total destruction of Iranian culture by the Arabs. In its various
departments of history, geography and general science Arabic works
incorporate extensive material for a history of Iranian civilization,
while Arabic poetry abounds in references to Zoroastrian Iran. The
former is illustrated by Professor Inostranzev's pioneer Russian essay
of which the main body of this book is a translation. The Appendices are
intended to be supplementary and to be at once a continuation and a
possible key--continuation of the researches of the Russian scholar and
key to the contemned store-house of Arabic letters.

Professor Inostranzev is in little need of introduction to English
scholars. He has already been made known in India by the indefatigable
Shams-ul-Ulma Dr. Jivanji Modi, Ph.D., C.I.E., who got translated, and
commented on, his Russian paper on the curious _Astodans_ or receptacles
for human bones discovered in the Persian Gulf region. He shares with
Professor Browne of Cambridge and the great M. Blochet a unique
scholarly position: he combines an intimate knowledge of Avesta
civilization with a familiarity with classical Arabic. It is not
wilfully to ignore the claims of Goldziher, Brockelmann or Sachau or
the Dutch savants de Goeje and Van Vloten. Deeply as they investigated
Arabic writings, it was M. Inostranzev who first revealed to us the
worth of Arabic: he unearthed chapters embedded in Arabic books which
are paraphrase or translation of Pahlavi originals. He had but one
predecessor and that was a countryman of his, Baron Rosen.

* * * * *

In preparing the Appendices, which are there to testify to the value of
Arabic literature especially the annals and the branch of it called
Adab, I have availed myself of the courtesy of various institutions and