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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…

(1908-1996), physician, poet, writer, orator, and politician. A version of this article is available in print Volume XV, Fascicle 6, pp. 661-663 KĀSEMI, NOṢRAT-ALLĀH (b. Tehran, 1908; d. Tehran 1996; Figure 1), physician, poet, writer, orator, and politician. The first of three children born to Mirzā Asad-Allāh Khan Kāsemi, a court official and head of a landowning family in Mazandaran, he earned a diploma from Dār al-Fonun (q.v.) in 1929, and graduated from Tehran medical school in 1935 with a first order national science medallion (ʿĀqeli, III, p. 1252; Movaḥḥedi, p. 56). Academic an…

(d. 1783), an influential poet of the 18th century. A version of this article is available in print Volume XII, Fascicle 54-55 HĀTEF, SAYYED AḤMAD EṢFAHĀNI (d. Qom 1198/1783), an influential poet of the 18th century. He belonged to the first generation of poets who rejected what they saw as the excesses of the so-called Indian style ( sabk-e Hendi), and adopted a poetical idiom closer to the stylistic principles of early Persian poetry. Later this movement became known as the “literary return” ( bāzgašt-e adabi, q.v.). Hātef’s family, originally from Ordubād in Azerbaijan, had m…

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…

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…

(1882-1964), statesman, diplomat, minister, and prime minister during the late Qajar and Pahlavi periods. He served as a high-ranking official from the Constitutional Revolution of 1906-07 to the time of the White Revolution of 1963-64. ALA, HOSAYN (Ḥosayn ʿAlāʾ, Moʿin-al-Vezāreh; b. Tbilisi, 1882; d. Tehran, 1964; Figure 1), statesman, gifted diplomat, minister, and prime minister during the late Qajar and Pahlavi periods. He served as a high-ranking official from the Constitutional Revolution of 1906-7 (q.v.) to the time of the White Revolution of 1963-64. Ala was the third s…

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…

a heat-fused glass paste colored by metal oxides and used to decorate metal surfaces. Enamel was associated with lapidary, glassworking, and goldmithing crafts and was probably used primarily in place of precious stones before the 17th century. A version of this article is available in print Volume VIII, Fascicle 4, pp. 424-428 ENAMEL (Pers. mīnā, possibly a dialect form of mīnū < Mid. Pers. mēnōg “uncorporeal, spiritual, the world beyond, heaven” < *"sky" < "blue," meaning "glass, luster, enamel" [Horn, Etymologie, s.v. mīnō; for the ū-/ ā- variation in words derived from OIr. - u stems…

(b. Isfahan, 1938; d. Tehran, 2000), novelist who explored new literary techniques. He received the Lillian Hellman and Dashiell Hammett award (1997) via the Human Rights Watch Organization and was awarded the Osnabrück Peace prize (1999) from the Erich Maria Remarque Foundation for his defense of freedom of speech. A version of this article is available in print Volume XI, Fascicle 2, pp. 114-118 GOLŠIRI, HUŠANG (b. Isfahan, March 16, 1938; d. Tehran, June 5, 2000; Figure 1), one of the most significant Persian writers of the second half of 20th century. He…

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…

(1898-1954) composer and violinist, brother of Morteżā. MAḤJUBI, Reżā (b. Tehran, 1277 Š./1898, d. Tehran, 1333 Š./ 1954) composer and well-known player of the violin. Reżā’s parents were both familiar with music and Reżā, like his brother, Morteżā Maḥjubi, became interested in music from early childhood. His first teacher in music was Ḥosayn Hangāfarin (q.v.), a noted music master of the time. He then continued his music education with Ebrāhim Āžang, but since he did not have much interest in learning musical notation …

ABU’L-ʿABBĀS MOḤAMMAD b. Moḥammad (fl. 2nd half 9th cent.), mathematician, natural scientist, historian of religion, astronomer, philosopher, and author. A version of this article is available in print Volume XIII, Fascicle 5, pp. 539-540 IRĀNŠAHRI, ABU’L-ʿABBĀS MOḤAMMAD b. Moḥammad (fl. 2nd half 3rd/9th cent.), mathematician, natural scientist, historian of religion, astronomer, philosopher, and author. He was from Nišāpur, the city known also as Irānšahr (Moqaddasi, pp. 299-300; Ebn Faqih, p. 321), hence his title Irānšahri. N…

the events following the seizure of the American embassy in Tehran by leftist Islamist students in 1979 with subsequent wide-ranging repercussions on Iran’s domestic politics as well as on U.S.-Iran relations. A version of this article is available in print Volume XII, Fascicle 5, pp. 522-535 HOSTAGE CRISIS, the events following the seizure of the American embassy in Tehran by leftist Islamist students in 1979 with subsequent wide-ranging repercussions on Iran’s domestic politics as well as on U.S.-Iran relations. The crisis began on 4 Novem…

Ḥakimi was born into an old and prominent family of court physicians. The family had been court physicians since the 17th century, starting with the eponym of the family, Moḥammad-Dāwud Khan Ḥakim, a physician at the courts of the Safavid Shah Ṣafi and Shah ʿAbbās II and the founder of the Ḥakim Mosque in Isfahan. A version of this article is available in print Volume XI, Fascicle 6, pp. 575-580 ḤAKIMI (Ḥakim-al-Molk), EBRĀHIM (b. Tabriz, 1288/1871 [1286 in ʿĀqeli, p. 589, is incorrect]; d. Tehran, 27 Mehr 1338 Š./19 October 1959, Ṣadiq, II, p. 210 [28 Oct. acc. to …

an old Iranian dish, also pronounced kālajuš, kālājuš, kaljuš in different parts of Iran. The compound term kāljuš is composed of kālmeaning unripe, connoting cooked rare, and juš (boiling). A version of this article is available in print Volume XV, Fascicle 4, pp. 408-409 KALLAJUŠ (KĀLJUŠ), an old Iranian dish, also pronounced kālajuš, kālājuš, kaljuš in different parts of Iran. It consists of fried onions, dried herbs, and boiled kašk (dried condensed whey), eaten with bread (crumbled or in pieces). The compound term kāljuš is composed of kāl meaning unripe, connoting cooked rar…

(1900-1965), composer and pianist, noted for his use of the piano to perform traditional Iranian music. MAḤJUBI, MORTEŻĀ (b. Tehran, 1279 Š./1900; d. Tehran, 1 Farvardin 1344 Š./21 March 1965), celebrated composer and performer of the piano. He was a self-educated and innovative piano player who was renowned for his masterful utilization of the piano in performing traditional Iranian music. Maḥjubi’s father, ʿAbbās-ʿAli Nāẓer, had artistic talent and played the Ney (an end-blown flute); and his mother, Faḵr-al-Sādāt, knew how to play the piano. This very…

a city and a sub-province ( šahrestān) in the northwest of Kermānšāhān Province near the border with Iraq at about 110 km southwest of Sanandaj sub-province. A version of this article is available in print Volume XIV, Fascicle 6, pp. 601-602 JAVĀNRUD, a city and a sub-province ( šahrestān) in the northwest of Kermānšāhān Province near the border with Iraq at about 110 km southwest of Sanandaj sub-province. Apparently it is so called after the name of the Kurdish tribe Javānrud, a dominant tribe of the area in the past, which is now almost ent…

(1858-1939), Qajar prince-governor, military commander, skillful politician, head of various ministries, and prime minister. He managed to sail successfully the stormy sea of Persian politics for several decades while the entire social and political landscape was undergoing dramatic change. A version of this article is available in print Volume IX, Fascicle 3, pp. 296-299 FARMĀNFARMĀ, ʿABD-AL-ḤOSAYN MĪRZĀ (b. Tehran, 1274/1858; d. Tehran, 1318 Š./1939; Plate I), Qajar prince-governor, military commander, skillful politician, head of various ministrie…

(1767-1842), officer and orientalist. OUSELEY, Sir William, officer and orientalist (b. 1767 in Monmouthshire, Wales; d. September 1842, Boulogne, France). He was the elder brother of the entrepreneur, diplomat, and orientalist Sir Gore Ouseley (1770-1844; q.v.) and a cousin of the Methodist preacher and missionary Gideon Ouseley (1762-1839). The Ouseleys were an Anglo-Irish family, and the brothers William and Gore were educated privately together with their cousin Gideon. In 1787, the brothers left Wales. While Gore became an entrepreneur i…