CENTER FOR IRANIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER Vol. 18, No. 2 SIPA-Columbia University-New York Fall 2006

ENCYCLOPÆDIA IRANICA GALA BENEFIT VOLUME XIII COMPLETED DINNER ENEVA With the publication of Fas- RELIGIONS IN IRAN G cicles 5 and 6 in the Fall, Volume As in the sections for his- NOVEMBER 4, 2006 XIII of the Encyclopædia Iranica tory, peoples, languages, and is completed. The remaining sec- literatures, the section RELIGIONS On Saturday, November 4, 2006, a tions of the entry IRAN, a series of IN IRAN is divided according to the Gala Benefit Dinner was organized by 11 major articles, which began in pre-Islamic and Islamic eras: (1) a Committee of dedicated supporters, Fascicle 2, is completed in Fascicle Iranian Religions of the Pre-Islamic chaired by Mrs. Monireh Parvin and 5. Fascicles 5 and 6 also feature other Period, consisting of two parts, “An vice-chaired by Mrs. Minou Khamsi, main series of articles: IRANIAN IDENTITY Overview,” and “Manicheism;” and (2) who worked tirelessly to ensure its (5 articles); IRAQ, RELATIONS WITH IRAN Islam in Iran. success. The event was held at the (12 articles); and ISFAHAN (6 from a total P. Kreyenbroek in his Overview Intercontinental Hotel in Geneva, Swit- of 20 articles). In addition to the above of Iranian Religions of the Pre-Islamic zerland. The theme series, these fascicles feature over 30 Period begins with an introduction to of the Gala was entries on various aspects of Persian the Indo-Iranian religious tradition “Persian Contribu- history and culture. and the tenets of Zoroastrianism and tions to the Field of The last three sections of the series Mazdakism. The author treats the fun- Medicine” and five IRAN consist of IRAN ix. RELIGION IN IRAN damentals of Zarathustraʼs teachings Iranian physicians that begins in Fascicle 4 but is com- as laid out in his Gathas: the core idea working in Europe, pleted in Fascicle 5; it is followed by of the antithesis between the forces of who have made no- IRAN X. PERSIAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE Good and Evil as a central factor in the table contributions to the advancement (cross-referenced to two long series of origin of the universe. This cosmogony Monireh Parvin previously published articles on these leads to the pre-millenarian idea of the of medical science, topics) and, finally, IRAN xi. PERSIAN role of the faithful in the final victory of were honored at the event. MUSIC. Good over Evil. Only if man chose the 430 people attended the memo- rable gathering, which commenced with Continued on page 2 a cocktail reception, accompanied by traditional Persian SHIRIN NESHAT RECEIVES 2006 GISH PRIZE music, performed The celebrated, internationally acclaimed artist, longtime friend of by Mr. Ebrahim the Encyclopædia Iranica and a former lecturer at the Seminar for Iranian Pourabbas. When Studies, Columbia University, Ms. Shirin Neshat, was the recipient in 2006 the guests were of the distinguished Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, seated, Mrs. Parvin consisting of a medallion and $300,000. The ceremony welcomed them (in was held on October 12th in New York City. French), thanked The Gish Prize, named for the famous American the people who actresses of stage and screen, is one of the largest and had helped with Minou Khamsi most prestigious awards in the arts and is given annu- the Gala, and intro- ally to “a man or woman who has made an outstanding duced Prof. Ehsan Yarshater as the contribution to the beauty of the world and to mankindʼs keynote speaker. enjoyment and understanding of life.” Previous recipi- Dr. Yarshater first thanked the ents of this award include Ingmar Bergman, Bob Dylan, organizers of the Gala, the members Isabelle Allende, Frank Gehry, Bill T. Jones, Peter Sellers, and Ornette of the Honorary Committee, and Mr. Coleman. Mansour Afshar, the major benefac- Utilizing both still photography and film, Ms. Neshat has drawn on her tor of the Gala. His speech centered on own experience of exile for her work, much of which is deemed controversial the contribution of Iranians to world insofar as it examines gender roles in Islamic societies. Upon receiving the civilization in the course of history, award she stated that “Issues that cannot be solved on the political stage including Iranian contributions to the might somehow find workable solutions when condensed into a work of field of medical science (see p. 12 for the English translation of his address). art,” adding that “this prize is an important acknowledgment of the power of art.” Continued on page 4 CIS Newsletter 2

Continued from page 1 ISLAM IN IRAN of a distinctively Persian state dedicated side of Good would the will of Ahura H. Algar in ISLAM IN IRAN surveys to the propagation of Shiʼism under the Mazda and the proper order of Asha in detail the historical geography of the Safavids. He shows how the incipient prevail. Until then divine justice would spread of Islam in the Iranian plateau phase of conversion by the use of vio- take effect after death, offering the soul and related lands from the Arab con- lence was followed with the formation recompense for its earthly life until the quest to the present in three sub-sec- of the Shiʼite religious establishment, End of Time. The article also shows tions, “The Advent of Islam in Iran,” bringing in scores of Arab scholars how Zoroasterʼs millenarian ideas were “The Mongol Period,” and “Shiʼism hailing from Jabal Amel in Lebanon, elaborated upon, after the prophetʼs in Iran Since the Safavids.” In the first Hella in Iraq, Qatif in Arabia, and time, in the Young Avesta. A myth sub-section, Algar treats the historical Bahrain. It was further sustained by developed that the Prophetʼs seed was distribution of Islamic Sunnite schools commemoration of the martyrdom of preserved in a lake, where in the full- of jurisprudence and Sufi orders, Shiʼite Imam Hosayn (Ashura), and the festival ness of time a virgin would bathe and sects, and the marginal Kharejite move- of Ghadir; afterwards Shiʼism survived give birth to Zarathustraʼs posthumous ments in various regions of Iran. Algar as the distinctive, quasi-national creed son, the “Savior;” when he comes, all notes that the main form of differentia- of Persia. The author continues his those who had died would be physically tion among the majority Sunni popu- survey with the overall condition of resurrected at the End of Time. Then lation of Persia, up to Safavid times, Shiʼite institutions and their relations Kreyenbroek discusses in some detail consisted in the choice of school of ju- with the state during the dynasties of the early Iranian religious tradition of risprudence (madhhab) and, more spe- the Afsharids, Qajars, and Pahlavis, as western Iran, Zoroastrianism under cifically, those of Shafiʼite and Hanafite, well as the Islamic Republic. the Achaemenids, and Zoroastrianism that formed the main binary conflicting A development of utmost sig- under the Sasanids. factions, with the predominance of the nificance after the Afghan invasion of The final part of this section is Shafiʼite. This sub-section also deals Isfahan and the rise of Nader Shah was devoted to a brief discussion of Mazda- with the two branches of speculative the devastation of the Isfahan religious kism, which flourished under Kawad I or rational theology (kalam): Ashʼarite center (hawza), the transfer of chari- (ruled intermittently 488-531). Mazdak and Moʼtazelite, the former adopted by table lands (awqaf) to the State, and appears to have advocated a radical and Shafiʼites, and the latter by Hanbalites a shift in the focus of scholarly activ- militant form of pre-millenarian Zoro- and Shiʼites. Then the author goes on to ity to the shrine cities of Iraq (atabat) astrianism by using light symbolism to discuss the Sufi orders as another mode leading to the ultimate triumph of the illustrate a message of brotherly love, of differentiation among the Sunnis of Osuli current in jurisprudence over its social justice, and a form of emancipa- Persia that began to appear in the 10th Akhbari rival. tion of women. “The image we gain century, including the Kazaruniya, The Qajar period, Algar notes, saw from all this is consistent with that of Kobrawiya, Khalvatiya, Safaviya, Kar- the beginnings of Westernization, wid- a Zoroastrian herbed interpreting reli- ramiya, Malamatiya and Naqshbandiya. ening prerogatives of the State, which gion on the basis of the Zand, whom Also discussed are the Shiʼite com- coincided with the establishment of the circumstances caused to emphasize the munities in predominantly Sunni Iran Osuli current in jurisprudence and the importance of righteousness (Asha) in during the pre-Safavid era. Beginning rise of the ulamaʼs political clout vis-a- the form of social justice.” with the formation of Imami Shiʼite vis State officials. These developments In the second sub-section, D. communities in Qom, Ray, Qazvin, and led to numerous and significant clashes Durkin-Meisterernst and P. Krey- Nishapur, the author goes on to discuss between the two wings of the ruling enbroek explore the main tenets of Zaydi Shiʼites and Ismaʼili Shiʼites. elites. These clashes culminated in the “Manicheism,” the teachings of Mani of In the sub-section “Islam in the course of the 1890-91 Tobacco rebel- the 3rd century. They treat Manicheism Mongol Period,” Algar first underlines lion and the 1906-11 Constitutional as a universalistic, syncretism of vari- the continuation of Sunnite dominance Revolution, the net result of which ous religious elements in Mesopotamia with some rather marginal Shiʼite was to induce in the ulama a distrust and the Iranian plateau, particularly Zo- movements such as the Sarbadarids in of political involvement which was in roastrianism, Christianity and Judaism Bayhaq, and formation of the short- turn one reason for their acquiescence in and even Buddhism. Similar to Zoroas- lived Shiʼite principalities in Amol, Reza Shahʼs rise to power. Also treated trianism and Zurvanism, Manicheism Mashad and Gilan. Also treated are a are the Akhbari movement of Shaykh- is a dualist religion: the origin of the few movements with tendencies to- ism and a number of Sufi Orders that universe consists of two opposing ward extremist Shiʼism and/or Sufism, flourished in this period, including the principles, light and darkness, or good including the Horufi movement, the rise Neʼmat-Allahi order, the Dhahabiya and evil. Manicheism employs a central of Moshaʼshaʼiya in Khuzestan, and the order, the Khaksar dervishes, as well as myth of creation with three stages to Ahl-e Haqq order in western Iran. He the Ismaʼili Imamate in Persia. explain the human predicament. The continues with more detailed descrip- The condition of religious es- article discusses in some detail these tions of the burgeoning major Sufi or- tablishment under the Pahlavis is the stages and the influence of Manicheism ders that dominated the religious life of subject of the fourth sub-section. The on other religions in the region. The Persia and Transoxiana during the Mon- reign of Reza Shah, was characterized authors also note that Mani intended to gol and Timurid periods, including the by a cult of nationalism that glorified secure the tradition of his religion by Kobrawiya, Nurbakhshiya, Dhahabiya, the pre-Islamic past of Persia at the cost proclaiming his faith “in all tongues Neʼmat-Allahi, and Khalwatiya. of Islam. The secularization of Iranʼs and in all lands” and by using a fixed Algar in “Shiʼism from the Safavids judicial and educational systems under body of scripture. to the Present,” explores the formation Reza Shah greatly alarmed the clergy, 3 CIS Newsletter

who saw it as potentially undermining Persian classical music in some detail. The emergence of the political idea of traditional Islamic values and way of In the final part of his overview, Netll Iran, Gnoli demonstrates, was the result life. Algar notes that the formation of treats the modernization and Western- of a convergence of interests between the Pahlavi State coincided with the ization of Persian music between 1950 the Sasanid dynasty and the Zoroastrian renewal and development of the hawza and 1980. clergy to debunk Manichaean universal- (religious teaching establishment) in ism. This convergence gave rise to the Qom by Shaikh Abd-al-Karim Haʼeri, IRANIAN IDENTITY idea of Eran-shahr, “Kingdom of the with long term consequences for rela- The series IRANIAN IDENTITY is an Iranians,” and the currency in the use tions between religion and State in the exploration of the historical role of of the singular and plural forms, er and Pahlavi period. The author goes on to territorial and genealogical ties (real eran, in Middle Persian. This appeal to discuss political developments in the or imagined) as well as cultural and a heroic past and the religious tradition Hawza under Ayatollah Borujerdi until political elements in the formation and were blended in the Sasanian Khwaday- the early 1960s when he passed away transformation of Iranian identity in the namag and served as the foundation and clashes between State forces and long and eventful history of Iran. The of Iranian identity, widely influencing the religious establishment paved the series consists of the following sections: the literati of the Islamic world as evi- way for the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini i. PERSPECTIVES ON IRANIAN IDENTITY BY denced by the Annals of Tabari and the to the leadership of the revolutionary A. Ashraf; ii. PRE-ISLAMIC PERIOD by Shahnameh of Ferdowsi. religious movement in Iran. Algar G. Gnoli; iii. MEDIEVAL PERIOD; and iv. The third section of the IRANIAN begins his treatment of “The Islamic THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURIES, both by IDENTITY series explores the reconstruc- Republic” by noting that “Post-revolu- A. Ashraf; and v. THE POST-REVOLUTION tion of Iranian identity and its changes tionary developments are too numer- ERA (the last entry will be discussed in during the Islamic period from the 9th ous, complex and close at hand for the supplement online). to the 19th centuries. It shows how, fol- even cursory review or analysis.” He lowing the cultural shock and crisis of examines the hybrid foundation of the PERSPECTIVES ON IRANIAN IDENTITY identity that occurred in the first century Islamic government that includes both is an examination of three main views after the fall of the Sasanids, the urban an elected assembly and presidency on on the origins of the ʻideaʼ of Iran. The literati of Persian origin began to recon- the one hand with a leader who has wide article espouses a middle ground, his- struct the cultural idea of Iran within an discretionary powers on the other. In toricizing perspective recognizing that Islamic society. The emergence of a new the last part of the article, Algar treats ʻmodern civic nationʼ is the product form of Persian as the literary language the plight of Sufi orders and Sunni of modernity and as such could not be of Iran as well as a gradual revival of communities as well as other Shiʼite applied retrospectively to pre-modern Iranian mythological and legendry his- communities such as the Shaykhis and times, but it strongly rejects the modern- tory, helped buttress the new Iranian Ismaʼilis, during this period. ist and post-modernist contention of a cultural identity. The article shows radical discontinuity between a modern how Iranian Identity and the pattern PERSIAN MUSIC nation and its historical past. There- of the use of the term ʻIranʼ in Persian A survey of Persian music by fore, recurrent construction of Iranian literature evolved in four main phases Bruno Nettl is the last entry in the se- identity from its literary foundation in the medieval Islamic era: a revival ries IRAN. Netll treats various aspects of during the Sasanid era to the present phase under the Persian regional dynas- Persiaʼs rich and diverse musical tradi- time is divided into the following three ties; a rather complex phase during the tion, which may be classified in various distinct stages: the foundation phase of Saljuqs, a resurgence phase during the ways: ethnic and regional (Kurdish, arranging and recording a pre-modern Mongols and Timurids; and finally, the Azari, Lori, Baluchi, Armenian), and ethno-national, political identity during formation of a hybrid Iranian-Shiʼite hierarchical (classical and folk music). the late Sasanid era; the revival phase identity under the Safavids. The author overviews major issues in of reconstruction and development of Section four is an examination the study of Persian music from its Iranian identity during the Islamic era; of the formation of “Iranian national historical background to various types and, finally, the national phase of the identity proper” when the Iranian pre- of music to social value of music and formation of a modern Iranian “national modern society encountered the modern musicians and their patrons to musical identity” during the last two centuries. age of nationalism in the 19th and 20th instruments, etc. Nettl continues his These phases are discussed in the fol- centuries. The article shows how this overview by a treatment of the core of lowing three sections. identity was constructed on the basis Persian classical music from its revival Iranian identity in the PRE-ISLAMIC of pre-existing Iranian ethnic and ter- in the late decades of the Qajar dynasty PERIOD by G. Gnoli explores the trans- ritorial ties, historical memories, and by Mirza Abd-Allah who was princi- formation of the idea of Iran from a commemorations of historical events. pally responsible for developing the religious, cultural, and ethnic identity Appearing sporadically in the 19th radif, or the basic repertoire of classical during the Achaemenid period (which century, the idea of popular, liberal Persian music; Darvish Khan, composer continued to the end of Arsacids) to a nationalism flourished in the course of and influential teacher; and Ali-Naqi political idea of Iran under the Sasanids. the 1905-11 Constitutional Revolution, Vaziri who sought to revitalize Persian Gnoli shows at the outset how both the and later was transformed into a state- music by modernizing it through the Old Persian and Avestan evidence as sponsored form of ethno-nationalism introduction of Western technologies, well as the Greek sources confirm that during the Pahlavi period. The article musical principles, and performance Persians were already aware of belong- concludes with the politics of national contexts. Netll continues to describe ing to the arya “Iranian” ethnic group identity and the formation of various the composition and improvisation of during the early Achaemenid period. Continued on page 6 CIS Newsletter 4

lar disorders, notably Pathologies de GALA BENEFIT DINNER lʼaorte and Dictionnaire de Cardiolo- GENEVA - NOVEMBER 4, 2006 gie, both published in 2004. He has also Continued from page 1 been awarded a number of honorary performance on the daff. titles, such as the “Chevalier de lʼOrdre Then, after dinner, the participants The festivities lasted until a few National du Mérite” in 1988 and “Of- were treated to a dance performance minutes past 2 AM. In an innovative and ficier de lʼOrdre du Mérite” in 2004. with mystical overtones by the accom- generous gesture, Mr. Moshkin Ghalam Prof. Gandjbakhch is also a member plished dancer, Mr. Shahrokh Mosh- auctioned his encore performance to of the French National Academy of kin Ghalam. At this point the honorees benefit the Encyclopædia Iranica. Mr. Medicine. were introduced by Dr. Irandokht Nejat and Mrs. Homa Sarshar were Azimi. They each ascended the podium the highest bidders (3500 SF). Judg- and received their ing by all comments, the event was an Prof. Nosrat Peseschkian, Found- award, consist- exceedingly enjoyable and memorable er of Positive Psychotherapy, which is ing of a golden one. based on the trans-cultural approach, replica of Cyrus was born in Iran in the Greatʼs Baby- PRINCIPAL SPONSOR 1933 and has been lonian Cylinder, Mr. Mansour Afshar, the well- living in Germany from the former known philanthropist and collector of since 1954. His President of the Persian art, was born in 1935 in Tehran work focuses on the University of Ge- investigation of the Mr. Moskhin-Ghalam and now resides in Geneva. He has been neva, Dr. André a supporter of many cultural causes, and relationship between Hurst, just retired (see the brief bi- a considerable number of individuals culture and disease, ographies of the honorees in the next and institutions have benefited from and the analysis of columns). his generosity. An cultural concepts, which evolved in After the presentation of the awards, avid reader with 22 different cultural groups. He has the noted and popular vocalist, Ms. a marked interest served as the President of the German Shahla Sarshar, in art and litera- Association of Positive Psychotherapy sang two songs, ac- ture, particularly since 1979 and, as an international companied by the classical Persian lecturer, he has traveled to more than celebrated pianist literature and his- 65 countries to conduct postgraduate and composer, Mr. tory, Mr. Afsharʼs courses, seminars, workshops, public Anushirvan Rou- cultural interests lectures and interviews with the press, hani. They were coincide with the television and radio. Prof. Peseschkian introduced by the Encyclopædia Iranicaʼs mission of is also a member of a number of sci- entific societies. Among other awards, Ms. Sarshar Master of Ceremo- recording, preserving and disseminat- nies, Mr. Sassan ing the facts of Iranian history and he has received the Order of Merit and Kamali, of California. Subsequently, civilization. Distinguished Service Cross from the the items donated by Bulgari and Federal Republic of Germany. He is the Enigma (jewelry and famous watches) author of 24 books, which have been GALA HONOREES translated into 23 languages as well as well as attrac- as numerous articles for professional Prof. Iradj Gandjbakhch, re- tive paintings by the German journals and international nowned Professor of Cardiovascular and well-known artist, academic publications. Mr. Nasser Ovissi, Thoracic Surgery and President of the and Mr. Pourabbas – Association des Amis de lʼEncyclopédie Iranica in Paris, Prof. Hossein Sadeghi, President all collected through of the Swiss Society for Cardiovascular the good offices of was born in Iran in 1941 and stud- and Pulmonary Surgery, was born in Mr. Afshar – were Iran in 1930 and pursued his medical ably auctioned by ied medicine in Mr. Rouhani Mr. Mahyar Makh- France, graduating studies in Switzer- zani. with honors from land. In 1957, after After the auction, Mrs. Minou University of Paris. finishing medical Khamsi made a final speech (in Eng- He has held the po- school, he traveled lish), thanking the guests for their sitions of Professor to the United States support and expressing the hope for of Cardiovascular to do his residency their future donations. At this time a and Thoracic Surgery at Université in General Surgery, series of musical performances fol- Pierre et Marie Curie – UER Pitié- becoming a special- lowed, arranged by Mr. Rouhani and Salpêtrière, Chief of Thoracic and ist in general and his ensemble, which included two Cardiovascular Surgery at Groupe thoracic surgery in 1964. Later, he went excellent vocalists, Mr. Giorgio Aristo Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, among to work in Iran where cardiovascular and Mrs. Melody Kielisch, who sang others. Author of 527 articles, published surgery was not yet fully developed. In both Persian and Western songs. Mr. in French and international journals, he 1966 he joined the Cardiovascular Sur- Abbas Bakhtiari also gave a virtuoso has also written books on cardiovascu- gery Department in Lausanne as an As- 5 CIS Newsletter

sociate Surgeon. From 1967 to 1996, he nese section of the INI, and the honor- took up a faculty research position at held the position of Professor and Chief ary President of the World Federation of the Institute of Child Health in Lon- of Cardiovascular Surgery at the Uni- Neurosurgical Societies. His worldwide don, where she has been working ever versity of Lausanne. He retired in 1996 academic honors include the Aristo- since. She was named Professional of with the title of Honorary Professor tle Gold Medal from the University the Year in the Asian of the University of Lausaunne. Prof. of Thessaloniki (Greece, 1998); the Women Achieve- Sadeghi has established new operating McLaughlin-Gallie Visiting Professor- ment Awards in techniques for pediatric and elderly ship of the Royal College of Physicians 2003. A consultant cardiac surgery, which have reduced and Surgeons (Canada, 2003); dedica- in neuropsychology the number of complications and deaths tion of an Auditorium in honor of his at the Great Ormond among patients. Prof. Sadeghi is the au- leadership in health and science in the Street Hospital for thor of 426 scientific articles, published course of the past 25 years by the city of Children, Prof. in various professional journals. Hanover; opening of Samii Skull Base Vargha-Khadem Surgery training center at Xuan Wu Prof. Majid Samii, President of the University in Beijing in recognition of recently published the results of re- International Institute of Neurosciences his worldwide reputation as the leading search on how brain damage can lead surgeon of skull base surgery; Cross of to serious anti-social behavior in pu- (INI) at Otto-von- berty and adulthood. Her research in Gericke University, Merit, first class (Federal Republic of Germany). collaboration with a team of scientists was born in Iran in has culminated in the discovery of the 1937 and obtained Prof. Farzaneh Vargha-Kha- first gene associated with speech and his medical doctor- dem, noted research Professor of language. Further recent work on child- ate at the University neuropsychology, was born in Iran and hood amnesia has drawn international of Mainz, Germany, completed her studies at McGill Uni- recognition and has led to new models in 1963. He is the versity in Montreal and the University of how the brain stores and retrieves president of the Chi- of Massachusetts in 1979. In 1983 she different kinds of memories.

Iran Heritage Foundation Sholeh Assadi & Hesky Brahimy SUPPORT FOR Institute of Ismaʼili Studies (London) Mohammad Haerian ENCYCLOPÆDIA Morteza Masoumzadeh Sustainers Shabahang Iranian Cultural IRANICA Mohammad Mohseni Society of America The Encyclopædia Iranica is a project of Jack Mahfar Pari & Parviz Yeganegi Columbia University carried out by its Mohammad Reza Afshar Ali & Batool Zarbalian, Dr. Center for Iranian Studies. Partially sup- Faranak & Mahyar Amirsaleh ported by the National Endowment for the Mahrokh Songhorian Eshaghian Friends Humanities, the execution of the project is Montreal Friends of Encyclopædia Massood Bral, Dr. being made possible by donations from in- Ebrahim & Carolyn Fakouri, Prof. Nastaran Akhavan stitutions and individuals that value a com- Homa & Nejat Sarshar Panteha Moghimi prehensive, meticulous and reliable record Nardjes Khalili Ezat Soleimani of Persian culture and history. We appeal Bahman & Hamila Atefi, Dr. to all such institutions and individuals to Hassan Khakbaz Mohseni assist the project by their donations. 2000 Club Khosrow Matini, Dr. Jaafar Samimi & Abdi Ghazinouri We acknowledge with thanks the donations Iranian American Society, NY Max & Fay Takaloo by the following for the period of Novem- Jalal Mahdavian & M. A. Mirzai, Simin Behbahani ber 15, 2005–November 15, 2006 Drs. (OʼMead Fndtn) Ann Arbor Area Community Fndtn, in Memory of Darya Lin 1000 Club Ata O. Eghrari, Dr. Patron Farideh & Farhad Ahi (Paris) Manouchehr & Mitra Mesbah- Ghazaleh and Khosrow B. Semnani Bazargan Atai, Dr. S. Khavari Nasrollah Khosrowshahi, Dr. Khosrow Bahrani Benefactors Parviz Mina, Dr. (Paris) Tahereh Fazel & M. Banihashemi Omid & Bita Kordestani Amir Nosrat Monaghah (Paris) Morteza & Fausia Mortezai Mahmoud Khayami Nour Foundation Bahram & Manijeh Moghtaderi Akbar Ghahary, Ph.D. Chapour Rassekh, Dr. Sadegh Azimi, Dr. Dubai Friends of Iranica Mouhebat Sobhani Haerian Holdings, LLC (Mr. M. Houshmand) Mehdi Vaseghi, Dr. Andisheh Sarabi Salar Kamangar Ghodsi Zanganeh (Paris) Mohammad & Manijeh Pourfar, Dr. Ziba Designs (S. Vossoughi, CEO) Ima Madadi Sponsors Mahmoud Shahbodaghi Soudavar Memorial Foundation Supporters Nazem Family Foundation Ali A. & Narguess Alemi, Dr. CIS Newsletter 6

Continued from page 3 modes of identity since the mid-20th century.

IRAQ, RELATIONS WITH IRAN The series on Iran-Iraq relations from ancient times to the present is ex- plored in 13 entries: i. THE LATE SASANID AND EARLY ISLAMIC ERAS; ii. FROM THE ABBASIDS TO THE MONGOLS (referred to BAGHDAD); iii. FROM THE MONGOLS TO THE SAFAVIDS; iv. THE SAFAVID PERIOD; v. FROM THE AFSHARIDS TO THE END OF THE QAJAR PERIOD; vi. THE PAHLAVI PERIOD; vii. IRAN-IRAQ WAR; viii. SHIʼITE SHRINES IN IRAQ (referred to ATABAT); ix. SHIʼITE SEMINARIES IN IRAQ; x. SHIʼITES OF IRAQ; xi. IRANIAN COMMUNITY IN IRAQ (referred to DIASPORA vi); xii. PERSIAN SCHOOLS IN IRAQ; and xiii. PERSIAN NEWSPAPERS IN IRAQ. The series begins with a brief The southern part of the Sasanian Quarter of introductory remark noting that rela- the West with the capital city of Ctesiphon tions between Iran and Mesopotamia could be traced back to the middle of the 2nd millennium B.C.E. when the recent decades through Iranian viziers M. Milani, in THE PAHLAVI PERIOD, early waves of westwards migration and officials serving the caliphs, the rise explores three phases in the relation- made by Iranian tribes came under the of Shiʼite power and their theological ship between Iran and Iraq between cultural influence of ancient Mesopo- literature, the spread of Sufi ideas and 1921, when Britain installed Faysal tamia. However, the nature of these convents as well as the patronage of Ibn Hossein as the king of the newly relations changed from the 8th to the Persian and Persian poetry by some formed nation-state of Iraq, up to the 6th centuries when the formation of the caliphs and their officials. 1979 Revolution. In the first phase, Median Empire and foundation of their The sub-section on the SAFAVID from 1921 through 1958, when Britain capital at Ecbatana, along with the rise PERIOD examines the geopolitical and dominated Iraq, bilateral relations were of the Achaemenid Empire and Cyrusʼ ideological significance of Iraq in the generally amicable but not devoid of conquest of Babylon, led to Persiaʼs rivalry between the Safavid and Otto- friction. During this time, the two pro- control over all of Mesopotamia. This man empires. Baghdad switched hands Western monarchies signed a boundary situation continued under the Arsacid three times between 1508 and 1638. treaty (in 1937), and participated in two and Sasanid dynasties for over 900 After the Ottomans captured it in 1638, non-aggression and security pacts. In years, when Ctesiphon was their capi- Baghdad remained under Ottoman con- the second phase, from the 1958 coup tal. The southern part of Mesopotamia, trol. As the site of the martyrdom and that overthrew the monarchy through known as del-e Iranshahr (lit., “the burial of a number of Shiʼite Imams, the 1968 seizure of power by the Baʼth heart of the kingdom of Iran”), served Iraq was part of a sacred geography, party, bilateral relations became in- as the central province of the Sasanian and formed a cornerstone in the ideol- creasingly acrimonious as Iraq tilted Empire as well as that of the Abbasid ogy that brought the Safavid dynasty to toward the Soviet Union while Iran Caliphate (see the map on top right). power. The shrines of the holy figures solidified its strategic relationship with As such, it played a significant part in of Shiʼism annually drew thousands of the West. In the final phase, coinciding the transmission of administrative and pilgrims from Persia. with the British withdrawal from the cultural elements from Sasanian Iran to E. Tucker, in FROM THE AFSHARID Persian Gulf in the late 1960s, Iran the Islamic world. The “Persian Pres- TO THE END OF QAJAR PERIOD, discusses and Iraq were engaged in a mini-cold ence” in Mesopotamia continued until in some detail three important aspects war to establish regional hegemony. the Safavid era, as Persian remained of the diplomatic history of this frontier Finally, they signed the 1975 Algiers the language of most sedentary people region: first, the resultant turbulence Treaty that ushered in a fleeting period as well as that of the chancery until the with the rise of Nader Shah; second, of genuine bilateral cooperation, which 15th century and thereafter. the gradual regularization of diplomacy ended with the eruption of revolution in The late A. Zaryab, in FROM THE and relations between Persia and the Iran in 1979. MONGOLS TO THE SAFAVIDS, shows that Ottoman Empire and its impact on S. Gieling, in IRAN-IRAQ WAR, the capture of Baghdad by the Mongols Iraq; third, the increasing importance discusses the longest conventional war in the mid-13th century occurred at a of religious connections between Persia of the 20th century lasting nearly eight time when Persian influence was on the and Iraq during the Qajar era due to years from 1980 to 1988 with one mil- rise but the city as a whole in decline. southern Iraqʼs importance as a Shiʼite lion casualties and a cost of some $1 The Persian influence had increased in pilgrimage center. trillion. The author explores in detail the 7 CIS Newsletter

causes of the war from the pretext for Matini at the helm. the Iraqi invasion of Iran, the boundary Two journals of Iranian Studies disputes, and Iraqʼs objectives for in- published in Yerevan, Armenia, are vading Iran as well as the international treated: IRAN-NAMEH, a journal of Ori- factor in the war. Also examined are ental Studies, founded in 1993, that the course of the war from the Iraqi deals with various issues of the Oriental invasion to the Iranian counterattack world in general and Persia in particular, and advances into Iraqi territory and the is treated by V. Boyajian; and IRAN AND extension of the war to the Persian Gulf THE CAUCASUS, the yearly international (tanker war). The final part discusses the academic journal founded in 1997 process of cease-fire and a glimpse into by the Caucasian Centre for Iranian the consequences of the war. Studies, and published in Armenian, is M. Litvak contributes the entries Dinshah IRANI discussed by V. Arakelova. SHIʼITE SEMINARIES IN IRAQ and SHIʼITES OF IRAQ. The author begins the entry sites with levels identified as dating to NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES SHIʼITES OF IRAQ by noting that although the iron age, first excavated in western N. Parvin contributes the follow- Iraq was the cradle of Shiʼism, the Iran at Sialk and later in northwestern ing articles on Persian newspapers: Shiʼites only became the majority there Iran around the west, east, and south IRAN, the title of five newspapers of during the 19th century. He continues shores of Lake Urmia; B. A. Litvinsky which four were published in Persia with a brief history of the Shiʼites of in IRON IN EASTERN IRAN discusses the and one in Baghdad, Iraq; LA REVUE Iraq from the time of the 12 Imams development of the local iron metal- IRAN, a bilingual Persian-French quar- to the Buyid rule over Baghdad, dur- lurgy in Central Asia earlier than central terly published in Tehran (1923-33) for ing which time the appearance of new and western Iran and other parts of the the international exchange of stamps, public manifestations of the Shiʼite Middle East; S. Shaked contributes books, and other collectibles; IRAN-E creed were encouraged; under the ISAIAH, BOOK OF, one of the books of the KABIR, a weekly newspaper published zealot Sunnite Saljuqs when a period Hebrew Bible, in which he discusses in the city of Rasht by political activ- of the demise of Shiʼism began; under possible reflections and influences of ists (1929-30); IRAN-E MA, an influential the Ottoman and Safavid rival empires Iranian religion in Isaiah. liberal paper with nationalist leanings, when the Ottomans never granted the Three entries deal with the Parsis published in Tehran ( 1943-60); IRAN-E Shiʼites status of an independent reli- of India: M. Boyce and F. Kotwal dis- NOW, the daily organ of the Democrat gious school (madhhab) or community cuss IRANSHAH, the term now used by Political Party, published in Tehran (millet); however, the 18-19th centuries the Parsis as the name of their oldest (1909-11); and IRAN-E JAVAN, a weekly saw the rise of religious centers in sacred fire; K. Jamasp Asa contributes paper published in Tehran (1926-27) the holy cities of Iraq as the result of the following two entries, Dinshah Ji- by the society of the same name (see migration of a large number of ulama jibhoy IRANI, Parsi notable and scholar; the next item). J. Behnam contributes from Iran to atabat and the change of and IRAN LEAGUE, an organization es- an article on ANJOMAN-E IRAN-E JAVAN, the Shiʼite community from minority to tablished in 1922 by prominent Parsis, (The society of young Iran), founded the majority status due to the massive with the aim of reviving and strengthen- in 1921 and advocating the westerniza- tribal immigrations from the Arabian ing cultural and other ties between the tion of Persia and the establishment of Peninsula during the 18th century and Parsis of India and Iran. a secular, progressive government (it the conversion of a bulk of them to published the above journal of the same Shiʼism. The remaining part of the PUBLICATIONS ON IRANIAN STUDIES name as its organ). entry examines the plight of Shiʼites in Periodicals and publications on the 20th century from the late Ottoman Iranian Studies comprise six entries: C. rule to the formation of the Iraqi na- E. Bosworth and V. S. Curtis discuss tion-state, to the rise of Baʼthist regime IRAN, journal of the British Institute after the 1968 coup, the exacerbation of Persian Studies, founded in 1963 to of Sunni-Shiʼite tensions, to the Iran- publish primarily articles on the archae- Iraq War and the aftermath of the 1991 ology of pre-Islamic Iran; however, the Persian Gulf War. history of the Islamic period has also Finally, H. Yaghmaʼi discusses been well represented in the journal; PERSIAN SCHOOLS IN IRAQ; and N. Parvin M. Kasheff treats IRANSHAHR, an ency- contributes the entry PERSIAN NEWSPA- clopedic collection of articles published PERS IN IRAQ. under the auspices of the UNESCO National Commission in Iran, devoted PRE-ISLAMIC AND ZOROASTRIAN EN- to all cultural and historical phases of TRIES Persia; A. Milani contributes articles Four entries discuss pre-Islamic on two Persian journals of Iranian Stud- The logogram of IRANSHAHR Journal, with topics: S. Brock discusses ISAAC, ies: IRAN NAMEH, published quarterly in images of ancient Iranian monuments Bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon and (clockwise, from center): tomb of Darius Persian by the Foundation for Iranian I; monument of Khosrow II; palace of Catholicos of the Church of the East Studies based in Washington, DC; and Ardashir I; platform of the Achaemenid (399-410); O. W. Muscarella con- IRANSHENASI, which began publication apadana; tomb of Cyrus II; and tributes IRON AGE which treats Iranian in 1989 in Washington, DC, with Jalal the Ayvan-e Kesra at Ctesiphon CIS Newsletter 8

BIOGRAPHIES COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SEMINARS ON Also included in these fascicles are biographies of five figures from the IRANIAN STUDIES 5th to the 20th centuries: IRANSHAHRI, Prof. Vahid Noshirvani and Dr. Ahmad Ashraf, Co-Chairs 9th century mathematician, natural of the many important myths (the Solar scientist, historian of religion, astrono- BAHRAM-E GURʼS mer, philosopher, and author, by D. Dragon slayer, the Initiated Spouse of ONQUEST OF THE ROWN Kargar and EIr; ISA B. SAHRBOKHT, C C the Seven Storytelling Brides, the Lord medical author of the 9th century from of the Twin Lions) – and their influence Gondishapur, by L. Richter-Bernburg; through the filter of Islamic culture on ISADRAS NAGAR, Hindu historian of the world civilizations from India to Spain 17th century who wrote in Persian, by – associated with King Bahram, as nota- M. Casari; William Edmund IRONSIDE, bly meditated by such medieval writers British Field Marshall, noted for his as Tabari, Ferdowsi, Ibn Zafar al-Siqilli important role as commander of Brit- (the Sicilian), Nezami, Amir Khosrow, ish forces in Persia during the 1921 and even the anonymous authors of the coup dʼetat by Reza Khan, by the late Thousand and One Nights. On the influ- D. Wright; and Hosayn Kazemzadeh ence of Bahram-e Gur upon the Islamic IRANSHAHR, an ardent Iranian national- royal image, Dr. Barry noted that Abba- ist active during the First World War, sid caliphs, as successors to both Iranian prolific author on political, religious and and Abrahamic lines, were represented educational subjects, and the publisher in literature and art as heirs to Solomon of the journal IRANSHAHR in the 1920s, and to Jamshid at once, as the legatees both by J. Behnam. On May 11, 2006, Dr. Michael of David and Bahram together. Barry, Consultative Director at the Dr. Barry went on to describe how OTHER ENTRIES Department of Islamic Art of the Met- Nezami, the supreme creative narrative Four entries treat other subjects: P. ropolitan Museum of Art and Visiting Persian poet, transformed and further Alizadeh contributes the entry on IRAN Professor of Persian at Princeton Uni- deepened the myth of Bahram-e Gur; NATIONAL, the pioneering automotive versity, led a discussion on the topic according to Sasanian tradition, not company founded in Iran in 1962 by of “Bahram-e Gurʼs Conquest of the only did Bahram-e Gur become “The Ahmad and Mahmud Khayami and later Crown of World-Empire from Between King of Arab and Ajam,” but the legend directed by Mahmud Khayami alone; its Two Lions.” of Bahramʼs victory over the twin lions most famous product was the “Peykan” Dr. Barryʼs lecture and slide- was emblazoned in Sasanian and later car, with 100,000 units manufactured show drew on a wealth of images Islamic iconography as the image of the annually by 1977; M. Byrne treats the – from Achaemenid cylinder seals and world-ruler seated upon a throne upheld IRAN-CONTRA AFFAIR, two separate and Sasanian vessels to illuminated manu- by twin submissive lions. distinct U.S. covert operations in Iran scripts of the poets Ferdowsi, Nezami Providing some examples with re- and Central America, linked in the mid- and Amir Khosrow, in order to explore lated illustrations, Dr. Barry mentioned 1980s when funds generated by the sale in depth the myth of Bahram-e Gur, that the Mesopotamian Jews under of weapons to Iran were diverted to around whose idealized figure so many Sasanian rule borrowed the image of help finance the so-called Contra war in ancient Near Eastern traditions associ- this magic throne born and protected by Nicaragua; J. R. Irvine discusses IRAN- ated with royalty came to be crystallized twin talismanic lions and attributed it ZAMIN, a combined Iranian American and so perpetuated – through the myth to their King Solomon. Eastern Islamic International School founded in 1967 of Bahram – into Islamic civilization. rulers such as the 9th-century Abbasid which operated until the 1979 Revolu- Dr. Barry began his presentation by caliph al-Maʼmun, the 11th-century tion; and IRANSHAHR, district and town noting that the fifth-century Sasanian Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni or the 16th- in Baluchistan, by EIr. King Bahram-e Gur, “Victorious-Force century Mughal Emperor Akbar in India the Great Lord”, famous for defeating in turn appear recognizably depicted on both the Byzantines and the Central precious vessels or in manuscript illu- Asian Huns on either side of the Persian minations as the symbolic world-ruler Empireʼs frontiers, became enshrined in “Bahram” whom they re-enact, seated later Iranian myth and folklore – and in majesty upon the twin-lion throne or well into the Islamic period – as a quelling the two lions to snatch up the peerless hero around whose idealized crown of Iran (in the illustrations to the figure the most ancient Persian tradi- 1595 manuscript of Nezamiʼs poems tions crystallized: as the archetypal copied in Lahore for the Mughal sover- world monarch, a just and wise ruler, a eign and now in the British Library, the potent lover, a fearless warrior, a slayer painted figure of “Bahram” is obviously of dragons, and a matchless horseman, Akbar himself). archer and hunter. The slide-show, The motif was also spread, Dr. through ancient and medieval Persian Barry said, by Islamic civilization as Hosayn Kazemzadeh IRANSHAHR works of art, explored the significance far west as Spain, whose caliphs of 9 CIS Newsletter

Cordova ordered themselves portrayed constitutional/nationalist struggle in Although the Iranian revolutionary in carved ivory just like as Abbasid other parts of the world, ranging among press were silent on the Irish question rivals in Baghdad, staring frontally in others from the organized activities of and the various contemporary Irish the Sasanian manner with Jamshid/ the Persia Committee (London), the nationalist platforms and activities, the Solomonʼs symbolic mirroring cup of International Socialist Bureau (head- Iranian revolution resonated with Irish world-rule pressed against their heart, quartered in Brussels), the Persiaʼs nationalists of differing ideological and and seated upon Bahramʼs lion-throne. Defence Society (Calcutta), Society of political orientations. A number of Irish The 12th-century Sicilian Arab narra- Iranian Alliance (anjuman-i wifaʼq-i nationalist MPs in London (members tor Ibn Zafar al-Siqilli, “the Sicilian,” iranian) in Hyderabad, India, Union of the Irish Parliamentary Party), par- dedicated his tales in mixed prose and Franco-Persane (Paris), as well as the ticularly John Dillon, emerged as vocal verse of the Sasanian kings to a Sicilian Iranian émigré/diaspora organizations, critics of the British foreign secretary emir and vassal to the Norman Christian such as anjuman-i saʼadat iranian (Is- Sir Edward Grey, particularly after the kings of Palermo, with these words: tanbul), and a host of other individual conclusion of the 1907 Anglo-Russian “Who seizes the crown and regalia and organized activities, including also Agreement that divided Iran into Brit- from between the two lions, of rule is the armed participation of various ish and Russian spheres of influence he the most worthy.” From the Spanish groups and individuals from the Rus- and made London an accomplice to St. and Sicilian Arabs, the myth of Bahram sian Caucasus and Eastern Europe on Petersburgʼs policy of enmity toward and his twin lions influenced the art and the side of the constitutional camp in the Iranian revolutionary camp. The tales of medieval Christian Europe. the Iranian civil war of 1908-09. In the more radical Irish nationalist organi- remainder of the presentation, he con- zations, namely the Irish Republican centrated on the reverberations of the Brotherhood and its New York-based IRANIAN CONSTITUTIONAL Iranian revolution in India and Ireland, Clan na Gael republican mouthpiece, REVOLUTION as well as in Indian and Irish diaspora the Gaelic American, and Sinn Féin, & GLOBAL SOLIDARITY communities, and the manifold Indian with its namesake paper (published and Irish expressions of solidarity and in Dublin), also endorsed the Iranian support for the Iranian revolutionary constitutional/national movement after On September 12, 2006, Dr. Man- cause. their initial silence on, and even dis- sour Bonakdarian of the University He examined the Pan-Indian na- missive attitude toward, the outbreak of Toronto at Mississauga led the dis- tionalist activities in support of the of the Iranian revolution in 1906. This cussion on the topic of “The Iranian Iranian revolution, ranging from state- transformation was in part due to the Constitutional Revolution of 1906-11 ments by the Indian National Congress attention devoted to the Iranian revolu- & Global Networks of Revolutionary to press reports and commentaries in the tion by Indian and Egyptian nationalists Solidarity.” militant Bande Mataram of Calcutta, whose views resounded in the pages Dr. Bonakdarian began his talk by the left-leaning Calcutta monthly Mod- of the radical Irish nationalist papers. noting that worlding the Iranian revo- th ern Review, or the activities of pan-In- Among other factors, Irish interest in lution in the early 20 century, which dian nationalists in other locations, such Iranian developments also was a cor- occurred during a period of intensi- as the Paris-based militant nationalist ollary of the Irish cultural and literary fied parliamentary-democratic as well and feminist Madame Bhikhaji Rustom interest in Iran, emanating from “Irish as anti-colonial nationalist struggles Cama, who also edited the Geneva Orientalism” as well as the anti-imperi- around the world, his presentation Bande Mataram, or the militant na- alist current of Aryanism, among other would deal with the worldwide reso- tionalist Shyamaji Krishnavarma, the factors. Bonakdarian concluded his pre- nance and reception of the Iranian Con- editor of the Indian Sociologist (Lon- sentation by discussing the expressions stitutional Revolu- don, Paris). While some members of of solidarity with the Iranian struggle by tion of 1906-1911 Indiaʼs Zoroastrian Parsi community, two socialist Irish nationalists commit- in the framework such as Madame Cama, were commit- ted to the platform of internationalism, of contemporary ted to pan-Indian nationalist politics, William J. Maloney and Fred Ryan. anti-colonial/anti- other Parsis also extended their support imperial national- to the Iranian revolution in the form ist movements. In of monetary assistance to the Iranian REVELATION AND addition to high- nationalist press, or in the form of the RUMIʼS MATHNAVI lighting the Iranian coverage of the revolution in the pages On October 3, 2006, Dr. Jawid participation in cross-national and of the Hindi Punch (formerly the Parsee Mojaddedi of Rutgers University, led transnational anti-imperialist “national- Punch, published in Bombay), or the ist” solidarity networks and the various formation of Persiaʼs Defence Society a discussion on the topic of “Revelation forms of assistance extended to Iranian (1910) as well as mass protest meetings and Rumiʼs Mathnavi.” revolutionaries by anti-imperialist na- in both India and Britain and protest Dr. Mojaddedi began his talk by tionalist movements in other parts of the resolutions sent to British authorities. pointing out that it is common in the world, the presentation also explored Among the most influential of Indian Persian-speaking world to hear Mow- the multifarious and multivalent conse- protest activities on behalf of the Ira- lana Rumiʼs Mathnavi being referred to quences of such acts of solidarity. nian constitutional camp were those of as “The Koran in the Persian language,” In the introductory segment of his the All-India Muslim League and its but the origins of the poem from which presentation, Bonakdarian outlined the British chapter. this verse is taken are uncertain, and broad scope of support for the Iranian people use it to mean significantly CIS Newsletter 10 different things. Most commonly, this BEHZAD AND JAMI Sunni-Shiʼi divide. comparison serves to underline the Dr. Barry continued his discussion supreme status of Rumiʼs Mathnavi in On November 8, 2006, Dr. Mi- by stating that Jamiʼs bold endorsement the canon of Persian Sufi poetry, but it chael Barry, Consultative Director at of Behzadʼs art lies at once hidden and has also been claimed that his book is the Department of Islamic Art at the revealed in Persian verses from his mys- actually based on the Koran, as a kind of Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Vis- tical love poem, “Yusof-o Zolaykha,” commentary. The latter suggestion has iting Professor of Persian at Princeton completed in Herat in 1487. Jami refers no doubt been in- University, led a discussion on the topic to a wizard-artist who created Lady spired by Rumiʼs of “Behzad and Jami.” Zolaykhaʼs magic castle. These verses, more frequent use Prof. Barry began his illustrative Behzad actually quotes - and at that of the Koran than lecture by noting that in the Western time this was necessarily with Jamiʼs any other author interpretation of traditional Islamic permission - in inscriptions running of Persian mysti- civilization, one repeatedly hears through the “tile-work” that forms the cal mathnavis. the contention that figurative art was setting for his own superb illustration Dr. Mojad- either banned altogether or else its on exactly the same theme, for a famous dedi went on to status and significance was denigrated manuscript of Saʼdiʼs “Bustan” (now in examine the ways as merely decorative. Yet the existence the National Library in Cairo), copied in which Rumi incorporates the Arabic of thousands of the most sumptuous text of the Koran in his Persian poem manuscripts of the classics of Persian, to identify the actual functions that the Indo-Persian and Turkish literature, Koranic citations fulfill once they are most of them dealing with explicit embedded in Rumiʼs poem. He also religious themes and illustrated for answered the key question of “Is the eminent royal patrons by the most Koran cited primarily for the purpose famous painters of the 15th, 16th and of extended passages of exegesis or for 17th centuries, necessarily belies such other less fundamental purposes? a superficial contention. One central This was followed by a scrutiny paradox of Islamic culture, presented of Rumiʼs comments about the nature as such an allegedly iconophobic of divine revelation with the aim of civilization, looms sharply in a royal discovering whether his theoretical edict of Shah Esmaʼil, penned by the discussions correspond to his actual learned scribe Khwandamir and dated use of Koranic passages. Dr. Mojaddedi 1522, proclaiming the painter Behzad of emphasized that of special interest in Herat (1465-1535) as head of the guild this regard is Rumiʼs own comparison of all masters of the arts of the book of his Mathnavi to the Koran, which is throughout the Safavid Empire. The found hidden away toward the end of language of the edict, which unmistake- the third book of the Mathnavi itself. ably emphasizes Behzadʼs holy status, He concluded his remarks by say- is steeped in Sufi terminology, transpar- ing that in both his poetry and the prose ently borrowed by Khwandamir from Hosayn Bayqara as “Shah Hormazd” with transcripts of his teaching sessions (Fihe the writings of the eminent Sufi poet Jami and Navaʼi as his “ministers” interced- ing with the king to forgive Prince Khosrow ma fihe), Rumi frequently discusses the and thinker Jami of Herat (1414-1492). Parviz; illustration by Behzad, British issue of continual revelation. This is not Nor was reverent praise for Behzad Library, London. of itself very surprising, seeing as it is restricted to Shiʼite circles in Safavid a topic of central importance for Sufis Iran. Jami himself had been a Sunni, and illuminated in 1488-89 for Heratʼs in general. However, the frequency at indeed the leading and most influential ruling king himself, Sultan Hosayn which Rumi returns to this topic and the Sunni cleric of the 15th-century Sunni Mirza Bayqara. The verses by Jami bold stance he consistently takes about kingdom of Herat, and equal veneration quoted by Behzad in the paintingʼs the comparability of the revelation for Behzad and his artistic legacy spread “tile-work” include these lines which, received by Godʼs friends, or saints, to in the 16th century to Ottoman Turkey, by implication, refer to Behzadʼs own that received by the prophets, is strik- Mughal India and the Uzbek emirate mastery (above any rival artist of his ing. It is often assumed that any discus- of Bokhara - all officially Sunni states day) in so magnificently recreating sion of saints in Rumiʼs poetry must as well. The highly influential scribe Zolaykhaʼs castle: be a reference to his mentor Shams-e Khwandamir himself, throughout his Tabrizi, but the ways in which Rumi long and globe-trotting career, served “Should a glance but thereupon glide, uses Koranic citations, compares his the last two Timurid kings of Herat, the “Envyʼs water from his own mouth Mathnavi to it, and provides consistent first two Safavid shahs in Tabriz and should flow.” theoretical arguments, would suggest the first two Mughal emperors in Agra. that they are at least as likely to be The issue of Behzadʼs holy status, and But the context of Jamiʼs poem, self-referential. the sanctification of his art in eastern from which these lines were lifted by Islamic civilization, transcends any Behzad, further emphasizes a profound 11 CIS Newsletter mystical thrust that, as it were, turns on ANOUSHEH ANSARI: of microbes that have made a home for its head the supposed Islamic prohibi- themselves on the space station. She IRST RANIAN IN PACE tion on figurative art, as in these verses F I S also became the first person to publish refering to the wizard-artist of Jamiʼs a weblog from space. poem : “With his stylus-and-brush, when he drew up a picture, FRIENDS OF IRANICA “From the inkʼs flow of paint, a soul IN PARIS quickened to life: “And if, upon a stone, a birdʼs image The Association des Amis de he drew, lʼEncyclopédie Iranica in Paris orga- “This heavy stone turned light, and nized a meeting on Wednesday June 28, whence it lay, took wing!” 2006 in support of Iranica. Hosted by Mrs. Mehrafzoun and Dr. Abtin Sas- Jamiʼs allusion was to the miracle sanfar, Vice President of the Associa- of the child Jesus, according to the tion and a Trustee of the Encyclopædia Koran 5:113 (and various Apocryphal On 18 September 2006, Mrs. Iranica Foundation and organized by its Gospels), when the young Christ blew Anousheh Ansari, the first ma- Secretary, Mr. Abdol Hamid Eshragh, upon the figures of clay birds and so jor supporter ($263,000, 2001) of the meeting was attended by members gave them life and flight “by Godʼs Encyclopædia Iranica, became the of the Association and other Iranian and permission : ba-idhni”. worldʼs first female space tourist, and French friends of Iranica. In his open- That 16th- and 17th-century east- the first Iranian in space. Ansari lifted ing remarks, Dr. Sassanfar called for ern Muslim writers understood Jamiʼs off on the Soyuz TMA-9 mission from the support of Iranica by members of extraordinarily sanctifying verses to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakh- the Association and other friends of the stan en route to the International Space apply, not only to the fictional artist Encycloædia and invited Mr. Eshragh, Station (ISS). She returned safely on also a Trustee of the Foundation, to give of the poem, but to Behzad himself, is September 29, 2006 in the steppes of a progress report of the Association and abundantly proved by the very words Kazakhstan (90 kilometers north of the publication of the Encyclopædia of such royal scribes as Khwandamir, Arkalyk), and was greeted with red online. He began his report by extend- Mir Sayyed Ahmad, and Qazi Ahmad roses from an unidentified official and ing the sincere appreciation of Prof. of Qom. a kiss from her husband, Hamid. Yarshater and the Trustees to Dr. and Thus Khwandamir writing on Be- Asked what she hoped to achieve Mrs. Sasanfar for hosting the meeting. hzad in 1522 : on her spaceflight, Ansari said, “I hope Mr. Eshragh gave the report of to inspire everyone—especially young the Associationʼs activities during the “Behzad is one and alone in his day! people, women, and young girls all last few years and noted with great “Mani? A fable in Behzadʼs own day! over the world, and in Middle Eastern pleasure that the membership in the “A hair from his brush, through sheer countries that do not provide women Parisʼ 1000 club has increased to 23 mastery, with the same opportunities as men—to persons and raised about $50,000 in “Might quicken with soul not give up their dreams and to pursue support of Iranica, unprecedented in “Even mineral form in an icon!” them ... I believe they can realize their Paris. He appreciated the cooperation dreams if they keep it in their hearts, of Mrs. Farideh Ahi in managing the And thus Mir Sayyed Ahmad in nurture it, and look for opportunities Iranica Fund in Paris. He also extended 1564, in explicit praise of Behzad, and make those opportunities happen.” his gratitude to the coordinators of the reproduced in turn by Qazi Ahmad of The day before her departure, she was Friends of Iranica in other cities, in- Qom in 1596 and 1606 : interviewed on Iran national televi- cluding Manouchehr Houshmand in sion for the astronomy show Nightʼs Dubai, Dr. Djalal Khaleghi Motlagh Sky. The hosts wished her success and “The very bird he painted - an icon dear in Hamburg, Mr. Masoud Rowshan thanked her on behalf of Iranians. An- Mahmoud Dehghani to hearts! and Mr. in Syd- sari in return thanked them and called ney, and Mrs. Monireh Parvin and “Like to the very bird of Christ took for people to witness how hard work, Mrs. Minou Khamsi in Switzerland. soul!” imagination, and an open mind can lead Concluding his talk, Mr. Eshragh ex- to success. plained the new approach of electronic The slide-show explored the com- During her eight-day stay onboard publication of the Iranica entries prior plex Sufi allegories of Behzadʼs paint- the International Space Station, Ansari to their print publication and noted that ings in relation to the poems which they agreed to perform a series of experi- Iranica has already invited scores of illustrate, in light of Jamiʼs extraordi- ments on behalf of the European Space noted scholars to write entries in the nary, “Christ-like” endorsement of the Agency. She conducted four experi- field of their expertise, without having figurative artist. (See further Michael ments, including researching the mech- to follow alphabetical order. He also Barryʼs Figurative Art in Medieval Is- anisms behind anemia, how changes in added that the new online publishing lam and the Riddle of Bihzad of Herat muscles influence lower back pain and has drastically increased the expenses of 1465-1535, Flammarion, Paris and New the consequences of space radiation on Iranica and thus its need for substantial York, 2004). ISS crew members and different species support from its friends. CIS Newsletter 12

WHAT HAVE IRANIANS ACCOMPLISHED TO DESERVE SO DETAILED AN ENCYCLOPÆDIA? Prof. Yarshaterʼs Address at the Geneva Gala (translated and abridged)

If Persian culture was an iso- a century or two a new and produc- In the Sasanian period, Iranian lated phenomenon and belonged to tive culture developed in the eastern medicine was fortified by Greek only a single country, we could not lands of Islam with Persian as its and Indian medical knowledge and claim too great a necessity for its lingua franca. At the same time the soon Gondishapur in southwest of recording and dissemination, but Abbasid caliphs were beginning to Persia began to flourish as a medi- that is not the case. Persians have lose their authority and the Arab cal center with a famous hospital been involved in world affairs and political and cultural leadership was in which Zoroastrians, Jewish, and have contributed to world culture at waning. This Iranian culture spread Christian physicians served and several important periods. far and wide, from Asia Minor to taught. It continued in Islamic times The Achaemenid dynasty, Bengal in India, and continued to be as a major medical center of the which sprang from southern Iran the dominant cultural force in these Islamic world. some 2,500 years ago, stretched vast territories until the middle of It is noteworthy that the four from Libya to the borders of China the 19th century when the penetra- greatest medical scholars who and from Asia Minor to Sind and tion of Western civilization in Asia founded Islamic medicine namely, Panjab in India. It was the largest made it lose its grip. Ali b. Rabban Tabari, Mohammad empire that had ever been formed. So Iranian culture was not a Zakariya Razi (Razes in Latin), It guaranteed peace and security secluded or isolated phenomena; it Ali Abbas Majusi, and Ebn Sina in western Asia and the civilized affected other societies and cultures. (Avicenna in Latin), rose from Iran. North Africa for most of its 200 The Encyclopædia Iranica tries Razes and Avicenna are the fore- year rule. Its treatment of conquered to do justice to the vicissitudes of most physicians that the world of people was generally humane and Iranian civilization in the course of Islam has ever produced. Avicennaʼs sometimes exceptionally kind, and history. Naturally, Persian history Canon was translated into Latin in contrasted sharply with those of the has not been a continuous golden the 12th century and the work of Assyrians who preceded them. age. We, too, have engaged in Razes was translated in the 13th cen- In a different field, Iranians gave wrongdoing. We have encroached tury. Both were taught in European rise to an ethical and philosophical on other peopleʼs lands, we have universities and figured prominently religion, Zoroastrianism, which be- sometimes mistreated our minori- in their curriculum until at least the lieves that humans are free in choos- ties, and in periods of decline we end of medieval period. ing their actions, whether good or have produced ineffective and even In the spirit of appreciating evil, and therefore they are respon- corrupt governments. But in balance Persian contributions to the field of sible for their deeds on the Day of we do not draw a poor picture. We medicine, we are honoring tonight Judgment. By choosing the good, have been a civilizing force in vast five Iranian physicians of Europe they can contribute to the triumph of territories in Western Asia; we have who have made notable contribu- good in its cosmic struggle against produced brilliant poetry. We have tions to the advancement of medical evil. It greatly influenced Judaism also produced the most exquisite art science. and through the Jewish population of the entire Middle East. Persian The Encyclopædia Iranica pays of Babylon who lived under Iranian miniatures and Persian carpets have particular attention to the field of rule in Parthian times, also Christi- had no rival in the world. So we medicine. Its articles on medicine anity. Some major religious ideas do have something to show to the up to 2004 are published separately and creeds, such as survival of the world. The Encyclopædia Iranica under the title History of Medicine soul beyond its earthly life, belief in tries to do that, depicting Iranian in Iran and can be ordered from our the Day of Judgment, final reward life, history, and culture as accu- distributor. and punishment, heaven and hell, rately and objectively as humanly The Encyclopædia Iranica is a and the angels, which are all absent possible. monumental project carried out at from the early parts of the Bible, are As the theme of the gala is Columbia University in New York, believed to have been adopted from Medicine, I leave aside what could in collaboration with scholars of the Zoroastrian faith. be said about the influence of Per- Iranian Studies worldwide. It needs After the advent of Islam and sian language, literature, and art in the support of all those who value the conquest of Iran by the Arabs, the neighboring countries, but must the Iranian cultural heritage in order a renaissance of Persian culture, say a few words about the contribu- to continue its task and to bring its language and literature took place tion of Iranian physicians to the field mission to fruition. Once completed, during the 9th and 10th centuries, in of medicine. it would be a magnificent gift to Khorasan and Transoxiana. Within our children and to generations to come. 13 CIS Newsletter

THE 2006 SAIDI-SIRJANI BIENNIAL BOOK AWARDS eminently readable. The author is a historian by training, but is well versed OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR IRANIAN STUDIES in questions of archeology, philology, sinology, etc., although he enlisted an The Saidi-Sirjani Book Award Honorable Mentions impressive array of specialists in these Committee consisting of Ali Banuazizi other fields to check the facts presented. (Chair), Abbas Amanat, Sheila Blair, In addition, the following books The expertise required—aside from Farhad Daftary, Paul Losensky, received “Honorable Mention” from the obvious—ranges from (Eng. p. 5): Charles P. Melville, and P. Oktor the Award Committee. In alphabetical “interpretation of Old Persian miner- Skjaervo, announced the winners of order, the first honorable mention went alogical terms of the 6th century BCE the 2006 book awards at the Societyʼs to David Roxburgh, a contributor to to the meaning of certain toponyms in Biennial Conference held in London on the Encyclopædia Iranica, for his work, the narrative of a Franciscan of the 13th August 3-5, 2006. The Persian Album 1400-1600: From century, meanwhile including the de- Dispersal to Collection, Yale University termination of the geographic origin of Rudi Matthee Press, New Haven and London, 2005. travellers to Nishapur in the 9th century, Wins First Prize Following is the Award Committeeʼs and the borrowings made by Chinese citation for this work: geographical texts over the centuries.” Rudi Matthee, Consulting Editor “This handsomely produced mono- The result is a well-written expose of of the Encyclopædia Iranica for the graph is a detailed “archeological” an extremely complex issue, which Safavid History, won the first prize for examination of the scrapbook album will, no doubt, remain a major refer- his recent book, The Pursuit of Plea- or muraqqaʻ, a new form of collecting ence work for the study of the Iranians sure: Drugs and Stimulants in Iranian that became popular during the fifteenth on the Silk Road, their history, society, History, 1500-1900, Princeton Univer- and sixteenth centuries when Iran was religions, and arts. The need for such a sity Press, Princeton, 2005. Following under the rule of the Timurids and the synthesis is amply proved by the fact is the Award Committeeʼs citation: Safavids. These albums comprise some that the 1st edition was rapidly sold out. “This is an important and original of the most lavish books produced in the It was also widely reviewed, and ad- study of the use and abuse of wine, period, with numerous calligraphies, ditional information was incorporated opium, tobacco, coffee and tea in paintings and drawings mounted on in the 2nd, revised, edition.” Iran since the Safavid era looking at large sheets of paper, decorated with RAN AND THE AUCASUS patterns and cul- splendid illumination, and set within I C tures of consump- brilliantly colored margins. Although JOURNAL tion, socio-eco- all were intended to preserve and dis- The peer-reviewed journal Iran nomic contexts as play the works collected within them, and the Caucasus is annually published well as production the individual albums differ in content by Brill in two substantial issues. and trade, diversity and visual effect. By deconstructing The journal is devoted to further- and widespread use seven of the most famous examples ing our knowledge of the region in the among the elite and through close codicological examina- fields of humanities the commoners, and tion, Roxburgh illuminates the changing and social sciences. gradual changes in visual world and the concept of a history Rudi Matthee The journal is edited habits over a period of art that developed during these two under the guidance of of four centuries. This is a well-re- centuries when the arts of Iran, notably an intercultural edito- searched, richly detailed and eloquently the arts of the book, flourished as never rial board with scholars written study based on excellent pri- before.” from the region itself, mary sources in Persian and in a wide The second honorable mention as well as from Europe range of European languages. It fills a went to Étienne de la Vaissière for his and the United States. visible gap not only in early modern and book, Histoire des marchands sogdiens, It is supported by the modern Iranian history but in the whole 2nd ed., Bibliothèque de lʼInstitut des Caucasian Centre for Iranian Studies filed of social history that concerns hautes études chinoises XXXII, Paris, in Yerevan, Armenia. itself with stimulants and their place 2004; tr., J. Ward, Sogdian Traders: The editorial board invites schol- in creating and maintaining the public A history, Handbuch der Orientalistik ars to submit articles for publication space in taverns and coffeehouses. It VIII: Central Asia, 10, Leiden and dealing with Irano-Caucasica, with clearly demonstrates how wine-drink- Boston, 2005. The citation for this work particular focus on Iranian matters. ing and other Persian cultural habits is as follows: For more information please contact persisted, and often flourished, despite “De la Vaissièreʼs is the first schol- the editor, Garnik S. Asatrian, at religious stigma and prohibitions at arly synthesis of the vast amount of [email protected] or the journal web times to demonstrate nonconformity.” knowledge about the history of the page at www.brill.nl/ic. Silk Road and the peoples inhabiting All readers of the CIS Newsletter The Pursuit of Pleasure also won it or traveling on it accumulated since are offered by Brill a free one-month the 2006 Albert Hourani Book Prize of the great discoveries of the early 20th trial to the electronic version of the the Middle East Studies Association century. His presentation is based on journal during the month of Decem- of North America at its 2006 Annual all the available archeological and tex- ber 2006. If you are interested, please Conference held in Boston, November tual source material. It is systematic, send an email to Ms. Liesbeth Kanis, 18-21, 2006. well organized, comprehensive, and [email protected]. CIS Newsletter 14

Volume III: Classical Persian Prose, HISTORY OF PERSIAN LITERATURE 800-1500

IN 16 VOLUMES Volume IV: The Epic: Heroic Epics in In the early 1990s it occurred among others, and was praised by Wil- Poetry and Prose to me, writes Prof. Yarshater in his liam Jones, Tagore and E. M. Forster foreword to Volume I of A History of and by many more. Whereas Persian Volume V: Religious and Mystical Persian Literature, that the time had art and architecture, and more recently Literature come for a new comprehensive and Persian films, have been written about detailed history of Persian literature, extensively and at different levels for a Volume VI: The “Post-Classical” Pe- given its stature and significance as the varied audience, Persian literature has riod (from the Safavids to pre-modern single most important accomplishment largely remained the exclusive domain literature, 1500-1800 of Iranian peoples. Hermann Ethéʼs of specialists: It is only in the past few pioneering survey of the subject, “Neu- years that the poems of Rumi have Volume VII: Persian Literature Pro- persische Litteratur” in Grundriss der drawn to themselves the kind of popular duced in the Indian Subcontinent, iranischen Philologie II, was published attention enjoyed by Omar Khayyam in Anatolia, Central Asia (since the in 1904 and E. G. Browneʼs far more the 19th century. Uzbek conquest), and Judeo-Persian extensive A Literary History of Persia, A History of Persian Literature literature with ample discussion of political and (HPL) has been conceived as a com- cultural background of each period, prehensive and richly documented Volume VIII: Persian Historiography appeared in four successive volumes work, with illustrative examples and a between 1902-1924. The English trans- fresh critical approach, to be written by Volume IX: Persian Historiography lation of Jan Rypkaʼs History of Iranian prominent scholars in the field. An Edi- in the Indian Subcontinent, Anatolia Literature, written in collaboration with torial Board was selected and a meeting and Central Asia (after the Uzbek a number of other scholars, came out in of the Board arranged in September of conquest) 1968 under his own supervision. 1995 in Cambridge, UK, in conjunc- Iranian scholars have also made tion with the gathering that year of the Volume X: Pre-Modern and Early a number of significant contributions Societas Europaea Iranologica, where Modern Literature, 1800-1940 throughout the 20th century to differ- the broad outlines of the editorial policy ent aspects of Persian literary history. were drawn up. Volume XI: Contemporary Persian These include B. Foruzanfarʼs Sokhan Fourteen volumes were initially Poetry, 1940 to the Present (includ- va sokhanvaran (On poetry and poets, envisaged to cover the subject, includ- ing chapters on the modern poetry of 1929-1933), M.-T. Baharʼs Sabk- ing two Companion Volumes. Later, Afghanistan and Tajikistan) shenasi (Varieties of style in Persian two additional volumes devoted to prose) in three volumes (1942) and a Persian literature and historiography, Volume XII: Pre-Modern and Contem- number of monographs on individual respectively, of the Indian Subconti- porary Persian Prose, 1800 to the Pres- poets and writers. The truly monumen- nent, Anatolia and Central Asia were ent (including chapters on the modern tal achievement of the century in this added, to deal with the wealth of Persian prose of Afghanistan and Tajikistan) context was Dh. Safaʼs wide-ranging literary and historical works produced and meticulously researched Tarikh-e outside of Iran proper. Of the Com- Volume XIII: Modern Fiction and adabiyat dar Iran (History of Persian panion Volumes, the first deals with Drama Literature in Iran) in five volumes the pre-Islamic Iranian literatures and and eight parts (1953-1979). It studies the second with the literature of Iranian Volume XIV: General Index Persian poetry and prose in the context languages other than Persian as well as of their political, social, religious, and Persian oral folk literature. Companion Volume I: The literature cultural background, from the rise of of pre-Islamic Iran Islam to almost the middle of the 18th The titles of the volumes are as fol- century. lows: Companion Volume II: Literature in Nevertheless, it cannot be said Iranian Languages Other than Persian: that Persian literature has received the Volume I: General Introduction to Kurdish, Pashto, Baluchi, Ossetic (tra- attention it merits, bearing in mind that Persian Literature ditional, modern, and popular, including it has been the jewel in the crown of Persian and Tajik oral literature) Persian culture in its widest sense and Volume II: Classical Persian Poetry, the standard bearer for aesthetic and 800-1500 (in two parts). It is hoped that the multi-volume cultural norms of the literature of the Part 1: The qaside (panegyric poetry); HPL will provide adequate space for eastern regions of the Islamic world the ghazal (short love poems), the the analysis and treatment of all aspects from about the 12th century; and that robaʼi (quatrains). of Persian literature. it has profoundly influenced the litera- Part 2: The romantic epic; didactic nar- The inclusion of two volumes on tures of Ottoman Turkey, Muslim India rative and anecdotal poetry; satirical Persian historiography can be explained and Turkic Central Asia — a literature and invective poetry. Appendix: bio- by the fact that Persian histories and that could inspire Goethe, Emerson, and graphical notices and indices. biographical accounts of mystics or Matthew Arnold and Jorge Luis Borges poets often exploit the same stylistic and literary features and the same kinds 15 CIS Newsletter of figures of speech that one encounters Asghar Seyed-Gohrab was chosen as a Asia, and China. in Persian poetry and belles-lettres, with member of the Young Academy (DJA) skilful use of balanced cadences, rhyme, branch of the Royal Dutch Academy varieties of metaphor and hyperbole, in view of his scholarly research and Josef Wiesehöfer, Iraniens, Grecs and an abundance of embellishing de- performance et Romains, (Conference dʼétudes vices. This was considered to impart iraniennes “Ehsan et Latifeh Yar- a literary dimension to the prose and shater”, Paris 2003), Association pour enhance its esthetic effect. The study of RECENT PUBLICATIONS lʼAvancement des Études Iraniennes, Persian historiography should therefore Paris, 2005. be regarded as a necessary component Prudence O. Harper, In Search of This book contains the text of the of any comprehensive study of Persian A Cultural Identity. Monuments and five Ehsan and Latifeh Yarshater Dis- literary prose and analysis of its chang- Artifacts of the Sasanian Near East, 3rd tinguished Lectures on Iranian Studies, ing styles and contours. to 7th Century A. D. Bibliotheca Persica, delivered in Paris in 2003. Their main As is evident from the title of the New York, 2006. topics are the relations between Greeks, volumes, A History of Persian Liter- Romans, and Iranians in antiquity, their atureʼs approach is neither uniformly Based on a series of lectures given military and diplomatic contacts as chronological nor entirely thematic. at the School of Oriental and African well as their views of their respective Developments occur in time and to Studies of the University of London in neighbors. Whereas the first lecture understand a literary genre one requires 1997, this book is a survey of the art is a heavy plea for a universal under- tracing its course chronologically. On and archeology of the Sasanian Near standing of ancient history, the second the other hand, images, themes and East from the 3rd to the 7th century A.D. tries to deal with the great variety and motifs have a life of their own and need Drawing upon the examination of a va- heterogeneity of the cultural relations to be studied not only diachronically but riety of artifacts and monuments from between the Mediterranean World and also synchronically, regardless of the different perspectives, the reader is pre- Iran. The third contribution offers a new time element. A combination of the two sented with an understanding of the rich assessment of the so-called “Persian methods has therefore been employed and varied nature of Sasanian culture Wars”, the fourth compares the Roman to achieve a better overall treatment. and society in the period immediately views of the Orient with the Parthian Generous space has been given to before the advent of Islam and the Arab views of the West in Augustan times, modern poetry, fiction and drama in or- conquests of Near Eastern lands. and the fifth determines the place of der to place them in the wider context of The Sasanian Empire occupied Rum (Greece, Rome and Byzantium) Persian literary studies and criticism. the region between the Roman and in Iranian historical tradition. Byzantine Mediterranean world to the West and the urban centers in Central Forthcoming: AWARDS RECEIVED BY Asia to the East. Sasanian concepts and Ferdowsi, Shahnameh, Critical Edi- EIR CONTRIBUTORS beliefs, as well as artifacts reached as tion, Volume 7, edited by Dr. Djalal far east as China along the active trade Khaleghi, 2007. Rika Gyselen received “prix Gilljam,” and travel routes, the so-called Silk 2005 of the Royal Numismatic Society, Road. The prestige of the Sasanian The History of al-Tabari, The Index England for her book “Ardashir I - kings in the centers of power in Con- Volume, compiled by Alex Popovkin Shapur I” [Sylloge Nummorum Sasani- stantinople, Central Asia, and China under the supervision of Prof. Everett darum, volume I], ÖAW, Wien, 2003 is reflected in the arts of these regions K. Rowson, SUNY, 2007. [co-author with Michael Alram] where Sasanian symbols of power and luxury were widely imitated. With roots Adel T. Adamova, Medieval Persian Jean-Pierre Digard was nominated in millennia-old Near Eastern tradi- Painting: The Evolution of an Artistic “Chevalier de lʼordre du Mérite agri- tions, Sasanian culture was a complex Vision, edited by Profs. Michael Rog- cole” (2005) amalgam, which was also receptive to ers and Doris Behrens-Abouseif, Yar- ideas and developments introduced by shater Lecture Series at SOAS, 2007 Francis Richard received in 2005 foreign elements, prisoners of war, and in Tehran “Prix de la Recherche” for merchants and traders from neighbor- Richard Bulliet, Cotton and Climate his entire work in the field of Persian ing lands. in Early Islamic Iran, Ehsan Yarshater Manuscripts. In giving definition to a Sasanian Lecture Series at Harvard, 2007. cultural identity, Prudence Harper ex- Daniel Balland was promoted to the amines the artifacts and monuments for Abbas Daneshvari, The Iconography grade of “Officier des Palmes Aca- indications of continuity with the past, of the Dragon in Islamic Art, edited démiques” in 2004. for illustrations of cultural and social by Prof. Doris Behrens-Abouseif, Yar- diversity within Iran and Mesopota- shater Lecture Series at SOAS, 2007. J. T. P. de Bruijn received the prize of mia, and for evidence of the spread of the Dr. Mahmoud Afshar Endowment Sasanian influence to both neighboring A History of Persian Literature (in 16 for his contributions to Iranian Stud- and distant lands. This book is impor- volumes) ies at a ceremony held in Tehran. The tant for scholars interested in the art of Companion Volume I: The literatures award was received the previous year the ancient Near East at a turning point of pre-Islamic Iran by Prof. Richard N. Frye. in its history, and in cultural develop- Volume I: General Introduction to Per- ments in Rome, Byzantium, Central sian Literature CIS Newsletter 16

Notable Books on Iranian Studies Available for Sale

NOTES ON THE SHAHNAMEH ENCYCLOPÆDIA IRANICA NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT (YADDASHTHA-YE SHAHNAMEH) Please support research on Persian history and By Dr. Djalal Khaleghi-Motlagh, volumes 1, 2 & 3. No civilization by making donations to Columbia Uni- other work of Persian literature has been so carefully and versity or the Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation, both so thoroughly examined. Every single line, allusion, or tax exempt organizations. name has been amply explained. Please send your check to: Price: $65 per volume Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation 450 Riverside Drive, Suite 4 New York, NY 10027 THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE IN Tel: (212) 851-5723 Fax: (212) 749-9524 IRAN e-mail: [email protected] This volume consists of articles extracted from the first 12 volumes of the Encyclopædia Iranica and includes To assist the aim of the Encyclopædia Iranica, please medical institutions, works on medicine, biographies of subscribe to it and encourage your local libraries, col- medical scholars and physicians, etc. leges, and universities to do the same. Price: $39.00 All volumes previously out of print are now available. HIGHLIGHTS OF PERSIAN ART ILLUSTRATED Prices: Edited by Richard Ettinghausen and Ehsan Yarshater. Volumes I-V are $340.00 per volume A comprehensive account of Persian art from the beginning Volumes VI-XIII are $250.00 per volume. to the present by outstanding scholars. Price: $60.00 Please note that each copy of the Encyclopædia Iranica costs nearly $750.00 to produce. The price of each copy is HISTORY OF SHAH ABBAS BY over two-thirds below the cost because of grants, subsidies, ESKANDAR BEG and donations. Translated by Roger Savory in 3 volumes with complete Orders may be placed with Eisenbrauns at: subject and proper names index. Eisenbrauns Inc. Price: $129.00 P.O. Box 275 Winona Lake, IN 46590 SADEQ HEDAYAT: AN ANTHOLOGY Phone: (574) 269-2011 Edited by Ehsan Yarshater. Fax: (574) 269-6788 Price: $24.00 (hard cover) E-mail: [email protected] Center for Iranian Studies Columbia University 450 Riverside Drive, Suite 4 New York, NY 10027

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