Art & Culture SEPTEMBER 28, 2014 3 This Day in History (September 28) Iran Opens Chamber of This Day in History (September 28) Today is Sunday; 6th of the Iranian month of Mehr 1393 solar hijri; corresponding to 3rd of the Islamic month of Zil-Hijjah 1435 lunar hijri; and September 28, 2014, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar. 1398 solar years ago, on this day in 616 AD, Javanshir Arranshah, the king of the Iranian Culture in Tajikistan land of Arran in what is today the Caucasus Republic of Azerbaijan was born in the Gardman region of Armenia. He reigned from 637 to 680 and was either of Parthian or Persian origin, The chamber was inaugurated at in cultural, scientific and artistic as his family, the Mihranids, claimed descent from the Sassanid Persians. He was placed on the request of the university and fields and achieve the status they the throne by the Sassanid Emperor in place of his father, Varaz Grigor, who had converted to with the cooperation of Moham- deserve.” Christianity from Zoroastrianism. Javanshir, who also converted secretly to Christianity, sided mad-Hassan Sanati, Iranian cultural He added the chambers future ac- with the Sassanid Dynasty during the Arab invasion of Persia and was personally rewarded by Emperor Yazdegerd III two golden spears, two golden shields and a flag, probably the Derafsh attaché to the country. tivities will mainly aim to accelerate Kaviani. In 636, he and his forces, alongside the Armenian prince Musel III Mamikonian, took Iranian cultural attaché Moham- the country’s scientific progress. part in the famous Battle of al-Qadisiyyah in Iraq between the Persian and Arab armies. The mad Hassan Sanati, a number of “To achieve this, we have expand- Sassanid defeat made Javanshir lose hope and he fled to his kingdom, from where he wrote a the university’s officials as well as ed our relation and cooperation with letter to Emperor Constans II and became ally of the Byzantine Empire. After his alliance with the Byzantines, he joined forces with the Iberian king Adarnase I to attack garrisons of the de- its Persian language professors and the country’s scientific centers in- clining Sassanid Empire in the Caucasus, expanding his dominion from Derbend in Daghestan students attended the inaugural cer- cluding Tajik Academy of Sciences to Aras River on what is today Iran’s northwestern border. Soon, faced with the advancing emony. will do our best to share our experi- armies of the Muslims from the south and the Khazar offensive on the north, Javanshir recog- After the ceremony was per- ences with Tajikistan.” nized the suzerainty of the caliph, a move that facilitated the spread of Islam in his homeland. formed, Sanati held a number of Also, in his meeting with the Javanshir was assassinated in 680 at the age of 64. 1073 lunar years ago, on this day in 362 AH, the prominent Iranian Islamic genius, Abu Ray- meetings with one of the university Persian language students of the han Mohammad ibn Ahmad al-Birouni, was born in Kath, the capital of Khwarezm in Central officials, professors and students. university, Sanati said, “May- Asia. His first 25 years were spent in his homeland where he studied jurisprudence, theology, Speaking in the meeting with the be you are surprised to see that grammar, mathematics, astronomy, medics and other sciences. Regarded as one of the greatest Tajik official of the university, he a foreigner knows all your cus- scholars of the medieval Islamic era, he was well versed in mathematics, astronomy, physical and natural sciences, and also distinguished himself as a geographer, historian, chronologist said, “In Tajikistan, I feel as if I am toms and speaks your language. and linguist. While in Mazandaran at the Ziyarid court, he wrote his first important work “al- in my own country. Tajikistan has Iran is the only country whose Asaar al-Baqiyya an al-Qoroun al-Khaliyya” which is a “Chronology of Ancient nations and Iran opens Chamber of Culture in Tajikistan well preserved the culture of our people speak Farsi. Of course, Vestiges of the Past”. With the conquest of the region by Mahmoud Ghaznavi he became court ancestors. Iran will help the coun- Afghanistan also, to some ex- astrologer and accompanied the Turkish Sultan on his invasions of India, where he lived for DUSHANBE (ICRO) - Sponsored Chamber of Culture opened at Nasir try, which has a rich culture, and its tent, shares commonalities with several years and became acquainted with all things related to that land. He learned Sanskrit by Iranian cultural office, Iran’s Khosro University in Tajikistan. and wrote the famous Arabic book “Kitab Tahqiq ma li’l-Hind”,which is a highly analytical intellectual people make progress Tajikistan in terms of language.” work. Of the more than hundred books and treatises known to have been written by him, some 65 percent are devoted to astronomy, mathematics, and related subjects like geography and geology. Birouni also devised his own method of determining the radius of the earth by means of observation of the height of a mountain which he carried it out at Nandana in India. He states ECI Commemorates Molana in his writings (several centuries before Copernicus and Galileo) that the earth is round and spherical. In mineralogy, this great Iranian Muslim genius, who was a follower of the Prophet’s TEHRAN (ECIECO) - The ECO Cultural Institute hosted the inaugural ceremony of the Kish Mehr festival. Ahl al-Bayt, succeeded in determining the specific density of many metals and minerals with To mark the birth anniversary of Molana Jalal ad-Din Mohammad Rumi, exquisite collection of forty artworks from renowned masters such as Moham- remarkable precision. Almost all his works were written in Arabic except for “Kitab at-Taf- mad salahshour, Esrafil Shirchi, Amir Ahmad Falsafi, Babak Borzouyeh, Mohammad Heidari and Morteza Khalaj in the fields of calligraphy, painting him”, in Persian, and in which he has scientifically proven the movement of the earth around and photography were showcased in the ceremony. the sun and the force of gravity. He died in Ghazni at the age of 78. 915 lunar years ago, on this day in 520 AH, on this day in 520 AH, one of the prominent Persian Referring to the regional character of Rumi, Iftikhar Husain Arif, the President of the ECO Cultural Institute stated: “Molana was born in Afghanistan, poets, Khaqani Shirvani, was born in the northwestern Iranian region of Shirvan, which is now buried in Turkey and was a master of Persian poetry.” in the Republic of Azerbaijan. He is considered amongst the great classical poets of Iran and He added: “Rumi is well-known in the Subcontinent where every family interested in literature, holds a volume of Masnavi.” composed different styles of poems. The na’at, a poem which he wrote in praise of Prophet Further, he expressed satisfaction with the event and said: “It is remarkable that most of the audiences of the festival are the young generation, young Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny) at a time when his literary talent people who seek peace and harmony over the world.” or the Hassaan of (مجعلا ناسح ”had reached its peak, procured him the title “Hassaan al-Ajam Persia – a reference to Hassaan ibn Sabet, the famous Arabic poet who composed panegyrics Describing the features of the exhibited artworks, Mohammad Heidari, the great Iranian calligraphy master, his works were on display in the event, in praise of the Prophet. In 551 AH, he went on Hajj pilgrimage and described the spiritual said: “these works depict Molana’s verses and the Iranian calligrapher owe to such figures.” atmosphere of the holy city of Mecca and the rituals through composing beautiful odes. On his He expressed satisfaction in cooperation with the ECO Cultural Institute and added: “It is a pleasure to see that today the younger generation shows return he stayed in Iraq and met Iraqi scholars. His travels gave him material for his famous ver- much interest in arts.” sified book entitled “Tohfat ol-Iraqain” or “A Gift of the Two Iraqs”, that is, ‘Persian Iraq’ and ‘Arab Iraq’. He also wrote the famous ode “Aiwan-e Mada’en” or The Portals of Ctesiphon, Live traditional music performance thrilled the event, warmly received by the audience. beautifully depicting his impressions of the remains of the Sassanid Palace near Baghdad. His collection of poems contains 18,000 couplets. In the later days of his life he turned into a recluse after the tragic death of his children and wife. He passed away in Tabriz in 595 AH. University Books Publisher Releases Books in Russian, Chinese 776 solar years ago, on this day in 1238 AD, the Muslim emirate of Valencia in Spain was TEHRAN (IBNA) -The Iranian Or- Composing Textbooks on Humanities, translated into Russian and released Fekri went on to say: “Moreover, forced to surrender to the besieging King James I of Aragon, on certain conditions that were ganization of Research and Composing Mas’oud Fekri (PhD) stated that two in the Russian language countries. in cooperation with the Cultural never kept by the Christians who persecuted Muslims and converted mosques into churches, beside expelling over 50,000 of the people of this land, which for five hundred years had nur- Textbooks on Humanities (SAMT) an- other books have also been published We have also signed an agreement Attaché of the Iranian Embassy in tured many great Islamic scholars and poets. Known as “Balansia” to Muslims and also called nounced the publication and release of its to be taught in the universities of India.