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That the "Avesta" was a fabrication of modern times was shown, he argued, by the number of Arabic words he fancied he found both in the Zend and Pahlavi dialects, as no Arabic element was introduced into the Persian idioms earlier than the seventh century; also by the harsh texture of the Zend, contrasted with the rare euphony of the Persian; and, lastly, by the radical difference between the Zend and Persian, both in words and grammar.
I am unable to aver from whom has originated this other recension of the story of the Sasanides. We know indeed the names of a number of persons who redacted the History of Persia, originally in Pahlavi, for Arab readers.
Tychsen, in an appendix to his Commentaries, pointed to the importance of the new discovery: "This," he writes, "is a proof that the Pahlavi was used during the reign of the Sassanides, for it was from them that these inscriptions emanated, as it was by them nay, by the first of them, Ardeshîr Bâbagân that the doctrine of Zoroaster was revived.
For the second, West Pahlavi literature G.I. Ph. For the third, in Pahlavi verse West 113. For Musalman times see Schefer Chrestomathy 3-6 and Salemann and Zukovski, Persian Grammar page 41-49. Also compare Melanges Asiatiques IX, 215. In Arabic Anthologies especially of the character of what is known as Furstenspiegel the maxims of this wise Wazir are very frequently quoted.
These coins struck by the Arabs after the model of the Pahlavi mintage were first deciphered by Olshausen. Ibn Khaldun is compelled to admit that "the Arabs are of all the people the least capable to govern a country." Vol. II, p. 547 seq.
Finally, just as in historical and especially in narrative literature, Persian tradition survived to the Musalman times so also it continued to live in the writings of the ethico-didactical category. The importance of the Pahlavi translation of the book of Kalileh and Dimneh for the migration of this collection of tales to the West is well-known.
Finally, all the remaining books relate to that class of anecdotal and didactic literature which spread so wide among Arabic writers through Pahlavi and originating from Indian authors. That our assumption is highly probable is confirmed by the mention among these books of the book of the philosopher and his experiences with the slave girl Kaytar.
The significance of Pahlavi translations is not less evident with regard to the Hazar Afsan in connection with the Thousand and One Nights. Still Persian tradition in the field of ethico-didactic literature has been studied and appreciated much less than in the historical and story literature.
It is undoubtedly one of the testaments or counsels, the so-called Pand Nameh or Andarz, of a father to a son, or some one person to another, and the typical representatives of which in the Pahlavi literature appear to be the well-known book of testament of Adarbad to his son, the book of advice to his son by Khosro Anushirvan and the book of counsel to the latter by his Wazir, Buzurj Meher .
Since, barring the small book treating of Ardeshir's adventures, no original Pahlavi document in the domain of historical or romantic literature has descended to us and even the Arabic recensions made directly from the original general history in Pahlavi have perished, we are altogether left in uncertainty touching many most important points.
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