علی محمد طرفداری

With the expansion of Avestan studies and the translations of the Gathas by Orientalists, the belief gained prominence that Zoroaster opposed all forms of animal sacrifice. If references to sacrifices appear in post-Gathic texts, they are seen as a reversion to the beliefs of the pre-Zoroastrian era of disbelief. Influenced by this interpretation, Zoroastrians rejected the long-standing tradition of sacrifice. However, some scholars dispute this reading of the Gathas, pointing out the problematic nature of the circumstantial evidence used to argue Zoroaster’s opposition to sacrifice. Despite this, the Gathic evidence itself has not received the attention it deserves from researchers. This study aims to clarify whether sacrificial offerings were permitted or prohibited in the Zoroastrian tradition by examining the Gathic evidence. It seeks to answer the question: What was Zoroaster’s stance on animal sacrifice, and were temporal and spatial factors influential in his ruling on this practice? Conducted through linguistic analysis and library research, this study finds that the interpretation of the relevant Gathic passages is fraught with serious challenges due to grammatical and lexical ambiguities, as reflected in the diverse translations and interpretations by Avestan scholars. Furthermore, the possibility remains that the prohibition of sacrifice was context-dependent, influenced by the temporal and geographical circumstances of Zoroaster’s era, rather than a universal ruling applicable to all times and places.

The topic of disease and the proliferation of epidemics in various cities and regions of Iran during the Qajar period is a significant issue that, alongside numerous other social aspects—both minor and major—has been documented in several travelogues authored by travelers and European officials of that era. The references in question vary based on the geographical prevalence of endemic diseases in Iran. For instance, there is a notably persistent occurrence of cholera in the southern regions and along certain coastal areas of the Persian Gulf. Additionally, various common diseases and health issues are prevalent in the peripheral regions surrounding the Mazandaran Sea. These references reflect local experiences in managing these diseases and the corresponding treatment approaches. The information derived from this category of travelogues holds significant importance for reconstructing the historical geography of medicine in contemporary Iran. Furthermore, the fragmented statistics found in various published travelogues serve as important records for assessing the potential mortality rates associated with prevalent epidemic diseases in Iran. These documents can be utilized concurrently and possess considerable value in elucidating the medical, social, and demographic conditions of Iran during the Qajar period. This article employs the library method to analyze significant travelogues authored by Europeans during the Qajar era. It focuses on the collection and classification of data concerning the prevalence of various diseases in Iran, while also evaluating and investigating the nature and presentation of this data. The results of this research illustrate various themes, including health, disease classifications, epidemic occurrences, traditional medicinal practices, and treatment methodologies. Additionally, it examines the influence of foreign physicians in Iran and the Qajar court, as well as the responses of traditional Iranian practitioners, particularly those affiliated with the Qajar court, to the presence of European medical professionals. Furthermore, the study highlights the impact of modern medicinal products introduced through European travelogues during the Qajar era.

The celebration ceremony and the Congress of millennium of Ferdowsi to commemorate the 1000th birthday of Hakim Abolqasem Ferdowsi, the poet of the Shahnameh in 1313 A. H, is one of the most prominent manifestations of nationalism in time of Pahlavi the first. It was being held with the presence of Reza Shah and the most important political and cultural figures. Moreover, the construction and opening of Ferdowsi's mausoleum in Tus city marked a new chapter in the representation of Ferdowsi's lifetime and studies of Shahnameh at the national level with the aim of strengthening the ideology of imperial nationalism.The central issue of the present research is to investigate the why and how of holding this ceremony and to explain its relationship with the imperial nationalism dominating the political and cultural atmosphere of government of Pahlavi the first by taking advantage of the primary sources of this era. The study of the main historical sources related to this era declares that under the pretext of celebrating Ferdowsi’s status and dignity in the millennium of his birth, Pahlavi government considerably endeavored to increase the authority and legitimacy of the imperial nationalism of that era and through the exploitation of Shahnameh, it tried to introduce this famous epic and historical piece of Iranian literature as a document of admiration and devotion towards the kings by the Iranians throughout the history.

In general, the researchers of the historical issues of the Middle East and the history of Islam in Iran and other Islamic lands in the modern era, relying on the historical sources of the past centuries as well as the historiographical approaches of the European Orientalism and Islamology currents, have considered the expansion of Islam mainly the result of the Arabs’ sword fights and their conquests, and with little attention to some documentary reflections and making comparative comparisons and time and place feasibility studies, what is written in the ancient sources of Islamic history under the titles of “conquests and Maghazi” and the like have been introduced as the main lines of developments in the history of the growth and expansion of Islam. Naturally, one of the reasons for this issue, regardless of some approaches of ideological historiography schools of the new era, has been the inevitability of later researchers in using ancient writings, but in these contemporary studies, issues such as paying attention to historical material works in the fields of art and Architecture and archeology are considered less. On the other hand, some of the few studies that have been done so far, which contain new and different views on the sources of Islamic history, including the history of Islam in the land of Spain, by providing logical and documented reasons, and conducting comparative studies and feasibility studies of time and place of a more documented picture and according to the reality of how Islam spread 1. This article was previously presented in the form of a speech at the international conference “ Cultural Dialogue and Iran and Spain”, Tehran, Faculty of World Studies, University of Tehran, November 26-27, 2018, and its full text is presented for the first time in this It will be published. 2. Assistant professor of History, Faculty member of the National Library and Archives of I.R. of Iran; tarafdary@yahoo.com and entered other lands, especially the Iberian Peninsula and Spain, they have been given less attention and revision. In this sense, the present article tries to review the way and how the spread of Islam in the Iberian Peninsula and Andalusia, based on the book “Seven Centuries of Rise and Fall of Islamic Civilization in Spain” by Ignacio Olagoue.

to investigate and analyze why, how and identify the main approaches in holding the Ferdowsi Millennium ceremony in the most important capitals and cities of the world based on the documents and sources related to this period, along with the analysis of the results of the said ceremony at the global level.

The present article is written with a historical method and with a descriptive and analytical method and with the use of archival documents and library resources.

The Pahlavi government tried to provide an international image for its sovereignty through the celebration of Ferdowsi's millennium ceremony in the countries of the world and in this way increase its national prestige in other countries of the world, and at the same time, with the help of this ceremony, an image to display an efficient governance and show itself as the cause of the country's progress.

The place of Iranian historical dynasties in nationalistic historiography of the modern era in general, and the image of the Qajar dynasty in the nationalist historiography of the Pahlavi period in particular, are among the reflections of the nationalist approach in modern Iranian historiography. In fact, the nationalist approach, which forms the main aspect of Pahlavi historiography about different eras of Iranian history, became a tool for gaining political and national legitimacy by Pahlavi dynasty,and Pahlavi Shahs, unlike the previous sultans who needed political legitimacy based on religious principles, sought to gain the necessary political legitimacy by abandoning religious principles and values and turning to national values and principles, and in the meantime, history and historiography became a very vital tool for gaining legitimacy, origin and national prestige for the Pahlavi dynasty.The inevitable and major result of this was the politicization and ideology of history and historiography in contemporary Iran, an inconsistent phenomenon that still plagues Iranian academic and non-academic historiography.In this approach, the Pahlavi government extensively tried to show a more ideal and legitimate image by destroying the image of the Qajar government and to introduce the overthrow of the Qajar dynasty as a movement and a national necessity. In the present paper, by examining some of the most prominent nationalisticliterature created in that period, the dimensions and manner of historiography in question with the approach of examining the image of Qajar government in the national historiography of the Pahlavi period have been studied.

The secession of large parts of the Caucasus as a catastrophic result of the Iran-Russia wars not only affected the country's independence and territorial integrity, but its consequences on the northern and northwestern borders and even other parts of the country are significant. Meanwhile, the role of Armenians as a significant part of the population of the regions separated from Iran, which had a significant impact on the course of the Iran-Russia war, is undeniable. The present article, entitled "Reflection of Iran-Russia wars in the region with regard to the role of Armenians", examines the results of the separation of strategic regions in the north and northwest of the country by considering the role of Armenians. From a religious, ethnic, linguistic, cultural point of view, as well as political, administrative, economic, industrial, commercial, etc. developments and has evaluated and explained the role of these developments in Iran-Russia relations. The method of this research is descriptive-analytical and data analysis is based on the method of content analysis of works including books, articles and poetic writings. The results show that after the Iran-Russia wars and the secession of the Caucasus from Iran, the Russian government is no longer willing to tolerate Georgian and Armenian autonomy as they enjoyed it during Iranian rule.

The emergence of photography and filming industry during the Qajar era and documentation of many different developments of that period have provided researchers of contemporary history of Iran with many credible, genuine and coincident documents. So many untouched and lesser studied subjects are covered in the photographs or films which could be examined with diverse point of views and also fulfill the gap of evidence about certain historic events. For example, based on the photographs and documentaries of the Qajar era, the current researchers could infer certain innovative ideas in many subjects including: the clothing of Iranian ethnic groups, architecture and structural designs, the changes occurred in the condition of the historical monuments since Qajar time, details of certain important historic events such as Constitutional Revolution, the origins of some immigrant tribes to Iran, distinction in the social state of affairs since then and so on. In particular, the photographs and films are capable to represent the actual circumstances compared to the paintings and depictions of the artists; subsequently the researcher could employ the photographs and films of that period to re-evaluate the questionable historical issues or their details. In particular, regarding the subjects and structures which have changed so far, e.g. historical monuments, the significance of the primordial photographs and films are exceptional and unique to study the transformation of a monument or an archeological or historic site. In this paper, considering the variety of the mentioned topics and diversity of the photographic documents, I have intended to evaluate and represent novel historic outlook via observing certain important photographs of the Qajar period displaying much of aforementioned information.

Ottomans, each claiming leadership of a part of the Islamic world, over the Caucasus (mainly Georgia and Iran) lasted from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Finally, in the 19th century, another rival in the disputes over the region was added to the list of countries involved, namely Russia. The importance of the Caucasus was not only due to the fertility and prosperity of its rangelands in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains but also due to its transit position on the eastern shores of the Black Sea. And they were trying to achieve their economic, social, political and cultural independence, and at the time we are discussing, they were again under the control of the Iranian government. In line with this fact, our research aims to show the incompetence of the Safavid court and the social, cultural and economic beliefs and political performance of the Safavid kings did not conform to the ideals and aspirations of Armenians and other Christians and greatly influenced their tendency towards the Ottomans. For many years, it was superior to the Safavids in terms of political power in the region and was a significant rival to European powers in world politics.

Persepolis is the most important and most famous historical and ancient monument of Iran, which during the last centuries has received the most attention at national and international levels in the field of archeology and identification of Iranian archaeological sites. This building has attracted the attention of foreign travelers and Iranian scholars, particularly during the Qajar era, and has raised questions about the background and founders of this unique stone building among Iran’s architectural and historical works. The present study seeks to examine the archeological developments and excavations of the aforementioned travelers and Iranologists and explain their role in identification and clarification of various historical aspects of Persepolis during the Qajar period, based on the travelogues and direct reports of European Iranian scholars, while examining the historical procedure of attracting the attention of European archeologists and discussing less questioned issues such as the evolvement of scientific excavations in Persepolis. The hypotheses of this research emphasize the pivotal and fundamental role of European researchers and Iranologists in recognition and study of Persepolis; excavations and studies that have gradually shifted to scientific methods and standards since the late Qajar period. Also, based on a library research method and a descriptive-analytical method, the results of this study shows that through the excavations and studies of European Iranologists, Persepolis is recognized as the throne and capital of the Achaemenids and it becomes the throne of Achaemenid kings from the throne of Jamshid, the mythological king of Iran.

Archeological studies and studies in Iran, especially the identification and excavation of ancient sites related to pre-Islamic Iran, have been the main issue in the studies of Orientalist and Iranian studies of Europe over the past few centuries. In addition, archaeological and exploratory explorations of Europeans interested in exploring the civilizations of Iran, and in general the Middle East region, included a collection of religious, political, scientific, treasure-finding, and nutritional approaches to major European museums, and for this reason, a wide range of antique vindicators, religious scholars, political agents, and scholars have been active in historical issues in the field of archeological excavations in Iran during the Qajar period. In the present article, using a library research methodology and a descriptive-analytical method, by studying the sources and reports of tourists, Orientalists, and European Iranianologists on ancient works and antique objects [described in the attached letter], as well as archaeological excavations in Iran, the main issue of the study, namely the identification and clarification of the approaches of European Orientalists in the study of archeology and antiquity in Iran during the Qajar period, has been studied. The findings of this study show that Orientalists and Iranianologists, while playing a major role in identifying Iranian artifacts and producing new identity cards for many of these works, provide material documentation for the compilation of Iran's history and change the views towards outstanding historical works of Iran Ancient times. But, by turning Iran's historical and artistic works into commercial goods and creating a market for Iranian antiquities, a large part of Iran's cultural and historical heritage exported illegally to Europe and the rest of the world.

The history of new and scientific archaeological researches in Iran mainly dates back to the Qajar period. Although the history of European Oriental studies in Iran has exceeded the Qajar era, however, until the aforementioned period, scientific archeology in Iran did not have much meaning and European officials and Orientalists studies in Iran mainly focused on the identification of Iranian antiquities and few scientific archaeological excavations. The present study has analyzed the main issue of this research namely the circumstances of European Orientalists’ excavations and the development of antiquarian archeology in Iran during Qajar Era through a descriptive-analysis approach based on the most important works and records of travelers and Orientalists about the historical and ancient objects, antiques and archeological excavations in Iran. The findings of this study show that the European Orientalists played the main role in the initiation and expansion of archeological studies based on antiquarian detection, conversion of Iranian historical artifacts into commercial goods and the creation of a market for Iranian antiques and withdrawal of a large part of Iran's cultural and historical heritage to Europe and other countries in the world, during Qajar era.

The emergence of nationalistic historiography in the contemporary history of Iran has been efficient on the scientific historiography of Iranian historiographers as well as the development of their historical viewpoints towards the history of their country and it has led to the advent or strength of some intellectual trends such as the literary nationalism, authentic writing and archaism.
Among the numerous elements effective on the development of this school, it can be named Orientalogy and Iranology as the most important of them.
This trend led to the semi- national pride and exaggerated superiority complexity of Iranian historiographers and illuminati as well as their interpreting Iran and Iranian civilization as unrealistic and exaggerated and assuming it as the main foundation of all of the world’s civilizations in various eras and underestimating their previous neighbors and knowing them as the reason of annihilation of civility and majesty of old era.
In the present article, it has been investigated this issue from Qajar up to end of Pahlavi the first by taking advantage of descriptive-analytical method and relying on the first and the most important works in regard with Orientalogy and Iranology and later on, it has been studied the mode of emergence of the first nationalistic histories by the Iranian historiographers.

Kish Island is an Iranian island in Persian Gulf which has had a significant potential in economic and tourism activities during recent decades. Kish is an ancient name, and the town of Kish had been a great capital among ancient centers in the Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia area. Kish has also an especial strategic and ecologic position due to having water sources in the area, and has experienced many historical changes because of its water resources. This island has been under attention by all local and European colonial powers during recent centuries. In middle ages, a local government of Kish called Muluk-i Kish made the island as a substitution of Bandar Siraf, and changed the island as a trade center in the region. After the end of Muluk-i Kish, the island went under domination of Muluk-i Hurmuz, and then, Kish was a part of different governments territories prior the rise of Safavids. By the time of Safavids and the presence of European colonial powers in the Persian Gulf, Kish Island faced with new historical transformations and placed into Portuguese, English and Dutch interests. These political, economic, and social transformations continued in later periods until Qajar and Pahlavi eras, and at the present, the island has become a fundamental economic and tourism center in the Persian Gulf region. At the present paper, the process of political, economic, and social changes of Kish Island in a historical perspective are investigated in details.

The history of tendency towards Islam in the southeastern Asia refers to the first decades in the 20th century A. C synchronized with Muslim fighting over the independency against the European anti-colonialists. In the majority of these areas due to the advent of non religious governments and after achieving the political independency, the fighting of followers of Islam kept on and it appeared the Islamic movements with the purpose of the development of Islamic government. One the most significant and efficient movements is Dar Al Arqam of Malaysia which could be of great effect on the propagation of Islam in the southeastern Asia, furthermore, it cold present a modern paradigm out of an Islamic government via the renovation of Prophet Mohammad’s life style in the early Islam. Relying on the primary researches in this domain, this writhing has endeavored to investigate the trend of advancement and activities of Dar Al Arqam movement towards the development of religious government in Malaysia, the role and position of this movement in favor of the propagation of Islam in Malaysia as well as the neighboring countries and finally the reason of its breakdown by the government of Malaysia. The findings of research illustrates that this movement was shaped in order to develop an Islamic government and preserve the Islamic identity of Muslims of Malaysia against the changes as a result of the economic growth as well as the secularism of the dominant political structure, and lastly it was eliminated by the government of this country due to its changing into the political threat against the Malaysia government and the propagating some deviated beliefs.

Literature in general and stories in particular are one of the most important reflections of human social life during history, and therefore literary texts are always one of the sources for history researches, especially for social history studies. On the other hand, writings and particularly literary texts have been one of the main spaces for introducing the human thoughts that writers have presented their ideas through them. In these vast areas of literary books, story always has a high position for analyzing of examinations and considerations of thought and also social achievements. In history of Persian literature, before the modern period and the rise of modern Persian novel, there have been some samples of stories which mainly were formed for entertainment. But at the same time, some traces of social life and folklore from the past centuries have remained in those stories that could help the present historians to find subjects such as kind of the words, the style of writings, ordinary terms, and the manner of life in the last centuries. At the present paper, the Story of ‘Samak ‘Ayyār’ has been investigated based on the mentioned viewpoints, and it has tried to find and analyze the reflection of social conditions from mediaeval centuries in this story book.