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and the splendor of her learning cast its rays over East
and West. Word of the widespread empire of those
who wore her crown reached even to the dwellers in
the arctic circle, and the fame of the awesome presence
of her King of Kings humbled the rulers of Greece and
Rome. The greatest of the world's philosophers marveled
at the wisdom of her government, and her political
system became the model for all the kings of the
four continents then known. She was distinguished
among all peoples for the scope of her dominion, she
was honored by all for her praiseworthy culture and
civilization. She was as the pivot of the world, she was
the source and center of sciences and arts, the wellspring
of great inventions and discoveries, the rich mine
of human virtues and perfections. The intellect, the
wisdom of the individual members of this excellent nation
dazzled the minds of other peoples, the brilliance
and perceptive genius that characterized all this noble
race aroused the envy of the whole world.
Aside from that which is a matter of record in Persian
histories, it is stated in the Old Testament--established
today, among all European peoples, as a sacred and
canonical Text--that in the time of Cyrus, called in
Iranian works Bahman son of Isfandíyár, the three
hundred and sixty divisions of the Persian Empire extended
from the inner confines of India and China to
the farthermost reaches of Yemen and Ethiopia. (7) The
7. 2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:2; Esther 1:1; 8:9; Isaiah 45:1, 14; 49:12.
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