نشریه مطالعات ایرانشناسی
پیاپی 18 (پاییز 1399)

A glance at the written heritage of Iran reveals that Iranians have always referred to Arabs using the word “Tazi” or “Tazis” and referred to Arabic using the word “Tazi” language. However, it is not quite clear why and since when they have called Arabs as “Tazis”, or why the definitions of this word and the reasons given for such a denomination are so different and sometimes contradictory in various Persian and Arabic sources. Here, following a document analysis method, the author intends to examine the etymology of this original Persian word and the reasons behind its application to Arabs in various historical and religious texts and dictionaries. The findings of the study indicate the presence of a mythical and religious belief among ancient Iranians stating that “Taz” was the great ancestor of Arabs, and that is why the word “Tazi” is applied to Arabs themselves and their language.

Golestan Palace is one of the architectural treasures of the Qajar Period in the Arg of Tehran. The inner section of this palace has been constructed based on a combination of Iranian and western architecture. The present study focuses on the changes in the architecture of the inner mansions of Golestan Palace in the course of history. Moreover, it examines the changes in the spatial and skeletal changes of this palace. Based on a descriptive-analytic study of some written sources such as newspapers, books, and memoirs as well as photos in the album house of the palace, the author has tried to portray the historical process of the construction, destruction, and changes of the inner mansions of Golestan Palace. The findings of the study reveal the occurrence of massive changes in the internal structure of the place so that even the forms of ivans, stairways, and the columns have undergone some changes.

Chador Shab is a local handmade outer garment for woman woven in Gilan and called Chashu in the local language. Through exploring and analyzing the names and patterns of Mah Gol design in colorful Chador Shabs of Gilan, which is one of the main designs of this garment, this paper aims to interpret the concepts behind such patterns. Here, the author has focused on four patterns: Mahe Orib, Shakh Mah, Mah M’ajari, and Mah Sandoghcheh. Given the history of Chador Shabweaving in this region, the main question of this research is which concepts and beliefs these patterns signify. The required data for this study were collected through the library method and were later analyzed qualitatively. The findings indicate that Mah Gol designs and patterns in Gilan’s Chador Shabs are mainly associated with feminine concepts and related to the gift of fertility and are often rooted in ancient Iranian mythical concepts and beliefs of Gilaki people.

The Sassanid Era (224-651 AD) marks one of the most prosperous and golden periods of culture, art, and architecture in the history of Iran. The architectural remains and samples of urban engineering of this period can still be witnessed in different corners of this land even after morethan 1,500 years. The number of the historical works and monuments of this era in comparison to previous ones demonstrates great development in construction and civil activities such as city engineering and the building of castles, bridges and dams. Following a descriptive-analytic method, this study aims to classify Sassanid cities of the Fars Province based on their geometric design, architectural style, and methods of urban engineering. The findings of the study indicate that the most important factor in the building of cities at that time was the employment of a regular geometric design which demonstrates the use of accurate designs and plans for building them. Accordingly, in this paper, Ardeshir Khoreh and Darabgard are introduced, classified, and explored as circular cities, Bishapur as a rectangular city, and Estakhr as an irregular city.

Archeology of prehistory, particularly that of the Chalcolithic period in Iran, was divided into two important cultural domains called the Northwest and Central Zagros for a very long time. Moreover, there was not much information about the cultures of the regions between them mainly in the present day Kurdistan in the west of Iran. However, as a result of recent archeological explorations and excavations, more data is now available in this field. Presently, several sites and artifacts from the chalcolithic period have been identified and explored in Kurdistan. The findings of such studies have created some challenges to the cultural borderlines in the archeology of western Iran. The cultural remains and artifacts of the chalcolithic period in Kurdistan bear some similarities to those of its neighboring regions in the north and south of Iran, indicating that they belong to a single cultural domain. Through employing a descriptive-analytic method, the present paper aims to determine the place of Kurdistan Province in the studies of the chalcolithic period in the west of Iran based on an ancient, middle, and modern classification of historical periods.

The international Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is primarily based on the Latin script and can be used to represent the qualities of speech that are part of lexical sounds in oral language including phones, phonemes, and intonation. Each phonetic symbol is composed of two main elements of letters and diacritics. Narrow phonetic transcription is an accurate way of recording sounds and provides the possibility for individuals to read the oral literary texts of each region in its original language and with the correct accent. Accordingly, this study aimed at examining the efficiency of using narrow transcription in recording and preserving the oral literature of Mazandaran. In doing so, two samples of Mazani oral literary texts which had been tape-recorded were transcribed narrowly. The findings of the study indicate that narrow phonetic transcription contributes to preserving various dialects and accents in different regions over time.