The climate is harsh,
very uneven, torrid in summer, frigid in winter; in certain quarters
one passes from 104 deg. above zero to 40 deg. below, from the cold of Siberia
to the heat of Senegal. Violent winds blow which "cut like a sword."
But in the valleys along the rivers the soil is fertile. Here the
peach and cherry are indigenous; the country is a land of fruits and
pastures.
=The Iranians.=--Aryan tribes inhabited Iran. Like all the Aryans,
they were a race of shepherds, but well armed and warlike. The
Iranians fought on horseback, drew the bow, and, to protect themselves
from the biting wind of their country, wore garments of skin sewed on
the body.
=Zoroaster.=--Like the ancient Aryans, they first adored the forces of
nature, especially the sun (Mithra). Between the tenth and seventh[29]
centuries before our era their religion was reformed by a sage,
Zarathustra (Zoroaster). We know nothing certainly about him except
his name.
=The Zend-Avesta.=--No writing from the hand of Zoroaster is preserved
to us; but his doctrine, reduced to writing long after his death, is
conserved in the Zend-Avesta (law and reform), the sacred books of the
Persians.
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