'Persia and the Persian Question by the Hon. George Nathaniel Curzon, M.P.' [‎580] (647/714)

580
PERSIA
with European troops ? Under these circumstances sauve qui pent
was apt to be the general order, and a Persian infantry soldier is
said to have naively remarked to his English commander, ' If there
were no dying in the case, how gloriously the Persians would
fight!" But it was in its effect upon the military spirit and re
sources of the country as a whole, that the disastrous consequences
of the change were most seriously felt. Prior to the reign of
Fath Ali Shah, the military strength of Persia had consisted in its
inexhaustible supplies of light horsemen, furnished by the tribal
chieftains, who, on the feudal basis of a military contribution, pre
served a nominal independence. Each of these great khans or
Ilkhanis lived in state and in comparative isolation from the central
authority, among his own clansmen, keeping large studs of the
finest breeds of Persian, Turkoman, and Arabian horses, and en
couraging the spirit of horsemanship and patriotism among his
followers. This system was absolutely broken down by the policy
or the fears of Fath Ali Shah, who set himself to disintegrate the
authority of these feudal barons, and shearing the locks of the
Persian Samson, found, when it was too late, that he had sacrificed
his strength. It is said that when General Yermoloff, the Russian
Commander-in-chief in Georgia, heard that Abbas Mirza had begun
to form a regular army, he exclaimed, ' God be praised ! I shall
be able to get at them now, which I never could do before.' Not
less emphatic was Malcolm, who saw clearly that in a countrv as
backward as Persia, and possessing governing institutions and a
national character so foreign to the civilised idea, it was to an irre
gular army alone that the safety of the kingdom must be confided ;
Anaimy cannot be maintained in a state of discipline and efficiency
for any length of time unless its pay be regular and its equipments
complete ; and this can never be the case except in a state where
the succession to the throne is settled, where the great majority of
the population are of peaceable habits, and where establishments
are permanent and the laws respected and administered upon principles
well understood, and not liable to be altered at the will of the sovereign
and of his delegates. That a regular army, by the influence of its
example and habits of order, may be instrumental in promoting
civilisation, there can be no doubt; but this change must coincide with
many other reforms, or every effort to render it effectual to the great
end of national defence will prove abortive, and terminate in disap
pointment. 1
1 History of Persia, vol. ii. cap. xxi.//w.
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