A literary history of Persia

SEMTTIC INFLUENCES 37Greek is far more widely studied in England than Hebrew, butfor the understanding of the motives and conduct of a ScottishCovenanter or English Puritan, not to mention Milton's verse,a knowledge of the Bible is at least as necessary as a familiaritywith the Classics ;and in Persia, where both literary andreligiousinfluences have generally been inlargemeasureSemitic, the same holds good to a much greater extent. If,as an adjuncttomy equipment for the study of Persian thoughtand literature, I were offeredmy choice between a thoroughknowledge of the Semitic and the Aryan languages, I should,from this point of view alone, unhesitatingly choose theformer. A good knowledge of the Aramaic languagesisessential for the study of Pahlawi, and a fruitful investigation ofthe post-Muhammadan literature and thoughtof Persia isimpossible without a wide acquaintance with Arabic books ;while in both these fields a knowledge of Sanskrit is practicallyof very little use, and even in the interpretation of theAvesta it must be employed with some reserve and due regardto the Pahlawi tradition.In concluding this introductory chapter it may be well torecapitulate the periods in Persian history of whichJwe have spoken.Recapitulation.I. The Indo-Iranian period.II. The early Irdnian period.III. The period of Assyrian influence (B.C. looo).1IV. The Medic period (B.C. 700).V. The Old Persian (Achaemenian) period (B.C. 550).VI. Interregnum, from the Invasion of Alexander to theSasanian Restoration (B.C. 330 A.D. 226).VII. The Sasanian period (A.D. 226-652).VIII. The Muhammadan period, extending from the fall ofthe Sasanian Dynasty to the present day.It is with the last of these periods that we are principally1Or even earlier. See p. 20, supra.