نشریه مطالعات ایرانشناسی
پیاپی 17 (تابستان 1399)

The name of Iran tells the story of a long-standing civilization in this land and is of great historical importance to researchers in different fields of Iranology. This study inquiries into the roots of the name of Iran and the ethnic groups that resided there and called themselves Iranian. Following a descriptive-analytic method, this paper investigates the etymology and background of this name in the forms of airyānam, ērān, aryān, etc. in the sense of Aryan in ancient oriental works, Avesta, ancient Iranian and Mesopotamian inscriptions, and ancient works of Western historiographers and geographers. The findings of this study demonstrate that this name in the sense of the people living in this land and in its different forms changed over the centuries and millennia in the course of history until it was established as a single name in the form of Iran in the Sassanid period to cover all the regions within the political borderlines of this era.

One of the important accomplishments of Shah Abbas I was transforming the structure of the army. Through fortifying the army, he consolidated the foundations of the Safavid government. In order to execute this policy, after the conquest of Georgia and becoming familiar with Georgians’ special features, he founded a new military structure by benefitting from the services of some powerful and worthy Georgian military men and called it Qullar or ghulams (slave soldiers). Following a descriptive-analytic method, the purpose of this study was to investigate the role of Georgian slaves in the Safavid army in Shah Abbas’ period. The findings of the study demonstrate that Georgian slaves held a high position in the military structure of the Safavid government.

Sufism is an inner aspect of Islam which manifested itself in an ascetic form in the first century (AH), evolved over time, and came close to gnosis. At the beginning, Sufism followed an individualistic approach but gradually developed a systematic form from the third and fourth centuries (AH) onwards. Since then, Sufism and its related principles have been discussed in different books and documents. Various theories exist as to the etymology of the term “Sufi”. Moreover, different researchers have provided different views regarding the origins of Sufism in Iran during the early Hejira centuries. Some researchers have also presented a number of arguments on the influence of Christian, Buddhist, Sabian, gnostic, and neo-Platonic ideas and theories on Sufism. Following a descriptive-analytic method, this paper briefly examines each of these views. The findings of the study indicate that Sufism has no specific origin and has been influenced by all the prevalent philosophies of its time to some extent. However, it has eventually found Iran as a desirable context for its transcendence.

The Ghaznavid era marks one of the important periods of Persian language and literature. Several of the books which were written and translated during this period turned into masterpieces in the field of Persian language and literature and affected many of the texts and books that were written after them. One of such invaluable books is Kalīla and Demna. The author suggests that through following an intertextual and discourse approach to the reading of this ancient book, one can examine its effects on the books which were composed later. In fact, the dialogs in a text reflect the visible and hidden layers of a society at the time of its writing. Following a descriptive-analytic method and based on critical discourse analysis, this study investigates the story of “The Carpenter, his Wife, and her Friends” in Kalīla and Demna in the light of the theory of implied intertextuality. The findings of the study demonstrate that the analysis of the elements of this story can reveal the intertextual ties and dominant dialogs therein and specify its sociological aspects

Intertextual and extratextual forms of inquiry refer to the same process of discourse analysis and seek to discover open and hidden meanings in discourse. Through a study of the poems engraved on the coins of the period of Shah Abbas II, the present study aims to provide some answers to the following questions: What do the Persian poems on the coins refer to? Do the intertextual meanings conveyed through morphological, syntactic, and rhetorical devices denote the intended meanings of Shah Abbas’s words? Is it extratextual or metalinguistic factors which impose his intended meanings on the engraved poems? Following a library and interdisciplinary (literature and archeology) approach, the author has carried out a descriptive-analytic research in order respond to the mentioned questions. A discourse analysis of such poems demonstrate that Shah Abbas placed greater emphasis on extratextual factors than on intertextual ones, which demonstrates his intention to reflect the Iranian national culture and identity and consolidate the Twelver Shi’ite religion through the use of these poems.

Myths are mysterious and sacred narrations which speak of the worldview of an ethnic group regarding its being at a specific stage of development. In fact, myths are at the service of creating meaning and symbolize a nation’s culture and beliefs. In Iranian literature, Khvarenah or divine glory mediates between the world and Paradise, that is, matter and God, and connects Man’s developed soul to the divine eternal power. The myth of Khvarenah, which has been mentioned in Avestan texts and Shahnameh, embodies a number of political and religious concepts and implied meanings which have played a role in the essence and structure of the political and social life of Iran. The studies of social events in this country and the relationships between the ruling powers and Iranian people in the course of history demonstrate a kind of dominance which Max Webber calls Charismatic leadership. In this paper, the authors have tried to examine the use of the divine glory of power in various historical periods through a study of the reasons behind the existence of the philosophy of Khvarenah or divine glory and comparing it with Webber’s theory of charismatic leadership. The findings indicate that divine glory was in fact exploited as a religious tool in order to consolidate and legitimize dominance over society.