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Nowruz, “New Day”, is a traditional ancient festival which celebrates the starts of the Persian New Year. It is the holiest and most joyful festival of the Zoroastrian year. NOWRUZ i. In the Pre-Islamic Period Nowruz, “New Day”, is the holiest and most joyful festival of the Zoroastrian year. It is also its focal point, to which all other high holy days relate. Its celebration has two strands, the religious and the secular, both of which have plainly evolved considerably over many centuries, the one with extension of observances,…

(NPers. Darīūš, Dārā), name of several Achaemenid and Parthian rulers and princes. A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 1, pp. 40-55 DARIUS i. The Name Dārīus (or Dārēus) is the common Latin form of Greek Dareîos, itself a shortened rendering of Old Persian five-syllable Dārayavauš (spelled d-a-r-y-v-u-š), the throne name of Darius the Great and two other kings of the Achaemenid dynasty (see iii-v, below), which thus enjoyed considerable popularity among noblemen in later periods (see vi-viii, below). The original …

Sasanian King of kings (r. 399-420) called “the Sinner.” Sasanian-based sources judge Yazdegerd as a tyrant. YAZDEGERD I, Sasanian king of kings (r. 399-420) called “the Sinner.” The name “Yazdegerd” was borne by three Sasanian kings of kings and a number of notables of the Sasanian and later periods. It is a compound of Yazad Yazata- ‘divine being’ and - karta ‘made’, and signifies ‘God-made’, similar to Iranian Bagkart and Greek Theokistos. The attested forms include: Pahlavi Yazdekert, Syriac Yazdegerd, Izdegerd, and Yazdeger, Greek Isdigerdes (with v…

This article is meant to supplement earlier entries on Iranian vexillology (see ʿALAM VA ʿALĀMAT, BANNERS, and DERAFŠ). A version of this article is available in print Volume X, Fascicle 1, pp. 12-35 FLAGS. This article is meant to supplement earlier entries on Iranian vexillology (see ʿALAM VA ʿALĀMAT, BANNERS, and DERAFŠ). FLAGS i. Of Persia "National flags” symbolizing political entities began to evolve from religious or military applications of dynastic “emblems” (also called “badges” or “devices”) with the Crusaders and more systematically with …

The city of Shiraz has been the capital of the province of Fārs since the Islamic conquest, succeeding Eṣṭaḵr of the Sasanian period and Persepolis of the Achaemenid days. The city of Shiraz has been the capital of the province of Fārs since the Islamic conquest, succeeding Eṣṭaḵr of the Sasanian period and Persepolis of the Achaemenid days. Renown for its gardens, wine, and poets, it has also received at times the titles of the Seat of Government ( dār-al-molk), the Abode of Knowledge ( dār-al-ʿelm), and the Tower of Saints ( borj-e awliāʾ). The claim that Shiraz was a Muslim encampmen…

ruined monuments of the acropolis of the city of Pārsa, the dynastic center of the Achaemenid Persian kings, located in the plain of Marvdašt, some 57 km northeast of Shiraz. PERSEPOLIS (called Taḵt-e Jamšid “Jamšid’s Throne” in Persian), the ruined monuments of the acropolis of the city of Pārsa, the dynastic center of the Achaemenid Persian kings, located in the plain of Marvdašt, some 57 km northeast of Shiraz. One of the best-known sites of the ancient world (FIGURE 1), Persepolis was registered by the UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage in 1979. History of scholarship. The oldest des…

The Sasanian dynasty represented the last Persian lineage of rulers to achieve hegemony over much of Western Asia before Islam, ruled 224 CE–650 CE. SASANIAN DYNASTY, the last Persian lineage of rulers to achieve hegemony over much of Western Asia before Islam, ruled 224 CE–650 CE. Rise of the Sasanian empire. The overthrow of the Arsacid royal house in 224 CE and the establishment of the Sasanian dynasty was the outcome of the simultaneous decline of the Parthian state brought about by chronic civil strife, a devastating epidemic of smallpox, …

German archaeologist and Iranologist (b. 5 September 1930 in Halle, d. 22 November 1995 in Berlin). CALMEYER, PETER, German archaeologist and Iranologist (b. 5 September 1930 in Halle, d. 22 November 1995 in Berlin). His father, Hans Georg Calmeyer, an attorney-at-law, and his mother, Ruth, both came from Westphalia, and the family moved there to settle in Osnabrück in 1931. Peter attended Lienenschweg elementary school, but, due to the Second World War, he had to attend different high schools at Dresden, Blase…

Sasanian great king (r. 579-90 CE). He succeeded Ḵosrow I Anōširavān just as the latter was negotiating a peace treaty with the Byzantine empire. A version of this article is available in print Volume XII, Fascicle 5, pp. 466-467 HORMOZD IV, Sasanian great king (r. 579-90 C.E.). He succeeded Ḵosrow I Anōširavān just as the latter was negotiating a peace treaty with the Byzantine empire, hoping to leave a stable and prosperous state as his inheritance (Menander Protector, tr., p. 153). Anōširavān had appointed Hormozd as his heir after…

(seven), the heptad and its cultural significance in Persian history. The number has been explained as the symbolic expression of a distinct culture. A version of this article is available in print Volume XI, Fascicle 5, pp. 511-515 HAFT (seven), the heptad and its cultural significance in Persian history. The number has been explained as the symbolic expression of a distinct culture and “the direct evidence” for its character (Leo Frobenius, apud Kirfel, p. 237). Among the Indo-European people, the number three seems to have been t…

German ancient historian and Iranologist (1913-1943). A version of this article is available in print Volume XV, Fascicle 3, pp. 247-248 JUNGE, PETER JULIUS, German ancient historian and Iranologist (b. 30 August 1913 in Bonn, killed 1943 in the Battle of Stalingrad). He attended school in Breslau and studied subsequently at the University of Vienna, but later returned to Breslau to study at its university the history of East Indo-European peoples with Franz Miltner. He wrote his doctoral dissertation ( Saka-Studien, Breslau, 1936) under the supervision of the famed German …

Kayanian king of Iranian traditional history and patron of Zoroaster. A version of this article is available in print Volume XI, Fascicle 2, pp. 171-176 GOŠTĀSP, Kayanian king of Iranian traditional history and patron of Zoroaster. The name and problems of identification. The name is attested in the following forms: Av. Vištāspa ( AirWb, col. 1474); Old Persian Vištāspa, whence Gk. Hystāspēs, El. Mi-is-da-áš-ba and Akkadian Uš-ta-as-pa (Kent, Old Persian, p. 209; note that Ku-uš-ta-aš-pi, mentioned in an inscription of Tiglath-pileser III as a king of Kummuḵ [lat…

princess of Kabul, wife of Zāl, and mother of Rostam. Her story ( Šāh-nāma, ed. Khaleghi, I, pp. 186-270) is “one of the most beautiful narratives in Persian poetry” (Khaleghi, p. 39; cf. Nöldeke, p.71). RUDĀBA, princess of Kabul, wife of Zāl, and mother of Rostam. Her story ( Šāh-nāma, ed. Khaleghi, I, pp. 186-270) is “one of the most beautiful narratives in Persian poetry” (Khaleghi, p. 39; cf. Nöldeke, p.71). Ṯaʿālebi ( Ḡorar, pp. 73-106) gives so close a parallel account that a common source (undoubtedly the Šāh-nāma of Abu Manṣuri) may be assumed. An eloquent abridged prose ve…

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…

called Pēšdād, an early hero-king in Iranian tradition, father of the Iranians and founder of the Pēšdādian dynasty. A version of this article is available in print Volume XII, Fascicle 5, pp. 491-492 HŌŠANG (Av. Haošyaŋha, Ar. Ušanj/Ušhanj), called Pēšdād (< Av. Para’āta), an early hero-king, father of the Iranians and founder of the Pēšdādian dynasty in the Iranian traditional history. Information about him come from Avestan, Middle Persian, and Sasanian-based Arabo-Persian sources (Christensen, 1917, pp. 133-64 and passim; 1…

Sasanian great king (r. 630-32 CE) in the turbulent years following the murder of Ḵosrow II Parvēz (628). A version of this article is available in print Volume XII, Fascicle 5, pp. 467-468 HORMOZD V, Sasanian great king (r. 630-32 C.E.). In the turbulent years following the murder of Ḵosrow II Parvēz (628), nearly a dozen rulers (including two daughters) of Ḵosrow and one great general Farroḵān Šahrvarāz came to the throne and were slain after a short while (Nöldeke, Geschichte der Perser, pp. 361-99). One of the last pretenders to the throne was a certain Ḵosrow only known …

(seven regions), the usual geographical division of the world in Iranian tradition; ancient Iranians envisioned the world as vast and round and encircled by a high mountain. A version of this article is available in print Volume XI, Fascicle 5, pp. 519-522 HAFT KEŠVAR (seven regions), the usual geographical division of the world in Iranian tradition. Ancient Iranians, who may have believed in a tripartite division of the earth (see IRAJ), developed an orderly picture of the world, envisioned as vast and round and encircled by a high mountain ( harā bərəzaitī, see ALBORZ). According to th…

two fallen angels who taught mankind magic in Babylon, mentioned once in the Koran. Their names derive from the Zoroastrian Ḵordād and Amurdād, two of the Aməša Spəntas. A version of this article is available in print Volume XII, Fascicle 1, pp. 20-22 HĀRUT AND MĀRUT, two fallen angels who taught mankind magic in Babylon. They are mentioned once in the Koran (2:96 [2:102]) in a passage admonishing (Jewish) disbelievers who follow the teaching of the Satans (Šayāṭin) at the time of Solomon. “Solomon did not disbelieve, but the satans disbel…

in the national epic, the cave in which Afrāsiāb, the fugitive king of Turān, spent his last days. A version of this article is available in print Volume XI, Fascicle 6, pp. 655-657 HANG-E AFRĀSIĀB, the name of the cave in which Afrāsiāb (q.v.), the fugitive king of Turān, spent his last days. According to the Šāh-nāma (all reference are to the Khaleghi edition, IV, pp. 312-23), Afrāsiāb, having been repeatedly defeated by the armies of Kay Ḵosrow in eastern Iran, wandered wretchedly and fearfully around, and eventually took refuge in a cave ( ḡār) on a mountaintop near Bardaʿa (q.v.) in…

in traditional Iranian history, a hero who guarded the Dež-e Sapid “White Fort” on the border of Iran and Turān. A version of this article is available in print Volume XII, Fascicle 4, pp. 423-424 HOJIR, Iranian hero who guarded the Dež-e Sapid “White Fort” on the border of Iran and Turān. He was a son of Gōdarz and a leading member of his clan (see GŌDARZIĀN). When Sohrāb attacked Iran at the head of a Turanian army guided by Hōmān (q.v.), he first met Hojir in single combat and overpowered him but gave him quarter ( Šāh-nāma [all references are to Khaleghi ed.] II, pp. 130-34, 138). Short…