. A comprehensive dictionary of the Bible . 2 Chr. xxxvi. 20; Esth. i. 3, &c).Persians. Persian [-shan], pi. Persians f-shanz] (; Gr. Perses, pi. Persai; see Persia), thename of the people who inhabited Persia Proper,and who thence conquered a mighty empire. Thereis reason to believe (so Prof. Rawlinson, originalauthor of this article) that the Persians were of thesame race as the Medes, both being branches of thegreat Aryan stock.—1. Character of the Persians were a people of lively and impressibleminds, brave and impetuous in war, witty, passion-ate, for Orientals truthfu
. A comprehensive dictionary of the Bible . 2 Chr. xxxvi. 20; Esth. i. 3, &c).Persians. Persian [-shan], pi. Persians f-shanz] (; Gr. Perses, pi. Persai; see Persia), thename of the people who inhabited Persia Proper,and who thence conquered a mighty empire. Thereis reason to believe (so Prof. Rawlinson, originalauthor of this article) that the Persians were of thesame race as the Medes, both being branches of thegreat Aryan stock.—1. Character of the Persians were a people of lively and impressibleminds, brave and impetuous in war, witty, passion-ate, for Orientals truthful, not without some spiritof generosity, and of more intellectual capacity thanthe generality of Asiatics. In the times anterior toCyrus they were noted for the simplicity of theirhabits, which offered a strong contrast to the lux-uriousness of the Medes; but from the date of theMedian overthrow, this simplicity began to adopted the flowing Median robe (of silk?) inlieu of the old national costume—a close-fitting tunic. Old Persian Dre99. and trousers of leather. Polygamy was commonamong them. They were fond of the pleasures ofthe table. In war they fought bravely, but with-out discipline.—2. Religion. Like the other Aryans,the Persians worshipped one Supreme God, whomthey called Auramazda (Oromasdes, Ormazd, Or-inuzd)—a term signifying (as is believed) the GreatGiver of Life. The royal inscriptions rarely men- tioned any other god. Occasionally, however, theyindicate a slight and modified polytheism. Oromas-des is the chief of the gods, so that there areother gods besides him ; and the highest of these isevidently Mithra, who is sometimes invoked to pro-tect the monarch, and beyond a doubt = the separate from these—their active resisterand antagonist—was Ahriman (Arimanius) = theDeath-dealing—the powerful, and (probably) self-ex-isting Evil Spirit, from whom war, disease, frost, hail,poverty, sin, death, and all other evils, had theirori
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