فصلنامه تاریخ اسلام
پیاپی 100 (زمستان 1403)

The tragedic event of Ashura is considered as one of the most important and influential events in the Islamic history. Despite the numerous efforts of Ashura scholars, many aspects of this event, including the incidents of the night of Ashura, are still shrouded in ambiguity. The issue of those who left the army of Imam Hossein (PBUH) on the night of Ashura, as well as those who joined them in the last moments, is the focus of the present study. The findings of the study clarify that the separatiin of Imam's companions was in Zobalah's house not on the night of Ashura. According to the reliable reports and narrations, it can be concluded that the companions of Imam, despite all the dangers, remained before Imam and were martyred on the day of event. Moreover, the historical reports illustrate that despite the existing difference of opinions on the night of Ashura, people from Kufa or from the army of Umar ibn Sa'd also joined Imam and were martyred.

The history of Islam faced with the intellectual and theological debates in the first century and its result was the emergence of the sects such as Azareqah. Azareqah, one of the Khawarij groups, is of particular importance due to its large number of followers, the scope of their activities, and their difference of thoughts. Taking advantage of the materials collected from the library research as well as the primary sources, this research seeks to answer the question on what was the foundation of este'raz, killing people without sufficient investigation, in Azareqe’s view and how it was practically manifested. The studies revealed that when Nafe' ibn Azraq (65 A. H), one of the jurists and elders of the Khawarij, compiled and propagated the decrees of Killing people, some of his followers considered these rules to be extreme and  separated their path from him. Accordingly, Khawarij carried out widespread massacres and numerous lootings in various cities, and this events led to their confrontation with Mohallab ibn Abi Safra, the elected commander of Umayyads.

Treasury and its related resources have always been considered as one of the most controversial economic-political issues in the Islamic history. The assets of the Treasury have even led to the widespread political conflicts in several cases. In the historical background of Muslims, the institution of collecting and distributing tribute, booty, and resources from the fi’ and anfal wars has been similar to the national treasury in the contemporary era. The public treasury is an economic issue in itself; but due to its role in creating civil adjustment and balance through the political economy and economic policy, it is also considered an issue related to the political thought. The main question of this article is what kind of relationship the institution of the Treasury had with the old and new political systems throughout the Islamic history. The findings of research indicate that the old and new models of political systems differ in three domains of the public treasury and its custody, the plurality and unity of the treasury institution as well as the sources of treasury.

The Persian language, especially its developments from the Middle Persian to Dari Persian requires the historical and identity related as well as the literary and linguistic studies. Appreciating the historical and political factors affecting the preservation of the Persian language by the Iranians and at the same time, taking advantage of the Arabic alphabet for its written presentation, requires reviewing of the historical context of Iranian linguistic developments, particularly in the first centuries After Hijrah. During that period, the Iranian witnessed the confrontation of the two Pahlavi Persian language and the Arabic language in their daily lives, and Arabic, as the language of religion of that time, was on its way to become the primary language of the Iranian. The present study has investigated this issue relying on the analytical method of research as well as the ancient and modern sources. The research findings indicate that the historical conditions on the one hand, and the motivation of Iranians to find their identity against the Muslim Arabs on the other hand, led to the development of a new language called Dari Persian which later became the main resource of Iranian identity. The officialization of this language caused the Iranian identity to become more distinct from the other ethnic groups.

The second era of the Fatimid Caliphate (487-567 A. H) coincided with the attacks of the Crusader forces in the Levant; a period in which difficult conditions arose for the Fatimids due to the extensive influence of the viziers, and the political and social turmoil alongside the two threatening powers of Abbasids and the Seljuks. Therefore, the Crusader attacking the Levant in the second era of the Fatimid Caliphate weakened the authority of this government in the east of the Islamic world. The present study is to analyze the political-military structure as well as the internal and external factors in the second era of Fatimid Caliphate against the Crusaders, taking advantage of Giddens's structural theory. The research findings clarify that the weak performance of the political structure due to the lack of legitimacy of the caliphs and the authority of the ministers, the ineffectiveness of the military structure due to the heterogeneity of the army and the dispute between the commanders, the ineffectiveness of internal (ministers) and external agents (local governors of the Levant), weakened the Fatimid authority against the Crusaders in the Levant.

The great credence given to the dreams in the post-Mongol period and their functions is one of the significant historical issues. This research, taking advantage of the descriptive-analytical method and analyzing the biographies of the mystics of Timurid era, has examined dreams in their view and practice. By examining the aforementioned issue, it is possible to obtain the beliefs and thoughts of Timurids and to recognize the functions of dreams in the political, religious and social affairs of the mystics. The results of these studies clarify that the dreams, as a source of inspiration, were popular and accepted by the Timurids and they were of various usages for them. Decision-making about the various issues, such as following a Sufi master, guiding individuals towards the disciple and mentor, forgiving the sins, knowing the truths, knowing the consciences of individuals, strengthening the religion and law, salvation in the afterlife, and claiming Mahdism, are among these functions that were often in the path of advancing various political, social, and religious goals.

One of the influential issues in the administration of society and government in Iran during the Islamic era is the competition between the members of the court and the military emirs. During the Mongol period, simultaneous with the arrival of the Mongol emirs in Iran, this competition led to the wider dimensions. The Mongol rulers, who needed the military aristocracy to survive, also needed the experience and knowledge of bureaucrats due to the requirements of statecraft. This issue led to a complex situation in the relations between these two groups and their political acts. It also has been the focus of the local historians of the Ilkhanid period. The present article attempts to examine this issue by taking advantage of the descriptive-analytical approach. According to the findings of this study, the local historians of Ilkhanid period have narrated the confrontation between these two groups by addressing  the issues such as the violence and severity of the swordsmen, the rivalry and jealousy of officials towards each other, the mismanagement and sometimes inefficiency of bureaucrats, as well as the influence of both groups in relation with the succession.

In the history of world, the 17th century was the era of change and evolution. It was characterized by the emergence of social movements in response to the widespread droughts, famine, disease, war, and global population displacements due to the climate change. However, the historians had not yet included Safavids of Iran (1501–1722 CE/906–1134 AH) in that “widespread crisis.” Reviewing the primary sources from Safavid period and the evidence from the tree rings, this article written jointly by an environmental historian and a climatologist, argues that a widespread environmental crisis in the late seventeenth century contributed to the ecological collapse of the Safavid kingdom. The decline in the resources and population led to the collapse of territorial networks and the eventual fall of the Safavids to a small group of Afghan invaders in 1722 A. D (1134 A. H). Finally, the article examines Iran’s connection to the global environmental trends during this period, showing how the local conditions and the humans' role led to the emergence of a severe environmental crisis in Iran.