Encyclopaedia Iranica Online

(b. 1674; fl 1714-1725), Ottoman Greek who served as a translator to the French embassy at Istanbul, and as a French consul at Shiraz. PADERY, Etienne (b. Athens, ca. 1674), Ottoman Greek who served as a translator to the French embassy at Istanbul, and as a French consul at Shiraz. The “Compte au Roy par le Chevalier Paderi parti pour la Perse par ordre de sa Majesté en l’année 1719 et de retour en France en 1725” has survived in the Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Paris (published in Touzard, pp. 46-62). …

a Pahlavi word meaning “ritually clean.” PĀDYĀB, a sacred ablution requiring washing by water, a necessary prelude to the basic Zoroastrian purificatory ritual. Pādyāb, a Pahlavi word meaning “ritually clean,” is now primarily used in the sense of a ceremonial ablution.The word can be derived from Avesta āp- “water” with adverbial prefix paiti- “against” ( AirWb, cols. 325, 822), meaning “to pour water on.”In New Persian, the word is used as pādyāw, pādyāb (Boyce, 1991, p. 281). The term pādyāb (later modified to pādiyāv) is also used as a hybrid Gujarati word. In its primary meaning, …

documents written exclusively in Egypt during the Persian (Sasanian) occupation under Ḵosrow II between 619 and 629 CE. PAHLAVI PAPYRI, documents written exclusively in Egypt during the Persian (Sasanian) occupation under Ḵosrow II between 619 and 629 CE. A number of parchments (ca. 20 percent of all) and linen fragments (P. 144, Berlin collection, and frag. 7 of the Bodleiana, Oxford, unpublished) also belong to the material coming from Egypt. There are only 3 documents (all parchments) that are directly dated (f…

name given to a fragment, consisting of twelve pages written on both sides, of a Mid. Pers. translation of the Syriac Psalter. It was discovered, with a mass of other documents, at Bulayiq, near Turfan, in eastern Turkistan (present-day Xinjiang Uigur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China) by one of the four German expeditions to Central Asia (see TURFAN). PAHLAVI PSALTER, name given to a fragment, consisting of twelve pages written on both sides, of a Mid. Pers. translation of the Syriac Psalter. It was discovered, with a mass of other docum…

name of a pass in Iraq, west of the Iranian border at Qaṣr-e Širin. It is the site of a Sasanian monument with inscription. See NARSEH and HERZFELD, ERNST iv. Herzfeld and the Paikuli Inscription. (For the site, see Helmut Humbach, The Sassanian Inscription of Paikuli, Part 1. Supplement to Herzfeld’s Paikuli, Wiesbaden and Tehran, 1978, p. 5; map, fig. 116.)

a class of female demonic beings in the Avesta, often translated “sorceress, witch, or enchantress.” PAIRIKĀ, feminine, non-Gathic Avestan noun denoting a class of female demonic beings in the Avesta and often translated “sorceress, witch, or enchantress.” We shall deal with the Avestan term pairikā- (I.-E. *parikehₐ-, OPers. * parikā-, MPers. parīg, Sogh. prʾyk h, Manich. MPers. parīg, Khot. palīkā-, Pers. parī, Pashto pēraī, Nuristanī pari/bari/barai, Arm. parik) chronologically, beginning with (1) the suggested etymologies, (2) the Old Iranian phase, then co…

The abundant variety of styles in Iranian domestic architecture conceals a basic functional system that has remained unchanged since the Achaemenid period. PALACE ARCHITECTURE. The abundant variety of styles in Iranian domestic architecture conceals a basic functional system that has remained unchanged since the Achaemenid period (see ACHAEMENID DYNASTY) and is preserved in palaces and substantial residences. This tradition can scarcely be revealed by art historical methods. Architecture is not a purely artistic expre…

The Paleolithic or ‘Old Stone Age’ begins with the first stone tools some 2.5million years ago in Africa, and it ends with the Neolithic or ‘New Stone Age,’ essentially at the beginnings of agriculture. PALEOLITHIC AGE IN IRAN. Introduction. The Paleolithic or ‘Old Stone Age’ begins with the first stone tools some 2.5million years ago in Africa (Gowlett 1992, p. 350),and it ends with the Neolithic or ‘New Stone Age,’ essentially at the beginnings of agriculture. The Paleolithic is conventionally divided into Lower, Middle, Upper, an…

(chiromancy or palmistry; Pers. Kaf-bini), a form of physiognomy that deduces personal characteristics from the form of the lines on the subject’s palm. PALM READING (chiromancy or palmistry; Pers. Kaf-bini), a form of physiognomy that deduces personal characteristics from the form of the lines on the subject’s palm. The Persian term kaf- bini is a compound made of the words kaf, “palm,” and bini (from the infinitive didan), “looking into.” In general, it is not used for divining the future, although one of the lines on the palm, called ḵaṭṭ-e ʿomr, “longevity line,” is associated wi…

a Sogdian city, the ruins of which are located in the southern periphery of the present-day city of Panjakent (in western Tajikistan). Location and early history. At the beginning of the 8th century Panjikant was the main settlement of the Panč district, a fact reflected in its name. PANJIKANT (Sogd. Pancyknδ), a Sogdian city, the ruins of which are located in the southern periphery of the present-day city of Panjakent (in western Tajikistan). Location and early history. At the beginning of the 8th century Panjikant was the main settlement of the Panč district, a fact r…

writing material invented in China that spread throughout Asia and to Iran in the pre-Islamic period. PAPER writing material invented in China that spread throughout Asia and to Iran in the pre-Islamic period. PAPER i. Paper in the Iranian World Prior to Printing Paper ( kāḡaḏ) is a mat of cellulose fibers that have been beaten in the proximity of water and then collected on a screen and dried. The fibers can come from many different kinds of plants or waste such as rags, old ropes, and nets. The wet fibers are either pounded in a hammer m…

PARADISE, the concept of. General premises. The concept of “Paradise” as a prime spiritual place, usually considered the final abode of the souls in the afterlife, is to be distinguished from a physically walled garden (q.v.) or large protected area full of amusements. The term Paradise was actually widespread in the European languages via Latin  paradīsus, a loanword from Greek παράδεισος ( parádeisos), although its diffusion was culturally underpinned by the pertinent eschatological use assumed by the Biblical Hebrew  pardēs. But all these terms, starting from the Gr…

“fairy.” See PAIRIKĀ

(1548-1578), the second daughter of Shah Ṭahmāsp I, a politically influential and colorful figure at the Safavid court. PARIḴĀN ḴĀNOM (b. near Ahar, Rajab 955/August 1548; d. Qazvin, 4 Ḏu’l-ḥejja 985/12 February 1578), the second daughter of Shah Ṭahmāsp I (Qomi, p. 337), a politically influential and colorful figure at the Safavid court. After the death of his brother Bahrām Mirzā in 1549, Shah Ṭahmāsp I, who had been very fond of his brother, paid special attention to his nephews. He declared Badiʿ-al-Zamān Mirz…

(b. ca. 400 BCE, d. 330 BCE); probably from mountainous Upper Macedonia, he became Philip II’s most successful general. PARMENIO, son of Philotas, of high nobility, probably from mountainous Upper Macedonia (b. ca. 400 BCE, d. 330 BCE). He became Philip II’s most successful general (Philip jocularly called him his “only” general: Plutarch, Moralia 177c) as well as his most trusted adviser. A friend of Attalus, also of high nobility, who married his daughter, he was probably involved in Philip’s marriage to Attalus’s young niece and ward, Cleopatra…

The creation of a Parsi settlement in India was the outcome of the migration of Zoroastrian refugees from their original homeland in medieval Islamic Persia. Qeṣṣa-ye Sanjān (The Story of Sanjān). Iranians have been involved in trade with India from Achaemenid times, but the creation of a Parsi settlement in India was the outcome of the migration of Zoroastrian refugees from their original homeland in medieval Islamic Persia. There is debate over the exact date of this exodus: 716 CE (S. K. Hodivala, 1927, Chap. 1), 775 (Seervai and Patel), 780s ( Qeṣṣa; all quotations from this source…

Calcutta became a center of Parsi settlement from the 18th century. Dadabhoy Behramji Banaji is recorded as the first Parsi to have come to Calcutta from Surat in western India in 1767. In comparison to the Parsis of Bombay, other Parsi communities of India have received less attention. From the 19th century onward Bombay became the principal Parsi center and the headquarters of the Parsis of India. In fact, the Parsis or Zoroastrians of India settled extensively across India from the time of their arrival in the subcontinent,…

See ARSACID DYNASTY

capital city and last resting place of Cyrus the Great (r. 559-530 BCE), located in northern Fārs in the fertile and well-watered Dasht-i Murghab (Dašt-e morḡāb), the site stands 1,900 m above sea level at 30°15’ N and 53°14’ E. PASARGADAE, the spacious capital and last resting place of Cyrus the Great (559-530 BCE). Located in northern Fārs in the fertile and well-watered Dasht-i Murghab (Dašt-e morḡāb), the site stands 1,900 m above sea level at 30°15’ N and 53°14’ E. In a straight line, Pasargadae lies 40 km to the northeast of Per…

See AFGHANISTAN vi. PAŠTO.