Occasionally a whole village migrates to the mountains on the approach of the unwelcome guests, leaving houses and fields at their mercy.
There is probably no peasantry in the world so ground down and oppressed as the Persian.

The agricultural labourer never tries to ameliorate his condition, or save up money for his old age, for the simple reason that, on becoming known to the rulers of the land, it is at once taken away from him.

Though poor, however (so far as cash and valuables are concerned), the general condition of the labouring classes is not so bad as might be supposed.

In a country so vast (550,000 square miles) and so thinly populated (5,000,000 in all), a small and sufficient supply of food is easily raised, especially with such prolific soil at the command of the poorest.

At Shiraz, for instance, there are two harvests in the year.