Iranian Civilization and Culture

Iranian Civilization and Culture PDF

Author: Muḥammad Muḥammadī Malāyirī

Publisher: Manohar Publishers

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9788173049507

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This book sheds light on the various aspects of the impact of pre-Islamic Iranian literature and culture on Arabic literature and Islamic culture, following the Arabic conquests and the collapse of the Sassanid Empire in Iran in the seventh century. It covers a period in Iranian literary history, dominated by the Arabic language, which was the language of the Quran, when Iranian scholars and administrators were transferring Irans literary and administrative heritage through translation of Iranian books into Arabic and adaptation of Iranian traditions and practices, including the Sassanid administrative, financial and agricultural systems and various cultural practices, to the Islamic Caliphate thus ensuring their survival in a period of turmoil and transition from the Sassanid to the Islamic periods. The book relies on scattered references in Arabic sources mainly from the first centuries of Islam, as the original Iranian sources did not survive the Arab conquests, a primary reason why this area of scholarly research has remained mostly in the dark.The significance of research in this area is that without exposing and understanding of their Iranian roots it is not possible to have a deep and comprehensive understanding of Arab and Islamic literature and culture, and particularly their rapid expansion and diversification during the early centuries of Islam. The work has been translated by Shahrokh Mohammadi, son of the author.

The History and Culture of Iran and Central Asia

The History and Culture of Iran and Central Asia PDF

Author: D. G. Tor

Publisher: University of Notre Dame Pess

Published: 2022-04-15

Total Pages: 398

ISBN-13: 0268202087

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This volume examines the major cultural, religious, political, and urban changes that took place in the Iranian world of Inner and Central Asia in the transition from the pre-Islamic to the Islamic periods. One of the major civilizations of the first millennium was that of the Iranian linguistic and cultural world, which stretched from today’s Iraq to what is now the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. No other region of the world underwent such radical transformation, which fundamentally altered the course of world history, as this area did during the centuries of transition from the pre-Islamic to the Islamic period. This transformation included the religious victory of Islam over Buddhism, Nestorian Christianity, and the other religions of the area; the military and political wresting of Inner Asia from the Chinese to the Islamic sphere of primary cultural influence; and the shifting of Central Asia from a culturally and demographically Iranian civilization to a Turkic one. This book contains essays by many of the preeminent scholars working in the fields of archeology, history, linguistics, and literature of both the pre-Islamic and the Islamic-era Iranian world, shedding light on some of the most significant aspects of the major changes that this important portion of the Asian continent underwent during this tumultuous era in its history. This collection of cutting-edge research will be read by scholars of Middle Eastern, Central Asian, Iranian, and Islamic studies and archaeology. Contributors: D. G. Tor, Frantz Grenet, Nicholas Sims-Williams, Etsuko Kageyama, Yutaka Yoshida, Michael Shenkar, Minoru Inaba, Rocco Rante, Arezou Azad, Sören Stark, Louise Marlow, Gabrielle van den Berg, and Dilnoza Duturaeva.

Cultural Dynamics of Water in Iranian Civilization

Cultural Dynamics of Water in Iranian Civilization PDF

Author: Majid Labbaf Khaneiki

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-09-23

Total Pages: 162

ISBN-13: 3030589005

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This book traces “water” back to the most primitive animistic notions that are still lingering on in the shape of such rituals as qanat marriage or rain-making. Water, in the Iranian philosophy, is used in an attempt to find an explanation for the genesis of the universe, as described in Zoroastrian Akhshij philosophy, according to which water is one of the four fundamental elements of the creation. The concept of time began to germinate in the Iranian mind, when they had to count the passage of time in order to divide their scarce water resources. Water became so omnipresent in Iranian culture that it reached even the most mysterious seclusion of the Sufi monks. In Iran’s local communities, water culture is a thread that runs through different types of production systems. This book goes beyond indigenous water knowledge and traditional irrigation techniques, and conceptualizes water as a pivotal element of Iran’s social identity, cultural dynamics and belief systems, where it examines the role of intermittent droughts in engendering and diffusing intangible cultural elements across the Iranian plateau. This book delves into Iran’s political organizations most of which were ensnared in a water-dependent lifecycle constituting a historical pattern described in this book as “hydraulic collapse” .

Ancient Persia

Ancient Persia PDF

Author: Anna Vanzan

Publisher: White Star Publishers

Published: 2012-08-01

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 9788854407121

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The book investigates the pre-Islamic Iranian culture that developed between the 5th millennium BC and the 7th century AD in the immense territory extending from the Eastern Mediterranean to Central Asia. This chronological overview illustrates the key aspects of this civilization, from the prehistoric era to its development and the establishment of its empires. It examines the Achaemenids, who continued the empire created by the Babylonians and Assyrians, the Seleucids, who revived the Achaemenid political and cultural cosmopolitanism destroyed by Alexander the Great, and the Parthians and Sassanids, who transformed the empire into the greatest crossroads of religion, civilization, language and trade between East and West. This historical journey is supplemented by detailed considerations of the arts, religions, traditions and customs of the ancient populations of the Iranian plateau who, despite the constant pressure they faced, managed to maintain a cultural unity that has endured into modern times. The book, which is based on the latest scientific research, is written for the general public in a narrative that combines a clear style with scientific accuracy. The historical tableau that emerges conveys the complexity of a world that fascinated all the cultures that came into contact with it, from those in the Far East to the European populations. At the same time, it offers significant insights that will help readers understand what is happening today in a cultural and geographical area that, unfortunately, the West continues to observe with hesitant admiration. AUTHOR: Anna Vanzan, a specialist in Iranian and Islamic studies, graduated from the University of Venice with a degree in Oriental Languages, earning her Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies from New York University. Her research focuses mainly on the world of Persianized culture (Iran, Central Asia and Islamic India), paying special attention to the cultural history of these areas, where she has conducted research studies. She has published numerous essays in Italian and international magazines, and her most recent book, La storia velata, donne dell'Islam nell'immaginario italiano (Edizioni Lavoro, Rome 2006), was awarded the Feudo di Maida Prize in 2006. She has taught courses on Islamic civilization at Italian and foreign universities, and currently teaches at IULM University in Milan. Vanzan is executive editor of Afriche&Orienti magazine and contributes to Italian and foreign publications and radio programs. Illustrated throughout

Iran and the Surrounding World

Iran and the Surrounding World PDF

Author: Nikki R. Keddie

Publisher: University of Washington Press

Published: 2011-10-01

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13: 0295800240

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These essays examine Iran�s place in the world--its relations and cultural interactions with its immediate neighbors and with empires and superpowers from the beginning of the Safavid period in 1501 to the present day. The book provides important historical background on recent political and social developments in Iran and on its contemporary foreign relations. The topics explored include Iranian influence abroad on political organization, religion, literature, art, and diplomacy, as well as Iran's absorption of foreign influences in these areas. A special focus is the prevailing political culture of Iran throughout its early modern and contemporary periods. The authors combine approaches from history, political science, anthropology, international relations, and culturalstudies. Some essays address Iran�s interactions with various Arab and Turkic ethnicities in the region stretching from India to Egypt. Others examine its relations with the West during the Qajar and Pahlavi eras, women's issues, culture inside Iran during the Islamic Republic, and the Shi`ite theocracy of Iran as compared with other Muslim states.

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