redulity of the community. Men and women parted with their
money and jewellery, having been brought to believe that on
a certain night they would be able to fly on angels' wings
from the roofs of their houses to Jerusalem. The only thing
which made the women feel unhappy was the fear that their
little ones might not be able to keep pace with them in the
aerial flight. At daybreak the fraud was discovered, but the
impostors had meanwhile decamped with their treasure. The
chronicler adds that the year in which this occurred was
called The Year of Flight.

De Sacy, in his _Chrestomathie Arabe_, I, p. 363, gives a
similar story, the authorship of which he ascribes to
Schahristani.]

[Footnote 160: Asher, vol. II, p. 167, n. 304, gives
expression to a keen desire for further particulars as to
this tomb. Dr. J.E. Polak, formerly Physician to the late
Shah of Persia, gives the desired information, on p. 26, in
an interesting work on Persia. He writes as follows: "The
only national monument which the Jews in Persia possess is
the tomb of Esther at Hamadan, the ancient Ecbatana, whither
they have made pilgrimages from time immemorial. In the
centre of the Jewish quarter there is to be seen a low
building with a cupola, on the top of which a stork has
built its nest. The entrance is walled up for the greater
part; there only remains below a small aperture which can be
closed by a movable flat stone serving the purpose of a door
and affording some protection from attacks, which are not
uncommon. In the entrance hall, which has but a low ceiling,
are recorded the names of pilgrims; also the year when the
building was restored. Thence one gains access into a small
four-cornered chamber in which there are two high sarcophagi
made of oak, which are the monuments of Esther and Mordecai.
On both of them are inscribed in Hebrew the words of the
last chapter of the Book of Esther, as well as the names of
three Physicians at whose expense the tomb was repaired."
Dr. Polak states that in the Middle Ages the Jewish
population of Persia was very large, especially in the
southern provinces. In recent years it has greatly
diminished in consequence of dire persecution. He was
assured that not more than 2,000 Jewish families remained in
the coun