During those fierce persecutions of the 7th century many of those Avho still cleaved to the religion of their forefathers found a refuge in the mountainous districts of Khorassan, where, for about a hundred years, they lived in the free and undisturbed exercise of their re- ligion. At length, however, when the sword of the persecutor overtook them even in these remote districts, and they were again compelled to seek safety in flight, a considerable number emigrated to the small island of Ormuz, at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. Here, how- ever, they remained only a short time, when, finding that they were still within the reach of their Jloslem persecutors, they went out to seek an asylum in Hindo- stan, where, concealing the true nature of their religion, they partly conformed to Hindu practices and ceremo- nies. At length, after a long series of hardships, which they endured with the most exemplary patience, the}' resolved to make an open profession of their ancient faith, and accordingly they built a fire-temple in Sanjan, the Hindii rajah of the district kindly aiding them in the work. The temple was comjjleted in A.U. 721, and the sacred fire was kindled on the altar. For three hundred years from the time of their landing in Sanjan the Par- sees lived in comfort and tranquillity ; and at the end of that period their numbers wore much increased by the emigration of a large body of their countrymen from Persia, who, w'ith their families, located themselves in different parts of Western India, where they chiefly en- gaged in agricultural pursuits. Being a peaceable and industrious people, the Parsccs lived in liarmony with the Hindus, though of different and even opposite faiths. Nothing of importance, indeed, occurred in their history until the beginning of the IGth century.
when they were called upon to aid the rajah under whom they lived in resisting the aggressions of a ]Mo- hammedau chief residing at Ahmedabad. On that oc- casion they distinguished themselves by their valor and intrepidity, contributing largely to the success which at first crowned the arms of the Hindiis. Ulti- mately, however, the iNIoslems were victorious, and the Hindu government was overthrown. The Parsees, carrying with them the sacred fire from Sanjan, now removed to the mountains of Baharut, where they re- mained for twelve years, at the end of which they di- rected their course, first to Bansda, and afterwards to Nowsaree, where they speedily rose to wealth and in- fluence. Here, however, a quarrel arose among the priests, and the sacred fire was secretly conveyed to Oodwara, a place situated thirty-two miles south of Surat, where it still exists; and being the oldest fire- temple in India, it is held in the highest veneration by the Parsees. Nowsaree is the city of the priests, members of whom are every year sent to Bombay to act as spiritual instructors of their Zoroastrian fellow-- worshippers. It is difficult to ascertain the precise time at which the Parsees arrived in Bombay, but in all probability it was in the latter half of the 17th cen- turj-, somewhere about the time that the island passed into the hands of the British, havifig been given by the king of Portugal as a dowrj' to his daughter Cath- arine when she became the wife of Charles II. Ever since this remarkable remnant of antiquity has main- tained its footing in Hindostan, chiefly in Bombay, and in some of the cities of Gujerat, and a few are also to be found in Calcutta, and other large cities in India, in China, and other parts of Asia.
The Parsees of India, who, according to the latest census, form a population of 110,544, or twenty per cent, of the whole population, are recognised as the most respectable and thriving portion of the communi- ty, being for the most part merchants and landed pro- prietors. They bear, equally with their poorer brethren in Persia, with whom they have of late renewed some slight intercourse for religious and other purposes — such as their rirayets or correspondences on important and obscure doctrinal points — the very highest char- acter for honesty, industry, and peacefulness, while their benevolence, intelligence, and magnificence out- vie those of most of their European fellow -subjects. Their general appearance is to a certain degree prepos- sessing, and man}' of their women are strikingly beauti- ful. In all civil matters they are subject to the laws of the countrv they inhabit ; and its language is also theirs, except in the ritual of their religion, in which the holy language of Zend is used by the priests, although, as a rule, these have no more knowledge of it than the laity.
These are the leading fundamental doctrines as laid down by their prophet. Respecting the practical side of their religion, we cannot here enter into a de- tailed description of their very copious rituals, which have partly found their way into other creeds. SuflTice it to mention the following points. They do not eat anything cooked by a person of another religion ; they also object to beef, pork, especially to ham. Mar- riages can only be contracted with persons of their own caste and creed. Polygamy, except after nine years of sterility and divorce, is forbidden. Fornication and adulter}' are punishable with death. The Parsees stand alone in their treatment of the dead. At a certain stage of every funeral a dog is introduced to look at the corpse; and without this preliminary no spirit is presumed to rest in peace. But the dead are neither burneil nor buried. However well this fact is known, it is not equally well known that the motive which deters alike from cremation and from sepulture is a fear of doing dishonor to the elements of fire and earth. Their dead are exposed on an iron grating in the Dokhma, or Tow- er of Silence, to the fowls of the air, to the dew, and to the sun. until the flesh has disappeared, and the bleach- ing bones fall through into a pit beneath, from which