Encyclopaedia Iranica Online

“The Family of the Cloak,” i.e., the Prophet Moḥammad, his daughter Fāṭema, his cousin and son-in-law ʿAlī, and his grandsons Ḥasan and Ḥosayn. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 7, pp. 742 ĀL-E ʿABĀ, “The Family of the Cloak,” i.e., the Prophet Moḥammad, his daughter Fāṭema, his cousin and son-in-law ʿAlī, and his grandsons Ḥasan and Ḥosayn. The designation is generally held to derive from an incident recorded in both Sunni and Shiʿite books of Tradition: Wearing a striped cloak of black camelhair, th…

a minor Iranian Shiʿite dynasty of Māzandarān in the Caspian coastlands that flourished in the late medieval, pre-Safavid period. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 7, pp. 742-743 ĀL-E AFRĀSĪĀB, a minor Iranian Shiʿite dynasty of Māzandarān in the Caspian coastlands that flourished in the late mediaeval, pre-Safavid period; it is also called (e.g. by Rabino) the Kīā dynasty of Čalāb or Čalāv (after the district [ bolūk] of that name in Āmol, Māzandarān). In the tortuous politics and military maneuverings of the petty princes of the Cas…

See ILAK-KHANANIDS.

(Afrighid dynasty), the name given by the Khwarazmian scholar Abū Rayḥān Bīrūnī to the dynasty of rulers in his country, with the ancient title of Ḵᵛārazmšāh. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 7, pp. 743-745 ĀL-E AFRĪḠ (Afrighid dynasty), the name given by the Khwarazmian scholar Abū Rayḥān Bīrūnī to the dynasty of rulers in his country, with the ancient title of Ḵᵛārazmšāh. According to him, the Afrighids ruled from 305 A.D. (year 616 of the Seleucid era), through the Arab conquests under Qotayba b. Mos…

(Ar. and Pers. ʿoqāb; also obsolete Pers. dāl < Mid. Pers. dālman; also obsolete Pers. and Mid. Pers. āloh), large, diurnal, raptorial birds of the family Accipitridae in several genera (45-90 cm long, wingspan 110-250 cm). A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 6, pp. 623-626 EAGLES (Ar. and Pers. ʿoqāb; also obsolete Pers. dāl < Mid. Pers. dālman; also obsolete Pers. and Mid. Pers. āloh), large, diurnal, raptorial birds of the family Accipitridae in several genera (45-90 cm long, wingspan 110-250 cm). i. SPECIES IN PERSIA AND AFGHANISTAN Ten species of eag…

(1923-69), well-known writer and social critic. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 7, pp. 745-747 ĀL-E AḤMAD, JALĀL (1302-48 Š./1923-69), well-known writer and social critic. In a brief autobiographical sketch completed in 1346 Š./1967 but published only after his death ( Maṯalan sarḥ-e aḥwālāt) Āl-e Aḥmad describes his conservatively religious and moderately well-to-do family; his father’s strong religious principles led him to close his court of record ( maḥżar) rather than submit to government supervision. He wanted his son to follow…

See ʿALIDS.

See ELEMENTS i.

in Persia and Afghanistan. Both countries lie on the great alpine belt that extends from the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean through the Indonesian archipelago and forms the world’s longest collision boundary, between the Eurasian plate in the north and several former Gondwanan blocks in the south, including the so-called “Iranian plates” and “Afghan plates.” A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 6, pp. 626-640 EARTHQUAKES. Persia and Afghanistan lie on the great alpine belt that extends from the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean through the…

Persian relations with the lands of the East African coast, particularly Somalia, Kenya, and Tanzania. From early times monsoon winds have permitted rapid maritime travel between East Africa and Western Asia. Although large-scale Persian settlement in East Africa is unlikely Persian cultural and religious influences nonetheless were felt. A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 6, pp. 640-644 EAST AFRICA: Persian relations with the lands of the East African coast, particularly Somalia, Kenya, and Tanzania. i. ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND CULTURAL RE…

an English language quarterly published since 1950 by IsMEO (Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente [Italian Institute for Middle and Far East]) and now by the IsIAO (Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente [Italian Institute for Africa and the Orient]). an English language quarterly published since 1950 by IsMEO (Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente [Italian Institute for Middle and Far East]) and now by the IsIAO (Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente [Italian Institute for Africa and the Orient]). To date (2003) 52 volumes have been published. East an…

term used to refer to a group of Iranian languages most of which are or were spoken in lands to the east of the present state of Persia. A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 6, pp. 649-652 EASTERN IRANIAN LANGUAGES, term used to refer to a group of Iranian languages most of which are or were spoken in lands to the east of the present state of Persia. In terms of both historical and typological linguistics, the distinction between Western and Eastern Iranian is generally regarded as the most fundamental divis…

a trading company incorporated on 31 December 1600 for fifteen years with the primary purpose of exporting the staple production of English woolen cloths and importing the products of the East Indies. A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 6, pp. 644-647 EAST INDIA COMPANY (THE BRITISH), a trading company incorporated on 31 December 1600 for fifteen years with the primary purpose of exporting the staple production of English woolen cloths and importing the products of the East Indies. i. THE SAFAVID PERIOD The East India Company initially had 125 share…

See DUTCH-PERSIAN RELATIONS.

a company established in 1664 to conduct all French commercial operations with the Orient. A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 6, pp. 647-649 EAST INDIA COMPANY (THE FRENCH), a company established in 1664 to conduct all French commercial operations with the Orient. Colbert, minister of Louis XIV, had been aware of the great profits earned by the Dutch and English merchants in importing and selling Asian goods to the French (Kaepplin, p. 3). He wanted to deprive foreigners of such a profitable …

(1814–1883), orientalist and diplomat, best known for his translations from Persian and Indian languages. EASTWICK, EDWARD BACKHOUSE (b. Warfield, Berkshire, 13 March 1814; d. Ventnor, Isle of Wight, 16 July 1883), Orientalist and diplomat, best known for his translations from Persian and Indian languages. Eastwick was born to a family with a long history of service in the British East India Company. He was educated at Charterhouse School and at Balliol and Merton Colleges in Oxford. After graduating, at the age of twenty-two, he joined t…

See BĀBĀN.

(1906-1993), one of the outstanding modern masters of Persian music. He played a leading role in popularizing the setār; the appeal of his performance resulted partly from the development of a new style involving slight technical and acoustical modifications to the instrument. A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 6, pp. 652-653 ʿEBĀDĪ, AḤMAD (b. Tehran, 1305/1906, d. 1371 Š./1993; Plate LVI), one of the outstanding modern masters of Persian music. He was a grandson of ʿAlī-Akbar Farāhānī (d. ca. 1275/1858) and a son of …

Download this sound. title Ebādī Aḥmad genre/topic Dastgāh-e Mahur language   performer Ebādī Aḥmad instrument Setār composer   author/poet   first line of poem   recorded by   place of recording   date of recording   duration 4:17 source The Improvisations of Ostād Ahmad Ebādi, 2. Mahoor Institute of Culture and Art, 2000 (M.CD-58, disc 2), track 2.Used with permission of the publisher note   EIr entries Ebādī Aḥmad

or EBĀḤATĪYA; a polemical term denoting either antinomianism or groups and individuals accused thereof. A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 6, pp. 653-654 EBĀḤĪYA (or EBĀḤATĪYA), a polemical term denoting either antinomianism or groups and individuals accused thereof. It occurs generally in the context of condemning pseudo-Sufis, although it is sometimes used in connection with a variety of other religious deviants. The word is derived from ebāḥat, which in the terminology of Islamic jurisprudence means the permissibility which is in…

(BAVANDIDS), a dynasty ruling Ṭabarestān (Māzandarān) from at least the 2nd/8th century until 750/1349. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 7, pp. 747-753 ĀL-E BĀVAND (BAVANDIDS), a dynasty ruling Ṭabarestān (Māzandarān) from at least the 2nd/8th century until 750/1349. It claimed descent from Bāv, allegedly a grandson of Kāʾūs, son of the Sasanian king Kavāḏ. J. Markwart ( Ērānšahr, p. 128) suggested that the family may rather be descended from a Zoroastrian priest of Ray at the turn of the 6th century. According to the legend…

(b. St. Petersburg, 1899, d. Orel, 1937), scholar of early Persian poets writing in Arabic. A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 6, pp. 655 EBERMAN, VASILIĬ ALEKSANDROVICH (b. St. Petersburg, 1899, d. Orel, 1937), scholar of early Persian poets writing in Arabic. Born in the family of a surgeon of German origin, Eberman studied Arabic and Persian in 1917-21 at the Department of Oriental Languages at the University of Petrograd. As a researcher he was active only from 1919 to 1930, working at the…

the Akkadian name used in Assyrian and Babylonian records of the 8th-5th centuries B.C.E. for the lands to the west of the Euphrates—i.e., Phoenicia, Syria, and Palestine. A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 6, pp. 654-655 EBER-NĀRI (Aram. Abar Naharā, “Beyond/Across the river”), the Akkadian name used in Assyrian and Babylonian records of the 8th-5th centuries B.C.E. for the lands to the west of the Euphrates—i.e., Phoenicia, Syria, and Palestine (Parpola, p. 116; Zadok, p. 129; see ASSYRIA ii). These r…

See EBER-NĀRI.

lit. “communication”; title of five Persian language newspapers. A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 6, pp. 655-656 EBLĀḠ (lit. “communication”), title of five Persian language newspapers. 1. A Constitutionalist weekly published in Tabrīz by the printer Maḥmūd Eskandānī, who also published Naẓmīya (1326/1908). The first issue was published on Thursday, ʿĪd-e Ḡadīr, 18 Ḏu’l-Ḥejja, probably in 1325, corresponding to 22 January 1908 (Rabino, no. 1, gives 1326/1909, and Browne, Press and Poetry, no. 22, gives 1324/1907; neither corresponds to…

a Koranic designation for the devil in Persian Sufi Tradition, derived ultimately from the Greek diabolos. A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 6, pp. 656-661 EBLĪS in Persian Sufi Tradition. The word Eblīs, a Koranic designation for the devil, appears to derive ultimately from the Greek diabolos. Some authorities have nonetheless imaginatively connected it with Arabic ublisa (“he was rendered hopeless”), with reference to the accursedness that befell Eblīs as a result of his rebellion (Maybodī, I, p. 145). Of the eleven Kor…

See ṢĀḤEB B. ʿABBĀD.

(1854-1919), Bahai teacher and one of the “hands of the cause." A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 6, pp. 661-662 EBN ABHAR, MOḤAMMAD-TAQĪ (1270-1337/1854-1919), Bahai teacher and one of the “hands of the cause” (see AYĀDĪ-E AMR-ALLĀH). He was one of two Bahai sons of Mirza ʿAbd-al-Raḥīm Eṣfahānī (d. 1290/1872), the Shiʿite mojtahed, a crypto-Babi and Bahai, and Belqīs Ḵānom. His zealous Bahai teaching in Zanjān, Qazvīn, Tehran, Yazd, Kermān, and elsewhere led to his frequent imprisonment, for the first time in 1295/18…

b. Zayn-al-Dīn Abi’l-Ḥasan ʿAlī b. Ḥosām-al-Dīn Ebrāhīm (b. ca. 1433-34; d. after 4 July 1499), Shiʿite thinker. A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 6, pp. 662-663 EBN ABĪ JOMHŪR AḤSĀʾĪ, Moḥammad b. Zayn-al-Dīn Abi’l-Ḥasan ʿAlī b. Ḥosām-al-Dīn Ebrāhīm (b. ca. 837/1433-34; d. after 25 Ḏu ʾl-Qaʿda 904/4 July 1499), Shiʿite thinker. He lived and taught in his home town of Aḥsā in Baḥrayn, Najaf, and Mašhad during the last half of the 15th century. His best known work, the al-Mojlī, which is actually his commentary and super-commentary on a kalām treatise by h…

See ʿABD-AL-ḤAMĪD B. ABU’L ḤADĪD.

b. ʿAlī b. Aḥmad NAYŠĀBŪRĪ (Nīšāpūr, 11th century), medical author known in the century after his death, at least in Khorasan, as “the second Hippocrates," and reportedly a student of Avicenna. A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 6, pp. 663 EBN ABĪ ṢĀDEQ, ABU’L-QĀSEM ʿABD-al-RAḤMĀN b. ʿAlī b. Aḥmad NAYŠĀBŪRĪ (Nīšāpūr, 5th/11th century), medical author known in the century after his death, at least in Khorasan, as “the second Hippocrates” (Bayhaqī, p. 107), and reportedly a student of Avicenna (Ebn Abī Oṣaybeʿa…

(819-93), littérateur ( adīb) and historian of Baghdad, of a Khorasani family. A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 6, pp. 663-664 EBN ABĪ ṬĀHER ṬAYFŪR, ABU’L-FAŻL AḤMAD (204-80/819-93), littérateur ( adīb) and historian of Baghdad, of a Khorasani family. His extensive adab works include treatises on poets and singing, praised by Abu’l-Faraj Eṣfahānī in his Ketāb al-aḡānī, and the partially extant literary anthology Ketāb al-manṯūr wa’l-manẓūm (Cairo, 1326/1908), used by, among others, Abū Ḥayyān Tawḥīdī in his al-Baṣāʾer wa’l-ḏaḵāʾer (see the li…

See BANŪ AMĀJŪR.

See ʿABD-ALLĀH B. ʿĀMER.

cognomen of two famous viziers of the 4th/10th century: Abu’l-Fażl and his son Abu’l-Fatḥ. A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 6, pp. 664 EBN AL-ʿAMĪD, cognomen of two famous viziers of the 4th/10th century: Abu’l-Fażl and his son Abu’l-Fatḥ. The father of the first was called Ḥoseyn. Tawḥīdī claims that this Ḥoseyn was of humble origin, a naḵḵāl (wheat-sifter) in the grain market of Qom ( Aḵlāq al-wazīrayn, p. 82). This, however, is probably not true. After occupying major administrative posts, Ḥosayn was appointed chief of the chancery ( dīwān al-rasāʾel)…

(b. 28 July 1165; d. 10 November 1240), the most influential Sufi author of later Islamic history, known to his supporters as al-Šayḵ al-akbar, “the Greatest Master.” A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 6, pp. 664-670 EBN AL- ʿARABĪ, MOḤYĪ-al- DĪN Abū ʿAbd-Allāh Moḥammad Ṭāʾī Ḥātemī (b. 17 Ramażān 560/28 July 1165; d. 22 Rabīʿ II 638/10 November 1240), the most influential Sufi author of later Islamic history, known to his supporters as al-Šayḵ al-akbar, “the Greatest Master.” Although the form “Ebn al-ʿArabī,” with the definite article, is …

(1389-Cairo, 1450), b. Moḥammad … Ḥanafī ʿAjamī, literary scholar and biographer of Tamerlane (Tīmūr). A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 6, pp. 670 EBN ʿARABŠĀH, ŠEHĀB-AL- DĪN ABU’L- ʿABBĀS AḤMAD b. Moḥammad … Ḥanafī ʿAjamī (b. Damascus, 791/1389, d. Cairo, 854/1450), literary scholar and biographer of Tamerlane (Tīmūr). According to the autobiography quoted by Ebn Taḡrīberdī, when Tīmūr conquered Damascus in 803/1401, Ebn ʿArabšāh and his family were transported to Tīmūr’s capital, Samarkand. H…

(b. Mašhad 1850; d. Tehran, 1928), prominent Bahai missionary. A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 6, pp. 670-671 EBN AṢDAQ, MĪRZĀ ʿALĪ-MOḤAMMAD (b. Mašhad 1267/1850; d. Tehran, 1347/1928), prominent Bahai missionary. He was given the honorific designation Ebn(-e) Aṣdaq in certain Bahai scriptural writings. Toward the end of his life Bahāʾ-Allāh counted him a living martyr and referred to him as Šahīd ebn-e Šahīd (“martyr, son of a martyr”). He was a son of the Šayḵī, Bābī and Baha’i Mollā Ṣādeq Moqaddas-e Ḵorāsānī (d.1306/1889), …

the name usually given to Abu Noʿmān Ebrāhim b. Mālek al-Aštar b. al-Hāreṯ al-Naḵaʿi (i.e., of al-Naḵaʿ, a branch of the South Arabian Maḏḥej tribal group), Arab chief and Shiʿite military leader (d. at Maskin on the Tigris, in Jomādā I 72/September-October 691). EBN AŠTAR, the name usually given to Abu Noʿmān Ebrāhim b. Mālek al-Aštar b. al-Hāreṯ al-Naḵaʿi (i.e., of al-Naḵaʿ, a branch of the South Arabian Maḏḥej tribal group), Arab chief and Shiʿite military leader (d. at Maskin on the Tigris, in Jomādā I 72/September-October 691). His f…

b. Moḥammad Jazarī (b. Jazīrat Ebn ʿOmar [modern Cizre, in eastern Turkey] 13 May 1160; d. Mosul, June 1233), major Islamic historian and important source for the history of Persia and adjacent areas from the Samanids to the first Mongol invasion. A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 6, pp. 671-672 EBN AL- AṮĪR, ʿEZZ-AL- DĪN ABU’L- ḤASAN ʿALĪ b. Moḥammad Jazarī(b. Jazīrat Ebn ʿOmar [modern Cizre, in eastern Turkey] 4 Jomādā I 555/13 May 1160; d. Mosul, Šaʿbān 630/June 1233), major Islamic historian and important source for th…

See ʿAṬṬĀŠ.

b. Moḥammad Baṣrī, Muʿtazilite theologian (d. late 10th century), member of the so-called “school of Baṣra” and a partisan of the ideas of Abū Hāšem Jobbāʾī. A version of this article is available in print Volume VIII, Fascicle 1, pp. 1 EBN ʿAYYĀŠ, ABŪ ESḤĀQ EBRĀHĪM b. Moḥammad Baṣrī, Muʿtazilite theologian (d. late 10th century), member of the so-called “school of Baṣra” and a partisan of the ideas of Abū Hāšem Jobbāʾī. Although it has been said that in his youth he had met Abū Hāšem, his main teachers were two eminent disciples of the…

(d. Marv, 1116-17), Persian writer and boon-companion ( nadīm), whose manual for courtiers preserves otherwise lost information on the later Ghaznavids. A version of this article is available in print Volume VIII, Fascicle 1, pp. 1-2 EBN BĀBĀ KĀŠĀNĪ (Qāšānī), ABU’L-ʿABBĀS (d. Marv, 510/1116-17), Persian writer and boon-companion ( nadīm), whose manual for courtiers preserves otherwise lost information on the later Ghaznavids. Presumably a native of Kāšān, Ebn Bābā worked in western Persia, Baghdad, and finally Khorasan, probably at the court o…

(Bābūya), family of Persian builders, luster potters, and tile makers, descended from the Shiʿite scholar Ebn Bābūya al-Ṣadūq (d. 991) and active in the 12th-14th centuries. A version of this article is available in print Volume VIII, Fascicle 1, pp. 2 EBN BĀBAWAYH (Bābūya), family of Persian builders, luster potters, and tile makers, descended from the Shiʿite scholar Ebn Bābūya al-Ṣadūq (d. 382/991) and active in the 6th to 8th/12th to 14th centuries in central Persia. Several members are known. 1. Emām Jamāl-al-Dīn Bābūya Rāfeʿī, a builder ( meʿmār), who in 572/1176-77 rebuilt t…

(Bābūya), SHAIKH ṢADŪQ ABŪ JAʿFAR MOḤAMMAD b. Abu’l-Ḥasan ʿAlī... Mūsā Qomī (b. Qom after 305, probably about 311/923; d. Ray, 381/991), author of one of the authoritative four books of Imami Shiʿite Hadith, Man lā yaḥżoroho’l-faqīh. A version of this article is available in print Volume VIII, Fascicle 1, pp. 2-4 EBN BĀBAWAYH (Bābūya), SHAIKH ṢADŪQ ABŪ JAʿFAR MOḤAMMAD b. Abu’l-Ḥasan ʿAlī … Mūsā Qomī (b. Qom after 305, probably about 311/923; d. Ray, 381/991), author of one of the authoritative four books of Imami Shiʿite Hadith, Man lā yaḥżoroho’l-faqīh. Life. Ebn Bābawayh was the mo…

See BĀBĀ KŪHĪ.

conventional name for an otherwise unknown author of Fārs-nāma, a local history and geography of the province of Fārs written in Persian during the Saljuq period. A version of this article is available in print Volume VIII, Fascicle 1, pp. 4 EBN AL-BALḴĪ, conventional name for an otherwise unknown author of Fārs-nāma, a local history and geography of the province of Fārs written in Persian during the Saljuq period, so-called because his ancestors came from Balḵ in eastern Khorasan ( Balḵī-nežād, p. 3; the form “Ebn al-Balḵī” is used in Kašf al-ẓonūn, ed. Flügel, IV, p. 344, no. 8681).…

called Naṣir-al-Dawla and Nāṣeḥ "Counselor,” vizier of the Buyids in Iraq, b. 314/926, d. 367/978. EBN BAQIYA,MOḤAMMAD b. MOḤAMMAD b. BAQIYA, ABU ṬĀHER, called Naṣir-al-Dawla and Nāṣeḥ "Counselor,” vizier of the Buyids in Iraq, b. 314/926, d. 367/978. He was born at ʿAwāna to the north of Baghdad of peasant stock; later in his career, detractors would accuse him of promoting base men to high positions. He is first heard of farming the tolls over the Tigris crossings at Takrit, and when the Buyid Moʿezz-al-Dawla Aḥmad b. Buya seized …

(1304-1368/9), the most famous Muslim traveler. A version of this article is available in print Volume VIII, Fascicle 1, pp. 4-6 EBN BAṬṬŪṬA, ŠAMS-AL-DĪN ABŪ ʿABD-ALLĀH MOḤAMMAD (b. Tangier, 17 Rajab 703 /25 February 1304; d. Morocco, 770/1368-9), the most famous Muslim traveler. A Berber from Tangier, he claims to have traveled extensively in Africa, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, and China. His Toḥfat al-noẓẓār fī ḡarāʾeb al-amṣār wa ʿajāʾeb al-asfār, known as the Reḥla (Journey), professes to be a chronological narrative of his journeys from his departure…

b. Aḥmad (?-1248), Andalusian botanist and pharmacologist. A version of this article is available in print Volume VIII, Fascicle 1, pp. 6-8 EBN AL- BAYṬĀR, ŻĪĀʾ-AL- DĪN ABŪ MOḤAMMAD ʿABD-ALLĀH b.Aḥmad (not Aḥmad-al-Dīn as in EI ² III, p. 737), Andalusian botanist and pharmacologist. He was born in Malaga (Ar. Mālaqa; hence his nesba Mālaqī) in the second half of the 6th/12th century, and died in Damascus in 646/1248 (for the scanty biographical data available about him, see Leclerc, Histoire II, pp. 225-29; idem, in Traité I, pp. vi-ix; Brockelmann, GAL I, p. 492, S I, p. 896; Ben Mr…