JOURNAL OF HISTORICAL STUDIES OF ISLAM
Year:2010 | Volume:2 | Issue:5|Papers Count:7

Samarqand scientific School which flourished under Olugh Beig's reign (Timurid prince from A.D1409 to 1450), was the evolutional result of Baghdad, Marageh and Tabriz schools. Ghias al-Din Jamshid Kashani was one of the scientists who had been invited to establish and work in Samarqand Observatory. Some studies have considered his role just to this degree; but revising his works and his researches indicates that he had more influence on Samarqand School and also gained more scientific achievements. By the historical analytic method and by using the primary historic sources and archaeological reports, this article is devoted to answer the following: what was Kashani's role specially in astronomy and mathematics fields in Samarqand Scientific School? Hypothesis indicates that through his scientific innovations in arithmetic (decimal fraction), mechanics, and geometry, he was the chief designer of Samarqand Observatory and the main accountant of Olugh-Beig Astronomical tables. Furthermore, he was the scientific manager and policy-maker of Samarqand Scientific School and its observatory.

The Umayyad Iraq was a fertile milieu for rising and growth of various opinions and doctrines which in most cases had a heterodox orientation. Cultural background of Iraq, its social composition, political importance and economic efflorescence, all conditioned this environment to give birth to a variety of doctrines and social/religious orientations. Among these, Extremism and Hurufism might be recognized as distinct ones. This article purported to examine the formative process of Hurufism in Iraq and its particular set of symbols through a contextual analyzing. Central to this survey, is Mughirat b. Sa’id’s role in this process and the formation of Mughiriah sect in Umayyad Iraq. The author following an analytical approach, attempts to trace the genealogical background of this social/intellectual orientation. He assumes a relationship between Greek Gnosticism, ancient Persian mysticism and the eclectic doctrines surviving in Mesopotamia, and shows that Mughirat b. Sa’id for the first time reconcile these various doctrines in Umayyad Iraq and found a new sectarian orientation, i.e. Mughiriah.

In recent centuries, the methodological problems of historiography absorbed a considerable degree of scholarly attention in academic circle. Modern historiography and its methodological principals could be considered as crucial to modern developments in humanities and so, is worth of a thorough examination. The present paper beginning with a concise introduction of modern historiography purported to further a brief survey of Biruni’s historiography in comparison to modern historiography. Most of previous studies on this Iranian scientist draw a picture of him as a prominent figure in natural sciences, either astrology, mathematics, or medicine. From a rather anthropological point of view, many scholars accentuate his invaluable anthropologic data about India. But in rare cases, his historical works and the method he pursued has been received a scholarly attention well enough to give a good evaluation of his method and style in history writing. To fill this gap the present author, thinking of a distinct and a pioneer role in historiography for Biruni, aims to give a more precise depiction of his status in this field.

In 336 A.H., the Fatimid government of Egypt nominated the Kalbid family to Sicilian Islamic government. Sicilia (Islamic Saqliyah) was the largest islands of Mediterranean Sea which captured by Muslims in 8th/2nd century. The Aghlabids of North Africa took its Islamic Imarate for the first time. Kalbids government over it continued for almost a century. Their court was a favorite destination for Muslim Ulema and philosophers and Palermo (Islamic Blarm) enjoyed a brilliant economic and commercial growth among western Islamic centers. A look on Islamic sources which survived those days shows that, beside the current attention to some knowledge like Islamic jurisprudences, traditions and philology, there has been a noticeable accent on rational sciences too. Among these, medicine, philosophy, theology, geometry, astronomy and mathematics are the most favorite ones. No doubt, this excellent growth of rational sciences had its proportionate reasons which tolerant nature of Kalbid religious policy as well as their special favor to Muslim Ulema was the most important ones. There were also some Muslim Ulema and philosophers who conveyed the legacy of Sicilian school of Islamic sciences to other parts of muslim world through migration and traveling.

The shiite holy places of ottoman Iraq (‘Atabat-e ‘Aliat) had a prominent relevancy to Qajar’s religious policy as well as its foreign one. Fath Ali Shah, the second shah of Qajar dynasty, attentive to the importance of this factor, consciously pursued an observant policy to satisfy his influential supporters among shiite Ulema. But some different factors make the problem a rather political one. The heavy traffic of Iranian pilgrims to Iraq, their residing there, either permanent or provisional and Ottoman Pashas’ unwarranted treatment with them, beside some other catastrophic accidents in the holy places such as Vahabite assaults, were the main causes that compelled the Qajar state to think of it as a serious problem. Hence, the Qajar state as the single shiite power of that time felt responsible not only toward Iranian migrants but also toward the holy places of shiite people. It made the Qajar state to devise some occasional martial reactions. But unfortunately these provisional devises, despite some passing successes, didn’t lead to a solid and persistent policy which would be capable of solving this political/religious problem in an efficient way. The present paper, pursuing an analytical approach, aims to examine the role of these holy places in Qajar’s religious as well as foreign policy. Central to this study is Fath Ali Shah’s response to the problem and its various consequences.

One of the most attractive themes in historiographical studies has always been the historical narrative’s legitimizing function. Here, the present paper purported to examine this subject as reflected in a historical text belonging to 15/9th century, i.e. the Hasht Behesht of Sharaf ad-Din Edris Badlisi. The last part of the text is selected to be analyzed for this purpose. The study’s main concern is Badlisi’s primary purpose of writing this text, if it has been merely narrating historical events or there also might trace a legitimizing plot? The study’s approach is discursive analyze and it aims to apply the appropriate methodology efficiently. Moreover, some relevant concepts for discursive analyze and contextual studies such as “otherness”, “marginalization” and “intertextuality” are called for. As the results of the study show, Badlisi through giving a central status to Jihad, consciously did his best to legitimize his Ottoman masters’ new shaped government. The chronological base of his narrative is the political events under sultan Mohammed the conqueror. His narrative, by centralizing the religious concept of Jihad, treat some secular concepts as ethnicity, native country, and the Farrah - e Izadi (divine favor) as marginal and so, his text might be recognized as an efficient tool for legitimizing the new-shaped Ottoman government.

There is a particular accent on the role of youngsters - such as Qasim b. Hasan- as an important and perceptible dramatic aspect of ‘Ashura. This dramatic character of narrations of the event is mostly transparent in those parts which appropriated to the kids and adolescents’ presence in this catastrophe. But, in some cases it resulted in a thorough gap between the historical reality and people’s comprehension of its narration. This paper aims to advance an analytical survey of the reflection of Qasim b. Hasan’s martyrdom in Persian Ta’ziyah texts down to 5th century. The author following a comparative approach selects a bunch of post-revolution Ta’ziyah texts as his source base for this study. The results show that in this case, historical texts differ clearly with those of Ta’ziyah and these distinctions are pivotal to our understanding of the course of events.