Caste and Race in India c10.21

c10.21

In the earliest period of the Iranian civilization, i.e. before 700 B.C., three classes of society are often mentioned, priests, warriors, and husbandmen, but the fourth class, formed by artisans, is only once mentioned, though there is frequent reference to the work carried on by members of this class, viz. goldsmith, blacksmith, mason, etc. The origin of these classes is attributed to Zarathushtra.¹ According to the Shāh Nāmah, however, the four classes were made by Yima.² In the Sasanian period, A.D. 226-651, we get more frequent references to these classes, and their relative position is also more well-defined. The priests are likened to the head of man, the warriors to his hands, the husbandmen to his stomach, and the artisans to his feet. Further, we are told that the members of the last class engaged also in trade and commerce. The four classes were credited with different virtues, good nature being that of the premier class, resourcefulness and manliness of the second, strenuous tillage of the third, and diligence and skill of the fourth. It is further observed that "the work of the priest is of the highest merit, and the lowest in the scale of usefulness is the work of the fourth class, more particularly their work of trade and commerce."³