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(q.v.), whose church has been established in Persia since the year A.D. 435, possessed, at the time of the out break of the World War, a large community numbering from 50,000 to 6o,000 souls, occupying the city of Urmia and numerous towns and villages in that neighbourhood. As a Christian com munity their sympathies were naturally with the Allies, and as long as Russia was one of them they had little to fear; but on Russia's defection in the spring of 1918 they were left in the air in a position of great danger. In May 1918 a Turkish force moving on Tabriz via Urmia was effectively checked for the time by the gallant and stubborn opposition of the "Jelus" (as they were called by British troops) but later in the summer, during the absence of 2,000 of their best men who had been sent to Bijar to bring back a convoy of ammunition supplied by the British army in Iraq, the Turks made a determined attack on Urmia, and the Christian inhabitants feeling that resistance was useless poured out of the town and fled towards Bijar after their absent comrades. They suffered very great losses on the way, both from the pursuing enemy and from sickness and priva tion. The enemy pursuit was indeed checked at Sain Kala by the British 14th Hussars, but only some 5o,000 reached Bijar out of 8o,000 who were believed to have started on the trek. These were gradually evacuated in batches to a large refugee camp prepared for them at Baquba near Baghdad and maintained there at British expense until peace had been declared and they could, as far as possible, be repatriated. It will be realised that this small nation was badly shattered and it is difficult yet to ascertain precisely to what extent and in what numbers they have been able to re-establish themselves.
includ ing Europeans and converted Armenians and Nestorians, probably number about 7,000. The religious missions administering to their welfare are: (I) The Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church of America, established since 1835. (2) The Church Mis sionary Society established since 1869. (3) The Anglican Mission established by the Archbishop of Canterbury for work among the Nestorians. (4) The London Society for promoting Christi anity among the Jews. (5) The British and Foreign Bible Society.
Roman Catholics, European and natives (mostly Armenians) number from 4 to 5 thousand and have churches at Tehran, Julfa, and Tabriz, served by members of the French Lazariste Mission.
The Jews in Persia number about 40,000 and are to be found in nearly all the chief cities in the country, but communities with synagogues and priests exist only in the larger cities.
Baha'ism formerly Babiism (q.v.) is a creed of recent origin which only made its appearance in 1844. Though for many years past the followers of the Bab have been immune from persecution by the Persian Government, they have from time to time been made the target of violent fanaticism on the part of the Shiah population. There was a bad outbreak in 1903 in Yezd and several other towns in Persia, and a serious outbreak against them at Sultanabad in 192o. Owing to this liability to persecution, the majority of Baha'is still think it prudent to conceal their beliefs, so that it is not possible to make any satisfactory estimate of their numbers. There is no doubt however that the movement is
gaining steadily in force. In so far as it is possible in these cir cumstances to speak of the Baha'is as a community they are friends of progress and reform and ready to co-operate towards their attainment.
Public instruction, properly so-called, is a plant of comparatively recent growth in Persia. Previous to the reign of H.M. Nasr-ud-Din Shah the people of Persia were lamentably uneducated. Each town and village, it is true, has generally some sort of school, but it was often nothing more than a class held by a Mullah in the local mosque, where children were taught the rudiments of the Persian equivalent of "the three R's" and a parrot knowledge of the Koran. Comparatively few ever mastered the art of writing and anyone who could read and write passably styled himself "mirza." Such as it was however this measure of education could be had cheaply, the fees amount ing to less than two shillings per month for each child. At that period there were no higher schools, the only form of secondary education, and that of a very limited extent, being provided by the Madressehs, or religious colleges, which catered for those aspiring to the professions of religion, law, or medicine. Every town of importance boasted of one or more of these, many of them richly endowed by pious testators, but none of them in any way subject to the control of the Government. Realising how backward his kingdom was in this respect, one of Nasr-ud Din's first acts on ascending to the throne was to found an institu tion in the capital, styled the "Madresseh-i-Shah" or King's college, to be maintained by the State through a Ministry of Public Instruction. Pupils for this college could be entered at all ages and remained as a rule for 6 or 7 years. Colleges, nomi nally on the same basis, were opened in due course at Tabriz and Isfahan; excellent in their way but on too small a scale to make any appreciable impression on the general conditions of illiteracy. In the reign of Muzaffar-ud-Din Shah (1898), a further advance was made by the transfer of a number of private establishments to State control and the opening of new schools in Tehran and other towns. From that time onwards education fared better, mainly owing to the activities of foreign missions. All these were supported by voluntary subscriptions and donations and provided instruction for boys and girls alike. Educational insti tutions are still gravely inadequate but under the progressive regime of Reza Khan Shah Pahlavi the educational system of the country is being improved from year to year and greater facilities for education provided for both sexes. In addition to the Govern ment schools, educational establishments are also maintained by the following foreign missions : the English Church Missionary Society; the American Presbyterian Mission; the Alliance Francaise ; the Alliance Israelite ; and the French Roman Catholic Mission; and there are schools run by the Russian and German Governments. The figures of the Ministry of Public Instruction show that for the year 1927 there were in the country 298 Govern ment schools, 272 national schools, 112 private schools, 279 religious schools and 245 foreign schools, providing instructions for about 250,000 individuals of both sexes.