to Koufah a collection of ruins marks the site of the capital of the Caliphate, which is said to have been as great as Babylon.

9 “There was at OzhaÏb a castle belonging to the Persians called QodaÏs, whence, it is said, the name Quadesyeh. Sa’d occupied it with his harem, as he was suffering from gout, and could neither sit nor ride. Lying on the top of this fortress he watched his army, and some men posted below transmitted his military orders and arrangements” (Merasid) (See Essai sur l’Histoire des Arabes by Caussin de Perceval, iii. 481–485, and Weil, Gesch. der Chal. i. pp. 65 et seq.

10 Malcolm, Hist. of Persia, vol. i. ch. vi. p. 174. Weil, Geschichte der Chalifen, ch. ii. pp. 54 et seq. Caussin de Perceval, Histoire des Arabes, bk. x. pp. 481 et seq. Masoudi, Prairies d’or, trans. Barbier de Meynard, c. lxxvi. p. 207. Tabari, trans. H. Zotenburg, part iv. ch. xli. pp. 385 et seq.

11 Nehawend.—A large town about three days’ journey from Hamadan, in the direction of the qiblah (south-west). AboÛl-Moundher Hischam says it received this name because it was found wholly built, and in the same condition as at present. Others carry back its foundation to Noah, and think that its present name is an abbreviation of Nouh-Awend or Nouh-Wand, that is to say, the city of Noah. Hamzah thinks that its old name was Nouha-Wend, which means “the well multiplied.” Nehawend is situated in the fourth climate, 72° longitude and 36° latitude; it is one of the oldest cities of Djebal. It was conquered about the year 19 or 20 of the Hejira. Abou Bekr el-HodhaÏli, relying upon the testimony of Mohammed, son of Hasan, says: “The battle of Nehawend was fought in the year 21, under the Caliphate of Omar, son of Khatthab. The Mussulmans were commanded by No’mÂn ben Mokarren el-Mouzeni; this general had under him HodhaÏfah, son of Yemani, Djerir ben ’Abd Allah, el-MoghaÏrah ben Scha’bah and el-Asch’ath ben QaÏs.” When No’mÂn, who was one of the companions of the Prophet, was killed, the commandership passed into the hands of HodhaÏfah; it was this chief who concluded the peace, as we attribute it to the word Mah-Dinar. This is what el-Moubarek ben SÁÏb, who derived this information from his father, relates: “Nehawend was taken by the army of Koufah, and Dinewer by the troops of Basrah. As the population of Koufah had considerably increased, some of its inhabitants were obliged to emigrate into the countries newly pacified and subject to Kharadj. It is thus that they came to inhabit Dinewer. The province of Koufah was received in exchange for Nehawend, which was annexed to the province of Ispahan, the remainder of Kharadj being taken off from Dinewer and Nehawend. It was in the reign of Mo’awiah ben Abi SoufiÂn that Nehawend was called Mah-el-Basrah and Dinewer Mah-el-Koufah. The Persians, before the battle of Nehawend, had gathered together considerable troops; it is said that their army numbered about 150,000 men commanded by FirouzÂn. After this important battle, which was called the ‘Victory of Victories,’ the resistance of the Persians became less and less. The most accredited opinion is that these events took place during the fifth year of Omar’s Caliphate, the year 19 of the Hejira.” (Cf. Essai sur l’Histoire des Arabes, by Caussin de Perceval, vol. iii. p. 491, and the Annales of Abou’l Feda, ed. of Reiske, vol. i. p. 242. See B. de Meynard, Dict. geog., hist., &c., p. 573.)

12 Malcolm, Hist. of Persia, vol. i. ch. vi. p. 176. G. Weil, Geschichte der Chalifen, &c., ch. ii. p. 54. Masoudi, Prairies d’or, trans. Barbier de Meynard, ch. lxxvi. p. 233. Tabari, trans. Zotenberg, part iv. ch. xlvii. p. 467.

13 Khorassan—A large country stretching from Iraq (Persian) to Azadwar (the chief town of the province of DjoueÏn) and to BeÏhaq. It is bounded on the side of India (on the south and east) by Thokharistan, Ghaznee, Sedjestan, and Kirman. It contains fine cities, such as Nisabour, Merve, which has been the capital of Balk, Herat, Thaleqan, Nesa, Abiwerd, Serakhs, and other large cities situate on this side of the river Oxus. Some geographers have placed the provinces of Kharezm and a part of Transoxiana in Khorassan, but that is an error.... When Islam appeared in the world, the Khorassanians, by a quite special favour of Providence, eagerly welcomed it. They accepted without opposition the peace offered them; hence they were subjected to a light tax only, and escaped being massacred or made prisoners. The conquest itself took place in the eighteenth year of the Hejira. ’Omar ben Khattab sent into Khorassan El-Ahnef ben QaÏs, who in a short time took possession successively of the two ThabÉs, Herat, Merv esch-SchahidjÂn and Nisabour, after having forced the Persian king Yezdezard, son of Schahriar, to take refuge in Transoxiana with the Khan of the Turks. (See B. de Meynard, Dict. geog., hist., &c., p. 197.)

14 This town is situated on an arm of the sea, communicating with Fars. It serves as a port to Kirman, and it is there that vessels from India deposit the merchandise destined for Kirman, Sedjestan, and Khorassan. Some authors write and pronounce it Hormouz. (See B. de Meynard, Dict. geog., hist., &c., p. 595.)

Mohammed Medjdi gives some historical details concerning the old town and island of Hormuz up to the time of the conquest of Albuquerque (1514): “The town of Hormuz is situated in the second climate, and the heat there is excessive. Founded by Ardeschir Babegan, it was abandoned (in 715) by King Schems ed-din, who feared the attacks of the neighbouring brigands. This king built another town in the island of Djeroun, about one farsakh from the coast, and kept for it the name of Hormuz. For a hundred and twenty years the Franks have exercised there an absolute power. Its governor, Nour ed-Din, having conceived the fatal idea of asking their assistance when in a difficult situation, allowed them a tenth part of its revenue. In a short time they so skilfully usurped the authority that the king and the vezir of the country had not the least share in the government.” (Zinet, chapter ix.) Before the Portuguese conquest, this island, tributary to Persia and annexed to Kirman, paid an annual contribution of sixty thousand dinars. (Nouzhet, fol. 670. See also the Arabic text of Abou’l FÉda, p. 339, and the Voyages of Ibn Batoutah, Vol. ii. p. 230.) B. de Meynard, Dict. geog., hist., &c., p. 595 (note).

15 See Translation from the Persian of Kissah-i-Sanjan, or History of the Arrival and Settlement of the Parsees in India, by E. B. Eastwick, in the Journal of the Bombay Branch, Royal Asiatic Society, vol. i. p. 167. As for us, we have followed the order of events, such as it is presented by Mr. B. B. Patell in his admirable work, the Parsee PrÂkÂsh, and the interesting rÉsumÉ of Mr. Dosabhai Framji Karaka. See Bomanji Byramji Patell, Parsee PrÂkÂsh, being a record of important events in the growth of the Parsee community in Western India, chronologically arranged from the date of their immigration into India to the year 1860 A.D., vol. in 4to, Bombay, 1878–1888, 1,053 pages (in Gujerati), and Dosabhai Framji Karaka, History of the Parsis, 2 vols. in 8vo, London, 1884.

16 Diu—Portuguese possession—latitude, 20° 43' 20 North; longitude, 71° 2' 30 East—at the entrance of the Gulf of Cambay, to the south of the Gujerat Peninsula. Its length from east to west is six miles and a half, and its greatest extent from north to south is one mile. It has a small but very fine harbour. The climate is dry and stifling, the soil barren, water scarce, and agriculture much neglected. Its principal products are wheat, millet, nachni, bajri, cocoanut, and some kinds of fruits. The population of Diu consists of about 10,765 inhabitants, of whom 419 are Christians, 9,575 Hindoos, and 771 Mahomedans. At its most flourishing period the number had risen, it is said, to nearly 50,000. Now there are not more than 3,107 houses, very poor and uncomfortable for the most part. In fact, the commerce of Diu is now ruined. The resources of the inhabitants consisted formerly in weaving and dyeing; fishing is their only occupation. Some bold minds attempt trading on the Mozambique coast. The appearance of Diu is interesting. The fortress, rebuilt after the siege of 1545 by Dom Joan de Castro, is imposing in appearance. To the west, the town extends divided in two quarters, that of the Christians and that of the Pagans. Of the fine edifices of Diu, there still remains the college of the Jesuits turned into the Cathedral church; of the other convents, that of Saint FranÇois serves as a military hospital, and that of Saint Jean-de-Dieu as a cemetery, while that of Saint Dominique is in ruins. (See W. W. Hunter, Imperial Gazetteer of India, vol. iii. p. 171.)

17 Sanjan—A small village of the Thana district, formerly an important town known to the Portuguese, and called, after them, under the name of Saint John. (See Imp. Gaz. of India, vol. iii. p. 174.)

18 Damman—A Portuguese town, about one hundred miles to the north of Bombay. Its superficial area is eighty-two square miles, comprising the pargana of Nagar Haveli. The population consists of about 40,980 souls. The settlement is composed of two distinct parts; Damman and the pargana of Nagar Haveli, separated by a territory belonging to the English and by a railroad running through Bombay, Baroda, and Central India. The town was sacked by the Portuguese in 1532, then rebuilt by the natives, and re-taken by the Portuguese in 1558, and made by them one of their settlements in India. They have converted the mosque into a church, and have built eight others. Commerce flourished there before the fall of the Portuguese power in India, and extended even as far as the African coasts, where ships carried the cotton stuffs manufactured at Damman. From 1817 to 1837 the trade in opium, brought from Karachi and imported into China, was prosperous; but since the conquest of Sind by the English the transport of opium has been prohibited, and Damman has thus been deprived of its greatest source of wealth. The soil is moist and fertile, specially in the pargana of Nagar Haveli; rice, wheat, and tobacco are grown there; but in spite of the facilities for agriculture, only a twentieth part of the territory is cultivated. (See Imp. Gaz. of India, vol. iii. p. 21.)

19 The Parsis call him JadÈ Rana; Dr. Wilson suggests that he was doubtless Jayadeva or Vana Raja of Anahillawada, who reigned in Gujerat from 745 to 806.

20 There are several manuscripts of the “Slokas” in Sanscrit and in Gujerati. In the Indian Antiquary, p. 214 (July 5, 1872), we find a version of it, according to the translation prepared by Dastoor Hoshang Jamasp, the High Priest at Poona. The author compares it to another more ancient one, then in the hands of Dr. Wilson, and points out numerous divergences; besides, according to Dr. Wilson himself, there are no two manuscripts, either in Gujerati or in Sanscrit, similar in wording, though identical so far as the substance is concerned.

21 Cambay—Capital of the country of that name, a province of Gujerat, down the Gulf of Cambay, to the north of the estuary of the Mahi. Population (1872) 33,709. (See Imp. Gaz. of India, vol. ii. p. 334.)

22 Ankleswar—Capital of the subdivision of that name in the district of Bharooch. Population (1872) 9,414 inhabitants. (See Imp. Gaz. of India, vol. i. p. 203.)

23 Thana—A British District in the Bombay Presidency. The territory, which formed part of the States of the Peishwa, was annexed by the English Government in 1818 on the overthrow of Baji-Rao. The population is 847,424 inhabitants (1872), including 3,920 Parsis. Thana is 26 miles north of Bombay. It possesses a station and a port. (See Imp. Gaz. of India, vol. ix. p. 34.)

24 Some Parsis who, since their arrival in India, in 636, had remained in the south of Gujerat, were attracted to the temple of Kumarika Kshetra, on the mouth of the Mahi (tenth century). These new-comers succeeded in commerce, and were followed by others, so that the Parsi element became sufficiently strong to drive the Hindoos from the town. Amongst those who fled there was a certain Kalianrai who, taking refuge in Surat, acquired a great fortune by trading in pearls. His wealth gained him some importance; so that he gathered together a band of Rajputs and Kolis, who attacked the Parsis one night, set fire to their houses, and put some to the sword; the rest took to flight. Kalianrai then formed a project to build a town on the ruins of the Parsi colony. (See Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency.)

25 The translation of the first inscription is due to Mr. K. R. Cama in his Studies of the Zoroastrian Religion (vol. iii. p. 160); and the second to Mr. M. S. Watcha, in the collection entitled Zarthoshti Abhyas (vol. iv. p. 212). (See Parsee PrÂkÂsh, p. 2.)

26 Naosari—A town in the territory of the Gaekwar of Baroda, on the banks of the Pourna, 12 miles from the sea, 18 from Surat, and 149 from Bombay. Lat. 22° 7' N.; long. 73° 40' E. The population in 1872 amounted to 14,700 inhabitants. Naosari is a very flourishing town; its prosperity depending on the Parsi colony. (See Imp. Gaz. of India, vol. vii. p. 179.)

27 Sari—A fallen town of Thabarestan (Mazanderan). It was here, says Beladori, that the Governor of the province under the Taherides resided. The author of the Nouzhet, to indicate the great antiquity of this place, attributes its foundation to Thahomurs. (See also B. de Meynard, Dict, geo., hist., &c., p. 295.) It is a ruined city. According to Fraser it had a population of 30,000 inhabitants towards the commencement of the century. D’Anville and Rennell have tried to identify Sari with the ancient Zadra-Karta, the greatest city of Hyrcania, where the army of Alexander stopped to sacrifice to the gods. It was here that the great achievements of the heroic times of Persia are supposed to have been accomplished. Feridoon, the legendary hero of the Persians, is supposed to be buried under the threshold of a mosque, which is erected on the site of a Fire Temple. Sari is surrounded by immense gardens, and the country around is covered with mulberry trees, cotton plants, sugar cane, and rice fields. It has a port on the Caspian Sea, at the mouth of the Tedjun, called Farahabad, the abode of joy, founded by Shah ’Abbas. Pietro della Valle speaks of it as the principal city of Mazanderan.

28 Westergaard, Zend-Avesta, p. 304.

29 Bharooch—A British District in the Bombay Presidency; population 350,332 souls (1872). There are about 3,116 Parsis there, nearly all traders or agriculturists. Its capital on the Nerbudda has a population of 36,932 inhabitants. The English had a factory there since 1616; they took possession of Bharooch in 1703. The Parsis must have settled there since the eleventh century; many quitted Bharooch for Bombay. (See Imp. Gaz. of India, vol. ii. pp. 224 et seq.)

30 See Voyages en Asie du FrÈre Odoric de Pordenone, religieux de Saint FranÇois. Edited and annotated by M. H. Cordier, p. 82, Paris, 1891.

31 Thana was abandoned for over three centuries. In 1774 the Parsis returned and took possession of it, according to the terms of a treaty concluded with a Maratha Sardar, Ragunathrao Dada Saheb. Kavasji Rastamji, of Bombay, accompanied them, and he was entrusted with the office of patel in the following places: Charnibanda, Munpesar, Trombay, Muth, Murve, Manori, Vesava, Danda, Bandora, Kalyan, Bhimardi, and other places in the island of Salsette.

32 Dr. Wilson (J.B.B.R.A.S., 1,182) has suggested that the Mahmood Shah of the Kissah-i-Sanjan was Mahmood Begada, who reigned over Gujerat from 1459–1513. The mention of Champaner33 as his capital seems to indicate that the author of the Kissah-i-Sanjan thought that the Mussulman prince was the famous Mahmood Begada. But the conquest of Gujerat by Alp Khan was so complete that it leaves no doubt that Sanjan fell into his hands. The conqueror might possibly, though less likely, be Mahmood Shah Tughlik, who re-conquered Gujerat and the Thana coast in 1348, and not Mahmood Begada, as the authorities agree in saying that, after long wanderings, the Fire was brought from Sanjan to Naosari about the beginning of the fifteenth century (1419). Alp Khan may be either Ulugh Khan, Ala-ud-din’s brother, who is sometimes called by mistake Alp Khan, or he may be Alp Khan, Ala-ud-din’s brother-in-law. Ulugh Khan conquered Gujerat (1295–1297) and Alp Khan governed it (1300–1320). The Alp Khan of the text was doubtless Ulugh Khan. (Elliot, iii. 157, 163.) (See Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency.)

33 A fort and village in the Panch-Mahals district, situated on an isolated rock of great height. (See Imp. Gaz. of India, vol. ii. p. 375.)

34 In 1839, when Dr. J. Wilson visited Sanjan, he found only one or two Parsi families there. The ruins of a dokhma constructed before 400 are still to be seen, but there is not a single Parsi to be found there.

35 Bansdah.—A tributary State (in the province of Gujerat) bounded on the north and west by the Surat district, on the south east by the Baroda State, on the east by the Dang States, and on the south by the State of Dharampoor. The capital contains 2,321 inhabitants. (See Imp. Gaz. of India, vol. ii. pp. 401–2.)

36 A New Account of East India and Persia, in Eight Letters, from 1672–1681, by John Fryer, in 1698. Letter ii. p. 67.

37 This dokhma still exists on the Malabar Hill. It was built in 1670 by Modi Hirji Watcha, an ancestor of the Watcha Ghandi family.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

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