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Middle Persian Private Inscriptions in the Sasanian and Post-Sasanian Period: Funerary and Memorial Inscriptions, Cyrus Nasrollahzadeh, Tehran, Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, 2019, 2 vol. (vol. 1: Text. vol. 2: Picture), 340 + 272 pp, ISBN: 978-964-426-998-1; Vol 1: 978-964-426-996-7; Vol 2: 978-964-426-997-4.

 Mythologies are closely related to each other because of the archetypes, and due to time, place, and specific geography, they appear in different forms in different peoples. Gilgamesh is considered the oldest Mesopotamian epic poem whose image can be seen on Lorestan bronzes in the second and first millennium BC in the form of a horned man supporting, killing, or taming animals. Identifying the visual relationship between the role of the horned man in Lorestan bronzes and Gilgamesh in Mesopotamian works in order to discover the common intellectual heritage between these two regions is the main goal of this research. The main question of this research is about what and why are the technical and visual similarities and differences of the paintings, which have dealt with the background of Gilgamesh's role in the Mesopotamian civilization with a descriptive-analytical method, and then, with an analytical method, he analyzed the relationship between the role of the horned man in Lorestan's bronze works and the role of Gilgamesh in Mesopotamian art based on the theory of pre-textuality. The results show that the artist of Lorestan created a work of art under the influence of Mesopotamian mythology and art which are similar in visual and narrative components, but according to the culture and customs of the region, differences can be seen in the performance style and the structure of the topics, which shows that Lorestan artist did not imitate Mesopotamian themes. Rather, it has created a new work of art by creating transformational relationships with changes in the pretext.

During the life of humans on earth, there has been no subject more interesting and complicated than death. The knowledge and understanding of what will happen to a person after death form the basis of most religions in the world, which have since been referred to as religious matters or religious experiences. The issue of death is so important in many societies that it has caused the birth of schools of thought and, as a result, the growth of various religions and cults. Burial customs include the structure of the graves, the direction, and condition of human or animal skeletons, and the placement of objects in the graves. The Iron Age in Iran and Guilan is divided into three sections: Iron Age I, II, and III. This Period includes from 1500 B.C. to 550 B.C., of course, some archaeologists believe the existence of Iron Age IV, which continues until the middle of the Parthian period (the End of 1st Millennium B.C.). All major discoveries from selected Iron Age sites in the area of Guilan have been explained and classified. In this research, a new attempt has been made to review the religious experience and ritual practices regarding the repeatability of ancient cemeteries of Talesh during the Iron Ages. The main aim of this article is to identify the Iron Age Burial culture in Guilan. This investigation shows that the society’s People of Iron age in the area of Talesh have social Rank and Status but the factor of Gender is not important in classifying their classes. 

Emphasis on the importance of social-political fabric and its effect on the urbanization and economic system that are aspects of urbanization life is one of the necessities during the Achaemenid Period. This study was conducted based on the deductive-inductive method. First, written sources (clay inscription of Persepolis and classic authors) have been used to achieve general information about the social-political fabric of Fars during Achaemenid Period then archeological evidence remained from the economic system of Achaemenid period in Central Fars was analyzed within this framework. No coin, including Shahi or so-called Satrapy, has been discovered from archaeological excavations in Iran, even. It seems that Achaemenid Empire had no plan for monetary economic development, and coin promotion and use in transactions despite its wide territory and regular discipline. On the contrary, it seems that Darius and his successors considered coin as a political instrument used to convey and show the message of the political and military power of the Achaemenid king at that ear not as a tool for the economic system. Therefore, studies focused on clay inscriptions of Persepolis and evaluated works of authors indicate that the sociopolitical fabric of Iranian society, especially Fars has been traditional and based on agriculture and husbandry during Achaemenid Era. As we know, the city was not shaped during the Achaemenid period despite the presence of urban structures, such as social sophistication, specialism, and the modern administrative system of the ear; therefore, coin use was not institutionalized in the economy of that era.

Light and color are effective factors in the creation of works of art, which, as the most immaterial element of nature, have always been influential in Iranian Islamic painting, and in fact, they represent the sublime world and spiritual atmosphere Also, the research about light and color in painting and its impact on painters and its contribution to the scope of expressing the influence of mysticism in the whole Islamic culture and art is at the starting point certainly knowing and understanding the three words mysticism, light and color and finding their meaning and meaning in a symbolic way is not only effective in better understanding Iranian and Islamic painting, but also our insight in understanding the Islamic ideas that are rooted in mysticism and Sufism and It also makes the behavior smoother. Colors have a chemical aspect in art, and mixing them is an art similar to alchemy. The main concern of this research, which is presented in an analytical way, is aesthetics and investigating the mystical aspects of paintings and motifs in Islamic civilization in Iranian art and architecture. It seems that Islamic art and architecture tries to manifest God's unity among colors, forms, lights, and sounds. Each color has a special allegory and a relationship with one of the inner states of man and soul. Color is an important factor for spiritual use in the painting effects of Islamic architecture. Mosques in the Islamic world usually use turquoise green and blue colors. Blue and turquoise colors are the main background colors of walls, tiles, altars, domes, and courtyards and along with the golden color in Iranian Islamic paintings, among other colors, they have a special shine and effect. These colors are manifestations of the inner meanings of colors. The colors of turquoise, green and white, which are symbols of nature's sky and divine light, respectively, are mixed together and add to the majesty of the mosques. The colors that result from the radiation of light are a symbol of the manifestation of unity in multiplicity and the dependence of multiplicity on unity. The reflection of the existence of colors in Iranian art shows an extraterrestrial truth outside the world of the senses, rather than imitating the surrounding natural colors. Vigilance and accurate insight in the arrangement of colors and the correct selection of each color refers to a symbolic concept of colors and their mutual effects that permeate the human soul and spirit.

Adrienne Mayor’s The Poison King is a fascinating biography of Mithradates Eupator Dionysus, one of the most controversial monarchs of ancient history who has been especially neglected by scholars of Iranian history. This biography, like any other about ancient heroes, is full of tales, legends, stories, and historical narratives and its crafty author knows how to distinguish between fact and fiction. The book contains 15 chapters, in which, other than  the first, the remaining chapters are arranged based on Mithradates’ life, from his birth to his death.

Khalifeh Kandi village is located in the southeast of the Sahand mountain range and northwest of Hashtrud province. Investigation at these sites started in 2013 and continued until 2015. Obtained evidence included a variety of potteries, carved stones, and caves from the historical and Islamic eras. in this paper an attempt has been made to introduce and analyze cultural and historical founds. The result shows that most of the surveyed sites and places around Khalifeh Kandi, in terms of pottery types, belonged to the Islamic period and rarely, artifacts from the pre-Islamic period were observed. The settlements identified in the area under study are mostly located in w slopes by the river and shallow valleys, and only one of these archaeological sites was observed in flat and elevated lands. probably this site was used in certain seasons of the year. Glazed and simple pottery from the Islamic period and rough pottery that was produced in local workshops are among the artifacts observed in the surveyed sites.

Rick Abad Tepe is located north of the Zab River in Northwest of Iran, close to the border with Iraq. The excavation at this archeological site was carried out in the summer of 2019. The materials and evidence obtained from there showed Rick Abad belonged to the Bronze Age, with some monuments not documented yet from any site in the Zab Basin. The Tamarchin passage, west of Piranshahr, connects this region to northern Mesopotamia. This research tries to respond to the following questions: What was the status of Zab Basin settlements in the Bronze Age? How was the regional and extra-regional communication with the surrounding areas? As a matter of fact, seven levels belonging to the Bronze Age were identified in the course of the excavation. In the south of Lake Urmia, Kura-Araxes potteries were less visible; however, typical black-burnished ceramics similar to those of the Kura-Araxes tradition were recovered from some sites. Surprisingly, Painted Orange Ware (POW) and beveled-rim Bowl were seen in the early Bronze Age of the Zab Basin. Furthermore, the impression of the seal from Rick Abad is remarkable as well since this type of object had an administrative function and it is a sign of economic and social activities as well as regional and extra-regional relations. The location of this region between northwest of Iran and the north of Mesopotamia (Iraqi Kurdistan) somehow turned this basin into a meeting place of various cultures. Probably these sites played a key role in trade and commerce, although, they never attained an urban status.  

The Khafīfīyya Order is attributed to Ibn Khafīf, Sūfī of the fourth century AH (882/982) who lived in Shiraz. The concepts of Absence ( ghaybah ) and Presence ( ḥoḍūr ) are central ideas in Ibn Khafīf's school. However, the existing literature provides only a brief mention of this attribution to Ibn Khafīf, the founder of the Khafīfīyya Order. Given the lack of in-depth study on Ibn Khafīf's social approaches, this article seeks to elucidate the significance of mentioned ideas within Ibn Khafīf's intellectual framework and expound on the interpretation of their meanings. This research adopts Chandler's semiotic approach to delve into the ideas of "absence and presence" within context. The findings of this study reveal that Ibn Khafīf endeavored to show isolation and seclusion as different and sometimes even contradictory acts of abstinent ( tark ) from worldly matters.

Most modern scholars consider the Book of Esther to be a kind of historical novel; hence, the historicity of many of its characters and events is highly debatable. While the present study does not intend to defend the historicity of the book, it does review it again by using sources that have received less attention in this regard. That the Book of Esther has a lot of Persian realia in it is not news, but most scholars have debated its historical value by comparing the book with classical sources. However, the present article aims to show how a significant part of the historical material of the Book of Esther is in line with evidence that if not all, but most of the classical sources are unaware of, and accepting this fact means that the author of the Masoretic Esther had direct or indirect access to sources associated with the Persian state. In order to prove this issue, using the descriptive-analytical method based on library studies, the primary focus of this article has been on sources other than the Greek ones, mainly Achaemenian royal inscriptions, and economic and legal documents found in different parts of the Persian Empire.