Societas Iranologica Europaea Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the State Hermitage Museum Russian Academy of Sciences Abstracts Electronic Edition Saint-Petersburg 2015 http://ecis8.orientalstudies.ru/ Eighth European Conference of Iranian Studies. Abstracts CONTENTS 1. Abstracts alphabeticized by author(s) 3 A 3 B 12 C 20 D 26 E 28 F 30 G 33 H 40 I 45 J 48 K 50 L 64 M 68 N 84 O 87 P 89 R 95 S 103 T 115 V 120 W 125 Y 126 Z 130 2. Descriptions of special panels 134 3. Grouping according to timeframe, field, geographical region and special panels 138 Old Iranian 138 Middle Iranian 139 Classical Middle Ages 141 Pre-modern and Modern Periods 144 Contemporary Studies 146 Special panels 147 4. List of participants of the conference 150 2 Eighth European Conference of Iranian Studies. Abstracts Javad Abbasi Saint-Petersburg from the Perspective of Iranian Itineraries in 19th century Iran and Russia had critical and challenging relations in 19th century, well known by war, occupation and interfere from Russian side. Meantime 19th century was the era of Iranian’s involvement in European modernism and their curiosity for exploring new world. Consequently many Iranians, as official agents or explorers, traveled to Europe and Russia, including San Petersburg. Writing their itineraries, these travelers left behind a wealthy literature about their observations and considerations. San Petersburg, as the capital city of Russian Empire and also as a desirable station for travelers, was one of the most important destination for these itinerary writers. The focus of present paper is on the descriptions of these travelers about the features of San Petersburg in a comparative perspective. To fulfill this purpose, itineraries from early, middle and late 19th century including Safarnamahs of Mirza Abul Hasan Khan Ilchi, Khosro Mirza, Zahir al-Dolah and Haj Sayyah will be examined. Meysam Abdoli, Marziye Mortazavi The Emancipation Decree of the Slave in Safavid Iran The fact that there had been male and female slaves at the time of Safavid dynasty indicates that slavery dates back to the earlier periods of the history of Iran. The territorial expansion of the Safavid kingdom led to the enslavement of the defeated. There are various references to Georgian, Circassian, Indian, and even Russian, Chinese, and Abyssinian Slaves in the historical resources of the period. The majority of the male slaves were castrated to work as the uniques in Sultan’s Haram; nevertheless, some of them were assigned to the military and the administration positions by Safavid officials. The female slaves worked in Sultan’s Haram as well as Safavid households; those who gave birth to a prince could change their status in the court. The practice of slavery was based on the Islamic canonic law and sharia. The slaves attained their freedom due to their owners’ consent in order to gain God’s forgiveness of their sins or as a result of a physical disability caused by an injury. The slaves were granted their freedom through a well-recorded legal process. The slaves were entitled to receive an emancipation decree that contained all their particulars to prevent any possible ownership claim. The present paper aims at studying the practice of slavery, sources or attaining slaves as well as slaves’ emancipation during the rule of Safavid dynasty. The study is done on the basis of 14 duplicate copies of 5 manuscripts (2361, 3846, 4746,6293 and 3697) and No. 1853 entitled “The Slaves’ Emancipation” at Tehran Malek Library in addition o the manuscript no. 3611 at Qom Marashi Library. Rowena Abdul Razak “But what would they think of us?” British Propaganda and the manipulation of the Anglo-Soviet Occupation of Iran, 1941-1946 A critical juncture in modern Iranian history, the Anglo-Soviet occupation of 1941 continues to reveal new clues and information about Iran and the two countries occupying it. 3 Eighth European Conference of Iranian Studies. Abstracts For the first time, this paper will uncover the missing linkages between British propaganda, Iran and Iranians, and the Soviet Union. Furthermore, this research will provide a new angle to analyse their complex relationship, with the added complication of the United States’ growing presence. Moving away from the assumption that their relationship deteriorated gradually over the course of the occupation, this paper re-examines British Foreign Office documents to paint a more complex picture. Although Moscow and London were jointly committed to fighting the presence of Nazi Germany in Iran, both soon became engaged in a rivalry over prominence. From the start of the joint occupation, both London and the British Legation in Tehran were deeply suspicious of their Soviet comrades and insecure of their position in the eyes of the local population. In addition to exercising diplomacy and the military to deal with the everyday matters of the occupation, Britain designed and implemented a propaganda campaign to fight a more delicate but no less important battle. A detailed analysis will be provided on the British propaganda machine, under the direction of Reader Bullard, the British Minister in Tehran, and Ann Lambton, the Press Attaché. An understanding of how the apparatus operated, from information gathering to propaganda dissemination, will provide a fuller understanding of the nature of British policy, which will be analysed and critiqued alongside the diffusion of pro-British publicity. Initially, British propaganda focused on improving the Allies’ position in the eyes of Iranians to ensure that they supported the occupation. However, as the dynamics between the Soviet Union and Britain changed and their relations became more strained, Britain concentrated its propaganda machine solely for its own image. When the Soviet Union and Britain became conflicting political patrons, propaganda came to include the promotion of certain political reforms and factions over others. This will be explored and expanded further in this study to analyse the subtler and more sinister hand of Britain in the manipulation of different political players for specific ends: from the maintenance of Britain’s position in Iran to countering Soviet prominence in Iran. By examining British propaganda during this period, this paper will provide an important dimension of British influence during a crucial turning point in Iran’s political development. Abe Naofumi The Surviving Shrine: The Shrine of Sheykh Safi al-Din after the Fall of the Safavids This study investigates the administration of the Sheykh-Safi Shrine and its relationship with the successive central powers after the collapse of the Safavid Dynasty. In the history of Iran, numerous researchers have studied the shrine of Sheykh Safi from various viewpoints, such as political, social, religious, art and architectural history. A number of eminent researchers have analyzed not only narrative sources but also archival materials and have pointed out the various aspects of the shrine’s socioeconomic characters, religious issues, and the political relationship with the various dynasties. However, very few studies focus on the shrine following the collapse of the Safavids in the early eighteenth century. One of the reasons for this trend is the growing importance of the Shi‘ite shrines of Mashhad and ‘Atabad from the sixteenth century onward. It is reasonable that these “orthodox” shrines attracted more researchers than the Safi Shrine. 4 Eighth European Conference of Iranian Studies. Abstracts Nevertheless, an analysis of the Safi Shrine after the collapse of the Safavid dynasty will be useful for a better understanding of its long history. More importantly, the study of a declining shrine, which is less focused on in the history of Muslim Majority societies, sheds light on its struggle and self-help effort for survival. This study investigates how the religious institution that lost its former dynastic patronage and support tried to survive as a socio- economic entity and maintain its existence. Based on the archival documents preserved in the National Museum of Iran, the shrine itself and the National archives, this paper focuses on the motavalli, nazer, and Sarih al-melk (the land register) of the shrine. Suzan Abed Gunbad-i Ghaffariya at Maragha: a reexamination of the Relations between Mamluk and Ilkhanid architecture (Abstract will be distributed at the conference). Adel T. Adamova “Shahnama” in Il-Khanid times. This paper is an attempt to show that under the Mongol rulers of Iran Firdowsi’s epic poem Shahnama was not recognized on official level, and it did not become part of the court culture until the last years of the rule of Abu Sa’id (1316-1335). The quatations from the poem, which since 1260 appear often on Kashan ceramic vessels and on tiles, decorating both secular and religious buildings, were addressed exclusevely to the persians with the aim not to allow the great national epic be forgotten. By mid 14th century when the tradition of illustrated manuscripts of Firdowsi’s poem was well eastablished there was no need anymore in vessels and tiles diffusing its verses and images. The production of illustrated copies of the poem started in late 1320-1330s almost simultaneously in various artistic centres, including Tabriz, where for Abu Sa’id the Shahnama was completed in about 1335 (now known as The Great Mongol Shahnama). It is notable that the paintings in this first manuscript of the poem produced in the court workshop were conceived and interpreted as scenes from the history of the Mongols and the Ilkhanid dynasty, rather than from the history of the kings of Iran. At the same time stylistically these paintings manifested the born of the new national style in contrast to the hybrid and cosmopolitan court style of the second decade of the 14th century. Another question raised in this paper, closely related to the first, is about the so-called “small” Shahnamas, the time and the centre of production of which is still not determined.