History of the Parsis : including their manners, customs, religion and present position : with coloured and other illustrations : in two volumes

58 AIISTORY OF THE PARSTS. [CHAP. II.

In the second invasion of Persia by Mahamud he raised levies among the Zoroastrians of both the provinces of Kerman and Yezd, persuading them to join his banner by appealing to their miseries. They, remembering their ancestors and the wrongs which they endured at the hands of the Persians, eagerly seized what seemed the opportunity to obtain revenge at the same time that they might gain some honour and renown. ‘The proposal seems to have been readily accepted, probably in the hope that the success of the Afghan chief would tend to alleviate the oppression to which they had been constantly subjected by the Persians. It is unnecessary to follow Mahamud in his various successes, or to describe his final victory at Isfahan and the capture of that city. How the Zoroastrians, who formed a portion of the army of Mahamud, fared at the hands of the chief in the hour of victory we are altogether ignorant. We are not even told what became of them afterwards, but we can imagine that, however valuable their services, they received little substantial reward from the Mahomedan leader. We might even infer, from the condition of their descendants, that they obtained very much the reverse of what they had expected or deserved.

It is stated that im the reigns of Nadir Shah and his successor the remnants of this persecuted race were again offered the alternative of death or conver-