PERSIA,† a country of Asia. Reigning sovereign, the Shah Nasr-ed-Din, born April 24, 1831; succeeded his father, Shah Mohammed, in September, 1848. The heir-apparent to the throne, Muzaffer-ed-Din, was born in 1854, and has two sons.

The area of Persia is about 1,647,700 square kilometres, or 637,000 square miles. The population is estimated at about 7,653,606, of whom 1,963,800 are inhabitants of cities, 3,780,000 belong to the rural population, and 1,909,800 are nomads. The population is divided, according to the religion, as follows: 6,860,600 Shiites, 700,000 Sunnites and other Mohammedan sects, 8,000 Parsees, 19,000 Jews, 43,000 Armenians, and 23,000 Nestorians and Chaldeans. In 1876 the revenue was estimated at 34,720,000 francs in money and 6,360,000 francs in grain, making a total of 41,080,000 francs, of which 31,000,000 francs are direct taxes and 5,000,000 francs customs. The expenditure amounted to 40,000,000 francs. The first regular postal service was opened in January, 1877. In 1879 the number of post-offices was thirty-five; of letters sent, 423,608; of postal-cards, 2,400; of printed matter, etc., 6,430 pieces.

The Kurdish troubles in the north of Persia seem to have been connected with the Russian advance in Central Asia and Armenia. The followers of the Sheik Abdullah, who proved more than a match for the Persian soldiers, were armed with Martini rifles, such as were captured from the Turks in the late war at Kars and Ardahan. The scene of the invasion was the great province of Azerbaijan, a portion of which projects in the form of a wedge between the Russian Trans-Caucasian dominion and Turkish Kurdistan, reaching nearly to Mount Ararat. The defeat of the Persian troops by the Kurds, who captured a number of cannon in the engagement, made the Kurdish invasion a serious matter for Per

In 1878, from part of Luzerne.

+ For other statistics, see" Annual Cyclopædia" for 1880.

sia. The Sheik Abdullah was aiming at the creation of an independent Kurdistan, and, it was stated, offered the sovereignty to Abbas Mirza, the brother of the Shah. This prince was the son of a Kurdish mother, and had lived some time in banishment. The Persians had more than they could do to keep out the Kurds, who make admirable infantry, and, armed with breech-loaders, in that mountainous country were a dangerous foe. But the more efficient Turkish troops were quickly brought into the field, and deprived the Russians of the opportunity, if one were sought, of occupying that desirable province, on the pretext of bringing assistance to the Shah. The defense on the part of the Persians also was much more efficient after the appointment of Ala-ed-Dauleh to the command of the troops. By July peace reigned in nearly the entire province. Austrian officers were employed to instruct and lead the troops, and considerable quantities of improved arms were brought from Austria.

The Shah some years ago announced to the powers that he had appointed as his successor to the throne his second son, Muzaffer-edDin, who is Governor of Tabreez, to the exclusion of his eldest son, Massud Mirza, the Ziles-Sultan ("Shadow of the Shah "), who is Governor of Ispahan. This act was in accordance with the Persian custom of making the son of the mother of highest birth the heir, as the Shah's second wife was a princess, while the first was of lower rank. The Zil-es-Sultan has administered the central provinces of Persia for several years, and by his extortions acquired great wealth. A large loan which he made to his father recently was given on the condition that he should receive larger powers than before. He is the more resolute of the two princes, and the enlargement of his authority which he obtained is intended probably to enable him the better to dispute his brother's title to the throne upon the demise of the present Shah. A conflict between the brothers

would take the form of a civil war between the north and the south of Persia. If Russia took the part of the northern claimant, Great Britain might be impelled to take sides with the other, and Persia be divided into two kingdoms dominated by the two great rival powers. The governorship of Kermanshah was conferred upon Massud Mirza in addition to his other offices, making him the ruler of more than half Persia.

Six great schemes for railroads in Persia have been proposed. The British scheme of an international railway from Scutari to India does not seem as near accomplishment as it did a few years ago. This route would lead through Bagdad, Ispahan, Yezd, and Bunder Abbas, and thence along the coast of Kurrachee. The English have proposed also to merely connect India with Persia, and Russia and Turkey have each planned to extend their railway systems into Persia. The Persians have projected a railroad net-work of their own, with international connections under their own control. In all of these projects the strategic and political aspect is of not less importance than the commercial, and the two can not be disconnected in railroad enterprise in the East. Four of the projected routes were to enter Persia from the west, and two from the east. The British operations in Afghanistan led to the discussion of a new route from India, which would have some advantages over the one along the coast of the Persian Gulf from Kurrachee. From the same port, at the mouth of the Indus, it would pass through the Candahar-Herat depression and reach Ispahan by the route north of the plateau of Iran via Meshed. The Afghanistan section of this railroad was begun during the British invasion of Afghanistan, and the line was completed to Sibi, half-way to Candahar. The Turks have a line built from Scutari to Ismeed, and under construction to Angora; while they are preparing to extend it to Sinope and Samsoon on the Black Sea. The British or anti-Russian scheme of an intercontinental railroad would have this line extended to Bagdad, and connected with a road from India. The extension of the Austrian railroads to Salonica, and the connection of Vienna and Pesth with Constantinople by rail, would join this trans-Asian line to all the capitals of Europe by means of a ferry across the Bosporus. The strategic necessities connected with the defense of India, which constitute the main argument in favor of the Euphrates Valley scheme with the British, are now fully met by the Suez Canal. The Russians are more active and sagacious than either the British or the Turks in their efforts to obtain railroad connection with Persia, which is the key to both commercial and political supremacy. The road from St. Petersburg into the Caucasus, which has been built some time as far as Vladikavkas, is advancing to Erivan, and a concession was obtained from the Persian Government to extend it to the

prosperous town of Tabreez; but the latter concession-which would bring the Russians close to the Caspian port of Reshd, or Enzellee, and the prime provinces of Ghilan and Mazanderan, and within striking distance of the Persian capital, Teheran, and would place Herat within reach-was canceled at the instance of the Disraeli Government. A scheme for a Persian railway from Tabreez, through Reshd, Teheran, and Ispahan, to Bushire on the Persian Gulf, was proposed by Baron Reuter, but encountered the opposition of both the English and the Russian Governments.

The Russians and the British are already rivals in Persia. The latter are attracted by the valuable trade of the country, and by the consideration that the overland routes to India lead through Persia. The English political thinkers who have not lulled themselves into a restful security, which even the blunt acknowledgment that Russia will meet British opposition in Europe with diversions on the side of India does not disturb, are now more than ever eager for the establishment of British control in Persia. Since the attempt to guard the road to India by way of Herat and Candahar, the only practical military route, ended in a fiasco, the voluntary submission or forcible subjection of Persia to a British protectorate seems the only safeguard against such diversions and their consequences. If the Russians obtain the ascendency in Persia, they can establish themselves in Herat and march at any time into India; whereas, if the British obtain the military control of Persia, they would possess a line of impregnable natural fortresses which command the Russian routes all the way from the Caspian.

The English have a preponderant interest in the commerce of Persia, and would soon acquire the political control which follows upon mercantile supremacy if they were not opposed by the more astute, vigilant, and aggressive political policy of Russia. When Russian and British influences are brought into contact and antagonism in Oriental courts and nations, the former seem destined always to prevail. The Russian policy, if less truthful and square, is oftentimes more humane, generous, and substantially just, and is guided by a perfect knowledge of the mind and character of the Oriental peoples, which centuries of contact can not give to the English. Persia is divided between English and Russian counsels, but the geographical position of Russia, as well as her active spirit of encroachment, and the intellectual affinity between Russians and Orientals, give to her a decided advantage in the contest. The Russian railroads already extend into the Persian dominions. Russia has acquired Ashurada, the most commanding Persian port on the Caspian, and has obtained the complete maritime supremacy on that sea. The military domination and commercial primacy which Russia now possesses in the northern provinces, which are the richest part of Persia, the abode of the

government, and the center of power of every kind, more than counterbalance the commercial interests which connect the rest of Persia with India and Great Britain. The acquisition of the freedom of Ashurada port destroys the value of the mountain frontier abutting on Kara Kum Desert, which might otherwise have been fortified and held against all the armies in the world. Russia, from that port, dominates the whole interior. The court at Teheran already bows to the will of the Czar.

The magnificent provinces of Ghilan and Mazanderan are not only the richest part of Persia, but one of the most fertile belts of country in the world. The northern slopes of the Elburz Mountains, which traverse them, are covered with forests of teak, oak, walnut, and box. On their southern plateau are mines of coal and iron. These are the scene of Russian mercantile enterprise, and may in the future be merged in the Muscovite Empire. The oasis of Merv, at the northeast corner of Persia, which has been conquered by the Russians, is a fertile tract, ninety miles in circumference, which bears three crops a year, and once supported a million inhabitants. This acquisition brings Russia into contact with the great province of Khorassan, and, though the Merv country is not likely to be occupied, and affords no means of commercial communication, the Russians have won the undying gratitude of the inhabitants of this section of Persia by their subjugation of the Akkal Tekke Turkomans.

The tent-dwelling Turkomans of the Kara Kum are of the same race as the civilized Kajar tribe, from which the Persian royal family sprang. Fearless, capable of extraordinary exertions and endurance, mounted on the best horses in the world, and cruel beyond conception, the horrors which they have committed are well calculated to cause the Persians to tremble at the mention of their name. For three or four centuries they have been the scourge of the country. The Belochee marauders who infest the southern parts of Persia, and travel several hundreds of miles into the Salt Desert on their plundering expeditions, carried by their wonderfully fleet and enduring camels, are simple robbers. They drive off the sheep and camels which they find in their way, and lurk in ambush behind the sand-hills of the desert to fall upon passing caravans. They treat their victims rudely and plunder them thoroughly, but seldom commit murder. The Turkomans, on the other hand, would lay whole villages waste, carry off into slavery those whom they selected, and slay all the rest. When hotly pressed in pursuit they were accustomed to cut off the hands and feet of their captives and leave them by the wayside. The more aristocratic captives were preferable for sale or ransom. Women slaves were valued the most. Their inroads were as swift as they were daring, and, unless there were military to oppose them, always successful. The prisoners were lashed on the backs of

horses and given no rest until they reached the Turkoman tents. There they were heavily ironed with a ring around their neck and a chain fastening it to a tent-peg, and with rings around each leg, joined by a short chain. Their market was in Khiva and Bokhara. Until the slave-trade was suppressed in those places by the Russians there were as many as 100,000 slaves kept in the khanates and among the Turkomans themselves. The trade is still carried on secretly in Bokhara to a small extent, and the Turkomans still capture slaves in some parts of Khorassan to work them in their own country or hold them for ransom. The Russians are said to have liberated 40,000 slaves in Khiva alone. Great numbers were killed when returning to Persia, but in all parts of Khorassan there are emancipated captives, of all ranks, who are full of gratitude toward their deliverers. The place where the Turkomans formerly captured the most valuable slaves was on the caravan-road from Teheran to Meshed, in the neighborhood of Miandasht, which is far in the interior and not far from the middle of the route. The Shah pays a reward of five tomans (about ten dollars) for every Turkoman killed while raiding in his dominions, upon the delivery of the scalps.

The nominal strength of the Persian army is 100,000 men; but it is doubtful whether more than one fifth of that number are ever in camp at one time, or would be likely to obey a call to arms. The army is not recruited from the Persians, who are not warlike nor habituated to the use of arms, and who, by influence and bribery, manage to evade the conscription. It is mainly drawn now, and probably was in ancient times, when the Persian conquests extended from Egypt to China, from the Toorks of Azerbaijan, the Kurdish mountaineers of Kurdistan, and from the Loor, Bukhtirgar, and Eliant tribes inhabiting the mountain chains south and east of the Zagros range. The standing army, with the exception of the Shal's body-guard, is entirely composed of these tribemen, who still keep up much of the tribal organization, and whose chiefs and khans are appointed to the commissions in the regiments composed of their hereditary followers. The organization of the army is according to the European model, but it is only so in name. It was introduced by British officers, who have twice been employed by the Shah to organize and instruct his army. Austrian officers have recently been called to Persia as instructors, but only a few remained there. There are 77 battalions of infantry, with an average strength of 800 men each, and 79 regiments of cavalry, consisting of eight troops of 50 sabers each. The officers are without military education, and the men are devoid of drill or discipline. Bribery and favoritism govern the promotions. There is often, however, a strong attachment between officers and men, and an esprit de corps partaking of the clan feeling. Many of the officers are devoted to their profession, and

need only instruction to make good soldiers of their men. The army is raised by conscription, which falls very unequally on different districts and tribes. The War-Office does not even pretend to levy the troops in proportion to the population of the different districts. Many towns escape the conscription entirely. The nomad tribes, which are without court influence, and are too poor to bribe the officials, are required to furnish far more than their rightful share. The men are supposed to be discharged after a short term of service, and replaced by fresh annual contingents; but oftentimes the discharge can only be obtained by bribery, and many are kept in the service all their lives. Their physique is excellent, their nature patient and cheerful, and their disposition toward their commanders obedient and tractable. Their powers of marching are celebrated, but the system which enables them to get over the ground so rapidly is fatal to good discipline. Most of the soldiers possess donkeys, which they ride on the march, carrying also the arms of their comrades who go on foot. They do not form, or make any attempt to march in order, but each one takes his own pace; still, by means of their beasts they accomplish a longer march in a day than any infantry can make on foot only. They wear a tunic of the European pattern, and a black, lamb's-wool busby, with a brass ornament representing the emblems of the lion and the sun. The effect of the uniform is entirely destroyed, however, by the long frocks which they generally wear under the tunic, and the cloths wound around their heads in the summer-time, on the top of which they set their caps. They are partly armed with breech-loading rifles, which have been lately furnished; but the majority carry muzzle-loading, smooth-bore muskets, of French make. The cavalry are equally wanting in order and discipline, but adapted, if well led, for good service of the irregular kind. They are mounted on strong, stanch horses of all sizes. They are uniformed in long, dark-blue frocks, sheep-skin busbys, and brown-leather boots, reaching halfway to the knee. They carry a rifle and a saber, which is very much curved and has no guard for the hand. The cartridges for their carbines are carried in their brown-leather belts. To the bridle is fastened a camel's-hair rope, with an iron peg at the end, for picketing. The artillery is the best disciplined branch of the army. Their armament, however, is defective, consisting mainly of old smooth-bore nine-pound guns, though a considerable number of Uchatius rifled cannon have recently been imported. Not over 20,000 troops are kept under arms, garrisoning the principal towns and guarding frontier posts. The remainder are with their flocks and herds, or engaging in their agricultural or commercial occupations. The pay is nominal and never reaches them. Their rations are liberal, according to the regulations, but usually there are no rations given out at all. The soldiers are consequently

driven, when not assigned to duty, to ply the not very respectable trades of drug-selling and usury, and even the sentries on guard have little tables covered with wares which they sell to passers-by.

PERU (REPÚBLICA DEL PERÚ). For details concerning territorial division, area, population, etc., reference may be made to the "Annual Cyclopædia" for 1873, 1875, 1878, and to the article BOLIVIA in the volume for 1879.

The home of the ancient Incas, and afterward a Spanish viceroyalty, it was not until 1824 that Peru became an independent republic, although her declaration of independence dates from July 28, 1821. By the terms of the latest Constitution, proclaimed on August 31, 1867, and modeled after that of the United States, the legislative power resides in a Senate, composed of two members from each province; and a House of Representatives, whose members, at the rate of one for every 20,000 inhabitants, are nominated by the electoral colleges of provinces and parishes. The parochial electoral colleges send deputies to the provincial colleges, and these in turn send representatives to Congress. In the session of 1876 there were 44 Senators, and the members of the House of Representatives numbered 110. The executive power is vested in a President, assisted by a Vice-President, both elected by the people for a term of four years. The last constitutional President was General Ignacio Prado, who, despairing of a successful resistance against the victorious Chilian invader, left his country in December, 1879. From that time until the fall of Lima, in January, 1881, the government was in the hands of the Dictator, Don Nicolás de Piérola. After the decisive battles of Chorrillos and Miraflores, and the occupation of the capital by the Chilian troops, Piérola fled to the mountains with the débris of his army, and for several months maintained a warlike attitude toward the conquerors.

In March a number of leading men of Lima met in council, and elected, as Provisional President, Señor Don F. García Calderon, with a Cabinet composed of the following ministers: Foreign Affairs, Señor Arenas; Interior, Señor Torrico; Finance, Señor Elguera; Justice, Señor Paz Soldan; War, Señor Carillo. This election was afterward ratified by a Congress convened under the direction of the Chilian commander-in-chief, at Chorrillos (July 10th). But the end of the year found Peru in the deplorable situation of a country without a government of its own, without any regular armed force by land or by sea, and deprived of the chief sources of national income:-President Calderon deported to Chili; the remnants of the army scattered far and wide in the train of reckless guerrilla chiefs; the navy annihilated; the nitrate and guano deposits in the possession of and controlled by the invader; and the proceeds of the customs applied to support the Chilian army of occupation. The peace

strength of the Peruvian land forces seldom exceeded 6,000, including some 1,200 gendarmes, and about an equal number of vigilantes, constituting the organized police force. After the declaration of war against Chili, the military strength was raised to 40,000 (May, 1879), and the number of men under arms in the summer of 1880 was reported at 70,000, a figure apparently very much exaggerated. Of the navy, but a few years ago accounted one of the finest in America, destruction in engagements with, and capture by, the Chilian fleet, had, by the end of 1880, left nothing to Peru.

The national revenue for 1873-74 was 62,753,903 soles;* that for 1875-'76 was 66,601,664; and the expenditure for the same periods amounted respectively to 65,500,836 and 65,063,122 soles. There was no direct taxation in Peru, and the revenue was for the most part derived from the sale of nitrate and guano, and from the customs, the yield of which latter for the years 1873-277 having been 8,400,000 soles, 7,097,000 soles, 17,082,000 soles, 5,541,664 soles, and 4,005,689 soles, respectively. As for the sale of guano,t before the war, the average annual exportation of that commodity for the decennial period 1868-'77 has been set down at 400,000 tons, valued at $23,000,000. Of the disposal of guano under Chilian administration mention will be made hereafter; and, for information on the same subject, reference may be made to the " Annual Cyclopædia" for 1880 (page 624).

As stated in our volume for 1880, the national debt of the republic in July, 1879, amounted to upward of 246,000,000 soles, exclusive of a floating debt variously estimated at from 20,000,000 to 25,000,000. Of the entire indebtment, 20,000,000 soles represents the home debt, and 226,340,516 the foreign debt, made up of loans contracted in England in 1869, 1870, and 1872. No payment of interest on these loans has been made since the commencement of the war, and the British bondholders were for some time in a state verging on despair. The bonds at the end of 1881 were quoted very low, scarcely higher than in the darkest days of the war. In March, 1881, the 6 per cents railway loan of 1870 were worth 26, and the 5 per cents of 1872 sold at 21; in December of the same year the quotations of the latter were given at 19-20. That they have any value at all is owing to Chilian generosity, the Chilian Government having consented to the shipment, for the benefit of the bondholders, of guano from the deposits secured by conquest, on condition of the payment of a royalty of £1 108. per ton to the Chilian Treasury. The sales are in the hands of Messrs. Gibbs & Co., of London, who, from April to December, 1881, had sold 16,442 tons for the gross sum of £120,000,

The sol is equivalent to about ninety cents of United States money.

For nitrate exports, see page 787.

of which £17,829 had been distributed among the bondholders.*

The Chilian authorities having, shortly after the capture of Lima, established a tariff of customs duties on imports and exports, Mr. Christiancy, late United States Minister to Peru, presuming that said tariff' would probably be adhered to during the continuance of the Chilian military occupation, and “thinking it might be well that our merchants and ship-owners should have information upon the subject, inasmuch as it might affect their action in questions bearing upon commercial ventures with Peru," forwarded to the Department of State at Washington a copy of the decrees concerning the new tariff, and an extract of which is here transcribed: Patricio Lynch, Rear-Admiral and General-in-Chief of the Army of Chili.

Whereas, I have on this date decreed the following: Considering that it is just that the Government of Chili should obtain from the territory occupied by their military forces all the benefit compatible with the interest of its commerce and industry-I decree :

DUTIES UPON IMPORTS.

ARTICLE I. All merchandise imported into the port of Callao shall pay an ad valorem duty of 25 per cent, with the exception of the following, which shall

pay:

ART. II. A duty of 15 per cent: Tar and pitch for use of ships; animals alive or slaughtered; quicksilver in jars; charcoal and mineral coal; oakum for calking; woolen felt (barred) for use of shipping; pig-iron in bars, unwrought, square, round, or in plates; iron axles or champs (or hoops); fresh prints; printing-presses and utensils; machinery for agriculture and mining; flower-seeds and garden-seeds; printer's ink.

ART. III. A duty of 10 per cent:

Sub. 1. Chilian products, and merchandise free, or on which duty has been paid in Chili. Sub. 2. Peruvian products coming from ports occupied by Chilian arms.

ART. IV. A specific duty:

per dozen; brandies, 42 cents per litre; coffee, 15 Sub. 1. Brandies, bottles of the common size, 84 cents per kilogramme; beer, $1.25 per dozen bottles; beer, 12 cents per litre; cigars, $3 per kilogramme; alcohol (pure), 50 cents per litre; gin, $3 per dozen bottles; gin, 32 cents per litre; sweet liquors, $4.50 per dozen bottles; sweet liquors, 48 cents per litre; fard, 5 cents per kilogramme; snuff, $3 per kilogramme; burning rum (or burning alcohol), $4 per dozen bottles; burning rum (or burning alcohol), 42 cents per litre; Havana tobacco, $2 per kilogramme; other tobacco, $1 per kilogramme; tea, 75 cents per kilogramme; white wine, 32 cents per litre; white wine, $3 per dozen bottles; red wine, $2.25 per dozen bottles; red wine, 25 cents per litre; Paraguay tea, 6 cents per kilogramme.

Sub. 2. Products of Chili and articles on which, being subject to specific duties, duty has been already paid in Chili, shall pay 25 per cent of those established

in last above.

Sub. 1. Peruvian products coming from ports occupied by the Chilian arms shall pay the same duties as Chilian products subject to specific duties.

ART. V. The appraisement shall be according to the Peruvian tariff of 1880.

ART. VI. The collector of customs will prescribe the special rules and modes of proceeding in the case of documents presented for dispatch.

ART. VII. All other import duties in force at the

* See the articles CHILI and PERU in the " Annual Cyclopædia" for 1880, and CHILI in the present volume.