Iranian Studies
Year:2018 | Volume:7 | Issue:2 |Papers Count:7

There is not much accurate information about Khayyam. It genuinely seems that either his poetry had not been systematically collected, or if it were, no copy has survived. The oldest collection of Rubaiyat (quatrains) attributed to Khayyam, was compiled in the second half of the 9th century AH, and many of the quatrains that are preserved in it definitely do not belong to Khayyam. We must therefore, look to other sources to find his original verse. Although researchers have done much to discover his remaining quatrains, individual verses by and information about him remain scattered in various manuscripts. This paper presents newly discovered and reliable historical information about Khayyam. The focus of the present study are two quatrains of Khayyam that elegize the great theologian, al-Ghazzali. In addition to discussing Khayyam and Ghazzali’ s relationship, the history of elegies that are in quatrain form are also discussed.

The considerable increase of the Europeans’ travels to Iran in the 19th/13th AH centuries expanded their information about various aspects of Iran's nature and society. But due to their sensory or superficial perception of the Persian culture, religions, and sects, particularly ethnic, local, and mystic sects, their percepts are not that much accurate. This fact is evident in the Western travelers' reports of the religions of Western Iran in the Qajar period. The present paper is a critical study on the basis of the comparative approach. Foreign travel writers mentioned current beliefs and customs of the Kurds, whose central settlement was the city of Kerend-e Gharb. What they recorded in their travelogues-entitled Ahl-e Haq, Nosairi, Cheragh khamush, Cheragh pof, Davudi and, in particular, the Ali-Allahi sect-is actually about Yari, one of the common sects of the area. Therefore, their image of the Ali-Allahi sect is distorted and unreliable.

One of the fundamental issues raised in the Qajar periodicals, including Akhtar newspaper, is the problem of the decline in Iran and the Muslim world and its solution. The question of this article is: what were the discourse methods used by the writers of Akhtar to represent their ideologies about the causes of Iran's backwardness and the ways of escaping from it, specifically in the first two years of its publication? According to the findings of this research, the basic discourse of Akhtar is about the human, the Islamic theology’ s redefinition of the concept of humanity, and man’ s mission in creation. The man represented in the Akhtar discourse is obligated to prevent human beings from decline by understanding the supreme cause of creation and life as a historical responsibility. Human beings are identified and recognized in a dichotomy between the real and the wild. Despite the theological genealogy for this definition of human in Akhter, the characteristics of the genuine man are the same features of the Western man. Akhtar invites human, as the superior to all the creatures, to defend his dignity through individual and social activism, and achieve progress, which is also a Western pattern. In this discourse, Akhtar introduces a new dimension to servitude, which is the gratitude of the genuine man in the practical dimension. This can be considered as an attempt to escape decline and backwardness with the pattern of the Western human.

Dargazin was one of the politically and culturally significant regions of Iran in the past, and its historical monuments and mounds shows the importance of this area. Why was Dargazin important in the post-Islamic era and what was the role of the routes in the formation of settlements and the cultural development of this region? To answer these questions, the present article looks for the historical background of the routes, and its role in the expansion of the settlements, and the cultural growth of Dargazin in the post-Islamic era. The geographic location of Dargazin (being on the side of the main roads), having fertile and flat lands, and being at the skirts of the Kharaqan mountains (which is a geopolitical advantage), developed this area, as a transit point for commercial caravans and the residence of several groups of people. At the present time, Dargazin locates on the side of the roads to Zanjan, Markazi, and Qazvin provinces, and in the past, the two main branches of the Silk Road surrounded it from east and west. The study shows that most of the habitats of this area have been located along these routes.

Persian epic poems often recite the narratives related to ancient Iran. Besides Shahname, other epic poems may root back in the Sassanid era, therefore, one can expect that the Zoroastrian concepts and beliefs affected these poems. One of the most essential concepts in Zoroastrian texts is wisdom, and the present paper examines the continuity of this concept in epic poems. The case study and comparison of the concept of wisdom in the Zoroastrian texts and the epic poems show that the poems follow the Zoroastrian, especially the Pahlavi literature. This continuity is not only in the significance of the concept of wisdom but also in the description of its features and the similes related to it. Although the concept of wisdom in these poems is not as bold as its influence in Shahname of Ferdowsi, it can still be traced; especially in Garshasb-name, in which many couplets are devoted to the concept of wisdom and the similes are closer to the ones in Pahlavi texts.

Maqdisi in Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Maʻ refat Al-Aqalim offers new definitions for Mesr, Qasabe, Madine, and Qarye, and relates the life of each unit to the others, regarding their roles and functions. Illustrating their connection with each other, he resembles these geographical units to the kings, the hajeban (orderlies), the aswaran (heavy cavalry) and the infantrymen. By properly using these similes, he tries to picture the logical connection between these various units and the level of their relationship with the central political power. In this article, first, Maqdisi’ s view on the units of Mesr, Qasabe, Madine, and Qarye is explained, then, the development and transformation of Dar al-Molk-e Bardsir (current Kerman city) during the Qara khitai era and the role of the political power in this development are described. This study shows that Bardsir's development in the Qara khitai era followed a meaningful pattern. Understanding this indigenous pattern can aid the researchers to analyze other central cities of Iran or the Islamic world.

Rituals are among the most significant human legacies in societies. Nakhl-gardani is an ancient Iranian ritual, which affected by Shiʻ i culture after the arrival of Islam to Iran. Objects are the essential components of the rituals, and Nakhl, the pivotal object of Nakhl-gardani, should be properly protected and respected as a cultural and historical heritage. The prelude of this protection is to recognize the features, values, and functions of the Nakhls, therefore, the purpose of this study is to recognize the Nakhl functions as a ritual object. The research materials include written sources, field observations, and interviews. The findings of the research show that Nakhl, as a ritual and cultural object, carries out functions related to belief, as well as symbolic and memorial functions. It transmits indigenous knowledge and conveys Iranian traditions and customs as well.