'Military report on Tehran and adjacent Provinces of North-West Persia (including the Caspian Littoral)' [‎105v] (215/610)

176
Armenians.
ShFah Muham
madanism.
General.
On the whole the Mazandaranls, especially the upper classes
are more boorish, ignorant and unprogressive than the Gilakis
who have been less isolated and brought more into contact
with foreigners owing to the development of Enzali and of the
Russian road from Gilan to Tehran.
They live- in a land of plenty under easy conditions, and
the hard work, such as digging and cleaning of irrigation canals
and reservoirs, is done by oilmen who go down to the plains
in winter. These are of better physique and easily distinguish
able from 1 2 plain dwellers who do not migrate to the “ yailaq ”
in summer, but are considered lazy by comparison with inhabi
tants of the Plateau. Much of the work in rice and cotton
cultivation is done by women and polygamy consequently
prevails.
Their houses are fairly clean and more roomy than the
confined mud huts of the plateau and in many villages, espe
cially in the lowlands, each house is detached and stands in its
own vegetable garden.
Armenians are mostly clerks, traders, winesellers, etc. They
are better business men than the Persians and many of them
are wealthy so that their influence is disproportionate to their
numbers. They are niggardly and unpolished and lack the
Persian charm of manner.
The prominent work of Yeprim and other Armenians during
the Persian revolution won the good will of the Persians,
and the relations between Armenians and Persians had become
friendly before 1914.
During the war the Armenians naturally inclined to the
Russians whereas the Persians, owing to their hatred of the
Russians, forgot their old enmity with the Turks and sided with
them, so that tension and suspicion were consequently engend
ered between Armenians and Persians.
The Persians share the Turkish dislike for Armenians on
religious grounds and are jealous of their progress due to hard
work.
D.—Religion.
The religion of Persia was 3 Zoroastrian and changed to
Muhammadanism at the point of the sword by the Arab in
vasion in the seventh century. Shah Isma’il, the founder
of the Safavi dynasty in 1499, made the Shi’ah branch of Muham-
1 ‘ Ktibl ’ or ‘ yailaqi.’
a Qishlaqi.
3 At the present time a few Zoroastrians remain, mostly in Yazd.
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