Persian Sources Research Articles

The New Testament Gospels in Manichaean Tradition. The Sources in Syriac, Greek, Coptic, Middle Persian, Parthian, Sogdian, Bactrian, New Persian, and Arabic, with Appendices on the Gospel of Thomas and Diatessaron, by Nils Arne Pedersen, René Falkenberg, John Møller Larsen, Claudia Leurini

The New Testament Gospels in Manichaean Tradition. The Sources in Syriac, Greek, Coptic, Middle Persian, Parthian, Sogdian, Bactrian, New Persian, and Arabic, with Appendices on the Gospel of Thomas and Diatessaron, by Nils Arne Pedersen, René Falkenberg, John Møller Larsen, Claudia Leurini

The carpet industry and its impact on the Iranian economy During the Qajar period (1796-1899)

The topic of this research is considered one of the important historical subjects; its significance lies in the fact that carpet weaving is an industry that enjoys a special status compared to common industries, crafts, and known artistic specializations. The use of various artistic decorations and patterns on carpets has added charm and beauty to this industry, making it an active attraction for European tourists and foreign investors at the time. In our research, we have chosen to address the development of this industry and how it transformed from a craft practiced in homes and villages to an important urban industry, whose products formed the largest portion of the country’s exports. We shed light on the role of kings in establishing and developing carpet weaving workshops, especially those established in royal palaces and mosques. We also highlighted the contribution of the wealthy and courtiers in this field, and the extent of the connection that art of painting had with this industry, after weavers introduced silk flowers they wove using hand looms. In addition, we focused on the intellectual and cultural atmosphere that surrounded the artists during that era, their influence by Western culture, and its reflection on the carpet industry in particular, and on architecture and other arts in general. Thus, our research includes a brief study of the topic, with an analysis of some related details, relying on numerous Persian sources.

The Cause of Kidney Stone Formation and Treatment from the Perspective of Conventional and Traditional Persian Medicine

Urinary stone disease is the most common urinary tract disease that has caused human suffering since ancient times. The observation of a 7000-year-old bladder stone in an Egyptian skeleton proves this claim. This disease causes many complications for patients, but its pathogenesis is unclear. The knowledge about the cause of urinary stones formation and treatment recommendations from ancient physicians' perspectives is probably helpful in preventing and treating kidney stones. Data for this review were provided by search in five Traditional Persian sources available, including Canon of Medicine (Avicenna, 980-1037 AD), Kamil al–Sana al-Tibbiya (Majusi Ahwazi (Haly Abbas), died 982-994), Zakhire Kharazmshahi (Jorjani, 1042-1137 AD), Makhzan al Adviyeh (Mohammad Hossein Aghili Khorasani Shirazi in 18th AD), and Tib-e-Akbari (Mohammad Akbar Arzani-11th and 12th centuries AD) and Until January of 2023, all English publications in Science Direct, PubMed, Google Scholar and Scopus, using various search terms such as urolithiasis, lithiasis, and kidney stone. Some dietary recommendations in Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM) for treatment of urinary tract stones and 134 recommended plant species, in addition to studies of in vivo effects of some of them in conventional medicine have been described in this article. The TPM with long experience and special principles has good potential in the field of diagnosis and treatment in its own way and can act as a strong complementary treatment system for diseases that have challenging treatment. It seems using the experiences in the TPM sources and relying on today's knowledge can create a way to prevent the formation and recurrence of urinary tract stones.

«Маджму ат-таварих» как источник сведений об исторических деятелях улуса Чагатая и Моголистана

Introduction. The history of the Chagatai Ulus and Moghulistan remains an understudied area of medieval historiography, which is nonetheless essential enough and can yield a lot to researchers engaged in exploring the history of medieval Genghisid states. And it is Majmu al-Tawarikh by S. Akhsikendi which proves a most valuable source on the theme, since it contains a wealth of historical knowledge on Eastern peoples of the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries, including Kalmaks, Kyrgyzes, Moghuls, etc. Goals. The study examines Majmu al-Tawarikh for data relating to the Chagatai Ulus and Moghulistan, attempts a comparative analysis of the manuscript and other available sources on the investigated states, and seeks to determine the value of the text for Oriental historical science. Materials and methods. The work focuses on published sections of the well-known translations of Majmu al-Tawarikh and Zafarnama. In addition, the historical reliability of the identified data has been verified via the epic poem of Edige, Materials in the History of Kazakh Khanates, and History of Kazakhstan from Persian Sources. The key research principles include those of historicism and systemicity, while the key research methods are the comparative historical and ideographic ones. Results. The paper examines Majmu al-Tawarikh and analyzes data pertaining to the past of the Chagatai Ulus and Moghulistan, provides a historiographic review to explain the significance of the source. Despite some scholars tended to criticize Majmu al-Tawarikh for a variety of revealed inaccuracies and phantasmagorias, they did recognize its certain value. Majmu al-Tawarikh mentions names of a number of khans and emirs of the Chagatai Ulus and Moghulistan — with reported coincidences or differences in other sources. The work sets forth and substantiates a hypothesis that Zafarnama (‘Book of Victories’) by Sharaf ad-Din Ali Yazdi may have been a fifth source for the author of Majmu al-Tawarikh. Conclusions. Majmu al-Tawarikh contains essential information on the history of the Chagataid states, as well as on the history of neighboring territories and peoples. However, the study of the obtained information should be approached critically, and it is urgent to compare the latter to related messages included in other sources. The introduction of the data into scientific discourse shall significantly expand and supplement contemporary historical knowledge on medieval Central Asian states.

Heritage diplomacy and soft power competition between Iran and Turkey: competing claims over Rumi and Nowruz

ABSTRACT In this paper, we examine the use of intangible cultural heritage as a vehicle for soft power in the service of geostrategic competitions between Iran and Turkey, two regional powers in West Asia. We focus on two significant trans-regional instances of intangible cultural heritage relevant to both countries: the mystic poet Rumi and the New Year’s celebration of Nowruz. We draw on theories in political science and cultrual heritage as well as a host of sources in Persian, Turkish, and Azerbaijani, to demonstrate how heritage is mobilised concurrently as a nation-building device and a tool for soft power in international relations. We conclude by suggesting that, despite strong grounds for its claims, Iran’s response in this competition has been reactive rather than proactive. Overall, the paper contributes to the scholarship on soft power and heritage diplomacy by presenting the first comparative analysis of cases of shared intangible heritage in West Asia.

The Port of Hugli in Seventeenth-century Bengal

Medieval Bengal occupied a focal position on the map of India due to its unique topography. The province was profusely rich in agricultural and non-agricultural produce as attested in the accounts of many foreign travellers. Satgaon and Chittagong in Bengal were the initial trading centres and custom ports in the sixteenth century. With the decline of the port of Satgaon, Hugli acquired a place of commercial importance in the seventeenth century. This marked the decline of Portuguese trade in Bengal with the simultaneous rise in Dutch and the English trade. The Hugli port served as a market for a wide range of commodities, and with time it developed into a major textile-producing area in the Mughal Empire. A series of studies by modern authors shed light on the commercial aspects of the Hugli port-town. Using Persian sources, travellers’ accounts, and records in English, this article revisits the relevance of the Hugli port in the seventeenth century. The article analyses the lucrative trade the port offered until its importance was overshadowed by the gradual rise of the port of Calcutta in the eighteenth century.

TRACES OF AHI-ORDER VALUES IN NASREDDIN HODJA ANECDOTES

13-15. centuries; It was a period when political, social, and economic turmoil and social conflicts were seen intensely in Anatolia. During this period, when the power struggles continued violently, the people of Anatolia retreated into their shells in despair and began to gather around the Turkmen dervishes. At this time when literary and cultural life was impoverished under the influence of foreign cultures, it was seen that Sufi movements and oral literature tradition had increased. The people, who could not know Arabic and Persian sources or could not access a limited number of Turkish works, tried to meet the need to read and listen to the folk literature goods that continued in their language and oral tradition, and the Seljuk society, which experienced a state of social collapse with what they learned from this, embraced the anecdotes of Nasreddin Hodja, which represented an important sage type of the period as a moral hub. In his anecdotes, there are solutions to every aspect of society that is flawed/disrupted. Articles about Nasreddin Hodja’s anocdotes were selected among many text publications by considering certain criteria. Here, rather than one of both the anecdotes belong to Nasreddin Hodja or not, more emphasis is placed on whether thet are told in the tradition of Nasreddin Hodja. This article is aimed to address the basic values of the Ethic organization from selected anecdotes of the teacher. Keywords: Ahi-Order, Nasreddin Hodja, Nasreddin Hodja Anecdote, 13-15th Centuries, Oral Culture, Principles of Ahi-Order.

Походы армии Тамерлана в Центральное Предкавказье в 1395–1396 гг. (локализация, проблемы изучения)

Introduction. The article attempts to localize Tamerlane’s campaigns of 1395–1396 in Central Ciscaucasia aimed to weaken the Golden Horde, eliminate chief forces of Tokhtamysh and his allies native to the region invaded. Goals. The study seeks to analyze and compare data from artefacts, written and phonic sources relating to Tamerlane’s campaigns in Central Ciscaucasia, clarify the roles once played therein by archaeological sites investigated across Stavropol Krai. Materials and methods. The paper focuses on artefacts, written and phonic sources. The former include ones contained in the occupation layer of Majar hillfort and bearing traces of the city’s demolition in the late 14th century CE, as well as those from two other sites of the Golden Horde era — Novopavlovka and Kochubeevskoe-1 settlements. The examined written sources are works by Arab, Persian and Western European authors, including modern ones. As for medieval Arab and Persian sources, the most detailed accounts for further analysis are contained in Books of Victory by Nizam al-Din Shami and Sharaf al-Din ‘Ali Yazdi, as well as in chronicles by Abd-al-Razzāq Samarqandī. Most precious data has been discovered in J. Schiltberger’s writing, oral accounts summarized by E. Çelebi and A. Firkovich. The work employs the historical-systemic, historical-comparative, and cartographic methods. The analysis is supplemented with results of scientific surveys recently conducted across glaciers of the Central and West Caucasus. Results. In spring of 1395, Tamerlane invaded the East and Central Caucasus to defeat Tokhtamysh in the decisive battle that took place in the Malka-Kura interfluve. Later in autumn and winter of 1395–1396, the invaders would return to the North Caucasus for raids throughout the lands of Kuban and Beshtau. Conclusions. In 1395–1396, Tamerlane was following a certain plan of his compiled with due regard for natural/climatic conditions of the region and seasonal economic cycles of Central Ciscaucasia’s nomads. The invading troops kept the field with the use of local resources — foodstuffs of Dzhulat county, summer pastures of Bishdag, and winter pastures of the Kuma-Manych Depression. Tamerlane was devastating the right wing of the Ulus of Jochi to take into possession the resources previously deployed by rulers of the Golden Horde.

A Story About Beaver Slavery in Arabic, Northern European, and Persian Sources

A Story About Beaver Slavery in Arabic, Northern European, and Persian Sources

Portuguese Mercenary Networks in Seventeenth-Century India: An Experiment in Global Microhistory and its Archive

Abstract Thousands of runaways left the Portuguese empire during the early modern period, but very little is known about the lived experience of this diverse group of individuals after they fled. This article questions the framework of analysis that reduces such a complex social phenomenon to the overarching category of “informal empire,” while testing the hypothesis that the issue of the archive lies at the core of the practice of global microhistory. A set of primary sources in Portuguese, Dutch, English, Marathi, and Persian is analyzed at close range to reconstruct the choices, motivations, and hesitations of a specific group of “Portuguese” – mostly dark-skinned mestiços of modest origin – who served as mercenaries in north-western Deccan. I argue that studying the networks of these mercenaries ultimately reveals localized forms of endurance and adaptation to rapid and disruptive changes brought about locally by imperial rivalry and long-distance commerce.

Introduction: Arabic as a South Asian Language

In recent decades, the ascent of the “Persianate world” paradigm has prompted a major revival in the study of Persian sources in and on South Asia, while at the same time building on Marshall Hodgson's capacious original conception of the Persianate as being more than Persianper seby including “more local languages of high culture that … depended upon Persian wholly or in part for their prime literary inspiration.” While this has been an extraordinarily productive cycle of scholarship, it has also coincided and perhaps contributed to the longstanding occlusion of South Asia's Arabic tradition. A single bibliographical citation may serve to illustrate the stark contrast to the Persianate publishing boom: the last English-language book-length survey of “the contribution of India to Arabic” was completed as long ago as 1929.

Sources and studies on the historical geography of ancient and medieval settlements in the Syr Darya, Talas, and Semirechye areas

The article reveals information from Chinese, Arabic and Persian sources on the historical geography of ancient and medieval settlements in Syr Darya, Talas and Semirechye areas. It also reports on the introduction of this information into academic circulation, as well as on the scientists’ judgments regarding these sources. Thus, the article covers the official written sources included in The Twenty-four Histories, travel notes of such travellers as Xuánzàng, Jiǎ Dān, Dù Huán, works by medieval Arab authors Ibn Khordadbeh, Ibn al-Faqih, Qudama ibn Ja'far, al-Balkhi, Ibn Hawqal, Al-Maqdisi, al-Idrisi and Yaqut al-Hamaawi, and later works in Persian by Ala ad-Din Atâ-Malek Juvayni, Rashid al-Din, Jamal Karshi, Muhammad Haydar Dulati and Sharafeddin Ali Yazdi all related to ancient cities and settlements in the Syr Darya, Talas, Chu, Semirechye areas, and Eastern Tian-Shan. Accentuating these works, the authors analyze their potential and reliability, the complementarity of the data given and their unique features. Furthermore, the article presents source data about Kazakhstan and adjacent territories, namely about Eastern Tian-Shan and Kashgaria, and ancient cities along Syr Darya , collected by world’s academics, and shows the advantages and disadvantages of historical and geographical research based on this data. Such analysis contributes to further development of source study and historiography, which has originated in domestic science relatively recently and is now actively developing. The article analyses works by Michael Yang de Gu, Song Xian, V.Minorsky, H.Yule, Zhang Xingliang, Feng Chengjun, Cen Zhongmian, Zhou Liankuan, Th.Watters, V.V.Barthold, A.G.Malyavkin, P.Pelliot, A.M.Belenitsky, E.Chavannes, S.L.Volin, Matsuda Hisau, B.E.Komekov, R.B.Komekova, et alia.

Shīrvānian Beylerbey Khosrow Khān and the Russian-Persian Conflict in the Middle of the 17th Century

In the mid-17th century, the relatively stable trade and diplomatic relations between Russia and Safavid Persia were disrupted by a conflict (1651–1653). The study’s main aim is to examine the immediate and indirect causes, and particularly, the role of Shīrvānian beylerbey Khosrow Khān in the conflict. According to several historians, he played an important role in this struggle. As the governor of the Safavid frontier province in the South Caucasus, he was an integral part of official Russian-Safavid trade relations. Khan’s merchants regularly travelled to Russia and traded at the local markets. However, Shīrvānian and Persian merchants’ trade sustained losses caused by frequent attacks of the Cossacks. Khosrow Khān sent several letters to the governors of Astrakhan and Terek complaining about these Cossack plundering raids. In addition, he also expressed dissatisfaction with the construction of a fortress on the territory at the mouth of the Terek and Sunzha rivers, which the Russians and Safavids considered their own sphere of political influence. All these factors gradually provoked Khosrow Khān, and other local Dagestani and Kumyk rulers (probably with the approval of the Safavid Shah), to organize military operations against the Shunza fortress. This seemingly local conflict was immediately noticeable at the official Russian-Safavid state diplomatic level. The research draws on a range of archival and published Russian and Persian sources, as well as on scholarly literature on the subject.

“На чужу основу я накладав свої узори”: орієнтальна генеза легенди Івана Франка “Арот і Марот”

The article analyzes the oriental interests of Ivan Franko as a scientist, historian, translator, writer, which determined the main feature of his artistic creativity – intertextuality. Franko’s collection of poems My Emerald (My Izmarahd) is an example of such intertextuality. In this collection, the author organically combined the influences of Eastern and Western cultures, borrowed wandering plots and images, adapting them to the spiritual and aesthetic features of national literature. The article is devoted to a detailed analysis of one of the works of this collection – the legend Arot and Marot. In particular, the intertextual genesis of the plot, genre nature, image system, versification and moral and ethical intentionality are considered. Based on research, the article finds that the legend of Arot and Marot is based on various sources of ancient wandering plot about fallen angels, which are recognizable biblical, including apocryphal and oriental influences. Thus, possible prototexts of this legend were found in the Koran (Qur’an), Jewish midrash, a Persian source, apocryphal texts, including the Book of Enoch. In fact, in his legend, Franko does not deviate from the protoplot of the fallen angels, retaining the same images-symbols (angels, God, woman, secret word, Babylon, chains, moat, wine, star) and anthroponyms (Arot, Marot, Astarte), as well as the main plot construct – the ascent of angels to earth, testing by woman and wine, fair punishment in the Babylonian moat. In Franko’s legend, the images of sinful angels sarcastically expose the true nature of the entire penitentiary system – a public court governed by completely immoral, selfish, impudent, arbitrary judges. The article also focuses on the analysis of etymology, symbolism, intertextuality and diversity of the main characters and images of the legend: Arot and Marot, Astarte, Babylon. Different versions of this name are marked by oriental influences. In the ideological paradigm of the legend, the categories of the verbal, the sacrum of the “secret word”, which opens a person’s ability to draw closer to God and become God’s chosen one, are given special significance.

Predators and Prey: Cosmological Perspectivism in Scythian Animal Style Art

The Scythians, nomads who roamed between the Pontic steppe and the Altai mountains throughout the 7th to 3rd centuries BC, are well known for their iconic animal style art. Composed of vivid stylised representations of animals, but depicting few humans, this art poses a challenge to interpretation. The Scythians left no written sources to give insight on their beliefs, and scholars have often had to make recourse to non-nomadic Greek and Persian sources, but these sources are not without their issues. In this paper I will propose the anthropological concept of cosmological perspectivism, first developed by Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, as a new way through which to think about and develop a better understanding of what Scythians thought and believed about the animal subjects of their art. I will explore the importance of predators, prey, and the contest between them in both perspectivism and Scythian art, and demonstrate how perspectivism might help us approach these works. Turning to a number of objects that combine Hellenistic and Scythian styles, I will examine how they support a perspectivist reading and explore what they can tell us about how the Scythians thought about animals and how they used them to represent human stories.

The Interaction between Hellenic and Persian Pharmacology: What's the output?

Background: Pharmacology has always been of utmost significance to Persian and Hellenic ancient scientists and presented their viewpoints in medical texts. The aim is to assess the interaction between Hellenic and Persian pharmacologists and the resulting output. Methods: Using descriptive-analytical method, primary Persian sources written by scholars such as Raban Tabari, Rhazes, Avicenna, and Jorjani, and also the works by prominent Greek scholars including Theophrastus, Hippocrates, Dioscorides, and Galen were searched using selected keywords, based on inclusion and exclusion critera, without time limit in domestic and foreign databases. Finally, the PRISMA diagram was drawn. Results: Studies show that Persian and Greek doctors have tried to develop the concepts of pharmacology and its applications interactively. In this research, pharmacology in Persian and Greek medical traditions is studied, and their mutual contributions are depicted. The concepts of medicine and pharmacology in Greek and Persian medicine are first analyzed. The reciprocal impacts of these two schools of pharmacology are explored, and at the end, the Persian scholars who have cited Greek scholars in their works are introduced. Conclusion: With the expansion of territories, ancient theories from the farthest lands entered the realm, introducing new drugs and ideas, which by the critical approach of the Persian scholars were sometimes modified and developed.

Beyond the “wonders of India” (‘ajā’ib al-hind): Yogis in Persian medico-alchemical writings in South Asia

AbstractThis article looks at the translation and circulation of yogis’ learning in Persian medical and alchemical texts produced in South Asia. I suggest that looking at the non-religious environment allows for a more accurate understanding of the overall circulation of yogic knowledge and techniques in the Muslim society of South Asia. Furthermore, I suggest that the assimilation of yogis’ learning in Persian sources concerned not only Yoga but also other types of knowledge associated with yogis. Muslim physicians’ interest in yogis’ knowledge focused on one specific aspect: rasaśāstra “alchemy” and the mastery over the production of mercurial and metallic drugs. The technical and pragmatic focus of Persian medico-alchemical writings contributed to give views of yogis beyond the exotic and foreignizing category of the wonders of India. Medical writings helped to develop views of yogis as a socio-economic group involved in the transmission of a specific body of knowledge. This was an important shift away from the perspective of the ‘ajā’ib al-hind “wonders of India” as well as from the ways in which yogis were perceived in Sufi texts. New perspectives on yogis emerged when Persian-speaking scholars and readers in India needed more pragmatic representations of local groups, such as the physicians who were in the process of appropriating alchemical notions that were closely associated with the yogis.

Iran’s golden age of tourism: the development of the travel industry in the late Pahlavi period (c. 1960-1979)

ABSTRACT This article examines the development of Iran’s tourism sector in the two decades before the revolution of 1979. In this period, the number of tourists visiting Iran each year grew from fewer than 80,000 in 1962 to nearly 700,000 by 1977, and as a result, tourism became an increasingly important sector of Iran’s economy. The article assesses the factors that contributed to the growth of the industry and investigates the extent to which this growth was the direct result of policies enacted by governmental organisations, in particular the Sāzmān-e Jalb-e Sayyāhān (Tourist Organisation), the Plan Organisation and Iran Air. Because Iran’s tourism industry was so underdeveloped in the 1960s, one of the primary tasks of Iran’s tourism planners was to market Iran around the world as an attractive tourist destination. The article evaluates the various advertisement strategies the government employed to attract tourists, particularly tourists from the more lucrative markets in Europe and the United States. It utilises a variety of primary sources in Persian and English, most importantly the three-volume Asnādi az Sanʿat-e Jahāngardi dar Irān (Documents on the Tourism Industry in Iran), which contains a wealth of material on tourism in Iran from 1922 until 1978.

The Letters of Shahrbarāz and Middle Persian Historiography on the Last Great War of Late Antiquity

The article analyses stories about letters sent by Kisrā Abarwīz to his general Shahrbarāz during the last Great War of Late Antiquity. The analysis sheds light on Middle Persian historiography and the transmission of historical information in the Late Sasanian and Early Islamic periods, information we need in order to understand the history of the period. Based on the study of this episode, supported by wider evidence, the article suggests that Middle Persian historiography was prone to literary embellishment, that it was solipsistic, almost exclusively interested in matters Persian, and that for its Persian sections Arabic historiography inherited this attitude from Middle Persian sources. The article also points to previously unused, or underused, sources that can throw more light on the relations between Middle Persian, Christian, and Islamic historiography.

The first results of Amir Temur's Middle East policy

During his many years of activity, Amir Temur tirelessly fought for the creation and strengthening of a strong centralized state to realize his political goals. The activities of Amir Temur in the countries of the Near and Middle East should be considered as a logical continuation of this policy, as its integral part. First of all, it is important to determine the purpose for which Amir Temur undertook these campaigns. If we approach the process of historical events objectively, it is easy to see that Amir Temur undertook these campaigns not only for the purpose of conquest. This is clearly evidenced by the fact that he did not include Gurzhistan, Sham (Syria) and the lands belonging to the Ottoman Turks in the composition of his state. Arabic and Persian sources devoted to the activities of Amir Temur contain partial information about his policy and diplomatic relations with the countries of the Middle East, but scientific studies created at the beginning of the 20th-21st centuries contain only brief reflections on this issue. Their generalization and in-depth analysis are important for clarifying the Uzbek statehood and diplomatic relations, determining the place and role of Amir Temur in the history of the peoples of the East.