Note 5 — HOME STUDIES IN CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS.

“Fire Worshipers.” A Persian sect which worships fire as an emanation of the divine being. “Fire worshipers” is the English name for the Guēˈbers (also called Ghēˈber or Giaours—jours). They call themselves Beh Din, “those of excellent belief.” The Arabs completed the conquest of Persia in the seventh century, and the great mass of the nation adopted the faith of the conquerors. Those who refused to do so were subjected to persecution. Some of them took refuge in the wilderness of Khorasan, and others in Kohistan. The latter in the ninth century emigrated to India and settled in the neighborhood of Surat. Their descendants still inhabit the same region, and are called Parsees. The descendants of those who remained in Persia have gradually decreased in numbers and sunk into ignorance and poverty, though still preserving a reputation for honesty, chastity, industry, and obedience to law superior to that of the other Persians. They are estimated to number about 7,000.