valiant warrior conquered the whole nation
and was crowned "King of Kings" (in Persian, Shah in Shah) with
Ardasher begin the famous dynasty of the Sassanidae who brought Persia
to an unprecedented eminence of power and prosperity. Their last king
succumbed to the Arabs in 636 A.D. and the latter ruled till 750 A.D.
The tribe of the Abbossides went to the throne at this time but were
soon in turn overthrown. Persia was then divided into different
provinces until in 1253 it was conquered by the Mongols under
Genghis-Khan and his grandson Khula-kun-Khan. The former was a
Christian. During his reign Moryaw-Alaha was the Nestorian patriarch
and under him the church was very successful. The Mongol dynasty lasted
until 1335.

A new dynasty arose in western Persia in 1500. The first prince of this
line was Ismael, the descendant of an ancient family of devotees and
saints. He was held in the highest esteem by his followers, who revered
him not only on account of his own valor but for the high standing of
his family. Having become the leader of a number of tribes, he
overthrew the power of the Turkoman and made Azerbijon their Capital.
He then rapidly subdued western Persia and in 1511 took Kurason and
Balkh from the Uzbeks. In the year 1514 he encountered a far more
formidable enemy in the mighty Salim, sultan of Turkey, whose zeal for
conquest was fanned by religious hatred of the Shiites, who were
followers of Ismael, and who in turn were fiercely inflamed against a
sect called Sunites. In the ensuing conflict Ismael was defeated but
Salim did not gain greatly by his victory. The son of Ismael, Shah
Tah-masip who reigned from 1523-1576 subdued all the Uzbeks of Khorason
and frequently defeated the Turks without suffering the loss of a
single battle. He takes rank as a prudent and spirited ruler.

Shah Abbos I, the great, who was one of the most glorious of Persia's
modern kings ascended the throne in 1585 and ruled until 1628. He
restored internal tranquillity and repelled the invasions of the Uzbeks
and Turks. In the year 1605 he gave the Turks such a terrific drubbing
that they made no more trouble during his long reign. He also restored
to his kingdom Kurdiston-Mosul and Diarbekir which had long been
separated from Persia. Abbos' government was strict, but just and
equitable. Roads, bridges, caravansaries, and other conveniences for
trade were constructed at great cost, and the improvement and
ornamentation of the towns