فهرست مطالب hamzeh ghobadizadeh

Although seals are considered in more studies of art history, they can be an essential source for studying the socio-economic situation of ancient societies. The seal studied in this article was found during the Authors survey Gohargoosh Tepe with one of the local guides from the village of Fattahabad, Delfan County, Lorestan province, in the soil from looter digging part of the Tepe. Stylistically, the cylinder seals comparable to this seal were previously found in various areas in the western part and even in central Iran. This article attempts to answer questions concerning chronology and stylistics by studying and comparing the stylistics and iconography of the Gohargoosh seal with comparable samples. The other goal is to investigate the role of Ellipi in the first half of the first millennium BCE in Pish-i kuh and the potential relevance between their appearance in the region and the Assyrian seal case study in this article. By studying the Gohargoosh seal from various aspects, this seal likely belongs to the Iron Age II and from the ninth to the seventh centuries BCE, and its style is related to the Neo-Assyrian era, which can reflect the increased interaction between Iran and Mesopotamia after a dark and obscure period in the Iron Age I.

Elymais had existed as a semi-autonomous and sometimes autonomous satrap, coinciding with Seleucids and the Parthians in the southwest and west Iran. This government played an active presence in political and economic domains of the region from the mid-second century BC to the advent of the Sasanian Empire. This paper tries to study the historical coins of Elymaean using archaeometry. The method is a valuable criterion for the recognition of size and weight of those coins. Elemental studies of coins give us valuable information in connection with particle size used, combinations percentage of the coins, and applied metallurgy in their manufacturing. In other words, the study provides groundwork for understanding the economic and political structures as well as commercial communications of the society. The difference in the quantity of element may provide information about the mining of these metals. As such bronze and silver coins belonging to the Elymaean have been studied using PIXE technique to know about the concentration of elements, the number of mines as well as mints through the elemental analysis and the definition of the chemical composition of metals. To achieve the mentioned goals, we analyzed 35 coins involving three periods of Elymaean (from 85 BC to 224 AD). The results showed that the percentage of elements in coins such as silver and copper in the three periods were different but have had more purity in the first period. Furthermore, the analyzed coins are minted at six places and raw materials were brought from three different mines. Lastly, the statistical analysis is performed with SPSS software.

One of the important issues in archeology is to identify and explain the cultural boundaries of past eras based on the distribution of cultural materials. In this research, using the results of field studies in the Mureh Kan site in the Holailan Valley, as well as library studies, the intra-regional cultural boundaries of the Central Zagros basin in the Middle Bronze Age are explained in a descriptive-analytical manner. The results of the research indicate that the Mureh Kan site is a landmark nomadic settlement associated with nomadic settlements that involve substantial cultural deposits, especially from the Bronze Age. Archaeological data indicate significant variations in the style of pottery traditions in the settlements of the Holailan Valley compared to the pottery style of the mobile sites on the southern Foothills of it, in the Middle Bronze Age. The settlements have been tension and converged with the valleys in the northern part, and the southern edge of the Holailan Valley has been the winter pasture of the nomads of the Pish Kuh region. The valleys of Central Zagros in the Middle Bronze Age can be categorized into two groups: The first group involves the valleys along the relative eastern-western and the well-known transportation route of Great Khorasan Road. It seems that the Great Khorasan Road and the contacts formed through it have performed a significant role in intra-regional links in this area. The second group comprises the valleys along with the north-south orientation eastern Pish Kuh and western Pish-i Kuh in addition to the Nahavand valley in the east of the Garin Mountain. The nomadism and the continuous movement of nomads between winter and summer pastures have significantly affected inter-regional connections in this area.

The study of human-environment interactions and environmental exploitation patterns is one of the main approaches of modern archeology. One of the central Zagros' capabilities, especially the Pish-Kuh of cultural Lorestan, is the extraction and production of metals, especially bronze and iron, associated with many ambiguities, including identifying mines sites related to ancient metalwork. This investigation is based on 143 ancient metalwork sites identified during four seasons of archaeological survey in Kuhdasht. Attempted to a descriptive-analytical method and using GIS and spatial analysis, environmental factors affecting the formation and distribution of metalworking sites identifying in the Kuhdasht landscape. Finally, it was found that the Kashkan Geological Formation, which has an outcrop of rocks containing iron oxide, has the most role in the site selection of ancient metalworking sites, followed by suitable forest cover and proximity to water resources, are of complementary importance.

A clean-shaven person behind the king is shown in the four Ardashir Babakan's reliefs in Firuzabad, Naghsh-e Rostam, and Naghsh-e Rajab. The various approaches have been suggested about this person's identity, mentioned with various names and titles such as fly-whisk bearer eunuch, the servant or bodyguard of the king. The comparison of this type of iconography with those of the same preceding examples the Sasanid state in Iran during the Achaemenid and Assyrian periods shows that the shaving of the face is one of the common traditions among high-ranking clerics, which is most likely continued the later periods and especially, the Sasanid. Also, there is the possibility of belonging mentioned person to person other than the royal family based on the analysis of some of the available emblems and historical narratives. The present study is based on historical and archaeological information, which has provided new information about a clean-shaven person behind the king, shown in the four Ardashir Babakan's reliefs in Firuzabad, Naghsh-e Rostam, and Naghsh-e Rajab. This paper examines the beardless person's figure in the Ardashir I's reliefs and similar examples in the archaeological evidence such as reliefs, seals, and historical narratives. Furthermore, we are trying to determine the identification and probable position of this person. The most critical questions in this research are the following: 1- What is the identification of the beardless person in the Ardashir Babakan's reliefs? 2- What is the position of the beardless person in the Ardashir Babakan's reliefs? Most researchers have used the titles such as whisk-bearer, eunuch, servants, or bodyguards of the king. Lukonin has described this person as the Karen dynasty representative and attributed the carved emblem on his kolāh to this dynasty (Lukonin, 2005: 309). Ghirshman identifies him as a Sasanid nobleman (Ghirshman, 2011: 125), and Hinz describes him as bitaxš of Ardashir (Hinz2006: 276). By studying Sasanid riders' descent in the relief of warrior's war in Firuzabad, Kalani considers this person as the representative of the Soren family by a special emblem on his kolāh (Kalani, 2017a: 90; Kalani, 2017b: 204). Mousavi Haji and Sarfaraz believe that this person has been a servant and bodyguard of the king (Mousavi Haji and Sarfaraz, 2017: 72). The presence of beardless persons (or clean-shaven?) has a long history among the civilizations of the Ancient Near East; for example, we can see the examples of these people in different periods, such as Assyrian and Achaemenid ones, and in the Sasanid period, on the reliefs and seals later.  Specimens of beardless persons are seen in ancient Near East works such as the Achaemenid and Assyrian periods (Figure 1, 2, 3, 4). A tradition that seems to have lasted until the Sasanid period, like Kerdīr (Figure 12). He reached such a very high position in the Sasanids' political structure that Narseh mentioned his name in the inscription of "Paikuli" among his noblemen and loyalists. Also, a person without a beard is seen in Ardashir I's reliefs in Fars. We can quickly identify these people as servants. Indeed, holding a device such as fly-whisk (?) not only did not create a disturb and disorder in their task, but also they could reach a position that everywhere are portrayed behind the king, and their Specimens are visible in the reliefs of the Assyrian, Achaemenid, and Sasanid (including Kerdīr). It seems the person who has been portrayed without a beard in all of Ardashir I's reliefs in Fars is enjoying such a position (Figure 7, 8, 9, 10, 11). Regarding all of Ardashir Babakan's reliefs, this beardless person is portrayed with a diadem and royal ribbons, so he cannot be one of the Sasanid kingdom people. We should search for his identity among non-royal family members. Among the courtiers of Ardashir are only Tansar and Abarsam, that different narratives exist about these two persons, especially in the Islamic sources are mentioned about their high position among the clerics. Tansar has not been mentioned in any sources contemporary with the Sasanid. Abarsam is mentioned in the inscriptions of the Shāpūr I's Ka'ba-i Zardusht among the Ardashir's courtiers, not as the clergy or Ardashir's vizier, but as one of the courtiers in the fifteenth row of this inscription. Regarding this person in the relief of Ardashir's war with Ardawan IV and Ardashir's investiture from Ahura Mazda, he has been both the high political and the first rank of the clergy society. According to Ibn Balkhi's version about Ardashir's vizier called Nansar, some scholars consider Tansar and Abarsam one person. He is named as "Mobad-e Mobadan" in epic texts, such as Karname-ye Ardahsir, and mentioned in the Shahnameh Ferdowsi with various titles, such as "Dastūr", vizier, "Mobad" and "Kadkhodā or Kadiwar (alderman)". The likeness of this person with the great Sasanian cleric is that like Kerdīr carrying the sword in the reliefs of Sarāb-e Bahrām and Sarmashhad, this person also, in addition to fighting on the battlefield of Tangab-e Firuzabad with the Parthian rival, in other Ardashir's reliefs carries a sword indicating this person has had a strong political influence, in addition to the high ranking clergy, as well as Kerdīr. This is a crucial point in rejecting the approaches of those who regard this person as a simple servant or a eunuch holding a fly-whisk behind the king's head. Is it reasonable a servant who is only his duty to hold a fly-whisk (?) behind the king's head carrying the weapon with his own? On the other hand, the carved emblem on his kolāh shows his descent and ancestry. Emblems related to the family of essential persons were carved on their kolāh, not a servant whose duty was only holding fly-whisk (?). Regarding the courtiers of Ardashir, Abarsam is the only person who has received the honorific title, "Ardashir's Farr" or Ardashir glory has been named in many sources as the senior clergy and grand vizier, so it seems has had a very high position. If we accept the view of the scholars that Parthian's adversary of the beardless person in the third scene of the relief of the warrior's war is the king of Ahwaz, or according to Henning, Ardawan V Elymais, probably can be more trusted in Tabari's version about the encounter king of Ahvaz with Abarsam who has attacked to the Ardashir Khorra in the absence of Ardashir, and should be considered the third scene of Firuzabad I's relief related to this battle and battle scene between the king of Ahwaz and Abarsam (Figure 7, 8). Probably a person portrayed without a beard in all of Ardashir's reliefs is Abarsam, who had both a very high political position because of his numerous services to Ardashir, and senior clergy of the Sasanid period appeared with this portrait and figure in the reliefs according to the tradition of shaving face among the clerics.

In this paper we have studied bronze and silver coins belonging to the Elymaean using PIXE analytical method to identify concentration of elements as well as chemical composition of metals to understand the number of mines and the number of mint. To achieve the above mentioned goals, we analyzed 35 coinages of Elymais dated to about (85 BC -224 AD). Results obtained indicated that percent proportion of main elements of coins such as silver and copper were differently used in the three periods of Elymaean and coins made in the first period have had more purity. Furthermore, the analyzed coins are minted in five mint centers and their primal raw materials were explored from three different sources. The statistical analysis was performed by using of SPSS software.