{"title":"The “Original” Kurdish Religion? Kurdish Nationalism and the False Conflation of the Yezidi and Zoroastrian Traditions","authors":"R. Foltz","doi":"10.1163/18747167-12341309","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18747167-12341309","url":null,"abstract":"The religion of the Yezidi Kurds, which has often been inaccurately characterized as “devil-worship,” has been claimed by Kurdish nationalists since the 1930s as the “original” religion of the Kurdish people. It has likewise been asserted that the Yezidi faith is a form of Zoroastrianism, the official religion of Iran in pre-Islamic times. These notions have won official support from most Kurdish political organizations and have broadly penetrated Kurdish society. The identification of Yezidism with Zoroastrianism is historically inaccurate, however, and should be seen as a product of modern nation-building ideology. Sentimental attachment to Yezidism and/or Zoroastrianism among Kurds today is best understood in most cases as a political rejection of Islam and its perceived Arab connections, rather than in terms of genuine devotional commitment.","PeriodicalId":41983,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Persianate Studies","volume":"10 1","pages":"87-106"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2017-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/18747167-12341309","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41741233","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Iranian Origin of the Word ‘Barid’","authors":"Didier Gazagnadou","doi":"10.1163/18747167-12341306","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18747167-12341306","url":null,"abstract":"The origin of the Arabic word barid (“the post”) is problematic; various interpretations have been advanced, but are based solely on linguistic reasoning, which is an essential yet insufficient approach. Loan words like barid must be assessed in the global historic and anthropological context of the Middle East during the transition to Islam. In particular, the importance of oral culture during this period in Sasanian and Arab societies needs to be considered.","PeriodicalId":41983,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Persianate Studies","volume":"10 1","pages":"49-56"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2017-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/18747167-12341306","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47871386","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Achaemenid Creation and Second Isaiah","authors":"J. Silverman","doi":"10.1163/18747167-12341305","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18747167-12341305","url":null,"abstract":"For many years, scholars have entertained the idea that monotheism appeared in Second Isaiah as a result of Zoroastrian influence. Since the issue of monotheism is inappropriate for either the Persian or the Judaean contexts, this paper argues that a more fruitful angle to pursue the Persian context of Isaiah is through analysis of the concept of creation. This paper takes the Achaemenid creation prologues in the Old Persian inscriptions as a comparator for the use of creation in Second Isaiah, and places these two in a broader ancient Near Eastern context of creation mythology. It is argued that both share distinctive features in the way creation is presented and understood. Given the novel and similar concepts visible in both corpora, it is argued that the vision of creation and form of YHWH as creator are the earliest attested instance of “Iranian influence” on the Judaean tradition.","PeriodicalId":41983,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Persianate Studies","volume":"10 1","pages":"26-48"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2017-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/18747167-12341305","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44437492","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Communication and the Consolidation of the British Position in the Persian Gulf, 1860s–1914","authors":"F. Ahmadi","doi":"10.1163/18747167-12341308","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18747167-12341308","url":null,"abstract":"The scale of Britain’s industrial expansion during the nineteenth century was vast and extraordinary. On the sea, Britain dominated the industrialized world both in tonnage and distance and established the largest shipping lines in the world. With the rapid increase in international trade, Britain led the world in the development of submarine telegraph cable and steamships. Although from the early decades of nineteenth century, Britain was expanding its ascendancy in the Persian Gulf, from 1860s onward, technological developments, mainly telegraph and steamship, led to a significant change in favor of British hegemony in the region. This technological progress had great impacts on the politics and economy of the area and neighboring centuries. The present article is an attempt to examine the process of communication system development in the Persian Gulf and its role in the consolidation of British position in the region.","PeriodicalId":41983,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Persianate Studies","volume":"10 1","pages":"73-86"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2017-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/18747167-12341308","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49000764","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Persecutions against Ismaʿili Missionaries in Central Asia: The Case of Nāser Khosrow","authors":"H. Mahamid","doi":"10.1163/18747167-12341307","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18747167-12341307","url":null,"abstract":"Local governors in Central Asia persecuted Ismaʿili missionaries ( dāʿi s) since the early years of Ismaʿili activity there. The rise of the Fatimid State, from the tenth century onwards, encouraged the activity of those missionaries who were receiving support from the Fatimids, leading to increased persecutions of Ismaʿilis in Iraq and the eastern provinces of the Abbasid Caliphate.This study will deal with the activity of those missionaries and the difficulties and persecutions that they faced, with a focus on the case of the dāʿi Nāser Khosrow (1004–1088/394–481) in Central Asia. At the time, Nāser was considered as a model dāʿi representing the activity of Ismaʿili missionaries. Throughout his life, he suffered bitterly in his role as the main dāʿi of the Fatimids. Despite the hostile atmosphere and insecurity, Nāser Khosrow succeeded in becoming a highly significant philosopher and poet, but died in a sorrowful situation, isolated in the valley of Yomgān.","PeriodicalId":41983,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Persianate Studies","volume":"10 1","pages":"57-72"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2017-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/18747167-12341307","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43748045","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Construction of Religious Identity in Contemporary Iran: A Sociological Perspective","authors":"Y. Foroutan","doi":"10.1163/18747167-12341310","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18747167-12341310","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines the connection between educational institutions and religious socialization in the construction of religious identity. It employs socialization theory, which recognizes educational institutions as the first agent and the most powerful engine of socialization. Applying this theory to the case study of Iran reveals the ubiquitous presence of religion in all educational texts, supporting the argument that these educational tools are used as a “strategy” of socialization to protect social unity and group superiority and providing further evidence that the educational system overwhelmingly reflects the ideologies of the dominant culture in the process of socialization.","PeriodicalId":41983,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Persianate Studies","volume":"10 1","pages":"107-127"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2017-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/18747167-12341310","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44639357","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"King Artaxerxes’ Aegean Policy","authors":"Daniel Beckman","doi":"10.1163/18747167-12341304","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18747167-12341304","url":null,"abstract":"Ernst Badian has argued that it would have been ideologically unacceptable for the great king of Persia to submit to negotiations with Athens and to bind himself by oath to the resulting Peace of Callias. This interpretation, however, is the result of the later Greek conception of the Peace of Callias as an Athenian victory over Persia, and the Peace of Antalcidas as a Persian humiliation of Greece. In this paper, I argue that the Achaemenid kings of Persia inherited notions of kinship, empire, and diplomacy from their Neo-Assyrian predecessors, and therefore saw treaties as an honorable and legitimate tool of empire.","PeriodicalId":41983,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Persianate Studies","volume":"10 1","pages":"1-25"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2017-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/18747167-12341304","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46049834","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Enemies beyond the Red Sands: The Bukhara-Khiva Dynamic as Mediated by Textual Genre","authors":"J. Pickett","doi":"10.1163/18747167-12341299","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18747167-12341299","url":null,"abstract":"The khanates of Bukhara and Khiva had much in common, but depictions of their relationship with one another vary dramatically between historical sources. Some accounts convey deep rivalries between them, while in other sources they appear as easily traversable sub-regions within a broader, socially and culturally integrated landscape. How might we explain these wildly divergent images? This essay considers a wide range of sources to forward one simple argument: our understanding of the relationship between Bukhara and Khiva is fundamentally shaped by textual genre. Some genres—such as chronicles and legal writing—were well equipped to articulate rivalry and difference. Others—such as Sufi hagiography or chancellery documents—contained the tools for transcending these two polities. Since all of these genres were predominantly written by a single social group (the ʿolemā ), this contradictory imagery was not the product of discrete constituencies with different viewpoints, but rather a single milieu performing diverse genres.","PeriodicalId":41983,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Persianate Studies","volume":"9 1","pages":"158-182"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2016-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/18747167-12341299","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"64838862","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Introduction: On Khvārazmian Connectivity: Two or Three Things that I Know about It","authors":"P. Sartori","doi":"10.1163/18747167-12341298","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18747167-12341298","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41983,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Persianate Studies","volume":"9 1","pages":"133-157"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2016-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/18747167-12341298","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"64838741","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Bulghar Region as a “Land of Ignorance”: Anti-Colonial Discourse in Khvārazmian Connectivity","authors":"A. Bustanov","doi":"10.1163/18747167-12341300","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18747167-12341300","url":null,"abstract":"Hagiographic sources from nineteenth-century Inner Russia and Khvārazm indicate the existence of a cluster of Muslims opposed to the state-supported Islamic institutions of the Russian Empire. Many Muslim scholars of the period did not accord the Volga-Ural region the status of an ‘abode of Islam,’ as they considered it to be a ‘land of ignorance.’ This paper examines the significance attached by Muslims of Inner Russia to the pious rhetoric of resettlement from a ‘land of ignorance’ to the ‘abode of Islam’. I argue that the opposition to the already well-established imperial structures in the Volga-Urals resulted in the formation of a powerful migrant community near Urgench, Khvārazm, that used the Naqshbandiya-Mojaddediya Sufi networks as a stable bridge to home.","PeriodicalId":41983,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Persianate Studies","volume":"9 1","pages":"183-204"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2016-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/18747167-12341300","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"64838920","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}