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historical city and a sub-province of the province of Isfahan on the north-south axial route of central Iran.A version of this article is available in printVolume XVI, pp. 1-73blod: KASHAN (Kāšān) a historic city and a sub-province ( šahrestān) of the province of Isfahan (q.v.) on the north-south axial route of central Iran. The city (lat 33° 59ʹ 30ʹʹ N, long 51° 27ʹ 00ʹʹ E; elev. 950 m) is located 260 km (189 km by air) south of Tehran and 220 km (146 km by air) north of Isfahan. KASHAN i. Geography Physical geography. Covering an area of approximately 9,647 km2, the sub-province …

province, governorship, and city located in the Zagros region of western Persia.A version of this article is available in printVolume XI, Fascicle 6, pp. 595-627 HAMADĀN , province, governorship, and city located in the Zagros region of western Persia.HAMADĀN i. GEOGRAPHYHamadān is one of the western provinces of Persia, situated to the southwest of Tehran between latitudes 33°59’ and 35°48’ north and longitudes 47°34’ and 49°36’ east. The city of Hamadān (the capital of the province) is located at 37°47’ N and 48°30’ E, at an altitud…

i. Traditional Forms. ii. Modern Fiction. ii(a). Historical Background. ii(b). The Novel. ii(c). The Short Story. ii(d). The Post-Revolutionary Short Story. ii(e). Post-Revolutionary Fiction Abroad. ii(f). By Persians in Non-Persian Languages. ii(g). In Afghanistan. ii(h). In Tajikistan. A version of this article is available in print Volume IX, Fascicle 6, pp. 572-610 FICTION, i. TRADITIONAL FORMS This article deals with all kinds of stories written for specifically literary purposes up to the time when narrative prose in the modern style, derived f…

(Persian Aškānīān), Parthian dynasty which ruled Iran from about 250 BCE to about 226 CE. A version of this article is available in printVolume II, Fascicle 5, pp. 525-546 ARSACIDS (Persian Aškānīān), Parthian dynasty which ruled Iran from about 250 BCE to about 226 CE.i. Origins.ii. The Arsacid dynasty.iii. Arsacid coinage.iv. Arsacid religion.v. The “Arsacid” era.vi. Arsacid chronology in traditional history.vii. The Arsacid dynasty of Armenia.viii. Military Architecture Of Parthia.ARSACIDS i. OriginsOur sources on the ancestry of the eponymous founder of the dyn…

This famous fraternal order, bound by rituals and secret oaths, was introduced to Persia and adopted by Persian notables in the 19th century. It developed in the early 20th century and burgeoned in the period from 1950-78. Its practice still continues among some middle- and upper-class Persians in exile at the turn of the 21st century. The topic will be treated in five entries. A version of this article is available in print Volume X, Fascicle 2, pp. 205-221 FREEMASONRY This famous fraternal order, bound by rituals and secret oaths, was introduced to Persia and adopted by P…

influential social thinker, prominent historian, a pioneer of Iran’s linguistic studies, well-known social and religious reformer with a sense of prophetic mission, and prolific author. A version of this article is available in print Volume XVI, Fascicle 1, pp. 87-105 blod:KASRAVI, AḤMAD (b. Tabriz, 29 September 1890; d. Tehran, 11 March 1946; Figure 1), influential social thinker, prominent historian, a pioneer of Iran’s linguistic studies, well-known social and religious reformer with a sense of prophetic mission, and prolific author. KASRAVI, AḤMAD i. LIFE AND WORK Early life.…

(Sinkiang, Xinjiang), IRANIAN ELEMENTS IN. A version of this article is available in print Volume V, Fascicle 5, pp. 460-484 CHINESE TURKESTAN i. Geographical Overview The eastern portion of the Central Asian land mass (see central asia i. geography), between 70° and 100° E and 25° and 45° N, encompasses Chinese Turkestan, now Sinkiang (Xin-jiang) Uighur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China, with the Tarim basin and the high plateaus and mountains surrounding it (capital Urumchi [Wu-lu-mu-chi]); Tibet (ca…

OVERVIEW of the entry: i. Geography, ii. Dašt-e Gorgān, iii. Population, iv. Archeology, v. Pre-Islamic history, vi. History from the rise of Islam to the beginning of the Safavid Period, vii. To the end of the Pahlavi era. A version of this article is available in print Volume XI, Fascicle 2, pp. 139-154 GORGĀN i. Geography GORGĀN, the ancient Hyrcania, an important Persian province at the southeast corner of the Caspian sea. In June 1997, the eastern part of the Māzandarān Province, consisting of the two sub-provinces of Gorgān and Gonbad-e Kāvus/Qābus (formerly c…

This article discusses religious or communal festivals and commemorations, ancient and modern, of diverse communities in Persia and Afghanistan. A version of this article is available in printVolume IX, Fascicle 5, 6, pp. 542-564 FESTIVALS. This article treats mainly religious or communal festivals and commemorations in Persia and Afghanistan. For specific festivals and secular celebrations, see under individual entries.FESTIVALS i. ZOROASTRIANZoroastrian festivals fall into two broad categories. There are the seven feasts of obligation, that is, No Rōz (Nowrūz) and the six g…

This entry is concerned with the historiography of the Iranian and Persephone world from the pre-Islamic period through the 20th century in Persian and other Iranian languages. The periods and their subdivisions of this historiography are covered in 14 articles. A version of this article is available in print Volume XII, Fascicle 3, pp. 323-411 HISTORIOGRAPHY. This entry is concerned with the historiography of the Iranian and Persephone world from the pre-Islamic period through the 20th century in Persian and other Iranian languages. Broadly speakin…

relations with Persia and Afghanistan. A version of this article is available in print Volume VIII, Fascicle 3, pp. 247-267 EGYPT: relations with Persia and Afghanistan.i. Persians in Egypt in the Achaemenid periodii. Egyptian influence on Persia in the Pre-Islamic periodiii. Relations in the Seleucid and Parthian periodsiv. Relations in the Sasanian periodv. Political and commerical relations in the Islamic period. See FATIMIDS, AYYUBIDS, IL-KHANIDSvi. Artistic relations with Persia in the Islamic periodvii. Political and religious relations with Persia in the modern periodv…

or Ḡelān; province at the southwestern coast of the Caspian Sea. A version of this article is available in print Volume X, Fascicle 6, pp. 617-668 GĪLĀN i. GEOGRAPHY AND ETHNOGRAPHY Physical Geography (Figure 1). Gīlān includes the northwestern end of the Alborz chain and the western part of the Caspian lowlands of Persia. The mountainous belt is cut through by the deep transversal valley of the Safīdrūd between Manjīl and Emāmzāda Hāšem near Rašt. To the northwest, the Ṭāleš highlands stretch a continuous watershed separating…

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…

(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…

OVERVIEW of the entry: i. Introduction, ii. An Overview of Relations: Safavid to the Present, iii. British influence in Persia in the 19th century, iv. British influence in Persia, 1900-21, v. British influence during the Reżā Shah period, 1921-41, vi. British influence in Persia, 1941-79, vii. British Travelers to Persia, viii. British Archeological Excavations, ix. Iranian Studies in Britian, Pre-Islamic, x. Iranian Studies in Britain, the Islamic Period, xi. Persian Art Collections in Britain…

ancient province and old city in central Iran. Isfahan city has served as one of the most important urban centers on the Iranian Plateau since ancient times.A version of this article is available in printVolume XIII, Fascicle 6, pp. 613-675 and Volume XIV, Fascicle 1, 2, pp. 1-119 ISFAHAN, ancient province and old city in central Iran (Middle Pers. “Spahān,” New Pers. “Eṣfahān”). Isfahan city has served as one of the most important urban centers on the Iranian Plateau since ancient times and has gained, over centuries of urbanization, many si…

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…

(Pers. āmūzeš o parvareš; earlier Ar. Per. taʿlīm o tarbīat) in Iranian-speaking areas. A version of this article is available in print Volume VIII, Fascicle 2, 3, pp. 178-245 EDUCATION (Pers. āmūzeš o parvareš; earlier Ar. Per. taʿlīm o tarbīat) in Iranian-speaking areas. EDUCATION i. IN THE ACHAEMENID PERIOD Little is known of the training of children during the Achaemenid period. In two Elamite documents from Persepolis drafted in the 23rd regnal year of Darius I (499 B.C.E.) “Persian boys (who) are copying texts” are mentioned (Hallock, no…

(Ar. and Pers. lebās, Pers. pūšāk, jāma, raḵt). The articles in this series are devoted to clothing of the Iranian peoples in successive historical periods and of various regions and ethnic groups in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Iran. A version of this article is available in print Volume V, Fascicle 7, 8, pp. 719-870 CLOTHING i. General remarks Of the twenty-seven subsequent articles in this series eleven are devoted to clothing of the Iranian peoples in successive historical periods and fourteen to modern clothing of various regions and ethnic group…