Persia from the Earliest Period to the Arab

152
HISTORY OF PERSIA.
the son of a certain Sassan, and that his revolt
against the Arsacidae in Persis dates from about
A.D. 2 2O.
Before, however, I proceed to give some account
of the principal Sassanian rulers, it is necessary to
make a few remarks on their connection and deal-
ings with the different populations with whom, during
the 400 years of their dominion, they came in contact
: bearing always in mind the fact, that the Persians
claimed to be pure Iranians of the great Indo-
European stock, though, doubtless, a good
mixed with the non- Aryans (or Turanians),
deal
who
dwelt around them. Unluckily we have but few
materials for the early part of their history. Native
or contemporary chronicles there are none ; and
the later writers of Armenia or Constantinople are
the records of enemies; the Armenians in those
days always so, the Greeks generally. Yet to the
latter we must trust entirely for the first hundred
years and more, though, with this advantage, that
some of them, like Ammianus and Procopius, took
part in the scenes they describe ; moreover, both of
these, as well as Theophylact Simocatta, are on the
whole, trustworthy.
On the other hand, though
Armenian literature in
any form did not commence till the fourth century
A.D., as the old Armenians (the present people are
Iranians who have forgotten their parentage) lived,
from Achaemenian times, nearer to Persia than any
that from even
other nation, it is reasonable to expect
their comparatively late writings, some names hitherto
misconceived may be explained. Thus, I have already