Encyclopaedia Iranica Online

a treatise written in 1894 by Bibi Ḵānom Estarābādi/Astarābādi as a counterargument to the anonymous Taʾdib al-neswān/Taʾdib al-nesāʾ, a tract on how to discipline women, published in the mid-19th century. MAʿĀYEB AL-REJĀL (“Faults of men”), a treatise written in 1894 by Bibi Ḵānom Estarābādi/Astarābādi as a counterargument to the anonymous Taʾdib al-neswān/Taʾdib al-nesāʾ, a tract on how to discipline women, published in the mid-19th century. According to Ruhangiz Karachi, the author of Taʾdib al-neswān is most probably Ḵānlar Mirzā Eḥtešām-al-Dawla (d. 1861, a son …

(1904-1979), Polish Iranist. Some of his best papers are devoted to cultural and political life in Pahlavi Persia. MACHALSKI, FRANCISZEK, Polish Iranist (b. Braddock, Pennsylvania, 1904; d. Krakow, Poland, 1979). Machalski was born to a Polish peasant family that was working in the United States. When he was six his parents returned to their small farm in Żołynia, near Łańcut in southern Poland. In 1924, in spite of his family’s very modest means, Machalski entered the Jan Kazimierz University of Lwów (now Lvov in Western Ukraine), at that time a major acad…

(b. 8 April 1926, London- d. 13 October 2001, Bangor, Wales), distinguished British scholar of Middle and Modern Iranian languages with an impressive record of publications. MACKENZIE, DAVID NEIL (b. 8 April 1926, London- d. 13 October 2001, Bangor, Wales), distinguished British scholar of Middle and Modern Iranian languages with an impressive record of publications (FIGURE 1). He was always called Neil to be distinguished from his father who was also named David. He went to school in Slough, Windsor and Cambridge. In the …

the Sasanian metropolitan area of several contiguous cities, on both sides of the Tigris and connected by floating bridges, about 35 km southeast of Abbasid Baghdad. MADĀʾEN (lit. “the cities”; Ar. sing. Madina, cf. Aram. pl. Māḥozē or Medinātā), the Sasanian metropolitan area of several contiguous cities, on both sides of the Tigris and connected by floating bridges, about 35 km southeast of Abbasid Baghdad. At the end of the Sasanian period, this metropolis served as the administrative capital, the winter home of the m…

MAD ĀʾENI, ʿALI B. MOḤAMMAD, early Arabic historian and litterateur (d. ca. 228/842–43), famous as an authority on the history of Khorasan (q.v.)BIRTH, EARLY LIFE, AND EDUCATIONMadāʾeni’s full name was Abu’l-Ḥasan ʿAli b. Moḥammad b. ʿAbd-Allāh b. Abi Sayf Qoraši Madāʾeni. As is usual for scholars of his time, much of his life remains unknown and most of his works are not preserved.Madāʾeni himself is quoted as having said that he was born in the year 135/752–53 (Ebn al-Nadim, p. 100). Although this report, if authentic, could contain first-hand informatio…

(The orbit of the learned), a dictionary of the Persian language compiled in 1001/1593 by the poet and historian Allāh-dād Fayżī b. Asad-al-ʿOlamāʾʿAli-šir Serhendi, who lived in India during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1606) and wrote a brief history of his reign, called Akbar-nāma or Tāriḵ-e Akbar. MADĀR AL- AFĀŻEL (The orbit of the learned), a dictionary of the Persian language compiled in 1001/1593 by the poet and historian Allāh-dād Fayżī b. Asad al -ʿOlamāʾʿAli-šir Serhendi, who lived in India during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Akbar (r. 1556-…

"Solaymān's mother," local name of the tomb of Cyrus. See CYRUS v. The Tomb of Cyrus.

(Book of a Thousand Judgements), Pahlavi Law-Book from the late Sasanian period (first half of the seventh century). MĀDAYĀN Ī HAZĀR DĀDESTĀN (Book of a Thousand Judgements), Pahlavi Law-Book from the late Sasanian period (first half of the seventh century). This text has been transmitted in a single manuscript and is unique in several respects: it is the only exclusively legal work on pre-Islamic Iranian jurisprudence which has survived from the Zoroastrian period, and it is one of the most important fundamental sources for the socia…

chronogram poem, a poetic genre characterized by the inclusion of the year in which an event occurred. MĀDDA TĀRIḴ (plural mawādd-e tawāriḵ, also known simply as tāriḵ or tawāriḵ), chronogram poem, a poetic genre characterized by the inclusion of the year in which an event occurred. Since the beginning of the classical tradition, Persian poets have used various devices to mark significant dates in their works. The earliest and simplest method was to versify the year in lexical form. Kesāʾi Marvazi (q.v.), for example, gives the date that “he came into the world” in this way: be siṣad o če…

school for the study of the Islamic sciences and related subjects. For the institution, see under entry EDUCATION: iv. The Medieval Madrasa, v. The Madrasa In ShiʿIte Persia; vi. The Madrasa In Sunni Kurdistan. Other entries contain passing references to madrasas in relation to specific mosques; see, e.g., GOWHAR-ŠĀD MOSQUE, BĪBĪ KHANOM MOSQUE. For the architecture of madrasas, see ISFAHAN x. Monuments x(4). Madrasa.

(Keys to sciences) by Ḵᵛārazmi, a book in which key terms used by various classes of scholars, artisans, state officials, and others are explained (comp. ca. 366/976). MAFĀTIḤ AL-ʿOLUM (Keys to sciences), a book in which key terms used by various classes of scholars, artisans, state officials, etc. are explained. It was composed around 366/976 by Abu ʿAbd-Allāh Moḥammad b. Aḥmad b. Yusof Kāteb Ḵᵛārazmi, who died about 380/990-91 (Esmāʿil Pasha, II, col. 1756) or in 387/998 (Ḥāji Ḵalifa, II, p. 51). This book is an example of a rare genre in Arabic literature, despite the simi…

the only recorded designation of priests of all western Iranians during the Median, Achaemenid, Parthian ( mgw), and Sasanian periods. MAGI (OPers. magu-, Baby. maguš, Gr. mágos [ μάγος], Lat. magus), the only recorded designation of priests of all western Iranians during the Median, Achaemenid, Parthian ( mgw), and Sasanian periods. During Sasanian times the superior priest bore the title mowbed (<* magu-pati- “chief of the Magi”; Arm. magpet). Šāpur I, in his inscription at Naqš-e Rostam calls his priests mgwGBRʾ (in both Pahlavi and Parthian; Gr. anthropois magois [ ɑνΘρωποɩς μɑγο…

MAGIC i. MAGICAL ELEMENTS IN THE AVESTA AND NĒRANG LITERATUREThe presence of magical elements in the strict sense (i.e., doctrine or formulas supposed to produce a radical modification or a strong impact on physical objects) in Avestan literature has been considered rare. This is in keeping with the basic idea that we cannot include in magic the entire corpus of ideas lying behind the esoteric conception of the ritualof the yasna and its influence on the sacrificer(s) or on the persons who ordered the sacrifice. Nor can we include the speculations concerning the r…

An appropriate Iranian word for magophonia is the Sogdian mwγzt- (killing of the Magi). MAGOPHONIA (slaughter of the Magi). According to Herodotus (3.79: τɑ μɑγοφóνɩɑ; see also Ctesias, frag. 15: μɑγοφονɩ ɑ), when Darius [I] (see DARIUS iii) and his noble companions in 522 BCE murdered the impostor Smerdis (called “Gaumāta the Magus” in DB 1.36; see GAUMĀTA),who with the help of his brother had usurped the throne, the Persian conspirators cut off the heads of these Magi and showed them in the streets to other…

a master calligrapher of the Timurid period, known only through three surviving works on wood and stone (a cenotaph, a door, and a stone plaque), which reflect the stylistic influence of the Timurid prince and master calligrapher Ḡiāṯ-al-Din Bāysonqor (d. 1493). MAḤALLĀTI, MOḤAMMAD, a master calligrapher of the Timurid period, known only through three surviving works on wood and stone (a cenotaph, a door, and a stone plaque), which reflect the stylistic influence of the Timurid prince and master calligrapher Ḡiāṯ-al-Din Bāysonqor (for …

mathematician and astronomer from Māhān, near Kerman, Iran, who flourished in the second half of the 9th century CE; he was a learned arithmetician and geometer, generally recognized among his peers. MĀHĀNI, ABU ʿABD-ALLĀH MOḤAMMAD b. Isā, mathematician and astronomer who flourished in the second half of the 9th century (fl. ca. 246 /860). His name indicates that either he or his ancestors were originally from Māhān, a town in the province of Kerman. The only information we have regarding the period in which he lived comes from the Egyptian astronomer Abu’l-Ḥasan ʿAli b. Yunos (d. 399 /1008…

a picturesque, rather extensive body of water to the southeast of Shiraz. MAHĀRLU LAKE, a picturesque, rather extensive body of water to the southeast of Shiraz. The depth of this shallow lake, called Daryā-ya Namak by the Shirazis, does not exceed a few meters. The water is extremely brackish with salt constituting about 25 percent of it. In summer sheets of salt float on its surface. Fish cannot survive in this lake due to its high salinity, but waterfowls abound in the surrounding marshes. At present the …

(The beauties of Isfahan), a book extolling Isfahan, written by Mofażżal b. Saʿd Māfarruḵi during the reign of the Saljuq sultan Malekšāh. MAḤĀSEN EṢFAHĀN, Figure 1), a book extolling Isfahan, written by Mofażżal b. Saʿd Māfarruḵi during the reign of the Saljuq sultan Malekšāh (r. 465-85/1073-92). THE AUTHOR All our information on Māfarruḵi comes from his book. His complete name was Mofażżal b. Saʿd b. Ḥosayn Māfarruḵi Eṣfahāni (Māfarruḵi, p. 76). The nesba Māfarruḵi derives from the Persian name Māfarruḵ (which may be Māh-farroḵ “blessed moon”; see Māfarruḵi, intro…

Mahdavi continued his education at Tehran Teachers College from 1928 until 1931, from which he was among the first to graduate with a bachelor's degree. In 1931, he received a scholarship from the state to continue his education in France until his graduation in 1938, writing his doctoral thesis under André Lanlande and Emile Bréhier. MAHDAVI, YAḤYĀ (b. Tehran, spring 1287 Š./1908; d. Tehran, 1379 Š./2000; Figure 1), professor of philosophy at the University of Tehran and a leading translator of Western philosophical works. Mahdavi was the son of Ḥā…

MAHDI, “the rightly-guided one” in Arabic, designation of the descendant of the Prophet who is expected to return to rule the world. See in entry ISLAM in IRAN: vi. THE CONCEPT OF MAHDI IN SUNNI ISLAM; vii. THE CONCEPT OF MAHDI IN TWELVER SHIʿISM; viii. THE OCCULTATION OF MAHDI; ix. THE DEPUTIES OF MAHDI.