The Zoroastrians of Teheran, taken as a whole, are in better circumstances than those in any other city of Persia, because of the more liberal conditions that prevail in general at the capital. The most prominent member of the community is a rich banker, Arbab Jamshid Bahman, whose wealth is estimated in the hundreds of thousands of tomans, and to whom recognition at Court is also accorded—a fact which helps the position of the Zoroastrians considerably, since an appeal to the Shah is possible through his mediation. His integrity is of the highest order, and his esteem, even in the eyes of the Mohammedans, who would naturally despise him as an infidel,' is so great, that the Persians place implicit faith in his honesty — a tribute paid to no other native banker as yet, so far as my knowledge goes. This is a tribute not alone to his uprightness (arshtāt in the Avesta), but also to the teachings of Zoroaster, who made truth and honesty a watchword of the religion and whose creed was 'good thoughts, good words, good deeds.' - Arbab Jamshid called upon me shortly after my arrival and invited me to visit his home and his beautiful garden -a privilege of which I availed myself twice. The gardencourt adjoining his house in the city is laid out in the characteristic Persian manner with fruit trees, flowering shrubs, trellised arbors, pathways, and a fountain, and in addition to this a door opens into a small chamber on one side that is used as an Izashnah-Gah, or chapel, in which the rites of the Zoroastrian faith are occasionally conducted by a priest. We spent some time comfortably seated beneath the fruit trees, chatting on general topics, eating sweetmeats and dates that had been sent by the Zoroastrians of Yezd, and drinking tea, but not smoking. The business quarters of Arbab's banking establishment form a part of his own residence, and a large staff of clerks and assistants are occupied in conducting his affairs. Some idea of the number of this corps of employees may be obtained from the picture of the group which I reproduce. The Zoroastrian banker himself sits in the second row, to the right |