Our first parents, according to the Zend-Avesta, dwelt in _Eriene Veedjo_, or _Iran Veji_, or Aria, Aturia, Asshuria, meaning the _fiery_ or _bright_ land, figuratively the blessed land, in a happy garden, the paradise, assigned to them by _Ormuzd_--contraction of _Ahura-Mazda_ (the divine Being or the Great Lord). From this they were driven by Agrômainyus, _Ahriman_, the murderer from the beginning, who changed the seasons, transforming the _seven_ beautiful summer months into _ten_ cold and dreary winter months, leaving only _two_ tolerably warm months. The division of the year into _twelve_ months is clearly proved by this mythic statement. Can anyone count the ages, and describe the means by which Persians, Chaldæans, Medes, Egyptians, and Indians arrived at a systematic arrangement of time, dividing the year into twelve months? After the reign of the Abads (fathers, _abbas_) _Azer-Abad_ ruled; then _Dshey-Afram, Kedor-la-Omer_ (Cadam, Adam) followed; he ruled 560 years, and attained the venerable age of one thousand years. We find here, as in all old records, the tendency to ascribe to man a longevity which he has long lost. Like shadows which are more gigantic in the rising and setting sun than in the broad mid-day, historical facts in the first dawn of consciousness are exaggerated and turned into fables, which again vanish in the bright light of scientific criticism. _Cadam_ was followed by _Siamek_, who was succeeded by _Tahamur_, who conquered the Devas, or evil spirits. He learned from them the art of writing and reading, constructed aqueducts and viaducts, and taught his people music and the use of iron. The Aryans on this side of the Himâlâyas had passed the savage state (the _palæolithic_ period of art), entered into the nomadic (the neolithic period), settled down and used bronze instruments, and then were taught, _no longer_ as with the Indians, Egyptians, and Greeks _by a divinity_, but by one of their rulers, to extract iron from the ore and to work it. With Tahamur we step into the iron or historical age.