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(a.), verbal noun from the form II verb ṣawwara “to form, fashion”, then “depict, represent, illustrate”. It is the principal term used in Arabic for both the representational arts including painting, drawing, sketching, engraving and photography (on which see 2. below) and the process of their creation. It is often contrasted to timt̲h̲āl (sculpture) and synonymous with ṣūra and the rarer taṣwīra or their respective plural forms ṣuwar and taṣāwīr . Other synonyms of taṣwīr widely used in Persian texts are naḳs̲h̲ (A.) and nigār (P.). Although in the usage…

iii. Languages (a) Pas̲h̲to [see afg̲h̲ān . (ii). The Pas̲h̲to language] (b) Kurdish [see kurds , kurdistān . v. Language] (c) Zaza [ q.v.] (d) Ḵh̲wārazmian (e) Sogdian and Bactrian in the early Islamic period (f) New Persian (g) New Persian written in Hebrew characters [see judaeo-persian . ii. Language] (d) Ḵh̲wārazmian. Ḵh̲warazmian, last attested late in the 8th/14th century (before yielding to Turkish), belonged to the Eastern branch of the Iranian language family, being most closely related to Sogdian, its southeastern neighbour. Pre-Islami…

painter, calligrapher, and courtier in the service of the Mughal emperor Homāyūn.A version of this article is available in printVolume I, Fascicle 2, pp. 162-167 ʿABD-AL -ṢAMAD ŠĪRĀZĪ, painter, calligrapher, and courtier; he entered the service of Homāyūn at Kabul in 956/1549 and remained an important artistic and governmental figure under Akbar (963-1014/1556-1605). Still active in 1008/1600, he appears to have died before the accession of Jahāngīr in 1014/1605. A painting recently in the art market bears an inscription …

Celebrated Persian lyric poet (ca. 715-792/1315-1390).A version of this article is available in printVolume XI, Fascicle 5, pp. 461-507 HAFEZ (Ḥāfeẓ), ŠAMS-AL-DIN MOḤAMMAD of Shiraz (ca. 715-792/1315-1390), celebrated Persian lyric poet.HAFEZ i. An OverviewHafez is the most popular of Persian poets. If a book of poetry is to be found in a Persian home, it is likely to be the Divān (collected poems) of Hafez. Many of his lines have become proverbial sayings, and there are few who cannot recite some of his lyrics, partially or totally, by heart. His Divān is widely used in bibliomancy ( fāl; …

The history of art in Iran and Iranian lands. A version of this article is available in printVolume II, Fascicle 5-6, pp. 549-646ART IN IRAN i. NEOLITHIC TO MEDIAN Geography as a determinant for the development of art. Topographically Iran is a varied country and its art is regionally diversified. This variation in the artistic products from different areas of the country sets off the art of Iran as a whole from that of countries in which greater uniformity can be observed, such as Mesopotamia where major differences exist only bet…