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The following series of articles provide an overview of some historical, contemporary, and especially political aspects of the topic that are of special interest and relevance in the world today. ISLAM IN IRAN. Although a large number of articles in this Encyclopaedia are devoted to specific aspects of Sunnite Islam in general and Shiʿite Islam in particular, the following series of articles provide an overview of some historical, contemporary, and especially political aspects of the topic that are of special interest and relevance in …

a complex of beliefs attributing the course of Persian history and politics to the machinations of hostile foreign powers and secret organizations. A version of this article is available in print Volume VI, Fascicle 2, pp. 138-147 CONSPIRACY THEORIES in Persia, a complex of beliefs attributing the course of Persian history and politics to the machinations of hostile foreign powers and secret organizations. In contemporary social psychology such theories are defined as elaborate and internally consistent systems of “collective delusi…

a history and geography of the province of Fārs, with maps and illustrations, by Mīrzā Ḥasan Fasāʾī (1821-1898). Part two includes topics such as the climate of Fārs, its flora and fauna, agricultural products, the position of Fārs according to longitude and latitude, the problem of cartographic projection. A version of this article is available in print Volume IX, Fascicle 4, pp. 374-378 FĀRS-NĀMA-YE NĀṢERĪ, a history and geography of the province of Fārs, with maps and illustrations, by Mīrzā Ḥasan Fasāʾī (b. Fasā, 1237/1821; d. Shiraz, 12 Rajab 1316/26 November 1898; Figure 1). i. THE…

This article will deal with the faculties of Agriculture, Fine Arts, Law and Political Science, Letters and Humanities, and Medicine, which are among the oldest and most important secular institutions of higher education in Persia. Other faculties of the University of Tehran and main faculties of other major universities will be treated under individual UNIVERSITIES. A version of this article is available in print Volume IX, Fascicle 2, pp. 140-156 FACULTIES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TEHRAN. The University of Tehran was founded in 1313 Š./1934 from four pre-existing schools ( madrasas) wh…

titles and forms of address, employed in Iran from pre-Islamic times. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 9, pp. 898-906 i. Alqāb Meaning and origin. The Arabic noun laqab (pl. alqāb) originally meant an approbatory or disapprobatory nickname. The use of alqāb has a long history in Iran; kings of kings, local dynasts, provincial kings, and heads of great families were distinguished by titles. As examples one may cite Geršāh, Pīšdād, Šēd, Mārdūš and Bēvarasb, Homāyūn, Tahamtan, Rōʾīntan, and Čehrāzād applied res…

“market (place),” term which may refer to: a market day, usually once a week, when farmers bring their wares to the market to sell; a fair held at specific times; and the physical establishments, the shops, characterized by specific morphology and architectural design. A version of this article is available in print Volume IV, Fascicle 1, pp. 20 BĀZĀR “market (place),” Middle Persian wāzār (wʾcʾr), Armenian vačaṟ, Sogdian wʾcrn, wʾcn “street,” hence bāzargān (Arm. vačarākan) “merchant”; Sasanian inscription of Šāpūr I on the Kaʿba-ye Zardošt, Mid. Pers…

a national federation of local chambers and syndicates created in Esfand 1348 Š./March 1970 through the merger of various local chambers of commerce and the national chamber of industries and mines of Iran. A version of this article is available in print Volume V, Fascicle 4, pp. 354-358 CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, INDUSTRIES, AND MINES OF PERSIA (Oṭāq-e bāzargānī wa ṣanāyeʿ wa maʿāden-e Īrān; also called Oṭāq-e Īrān), a national federation of local chambers and syndicates created in Esfand 1348 Š./March 1970 through the merger of various local chambers of…

(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…

(1909-1977), prime minister 1957-60, minister of the Royal Court, head of National Iranian Oil Company, and professor of medicine. He was regarded as an honest and ascetic man. His authoritarian character, obedience and unswerving loyalty to the shah, and political ambition, made him a trusted aide, but not a popular political figure. A version of this article is available in print Volume VIII, Fascicle 5, pp. 515-517 EQBĀL, MANŪČEHR (b. in Mašhad, 27 Ramażān 1327/14 Oct. 1909; d. in Tehran, 14 Āḏar 1356 Š./25 Nov. 1977), prime minister, minister of the Royal Co…

lit. “giver of an order,” i.e., ruler, commander; an epithet with three usages in the Safavid and Qajar periods. A version of this article is available in print Volume IX, Fascicle 3, pp. 295-296 FARMĀNFARMĀ (lit. “giver of an order,” i.e., ruler, commander), an epithet with three usages in the Safavid and Qajar periods. 1. As a general form of address, farmānfarmā was used by the Safavid shahs and their officials in addressing the European monarchs, interchangeably with farmānravā and farmānda (see, inter alia, letters and edicts of ShahʿAbbās, Shah Ṣafī, Shah Solayman, and B…

(Oṭāq-e aṣnāf), a federation of various guilds formed in 1350 Š./1971 under the “guild-organization act” (Qānūn-e neẓām-e ṣenfī) in most urban centers. A version of this article is available in print Volume V, Fascicle 4, pp. 358-361 CHAMBER OF GUILDS (Oṭāq-e aṣnāf), a federation of various guilds formed in 1350 Š./1971 under the “guild-organization act” (Qānūn-e neẓām-e ṣenfī) in most urban centers. The purposes were to provide a single organization for managing the guilds’ affairs, to establish state control over numerous guilds, t…

(1932-82), political scientist and translator. A version of this article is available in print Volume VIII, Fascicle 4, pp. 429 ʿENĀYAT, ḤAMĪD (1311-61 Š/1932-82), political scientist and translator. He was born in Tehran into a middle-class family of religious scholars. He received his bachelor’s degree in political science in 1333 Š./1954 from Tehran University and his master’s and doctorate in politics in 1958 and 1962, respectively, from the London School of Economics, London University. As a youth, he was a mem…

( ṭabaqāt-e ejtemāʿī), a generic term referring to various types of social group, including castes, estates, status groups, and occupational categories. A version of this article is available in print Volume V, Fascicle 6, 7 pp. 650-691 CLASS SYSTEM ( ṭabaqāt-e ejtemāʿī), a generic term referring to various types of social group, including castes, estates, status groups, and occupational categories. i. In the Avesta. ii. In the Median and Achaemenid periods. iii. In the Parthian and Sasanian periods. iv. Classes in medieval Islamic Persia. v. Classes in the Qajar period. vi. Classes i…

“Settlement, inhabited space,” Persian term usally applied to the rural environment; in colloquial usage it often refers to towns and cities as well. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 1, pp. 57-58 ĀBĀDĪ, Persian term meaning “settlement, inhabited space;” it is applied basically to the rural environment, but in colloquial usage it often refers to towns and cities as well. The Persian word derives from Middle Persian āpāt, “developed, thriving, inhabited, cultivated” (see H. S. Nyberg, A Manual of Pahlavi II, Wiesbaden, 1974, p. 25); the Middle Pe…

(ca. 1859–1940), Iranian painter of the European academic style during the late Qajar and early Pahlavi periods. He descended from a family that had produced a number of artists since the Afsharid period. A version of this article is available in print Volume XV, Fascicle 4, pp. 417-433 KAMĀL-AL-MOLK, MOḤAMMAD ḠAFFĀRI (b. Tehran, ca. 1859; d. Nišābur, 1940) , widely acclaimed Iranian painter of the European academic style during the late Qajar and early Pahlavi periods (Figure 1). This entry is divided into the following three sections: i. Life Early life. Moḥammad was the second son…

collective feeling by Iranian peoples of belonging to the historic lands of Iran. This sense of identity, defined both historically and territorially, evolved from a common historical experience and cultural tradition. A version of this article is available in print Volume XIII, Fascicle 5, pp. 501-530 IRANIAN IDENTITY, a collective feeling by Iranian peoples of belonging to the historic lands of Iran. This sense of identity, defined both historically and territorially, evolved from a common historical experience and cultural tradition among the peoples who lived in Irānzamin, an…