IRAN, a region to the south - east of the Caspian Sea, which extends for 1280 miles from Sumeisat on the Upper Euphrates eastward to Taxila on the Indus, and nearly 000 miles in breadth from the shores of Gedrosia, in rat. 25° N., to the banks of the Oxus near Samareand, in Lat. 40° N. The latter river and the Caspian Sea ' form the northern limit of this great division ; the Persian Gulf is on the southern, whilst the rivers Indus and Euphrates constitute the eastern and western extremities. In this wide expanse of territory, stretching, with various elevation, at least 25° from north to south, such extremes may be looked for as will bear out the remarkable description of the younger Cyrus. In the dominions of my father,' said the prince, ' people perish with cold at the one extremity, whilst they are suffocated with heat at the other' (Xenophon Anabasis, Book i. pp. 67, 68, Ed. Hutch, 1735). Thus the northern and central portions of the plateau of Iran and Arabia, as well as a great part of Asia Minor, enjoy a temperate climate, whilst an intense cold occurs in the northern parts of Afghanistan, in nearly the whole of Kurdistan, and on the elevated mountain ranges and high valleys on both sides of Ararat. Yet, notwith standing this difference of climate, throughout the whole a great similarity prevails in the vege table and animal worlds. The surface of Iran may in a general way, be described as consisting of a wide-spreading plateau, flanked by moun tainous countries on the east and west, and bounded to the north and south by two mountain chains, outside of which are two extensive plains on a much lower level. Of these, Turkomania, with the continuous plain westward of it, between the Caspian Sea and the Elburz mountains, form that which is on the northern extremity; Arabian Irak and Khuzistan, with the rest of the level tract outside the Zagros, form the plain at the southern extremity. In the space intervening between the great mountain chains, the surface in most places is largely impregnated with salt and saltpetre, which prevail to some extent on the plains of Fars and the conterminous provinces of Irak and Kirman. Between Abushahr and Dalaki, crystallized sulphate of lime is found ; and a 'little westward, in Khuzistan, an abundant supply of sulphur ; while rock-salt, alum, anti mony, and orpiment, as well as mineral waters, are found in abundance in different states, also petroleum and naphtha. Iron is met with in Masan
daran, Khorasan, and Bactria, and, with copper and lead ores, more abundantly in the pashaliks of Diyar-Bekr and Sivas, with the addition of gold, silver, and precious stones. Copper' and other ores abound in Kurdistan, the Julamerik, and other mountain districts. In the Dumbu Tagh mountains, the granite abounds with topaz, beryl, schorl, and disseminated gold. Extensive salt lakes and streams, impregnated with the same substance, occur. Amongst the former may be mentioned the Caspian Sea, the picturesque Urumiyah, and Van Zerrah or Durrah in Seistan, Bakhtegan in Fars, and others ; the fresh-water lakes are only met with in the tracts below Babylon, and again between the Elburz range on the shores of the Caspian.
The language of modern Iran is laden with Arabic and Turkish words ; but in the E. the language is much like that iu which Ferdusi wrote his poem, free from words of Arabic origin.
There are four distinct kinds of horses in Iran : 1st, the original Turkoman breed, a large, power ful, enduring animal ; 2d, the yahoo, or common carrying hack, which is stouter and rather larger than the galloway ; thethe smaller Arabian breed (first introduced by Na 'r Shah); and lastly, Na a fourth, between the Arabian and the Turkoman horse, the badpai (wind-footed), which, being the most prized by the Persians, is almost always among the horses of a great man's retinue. Mules, though small, are much used for caravans. This animal seldom goes less than 30 mile'n a day, though \ carrying a load of about 3 cwt., a d over such kotals or passes as would appal e en a Spanish muleteer. Perhaps one-third of the in habitants of Iran are nomadic, and this section, by its habits as well as mode of life, constitutes a race separate from the other or fixed portion, which consists of Persians, Kurds, Armenians, Arabs, Jews, and Parsees.