Perseus

cases. The ruins which still remain show
that these buildings were the masterpieces
of Persian architecture. Persepolis was cap-
lured by Alexander the Great towards the
end of 331 B.C.

Perseus, an ancient constellation extending
from Cassiopeia to Taurus, and traversed by
the Milky Way.

Perseus. In ancient Greek legend, was a
son of Zeus and Danae, the daughter of
Acrisius, king of Argos, He was worshipped
as a hero in Greece.

Perseverance of Saints, the doctrine that
those who have been elected, justified, and
sanctified can never totally or finally fall
away from the state of grace follows neces-
sarily from the doctrine of election.

Pershing, John Joseph (1860- ), Am-
erican soldier, was born in Linn co., Mo. He
organized and directed the Bureau of Insu-
lar Affairs in 1899; was executive officer of
the military department of Mindanao and
Jolo, Philippines, in 1900; and commander
of the department and governor of Moro
province in 1909-1913, during which time he
disarmed the natives and established peace.
Pershing became a brigadier-general in 1906.
He served on the Mexican border in 1914-15,
and commanded the U. S. expedition into
Mexico in 1916-17, being promoted major-
general in 1916. Upon the entrance of the
United States into the Great War he became
commander-in-chief of the American forces.
He was promoted to the rank of general in
1917, and received the thanks of Congress in
1919. He received also the distinguished
Service Medal, the French Legion of Honor,
the British Order of the Bath, and many
other decorations. He was chief of staff from
1921 to 1924, when he was retired from ac-
tive service.

Persia (Iran, after Jan. i, 1935), a country
of Asia extending from the Persian Gulf and
Gulf of Oman to the Caspian Sea. The area
is about 628,000 sq. m. The elevated plateau
constituting the interior of Persia is traversed
by several ranges of mountains. On the n.
the chain of Elburz continues eastward from
the Armenian plateau, skirting the southern
shore of the Caspian Sea. Many of its peaks
reach over 12,000 ft., and the range culmi-
nates in the beautifully symmetrical volcan-
ic peak Demavcnd (18,600 ft.). Farther e.
is the main range of Elburz. The province of
Azerbaijan, in the n.w., is part of the Ar-
menian plateau, and is a land of mountains
and broad, fertile valleys. The rivers are
small, and many of them dry up in summer.

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Persia

Most important are the Send Rud in Azer-
baijan, and the Karum. The latter is the
only navigable river in Persia; it flows from
the Bakhtiari country into the Shat-et-Arab.
There is one large lake in Azerbaijan, the
Lake of Urmia, 84 m. long by from 20 to 30
broad. More than half the area of Persia
drains into inland lakes and swamps.

On the high plateaus the winters are in-
tensely cold, while the summers, though hot,
are agreeable, owing to the elevation. The
forested lowlands about the Caspian Sea are
moist; the southern section is both hot and
dry, and subject to fierce, torrid winds which
sweep over the desert wastes. The rainfall is
meagre, except in the mountain district of
the n.w., and in the provinces of Gilan and
Mazanderan, on the northern side of the
Elburz range. Between the coast lagoons of
the Caspian and the summits of the Elburz
Mountains intervene forests of oak, beech,
walnut, ash, yew, box, and juniper. Else-
where the trees grow only in scattered
clumps, and most of them are cultivated fruit
trees. The fauna include, among wild ani-
mals, the lion, tiger, leopard, bear, wolf, lynx,
.jackal, wild ass, porcupine, deer, mountain
goat, and gazelle; the chief domestic animals
are the horse, camel, sheep, mule, and ox.
Among the birds are the pelican, bustard,
pheasant, partridge, grouse, thrush, and bul-
bul.

The lack of cheap transportation, fuel, and
water have prevented successful operation of
the mines of Persia, and the development of
its great mineral wealth. Some mines of lead
and copper have been worked in a desultory
manner for centuries. Coal, copper, lead, tin,
nickel and iron are also mined. Khorassan
contains the famous turquoise mines of Nish-
apur, copper, coal, lead, and iron. The chief
mineral product is petroleum, obtained in the
valley of the Karun, and found in a broad
belt extending from Kurdistan to the Persian
Gulf. The chief occupation of Persia is stock
breeding and grazing (sheep and goats).
Wheat and barley are grown almost every-
where, also rice and fruit in great variety.
In the absence of sufficient rainfall, irriga-
tion is necessary to successful agriculture.
Where this is supplied the naturally rich soil
is very productive. Fisheries, mainly in the
Caspian Sea, are important and profitable.

Tabriz, Hamadan, Sultanabad, and Kir-
man are the chief manufacturing centers.
Beautiful woolen carpets and silk tapestries
are made. Shawls are fashioned, especially
at Kashmir and Kirman, from the soft un-