Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/653

SASSANIDJE. 585 SATANISM. but his general Baliiam Chubin, who had been deposed from his coniniand by Orniazd, revolted in o8S). At the same time the King became suspicious of his son, Khosru Parwez, who im- plored the aid of the Emperor Maurice. Or- iiiazd was dethroned and succeeded by Khosru (590-G2S). In -004, as the avenger of' ilaurice, who had been murdered by the Emperor Pliociis, he took the field against the Greeks, who made but a feeble resistance to him, despite the ell'orts of Heraclius (q.v. ). The Persians overran Ar- menia and in G14 penetrated Syria, and even con- quered Egypt, which they held until CIS. This was, however, the last conquest of the Sassanids. In 023 the tide turned and Heraclius inllicted defeat after defeat on Khosru, until in (127 the King was thrown into prison by one of liis younger sons. Kavadli Sheroe, and nuirJered the rear following. This son, who ascended the throne as Kobad II., after a reign of six nionths ^'as the victim of a pestilence which devastated the country. He was followed by his infant son, Ardasliir III. (629-630), who was murdered by Shahrvarez or Farrukhan, the Persian com- mander-in-chief, himself assassinated in less than two mouths. Rapid changes of rulers followed, and such was the anarchy in Persia at this time that between the death of Khosru 11. in 62S and the accession of Yezdegird III. in 632 there were twelve occupants of the throne. Yezdegird III. (632-651 ), a grandson of Khosru, was the last of the Sassanids. At the time of his accession the Arabs were just entering upon their great career of conquest. After subjugating Syria they turned toward Persia. The Persians resisted bravely, but their forces were overthrown by those of the Caliph Omar at Kadisiyah (now Kadder) about 635. In the following j'ear Ctesiphon fell, and a series of conquests gave the Arabs complete do- minion over Persia. In 641 or 642 the defeat of the Persians at Nehavend terminated the reign of Yezdegird, who as a fugitive dragged out a miserable existence until he was nuirdered by a peasant for his clothing in 651. The Sassanid rule was in general beneficial to Persia. The arts and sciences flourished, the government was just, and the ancient faith of Zoroaster, which had declined, was revived and restored almost to its pristine purity. Consult: Rawlinson, Tlie Sereiith Great Orien- tal Monarchy (London, 1876) ; Niildeke, Ge- schichte der Perser und Araber ziir Zcit der Ha- saniden aus der arabischen Chronik des Tabari iibersetst (Leyden, 1879) : Casartelli, Philosophy of the Mazdayasnian Reliflion Under the Sas- sanids (Bombay, 1889) ; .Justi, Iranisehes Xa- mciihiich (Marburg, 1895) : id., "Geschichte Irans von den altesten Zeiten bis zum Ausgang der Sasaniden," in Geiger and Kuhn, Griindriss der iranischen Philologie (Strassburg, 1900) ; Browne, Literary History of Persia (London, 1902). SASSARI, siis'sa-re. The capital of the Prov- ince of Sassari, in the northern part of the island of Sardinia, 10 miles from the Gulf of Asinara (Map: Italy, C 7). It has broad streets, spacious squares, and several fine modern buildings. The fifteenth-century cathedral has a richly sculp- tured facade. The university. fomded in 1634, contains a natural history collection and a large library. There are several churches and palaces. a new theatre, a Ivceuni. a gymnasium, a semi- nary, and a technical institute. Sassari carries on a bu.sy trade, chielly with Genoa, in grain, wine, fruits, olive oil, and skins. There are manufactures of lead, zinc, matches, and leather. Population (commune), in ISSl, 3(i.317; in 1901, 38,268. The port of Sassari is Porlo Torres, 10 miles to the northwest, with a population, in inOl, of 4433. SASSOFERRATO, sus's6-fer-ril't6, Giovanni Battist.v Salvi (1005-85). An Italian painter, so called from bis birtli]duce, the Castle of Sasso- ferrato. near I'rbino. He was .son and (lupil of. Tarquinio Salvi, and studied at Rome and Naples. He painted, besides his own portrait now in the UlTizi, only religious .subjects. The ".Ma- donna del Rosario" in the Church of Saint Sabina in Rome and a "Crucifixion" in Xortli Cray Church, Kent, are his best works. Others, also simple and devout, are the "Adoration of the Shepherds" and 'Moseplrs Vorksbo]i," both in the Naples Museum, a "Magdalen" in Hampton Court Palace, and at the Louvre an "A>sniri|i- tion," two Madonnas, and a "Sleeping Child Jesus." SASSULITCH, sas-soo'lich. Vera (1853—). A llussiau revolutionist. See Zasi'LIcii. SASTEAN, siis'te-(in, Shastika, or Siia.sta. One of the numerous small linguistic families of Indians who formerly lived in tlie California-Ore- gon region. They called themselves Kulikfkaniir. Their home was the region drained by the Kla- math River and its tributaries from the western base of the Cascade range to the point where the Klamath flows through the ridge of hills east of Happy Creek. They extended over the Siskyou range northward as far as Ashland, Ore. They are now reduced to a mere handful, the most of them on the Grande Ronde and Siletz Reserva- tions in Oregon. The men are smaller and weaker than the women, who are charged with about all the work of their industrial life. SATAN. See Devil. SATANISM. The cult of Satan and an important phase of occultism. From the char- acter of its w-orship it is necessarily secret, and precise details are difficult to acquire. The im- pression which generally prevails, however, that Satanism is a recent and spasmodic outburst of diabolical sacrilege, is certainly incorrect. The cult is an old one, and in its origins reaches far back into primitive religion, while it is a]i])a- rently a conglomerate of at least three entirely distinct components. Considering first the actual phenomena presented by Satanism, it may be said that the cult reaches its acme in the Black Mass, which stands to it in the same relation as stands the White (or Christian) Mass to the Catholic Church. The Black Mass is the direct opposite of the White Mass. The celebrant of the mass, who must have been a priest, is clad only in his sacrificial vestments, of which the chasulde may bear the figure of a goat, while the scarlet biretta is held by a woman dressed in scai'let who serves as deacon. LTpon the altar is an inverted cross. Incense is used during the mass, but is mingled with some foul-smelling substance. The Black Credo, which is a blasphemous antithesis of the Apostles' Creed, is then recited. The form of the sacrifice of the mass itself has changed since the seventeenth century. In the niedia-val period and as late as the famous Black Masses performed by Abbe Gnibourg on the per- sons of Mme. de Montespan and others, the altar