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CENTER FOR NEWSLETTER Vol. 18, No. 1 SIPA-Columbia University-New York Spring 2006

ENCYCLOPÆDIA IRANICA GALA BENEFIT FASCICLE 3 OF VOLUME XIII PUBLISHED, DINNER FASCICLE 4 IN PRESS SAN FRANCISCO AY In 2005, the Encyclopædia ing this goal are by no means M 13, 2006 Iranica arrived at an important minimized. Such complexities juncture, one might say a milestone, become the main focus of the final when it reached the entry . sub-article. It had long been felt that although The Series consists of the fol- the entire Encyclopædia is about lowing entries: i. LANDS OF IRAN Iran, yet we needed a series of articles (a geographical essay), ii. FACTUAL under that general rubric to provide an , iii. TRADITIONAL HIS- overview of the main facets of Iranian TORY OF IRAN, iv. IRANIAN MYTHS AND geography, history, and culture. This LEGENDS, v. PEOPLES OF IRAN, vi. IRANIAN series of entries began in Fascicle 2 of LANGUAGES AND SCRIPTS, vii. NON-IRA- Volume XIII, continues through Fas- NIAN LANGUAGES IN IRAN, viii. PERSIAN cicles 3 and 4, and will take most of LITERATURE, ix. , x. Fascicle 5 to complete. AND ARCHITECTURE, xi. Maryam Rahimian The details of the topics discussed PERSIAN , xii. HISTORY OF SCIENCE in these articles will be covered by other IN IRAN, xiii. PERSIA AND THE WEST, xiv. entries throughout the Encyclopædia. IRANIAN IDENTITY. The elegant Ritz Carlton Hotel in Here the purpose has been to present Within many of the above, the San Francisco will be the venue of a a concise general account of what a discussion is further subdivided by Gala Benefit Dinner for the Encyclopæ- student of the Iranian world and its time period—at least into those of pre- dia Iranica on May 13, 2006. The Gala civilizations needs to know. They will Islamic and Islamic. has been organized by a group of dedi- serve as a guide to other subjects and The introductory section LANDS OF cated and hardworking friends of the other entries, which either have already IRAN by X. de Planhol is an exploration Encyclopædia Iranica in the Bay Area. been published or will be published in on the role of the geographical factor One of the features of such fundraisers is to honor Iranian talent and success the future. Continued on page 4 It is true that the entire Encyclopæ- in various fields of scientific, literary, dia Iranica concerns the history and economic, and humanitarian endeavors. . But the entry IRAN is MARY BOYCE The theme of the San Francisco Gala an opportunity to present a convenient (1920-2006) is “Science and Technology,” a fitting overview of the nation: it consolidates tribute to the Silicon Valley and the Bay into one Series of sub-articles the dis- Area, which is home to outstanding cussion of selected key subject matter. scientists and entrepreneurs in infor- These subjects, or portions of them, are mation technology. Accordingly, five also discussed in detail under diverse prominent scientists and entrepreneurs specific entry names throughout the have been selected by the Executive Encyclopædia Iranica. Thus the entry Committee of the Gala to be honored IRAN can be a starting point for readers; at the event. They are (in alphabetical one sub-article here will point them to order) Mr. Hossein Eslambolchi, Prof. numerous related entries. Ali Javan, Mr. Omid Kordestani, However, the purpose of the Series Dr. Fariborz Maseeh and Prof. Lotfi IRAN is not to burden the reader with a Zadeh. mass of cross-references to other en- Dr. Mary Boyce, Professor Emer- The Gala Executive Committee, tries. A major factor in the selection of ita of Iranian Studies at the School of chaired by Mrs. Maryam Rahimian, the entries for inclusion here—out of Oriental and African Studies, passed consists of Mr. Reza Abbaszadeh, so many that could be selected—was away in London on April 4, 2006. She Prof. Elaheh Enssani, Mr. Kamron their relevance to achieving an overall was one of the foremost authorities on Ghiassi, Mrs. Azadeh Hariri, Mrs. “definition” of the notion of “Iran.” and a frequent contribu- Fazeelat Jalili (Vice-Chair), Mr. Salar The complexities involved in achiev- tor to the Encyclopædia Iranica. Prof. Kamangar, Mrs. Ziba Marashi, Mr. Continued on page 11 Continued on page 2 CIS Newsletter 2

been involved in supporting many GALA BENEFIT DINNER Iranian causes and cultural and reli- SAN FRANCISCO - MAY 13, 2006 gious programs, including the Ency- Continued from page 1 clopædia Iranica, and is working with Topaz Sponsors: programs worldwide to benefit several Arash Rad, Mr. Majid Rahimian, women and childrenʼs organizations. Mrs. Neda Rahimian, Mr. Mehdi Ms. Fereshteh Bekhrad Mr. Khosrow Semnani has been a 30- Safipour, Mrs. Shahrzad Salour and Mr. Akbar Ghahary year resident of Utah. He and his wife Mr. Saeed Shakeri. Ghazaleh and their three sons, Tay- An Advisory Committee, consist- Garnet Sponsors: mour, Rodmehr, and Jahangere take ing of Mrs. Nastaran Akhavan, Mr. Mr. Reza Abbaszadeh special pride in their Iranian heritage, Shan Fazeli, Mrs. Akhtar Motamedi, Anonymous and have tried to be spokesmen and Mrs. Homa Sarshar, and Mrs. Houra Faranak & Mahyar Amirsaleh advocates of the loving, intelligent and Yavari, has been formed to advise the Azadeh & Farzam Hariri kind people of Iran. Mr. Semnani has Chair. Mrs. Mishana Hosseinioun been a generous trustee of the Ency- Also actively involved in organiz- Dr. & Mrs. Soheil Saadat clopædia Iranica Foundation for the ing the event are a number of dedicated Mr. Saeed Shakeri past eight years and its Vice-Chairman community collaborators: including since 1998. He currently holds the po- Ziba Marashi, Hatef Moghimi, and RUBY SPONSORS sition of the Chairman of the Board of Parinaz Zamani. Trustees of Encyclopædia Iranica. Mrs. Asieh Namdar of CNN will Khosrow Bayegan Semnani was serve as the Master of Ceremonies, born in Mashad, in 1947. He com- MERALD PONSORS while media pesonalities Mrs. Shohreh pleted his elementary and high school E S Aghdashloo and Mr. Houshang Tozie Born in 1953 in , Majid will attend as the Guests of Honor. Rahimian came to the United State The evening will also feature su- in 1969, where he finished his high perb entertainment, making the Gala an school and attended the University of unforgettable event. The Gala benefits California at Davis. He received his from the participation of Mr. Ardeshir Bachelor of Science in Electrical En- Rohani, the acclaimed pianist and com- gineering in 1975 and returned to Iran. poser, Mr. Siamak Pouyan, prominent After the 1979 Revolution he emigrated zarb player, as well as Rushdi and His to Sacramento, California, where he . received his Masterʼs Degree in Electri- The noted artists Mr. Hossein cal Engineering and Computer Science Charles Zenderudi and Mr. Nasser from Sacramento State University. In Ovissi have donated of their works for 1983 Mr. Rahimian and his brother the Gala and several other supporters and later studied and partner, Javad, founded “Motion have also contributed items for live English in England. In 1972, Mr. Sem- Control Engineering, Inc.” Motion auction. nani received a B.S. in chemistry and Control Engineering has designed and A group of socially active Iranian- physics from Westminster College in manufactured many state-of-the-art el- Americans have volunteered to help Salt Lake City, Utah. He then contin- evator control systems and today is the with the organizational and adminis- ued his education at the University of largest Elevator Control Manufacturing trative tasks of the evening, including Utah where he received a Masters of company in North America, enjoying Bahador Hariri, Sara Jalali, Haleh Engineering Administration Degree over 65% of the market share in its Motie, Ariane Nader, John Nadjafi, in 1977. Mr. Semnani was later em- industry. Majid and his brother were Ramin Nadjafi, Mona Rahimian, ployed in the copper mining and the featured in the February 1997 issue Sheila Rahimian, Navid Tehrani, electrical/chemical industry for sev- of Fortune Magazine as the award re- Neema Tehrani, Shaghayegh Tehrani, eral years. He formed S.K. Hart Engi- cipients in “Implementing Technology.” and Shady Vaezzadeh. neering in 1980, providing consulting Presently, Majid is a managing member Several sponsors have lent their services in the environmental protec- of Parlin Development involved in land financial support to the Gala. They are tion industry. During the period of acquisition and development. as follows: 1984 through 1987 he was involved in residential and commercial land devel- Ruby Sponsors: opment and other real estate activities. In 1987 he founded and operated En- Mr. Khosrow Bayegan Semnani virocare of Utah, currently the largest Bita & Omid Kordestani nuclear waste processing and disposal (see biography on p. 3) company in the country. Mr. Semnani has been involved in Emerald Sponsors: various charitable activities for many Anonymous years and has founded the Semnani Majid & Maryam Rahimian Foundation to facilitate his philan- thropic work. This foundation has 3 CIS Newsletter

His father, Dr. Ali Rahimian, with York Times credited him as “the tech- Omid Kordestani is Googleʼs Senior the support of his two sons, has built nological strategist behind AT&Tʼs Vice-President of Global Sales and a charity hospital in the province of ambitious turnaround plan to become Business Development. He is di- Qazvin; the hospital has been in - a data transmission company selling an rectly responsible for tion since 2004 and has served a great array of software products like network Googleʼs worldwide number of underprivileged families in security systems.” revenue generation the region. Mr. Eslambolchi has also served as efforts as well as the Born in 1957 in Tehran, Maryam President of AT&Tʼs Global Network- day-to-day opera- Akhavan Rahimian came to the Unit- ing Technology Services (GNTS), Pres- tions of the compa- ed States in 1974, where she finished ident of AT&T Labs and Chief Infor- nyʼs sales organiza- her high school in Seattle, Washington. mation Officer, giving him end-to-end tion. He joined the She met Majid Rahimian in Tehran in responsibility for the implementation of company in May 1999 as Googleʼs 1977 and decided to continue her col- the companyʼs technology vision. “business founder,” leading the de- lege education in Iran. She moved to Mr. Eslambolchi holds over 800 velopment and implementation of the Sacramento in 1979 with her husband worldwide patents – issued, pending, companyʼs initial business model. Since and received a Bachelorʼs and Masterʼs and in preparation, and was named “In- then he has brought Google to profit- of Science in Biology in 1986. Maryam ventor of the Year” by the New Jersey ability in record time, generating more received her real estate license in 1991 Inventors Hall of Fame in 2001. than $6 billion in revenues in 2005. and started her construction company Following the death of his father to in 1999, Pars Development LLC, a cancer, Mr. Kordestani, 42, emigrated company established with the aim Ali Javan, Francis Wright Davis Pro- to the United States from Iran in 1978, of building affordable housing in the fessor Emeritus of Physics at MIT, along with his mother and younger Sacramento area. Majid and Maryam is a recognized world leader in the brother. As the son of a nurse and an were the 2003 recipients of the Na- field of lasers and engineer, Mr. Kordestaniʼs interests tional Philanthropic award. They were quantum electron- naturally gravitated to the sciences, instrumental in the establishment of ics. Born on De- studying electrical engineering at San the Collection at the cember 27, 1926 Jose State University while working to Sacramento Public Libraries as well as in Tehran, Prof. pay his way through school at NASAʼs the establishment of a Center for Iranian Javan came to the Ames Research Center and Stanford Studies at Sacramento State University. US in 1948 and Medical Center. The Rahimians have three daughters, received his Ph.D. Mr. Kordestani has more than 20 Mona, Neda and Sheila. in Physics from years of high-tech experience, hold- Columbia Univer- ing key positions at several start-up sity in 1954. He joined the MIT faculty companies, including Netscape Com- GALA HONOREES in 1961 where he founded the first major munications, The 3DO Company and research center in the field of lasers. Go Corporation. Prior to that, he held Many of the early breakthroughs in product marketing positions at Hewlett fundamental laser research took place Packard for several years before receiv- Hossein Eslambolchi, a noted en- at his MIT laboratories. He has won ing an MBA from Stanford Graduate trepreneur and advisor to high-tech international acclaim for his invention School of Business in 1991. firms in Silicon Valley, served as Chief of the worldʼs first gas laser, the very Mr. Kordestani lives with his wife, Technology Officer first laser to operate continuously. Bita and their two children in the San for AT&T from 2001 He conceived his laser principle in Francisco Bay Area. to 2005 when he led 1958 and successfully operated his first the transformation gas laser in December 1960, the well- of AT&Tʼs network, known and widely used Helium-Neon Dr. Fariborz Maseeh is the chairman of systems and services. laser. The discovery attracted immedi- the Massiah Foundation and Managing After nearly 20 years ate worldwide attention. His contribu- Principal of Picoco LLC, an investment with the company, tions have extended over the years to management firm he left AT&T soon the applied research areas in lasers, which invests in after its merger with from laser chemistry to high energy broad asset class- SBC in late 2005. Upon his departure, gas lasers, and to multistatic laser radar, es. BusinessWeek called him “a critical controlled by accurate optical clocks Dr. Maseeh player in maintaining AT&Tʼs status as for use in space, to lasers for medical i s r e c o g n i z e d a technology leader” and noted that he is diagnostics of special interest. He has worldwide as an “a bold, but pragmatic visionary.” supervised the research for the doctoral expert in the field Light Reading said that Eslambol- theses of a large number of graduate of micro-electro- chiʼs “evangelizing has underscored students in physics. He has served at mechanical sys- the notion of where the entire com- various times as active consultant to tems (MEMS). He munications infrastructure is heading,” both the Government and Industry and founded IntelliSense in 1991, with when it named him to the # 1 spot on has authored over one hundred research the vision of reducing the time and its list of Top 10 Movers and Shakers articles in scientific journals. expense of creating next-generation in Telecom in 2003. And The New miniature sensor and actuator devices. CIS Newsletter 4

IntelliSense became the worldʼs fast- newly developed computational theory more centralized administration, as well est-growing MEMS company, and of perceptions and precipitated natural as relations with the Roman/Byzantine was twice named to the New England language. empire are discussed. Finally, the de- Technology “Fast 50” and the Forbes Prof. Zadeh is the recipient of nu- cline of the after the “Fast 500.” merous prestigious awards including brilliant periods under Khosrow I and After IntelliSense, he started Pi- the IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal Khosrow II and the exhaustion of the coco LLC, embarking on a new career in 1992; the Rufus Oldenburger Medal country through internal contradiction in investment management, and the from the American Society of Mechani- and abuses of power, which end in a Massiah Foundation for charitable work cal Engineers in 1993, and in 2000 he major upheaval by the Arab expansion in Southern California. He is a board received the IEEE Millennium Medal; across the Near and Middle East, are member of several non-profit organiza- he has also received the IEEE Pioneer dealt with. tions and a trustee of UCI foundation. Award in Fuzzy Systems and the ASPIH The second part of the article Dr. Maseeh received a Doctor of 2000 Lifetime Distinguished Achieve- begins with the Arab Conquest and Science in engineering from MIT in ment Award. the conversion of Iran to Islam. Then, 1990, and he has over sixty scientific new beginnings are seen from the ninth publications in business strategy, fabri- EIR FASCICLE 3 century, with the rise of local dynasties, cation technologies, and design of soft- Continued from page 1 namely, the Saffarids, the Samanids, ware for MEMS. He has also the owner the , the Ziyarids, and the of a number of patents and trademarks. in the shaping of the enduring Iranian Buyids. Next, the invasion of the Tur- In 2005, Computer World recognized people and their culture on the Plateau. kic Saljuqs and the powerful state they Dr. Maseehʼs entrepreneurial work in Given the success of the Iranians in formed with the help of their capable founding IntelliSense with a medal adapting their social and economic life viziers, is taken up, followed by a brief and a worldwide permanent archive of to the land and its climate, geography account of the Turkic dynasty of the Kh- its case study. Dr. Maseeh was recently helped later arrivals to conform to the warazmshahs, who faced the Mongol awarded the 2006 Ellis Island Medal of predominant Iranian culture. invasion. A discussion of the Mongol Honor, which is created to pay tribute Next, E. Yarshater takes up the invasion and the Il-khanid dynasty, the to the ancestry groups that comprise considerable challenge of outlining abolition of the and Americaʼs unique cultural mosaic. the political, and to some degree the the onslaught of Timur and the rule of Dr. Maseeh and his wife, Azam, cultural, history of Iran from the begin- his descendents as well as the Turkmen live in Southern California with their nings in prehistoric times to the 21st dynasties, chiefly in western Persia, young son and daughter. century, with division into pre-Islamic follows. The rise of the Safavids and and Islamic periods. The first section the significance of their unifying the begins with the history of , the country under their enforced Shiʼism, Dr. Lotfi Zadeh, Professor in the ever-increasing archeological evidence Graduate School, Computer Science with particular attention to the reign for the culture of the plateau before of Shah ʻAbbas I and contacts with the Division, Department of EECS, Uni- the appearance of written documents, versity of California, Berkeley and the West, and the role of the Georgians and and the arrival of the Indo-Iranians in Armenians in economic and military Director of BISC the northeast; the domination of some affairs of the Safavids, come next. An (Berkeley Initiative of their tribes in the northwest of the account of the Portuguese occupation in Soft Comput- plateau; separation of the Iranians and of the southern shores of Persia and ing), is a renowned the Indians; settlement of Iranians on their eventual ousting, the intermezzo scientist in the field the plateau; Assyrian domination of the of Afghan rule, the rise of Nader Shah, of “Fuzzy Logic.” western plateau; the rise of the to the , and the Qajars fol- Born in Baku power and the extent of their kingdom; lows. The Constitutional Movement, in 1921, he gradu- the accounts of Greek historians with the coup of Sayyed Ziaʼ-al-Din, and ated from the Uni- regard to the Medes and some other the formation of the are versity of Tehran in electrical engineer- Iranian tribes. Then the rise of the Per- treated next. The modernizing efforts of ing in 1942. He emigrated to the US sians and the history of the Achaemenid Reza Shah and the secularizing effects and took a Masterʼs degree from MIT empire is sketched, with a concise of such efforts are next focused upon, in 1946 and a Ph.D. from Columbia discussion of its culture; the kingsʼ followed by an account of the reign of University in 1949, where he began religious policies; and the spread of Zo- Mohammad Reza Shah, the revolu- teaching systems theory. Since 1959, roastrianism in Iranian lands during this tion of 1979, and the formation of the Zadeh has taught at Berkeley, first in period. Several overviews follow—of Islamic Republic of Iran. the Electrical Engineering (EE) Depart- Alexander and his successors, the This account, which covers mil- ment where he served as Chair from Arsacid dynasty which dominated Iran lennia of evolution and change is 1963-68, and later in the Computer for some 500 years, the developments necessarily panoramic in approach and Science Division (EECS). in eastern Iran and , the in- compact in treatment. It is therefore Since 1965, Prof. Zadehʼs research teraction and cultural exchanges among supplemented, reinforced, and illustrat- interests have shifted to the theory of Iranians and non-Iranians, all of which ed with a chronology of specific events fuzzy sets and its applications to ar- contributed to the complexity of the and personalities which mark signifi- tificial intelligence, linguistics, logic, final period of this section, which deals cant moments, whether large or small, decision analysis, control theory, expert with Sasanian empire. The existence of including all significant dates in the systems and neural networks and the a royal ideology, a state church, and a development of Iranian studies, in the 5 CIS Newsletter

Iranian historical venture. The chrono- can be subject to a range of preconcep- wealth of bibliography. He is especially logical table, the most extensive of its tions as to what the term embraces attentive to the problems in the earliest kind, is followed by a convenient index and what it excludes. In this entry the linguistic evidence. To begin with, he of proper names to facilitate finding of intent is not to deny past or present orients the reader in time and space with the desired events and dates. ethnic diversity in the country; at the a listing of the languages attested at the E. Yarshater then turns, in “Tra- same time, no assumption is made that Old, Middle, and New stages of histori- ditional history of Iran,” to describe particular social barriers or conflicts cal development and gives examples of and summarize what may be called the necessarily result from ethnic diversity. criteria used to define the affinity or “national history.” This is a mixture Ever in the writersʼ minds is the fact of separateness of two languages. The sec- of mythological, legendary, and fac- multilingualism in Iran. This is better tion “Earliest Evidence” then considers tual history and ancient lores inherited documented the closer one comes to the fragmentary and difficult linguis- essentially from Sasanian times and modern times and is also occasionally tic evidence relating to Indo-Iranian based on pre-Zoroastrian and Zoro- evidenced in the ancient past. origins—most famously, the (or astrian accounts of Iranian history. It In the introductory portion, R. N. specifically Indo-Aryan) proper names was systematized and committed to Frye creates an overall view of the and terms in Hittite sources of the 14th paper towards the end of the Sasanian Iranians from distant past to present. century B.C.E. Discussion continues to period as Khwadaynamak, which after He begins by looking at the obscure en- the clearer “first contact” documenta- the advent of Islam was translated into trance of Iranian-speaking people onto tion in the Assyrian royal annals (see until a Persian version of it the historical scene of the Plateau and also ) and to the personal names reached , which he used as the adjoining regions: here we encounter of Medes, , and Scythians in the basis for his Shah-nama. In this article for the first time the key term “Bactri- problematic historical account of these the content of the traditional history is ana-Margiana Archeological Complex” peoples by the Greek . summarized, from the mythological (which will be invoked several times in What follows is a systematic tabu- Pishdadids to the legendary Kayanids, the course of the entry); it designates the lation of the Old, Middle, and New lan- to the brief mention of the Arsacids and transition zone between Central Asia guages and major dialects with notes on on to the historical Sasanians dynasty. and the Plateau proper, located in north- the history of research for each and on Before that, however, the traditionʼs west Afghanistan and north of the Oxus the contents of the relevant sources giv- layers are carefully considered—the River. In this region, it is thought, the en. Languages which are barely known presence of elements both archaic and Iranian-speakers began to be accultur- from proper names in Greek or Latin late—and their relationship to the oldest ated by a settled, agricultural economy sources, such as Scythian and Alanic adumbration in the Avestan hymns, the (of unknown extent and polity). Con- (see ALANS), are not left out. Naturally, long drawn out feud between Iranians tinuing through the second millennium there is a wealth of published studies and Turanians, and the exploits of noble B.C.E. and on into the recorded history collected here regarding Persian itself, warriors on both sides. Finally, the ab- of the Iranians, the author reviews the as well as for the dialects of Iran, Pashto sence of the Medes and the Achaemenid distribution of population groups as and the Northwest Frontier languages, kings from the traditional history and far as known. In summary fashion Ossetic, and others. The final section, the Sasanian lack of knowledge of these the account is continued through the which deals with Iranian scripts, is dynasties and the kings such as Cyrus, complex movements of peoples down organized likewise and tabulates the Darius, and Xerxes, in spite of their to modern Iran. various scripts that have been used at great significance, is explained, and For the pre-Islamic period, C. J. the Old, Middle, and New stages of the the Sasanian final contribution to the Brunner collects chiefly the refer- various languages. All in all, the reader molding of the traditional history, which ences to tribes and peoples in the Greek receives a thoroughgoing introduction stamped the national history with their and Latin sources and considers these to the Iranian language family. royal ideology, is dealt with. in a geographical sequence. The tax In NON- IN The reader next shifts from the districts and army lists furnished by IRAN, G. Windfuhr provides a similar historical perspective, as J. R. Hinnells Herodotus, considered together with amount of detail for the non-Iranian lan- considers the typology and content of the Achaemenid inscriptions and their guage groups and the history of research IRANIAN MYTHS AND LEGENDS. He gives varying lists of “lands,” form an inevi- into them. Among such languages that detailed accounts of the men and gods table starting point. The later historians are documented for the pre-Islamic and other figures of the Avestan yasht of Alexanderʼs campaign in the east period, perhaps Elamite is of foremost hymns. He also emphasizes the Zoroas- and the geography writers drew on the interest, since it was the language of trian myths relating to the creation and first-hand and second-hand accounts of the major state of pre-Achaemenid Iran the end of the material world and the Alexanderʼs expedition; they likewise (discussed in the entry ELAM) from the life of Zoroaster. provide an abundance of ethnographic third millennium B.C.E. onward. While The section on PEOPLES OF IRAN references, however difficult to evaluate the main centers of Elamite civilization remains a work in progress. Two sec- in many cases. They are also supple- were located in Fars and Khuzestan, its tions are included in the fascicle, and mented by the historical accounts of influence reached the pre-Aryan and it is hoped that a detailed survey of the the late Achaemenid period and the early Aryan inhabitants along the trade contemporary ethnolinguistic groups of Seleucid period, as well as some eyewit- routes across the Plateau. A linguistic Iran can be commissioned in the near nesses such as . sketch of the language is given. future. (For Afghanistan, see AFGHANI- In IRANIAN LANGUAGES AND SCRIPTS, Also sketched is Urartian, the STAN iv.) The section begins with some P. O. Skjærvø documents the Iranian language of the kingdom and culture reflection on the word “people,” which dialects ancient and modern with a Continued on page 9 CIS Newsletter 6

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SEMINARS HASANLU ON IRANIAN STUDIES ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE questions values of universal human On December 8, 2005, Dr. Oscar IRANʼS NEO-CONS AND White Muscarella, Senior Research THEIR MESSIANIC NARRATIVE rights, ridicules feminism, does not believe in religious tolerance (even Fellow at the Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art at The Metropolitan to the limited extent that is respected On November 3, 2005, Dr. Abbas Museum of Art, led the discussion on Amanat, Professor of History at Yale in todayʼs Iran), adamantly rejects the separation of religion and state, and has “An archaeological assessment of the University, led a discussion on “Iranʼs site of Hasanlu in Northwestern Iran.” Neo-Cons and Their Messianic Nar- clear anti-modernity postures. rative.” Remarkably, he noted that this new Prof. Amanat began his seminar trend relies on popular rites and rituals and especially the cult of Mahdi and a by saying that yearning for the coming of the Hidden his talk is about Imam. It is propagated by low-rank contemporary re- preachers (not unlike the televangelists ligious and po- in this country), street-level mobili- litical transforma- zation, and internet and propaganda tion in Iran, with publications complete with translations special reference of Armageddon and commentary on to the messianic Hollywood movies with apocalyptic themes that have themes. The most striking symbol recently come in of the growth of what may be called vogue with the Dr. Muscarella began his talk by “vulgar messianism” is the Jamkaran pointing out that the site of Hasanlu conscious backing of the Iranian re- phenomenon, a minor pilgrimage site in northwestern Iran was discovered gime. This is evident in the election near Qom where it is believed that the in 1936 by the great Aurel Stein. It of the fundamentalist former mayor Hidden Imam appeared in someoneʼs was subsequently excavated in ten of Tehran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, dream in the 10th century (not unlike campaigns between the years 1956 and as the new president and the rise of Catholic veneration cults in , 1974, sponsored by The University of Islamic neo-conservatism in Qom that France, and Latin America). Every Pennsylvania and the Metropolitan aims to compete with its Christian and Tuesday, at midnight, tens of thousand Museum of Art; its Director was Robert Jewish counterparts. It is openly anti- of believers from all over the country H. Dyson, Jr., along with Assistant or Semitic (and anti-Bahaʼi), conspirato- (and as far away as Pakistan and Iraq) Co-Directors, T. C. Young, Jr., Oscar rial, apocalyptic in its view of the world, come to the shrine (now lavishly re- White Muscarella. In addition, during and aimed primarily at the younger constructed), drop off their petitions this time other sites in the Ushnu Valley generation. in a sacred well where it is believed region were excavated under the label He noted that Ahmadinejadʼs that their wishes will be miraculously Hasanlu Project each headed by various recent statement: “Israel must be granted by the Hidden Imam, and stand Directors (Dyson, Young, Mary Voigt, wiped off the map,” was uttered in a in a congregational repentance prayer and Muscarella). speech given before 4,000 high school calling for the coming of the Hidden On publications concerned with students mobilized in a youth move- Imam. When Prof. Amanat was in at- revealing the results of the excava- ment. Speaking before a backdrop tendance last July there were more than tions of Hasanlu itself, he noted that that read “A World Without Zionism,” 100,000 pilgrims present. they have appeared in publications the clear visual symbolism was de- Prof. Amanat concluded his talk by by Hasanlu staff members in about signed to speak to both domestic and stating that it may be asked whether the 20 academic journals, in a number of international audiences (along with a neo-conservatives trend is ephemeral or other disparate venues, as well as in website that has since been removed). enduring? What is its popular base and five monographs. They amount to over This new trend has its roots in a long what are the resources at its disposal: ninety works, which does not include messianic tradition in Shiʼism and plays funding, doctrinal and propaganda the many articles written by others, on old messianic paradigms, usually backing and how the pragmatists and non-staff members, such as Edith Po- anti-clerical; yet here it has been co- the reformists of the regime and the rada, Roman Ghirshman, N. I. Med- opted by the neo-conservative Ayatol- Iranian public as a whole deal with it? vedskaya, Reinhard Dittmann, etc. lahs and their clerical and lay supporters What are the repercussions for Iranʼs But to date there does not exist a final, essentially to dismantle the “revision- foreign policy? How will it affect the unified report on the site. Moreover, a ism” of the Khatami brand. leadership and to what extent will it reading of all the publications in their Prof. Amanat continued by ex- undermine the relative unanimity within chronological order of appearance from plaining that the new movement ad- the clerical ranks in Iran and in the 1956 to 2004, across a half century, and vocates an “essentialist” reading of Shiʼite world? If we take the rhetoric assembled with some difficulty, reveals Islam against multifaceted and relativist of this messianic movement seriously, an inadequate and inconsistent publica- readings of the reformists and is in favor how does it change Iranʼs posture to- tion record: with regard to the various of an authoritarian Islam dominated by ward the West on questions of human cultural levels exposed, the range and the theologians. It is anti-democratic, rights and nuclear policy? quantity of the artifacts recovered, the 7 CIS Newsletter major, elite architecture preserved, the the young people in the eight-year-long number and contents of burials in the Iran-Iraq war. cemetery, and the chronology of these On the notion of self-sacrifice in various cultures. Sunni Islam he noted that a similar Dr. Muscarella discussed in the reinterpretation of traditional Islamic course of his talk some of these issues, teachings and ideals took place in parts citing the publications, and discussing of the Sunni world, though not around how this record affects our knowledge the concept of martyrdom but that of of what is known and what is not known jihad. Tied closely to the twentieth- about the major ancient site of Hasanlu, century revivalist movements in the and concomitantly the archaeology of Indian subcontinent (e.g., Jamaʼat-e northwestern Iran in the second and first Islami) and in Egypt and Syria (Muslim millennia B.C. Brotherhood), the new interpretations of jihad helped create a religio-political ideology that was anti-colonialist, po- POLITICS OF MARTYRDOM litically assertive (including resorting to violence), and directed, not only against On February 7, 2006, Dr. Ali Western infidels, but also against local Banuazizi, Professor of Cultural Psy- regimes and groups that were accused chology and Co-Director of the Middle of being collaborationist, corrupt, and East and Islamic Studies Program at un-Islamic. Boston College, led a discussion: “From Prof. Banuazizi concluded his Sacred to Profane: The Politics of Mar- presentation by saying that the current tyrdom in Iran and the Middle East.” surge of jihad movements in many parts Prof. Banuazizi began his talk by Hasanlu burial, period IV, of the Muslim world, though in each noting that for centuries, the themes of 9th century B.C. case a product of its own cultural and martyrdom and redemptive suffering political circumstances, represents the have been among the most distinctive broader Islamic culture, inclusive of most extreme exploitation of the con- aspects of Shiʼite popular culture and both the majority Sunnis and the minor- cepts of martyrdom and jihad for purely devotional rituals. The Shiʼite Imams, ity Shiʼites, this has been true, also, for political objectives under a puritanical with the exception of the Twelfth (the the related concept of jihad. Islamic guise. The ready resort to ter- Mahdi), are all believed to have suffered Discussing the changing political rorist tactics by these groups, including persecution at the uses of martyrdom, he noted that two suicide bombing attacks against civil- hands of corrupt particularly significant transformations ians, has done incalculable damage and tyrannical rul- in the symbolic meaning and political to the contemporary image of Islam ers and ultimately uses of these concepts have occurred around the globe. As such, it demon- sacrificed their in the last few decades. In the case of strates the dangers, in the extreme, of lives in defense of martyrdom, beginning in the 1960s, a using religion as political ideology—a faith, virtue, and small number of Iranian Shiʼite think- tendency that finds its counterparts justice. The su- ers, including both clerics (e.g., Motah- in other religions in todayʼs world as preme example of hari, Salehi-Najafabadi, Taleqani) and well. such pietistic self- religious intellectuals (e.g., Shariati), sacrifice in the pantheon of Shiʼite as well as several Sunni modernists, saints has always been Hosayn, the offered a new reading of the Karbala THE MEDIEVAL grandson of the Prophet and the third tragedy that sought to demystify the POLITICAL DISCOURSE imam, whose heroic struggle against the drama as a pre-ordained affair guided Umayyad ruler (Yazid) and tragic death by divine will, and reinterpreted it, On March 2, 2006, Ms. Neguin in the plains of Karbala in 680 A.D. instead, as a rational and this-worldly Yavari, Assistant Professor of Islamic casts him as the “Lord of the Martyrs” political struggle against an oppressive Studies in the Department of Religion, in the Shiʼite tradition. and unjust ruler. The clear implication Columbia University, presented a talk On contradictory readings of mar- of this reformulation for the politically at the Iranian Studies Seminar entitled tyrdom, Prof Banuazizi stated that in conscious Muslims was that they, too, “Counsels of Advice and the Literature spite of its prominence as a central can engage actively in a Hosayn-like of Power” in which she discussed sev- tenet of the Shiʼite worldview and its struggle against the oppressive regimes eral themes central to the comparative profound impact on the Shiʼite political of their own time. This more all-encom- study of medieval Christian and Islamic culture and consciousness—or perhaps passing meaning of martyrdom in the political language. because of it—the interpretations and active mode helped shape the radical Advice literature, and in particular, uses of martyrdom have varied consid- ideology of Iranʼs Islamic revolution the Siyar al-moluk of Nezam al-Molk erably in the course of Shiʼite history and several militant Islamic movements (d. 1092), the fabled vizier of the Saljuq and have been contingent upon the elsewhere. Later, an even more expan- era, formed the bulk of the narratives socio-historical, cultural, and political sive interpretation of martyrdom, as a mentioned and analyzed in the lecture. circumstances of Shiʼite communi- personal and collective religious duty, A primary concern was the manifold Is- ties across time and space. Within the was used in the massive mobilization of lamic representations of the pre-Islamic CIS Newsletter 8 past, in an effort to revisit the traditional separate church and state, or its timeless and both are similar to instruments in paradigms of “translation” and “bor- and uncritical approach to the study of Mesopotamia. Representations show rowing” and to draw out the particulars itself), and without appearing to use lyres with elements resembling animals, of the interaction of the religious with western theory as a master key to unlock e.g., bullʼs heads. But an extant lyre the secular in medieval Islamic political and glean “meaning” from apparently from Ur (largely unpublished) goes fur- vocabulary. The speaker argued that the meaningless and alien texts. Rather than ther: the three-dimensional shape of its avowed concerns submitting to a process of anachronistic sound box resembles a bull. Moreover, as well as the im- decoding through fleetingly fashionable Sumerian texts liken the sound to that plicit pre-occupa- theories, a historical study of important of a bull. Lyres were multi-dimensional tions of medieval features of medieval societies such as representations of bulls. Oxus Muslim historians the role of the panegyric in courtly life, appear towards the end of the millen- could be used in or the story-telling strategies employed nium. Some were decorated with heads a direct and pro- by popular sermons, or a synchronic of humans and animals. Various instru- ductive manner study of the corpus of extant didactic ments were associ- to shed light on literature east and west, reveal homolo- ated with represen- aspects of medi- gous features rooted in specific local tations of animals eval Christian his- traditions. As with the many colors of and humans. Were toriography, and that while allowing for the rhetoric of praise, the grammar of they mere decora- different perspectives, a comparative advice can only be thoroughly appreci- tions, or did they study could pose new questions and ated by a study of its variations, local have deep signifi- seek new paradigms that would enrich and regional, which at the same time cance? our understanding of medieval studies takes cognizance of the overall deeper T h e n P r o f . in a wider context. By studying the structures and functions that appear Lawergren turned to the early second writings of a handful of luminaries through comparative studies. millennium during which bull-lyres and in the mid-eleventh century, the talk arched disappeared, and so did undertook to bring to life the political representations. The instruments were questions embedded in the various MUSIC IN IRAN replaced by small lyres and angular theological debates, and to shed light 3000 B.C. TO 1500 A.D. harps. The new construction allowed on the “public writing of power” and up to 20 strings on harps, and one might its performative dimensions in Islamic On April 6, 2006, Dr. Bo Lawer- consider them the “grand pianos” of historiography. gren, Professor Emeritus of Physics at antiquity. Their tuning probably posed In conclusion, Professor Yavari Hunter College of The City University a problem then as it does now. Maybe focused on the representations of the of New York and Senior Research As- it prompted the tuning theory that secular realm in medieval Islamic sociate at Columbia University, led a appeared in Mesopotamian texts by narratives and the techniques adopted discussion on “Music in Iran, 3000 B.C. mid-millennium. With a large number by the writers in exploiting religious to 1500 A.D.” of strings, and an emphasis on correct tropes and moulds to air their im- Prof. Lawergren made a brief tuning, music reached a first flowering mediate concerns. The aim was to mention on sources at the beginning which required a wide range of pitches. integrate medieval Islamic debates of his talk and noted that in the long This forms a stark contrast with Egypt with western ones, to demonstrate how period from 3000 B.C. and 1500 A.D. which still used arched harps with few similar preoccupations and problems the sources of Iranian music are extant (around 6) strings. emerged in were confronted and dealt with in material (e.g., Oxus trumpets), repre- Iran with short necks (around 40 cm), different ways by different cultures. sentations, and texts. No notation has but they doubled in length by the end The conceptual framework underpin- survived, but the sources shows the of the millennium. ning the study sought to use insights circumstances of music, its means of During the first millennium BC, and methodological debates that have production, and societal function. The he noted that rock carvings at Kul-e originated in western medieval studies focus lies on the music of Iran, but its Farah show ensembles of harps, and without resorting to the all too common distinctiveness is brought out by com- a wall relief in Assurbanipalʼs palace recital of deficiencies and chronicles of parisons with Mesopotamia. displays a large orchestra marching out despair that dominate some contempo- Beginning with the third millenni- of the Elamite city of Madaktu (653 rary comparative accounts of medieval um BC, he noted that this time is domi- BC). It has nine harps and two pipes, Islam (such as for instance, its failure to nated by arched harps and large lyres, followed by 15 hand-clapping people. Meanwhile, Assurbanipal celebrated his victory in a famous banquet scene surrounded by 16 . Depicted orchestras were relatively large, agree- ing with texts that list food rations for 200 musicians at Sargonʼs court (721- 705 BC). Music was required on formal occasions (royal cult and celebration banquets), as well as in frivolous merry- Oxus , making (shown on the Arjan bowl, ca. 2000-1700 B.C. 590 BC). 9 CIS Newsletter

Finally, Prof. Lawergren discussed necessary to distinguish between the times) of didactic literature. This cat- excellent depictions that occur on rock classical and the modern periods of egory includes the familiar “mirrors carvings at Taq-e Bustan and other types . PRE-ISLAMIC PERIOD for princes” such as the Siasat-nama of Sasanian art during the first millen- by P. Huyse manages to quickly guide of Nezam-al-Molk (late 11th century) nium AD. But a new source of infor- the readers across the full spectrum but also takes in a wide range of moral mation has recently been uncovered in of the written remains of the Old and and religious teaching, such as Jalal- China. Tombs of Sogdian immigrants Middle Iranian languages and leaves al-Din Rumiʼs Mathnawi-e maʼnawi contain distinctly non-Chinese elements them well prepared for further pursuit and the whole vast area of Sufi didactic such as objects of Zoroastrian worship of the subject. (The detailed, individual texts. Finally, the special significance and a panoply of instruments from the articles are to be written in the future, of Saʼdi—for this genre and classical Sogdian-Iranian milieu. but see .) The entry concisely literature in general—is examined. The describes the materials in Old Persian, article concludes with a rapid overview Avestan, Parthian, and , of the second classical period (14th to EIR FASCICLE 3 and, in very compressed form, those in 17th centuries). Bactrian, Sogdian, Chorasmian, and The remaining sections of the Continued from page 5 Khotanese. entry IRAN which are listed above will C.-H. de Fouchécour in CLASSI- appear in Fascicle 5, to be published which dominated northwestern Iran, as CAL PERSIAN LITERATURE first reviews later this year. well as Armenia and northern Iraq, in the beginnings of the New Persian lan- the late second and early first millen- nium B.C.E. (An article discussing the guage in the altered political and social NOTES ON THE , milieu of Iran after the Arab Conquest, archeological remains of Urartu in Iran, VOLUME 3 and the implied economic and social and the elevation of it to literary status. influence on the region, is currently Also indispensable prologue is the This volume, which has just been in preparation for the Encyclopædia consideration of the influence of the published, and which has been called, Arabic literary model, for example, in Iranica website.) by its author, Dr. Djalal Khaleghi-Mot- the adoption of quantitative meter and Finally, the Kassite language, one lagh, Part I of the second Section of the rhyme for Persian poetry. The reader of the languages spoken in the Zagros Notes, comprises the explanations of is grounded in the mathnawi, qasida, mountains region in the second mil- the volumes III, IV, and V of the text of ghazal, and roba lennium B.C.E., is briefly discussed. ʼi verse forms, and is the Shahnameh, edited by him. It is only sketchily known from the made aware of some of the aesthetic The Shahnameh, as Dr. Khaleghi cuneiform sources, but its indications principles discussed in medieval literary makes clear, is deceptively easy to un- of Aryan contacts are valuable clues to criticism. Then the author can proceed derstand, but in fact requires the expli- the movements of peoples in western to a summary of the development of cations of an expert such as the author Persian literature and the interplay of Iran. to be fully understood. Dr. Khaleghi that process with the dynastic politics For all three of these languages, no carefully and assiduously explains all of the Middle Ages in what he defines family affiliation has been established. the words, lines and themes of the epic as the “founding period,” which lasts Their origins, possible connections to in the three mentioned volumes as well through the period of the major Mongol other languages from the era before as the grammatical and syntactical as- Il-Khanids to the beginning of the 14th written history, and possible traces of pects of the lines, where needed. century. In the founding period, which cultural interaction and exchange are No one who would like to thor- is the authorʼs main focus, were created matters of intense interest for con- oughly enjoy the matchless poetry of the great works which would continue structing the proto-history of Iran and Ferdowsi or to study the Shahnameh, its to mold the practice of literature in the adjacent regions. The introductory sec- stories, its legends, their mythological “second classical period,” the age of tion of the entry touches on some of the or historical background, and the views regional centers of power and religious research issues in this area. of the outstanding Shahnameh scholars expression and of the patronage and art For the Islamic period, the author can afford to do without the Notes on describes the complex language situa- they fostered. the Shahnameh. tion of modern Iran, and its historical The author continues with more Like other volumes of the critical context; he then focuses on an outline detailed descriptions of the major liter- edition (six volumes) and the first two of the Turkic and Semitic families as ary forms. Lyric poetry (the art of the volumes of the Notes, the third volume they are represented in Iran and Af- qasida, ghazal, and robaʼi) is the first is published by the Persian Heritage ghanistan. For purposes of illustration, subject covered. Historical epic follows, Foundation and distributed by Eisen- Shah-nama he provides linguistic sketches of the devoted to Ferdowsiʼs and brauns, Inc. P.O. Box 275, Winona important language of Azeri Turkish its sources in pre-Islamic literature. Lake, Indiana 46590. Telephone: 574- and the somewhat marginal ones of Next, medieval fiction is covered, again 269-2011. Fax: 574-269-6788. Email: Khorasan Arabic and Jewish Urmia with consideration of sources ancient [email protected]. and foreign. This genre culminates Neo-Aramaic. Website: www.eisenbrauns.com. with the art and lasting influence of The section on literature begins Scholars who are interested in in Fascicle 4 but does not quite reach Nezami in the late 12th century, with reviewing the volume may write to the Leyli o Majnun completion. Like the sections for works such as and the distributor or to the Persian Heritage Eskandar-nama history, religion, and languages, it di- . There is a natural Foundation at 450 Riverside Drive, vides discussion into pre-Islamic and connection between this topic and the Suite 4, New York, NY 10027. Email: Islamic periods. In this case, it is also next, the fertile field (from pre-Islamic [email protected]. CIS Newsletter 10

to Iranica, IRAN xii. SCIENCE IN IRAN, Emeritus George Wickens, University will be published soon in Fascicle 4 of of Toronto). OBITUARIES volume XIII. In light of his outstanding conributions, Pingreeʼs loss is a heavy DAVID E. PINGREE blow to the Encyclopædia Iranica. MORTEZA MOMAYYEZ (1933-2005) (1936-2006) David Edwin Pingree, renowned Professor of History of Mathematics GEORGE M. WICKENS Morteza Momayyez, a distin- and Classics at Brown University and (1918-2006) guished figure of Iranʼs graphic arts Consulting Editor for the History of Sci- and a contributor to the Encyclopædia ence of the Ency- Prof. George Michael Wickens, Iranica passed away in Tehran at the clopædia Iranica a distinguished University Professor age of 69. He graduated in painting (1982-2005) and Emeritus in Persian literature, the from University of Tehranʼs Faculty of its frequent con- founding chair of the Department of Fine Arts in 1965 tributor, passed Islamic Studies at the University of and continued his away on Novem- Toronto, and a contributor to the En- study in the field ber 11, 2005. cyclopædia Iranica, passed away in interior architec- He joined Toronto on January 2, 2006. ture and design at the History of Born in London, England, Wickens the cole des Arts Mathematics De- attended Trinity College, Cambridge, Decoratifs in Par- partment at Brown University in receiving his B.A. in 1939 and M.A. in is. After returning 1971, serving as its Chair from the 1946. Following his wartime service, home, Momayyez mid-1980s, and later as its sole regular mostly in Iran from 1941-46, Wickens started his prolific activities in graph- faculty member. During that time, he resumed academic ics and illustration and developed the supervised approximately ten doc- life, teaching at the graphic design curriculum for Iranʼs toral students. Pingree was a leading University of Lon- higher education system. scholar of the history of exact science don for three years For more than 45 years, Momayyez (including mathematics, astronomy, and at Cambridge was the art manager and chief graphic astrology, and magic) in the ancient until 1957 when designer of many distinguished cultural world. His personal library collection he joined the Uni- and literary periodicals. He also func- is considered to be among the finest in versity of Toronto tioned as set and costume designer for the world for scholars interested in the and from 1961-68 14 plays and two films. He compiled study of mathematical science in the served as the founding chair of the six books on painting and graphic de- ancient world. founding chair of the Department of sign and received several international His many books and articles are Islamic Studies (now Department of awards. He demonstrated his brilliant very influential, and the quality of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations), talent in the graphic illustrations of his scholarship was recognized with which soon became a major center in “Ketab e Hafteh.” Recently he has many academic honors, including North America. served as the designer of periodicals a MacArthur Fellowship. Pingreeʼs Wickens was a prolific and distin- “Kelk and Bokhara,” as ell as “Goft death has raised worries about Brown guished humanities scholar. “He was a o Gou.” He made three short films, Universityʼs History of Mathematics scholar of enormous breadth and with one of which (A Green Point) won the department, which was created in the a knowledge unusual in that he was honorary diploma of Moscowʼs festival late 1940s and is the only American trained in modern European languages in 1973. research center focused exclusively before he went on to Arabic and Persian Momayyez has left a profound on the study of ancient science and and this gave him an enormous range,” influence on the younger generation of mathematics. said Professor Emeritus Roger Savory, graphic artists. He initiated a series of Pingree contributed over 65 entries a close friend and colleague. individual and distinctive techniques to the Encyclopædia Iranica on the Wickens was the author of Avicen- in the Iranian graphic arts. He played history of astronomy, astrology, and na: Scientist and Philosopher (1952), a leading role in the establishment mathematics in Persia, including 43 Booklist on Asia for Canadians (1961), and development of graphic arts col- biographies of astronomers and astrolo- Introduction to Islamic Civilization leges as well as training top artists and gers, 14 biographies of mathematicians, (1976). His contributions to Iranica designers. The 5,000 and 10,000 Rial and 8 entries on astronomical texts and included treatment of three classical banknotes currently in use have also concepts as well as general overviews. Persian books on ethics: Akhlaq-e been designed by him. Some of his main contributions include Naseri, Akhlaq-e Jalali, and Akhlaq-e He had been a member of the Al- ASTRONOMY IN PERSIA, ASTROLOGY Mohseni; a handbook of love poetry, liance Graphique Internationale (AGI) IN PERSIA, ATHAR AL-BAQIA by Biruni, Anis al-Oshshaq; a book on fables, An- since 1975, having joined the group three major entries treating Biruniʼs var-e Soheyli; a Persian mystical-ethical at the invitation of American graphic geographical contributions, his works text, Awsaf al-Ashraf; belles-lettres by designers Milton Glaser and Walter on history and chronology, and his Jami, Baharestan; and Bustan of Saʼdi. Allner and Polish graphic artist Ro- bibliography. Pingreeʼs last contribution (Source: In memoriam: Professor man Cieslewicz. He was the chairman 11 CIS Newsletter

of the board of directors of the Iranian NEW MEMBERS OF THE DR. SHAPUR SHAHBAZI Graphic Designers Society since 1988, and was honoured by the International BOARD OF TRUSTEES RECEIVES LIFE-TIME Council of Graphic Design Associations The Board of Trustees of the ACHIEVEMENT AWARD (ICOGRADA) with a lifetime achieve- Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation ment award in April 2004 (source: Dr. Shapur Shahbazi, a frequent have unanimously elected three new contributor to the Encyclopædia Iranica Community Weblog of Persian Students members: Mr. Mehdi Metghalchi, Mr. in the UK). and Professor of History at Eastern Mohammad Mohseni, and Mrs. Tina Oregon University, was the recipient Tehranchian. The biographical notices of the award for life-time achievements MARY BOYCE of Mr. Metghalchi and Mr. Mohseni in Iranian Studies at the 39th Annual will be presented in the Fall issue of Conference of the Middle East Studies (1920-2006) the Newsletter. Association of North America (MESA), Continued from page 1 Mrs. Tina Tehranchian, is a capable held in Washington D.C. in November Boyce was elected to the International and successful branch manager and fi- 2005. The MESAʼs “Houshang Pour- Advisory Board of the Encyclopædia in nancial advisor at Assante Corporation. shariati Iranian Studies Book Award,” 1997, succeeding Sir Harold Bailey as She was the success- was founded in 2005 and Prof. Shahbazi the U.K. representative. She also served ful organizer and chair was the first recipient of the award at its as the Encyclopædiaʼs Consulting Edi- of the Gala Benefit inaugural ceremony. tor for Iranian religions from 1982-97. Dinner in Toronto on In an interview given to Radio She received her B.A. in 1943 (1st November 25, 2005, Farda Prof. Yarshater said, “Profes- class with distinction in archeology), the first fundraising sor Shahbazi is a most erudite Iranian her M.A. in 1945, and a Ph.D. in 1952 gala in Canada to ben- scholar currently working in the West.” in Oriental Studies from Cambridge efit the Encyclopædia University. She taught Iranian Studies Iranica. at the School of Oriental and African Mrs. Tehranchian Studies from 1947-90. She served as holds a Master of Arts degree in Com- secretary and treasurer of Corpus In- munications from the University of scriptionum Iranicarum from 1955-70, Portland. She has also earned a Certified was a member of the Council of the Financial Planning designation and has Royal Asiatic Society from 1956-60 and been awarded the Chartered Life Under- 1965-68, and member of the Editorial writer (CLU) and Chartered Financial Board of Asia Major from 1962-76. Consultant (CHFC) designations by the In 1972 she was awarded the Burton Canadian Association of Insurance and Gold Medal for her work among the Financial Advisors. Zoroastrians of Iran in 1963-64. She She is a financial branch manager In the inaugural ceremony of MESAʼs delivered the Ratanbai Katrak lectures with over a decade of experience in award Prof. Richard Bulliet of Co- in Oxford in 1975 and was a Visiting assisting business owners and self- lumbia University noted that Professor Patten Professor at the University of employed professionals in building Shahbaziʼs works include more than Indiana in 1977. She was elected an wealth and developing sound financial “140 articles and book chapters, a third Honorary Member of the American and estate plans. of them in the “rigorously scholarly Oriental Society in 1976 and a foreign She is quoted as an expert in Encyclopædia Iranica,” where he has member of the Royal Danish Academy her field in national newspapers and also served as Visiting Associate Editor of Sciences and Letters in 1978. In 1985 magazines and her articles on financial in the academic year 2001-2002. she was awarded the Sir Percy Sykes planning have been published in dif- The MESAʼs annual “Houshang Memorial Medal of the Royal Society ferent national, local and community Pourshariati Iranian Studies Book of Asian Affairs. magazines and newspapers. She has Award,” which carries a stipend of Professor Boyce has published also been teaching personal financial $2,000, will be awarded to non-fiction numerous works, including: The Man- planning at Centennial Collegeʼs Center scholarly monographs based on original ichaean hymn-cycles in Parthian for Entrepreneurship since 1994, and research published in English. Accord- (1954); The Letter of Tansar (tr.; 1968); has been the recipient of numerous ing to the guidelines established for A Persian Stronghold of Zoroastrian- academic and professional awards. the award, works eligible for consid- ism (1977); A History of Zoroastri- Mrs. Tehranchian has also served eration are those that “seek to advance anism (3 vols. 1975-91, vol. 3 with as a director of the Markham Board of knowledge and scholarship on Iran Frantz Grenet); and Zoroastrians, Trade and is currently serving as an and Iranian culture and history, and its Their Religious Beliefs and Practices advisory council member at the Family expression in literature, philosophy, art (1977, 1984). She also delivered the Service Association of Toronto and is and science from ancient times to the fourth Columbia Lecture Series on a director of JVS of Greater Toronto, present.” This award was founded in Iranian Studies, published as Zoroas- a non-profit community-based agency memory of Houshang Pourshariati trianism, Its Antiquity and Constant helping people find their lifeʼs path (1934-2004), a journalist, intellectual Vigor (1992). through education, career, employment, and humanist, who served as Direc- and rehabilitation counseling. tor of the national Iranian “Pars News Agency,” during the late 1970s. CIS Newsletter 12

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 so versity or the Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation, both thoroughly examined. Every single line, allusion, or name tax exempt organizations. 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 email: [email protected] This volume consists of articles extracted from the first 12 volumes of the Encyclopædia Iranica and includes medical To assist the aim of the Encyclopædia Iranica, please institutions, works on medicine, biographies of medical subscribe to it and encourage your local libraries, col- 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 ARTS 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-XII 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) Email: [email protected]

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