make him take the way of Hyrcania; from thence wander northwards into the country of the Mardi, bordering on the Gafpian fea; and, after fubduing the Mardi, crofs mount CoTonus into Aria and Drangiana. Be that as it will, he arrived, at laft, after a long and tedious march, in Bactriana; and, having refted his army fome time at Drapfaca, he advanced against, and reduced Aornos and Bactra, the two strongest cities of that province. Alexander had no fooner reached the confines of Bactria, but eight thoufand Bactrians, who till that time had followed Beffus, abandoning him, withdrew to their respective homes. Hereupon Beffus, at the head of the few troops that continued faithful to him, croffing the river Oxus, retired into the province of Sogdiana, with a defign to raise there a new army: in order to prevent Alexander from pursuing him, he burnt all the boats he had made use of in paffing over his troops, hoping, that as the river was nowhere fordable, and the country affording no timber, he would thereby be obliged to return, and give over the pursuit. But no difficulties were unfurmountable to that conqueror, who, finding no timber wherewithal to make boats or floats, caufed the hides which covered the foldiers tents and carriages, to be filled with ftraw, and tied together. By this means, he fupplied the want of timber, and paffed his whole army over that large and deep river, in the space of five days; which Beffus might have easily prevented, had he but dared to look the Macedonians in the face. When the Bactrians, who were encamped at a place called Nautaca, heard that Alexander had crofled the river, and was on full march to fall upon them, Spitamenes, whom Beffus moft confided in, together with Ga tanes and Dataphernes, formed a confpiracy to feize Beffus, and purchase their own fafety, by delivering him up to Alex ander; which they did accordingly, tearing in pieces his dia dem and royal robes, of which he had ftript his lawful fovereign Darius; and, carrying him loaded with chains to the Ma donian camp, Spitamenes himself prefented the traitor to Alex ander, not only bound, but ftark-naked, holding him by chain round his neck; a fight no lefs agreeable to the Perfiant than the Macedonians. Alexander, having amply rewarded Spitamenes and his companions, and caused the traitor's no and ears to be cut off, delivered him into the hands of Oxatre, Darius's brother, to fuffer whatever punishment he fhould think proper to inflict, for fo base and treacherous a murder Plutarch m has left us an account of this execution: he tells I CURT. 1. vii. c. 12. ARRIAN. 1. iii. Diodor. 1. xvii. TM PLUT. in Alex. & DIODOR, 1. xvii. p. 554. ARRIAN. 1. iv. c. 7CURT. 1. vii. c. 10. I us, that feveral trees being, by main force, bent down to Beffus put the ground, and to each one of the traitor's limbs fastened, to death. the trees, as they were let return to their natural position, Year of flew back with fuch violence, that each carried with it the the flood limb that was tied to it. Thus Beffus fuffered the punifh-2018. ment that was due to his treachery; and, at his death, Alexander faw himself in quiet poffeffion of the whole Perfian empire. This is what we have gathered from the Greek and Latin hiftorians, of the best account, concerning the affairs of the antient Perfians in the following fection we shall hear the Orientals on the fame fubject. The hiftory of Perfia, according to the oriental writers. Bef. Chr. 330. WE have been fo long used to hear every thing tranfcribed What de from eaftern, authors cenfured as vain and fabulous, gree of cer that, how unwilling foever we may be to trouble the readertainty may with preparatory difcourfes, yet, in this cafe, there feems to be expected be a neceffity of faying fomewhat in fupport of the narratives in the fol lowing we are going to recite, that they may not be taken for mere figments, or romances void of all foundation. It is far from biftory. being our opinion, that every thing recorded by the Perfian writers is strictly fact; that would be to place them not on a level with the beft hiftorians of other nations, but in a clafs high above them for what people, what kingdom, what republic, can boaft of fuch a faultlefs feries of hiftory? or why fhould we expect a greater degree of clearness, in the history, of Perfia, as written by oriental authors, than we find in the hiftory of Greece, though written by Greeks, who were fo proud of their own abilities, that they ftiled all the reft of the world barbarians? It is fufficient for our purpose (which is no more than to gain the reader's proper attention for what we have collected of the Perfian hiftory from eastern writers), that we fhew there is as juft reafon to fuppofe they have delivered us a great many truths in their accounts of these early times, as can be produced in favour of any other history as antient. In order to this, we fhall neither multiply arguments nor words. In the first place, we are told by Mofes, that there were kings in Perfia in the age immediately following that, in which the Perfian writers placed the beginning of their monarchy. It is therefore evident, that these writers are not wrong in making their kingdom fo antient as they do. But, fecondly, there is no juft caufe to doubt, that either as foon, or within a fmall time after the fettling of regal government amongst them, hiftories, or at least hiftorical poems, were alfo introduced. This was the custom' in all places, at least as far as we are able to trace things back. First, a people lived miferably, and without order; then fome great genius reformed and reduced them into fociety; fucceffive kings cherished and increased that fociety; and men, having leifure and eafe, confidered these benefits, and gratefully fung the praises of their benefactors. Mofes has preferved two fragments of an Amoritish poem, as old, .in all probability, as the times we are speaking of; and if the bards of that country fung fo early the praises of Sihon b, why might not the Perfians have perfons among them as capable of tranfmitting to pofterity the memorable deeds of their princes? Thirdly, it is univerfally allowed, that the present Perfians have not only quick wits, but are wonderfully ftudious, and in a particular manner addicted to the confervation of the antiquities of their country. It may indeed be objected to this, that the modern and the antient Perfians are not one and the fame people: but hereto it may be replied, that the Perfees, the unadulterated remnant of the old inhabitants of this wide empire, are still more ftudious and thoughtful than the prefent Perfians. We may therefore conclude, that there were formerly many authentic hiftories of the reigns of the moft antient kings of this realm; I fay, we may conclude this from the reafons already given, if we had no other proof; but, as we have, it would be unfair not to mention it, especially fince it may be drawn into very little room. The authorities which may be adduced in fupport of this affertion, that the antient Perfians kept authentic records of their affairs, may be reduced under thefe two heads; viz. facred and profane. The authors of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah fpeak -1 f frequently, not only of the immutability of the Perfian laws, which implies, that they were recorded, but also of public acts and registers. In the book of Esther, we have not only frequent mention of these, but alfo of the chronicles of the kingdom, or rather of the kings of Perfia, wherein every thing of moment was fet down. As to profane writers, & Herodotus and Xenophon are fufficient to fatisfy any impartial person was to the wisdom and virtue of the antient Perfians, and their care of all things which had regard to the honour or welfare of their country. SUPPOSING it therefore as clear as the nature of the thing How the will admit, that the Perfians had amongst them of old the hi- antient stories of their kings and heroes, we are next to fhew how thefe hiftories can be reasonably believed to be yet in being, and to have have been reached these diftant times. Of this however we are not po- preferved. fitive ourselves: all that we can fay is this, that the Perfians having lived under their own laws down to the time of Yezdegherd, there feems to be no difficulty in allowing, that, till then, their hiftories were frequent amongst them; for though the Macedonians might burn and destroy their records, yet it is incredible, that they should destroy all the books in the empire. Befides, we know, that the modern Perfees have the zend or original code of Zerdhusht amongst them, with many other antient books. Now, it being generally agreed, that Zerdbusht flourished in the days of Darius Hyftafpis, it will be hard to affign a reafon, why fome of their antient hiftories might not be preserved, as well as thefe books of their law. But further ftill, Mohammed Ben Emir Khoandfchah, commonly called Mirkhond or Mirkhound, with other modern Perfian authors, conftantly and uniformly affert, that they write from such authorities; and therefore we have no juft reafon to doubt them, unless we could fhew the contrary (A)r Lib. i. & ix. paff. f ii. 23. vi. 1. (A) This famous hiftorian is quoted by various names, and thofe names have received fome, alteration from the different or thographies ufed in oriental ap pellations: fometimes he is called Mirchond, fometimes Mirk hond, and fometimes Chondemir: he wrote a general hiftory from the beginning of the world to (1) D'Herbelot. tit. Mircond, h Cyropæd. paff. IT the year of the Hegira 900, un- (2) Hyde rel. vet. Perfar. 6.-8. p. 152. On what IT is from the author before-mentioned that we take, for authorities the most part, what is delivered in the following pages conthis hiftory cerning the oriental hiftory of Perfia. He is allowed to have is founded. been a perfon of great learning and judgment by fuch as are well verfed in oriental hiftory; and his works are esteemed as oracles throughout the eaft.:: We may juftly hope therefore, that what we tranfcribe from him, with the addition of fuch circumstances as we can meet with elsewhere, will render this fection as ufeful and as agreeable as could be expected on fo abstruse a subject. Without farther introduction therefore, let. us proceed to the catalogue of kings afforded us in his writings. A table of the kings of Perfia, to the time of Alexander the The first race, Or the dynafty of the Pifchdadians. 1. Kejomaras or Cajoumaras 2. Siamek Kejomaras refumes the kingdom 3. Hufhangh or Houfchenk 4. Tahmurafh 5. Giembid or Giamfchid Dahac, Zahák, Zoak 6. Aphridún, Phredûn, or Feridoun 7. Manugjahr or Manougeher, furnamed Phirouz 8. Nodar the bottom of the page (3). We fhall have occafion to speak hereafter of this author, and his works, when we come to the hiftory of the age in which he lived; and fhall therefore put an end to this note here. (3) Les eftats, empires, & principautés du monde. Paris, 4to, 1662, P. 999. 3. Kaik |