مجله تاریخ ایران
سال نهم شماره 2 (پیاپی 78، تابستان و پاییز 1395)

The formation of Median state, which is dated from the end of the 8th century to the end of 7th century B.C., has become a controversial subject in the ancient Near Eastern studies. The main issue in these studies is the reliability of classical sources, especially Herodotus’ “Mêdikos Logos”, in the reconstruction of Median history which in the recent assessments of state formation in Media, has been questioned because of its apparent contradiction with the cuneiform sources contemporary to the Median period. Present article aims at reassessing the credibility of this narrative in the reconstruction of Median history by reviewing Mêdikos Logos, particularly the foundation of kingship in Media. It seems that, even though, Herodotus has used oral sources for compiling Mêdikos Logos in his Histories, but contrary to some critics, Herodotus’ narrative did not take shape based on epic elements at all. Furthermore, supposed contradictions between Mêdikos Logos and cuneiform sources are partially sketchy. In the other cases, this is due to different approaches between Herodotus and Mesopotamian royal annals about Medes.

The booklet Emtiyaz-e Favayed-e Ammeh, written by Mirza Malkam Khan Nazem od- Dowleh, is about economics and dates back to the Nasser ed-Din Shah period. In the booklet, Malkam discusses the privileges granted to the merchants of Tabriz. He also explains the necessity of establishing companies and offers instructions on how to establish a company. The booklet does not have a specific publication date, and the relationship between its topics and the events of economic history is not very clear. Therefore, through the historical method and the use of historical documents and texts, the present article will attempt to establish the publication date of the booklet as well as the relationship between the content of the booklet and the events of economic history. The main question is: when and with reference to what economic events of the Nasseri era did Malkam write the booklet? The essential finding of the present work indicates that the booklet was written in the year 1306 of the Hijri Calendar for people who wanted to prepare the ground for investment in different industries, including road construction in the Azerbaijan region of the time, by selling stocks and founding stock companies.

After several years of presence in the Persian Gulf, Britain eventually decided to leave the region by the end of 1971. Despite the resources that they gained by virtue of their persistent presence in the Persian Gulf, the English were compelled to pay massive expenses for resisting against nationalist movements. Britain’s decision to withdraw from the area triggered different reactions from the Persian Gulf countries as well as trans-regional powers that were searching their own interests in the post-withdrawal period. The present study mainly tries to find an answer to this question: What was the reaction of the countries that enjoyed profit and loss due to the mentioned decision? The findings of this research which are based on descriptive-analytical method, suggests that after the withdrawal of Britain from the Persian Gulf, the countries of the region attempted to increase their endeavors. Iran was aware of the critical importance of Persian Gulf, so tried to increase its military strength to rely on regional superpower. Moreover, Saudi Arabia took a conservative manner, after having recovered from internal threats, and was aligned with Iran. Iraq adopted a strong stance against Great Britain and sought aid from the Soviet Union. Kuwait, on the other hand, pursued a peaceful policy. Egypt also perceived its interest in leaving Britain and the small countries like Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE asked help from Britain due to their fear from more powerful countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Therefore, the United States and the Soviet Union as two transregional powers and world powerful poles, sought more profit from the absence of their old rival.

We often read texts and printed material quickly, but should researchers and cataloguers read a hand-written document in the same way? This research focuses on an endowment deed (vaqf-nâme) from Qajar Iran dated 12951878/ measuring 61 x 29 cm. It shows that the founder of the endowment (vâqif) constituted the standing property of three gardens adjoining one another as an endowment (vaqf) in the first stage (12951878/) and then subsequently, in the margins of the deed, the land of the gardens was added to the endowment in the second stage (12981881/). The judicial endorsements, however, are all related to the second stage. We can conclude therefore that in the Qajar period it was common practice for scribes to record "a succession of legal acts that occurred at separate times" in one single document. In this case, the scribe of the second stage of legal proceedings refers to the first stage (recorded in full) using key words to avoid repetition. Moreover, the judicial endorsements are significant for both the first and second stage recorded in the document.

Following a shift in international trade during the 19th century, carpet became a significant item among Iran’s exports. Interest in new investments, existence of proficient manpower, availability of raw material, the economic geography and the population fabric of Iran paved the way for the production and exportation of Persian carpets and rugs during the period. Moreover, the expansion of trade relations, the development of international markets, and the increased demand for carpets shifted the focus of attention towards the Iranian carpet industry. The present study deals with Iran’s carpet trade in the second half of the 19th century. In a descriptive-analytical manner, and by means of statistical data, the present study shows that the growth of carpet production and trade in Iran has had significant effects on its domestic economy, foreign trade, and exportation, in a way that employment rate has improved, and the national income has increased in this country.

Taxes and the related administrative structure are among important issues in the study of economic history of medieval Iran. Fiscal and tax events were recorded in special documents; therefore, studying and classifying them is the first step in clarifying the administrative processes of taxation and its accountings. Taxation expressions and documents are described in a number of texts before 10th century A. H (15th century A. D). Even though there are a few studies on taxes, there is no independent study on tax documents. This paper, with the use of explanatory method in historical research, has tried to answer this question: What was the structure of tax documents and books in administration system of medieval Iran? Findings show that documents, based on priori and posteriori relation with taxation events, can be divided into two main groups of reference documents and current documents. Reference documents, containing budget documents and statistical and cadastral books, were used as a source for taxation activities. Current documents were various books and reports assigned to recording, classifying, and summarizing fiscal events and their results.

Children clearly form an integrated part of human societies throughout history, however it is not always an easy task to re-identify their presence and roles through limited, vague and scattered survived historical textural and material evidence. Textual and iconographic documents that include references to children are one of the most important and maybe most frequent sources of information in this regard. As we come forward throughout history, such sources become richer and more diverse. A considerable body of material evidence has remained from the Sasanian period and a corpus of textual sources in the form of Pahlavi literature is attributed to this period. This paper aims to shed light on the subject of children and childhood in Sasanian Iran on the basis of information available in these two groups of sources. Accordingly, three groups of children were identified and examined as royal and aristocrat children, citizen children and mythological children. Relevant data from textural and material evidence were analyzed and compared, leading to certain deductions. Education was an important part of social growth and it was practiced with more depth and scope among royal children while the process of education for citizen children was limited mainly to religious teachings and vocational trainings. Some royal and aristocratic children are depicted in Sasanian rock reliefs in formal gestures while children on other mediums such as seals may refer to citizen children in different setting of playing or nurturing. Artistic representations also show children in symbolic and mythical roles in relation to Dionysus and Anahita myths as symbols of fertility and bliss.