A literary history of Persia

REVIVAL OF PERSIAN CUSTOMS 259Another old Persian custom reintroducedvery earlyin the 'Abbdsid period was the observance of the Festivalof the New Year (Nawruz)* the first day ofRevival of Per-.sian festival of the Persian solar year, corresponding: with theNawruz.'vernal equinox and the entry of the sun intothe sign of Aries."In the time of Harunu'r-Rashi'd," says al-Birunf, 1 "the landholdersassembled again and called on Yahya the son of Khalid theson of Barmak, asking him to postpone the Nawruz by about twomonths.* Yahya intended so to do, but then his enemies began tospeak of the subject, and said, He ' is partial to Zoroastrianism.'So he dropped the subject, and the matter remained as it wasbefore."Von Kremer, in those admirable works which we havealready so often had occasion to cite, treats fully of the Persianinfluences which were everywhere active, and which so largelymoulded not only the organisation of the Church and State,but, in 'Abbdsid times, even the fashions of dress, food, musicand the like."Persian influence," he3 says, "increased at the Court of theCaliphs, and reached its zenith under al-Hadi, Hariinu'r-Rashid, andal-Ma'mun. Most of the ministers of the last were Persians or ofPersian extraction. In Baghdad Persian fashionsScontinuedoptedto enjoy an increasing ascendancy. Theold Persian festivals of the Nawruz, Mihrgan, andRam were celebrated. Persian raiment was the official court dress,and the tall, black, conical Persian hats (qalanstiwa, pi. qaldnis). . .were already prescribed as official by the second 'Abbasid Caliph(in A.H. 153= A.D. 770). At the court the customs of the Sasaniankings were imitated, and garments decorated with golden inscriptionswere introduced, which it was the exclusive privilege of theruler to bestow. A coin of the Caliph al-Mutawakkil shows us thisPrince actually clothed in true Persian fashion."1Chronology of Ancient Nations (Sachau's trans.), p. 37-9The abolition of the old system of intercalation having caused it torecede, so that it fell at a time before the crops were ripe, thus causingmuch loss to the farmers, since the taxes had to be paid at this time.3 Streifziige, pp. 32-33.