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Russia. Southwards from Mt Ararat the Perso-Turkish frontier extends about 700 M. to the mouth of the Shatt el Arab in the Persian Gulf in 300 N. and 48° 40' E., but is undefined with the exception of the western boundary of the little See also:

DISTRICT

district of Kotur. A mixed See also:

COMMISSION (from Lat. commissio, committere)

commission was appointed in 1843 for the See also:

settlement of the Perso-Turkish frontier. The labours of this commission resulted in the See also:

ERZERUM, or ARZRUM (Arm. Garin)

Erzerum treaty of 1847, by which both See also:

POWERS, HIRAM (1805-1873)

powers abandoned some lands and agreed to appoint commissioners to define the frontier. The commissioners met in 1849, 1850 and 1851 at See also:

BAGDAD, or BAGHDAD

Bagdad and See also:

MUHAMRAH (MOIAMMERAH)

Muhamrah without arriving at any result.

In 1851 See also:

Lord See also:

Palmerston proposed that the See also:

general line of frontier should be traced by the agents of See also:

TURKEY

Turkey and Persia at See also:

Constantinople, assisted by the commissioners, in conformity with the treaty of Erzerum, leaving doubtful localities to be settled in future. The Russian See also:

government agreed to this proposal, and the See also:

WORK

work of See also:

SURVEYING

surveying the See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country from Mt Ararat to the Persian Gulf was then undertaken. When this was done the preparation of a See also:

map, embracing territory 700 M. in length by 20 to 40 M. broad, was unsettled, and disputes have frequently arisen between the Turkish and Persian governments with regard to their respective claims to See also:

LAND

land (Hertslet, Persian See also:

TREATIES

Treaties). In the autumn of 1907 Turkish troops occupied not only "doubtful localities" but also adjoining lands which were indisputably Persian territory. The want of a determined line of demarcation See also:

ENGLISH

English See also:

MILES, NELSON APPLETON (1839— )

Miles 0 SO 100 150 Sao Roads_.--.._ Capitals of Proulncea Boundary delimited _ ~I~fYR Boundary undelimited..__._._.._.__I 1Ie Deserts. _-.See also:

mss x 17 Swamps put in See also:

hand, and this work lasted from See also:

NOVEMBER (Lat. novem, nine)

November 1857 till See also:

March 1865, when the See also:

PORTE, THE SUBLIME (Arab. babi-'ali, the high gate, through the French translation la sublime porte)

Porte was informed in May of that See also:

YEAR

year that " in the See also:

OPINION (Lat. opinio, from opinari, to think)

opinion of the mediating Powers, the future line of boundary between the respective dominions of the See also:

SULTAN (an Arabic word meaning " victorious " or " a ruler," sultat, dominion)

sultan and the shah was to be found within the limits traced on the map; that the two See also:

MAHOMMEDAN

Mahommedan governments should themselves See also:

mark out the line; and that in the event of any See also:

DIFFERENCES, CALCULUS OF (Theory of Finite Differences)

differences arising between them in regard to any particular locality, the points in dispute should be referred to the decision of the governments of See also:

England and Russia." This boundary has remained between the two countries may have political advantages, but is inconvenient to the geographer and most unfavourable to the cause of See also:

order and good government. From the point on the Aras River 20 M. north-east of Mt Ararat, the river forms the northern boundary down to 48° E. The frontier line then runs about 35 M. in a south- easterlY direction through the Moghan See also:

STEPPE (from the Russ. stepi, a waste)

steppe to Northers Frontier. Pilsowar on the Bulgharu River and then south with a See also:

BEND

bend to the west to the See also:

ASTARA

Astara River and the See also:

PORT

port of Astara in 38° 27' N. and 4&' 53' E. From Astara eastwards the boundary river of See also:

HERAT

Herat, in its upper course); it then runs almost due south to the border of See also:

SEISTAN, or SISTAN (SEJISTAN)

Seistan in 31° N., and then through Seistan follows the line fixed by See also:

Sir See also:

Frederick See also:

GOLDSMID

Goldsmid's and Sir See also:

Henry McMahon's commissions in 1872 and 1903–1905 to Kuh i Malik Siah. From this point to the sea the frontier separates Persian territory from See also:

BRITISH

British Baluchistan and runs south-east to Kuhak and then south-west to Gwetter. This last See also:

section was determined by Sir Frederick Goldsmid's commission in 1871.

The See also:

SOUTHERN

southern boundary is the See also:

COAST (from Lat. costa, a rib, side)

coast line of the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf from Gwetter to the mouth of the Shatt el Arab, a distance of about 87o m., comprised between 48° 40' E. and 61° 30' E. The islands situated See also:

close to the northern See also:

SHORE

shore of the Persian Gulf are Persian territory; they are, from east to west, See also:

HORMUZ (Hurmuz, Ormuz, Ormus)

Hormuz (Ormus), Larak, See also:

KISHM (also Arab. Jazirat ut-tawilah, Pers. Jazarih i daraz, i.e. Long Island)

Kishm, Hengam, Furur, See also:

KISH, or KAIS (the first form is Persian and the second Arabic)

Kish (Kais), Hindarabi, Shaikh-Shu'aib, Jebrin, Kharak, Kharaku (Khorgu). See also:

PHYSICAL

Physical See also:

GEOGRAPHY (Gr. yil, earth, and ypiickty, to write)

Geography.—See also:

MODERN

Modern Persia occupies the western and larger See also:

HALF

half of the See also:

GREAT

great Iranian See also:

plateau which, rising to a height of from 4000 to 8000 ft. between the valleys of the Indus and See also:

TIGRIS (Old Persian Tigrd, Diklat of the cuneiform inscriptions, Hiddekel of the Old Testament, Diglath of the Targum, Digla of the Arabs)

Tigris, covers more than a million square miles. Taking the Kuren Dagh or Kopet Dagh to See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form the northern scarp of this plateau east of the Caspian, we find a prolongation of it in the See also:

HIGHLANDS, THE

highlands north of the political frontier on the Aras, and even in the Caucasus itself. On the north-west Persia is See also:

UNITED

united by the highlands of See also:

ARMENIA (old Persian Armina, Armenian Hayasdan, or Hayq)

Armenia to the mountains of Asia See also:

Minor; on the north-west the See also:

PAROPAMISUS

Paropamisus and See also:

HINDU

Hindu Kush connect it with the Himalayas. The lines of boundary on the western and eastern faces are to be traced amid high ranges of mountains broken here and there by deserts and valleys. These ranges See also:

lie for the most See also:

PART

part north-east and south-east, as do those in the interior, with a marked exception between See also:

Teheran and Bujnurd, and in Baluchistan, where they lie rather north-east and south-west, or, in the latter See also:

case, sometimes east and west. The real lowlands are the tracts near the sea-coast belonging to the See also:

FOREST

forest-clad provinces of the Caspian in the north and the shores of the Persian Gulf below See also:

BASRA (written also BUSRA, BASSORA and BASSORA)

Basra and elsewhere. The Persians have no See also:

SPECIAL

special names for the great ranges. Mountains and valleys are known only by See also:

LOCAL

local names which frequently See also:

COVER (from the Fr. convert, from couvrir, to cover, Lat. cooperire)

cover but a few miles. Even the name See also:

ELBURZ, or ALBURZ (from O. Pers. Hara-bere-zaili, the " High Mountain ")

Elburz, which See also:

EUROPEAN

European geographers apply to the chains and ranges that extend for a length of over 500 in. from See also:

AZERBAIJAN (also spelt ADERBIJAN; the Azerbadegan of medieval writers, the Athro patakan and Atropatene of the ancients)

Azerbaijan in the west to See also:

KHORASAN, or KHORASSAN (i.e. " land of the sun ")

Khorasan in the east, stands with the Persians only for the 6o or 70 m. of mountains north and north-east of Teheran, including the See also:

CONE (Gr. Kwvos)

cone of Demavend. The great central range, which extends, almost unbroken, for nearly 800 m. from Azerbaijan in the north-west to Baluchistan in the south-east, may aptly be called the Central Range.

It has many peaks 9000 to to,000 ft. in height, and some of its summits rise to an See also:

ELEVATION

elevation of I1,000 ft. and near See also:

Kerman of nearly 13,000 ft. (Kuh-i-Jupar). The valleys and plains west of the Central Range, as for instance those of See also:

MAHALLAT

Mahallat, See also:

JOSHEKAN

Joshekan, See also:

ISFAHAN (older form Ispahan)

Isfahan, Sirjan, have an elevation of 5000 to 6500 ft.; those within the range, as Jasp, Ardahal, So, Pariz, are about moo ft. higher; and those east of it slope from an elevation of 5000 to 6000 ft. down to the depressions of the central plateau which, east of See also:

Kum, are not more than 2600 ft. and east of Kerman 1500 to 1700 ft. above the sea-level. Some of the ranges west of the Central Range, which form the highlands of See also:

KURDISTAN

Kurdistan, Luristan, See also:

BAKHTIARI

Bakhtiari and See also:

FARS (the name Farsistan is not used)

Fars, and are parallel to it, end near the Persian Gulf ; others follow the Central Range, and take a direction to the east at some point between Kerman and the sea on the western frontier of Baluchistan. Some of these western ranges rise to considerable elevations; those forming the Turko-Persian frontier west of the See also:

lake of See also:

URMIA, LAKE OF (also spelt URUMIAH)

Urmia have peaks ii,000 ft. in height, while the Sahand, east of the lake and south of See also:

TABRIZ

Tabriz, has an elevation of 12,000 ft. Farther south, the Takht-i-Bilkis, in the Afshar district, rises to 11,200 ft., the Elvend (See also:

ancient>r 8 9 See also:

ORONTES

Orontes), near See also:

HAMADAN

Hamadan, to 11,600. The Shuturun Kuh, south of See also:

BURUJIRD

Burujird, is over 11,000 ft. in height, the Shahan Kuh, Kuh-i-Gerra, Zardeh Kuh and Kuh-i-Karan (by some writers called Kuh-i-Rang), all in the Bakhtiari country west of Isfahan, are 12,800 to 13,000 ft. in height; and the Kuh-i-Dina (by some writers wrongly called Kuh-i-Dinar) has an elevation of over 14,000 ft. Still farther south, towards Kerman, there are several peaks (Bid-See also:

KHAN (from the Turki, hence Persian and Arabic Khan)

Khan, Lalehzar, Shah-Kuh, Jamal Bariz, &c.) which rise to an elevation of 13,000 ft. or more, and the Kuh-i-Hazar, south of Kerman, is 14,700 ft. in height. Beginning near See also:

ARDEBIL, or ARDABIL

Ardebil in Azerbaijan, where the cone of Savelan rises to an elevation of 15,792 ft. (Russian trigonometrical survey), and ending in Khorasan, the great Elburz range presents on its southern, or inward, See also:

FACE (from Lat. fades, derived either from facere, to make, or from a root fa-, meaning " appear "; cf. Gr. cbatvstv)

face a more or less abrupt scarp rising above immense See also:

GRAVEL, or PEBBLE BEDS

gravel slopes, and reaches in some of its summits a height of nearly 13,000 ft.; and the See also:

PEAK, THE

peak of Demavend, north-west of Teheran; has a height of at least 18,000 ft. There are several important ranges in Khorasan, and one of them, the Binalud, west of See also:

MESHED (properly Mash-had, " the place of martyrdom ")

Meshed and north of See also:

Nishapur, has several peaks of 11,000 to 12,000 ft. in height. In south-eastern Persia the Kuhi-Basman, a dormant See also:

VOLCANO

volcano, 11,000 to 12,000 ft. in height, in the Basman district, and the Kuh-i-Taftan, i.e. the hot or burning See also:

mountain (also called Kuh-i-Nushadar from the " sal ammoniac," nushadar, found on its slopes), an active triple-peaked volcano in the Sarhad district and 12,681 ft. in height (See also:

CAPTAIN (derived from Lat. ca put, head, through the Low Lat. capitanus)

Captain Jennings), are notable features.

Taking the See also:

AREA

area of Persia at 628,000 sq. m. the drainage may thus be distributed: (1) into the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf, 135,000 sq. m.; (2) into the Caspian, See also:

LOO (formerly called " Lanterloo," Fr. lanturlu, the refrain of a popular 17th-century song)

loo,000; (3) into See also:

Rivers. the Seistan depression, 43,000; (4) into the Urmia Lake, 20,000; (5) into the interior of Persia, 330,000. The first district comprises most of the south-western provinces and the whole of the coast region as far east as Gwetter; the second relates to the tracts west, south and east of the southern part of the Caspian Sea. The tracts south of the Caspian are not more than 20 to 50 m. wide; those on the west widen out to a See also:

DEPTH

depth of 250 m., See also:

MEETING (from " to meet," to come together, assemble, 0. Eng. metals ; cf. Du. moeten, Swed. mota, Goth. gamotjan, &c., derivatives of the Teut. word for a meeting, seen in O. Eng. Wit, moot, an assembly of the people; cf. witanagemot)

meeting the See also:

WATERSHED

watershed of the Tigris on the one See also:

side and that of the See also:

EUPHRATES (Babylon. Purattu, Heb. Perath, Arab. Frdt or Furst, Old Pers. Ufratu, Gr. Eb4 parrls)

Euphrates and Lake See also:

Van on the other, and embracing between the two the See also:

basin of Lake Urmia. On the east the watershed of the Caspian gradually increases in breadth, the See also:

FOOT

foot of the scarp extending considerably to the north of the south-eastern See also:

ANGLE (from the Lat. angulus, a corner, a diminutive, of which the primitive form, angus, does not occur in Latin; cognate are the Lat. angere, to compress into a bend or to strangle, and the Gr. ayKOS, a bend; both connected with the Aryan root ank-, to

angle of that sea, three degrees east of which it turns to the south-east, parallel to the See also:

AXIS (Lat. for " axle ")

axis of the Kopet Dagh. The third drainage area comprises Persian Seistan with part of the See also:

HELMUND

Helmund (Hilmend) basin and a considerable See also:

TRACT (from Lat. tractare, to treat of a matter, through Provencal tractat and Ital. trattato)

tract adjoining it on the west. The See also:

FOURTH

fourth is a comparatively small area on the western frontier containing the basin of Lake Urmia, shut off from the See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest of the inland drainage, and the fifth area takes in a part of Baluchistan, most of Kerman, a part of Fars, all See also:

Yezd, Isfahan, See also:

KASHAN

Kashan, Kum, See also:

IRAK

Irak, See also:

KHAMSEH

Khamseh, See also:

KAZVIN

Kazvin, Teheran, See also:

Samnan, See also:

DAMGHAN

Damghan, See also:

SHAHRUD

Shahrud, Khorasan and the central See also:

DESERT

desert regions. Four rivers belonging essentially to Persia, in reference to the Caspian watershed, are the Seafid Rud or Kizil Uzain on the south-west, the Herhaz on the south and the Gurgan and See also:

ATREK

Atrek at the south-eastern corner of that inland sea. The Seafid Rud rises in Persian Kurdistan in about 35° 50' N. and 46° 45' E., a few miles from Senendij. It has a very tortuous course of nearly 500 m., for the distance from its source to the Caspian, 57 m. east of See also:

RESHT

Resht, is only 210 m. in a straight line. The Kizil Uzain takes up some important affluents and is called Seafid Rud from the point where it breaks through the Elburz to the sea, a distance of 70 m. It drains 25,000 to 30,000 sq. M. of the country.

The Herhaz, though not important in length of course or drainage, also, like the Seafid Rud, breaks through the Elburz range from the inner southern scarp to the north. It rises on the slopes of the Kasil Kuh, a peak 12,000 ft. in height within the Elburz, and about 25 m. north of Teheran, flows easterly through the See also:

Lar plateau, where it is known as the Lar River, and takes up several affluents; turns to the north-east at the foot of Demavend, leaving that mountain to the See also:

LEFT

left, and flows due north past See also:

AMOL

Amol to the Caspian. Its length is about 120 m. The Gurgan rises on the Armutlu plateau in Khorasan east of See also:

ASTARABAD

Astarabad, and enters the Caspian in 37° 4' N., north-west of Astarabad, after a course of about 200 m. The Atrek rises a few miles from See also:

KUCHAN

Kuchan and enters the Caspian at the See also:

Bay of See also:

HASSAN

Hassan Kuli in 37° 21' N., after a course of about 300 M. From the sea to the Russian frontier See also:

POST

post of Chat the river forms the frontier between Persia and the Russian Transcaspian region. The drainage of the rivers which have no outlet to the sea and form inland lakes and swamps (kavir) may be estimated at 350,000 sq. m., including the drainage of Lake Urmia, which is about 20,000 sq. m. Fourteen rivers flow into the lake: the Aji Chai, Safi Chai, Murdi Chai and Jaghatu from the east, the Tatau (Tatava) from the south, and nine smaller rivers from the west. During heavy rains and when the snows on the hills melt, thousands of streams flow from all directions into the innumerable depressions of inner Persia, or help to swell the perennial rivers which have no outlet to the sea. These latter are few in number, and some of them barely suffice for purposes of agricultural See also:

IRRIGATION (Lat. in, and rigare, to water or wet)

irrigation, and in summer dwindle down to small rills.

End of Article: PERSIA

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