نشریه تاریخ و فرهنگ
سال چهل و سوم شماره 2 (پیاپی 87، پاییز و زمستان 1390)

American missionaries were active in Mashhad since Qajar period and the Presbyterian mission first established a hospital in Mashhad and set up a great project for construction of a school and church by purchasing a large piece of land in Pāchinār neighborhood since 1301 sh/1923. This enterprise by the American missioners elicited various reactions from the scholars, businessmen and others to stop their activities.One of the reactions was by Dr. Amīr A‘lam, the chief of Khurāsān Sanitorium (Ḥifẓ al-Ṣiḥḥa), who proposed to establish Raḍawī Dār al-Funūn to confront the American missionaries’ religious and cultural propaganda. He had some correspondence with the clerics, members of parliament, chief of ministers, and the deputy custodian of Āstān Quds and was able to attract their cooperation. It is attempted in this article to examine the reasons and the grounds for the inception of the idea of Raḍawī Dār al-Funūn, Dr. Amīr A‘lam’s ideas about it, the features and impacts of this educational institution, and finally, the causes for its failure.

Nayshābūr achieved considerable scholarly growth in the 3rd-6th/9th-12th centuries that was coupled with some ups and downs. This scholarly and academic growth was associated with desirable economic conditions. One of the instances of desirable economic conditions in Nayshābūr was manifested in the scholars’ livelihood, and therefore, the scholars’ academic progress was to some extent dependent upon their livelihood. Among the scholars of Nayshābūr, the progress of ḥadīth scholars was more dependent upon their level of livelihood in comparison to other scholars, since this progress was mostly achieved through the journeys (riḥla), which involved relatively huge expenses for the students of ḥadīth, particularly in their widespread and long journeys for study and listening to the traditionists (muḥaddiths) in other cities. Most of the eminent traditionists of Nayshābūr enjoyed relatively desirable living conditions during these centuries and belonged to the wealthy or relatively well-to-do class.

Shawāhid al-Nabuwwa of ‘Abd al-Raḥmān Jāmī (d. 898/1492) is among the books written by one of the Sunnī scholars who has authored it with a Sufi taste. In this book, Jāmī has addressed the life of the Prophet (S.A.W.), the twelve Imams (A.S.), and the companions (ṣaḥāba) with a miracle-oriented approach and has presented precisely the same reports about the Imams (A.S.) that are found in Shī‘ī sources. The approach of this book is “approximate” and has widely narrated the Imams’ miraculous acts and supernatural feats. The trend of the Imams’ hagiography, started since fourth/tenth century in early Sufi books, was perfected in ninth/fifteenth century by the compilation of such books as Shawāhid al-Nabuwwa, in a way that a similarity is noticed in the data concerning the life story of the Imams in both Sunnī and Shī‘ī sources. Examining the part of life story and miraculous acts of the twelve Imams (A.S.) in Shawāhid al -Nabuwwa and comparing it with the contents of Kashf al-Ghumma of ‘Alī b. ‘Īsā Irbalī (d. 692/1106), the seventh/thirteenth century Shī‘a scholar, the present article is intended to show the conformity and similarity of the Sunnī and Shī‘ī sources concerning their reports on the life story of the Imams (A.S.).

There is disagreement about the antiquity of glassmaking industry in Shām. Some trace it back to the post-Islamic era and regard it as being inspired by the Roman artisans who had been employed for constructing buildings in the Umayyad reign. Others, however, believe that this industry is traced back to centuries before Islam entered Shām and was restored and developed by the support of the Caliphs and Amīrs during the Islamic era in the buildings constructed in the reign of the Umayyad and other Islamic governments in Shām.Glassmaking industry reached its peak during the Fatimid and Zangid reigns so much that such cities as Damascus, Aleppo, Tyrus, and Raqqa were known as the centers for glassmaking. In this era, glassware artifacts were highly flourished in terms of variety in decorating, enameling, and gilding on glass. Various glass products also included different kinds of utensils, vases, statues, spice and perfume containers, and even the chess pieces.In the Fatimid period, clear and white glassware with fine quality and without line was produced and was welcomed by the wealthy class and the merchants. As one of the significant products of Shām, It was also exported to all parts of the world, from Islamic East to the Western Europe.

The political approach of Shaykh Zāhid Gīlānī paved the way for Shaykh Ṣafī al-Dīn Ardabīlī’s political thinking and his closeness to the power-holders of the time. In addition to acquiring the rules and manners of Sufism, Shaykh Ṣafī al-Dīn learned from his master the political approaches for expanding his Sufi order, as well. These approaches turned into a political movement in the Safavid order and eventually laid the foundation for one of the great orders in the history of Iran.

In the reign of Shāh Ismā‘īl I, the position-holder Wakīl-i Nafs-i Nafīs-i Humāyūn would serve as the regent (nāyib al-salṭana). After six months that this position was held by one of the elites who was a Qizilbash Turk, Shāh Ismā‘īl handed it over to a non-Turk and continued the same procedure to the end of his life. The present article is mainly intended to study the social origin of the wakīl (representative, deputy) position in this period, the socio-political function of the councilors, the challenges and difficulties faced by them, and explanation of the similarities and differences among the councilors of this era,