hiefs, a combat in which the latter was
thrown from his horse and killed by the Parsi. Alp Khan, enraged by
this scene, threw himself in the contest. A furious carnage followed,
and Ardeshir was struck in his turn by a dart which threw him off his
horse. The Rana perished, and Alp Khan became master of Sanjan. The
Parsis had to seek a new residence. [31]

They had much to suffer from this Mahomedan conquest, and therefore
many fled to the mountains of Bahrout, eight miles east of Sanjan; the
cave where the sacred fire was deposited is still to be seen. According
to the Kissah-i-Sanjan, the fugitives remained there only twelve
years, after which they quitted this mountainous district and went
to Bansdah, [32] about fifty miles north-east of Naosari, where a
few Parsi families had already settled. Fourteen years later (1331)
they bore the sacred fire to Naosari, where their co-religionists were
numerous and influential. But the date 1419 being generally accepted
as the year in which the sacred fire was brought to Naosari, it may be
presumed that between the flight of the Parsis from Sanjan and the era
of their new independence, a whole century, and not twenty-six years,
must have elapsed.

From Naosari the fire was removed to Surat, on account of the
apprehensions of the inroads of the Pindaris, and was again removed to
Naosari three years later; thence, owing to certain disputes among the
priests, it was taken to Balsar. After being there for some time it was
transferred to Udwada on October 28, 1742; here it is to this day; and
here is to be seen the oldest fire-temple of the Zoroastrians in India,
and the one held in the greatest veneration (Parsee Prakash, p. 95).

In the midst of the calamities that followed the overthrow of the Rana
of Sanjan, the Parsis continued to apply themselves to agriculture. A
single incident deserves being related. One of their small colonies
had settled in Variav, not far from Surat, and was under the rule
of the Rajah of Rattampoor, a Rajput chief who attempted to impose
an extraordinary tribute on the Parsis. They refused, and defeated
the soldiers sent to enforce it. The Raja's soldiers then sought an
opportunity of avenging themselves, and seized the moment when the
Parsis were invited to a wedding. These, surprised in the midst
of their wives and children, were all ruthlessly massacred. The
anniversary of this cruel carnage is still observed at Surat.

The settlement of the Parsis