نشریه تاریخ و فرهنگ
سال چهل و دوم شماره 1 (پیاپی 84، بهار و تابستان 1389)

It is said that the local historiography of Iran – as a part of local historiography in Islamic Civilization – began after the widespread political, social, scientific, and cultural changes in various regions of Iran and with Khurāsān as its pioneer. But all the writers who have commented in this respect have disregarded the monographs that the traditionists of Iraq school of historiography have written about the conquest of Iranian cities since the second half of the 2nd/8th century along with several other works written in Khurāsān (which have also been ignored by these writers), and have in fact been the first local histories of the cities and districts of Iran. This article studies the role of the Iraq’s traditionists in starting the local historiography of Iran.

In the Abbasid era, chieftainship (niqābat) was a politico-religious institution with social functions. Since the early periods of the Samanids era, the Alavids’ chieftainship in Nayshābūr, capital of Khurāsān, had been turned over to the Ḥusaynī Alavids of Banū Zubāra, but Amīr Nūḥ b. Manṣūr Sāmānī (ruled 366-378) handed over this post to a Ḥasanī Alavid, whose descendants became the hereditary chieftains of the city. Clarifying the socio-economic situation of Nayshābūr, the present research dedicated to the study of the reasons for initial selection of Baū Zubāra by the early Samanid rulers and Amīr Nūḥ’s revision of his ancestors’ policy in this respect. The findings of this research indicate that the disagreement between the socio-religious commitments of the chieftain and his political commitment to the Samanid rulers, which were not necessarily consistent with his theoretical duties, resulted in turning the chieftains’ performance of duty to a function of the Samanids’ politics. Thus, when Abū Muḥammad Yaḥyā b. Muḥammad al-Zubārī, the Ithnā ‘Asharī (Twelver) chieftain of Nayshābūr, considered the execution of his socio-religious commitments and his chieftain duties as prior to following Amīr Nūḥ, then the Samanid ruler appointed Abū Ja‘far Dāwūd b. al-Ḥusayn al-Ḥasanī in his place. Abū Ja‘far and his descendents were followers of the Sunnī school.

The Buyids were originally from among the Daylamids of Daylam proper (khāṣ), but since the economic situation of this region was not much favorable, they joined various rules (ḥukūmas) such as the Alavids of Ṭabaristān and Zāriyān (during the years 250/222 – 321/222) in their military uniform because of their military skills as a consequence of the circumstances in their geographical homeland and, like their ancestors, formed an important part of the military and political structure of those rules. This process had a significant role in the Daylamids’ familiarization with the newer atmospheres and finally prompted the foundations for the Buyids’ rule to be laid. Years of serving in the courts of the above-mentioned rules resulted in somewhat more intelligent behavior of some of the Buiyd rulers towards human factors involved in the economic arena and a better utilization of the natural and administrative potentials in their rather widespread realm, continuing to develop for about fifty years. Gaining access to new lands and income sources and the management of the efficient bureaucratic system in the central and Eastern regions of Iran and Iraq led the Buyids’ economic structure to be established on three agricultural, industrial, and commercial components and turn to a strong backing for the endurance of their rule.

The Islamic civilization in its prosperous and dynamic period has had various social and economic institutions, an outstanding example of which has been the textile industry. A considerable part of this industry has been active under the name of ṭirāz and the related organization, influencing on most aspects of the Muslims’ life. Besides their major economic impacts on Islamic community, ṭirāz products, among other things, have enjoyed an eminent socio-political status to the extent that the gifts and garments of honor presented by the rulers and dignitaries to others have mainly included ṭirāz robes and cloth. Also, writings in beautiful and artistic form have been imprinted on this type of cloth, serving as a media-propagative function. Other issues, such as aesthetic aspects of ṭirāz, have also been open to discussion. After stating the concept and origin of ṭirāz, the present article would go on to address only its socio-political, economic, and media-propagative status in Islamic society.

Historiography by Sunnīs on the subject of the purified Imams (A.S.)’s life started along with the Shī‘as’ and has continued ever since. The evolutionary development of this trend, which has had its ups and downs proportionate to the cultural vicissitudes of the Muslim world, requires undergoing serious studies. Despite addressing such issues as the why, the how, and the context of the production of these writings, this article intends to examine on a case by case basis the lost and less known Ma‘ālim al-‘Itrat al-Nabawiyya, authored by Junābadhī, the 6th /11th century Sunnī scholar. Most of Junābadhī’s reports have found their way into the book Kashf al-Lugha fī Ma‘rifat al-A’imma of Irbalī (d. 692/1292), the credible Shī‘a scholar. Junābadhī’s historiography and his status in subsequent sources are dealt with in this article so as to attain a more clarified climate concerning the interaction between the Sunnī and Shī‘a sources.

During the history of Iran after Islam, the 9th /13th century, coinciding with the Timurids reign in this land, can be considered as the thriving age of various branches of art such as painting, architecture, illumination, book ornament, and music. Similarly, the prevalence and development of scripts such as nasta‘līq and ta‘līq in calligraphy, besides flourishing this art, caused it to establish an enduring homogeneity with the Iranian culture.Various useful functions of calligraphers and their respectful status in society during Timurid era drove the lower class strata towards learning this art within the institutions engaged in teaching calligraphy. Writing fatḥnāmas (dispatches announcing victory) and manāshīr-i shāhāna (Royal mandates) and the impact of their art on the Timurids’ international relations can be pointed out as among the political functions of these strata, who rendered such services as secretaries and notaries. Teaching calligraphy, technical and ethical training of novices, promotion of art-loving culture, production of cultural products, and inculcation of religious values, particularly in the context of Shi’ism are among their cultural functions. Furthermore, calligraphers as members of a social guild within art workshops fulfilled people’s orders including writing epitaphs, contracts, sijillāt (registers, official records), and composing letters. This art used to be taught in such institutions as libraries, schools, art schools, high schools, chanceries (dār al-inshās), and writing schools (maktabs). The present research tries to explicate the functions and status of calligraphy and calligraphers, as well as the important institutions and centers for this art such as Tabriz, Shiraz, and Heart, using the descriptive and analytical methods and relying on manuscript documents and library sources.

Ziyād b. ‘Ubayd, as one of the four Arab ingenious figures, had a very impressive role in consolidation of the foundations of Umayyads’ rule. As the son of ‘Ubayd, the Anatolian salve of Ḥārith b. Kalda Thaqafī, and Sumayya, his infamous slave girl, he was put in Mu‘āwiya service after his adoption by Abū Sufyān in 44/664 and a year later was appointed as the governor of Baṣra. Ziyād’s managerial method and his personality traits prompted Mu‘āwiya to entrust him with the reign of Kūfa in 55/671, too. Having gained experience for three decades in the ruling system of the Baṣra governors and then as the governor of Fārs province, and this time as the first governor of Iraq, he took measures that were remarkable in the completion of the Umayyads’ administrative organization. Among those measures are correcting Baṣra’s and Kūfa’s public treasury (‘aṭā’) council, regulating taxation and financial affairs, completion of taxation (istīfā) and seal-keeping (khātan) councils, organizing the caliph’s meetings with people, causing Arabs to migrate to Khurāsān, and administrative regulations in this province.