مجله مطالعات ایرانی
پیاپی 28 (پاییز و زمستان 1394)

Numbers have always been of great importance in Iranian culture and also their presence has been tangible and significant in almost every belief, etiquette, and rituals of rural or urban Iranian civilizations and folklore. Meanwhile, transition rituals, among all customs, are the ones in which most substantial figures of Iranian culture e.g. 3, 7, 10, 40,… can be identified. By transitional rituals we mean the customs which help an individual to transform from one stage of life into another one; rites such as birth, marriage, and death, each of which contains different combination of numbers and their repetition. In this study, it is tried to identify the transitional rituals in which numbers play an important role, to cluster them, to specify which figures are prominent in these sorts of rituals, and finally to seek the source of adoration toward specific numbers. The chosen regions of Iran in terms of investigation for this article are as following: Gilan, Amol, Taleshan, Boroujerd, Lorestan, Khorasan, Izadkhast.

Nowadays¡ there is the universal agreement as to the name and significance of «Silk Road». UNESCO recognizes it as the ancient route to the Far and Middle East. According to documents of international organizations¡ the existence of Silk Road is linked to the beginning of trading over this route¡ and UNESCO has determined its existence since Parthian period onwards to the end of Safavid period. According to UNESCO¡ Silk Road is open to multiple fields of study¡ and it could be characterized as universal¡ inter-disciplinary and multiple-disciplinary. The long history of the Road in Iran¡ its existence in different historical periods¡ and its importance from various aspects¡ including cultural¡ economic¡ geopolitical aspects is strong evidence to its being a heritage. Nevertheless¡ In Iran recognizing different aspects of the Silk Road has been incomplete. This study tries to portray the developments of the Silk Road in the course of history¡ based on the issue of commerce in the past. Methods of data collection are documentary and library¡ and the results show that over two thousand years¡ Silk Road has been a pathway for integration¡ exchange¡ and dialog between East and West¡ and has greatly contributed to the growth and development of humanity. In Iran¡ its importance has helped to the stability of regimes in different historical periods¡ and its global importance is also reflected by the attempt to register it in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Shahnameh is one of the greatest masterpieces in the history of Iran’s literature and an eternal treasure of the Persian language. The book is priceless for the Persian language in linguistic and mythological terms for getting familiar with the ancient beliefs and with historical events. Obviously, the most important historical part of Shahnameh is the final chapter, the part dealing with the stories of Sasanian kings. This chapter, or more properly said Shahnameh, comes to an end with Yazdgerd III’s story.
It is clear that with the collapse of Sasanian Empire, Yazdgerd’s son, Firuz, fled the country and sought asylum in China along with large numbers of musicians, artists and generals. China’s Emperor, Gaozhang, recognized him as Iran’s legitimate king. Receiving assistance from the Chinese king, Firuz made a series of expeditions against the Arabs and resisted for two years in Zarang as his capital. Events and tales related to Firuz are projected in some Zoroastrian Pahlavi texts such as Bundahishn and Post-Sasanian sources and texts; but, the question posed here is why Ferdowsi does not talk about Firuz in the last chapter? This paper tries to explain why Shahnameh is silent with respect to Firuz.

The issue of women and their social status has always been a question of discussion among intellectuals. Ferdowsi’s descriptions in this regard are strong and pleasant. Sometimes he distinguishes women as angels, and at other times he associates them with evil.
Ferdowsi, consciously, portrays women as supreme and admirable. In Shahnameh, women are respectful to the culture of their land, bold in thinking and manner, sacrificing in love, loyal to the family, and wise and thoughtful. Motherhood is the highest dignity considered by Ferdowsi for women; she is sacrificing, wise, confiding, and sympathetic.
Women and mothers are described with the highest human attributes as wisdom, loyalty, modesty, and being properly-dressed. Such attributes are evident in such women as Faranak, mother of Fereydoon, Sindokht, Mother of Roudabeh, Tahmineh, mother of Sohrab, Katayoun, mother of Esfandiar,….

Allegorical travelogues inspired by religious teachings and traditions appear in literature all around the world. Sey-ol-Ebad Elal-Maad by Sanaie and Ardavirafnameh are among the most significant travelogues in Persian literature. Ardavirafnameh is a religious and moral allegory, while Seyr-ol-Ebad is philosophical and mystical. Both are written based on a hierarchical order: the former mentions the three stages of heaven and hell based on religious narratives, and the latter regards the theory of stages of wisdom. In both works there are guides for the heroes: in Seyr-ol-Ebad the guide is a wise elderly who is the symbol of active wisdom, and in Ardavirafnameh, two angels named Soroush Paak, and Izad Azar support the hero.
This study attempts, through a descriptive-analytical and comparative approach, to explain the similarities and differences of Ardaviraf nameh and Seyr-ol-Ebad. In this regard, the background for the appearance of these works was studied, and the findings showed that during the time they were being composed, religious controversies and divisions were at their peak. It can therefore be concluded that spiritual and allegorical travelogues were written when freedom was not a pervasive concept, and the writers created these works to console their turbulent inner world.

Esfandiar is one of the strongest Zaraostrian heroes, who shines well in Shahnameh rules for a short time. Besides mentioning Esfandiar's functions in Shahnameh, this research shows that the main function of Esfandiar is for a repetition of mythical patterns; consequently, what is mentioned about him in Shahnameh might be the surface of the story, while Esfandiar was indeed a mythical creation connected to fertilization. One of the outstanding mythical Patterns in Esfandiar's myth is his fight with the devil Arjasp and releasing his sisters, which is a repetition of the hero’s fight with the dragon and releasing the woman or the cow (the symbol of raining clouds) from the dragon; this pattern can be seen in fertilizing myths of Balder, Indra, Ramayana, Vishva Roopa, Zahak and Gashtasp. In addition, the murder of Esfandiar by tamarisk is a repetition of Balder's fertilizing myth in Scandinavia who was also killed by a tree stick, which is an indicative of direct relationship between gods and trees, nature and fertilization.

The process of passage from Sunnism to Shiism is the most important change that occured in the history of Iran during the era between 7th and 10th centuries. Sufi sects like Nematolahi and Safavid, despite their early Sunnite beliefs, played important roles in this change. This study has been carried out by using historical method relying on the works of Shah Nematolah, seeking the signs of Shiism in his works and life. The findings suggest that despite his belief in Sunnism, evidences of Shiism are more frequent in his works compared to Sunni references. Shah Nematoalah has frequently referred to the prophet’s family and their titles in his works. This and his genealogy as related to the Imams are ample evidence for his sect to be counted among the Shiite sect. The aim of this study is, therefore, to find the proportion of signs of Sunnism and Shiism in his works.

This study has been conducted on the subject of the sociology of clothing in Zandieh period. It aimed to study the kind of clothing in social classes and among men and women in Zandieh period. Men and women's clothing in that period has been analyzed on the basis of Davis and Moor's functional Stratification theory. It is a library-research based on books and historical references and documents. This study shows that in Zandieh period, Iranians paid considerable attention to clothing and dressing style and social classes had a great influence on clothing. In other words, upper class people's dressing has been more noticeable than that in average and low class people. On the whole, in Zandieh period, social classes were different concerning the shape, color, and style of clothing, which indicates the effect of social classes on clothing in that era.

Located on the Silk Road, Harsin, one of the cities in Kermanshah province, has always been inhabited and held historical monuments since Paleolithic to the late Qajar era. This study tries to examine the position of Harsin in the Sassanid era, based on architectural and archaeological findings. The method of the study is descriptive-analytical, along with field study. The research question deals with the explanation of the formation of archaeological data and the function of architectural structures in Harsin. Hypotheses indicate that the Silk Road and suitable environmental conditions played important roles in the formation of structures with religious and non-religious functions. Results show that the city was a summer resort during the Sassanid era. The location of Harsin on the Silk Road and its nearness to Qasr-e Shirin, Ctesiphon (Tisfun) (the capital of Sassanians), and Bisotun has enhanced its significance.

Folklore is one of the most valuable resources existing within the spirit and philosophy of life, the signs of which can be indicative of their community. Some scholars in cultures, like Nolan and Lansky believe that cultures are subject to innovations. According to them cultural innovations occur through borrowing, gradual change, combination, etc. One of the issues in folklore is the legend which is considered as the mother to literature. They are created primarily by anonymous authors and go through alterations since they transmitted orally in folklore. Based on this viewpoint, this study intends a practical criticism of one of the legends in the folklore of Jiroft. Based on the analysis of the signs of Jiroft’s tribal culture, it also tried to explain those signs which have gone through changes as a result of cross-cultural encounters with the warm regions of Jiroft.

In the study of art and architecture of the early Qajar era, especially the period of Fath-Ali Sha, one can find different factors that influence creating artistic and architectural monuments. Among these factors, Fath-Ali Shah’s policies in religion have performed an important role. Based on Zol-Qarneyn’s historical narratives, one of the most important sources of Qajar’s first era written by Fazlolah Khavari, this study is going to examine the effect of the convergence of religion and government in historical events of art during Fath-Ali Shah’s reign. Due to the author’s specific office at court as a scribe, his expertise is in writing biography and detailed descriptions. The results indicate that building, maintenance, and decoration of these architectural structures, especially religious ones (like mosques and religious schools), and Shah’s particular attention to the shrines of Imams have been affected by religious-governmental exchanges. This study is a descriptive-analytical one based on historical sources.

Historical and archaeological sources confirm that Persian Gulf has played an important role in the course of human events and civilization. Due to its special geographical location, its being located on the crossroad of great civilizations, and its abundant natural resources, Persian Gulf had been of great significance to the Plateau of Iran from economic, cultural and political viewpoints, and its ports have played an important role in international trade between East and West. By combining quantitative and qualitative methods, this study aims at examining the role of Persian Gulf climatic on the formation and development of civilizations in this area. The results showed that the relative position of Persian Gulf has provided specific environmental conditions in terms of climate in the southern half of the country. This expanse of water has had its impacts on its northern areas, locally and regionally. Climatic, strategic, and geopolitical conditions of Persian Gulf have affected the formation and development of civilizations in south, south-western, and western Iran. Due to the unique characteristics of this sea, civilizations of Elam, Sumer and Babylonia in the third millennium BC created Persian Gulf and surrounding area's maritime trade triangle. Nowadays, the development of the northern Persian Gulf region is indebted to this civilizational background.

Folk beliefs are one of the forming components of folklore. Rules which are made by folk people for the relations between things and external symbols of the nature are changed to part of folklore through stabilization among public people. Studying and analyzing such attitudes gives a clear vision of their cultural and social background. When such beliefs are expressed with support of artistic taste, they penetrate more in public people's mind. Kamalodin Esfahani is among the poets who used public attitudes as a theme for conceptualizing and developing public thoughts through detailed discerning, in such a way that public attitude about different components of nature including animals, celestial objects, and also implications related to public beliefs about some of human behaviors can be seen in his poetry. According to results of this study, this reflection of thought, at times, explains surreptitious beliefs, at other times has stem in myths, and at some points involves a religious background which has been transferred from generation to generation, being common and ongoing in Kamal's era. In this study it is tried to study variety, diversity and advent of public beliefs in Kamalodin's Divan along with presenting some examples.

Writing of Iran in travelogues has a long history of Iran; since the 19th century, however, the increase of international and colonial competition among strong countries, and the unwanted entry of Iran into global economy led to western interest in Iran, and more travelogues were written about Iran. Since travelogues deal with people’s conditions in urban and rural areas, they have been of great significance for Iran, as first hand sources. Due to their traditional context and different customs, rural areas have been of most interest to Western travelogue writers like Anthony Smith. Addressing the socio-economic situation, Smith presents a picture of poverty, illness and addiction among villagers in rural Kerman. His travel to Kerman coincided with the term of Mosadegh in office as prime minister, the political and party activities reached a peak, and the United Kingdom and the West set sanctions against Iran. Without mentioning the role of the occupation of Iran by the Allied forces during World War II and the oil sanction against Iran by England in the emergence of this situation, Smith presents the conditions of Kerman as natural and characteristic of underdeveloped countries. Therefore, addressing social and economic conditions of rural Kerman seems to be a necessity for to deal with in this study. The research method is descriptive and analytical.