been entirely abandoned [1]. Gold ornaments and pieces of gold leaf,
gold fillets, &c., are not unfrequently found with the bodies,
besides armlets, toe and finger rings, &c., of silver and bronze, the
finger-rings usually of ordinary Roman types; pottery, lamps, and
glass vessels. These coffins are often in brick vaults, usually
placed haphazard in the ground, as in earlier times. Bricks small,
hard, and yellow.

[1] The western custom of cremation was never adopted, in spite of
the Hellenization of culture. It offended both Babylonian and Iranian
sentiment, although the Parthians were never very orthodox followers
of Ahuramazda, and venerated (at least platonically) the most popular
deities of the Greek pantheon.


2. Sassanian Period; c. 220-650 A.D.

Characteristics. Reaction towards Oriental motives in art: a typical
_antika_ of the period is the Sassanian seal of cornelian,
chalcedony, or haematite, in shape sometimes a ring, more often a
flat sphere with one-third cut off to form a seal-base, perforated
for stringing (see XIV, Fig. 8), and inscribed in Pehlevi (see XV,
Fig. 20) a script that to the unitiated looks very like Cufie Arabic:
the language is Old-Persian, which was spoken by the court officials
at Ctesiphon, the language of the people being Aramaic. Sculpture
barbarized, but with a picturesque character of its own (Nakhsh-i-
Rustam, Tak-i-Bostan), sometimes reminiscent of Indian work.
Architecture: Parthian-Roman traditions (Ctesiphon). Pottery usually
glazed blue (thicker glaze). Unglazed bowls with Hebrew and Mandaitic
magical inscriptions. Bronze no longer used except for coins. Objects