نشریه مطالعات ایرانشناسی
پیاپی 2 (تابستان 1395)

This paper briefly deals with the presence of the first human beings in Iran in simple terms. Researches call the history and the process of the origination of human beings and the changes in their lifestyle from the beginning until now “human evolution”. This subject is the focus of extensive attention in palaeo-anthropology. Evolution literally means changing from one state into another over time, and human evolution refers to the story of the appearance and life of hominids from the beginning until the rise of intelligent human beings in the world. In the studies on human evolution, some researchers explore the history of primitive human beings from biological, ecological, and zoological perspectives. Today’s studies on human evolution and evolutionary biology, in general, are indebted to the lifelong efforts of Charles Darwin, the English naturalist and geologist. Here, the writers initially deal with Darwin’s ideas and evolutionary approach and then elaborate on the religious view of the Darwinist evolution in the East and the West. Finally, they tackle the theme of the presence and lifestyle of pre-historic human beings in Iran.

Lake Urmia is located in one of the ancient centers of civilization in Iran. The lands around this lake have hosted human life from its simplest to its most recent forms since long ago and have witnessed various historical periods and civilizations over time. Therefore, almost since the appearance of writing in this region and the recording of historical events in written form, one can find some traces of the name of Lake Urmia in the books written thereafter and follow the process of the changes in its name. These names were chosen for this lake for various reasons during different periods. In this paper, while referring to some of the different names of Lake Urmia in diverse historical periods, the writers have referred to the less familiar name of Shaha-vatele, which was used for this lake during the seventh century AH, and discussed some issues in relation to it.

The studies on Iranology in France are very famous among the Iranologists of the world mainly because of the translation of Avesta in the second half of the 18th century and also because of the great development of the field of Iranology in this country in later centuries. However, France has not had any noteworthy achievement regarding Persian literary history. This is the case while a number of good studies on Persian literature have been conducted during the last century. There are several reasons for this negligence. An undeniable fact in this respect is the absence of a well-registered, independent, and clear program for teaching the Persian language and literature in Iranology centers of France. In the 20th century, some studies on Persian literary history were carried out in its neighboring countries, which perhaps compensated for this defect in French Iranology. Accordingly, in this paper the writer deals with this unjustified negligence in the Iranology centers of France in the previous century and compares the status of Persian literary history in other countries with that in this country.

In nomadic life, as a culture with specific features which represent the compatibility of human beings with the environment in order to make a living, man lives in a tight relationship with the natural environment and the effects of the nomadic lifestyle are clearly witnessed in all aspects of their life and livelihood. The nomadic lifestyle is based on ethnic, tribal, and social characteristics. The members of a tribe are usually relatives of each other. Therefore, most marriages are at the ethnic group and tribe level and between close relatives such as cousins. In this paper, through employing the field method and collecting first-hand objective evidence, the writer has described the marriage ceremony in the Bakhtiari tribe from its preliminary steps, such as calling on the girl, determining the amount of mahr (the money or possessions, promised to be paid or given by the groom or the groom’s father to the bride at the time of marriage), and exchanging gifts to the wedding party and post-wedding customs, such as Pagosha (the party given on the occasion of the bride and bridegroom’s visiting their parents and relatives for the first time after the marriage). Finally, the author refers to some other types of marriage customs in certain Bakhtiari tribes and discusses their positive and negative features.

In the middle of the 19th century, Iranology was developed as a scientific discipline in many European countries. The new period of the relationships between Russia and the East began from the time of the reign of Peter the Great in early 18th century. In fact, the first scientific endeavors of Russians in the field of Orientalist studies are all connected with the name of this Emperor. During the late 19th century, owing to the efforts of Valentin Zhukovski, the prominent Russian Iranologist, the study of Persian literature, as one of the important academic branches of Iranology, entered St. Petersburg School of Russia. In the 20th century and after the October Revolution in 1917 in the former Soviet Union, a series of new subjects and problems were propounded in Orientalist studies, such as in Iranology. More than anything else, the ideological change in the Soviet State resulted in the rise of new methods in research on Iranology. Many of the related problems, not only those related to recent periods, but also those which were rooted in ancient history, culture, and written sources, were studied following the Marxist-Leninist approach. In this paper, while examining the history of Russian Iranology in short, the writer has tried to clarify the place of Persian literature in the Iranology of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Russia.

The present paper examines the stone vessels of the Achaemenid Era which have been found in different ancient sites and are now kept in different museums. One of the existing pieces of evidence for the study of technological processes during this era is the Achaemenids’ art of stone vessel carving. In fact, as man-made products, stone vessels have a special place in archeological studies. Here, the writers have tried to collect the required data from as many sources and documents as possible. Most of the findings are based on the existing external descriptions and artistic patterns and motives and the examination of the designs, ornaments, writings, and inscriptions carved on these vessels. Generally speaking, the writer chose 26 Achaemenid stone vessels for the first part. They were later classified into three groups, and some of which were classified into further subgroups.

This paper surveys some behavioural and cultural patterns of Iranians from the viewpoint of a non-Iranian researcher. Field research, participant observation library research methods were employed. The data were analysed under Hofstede’s model (2001) on national cultures and Goffman’s conceptualisation of face (DATES) and led to the conclusion that Hofstede’s classifications of aspects of Iranian culture do not correspond exactly with empirical data on the religious - traditional characteristics of Iranian culture.

The present paper aims to introduce the cultural and literary works of Iran in Germanspeaking countries, including Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. German-speaking Iranologists initially conducted a series of research endeavors on Orientalism and then mainly focused on the study of Iranian literature in the above-mentioned countries. Presently, the most important Iranology center in Europe is located in Germany. Iran and Germany share several cultural features, both have the same ancestor, and their languages (Persian and German) belong to the Indo-European language family. Based on the results of this study (which was conducted following the library method), most of the efforts in the field of Iranology have concentrated on the translation and publication of Iranian literary, classical, and gnostic books, Persian language and orthography, Persian linguistics, and history of Iran. Today, it can be claimed that the research products of German-speaking Iranologists are among the most important sources and references for studies in relation to Iran.