نشریه مطالعات ایرانشناسی
پیاپی 7 (زمستان 1396)

Given its unique features and geographical and racial diversity, the ancient land of India is the cradle of one of the most ancient civilizations of the world which has played a significant role in the history of human culture. In the course of history, this civilization has always had a very close relationship with the glorious civilization of its western neighbor, Iran. Undoubtedly, Iranian culture and civilization have played a most significant role in the formation of Indian civilization. The relationship between the two countries is so strong, and their cultural and artistic exchanges are so vast that, if a researcher is not familiar with Iranian culture and art, they will not be able to make an accurate and comprehensive study of Indian culture and art. After the immigration of Aryans and the rise of Hinduism in India and Zoroastrianism in Iran, one can witness several similarities between the ancient religions and rituals of the two countries and between the sacred Avestan texts and the Vedas. Likewise, one can observe the relation of the Achaemenid architectural patterns and concepts and artistic designs in the art and architecture of the Mauryan Dynasty in India. Alongside such architectural effects, the spread of the style of the column and rock inscriptions which were made by Ashoka in India remind the viewer, in a way, of the same tradition in the Achaemenid culture. The type of erected columns and the employed architectural style in India during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC were completely influenced by the art and architecture of the Achaemenid period.

During the Safavid era, some of the structural and functional aspects of executive and administrative positions in Iran underwent a series of changes. Some of these positions were more developed and expanded in order to perform the related official, political, economic, and social duties more efficiently. In the light of such changes, the administrative and political roles and functions of these positions also changed in line with their social place and significance during the reign of Safavid kings. The structural pattern and functions of the administrative-financial structure which emerged in this era began to decline in later periods and were completely annihilated during the late Qajar period. The present paper reports on a historical study of such structures and functions in the Safavid era based on available documents and data. It also examines the administrativefinancial structure of the Qajar period and, eventually, compares these two periods with respect to such structures. The findings of this study demonstrate that during these two historical periods, because of the development of the functions of the administrative and financial systems, the related positions were assigned to military and administrative high ranking officers. They also reveal that many posts in those times entailed a variety of important responsibilities and functions in administrative, judicial, and social security fields. The official and social significance of high ranking authorities sometimes made it necessary for them to serve as ambassadors, counselors, and financial delegates in addition to performing their main assignments. Moreover, they were sometimes required to go on military missions or undertake other similar responsibilities.

Eid al-Fitr is a feast held by Muslims at the end of the month of Ramadan and on the first day of the month of Shawwal. This day is a public holiday in all Islamic countries. It is forbidden to fast on Eid al-Fitr. Muslims say Eid prayers (the special prayer offered to commemorate Eid al-Fitr) on this occasion and pay zakat al-Fitr (alms tax). Similar to all other Muslim countries, in Iranian cities and villages people celebrate this event by holding Eid prayers and performing the related traditional rituals. The present paper, which has been written based on library and document analysis methods of research, elaborates on the history and quality of holding Eid al-Fitr customs and ceremonies in Iran. Moreover, there is a short reference to the holding of this holy Eid (feast) in others Islamic countries.

The investigation of adapting religious concepts constitutes one of the important types of comparative studies. Adaptation presents the highest level of loyalty to the main text, and many artists find it as the best method for choosing a subject. In this paper, the authors aim to examine the quality of the adaption of the same concept in two different media in two different periods. Several works of art have been created based on a single concept; however, because of the differences among artistic media, it may undergo many changes in the course of adaptation. Following a descriptivecomparative method and based on library documents, this study compares the visual elements of the concept of “supplication” in two modern and traditional media: a recent TV series and Safavid paintings, respectively. Generally speaking, an artist’s particular views affect the process of adaption, and each artist benefits from the dramatic features of a concept in order to express their thoughts to their addressees based on their own personal styles and specific views of the artistic media of their own time. In fact, it can be claimed that all artists have made their best efforts in order to present this religious belief accurately.

From the viewpoint of anthropology, nutrition is one of the significant branches of the culture of each human society. That is why an important port of our culture consists of the data about food. Squashing greengage is a part of the food culture of Mazandaran Province. This fruit is squashed with aromatic vegetables in a special pot called Namehkar and is said to play an influential role in the health of the people of this region. From an archeological perspective the above mentioned pot enjoys a historical background and is the product of a cultural process in its material dimension. From an anthropological view, the cultural aspect of namehkar involves various nutritional aspects, habits, and customs. This pot is a symbol of old culture and continuing the tradition of using it demonstrates as spirit of cooperation and collaboration among Mazandaran Families.In this study the intended topic has been explored by collecting the required data through individual and group interviews at different levels of society.

Since long ago, the reasons underlying the denomination of cities and villages have been among the important topics of discussion in historical geography. The historical city of Firoozabad, which is located 85 km to Shiraz, was called Goor before the rise of Islam until the 4th century (AH). The present paper is intended to investigate the reasons for the denomination of this city, which dates back to the Achaemenid period and Alexander’s attack to Iran. The required data for this study were collected from valid historical, geographical, and dictionary sources. In Old Persian, the word “Goor” meant pit, hole, and plain. The findings of this study indicate that the reason for choosing the name of “Goor” for this city was its geographic location in the middle of a plain among some mounds and mountains and has nothing to do with the meaning of the word “grave”, which is a synonym for the word “goor” today.