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

Io HISTORY OF THE PARSIS. [CHAP. I,

occasions, with more or less success, until his death. He also extended his conquests in other directions. Some of the countries beyond the Oxus, all those to as far as the Indus, with some of the provinces of India, as well as a few of the finest districts of Arabia, acknowledged the power of Naoshirvan.

But Naoshirvan’s memory is enshrined in the hearts of Persians by his indefatigable efforts to promote the prosperity of his dominions, and the happiness of the people confided by Providence to his care. He restored old cities and built new ones, and gave them a population. He constructed bridges, roads, and canals, introducing all the elements of material prosperity into his wide-stretching dominions. Above all, he was remarkable for his keen sense of justice, which he unflinchingly observed in his own public and private conduct, while he enforced it in that of his ministers and officers of all grades. He was therefore surnamed “ Adal,” or the Just. His fame spread to the most distant countries. The Emperors of China and India coveted his friendship, and sent him magnificent presents.

Naoshirvan was the last of those monarchs whose virtues and talents shed a lustre on the pages of Persian history. After him the kingdom was governed by sovereigns who, within the short space of three-quarters of a century, brought a flourishing empire to such a condition as to make it fall an easy