نشریه تاریخ و فرهنگ
سال پنجاهم شماره 1 (پیاپی 100، بهار و تابستان 1397)

Throughout the history of pottery and among all the styles of pottery decoration, gilded glaze has always fascinated people for its glow and reflection. The golden or gilded tiles began to be used for decorating mihrābs at the beginning of the 7th century. These masterpieces remaining from the Khārazmshāhi, Mongol, Ilkhanate, and even Timurid periods represent the epitome of decorative techniques utilized for the construction of mihrābs, but among the monuments remaining from various historical periods, gilded mihrābs built in the Ilkhanate period are of particular importance due to their abundance and diversity. Therefore, this research sets out to study the physical components and the application of visual elements in the gilded mihrābs built in the Ilkhanate era from an aesthetic approach. The main question of the present article is “What are the characteristics of physical components used in gilded mihrābs of the Ilkhanate period?” In order to answer this question, in the first step, all the gilded mihrābs remaining from the Ilkhanate period are investigated. Then, to analyze the quality of the physical components of these works, the thematic, visual and structural characteristics of gilded mihrābs in this historical period are analyzed. The results highlight the fact that the gilded mihrābs built during the Ilkhanate period are of desirable quality in the physical components, but this quality has deteriorated near the end of the Ilkhanate era, and many of the bright and luminous features of these works have been lost.

The chaotic situation of Aleppo in the fifth century AH on the one hand, and the loose domination of the Fātimīds in this city on the other hand led to the formation of a self-governing and militia force in the city. The group that took over Aleppo’s administration came to be known as "Ehdāth." The power of this group, which had the city under its control, was directly linked to local governments in the region, as the weak governance and exiting gaps reinforced their rule. However, with the dominance of the Seljukite, and then the rule of the Ortoghiān and the Zangiān over Damascus, the power of Ehdāth began to decline in the wake of their policy of constant changing of city officials and appointment of people from outside of Aleppo.

The first period of the Abbasid Caliphate (132-232- AH) was characterized with the coherent and powerful bureaucracy, in which the minister and hajib (chamberlain) were important and influential positions. The hajibs, who initially served as doorkeepers, had extensive power and duties and played a key role in important occasions such as the succession of Caliphs. Rabi' family played an important role in political affairs as the minister (vazir) and they even contributed to the fall of the Barmakid family. The present research explores the role and position of hajib in the first period of Abbasid Caliphate, with emphasis on the Rabi'family. The findings of this research, which was conducted using a descriptive analytical method based on the Max Weber's concept of patrimonial-bureaucratic domination, suggest that the rapid growth of the bureaucracy, the excessive influence of courtiers and the overwhelming suspicion ultimately led to the ousting or murder of people. This was especially true regarding the influence of Rabi family, in particular al-Fadl ibn al-Rabi, and what happened to them.

Understanding the exact meaning of the terms and tracking the evolution of the semantic components of a word or term throughout history will offer a more realistic perception of the issues and the accurate analysis of its applications. Among the words that seem to have undergone a semantic change over the course of history are the two terms Shi'ism and rafida, which are used both in sectology and Elm al-rejal (Science of Narration). This research, by analyzing historical evidences, attempts to revisit terms " rafida and Shi'ism " in the early centuries and address the question whether the two terms of rafida and Shi'ism in these centuries have referred solely to the Imamiyyah Shia or the semantic scope of this term is far beyond Imamiyyah Shia, encompassing other Shia sects and movements. This paper seeks to prove that, contrary to the general perception, the two terms of Shi'ism and rafida are not exclusive to Imamiyyah Shia. The definitions of these two terms offered in Sunni sources and its adaptation to the movements attributed to Shi'a manifest a kind of semantic development of these two words in the discourse of earlier theorists. However, it has undergone a semantic delimitation over time, becoming constrained to its current meaning in the Imamiyyah Shia. Failure to recognize this point, some researchers have provided incorrect analysis of the application of these two terms in describing narrators.

The irregular tribal military forces of Iran, which at the beginning of the Qajar era were disorganized in administrative, training, armament and uniform affairs, after the development of Iran-West relations and the arrival of European officers in Iran, were adorned with new equipment, techniques and uniforms, which completely transformed the troops. The main purpose of the present article is to study how the design and change of Qajar military uniform transformed military forces. Therefore, this paper attempts to answer this question “What factors did contribute to the change of uniform in irregular Iranian military forces during Qajar era?” In response to this question, one can put forth the hypothesis that following the defeat of Iran in the war with Russia, the uniform of irregular military forces of Iran was changed in a bid to establish a regular army and improve military power, integrity, mobility, style, speed and agility in execution of tasks. The research method adopted in this research is historical, which relies on the description and comparison of historical data. The results of the research suggest that factors such as war, communications, Qajar kings’ trips to the Europe, the necessity of transition from irregular tribal squads to a new regular army and the visits of Europeans officers from Iran have had the greatest impact on changing military uniforms.

A score of people were captured and brought to Iran in the wake of the battles of the Safavid kings in Armenia and Georgia, some of whom managed to gain senior positions in the political, military, social and economic structure of Iran. One of the most renown figures is Qarachaghay, who along with his descendants were promoted to higher ranks during the Safavid period. The goal of the present research is to introduce Qarachaghay and his family, discuss the process of his rise to power along with his progenies, describe the way they climbed the social latter from the lowest to the highest levels of society and the measures they took. In this regard, it should be noted that Qarachaghay, who was brought to Iran as an Armenian slave, was educated in the Safavid court after converting to Islam and the Shia. By demonstrating his competence and allegiance to the Shah, he was promoted to positions as high as the generalissimo of Iran and the ruler of two important and strategic states of that time, Azerbaijan and Khorasan. His son Manouchehr and his grandson, Qarachaghay II, ruled over the city of Mashhad half a century later. Other members of his family came to the forefront of perfection, producing prominent artistic works in addition to holding positions such as the custodian of the Shrine of Hazrat Masoumeh (AS) for two generations.