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KOFRI, pen name of MAWLĀNĀ AMIR-ḤOSAYN TORBATI (d. Borhānpur, India, 1016/1607), a poet-calligrapher of the second part of the 16th and the first decade of the 17th centuries. He was born in Zāva, a village in the Torbat‑e Ḥaydariya district in Khorasan, to a noble sayyed family. Kofri, who had a good talent for poetry, soon developed mastery in calligraphy, especially in the style of šekasta- taʿliq (see CALLIGRAPHY), as well as in epistolary art.Like numerous other Persian poets who sought their fortune in India, the young Kofri, together with a fellow poet, Nawʿi Ḵ…

Qajar diplomat, official, and scholar. MAJD-AL-MOLK I, MIRZĀ MOḤAMMAD KHAN SINAKI LAVĀSĀNI (b. Sinak, 1809; d. Tehran, 4 November 1881), Qajar diplomat, official, and scholar (Figure 1).Very little information is available about Mirzā Moḥammad Khan’s early life. His paternal grandfather, Bābā Khan, had been a warlord controlling a stretch of territory extending from roughly the village of Sinak in the district of Lavāsānāt (see LAVĀSĀN), northeast of Tehran, to the vicinity of Nur district in the province of Mazandaran, …

poet, writer, editor and political activist. A version of this article is available in printVolume XVI, Fascicle 4, pp. 384-385 KHAKSAR, MANSUR (Manṣur Ḵāksār; b. Ābādān, 26 August 1939; d. Irvine, Calif., 17 March 2010), publicist and poet (FIGURE 1).Manṣur Ḵāksār was born into a family from Rāmhormoz that had moved to Ābādān, where his father worked for the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (see ANGLO-PERSIAN OIL COMPANY). After graduating from high school, Ḵāksār was employed by the Ābādān branch of the Bank of Tehran (see BANKING i; Ḵāksār, pp. 64-68).In 1965 Ḵāksār cofounded, with Nā…

A version of this article is available in print Volume XVI, Fascicle 5, pp. 528-529 KHAZARVĀN (ḴAZARVĀN/ ḴAZVARĀN/ ḴAZRAVĀN), a proper name, attested in the Šāh-nāma for men and a demon. (a) Khazarvān, a Turanian commander killed by Zāl, the legendary prince of Sistān ( Šāh-nāma, ed. Khaleghi, I, l. 124, p. 294; ll. 385-403, pp. 310-12; “Ḵazwazān” in Ṯaʿālebi, pp. 119-22). When Afrāsiāb (q.v.), the Turanian king, fights at Dahestān, he assigns a supplementary force to attack Zābol. Khazarvān, one of his commanders, goes with thirty thousan…

(ʿOMAR ḴAYYĀM, 1048-1131), celebrated polymath and poet, author of the Rubaiyat (Robāʿiāt). A version of this article is available in print Volume XVI, Fascicle 5, pp. 450-511 KHAYYAM, OMAR (ABU’L-FATḤ ʿOMAR B. EBRĀHIM ḴAYYĀM NIŠĀPURI, b. ca. 439/1048; d. ca. 517/1123), celebrated polymath and poet, author of the Robāʿiyāt (Quatrains). In the following articles, robāʿi (pl. robāʿiyāt) is used for the verse form; Robāʿiyāt for the Persian title of Khayyam’s quatrains; Rubaiyat for this work generically or in translation; Rubáiyát refers specifically to the FitzGerald transl…

(1927-1986), Iranian translator and scholar of Persian and Arabic. His major publications range from translation of contemporary Arabic scholarship on Islamic philosophy to the critical edition of a number of major works in the fields of medieval philosophy and pre-modern history of Iran. A version of this article is available in print Volume XVI, Fascicle 4, pp. 381-383 KHADIV JAM, HOSSEIN (Sayyed Ḥosayn Ḵadiv Jam, b. Mashhad, 1927; d. Tehran, 17 October 1986), Iranian translator and scholar of Persian and Arabic. His major publications range from tran…

scholar of Persian language and literature, poet, essayist, translator, literary critic, university professor, and founding editor of the periodical Soḵan. A version of this article is available in print Volume XVI, Fascicle 4, pp. 407-416 KHANLARI, PARVIZ (Parviz Nātel Ḵānlari; b. Tehran, Esfand 1292 Š./March 1914; d. Tehran, 1 Šahrivar 1369 Š./23 August 1990; PLATE I), prominent scholar of Persian language and literature, poet, essayist, translator, literary critic, university professor, and founding editor of the periodical Soḵan. LIFE Ḵānlari was the son of Mirzā Abu’…

ABANAGAN, the name used by Bīrūnī ( Āṯār, p. 224) for the Zoroastrian feast-day dedicated to the Waters, which was celebrated on the day Ābān of the month Ābān. See further under ĀBĀN MĀH.EIr.

a monthly magazine first published on 4 February 1956 as the organ of Tūda party prisoners under the auspices and with the facilities of the Office of Tehran’s Military Governor, General Teymūr Baḵtīār. A version of this article is available in print Volume VIII, Fascicle 1, pp. 79 ʿEBRAT, a monthly magazine first published on 15 Bahman 1334 Š./4 February 1956 as the organ of Tūda party prisoners under the auspices and with the facilities of the Office of Tehran’s Military Governor, General Teymūr Baḵtīār. Its format was thirty-eight, and lat…

(877-940), Christian physician and historian whose Annales (written in Arabic and called Ketāb al-tārīḵ al-majmūʿ ʿalā’l-taḥqīq wa’l-taṣdīq or Naẓm al-jawhar) is a rich repository of much otherwise unobtainable information about the history of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, especially in the periods of Persian occupation in the seventh century and in Islamic times up to the early tenth century. A version of this article is available in print Volume IX, Fascicle 1, pp. 77-78 EUTYCHIUS of Alexandria (Saʿīd b. Beṭrīq), Christian physician and historian whose Annales (written in Arab…

This series of articles deals with Chinese-Iranian relations spanning from Pre-Islamic times to the Constitutional Revolution in Iran.A version of this article is available in printVolume V, Fascicle 4;5, pp. 424-460i. In Pre-Islamic TimesContact between China and Iran was initiated toward the end of the 2nd century B.C.E. by the envoy Chang Ch’ien (Zhang Qian), who journeyed to the west in search of the Yüeh-chih (Yue-zhi), a people that had migrated from the borders of China after having been defeated by the Hsiung-nu (Xiongn…

b. Olūs Khan, the Uzbek prince who, with his brother ʿAlī Solṭān, joined Shah Ṭahmāsb’s camp in 943/1536-37 during the latter’s campaign in Khorasan against ʿObayd-Allāh Khan, the Uzbek ruler of Bukhara. A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 4, pp. 411-412 DĪNMOḤAMMAD KHAN b. Olūs Khan, the Uzbek prince who, with his brother ʿAlī Solṭān, joined Shah Ṭahmāsb’s camp in 943/1536-37 during the latter’s campaign in Khorasan against ʿObayd-Allāh Khan, the Uzbek ruler of Bukhara. He was given the governorship of Nesā a…

Middle Persian form of Avestan āΘravan. A version of this article is available in print Volume II, Fascicle 8, pp. 802-803 ĀSRŌN, Middle Persian form of Avestan āΘravan. The form āsrōn continues Av. āΘrauuanəm (acc. sing.) whereas the also attested form āsrō (Pahlavi Videvdād and Vispred, Pazand āsrū) is most likely to continue āΘrauua (nom. sing.), cf. Pazand āšo for Av. ašauua (Pahl. ahlaw). In Middle Persian texts āsrōn designates a member of the priestly class and is almost invariably mentioned together with artēštār and wāstaryōš, members of the warrior and farmer classes. See also…

This series of articles covers Central Asia. A version of this article is available in print Volume V, Fascicle 2, pp. 159 CENTRAL ASIA (See also Archeology v, vii; Architecture iv; Art in Iran vi, viii.) CENTRAL ASIA i. Geographical Survey The central expanse of the Asian continent, the land mass situated approximately between 55° and 115° E and 25° and 50° N, comprises two geographically distinct areas. The western part includes the Transcaspian plains and the low tablelands between the Aral Sea and the Tien Shan (lit. “heavenly moun…

an important Persian encyclopaedic dictionary published in six volumes in Tehran between 1963 and 1973. A version of this article is available in print Volume IX, Fascicle 3, pp. 268-270 FARHANG-E MOʿĪN, an important Persian encyclopaedic dictionary published in six volumes in Tehran between 1963 and 1973. Most of the work was compiled by the eminent Persian scholar and lexicographer Moḥammad Moʿīn (1918-71). His work on lexicography began in 1946 with his collaboration with ʿAlī-Akbar Dehḵodā (q.v.) on the monumental Persian encyclopedic dictionary Loḡat-nāma. Later, he prepa…

a general term applied to several kinds of flat bread or small, often thin, dry cakes variously shaped and made. A version of this article is available in print Volume XV, Fascicle 4, pp. 352-353 KĀK, a general term applied to several kinds of flat bread or small, often thin, dry cakes variously shaped and made, and therefore differently defined in dictionaries and cookbooks. The earliest source which mentions kāk is perhaps Asrār al-tawḥid, where one reads of Shaikh Abu Saʿid (d. 1048, q.v.) sending his servant to “a kāk-pazi,” similar to a bakery, to buy a large quantity of kāk, a…

This series of articles covers children and child-rearing in Iran and Iranian lands. A version of this article is available in print Volume V, Fascicle 4, pp. 403-423 CHILDREN i. Childbirth in Zoroastrianism The Zoroastrian community has traditionally regarded marriage as having a threefold function: to propagate the human race, to spread the Zoroastrian faith, and to contribute to the victory of the good cause (Sanjana, p. 508). The birth of a child is viewed as of intrinsic benefit to the whole community because it furthers e…

This article will deal with the faculties of Agriculture, Fine Arts, Law and Political Science, Letters and Humanities, and Medicine, which are among the oldest and most important secular institutions of higher education in Persia. Other faculties of the University of Tehran and main faculties of other major universities will be treated under individual UNIVERSITIES. A version of this article is available in print Volume IX, Fascicle 2, pp. 140-156 FACULTIES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TEHRAN. The University of Tehran was founded in 1313 Š./1934 from four pre-existing schools ( madrasas) wh…

a simple, everyday rice dish characteristic for the Caspian provinces, Gilan and Mazanderan. A version of this article is available in print Volume XVI, Fascicle 2, pp. 122-123 (as KATEH) KATA ( kateh), a simple, everyday rice dish characteristic for the Caspian provinces, Gilan and Mazanderan. It is prepared by combining all the ingredients (rice, two cups of water for every cup of rice, butter, and salt) and boiling over medium heat; the rice is not soaked previously. When the water is absorbed, the heat is reduced and the p…

(940-1019 or 1025), one of the greatest epic poets and author of the Šāh-nāma, the national epic of Persia. A version of this article is available in print Volume IX, Fascicle 5, pp. 514-531 FERDOWSI, ABU'L-QĀSEM i. Life Life. Apart from his patronymic ( konya), Abu’l-Qāsem, and his pen name ( taḵalloṣ), Ferdowsī, nothing is known with any certainty about his names or the identity of his family. In various sources, and in the introduction to some manuscripts of the Šāh-nāma, his name is given as Manṣūr, Ḥasan, or Aḥmad, his father’s as Ḥasan, Aḥmad, or ʿAlī, and his grandfa…