Iranian Journal for the History of Islamic Civilization
Year:2018 | Volume:50 | Issue:2 |Papers Count:7

The mechanism and criteria for appointing the Imam was one of the most significant, fundamental, and problematic elements of the early Shiite groups generally. In this paper, I will analyze this mechanism and criteria, which were taken by the early extremist Shiites concerning the Imamate, from the beginning until the 2nd century AH., by using a historical and discourse analysis approach. In addition, I will research the development and transformation of the Imamological viewpoint among the Saba’ iyya, Kaisaniya, the followers of Khurramdinan, whose thoughts were very similar to the above groups. Then, in this paper I will find out how the principles of knowledge (i’ lm), light (nur), and the transmigration of spirits have been used by the aforementioned groups to explain the concept of the Imamate. I will show how the two principles of light and the transmigration of the spirits, which were based on a specific worldview, with the assistance of early Ghulats, who emerged from the inner crisis of Kaisaniya, were used to explain the concept of the Imamate.

One of the most famous visual manifestations of Mamlukid administration system is the symbolic use of motifs of animals, plants and everyday life tools as heraldry signs (rank; pl. Runuk) in various forms, among which the symbol of lion was used widely for the sultans, emirs and high rank officials. Historical evidences, conceptual framework, cultural context and developments of such uses of symbol of lion in Mamlukid heraldry system are investigated in the present article. The author also suggests that it may be possible (or at least it is worth for studying) that some of uses of this symbol could be based on supposed talismanic power of this ancient symbol.

The presence of the Alawis in the north of Iran and the spread of their thoughts has had a profound influence on the regions. The present study will provide a descriptive analysis of the socio-political heritage of Nā sir al-Utrū sh and the effect of his activities during his settlement in the very regions. Through the promotion of Shia political doctrines, Nā sir al-Haqq restored the political authority of the Alawis. He emphasized on the significance of cherishing human dignity in political ethics, tolerance with the opponents, forgiveness of the wrongdoers, and mercy toward the subordinate. He considered social unity as an important factor in achieving his highest aspirations. His jurisprudential instructions implied the attempts to accord Zaidi jurisprudence with Imami Jurisprudence. He was also the founder of the first madrasa for Islamic instructions, and had the most effective role in converting the people of the regions to Islam.

The situation of women in Safavid court and haram drew the attention of the European travelers who had come to Iran for political or religious missions. Some of those travelers described the women in Safavid haram as lazy and useless people that their duty was just for giving pleasure to the king and bringing up his children. So, they did not have any kind of education or learning skills and spent their life in vain. But there are other reports by the Safavid historians and European travelers which indicated that many haram women were educated and had social activities. Moreover, there are a number of Safavid paintings that supported the latter point of view. This paper examines and compares these two views to understand the situation of a significant class of women in Safavid era.

The arrival of the Arabs on the Sassanidʼ s regality was confronted with the reaction of various groups of Iranian society. One of Iran's major minorities was Christians, who had a particular confrontation with the Arab conquerors. These reactions, which were often interactive and contradictory, occurred in different parts of Sassanid Iran. The interaction of Christians in the western regions of Iran and Iraq was due to their ethnicity and Arabic language and rivalry with the Christians in the inner regions of Iran. But the approach of Christians in the inner regions of Iran due to the existence of ethnic and linguistic differences with the conquerors, were often supported by Muslim protesters such as Khawarij to confront and oppose Arab conquerors. This article explains how Christians of Iran reacted to the arrival of Muslim conquerors in the first century AH.

The despotic nature of the government of Seljuk kings and the unparalleled status of the Sultan in the structure of this government are important in analyzing the causes of the Seljuk collapse. The weakness and decay of the successor of the Malikshah was also a result of such political instability. In this article, we seek to answer the question of what is the relationship between the policies of the successors of Malikshah, such as the struggle for succession, the lack of attention to people's welfare, the blowing up of religious wars, the conflict with the caliphate, and the rise of political instability in this period. The authors' theoretical framework is the theory of David Saunders about political instability. Accordingly, the political instability in the successor of Malikshah is based on two fundamental concepts of change and challenges, and its indicators have been identified through four categories of change of norms, the change in key executive positions, changing borders and violent challenges. The results of this study indicate that there has been a significant correlation between the policies of the successors of Malikshah and the emergence of political instability in this period.

John Damascus was the last one of the fathers of the Church of the East, whose theological works had special significance for the Orthodox Church. He spent more than four decades of his life in his hometown of Damascus, and although he was in the Umayyad court, because of the suffering that he saw from the Umayyads, he turned to Jerusalem. He studied there and wrote some works, among which the critique of Iconoclasm and critique of Islam and the Quran are more important. While criticizing other schools of thought, he has used Greek philosophy and the words of the church, he insulted Islam instead of criticizing it according to reason and logic. This different approach to Islam is rooted in the mistreatment of the Umayyad rulers with him, and his retaliatory action has led to the denial of the beliefs of the Umayyads.