er a king was once elected and firmly fixed upon the throne, his
power appears to have been nearly despotic. At any rate he could put to
death without trial whomsoever he chose; and adult members of the Royal
House, who provoked the reigning monarch's jealousy, were constantly so
treated. Probably it would have been more dangerous to arouse the fears
of the "Sophi" and "Magi." The latter especially were a powerful body,
consisting of an organized hierarchy, which had come down from ancient
times, and was feared and venerated by all classes of the people. Their
numbers at the close of the Empire, counting adult males only, are
reckoned at eighty thousand;' they possessed considerable tracts of
fertile land, and were the sole inhabitants of many large towns or
villages, which they were permitted to govern as they pleased. The
arbitrary power of the monarchs must, in practice, have been largely
checked by the privileges of this numerous priestly caste, of which it
would seem that in later times they became jealous, thereby preparing
the way for their own downfall.

The dominion of the Parthians over the conquered provinces was
maintained by reverting to the system which had prevailed generally
through the East before the accession of the Persians to power, and
establishing in the various countries either viceroys, holding office
for life, or sometimes dependent dynasties of kings. In either case, the
rulers, so long as they paid tribute regularly to the Parthian monarchs
and aided them in their wars, were allowed to govern the people beneath
their sway at their pleasure. Among monarchs, in the higher sense of
the term, may be enumerated the kings of Persia, Elymaiis, Adiabene,
Osrhoene, and of Armenia and Media Atropatene, when they formed, as
they sometimes did, portions of the Parthian Empire. The viceroys,
who governed the other provinces, bore the title of Vitaxae, and were
fourteen or fifteen in number. The remark has been made by the historian
Gibbon that the system thus established "exhibited under other names a
lively image of the feudal system which has since prevailed in Europe."
The comparison is of some value, but, like most historical parallels, it
is inexact, the points of difference between the Parthian and the feudal
system being probably more numerous than those of resemblance, but the
points of resemblance being very main points, not fewer in number, and
striking.

It was with special reference to the sy