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town on the Caspian coast in the province of Māzandarān. This article is available in print. Volume III, Fascicle 3, pp. 319 BĀBOLSAR, town on the Caspian coast in the province of Māzandarān. It acquired its present name in 1306 Š./1927 [see attached Comment - eds.], at the same time that Bārforūš, the important inland town 20 km to the south-southeast, was renamed Bābol. Its former name was Mašhad-(e) Sar. Initially a village arose at this site around the shrine of an emāmzāda, Ebrāhīm Abū Jawāb, which contains several inscriptions from the 9th/15th century. From the mid-18t…

lit. "warm zones and cold zones"; two terms identifying regional entities that form a major geographical contrast deeply affecting the popular conscience in Persia. This article is available in print. Volume X, Fascicle 3, pp. 316-317 GARMSĪR AND SARDSĪR (warm zones and cold zones), two terms identifying regional entities that form a major geographical contrast deeply affecting the popular conscience in Persia. Both terms are currently used in the everyday language in the south, especially among the nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes. …

At the northern borders of Iran’s arid central plateau, the southern foothills of the Alborz chain, which have the advantage of major precipitations, are particularly suitable for human settlements. TEHRAN, capital city of Iran. At the northern borders of Iran’s arid central plateau, the southern foothills of the Alborz chain, which have the advantage of major precipitations, are particularly suitable for human settlements. The abundance of water running down the mountain, either as seasonal and occasional or perennially flowing…

in Persia. This article is available in print. Volume IX, Fascicle 2, pp. 203-206 FAMINES. Famines have been reported throughout Persian history by numerous authors and observers. According to a compilation made by Charles Melville, they occurred in Khorasan in 115/733 (Melville, p. 130), in Sīstān in 220/835 (Melville, p. 130), in Khorasan and Sīstān in 400/1009-10 (Melville, p. 136), in Khorasan in 1099 (Melville, p. 136), in Kermān in 576/1180 and 662/1264 (Melville, p. 130), in Fārs in 683-85/1284-66 and …

The territory of Tajikistan corresponds with the predominantly Iranian ethnic sector of the mountainous southeastern periphery of the Bukhara emirate, which came under Russian influence at the end of the 19th century. This article is available in print. Volume X, Fascicle 4, pp. 437-444 GEOGRAPHY iii. POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY The significant Persian-speaking areas of the world are divided today into three states. One of them, Tajikistan, is very recent. It corresponds with the part of the Iranian world that was annexed as a result of the Russian c…

The primordial component of the land of Iran, since it was a sedentary world as opposed to the nomadic Tūrān, must have been situated above the level of the internal steppes and deserts, in the highland river valleys having both arable alluvial soils and plenty of water from the rainfall in the mountains. This article is available in print. Volume X, Fascicle 4, pp. 431-437 The primordial component of the land of Iran, since it was a sedentary world as opposed to the nomadic Tūrān, must have been situated above the level of the internal steppes and deserts, i…

extinct volcano in the northeastern extremity of Turkey close to the Iran-Soviet frontiers. This article is available in print. Volume II, Fascicle 3, pp. 265-266 ARARAT, MOUNT (Pers. Kūh-e Nūḥ, Arm. Masis or Masik, Turk. Ağr dağ or Eğri dağ), extinct volcano in the northeastern extremity of Turkey close to the Iran-Soviet frontiers. Mt. Ararat rises more than 4000 m above the plains of the Araxes basin (İğdir depression, altitude 875 m) to the northeast and more than 3000 m above the Doğu Bayazıt depression (altitude 2…

in medieval geography, a mountainous district of northern Iran on the Caspian side of the Alborz mountains, in Ṭabarestān (Māzandarān). This article is available in print. Volume III, Fascicle 4, pp. 385 BĀDŪSPĀN or BĀDŪSBĀN, FĀDŪSBĀN, mountainous district of northern Iran on the Caspian side of the Alborz mountains, in Ṭabarestān (Māzandarān), known to the medieval geographers. It lay one day’s march to the south of Sārīya (Sārī), had no towns or Friday mosques, but numerous villages. The chief villages were Manṣūra and Ūram Ḵāst where the lord resided. Xavier de Planhol Bibliography E…

underground irrigation canals, also called qanāt. The kārēz conducts water from the level of an aquifer to the open air by means of simple gravity in order to distribute it to lower areas. This article is available in print. Volume XV, Fascicle 6, pp. 564-565 KĀRIZ, underground irrigation canals, also called qanāt. The Classical, Eastern (e.g., Khorasan, Baluchistan, Afghanistan), and Middle Persian form kārēz (< kār- “to draw furrows” and rēz- “to flow”) will be used in this article. In official Iranian administrative parlance, the Arabic term qanāt has become the preferred techn…

the name of the distributary which branches off the left bank of the Kārūn river in the Ḵūzestān plain a short distance above Ḵorramšahr, and of a dehestān near this town. This article is available in print. Volume III, Fascicle 5, pp. 500-501 BAHMANŠĪR (less commonly Bahmešīr, Bahmānšīr, or Baḥr al-Mašīr), the name of the distributary which branches off the left bank of the Kārūn river in the Ḵūzestān plain a short distance above Ḵorramšahr, and of a dehestān near this town. Approximately 70 km (43.5 miles) long, the Bahmanšīr runs parallel with the Šaṭṭ-al-ʿArab (Arvand…

Geography of Persia and Afghanistan. The concept of Iran and ancient Iranian geography (Justi; Spiegel, I, pp. 188-243 and especially pp. 210-12; Herzfeld, pp. 671-720; Gnoli, 1980, 1989). This article is available in print. Volume X, Fascicle 4, pp. 426-431 GEOGRAPHY of Persia and Afghanistan. i. EVOLUTION OF GEOGRAPHICAL KNOWLEDGE The concept of Iran and ancient Iranian geography (Justi; Spiegel, I, pp. 188-243 and especially pp. 210-12; Herzfeld, pp. 671-720; Gnoli, 1980, 1989). The concept of Iran was an ethnic one to start with. It was “the land …

“wind.” On the plateau of Iran and Afghanistan winds depend on a general regime of atmospheric pressures characterized, in the course of the year, by the succession of markedly distinct seasons with relatively stable barometric gradients. This article is available in print. Volume III, Fascicle 4, pp. 349-350 BĀD (wind), phenomenon at ground level resulting from modifications of general airflows by local topographic factors. On the plateau of Iran and Afghanistan winds depend on a general regime of atmospheric pressures characterized, in the …

Several references to kalāt in the tragic episode of the young Forud in Ferdowsi’s Šāh-nāma are thought to refer to this. Its earliest mention in historical accounts comes from the Mongol period, when the fourth Il-khan of Iran, Arḡun Khan built a defensive work at the south approach that still bears his name (“Gate of Arḡun”). This article is available in print. Volume XV, Fascicle 4, pp. 373-375 KALĀT-E NĀDERI (lat 37°00′05′′ N, long 59°45′27′′ E), an elevated, isolated plateau in the mountains of Khorasan, some 150 km north of Mašhad, edged with steep cliffs t…

name of several places and a river in Afghanistan. KUŠK (also called Kušk Kohna; MacGregor, p. 542, uses the earlier spelling “Khūshk” [Ḵušk]), originally the name of a river (Kušk Rud), arising in Afghanistan on the north slope of the Paropamisos (Kuh-e Bābā), north of Herat, and flowing north to empty into the Morḡāb, which it meets in the Panjdeh oasis (modern Taḵt-e Bāzār) in Turkmenistan. The name subsequently was applied to a district, and then to several towns in succession, one of which has in mo…

sea or river. This article is available in print. Volume VII, Fascicle 1, pp. 79-81 DARYĀ, (OPers. drayah-, Mid. Pers. drayā, Av. zrayah-; sea, river) in Iranian culture. The role of the sea in Iranian culture evolved through a clearly discernible series of historical phases. In this article an attempt has been made to extrapolate those phases from basic information published in articles on the Black Sea, the Caspian, and the Persian Gulf. Phase 1. Iranian culture emerged in a continental region, where the only knowledge of the sea was a vague notion (probably pre-Ary…

i. Iranian plateau. ĀB. ii. Southwestern Persia. iii. Afghanistan. From a hydrological perspective, southwestern Persia must be considered as part of the Persian Gulf drainage region. Extending over an area of more than 350,000 km², its main drainage area covers the central and southwestern Zagros mountain areas with their extremely complex geomorphology. This article is available in print. Volume XII, Fascicle 6, pp. 596-600 i. IRANIAN PLATEAU. See ĀB. ii. SOUTHWESTERN PERSIA From a hydrological perspective, southwestern Persia must be considered as part of the Per…

“almond.” i. General. ii. As food. The genus Amygdalus is very common in Iran and Afghanistan and throughout the Turco-Iranian area. This article is available in print. Volume III, Fascicle 4, pp. 362-363 i. General Biogeography of natural occurrences of almond trees. The genus Amygdalus is very common in Iran and Afghanistan and throughout the Turco-Iranian area. Iran and Anatolia were the center in which its various species evolved and from which they were diffused. It is probably now represented in Iran by nine species, several endemic…

archeological site and town located near the confluence of the Helmand and Arḡandāb rivers in southwest Afghanistan. This article is available in print. Volume IV, Fascicle 4, pp. 383-386 i. The Archeological Site The monuments at Bost include remains from periods of ancient Iranian, Greco-Roman, and ancient Indian domination, as well as the ruins of an imposing fortress, a soaring arch with baked-brick decoration in geometric patterns, and mud-brick walls of private houses from the Islamic period. Although classicists and orie…

or Ḡazna, Ḡaznīn; province and city in southeastern Afghanistan. The earliest known monuments of Ḡaznī belong to the Ghaznavid period (366-583/977-1187), the best representative of which are the two minarets standing east of the citadel, close to two large mounds resembling mosques. This article is available in print. Volume X, Fascicle 4, pp. 384-388 ḠAZNĪ (or Ḡazna, Ḡaznīn), province and city in southeastern Afghanistan, the latter situated 136 km south of Kabul at an altitude of about 2,200 meters (lat 33°34ˊ N, long 68°27ˊ E). i. HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY The town of Ḡaznī dominates…

actually a lake, the largest in the world (estimated surface area in 1986: 378,400 km², volume 78,600 km³; approx. between lat 37° and 47° N, long 46° and 54° E); it is bounded on the south by Persia. This article is available in print. Volume V, Fascicle 1, pp. 48 CASPIAN SEA, actually a lake, the largest in the world (estimated surface area in 1986: 378,400 km&sup2;, volume 78,600 km&sup3;; approx. between lat 37° and 47° N, long 46° and 54° E); it is bounded on the south by Persia. CASPIAN SEA i. GEOGRAPHY CASPIAN SEA, actually a lake, the largest in the world (estimated surface area i…

Geography of Persia and Afghanistan. Overview of the entry: i. Evolution of geographical knowledge, ii. Human geography, iii. Political geography, iv. Cartography of Persia. GEOGRAPHY of Persia and Afghanistan. For physical geography see Supplement and under individual areas, countries, and provinces (e.g., AFGHANISTAN i; AZERBAIJAN i; CENTRAL ASIA i; etc.) See also ĀB, CLIMATE, GEOLOGY, HYDROLOGY. i. EVOLUTION OF GEOGRAPHICAL KNOWLEDGE The concept of Iran and ancient Iranian geography (Justi; Spiegel, I, pp. 188-243 and especially pp. 210-12; Herzfeld, pp. 671-…

It is possible to extrapolate some general conclusions about the routes by which cholera reached Persia. It arrived three times via Afghanistan, three times overland from the west, only twice through the Persian Gulf (the second time without spreading to the plateau), and perhaps once across the Caspian. This article is available in print. Volume V, Fascicle 5, pp. 504-511 i. In Persia In Persian cholera was usually called wabā ( wabāʾ), the term for any epidemic disease, but sometimes also hayża, which was more correctly applied to clinically similar but relatively benign d…

(Ar. Būšahr, European spellings Bushire, Busheer, Bouchir), port city in southern Iran on the Persian Gulf. i. The city. ii. Music of Būšehr. This article is available in print. Volume IV, Fascicle 6, pp. 569-572 BŪŠEHR (Ar. Būšahr, European spellings Bushire, Busheer, Bouchir, etc.), port city in southern Iran on the Persian Gulf. BŪŠEHR i. THE CITY Geographic conditions and the origins of the military harbor. The city is situated at the northern end of a low-lying peninsula of quaternary sandstone, situated largely parallel to the continental coast but conn…

This highland has an extremely harsh climate. The annual rainfall, which can be as much as 800 to 1,500 mm on west-facing and northwest-facing massifs, falls to less than 200 mm on sheltered plateaus in the Pamir and less than 100 mm in the Oksu basin, with the result that these areas are highland deserts. This article is available in print. Volume III, Fascicle 4, pp. 355-361 i. Geography and Ethnography Geographical meaning and administrative divisions. The name Badaḵšān first occurs, in the form Po-to-chang-na, in a seventh-century Chinese source (journey of Hüan Ts…

Arāk was originally the popular name of Solṭānābād, a town in western Iran, but is now the official name as well. This article is available in print. Volume II, Fascicle 3, pp. 247-248 i. History Arāk was originally the popular name of Solṭānābād, a town in western Iran, but is now the official name as well. It lies at 49° 41’ east longitude and 34° 5’ north latitude, 284 km southwest of Tehran. It is situated at an altitude of 1,800 m in the plain of Farāhān, on the edge of the Zagros massif, adjoining the extensive Tuzlu Kavīr …

In the big river basins, real viticulture in organized plantations gradually took shape. Western cultural influences brought by the Greeks may well have stimulated this development. The vineyards are always irrigated, even though rain-fed vine growth is possible in most of the districts. The waterings, however, are few. This article is available in print. Volume II, Fascicle 1, pp. 70-74 i. Production and Trade Origins and historical evolution. The grape-vine ( Vitis vinifera, raz, mow, tāk) is probably the oldest and best known of the cultivated fruit plants grown in Iran (B. Laufer, S…

island and city in the ostān (province) of Ḵūzestān at the head of the Persian Gulf. This article is available in print. Volume I, Fascicle 1, pp. 51-57 ĀBĀDĀN i. History In medieval sources, and up to the present century, the name of the island always occurs in the Arabic form ʿAbbādān; this name has sometimes been derived from ʿabbād “worshiper.” Belāḏorī (d. 279/892), on the other hand, quotes the story that the town was founded by one ʿAbbād b. Ḥosayn Ḵabeṭī, who established a garrison there during the governorship of Ḥaǰǰāǰ (75-95/695-714). An Iranian etymology of the name (from āb, “wate…

in Persia and Afghanistan. Both countries lie on the great alpine belt that extends from the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean through the Indonesian archipelago and forms the world’s longest collision boundary, between the Eurasian plate in the north and several former Gondwanan blocks in the south, including the so-called “Iranian plates” and “Afghan plates.” This article is available in print. Volume VII, Fascicle 6, pp. 626-640 EARTHQUAKES. Persia and Afghanistan lie on the great alpine belt that extends from the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean through the Indonesi…

town in Māzandarān, formerly Bārforūš. This article is available in print. Volume III, Fascicle 3, pp. 317 BĀBOL, town in Māzandarān, formerly Bārforūš BĀBOL i. The Town town in Māzandarān, formerly Bārforūš; Bābol lies near the Bābol river, occupying a central position in the coastal plain. It was at first a small, local market-place, as indicated by the name Bārforūš (lit. [place where] loads are sold) which it bore until 1927. The settlement developed in early Safavid times on the site of the old town of Māmṭīr, and wa…

The temple excavated at this site appeared to be a fire-temple of dynastic character, dedicated for the rulers of the Kushan dynasty. It was founded perhaps early in the reign of Kanishka, and restored in the year 31 of a different era, probably of Kanishka I’s own enthronement. This article is available in print. Volume III, Fascicle 4, pp. 416-418 i. Kushan Period The name originally derives from the Bactrian bagolango “image-temple” (< OIr. * baga-dānaka-), a term used in the inscription of Nokonzoko (SK4) from the archeological site of Surkh (Sorḵ) Kotal in Afghani…

town and district in northeastern Azerbaijan. This article is available in print. Volume II, Fascicle 4, pp. 357-365 i. History of Ardabīl Ardabīl (spelled Ardavīl in the Ḥodūd al-ʿālam, and vocalized Ardobīl by Samʿānī), the name of a town and a district in northeastern Azerbaijan. It is situated at 48° 17’ east longitude and 38° 15’ north latitude, about 25 miles from the present Soviet frontier and 40 miles from the Caspian Sea across the mountains and then the lowlands of Ṭāleš. The town of Ardabīl lies on a plateau (a…

i. Geographical introduction. ii. City planning, construction, and architecture. See Supplement. iii. Administration and social organization. iv. Modern urbanization and modernization in Persia. v. Modern urbanization and modernization in Afghanistan. vi. Urban Informal Settlements in Modern Iran. This article is available in print. Volume V, Fascicle 6, pp. 603-631 CITIES i. Geographical Introduction There is a long history of settlement on Persian territory, where urban life was firmly established in antiquity, and cities continued to proliferat…

historical city and a sub-province of the province of Isfahan on the north-south axial route of central Iran. A version of this article is available in print Volume XVI, Fascicle 1, pp. 1 blod:KASHAN (Kāšān) historical city and a sub-province of the province of Isfahan on the north-south axial route of central Iran (lat 33° 59ʹ 30ʹʹ N, long 51° 27ʹ 00ʹʹ E; elev. 950 m). The city is located 260 km (189 km air) south of Tehran and 220 km (146 km air) north of Isfahan. This entry is divided into the following nine articles: KASHAN i. GEOGRAPHY Physical geography. Covering an area of approximately…

i. With the Ottoman empire. ii. With Russia. iii. Boundaries of Afghanistan. iv. With Iraq. v. With Turkey. This article is available in print. Volume IV, Fascicle 4, pp. 401 BOUNDARIES i. With the Ottoman Empire The boundary separating the Ottoman and Iranian empires was shaped by conflict over an ill-defined strip of territory with constantly shifting outlines extending from the Caucasus to the Persian Gulf. The consolidation of expansionist Ottoman power and the establishment of the Safavids in Iran in the first half of the 11t…

(Kābol), capital of Afghanistan, also the name of its province and a river. This article is available in print. Volume XV, Fascicle 3, pp. 280-318 KABUL i. GEOGRAPHY OF THE PROVINCE Kabul is part of a system of high level basins, the elevation of which varies from 1,500 to 3,600 meters, extends—geographically speaking—beyond the administrative borders of the present-day province and includes large parts of the neighboring provinces Parvān and Kapisa on its northern flank. Drained by the Panjšēr in the north and the Kabul rive…

Within this area and on the irrigated alluvial fan, at a distance of about 12 km from the mountains, the city was built on a site (the Bālā Ḥeṣār of today) which was probably coextensive with a slight rise in the plain and perhaps adjacent to an old arm of the river. This article is available in print.…

province, governorship, and city located in the Zagros region of western Persia. This article is available in print. Volume XI, Fascicle 6, pp. 595-627 HAMADĀN , province, governorship, and city located in the Zagros region of western Persia. HAMADĀN i. GEOGRAPHY Hamadān is one of the western provinces of Persia, situated to the southwest of Tehran between latitudes 33°59…

the second most important city in the country and the capital of Kandahar province. This entry is divided into seven parts: i. Historical geography to 1979. ii. Pre-Islamic monuments and remains. iii. Early Islamic period. iv. From the Mongol invasion through the Safavid era. v. In the 19th century. vi. 20th century, 1901-73. vii. From 1973 to the present. This article is available in print. Volume XV, Fascicle 5, pp. 466-494 KANDAHAR (Qandahār), city in southern Afghanistan (lat 31°36ʹ28ʹ N, long 65°42ʹ19ʹ E), the second most important in the country and the capit…

(Āḏarbāy[e]jān), historical region of northwestern Iran, east of Lake Urmia, since the Achaemenid era. This article is available in print. Volume III, Fascicle 2-3, pp. 205-257 AZERBAIJAN (Āḏarbāy[e]jān), historical region of northwestern Iran, east of Lake Urmia, since the Achaemenid era. …

province in southern Persia. This article is available in print. Volume IX, Fascicle 3, 4, pp. 328-373 FĀRS i. Geography Evolution of the geographical concept. The name of Fārs is undoubtedly attested in Assyrian sources since the third millennium B.C.E. under the form Parahše. Originally, it was the “land of horses” of the Sumerians (Herzfeld, pp. 181-82, 184-86). The name was adopted by Iranian tribes which established themselves there in the 9th century B.C.E. in the west and southwest of Urmia lake. The Parsua (Pārsa) are mentioned there for the f

province of Iran located between Fars and Sistan va Balučestān; also the name of its principal city and capital.…

The following sub-entries will provide an overview of the unifying factors which constitute Iran through time and across space, while also showing the complexity and heterogeneity of the components of Iranian culture. This article is available in print. Volume XIII, Fascicle 2, 3, 4, 5 pp. 204-480 IRAN, New Persian Irān (Mid. Pers. Ērān, from OIr. *Aryānām “of the Aryans” [see ARYANS]), name of the modern political state, also used, as noun or adjective (e.g., “Iranian plateau”), as a geographical term. The adjective is applied, independently of political boundaries, as an ethnolinguistic descriptor (“Iranian languages”) and a cultural descriptor (see GEOGRAPHY).…

(Islamic Republic of Afghanistan), landlocked country located in Central Asia and bordered by Iran to the west, Pakistan to the south and east, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to the north, and China to the far northeast.

ancient province and old city in central Iran. Isfahan city has served as one of the most important urban centers on the Iranian Plateau since ancient times. This article is available in print. Volume XIII, Fascicle 6, pp. 613-675 and Volume XIV, Fascicle 1, 2, pp. 1-119 ISFAHAN, ancient province and old city in central Iran (Middle Pers. “Spahān,” New Pers. “Eṣfahān”). Isfahan city has served as one of the most important urban centers on the Iranian Plateau since ancient times and has gained, over centuries of urbanization, many significant…

i. Economic geography, ii. In the Pre-Achaemenid period, iii. In the Achaemenid period, iv. In the Sasanian period, v. From the Arab conquest to the end of the Il-khanids, vi. In the Timurid period, vii. From the Safavids through the Zands, viii. In the Qajar period, ix. In the Pahlavi period, x. Under the Islamic Republic, xi. In modern Afghanistan, xii. In Tajikistan. This article is available in print. Volume VIII, Fascicle 1, 2, pp. 88-173 ECONOMY i. ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY The high plateau and its external relations. The heartland of the Iranian world, encompassing both Persia and…