III. Exploration and Excavation

The exploration of the land of Media and Persia falls into two great subdivisions. The former concerns Persia almost exclusively, the latter springs chiefly out of the interest which the discovery and decipherment of the Babylonian and Assyrian inscriptions have awakened (see Inscriptions, II.). The earliest explorers of Persia were all men engaged in welting an overland route between Europe and India. The notion that Persia might, in itself, reward the explorer was an afterthought. The story of the earliest explorations may be said to begin with the Italian friar Odoric in 1320, for he saw the ruins of Persepolis and it was from the key afforded by the inscriptions there discovered that all present knowledge of Media and Persia has been derived (see Assyria, III., 1, for the early explorations of Persia). The more recent explorations have been best summed up in the extended tours of George N. Curzon, now Lord Curzon of Kedleston (Persia and the Persian Question, 2 vols., London, 1892) and Prof, A. V. Williams Jackson (Persia Past and Present, New York, 1906). Both of these had the historical problems in mind, and saw the country in its relations to Babylonia and Assyria as the cuneiform inscriptions have made them known. The former has given a . most elaborate review of the work of former explorers, the latter has contributed valu- able corrections to the Behistun inscription, first copied and deciphered by Sir Henry Rawlinson and since recopied and perfected by L. W. King and R. C. Thompson (The Sculptures and Ireacrigrtion of Darius the Great on the Rock of Behistun in Persia, London, 1907). Persia proper has been much better explored than Media, but in neither land have the known remains of ancient cities been excavated. In some of these it may well be hoped, by analogy with Babylonian, Assyrian, and Elamite mounds, there still lie buried large numbers of inscribed records of the historical events of both the Medea and the Persians. Until this colossal task is begun much of the history of both peoples must be accepted at second hand from allusions in the already, discovered records of their neighbors. The sketch of their history which it is now possible to give is but fragmentary, with great gaps, especially in the earlier portions. The interest of the unexplored sites of Media would be scarcely inferior to those of Assyria, surely not inferior to the explored sites of Elam.

IV. Ethnological Data

The peoples of Media and Persia in ancient times afford a very similar set of problems to those which are confronted in Babylonia, Canaan and in Egypt. In all these cases there existed in historic times races, of more or less mixed blood, who may readily be classified ampng the great ethnological groups or families. The earlier prehistoric inhabitants present the greatest problems of ethnology. The prehistoric populations both of Media and of Persia are of unknown extraction and racial ties. These early inhabitants are called by the Babylonians Umvwn Manda, "the Manda hordes." They were uncivilized and nomadic and, as Winckler has said, fill in the minds of the Babylonians a place somewhat similar to that occupied by the Scythians in the mind of the Greeks. Whence these people came there is at present no knowledge. On the other hand, the peoples of the great historic period, who are known as Medea and Persians, both belonged to the IndoEuropean race-the great race which in later times has spread all over Europe and America.