{"title":"More Early Bronze Age Seal Impressions from Chogha Maran, Western Central Zagros","authors":"Ali Khayani, K. Niknami","doi":"10.1080/05786967.2020.1847000","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/05786967.2020.1847000","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper studies the glyptic origins of the seals impressed on the clay sealings Early Bronze Age trash deposits at Chogha Maran in the western Central Zagros and correlates the origins with the functions of these clay objects in order to analyse the role of the seals and sealings in the Chogha Maran administration. The examination suggests that the clay sealings were used at Chogha Maran mostly by local groups of people for managing the local economy. However, some of the sealings might have appeared at Chogha Maran as a result of long distance cultural and possibly commercial interactions. The results emphasise the significance of the administrative evidence of Chogha Maran as it represents the only known case of employing administrative mechanisms in the Central Zagros during the first half of the third millennium BCE. The evidence attests to increasing complexity in the socioeconomical organisation of western Central Zagros societies as reflected in applying administrative technology in an indigenous communally organised storage system. The nature of the Chogha Maran administration and its connections with Susa and Trans-Tigridian centres reflects a reorganisation of the socioeconomic system of the western Central Zagros societies in response to the cultural and environmental events that occurred around 3000 BCE.","PeriodicalId":44995,"journal":{"name":"Iran-Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies","volume":"61 1","pages":"1 - 14"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2020-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/05786967.2020.1847000","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49053496","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Recent Archaeological Research in South Iran: Excavation at the Old City of Sirjan (The Site of Qal’eh Sang)","authors":"S. Amirhajloo, H. Sedighian","doi":"10.1080/05786967.2020.1846998","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/05786967.2020.1846998","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The importance of old Sirjan lies in its geographical location in the Persian Gulf hinterland. It stood at the intersection of routes that connected the Persian Gulf and the Central Iranian plateau. The first season of excavations at Qal’eh Sang in 2015 brought to light a complete and great bathhouse dating to the time between eleventh to fifteenth century AD and a stonecutting workshop dating to the fourteenth century. Various types of pottery were identified, most of them date to the time between the eleventh to fifteenth century and find parallels at many sites in China, Afghanistan, at the coasts of the Persian Gulf, Central Iranian plateau as well as northeast and west Iran. Furthermore, Sirjan city was relocated three times during the Islamic era at Qal’eh Kafar, Qal’eh Sang, Bagh-e Bamid, and Saeedabad.","PeriodicalId":44995,"journal":{"name":"Iran-Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies","volume":"61 1","pages":"75 - 93"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2020-11-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/05786967.2020.1846998","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43918775","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Forgotten Money Heist: The 1746 Mission of Nadir Shah’s Chief Merchant in Russia Revisited","authors":"Kioumars Ghereghlou","doi":"10.1080/05786967.2020.1829983","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/05786967.2020.1829983","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This present article examines aspects of Iran’s trade and diplomatic relations with Imperial Russia during the reign of the Afsharid Nadir Shah (r. 1735–1747) focusing on a previously unpublished letter from the Zand Karim Khan (r. 1751–1779) to Empress Catherine II (r. 1762–1796). The letter sheds light on a little-known trade dispute between Iran and Imperial Russia that broke out shortly after Nadir Shah’s assassination, which took place in his native Khurasan late in the spring of 1747. First, an English translation of the letter’s full text, which is in Persian, will be provided. A review of the rivalries between Nadir Shah and Imperial Russia in the 1740s and additional contextualising comments will then follow, placing the letter in dialogue with primary sources and studies of the Russo-Iranian trade relationship during the early part of the eighteenth century.","PeriodicalId":44995,"journal":{"name":"Iran-Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies","volume":"61 1","pages":"130 - 147"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2020-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/05786967.2020.1829983","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46290026","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Probing the Margins in Search of Elamite Children","authors":"Yasmina Wicks","doi":"10.1080/05786967.2020.1829982","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/05786967.2020.1829982","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Around two decades ago, following on from attempts to redress the long-standing neglect of the lives and contributions of women in antiquity, archaeologists and historians around the world started to reframe their treatments of past societies to incorporate children in larger-scale social, economic, political and religious processes. While scholars of the ancient Near East were much slower to follow, there is now a growing library of research available on children, particularly for Mesopotamia and the biblical world. Children and childhood in Elam, however, are still faring poorly as subjects of inquiry, despite the varied sources from which we can learn about them. This article's raison d’être is to review these sources, which fall into the three broad categories “textual”, “iconographic” and “archaeological”, and reflect on what they can tell us about Elamite children. By the conclusion it becomes clear that Elamite society tended to marginalise younger individuals, who had not yet attained full membership in the group. Their appearance in a fairly restricted range of contexts in art and texts and their differential treatment in death resonates with the results of studies of children in other areas of the Near East.","PeriodicalId":44995,"journal":{"name":"Iran-Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies","volume":"61 1","pages":"15 - 35"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2020-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/05786967.2020.1829982","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41326255","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Early Islamic Torpedo Jars from Siraf: Scientific Analyses of the Clay Fabric and Source of Indian Ocean Transport Containers","authors":"R. Tomber, M. Spataro, S. Priestman","doi":"10.1080/05786967.2020.1792797","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/05786967.2020.1792797","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper concerns Sasanian to Early Islamic period transport containers, usually lined with bitumen, known as Torpedo jars. Widely distributed throughout the western Indian Ocean, with outliers as far west as Egypt and to the east in Indonesia, they are an important marker of maritime exchange. Their area of production is thought to be central/southern Iraq or southwestern Iran, the latter in keeping with proposed bitumen sources in the region of Ilam/Khuzestan. Here thirteen Torpedo jar samples from Siraf (southern Iran), belonging to two class categories defined by form and macroscopic fabric, were analysed. The technology of manufacture and potential source areas were examined in thin section by polarising, digital and scanning electron microscopy. These same techniques were used to examine the bitumen layer, providing insight into the vessel lining process. Analysis generally validated the distinction between the two classes; fabric variation within the classes identified eight petro-fabrics, suggestive of at least five workshops. These results point to regionally related workshops for each class category, exploiting distinct clay resources, rather than two single production sites. Suitable clay resources are widely available throughout central/southern Iraq and southwestern Iran, including Ilam/Khuzestan.","PeriodicalId":44995,"journal":{"name":"Iran-Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies","volume":"60 1","pages":"240 - 263"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2020-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/05786967.2020.1792797","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42052765","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Impact of Religious Commandments on Residential Architecture of Zoroastrians, Case Study: Dasturān District in Yazd City","authors":"H. Karimian, F. Karimi, S. Karimian","doi":"10.1080/05786967.2020.1783187","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/05786967.2020.1783187","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Scholars that have focused on cities as the subject of their research, account the worldview and religion as the most significant factors in formation of urban spaces and architectural compositions. This is indeed why historical cities are known to reflect beliefs and cultures of their constructors. The influence of Islam on Iranian ancient cities is studied considerably, though research on the influence of commandments of the Zoroastrian religion on their architectural spaces is at its infancy. Therefore, this research investigates the impact of religious commandments on Zoroastrian's residential architecture, based on the data obtained from fieldwork in the Dasturān district of the City of Yazd (Iran). To this end, besides identifying influential Zoroastrian commandments, the extent of, and the circumstances surrounding formation of such architectural spaces has been evaluated. In the conformity of theoretical findings of the research against the field data, it has been revealed that the Zoroastrian commandments have significantly influenced the formation of spaces of historical houses in Yazd (Dasturān district); particularly that practice of commandments “respect of sanctity of the four elements or Chahar-Akhshij (earth, water, air, fire)” and “faith in cosmos order (Aṣ̌a/Rta)” have been emphasized in Zoroastrian residential architecture.","PeriodicalId":44995,"journal":{"name":"Iran-Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies","volume":"60 1","pages":"225 - 239"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2020-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/05786967.2020.1783187","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43296474","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Göbekly-Depe in Margiana","authors":"V. Gaibov, A. Nikitin","doi":"10.1080/05786967.2020.1781544","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/05786967.2020.1781544","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The fortress of Göbekly-depe by the North border of the oasis of Merv, 32 km to NW of the site of Old Merv, is especially significant for the history of Iranian fortification, as it was built in the Parthian period, presumably in the 1st century C.E., and then several times reconstructed under the first Sasanians in the 3rd and the 4th centuries. Approximately in the middle of the 4th century the fortress was abandoned, so the remains of the 3rd and the 4th century walls were not covered by later strata. The excavations of the fortress were undertaken in 1988-2000 by the central Asian archaeological team of the Russian Institute of Archaeology (Moscow) directed by G.A. Koshelenko.","PeriodicalId":44995,"journal":{"name":"Iran-Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies","volume":"60 1","pages":"200 - 208"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2020-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/05786967.2020.1781544","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49609376","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Trial Trenching and Discovery of a Columned Building in Bazeh-Hur (North-East Iran)","authors":"Meysam Labbaf-Khaniki","doi":"10.1080/05786967.2019.1657782","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/05786967.2019.1657782","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The Bazeh-Hur archaeological project carried out in May–June 2017 led to identifying the limits of the settlement is bounded by chahartaq and Qale Dokhtar respectively in the north and south. The investigations have also shed significant lights on the structure and plan of a columned building abutting the eastern side of the chahartaq. Excavations at this area revealed some remains of the round columns that might have once supported the ceiling of a 16-columned building. Considering the comparable Sasanian monuments, the unearthed columned building of Bazeh Hur was served as an ayvān or reception hall dating back to the second half of the Sasanian period.","PeriodicalId":44995,"journal":{"name":"Iran-Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies","volume":"58 1","pages":"221 - 235"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2020-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/05786967.2019.1657782","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47972302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
V. Martínez Ferreras, A. Fusaro, J. M. Gurt Esparraguera, Enrique Ariño Gil, S. Pidaev, A. Angourakis
{"title":"The Islamic Ancient Termez Through the Lens of Ceramics: A New Archaeological and Archaeometric Study","authors":"V. Martínez Ferreras, A. Fusaro, J. M. Gurt Esparraguera, Enrique Ariño Gil, S. Pidaev, A. Angourakis","doi":"10.1080/05786967.2019.1572430","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/05786967.2019.1572430","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper presents an archaeological and archaeometric study of a range of Islamic ceramics (9th-17th centuries) from Termez (south Uzbekistan), a city which has been proven to be both a production centre and a trading post. Pottery was manufactured in a number of workshops located in the lower city (shahristan) and its suburbs (rabad) and is consistent with the products of the most important Central Asian centres. For the first time, the fabrics of glazed and unglazed wares and two pottery moulds from two excavated areas at Termez were examined by WD-XRF, XRD and petrographic thin section analysis in order to determine the features of local manufacture and identify possible imports.","PeriodicalId":44995,"journal":{"name":"Iran-Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies","volume":"58 1","pages":"250 - 278"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2020-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/05786967.2019.1572430","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42262105","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Locating the Ancient Toponym of “Kindāu”: The Recognition of an Indo-European God in the Assyrian Inscriptions of the Seventh Century BC","authors":"Iraj Rezaie","doi":"10.1080/05786967.2019.1598779","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/05786967.2019.1598779","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT “Kindāu” is the name of an ancient fortress located in the west of Iran, which has been mentioned three times in the inscriptions of the Assyrian king, Sargon II. So far, no comment has been made by researchers about the location and terminology of this toponym. The author believes that the second part of this name, i.e. “dāu”, represents the ancient god of the “sky” in the beliefs of Indo-European peoples. This new view opens a new perspective to the dark field of Median religion studies. The results of this research reveals that despite religious revolutions and the obvious opposition of Zoroastrianism against some ancient gods, the belief in the god of heaven was common in the ancient land of Medes, and amazingly, this belief has continued up to the contemporary era. The author believes that “Dāwūd” and “Tāwūs”, two main angels in “Ezdī” and “Yārī” religions, are probably, the same old god of the “sky”. In addition, the author believes that a feasible option for locating “Kindāu” is probably, the district of “Kal-i- Dāwūd” near the city of “Sar-i Pul-i Zahāb”. Abbreviations: ARAB I: Luckenbill, D. D. Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia: Historical Records of Assyria from Sargon to the End, vol. I. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1926.; ARAB II: Luckenbill, D. D. Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia: Historical Records of Assyria from Sargon to the End, vol. II. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1927.; CAD: The Assyrian Dictionary of the University of Chicago. Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 1964.","PeriodicalId":44995,"journal":{"name":"Iran-Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies","volume":"58 1","pages":"180 - 189"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2020-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/05786967.2019.1598779","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47318917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}