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name given to the river Tigris in some passages in the Mid. Pers. books. A version of this article is available in print Volume II, Fascicle 7, pp. 679-681 ARVAND-RŪD, name given to the river Tigris in some passages in the Mid. Pers. books ( Zātspram 6.20, 34.7; Pahlavi Vd. 1.19) and a verse in the Šāh-nāma (ed. Borūḵīm, I, p. 51, see below; see also Bahār, Asāṭīr, p. 211). The use of this name to designate the Šaṭṭ al-ʿArab began in the later Pahlavi period and persisted after the revolution of 1357 Š./1978-79. The word arvand “swift” (Av. aurvant-, AirWb., cols. 200-201) appears in New Persi…

(1854-1920), pen name of the poet, scholar, and artist Mīrzā Moḥammad-Naṣīr Ḥosaynī Šīrāzī. In 1908 he was appointed the first director of the Shiraz branch of the Department of Education. In Fārs he arranged for the establishment of modern schools and for the education of tribal children. A version of this article is available in print Volume X, Fascicle 1, pp. 100-102 FORṢAT-AL-DAWLA (b. Shiraz,Ṣafar 1271/November 1854, d. Shiraz, 10 Ṣafar 1339/23 October 1920), pen name of the poet, scholar, and artist Mīrzā Moḥammad-Naṣīr (or Naṣīr-al-Dīn) Ḥosaynī Šīrā…

Late Sasanian name of Qešm island in the Straits of Hormoz. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 1, pp. 63-64 ABARKĀVĀN, late Sasanian name of Qešm (q.v.) island in the Straits of Hormoz. It occurs in this form (Balaḏorī, Fotūḥ, p. 386) and as Abarkāfān ( Nozhat al-qolūb, p. 186), Barkāvān (Ebn Ḥawqal, p. 183; Ebn al-Aṯīr, III, p. 41), Banū Kāvān (Masʿūdī, Morūǰ I, p. 240; Ebn al-Balḵī, pp. 113-14), etc. (For a more ancient name of the island, see Broḵt; see also Lāft.) The form of the name may be compared with those of Abarqobāḏ, Ab…

an assortment of nuts, roasted chickpeas and seeds such as watermelon, pumpkin, and pear, and raisins and other dried fruits. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 7, pp. 702-703 ĀJĪL, an assortment of nuts (pistachios, almonds, and hazelnuts being the most common), roasted chickpeas and seeds such as watermelon, pumpkin, and pear ( aṇčūčak), and raisins and other dried fruits such as apricots, sour cherries, mulberries, and figs. The roasted nuts and seeds may simply be salted, or they may also be seasoned with Persian marj…

an encyclopedic collection of articles published under the auspices of the UNESCO National Commission in Iran. The ambitious idea, as presented in the preface of the first volume, was to produce a highly reliable condensed, but comprehensive, sourcebook covering every aspect of the civilization of Iran from ancient times to 1960. A version of this article is available in print Volume XIII, Fascicle 5, pp. 534-535 IRĀNŠAHR, an encyclopedic collection of articles published in the 1960s under the auspices of the UNESCO National Commission in Iran, with funds prov…

MOŠĀWER-AL-MAMĀLEK (1868-1940), a career diplomat under the late Qajars. A version of this article is available in print Volume II, Fascicle 1, pp. 102 ANṢARĪ,ʿALĪ-QOLĪ KHAN MOŠĀWER-AL-MAMĀLEK (1247-1319 Š./1868-1940), a career diplomat under the late Qajars. He was the son of Mīrzā Ḥasan Khan Nāyeb-al-wezāra and the grandson of Mīrzā Masʿūd Khan Garmrūdī Anṣārī, the Minister of Foreign Affairs under Moḥammad Shah Qāǰār (r. 1250-64/1834-48). Having learnt Russian and French in Trebizond and Astrakhan during his father’s tenure of foreign service in these citi…

(b. Isfahan, 1839; d. Tehran, 1907), poet, journalist, literateur, translator, and author. A version of this article is available in print Volume X, Fascicle 1, 2, pp. 112-113 FORŪḠĪ, MOḤAMMAD-ḤOSAYN KHAN ḎOKĀʾ-AL-MOLK (b. Isfahan, 15 Rabīʿ II 1255/27 June 1839; d. Tehran, 11 Ramażān 1325/19 October 1907), poet, journalist, literateur, translator, and author. He was born into a family of merchants who traced their lineage to a certain Ḥājī Mollā Moʾmen, a contemporary of Shah ʿAbbās I (r. 996-1038/1588-1629; M.-ʿA. Forūḡī, in…

popular name of Shaikh Abū ʿAbdallāh Moḥammad b. ʿAbdallāh b. ʿObaydallāh Bākūya Šīrāzī, Sufi of the 10th-11th centuries. A version of this article is available in print Volume III, Fascicle 3, pp. 293-294 BĀBĀ KŪHĪ, popular name of Shaikh Abū ʿAbdallāh Moḥammad b. ʿAbdallāh b. ʿObaydallāh Bākūya Šīrāzī, Sufi of the second half of the 4th/10th and the first quarter of the 5th/11th century, also (more correctly) known as Ebn Bākūya. Despite frequent references to him in Sufi literature, next to nothing is known about his life. He…

(Society of Zoroastrians), the designation of formally instituted Zoroastrian associations in Iran. A version of this article is available in print Volume II, Fascicle 1, pp. 90-95 ANJOMAN-E ZARTOŠTĪĀN (the Society of Zoroastrians), designation of formally instituted Zoroastrian associations in Iran (mainly in Kermān, Tehran, and Yazd), and possibly the first to use the designation anǰoman in its modern application; they are (were) composed of local leaders elected by their communities and bound by an oath of office to protect their interests, to or…

(usually pronounced Čāršamba-sūrī), the last Wednesday of the Persian solar year, the eve of which is marked by special customs and rituals, most notably jumping over fire. A version of this article is available in print Volume IV, Fascicle 6, pp. 630-634 ČAHĀRŠANBA-SŪRĪ (usually pronounced Čāršamba-sūrī), the last Wednesday of the Persian solar year, the eve of which is marked by special customs and rituals, most notably jumping over fire. Variant local names include Gūl Čāršamba (Ardabīl) and Gūla-gūla Čāršamba (Gīlān), Kola Čowāršamb…

two distinct types of utensil traditionally used in Iran. One type is a closed container on legs, a kind of stove that holds slowly burning coals for heating. A version of this article is available in print Volume IV, Fascicle 4, pp. 443-444 i. In Early Iran The term “brazier” covers two distinct types of utensil traditionally used in Iran. One type is a closed container on legs, a kind of stove that holds slowly burning coals for heating. It can be made of metal, ceramic, or a combination of materials. The second type is a flat-bottomed met…

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…