IRANIAN, a name applied to racial groups of people speaking the Iranian stock of lan guages. In historic times the Iranians appear on the shores of the Oxus and of the rivers of upper Sogdian, and thence spread southwest through Balkh and Badakshan. It is probable that in the flourishing ages of the Persian empire the Iranic races were spread much far ther, to the Kik and even beyond. Colonies of Iranians were to be found in the Crimea and mingled with the Thracians. It is thus established that the Iranians were in ancient times the connecting link between the Aryan races of Asia and of Europe. At an early period the Iranians and the Indians probably formed but a single group of races. In antiq uity the chief components of the Iranic peo ples were the Medes and Persians, as well as the, inhabitants of those provinces designated as Ariana; but beside them there were also the ancient nomadic hordes of Iranic stock, the Daha or Dahans, who afterward mingled with the Turanians that occupied the steppes of Turkestan as far as the Sarmatians and Scy thians of the present south of Russia. That the latter, though, were conscious of their Aryan and Iranian descent is proved by the names borne by the Scythian (Scolot) kings, such as Ariantas and Ariapeithes (Herodotus). In our day, under the head of Iranians, may be classed the Persians and the Parsis, scattered throughout Persia and India; the Tadjiks, who speak Persian and follow agriculture or com merce, in Afghanistan, Baluchistan and Tur kestan; then the Koords and Lures, the Afghans, the Ossetians in the Caucasus, the Tais in the region of Baku, the Goorans in Kurdistan, the Galtchas and Pathan on the Pamir plateau and, perhaps, the Armenians. All these populations and tribes stand on very different levels of culture and are also greatly distinguished physically from each other, owing to admixture of foreign elements — such as the Uzbeks and Sarts in Central Asia, influencing the Tadjiks; the Dravidas doing the same with the Beloochees, and the Semitic neighbors in the West playing a similar part. Generally speak ing, the Iranians are dolichocephalous and swart, while the Ossetians, Galtchas, etc., are brachycephalous and fair.
The system of religious developed by the Iranians started, of course, with that of the Aryans as a whole. With the latter they shared the myths of Ahura, Mithras, the dragon slayer Verethreghna (Indra), Apam — Napat (lightning) ; they believed in the divine afflatus brought about by some and its preparation; in the injunction to "good thoughts and good works, imposed alike by the Iranian Avesta and the Indian Veda; in the supreme order of the world, controlling men and gods alike, in fire-worship, sun-worship, the sacrificial and purifying flame. And in spite of later rites, many hoary sagas and legends have survived, such as that of a fearful battle waged by the sun-god against a terrific serpent; that of the first man, Yama, who now rules in the nether world; that of the °Glorious One" (Husrava, Chosroes), who meets death at the hands of his unknown father (compare the saga of Hil debrand and Hadubrand, • the Salcuntala, the Kalevala) and others which antedate historic times. It is certain that the Gathas (ancient
psalms) were extant as early as the 13th or 14th century before our era. Zoroastrianism, in the form in which it became the dominant creed of the Iranians, made wise use of the old gods and of the early heroes, transfusing them into efficient helpers of the All-Ruler, Ahura mazda (Ormuzd). In the reign of the legend ary King Gushtasp, the patron of Zerdusht (Zoroaster), a period antedating the prevalence of his dogma in Media, in 714 a.c., by several centuries, this prophet and sole founder of one of the purest creeds of the East, attains to power as a teacher. The substance of his tenets was that in this world there are two groups of powers confronting each other in a war without cessation — the powers of Good, of Light, of Creative Strength, of Life, of Truth, and the powers of Evil, of Darkness, Destruc tion, Death, Deceit. The "great Wisdom," Mazda. with his servants, the "Undying Holy Ones," and a great host of subordinate angels i and helpers, is forever facing, battling with, conquering the Evil Spirit (Angra Mainyu, Ahriman) and his tools. The latter are slightly altered reincarnations of the old Iranian gods, now discarded and cursed as °Evil Workers.° Zoroaster asks each man to ponder and choose his position with regard to the fundamental problems of life and religion. From his teach ings sprang a priesthood, the Magians, en trusted with the task of administering to the needs of the believers. Zoroastrianism was still strong in the early part of the Christian era, and under the Sassanides, about 220 A.D., there came a revival. This we see from a polemic against the Christians (Armenians) during the reign of Yezdegerd II, about 450 A.D., the de tails of which have been preserved by the Armenian historian, Elishe. The creed of Zoroaster, however, toppled and fell an easy prey to Islam during the early caliphate in the 7th century. Iran, it is true, for the larger part embraced Shiah, and thus became the In veterate foe of the Sunnite Arabs and Turks; but it nevertheless became Moslem, fanatically so, and buried its ancient national faith for ever. The modern Iranians have, however, retained the chief marks of their fathers—a great suppleness of mind, a joyous, lively tem perament, a taste for and skill in poetry, the arts and artcraft, an extraordinary politeness and suavity of manners, coupled with rather loose morals, dislike of frankness and an enor mous racial pride.
Bibliography.—Darmesteter, James, (Etudes Iraniennes) (2 vols., Paris 1883) ; Geiger, Lazarus, der iranischen Philologie' (in Geiger and Kuhn's (Zeitschrift,) Strassburg 1902) ; Tomaschek, X. F., Studien' (Vienna 1880).