نشریه مطالعات ایرانی اسلامی
سال دوازدهم شماره 3 (پاییز 1401)

TThe Persian Gulf, as a trade highway throughout history, has played a key role in economic, political-military, social and even cultural issues not only in Iran but also in the world. The basic location of this important waterway has long attracted the attention of regional and supra-regional powers. For this reason, understanding the issues of the Persian Gulf in various aspects is of great importance. In other words, Persian Gulf studies are a prelude to understanding the history of Iran. The importance of this knowledge is such that knowing the history of Iran, without examining the history of the Persian Gulf, is a vague and incomplete knowledge. Throughout the history of Iran, due to the views of the rulers and consequently historians, less attention has been paid to the historiography of the Persian Gulf. However, from the Afsharid and Zandid periods, and especially the late Qajar period, more attention was paid to the Persian Gulf issues, and as a result, the volume of works and writings in this field increased. Today, many governments in the Persian Gulf region and world powers have studied the Persian Gulf. This research examines how to investigate the Persian Gulf and the reasons for paying attention to it, and is based on the assumption that the analysis of the history of the Persian Gulf can be an introduction to understanding the current developments of this waterway in the political, military, and economic context. This research has tried to analyze and analyze this issue with analytical and descriptive methods and relying on various data. The findings of this study indicate the development of scientific centers related to the history of the Persian Gulf, especially in the political, military and economic dimensions, and less attention has been paid to the social aspect compared to other aspects. It is also necessary to design new scientific strategies for Persian Gulf studies in order to avoid repetitive research on the Persian Gulf, especially in Iranian scientific centers, in order to help politicians, plan the current and future issues of this important waterway as accurately as possible.

As a transition period, the Afshariya period is located in the middle of two important periods in the history of Iran (Safaviyya and Qajariya). On the one hand, this situation is the reason for the great importance of this course and the special research attractions in it; because the study of related issues can be an important key to achieving a better and deeper understanding of the continuous and developing trends of the Safavid-Qajarid period. On the other hand, such a situation, along with the short life of the Afshariya government compared to the Safavid and Qajar governments, has caused the research related to this period to be overshadowed by the periods before and after it, and less research on an original and independent document about the Afshariya period should be compiled. Most researchers have considered the issues of this period as a subsidiary to the events of the Safavid era or an introduction to the issues of Qajar and have rarely researched independently about the events and currents governing this period. This lack of independent research in the world's Persian-language works is noticeable. The purpose of this article is to examine the research and opinions of famous Iranologists about the history of the Afshariya period. He wants to explain the main points of view governing this research along with their study, analysis, and classification.
 Meanwhile, the main focus of this study is on the works of three of the most important researchers in this field, such as Lawrence Lockhart, Michael Axworthy, and Ernest Tucker. The activities of these researchers can be investigated in the field of English-language Iranian studies and the comparison of their opinions and their different perspectives on the issues of the Afshariya period can provide a diagram of the different views and viewpoints of Iranology regarding the events of this period. The method of examining the opinions of these three researchers is the historical method based on their works and books.
 
Introduction   
With the formation of the knowledge of Orientalism and Iranology as a new academic field of study, and with the importance of finding the history of Iran and its related subjects, the history of Iran became important in the Middle Ages. Amongst the famous researchers and Iranologists, the opinions of three of the most important Iranian researchers who specifically chose the Afshariya period as the focal point of their work have been selected for study in this article. First, we can mention Lawrence Lockhart, a well-known researcher and specialist of the Afshariya period. After him, the opinions of two other Iridologists who have different perspectives on the events of this period: One is Peter Avery and the other is
Willem Floor. Peter Avery, has mainly emphasized military issues and Floor has also tried to reread the history of this period in terms of intellectual issues and the challenge of legitimacy.
Peter Avery has written an entry related to the Afshariya period in the history of Cambridge Iran. In this article, he tries to examine the way of confronting Nader with his Safavid material and spiritual heritage. His studies on the archive documents of the East India Company in the Netherlands, parallel to the Afghan attacks on Isfahan, and in particular, his book entitled The Rise and Fall of Nader Shah, according to Dutch sources, provide valuable information about the reign of Nader Shah, especially his initial conflicts. It presents the Safavid princes from the eyes of Dutch witnesses.
 
Material & Methods  
We know that the history of Iran is one of the most important fields of research in the world, which is of interest to most Iranian researchers.
Amongst the wide-ranging research, it seems that the Afshariya period has received less attention and the volume of research produced about it is not large. We know that the history of Iran is one of the most important fields of research in the world, which is of interest to most Iranian researchers.
Amongst the wide-ranging research, it seems that the Afshariya period has received less attention and the volume of research produced about it is not large. This article wants to examine study, analyze, and classify the opinions of three famous Iranologists, Lawrence Lockhart, Michael Axworthy, and Ernest Tucker about the history of the Afshariya period and, in the end, the main viewpoints governing research. Explain. We want to examine the activity of these researchers in the. Iranology space of the English-speaking world and compare their opinions and get their similar or different characteristics about the issues of the Afshariya ruling period and answer the question about the opinion. What do these researchers think about the events and history of the Afshariya period? The research method of these three researchers is the historical method based on their works and books.
 
Discussion of results & In this article, the opinions of three Iranologists specializing in the Afshariya period were analyzed, and the studies showed that three different perspectives can be seen in their works: Lawrence Lockhart, as an advanced researcher, tried to give a comprehensive description and a holistic view. is to examine the era of rare rule in a very wide context. Michael George Andrew Axworthy emphasized the military aspects and, using the keyword "military revolution", considers Nader Shah as the founder of the new army in Iran. Ernest Tucker has also focused on Nader Shah's legitimacy challenges and has introduced the two projects "Jafari Religion" and "Creation of Turkmen Links" as rare solutions to this challenge.
For the first time, Martin Dickson, in criticizing Lockhart's works, pointed out the supremacy of orientalists and admitted that Lockhart wrote the history of this period based on the supremacy and authority of Western figures. Although Dickson's view was criticized, in recent years, Michael Axworthy, who is an expert in the history of this period, pointed to this issue differently and attributed the indifference of Iranian scholars to the study of the history of this period as a result of the British historiography system In the 19th century, he realized that they portrayed Iranian kings as weak and passive, and since Nader Shah did not fit into this perception, he was marginalized. This shows that the course of research and study of the history of the Afshari era in the non-Iranian world requires scientific investigations to be able to analyze the developments of this study from the first reports of contemporary non-Iranian witnesses to later Iranologists

Jean Kellens, a Belgian Iranian study, is one of the famous researchers in the field of Avestan studies and Indo-Iranian languages and religions, who has researched in this field for nearly sixty years of his life and has written more than two hundred works. L’exégèse du sacrifice comme principe unitaire de l’Avesta (2015) and Études avestiques et mazdéennes volumes 4 and 5 (2011 and 2013) are his most recent works. Deep knowledge, distinct and original view, and curious spirit of Kellens have caused his theories to be different from other researchers; Some researchers have criticized him a lot and others have considered him as the vanguard of knowledge and a new perspective in this field. This article, with a descriptive method, studies Kellens’ opinions about the old Avestan religion, the Achaemenian religion, Resurrection in Gāhān, special names in Gāhān and the singer of Gāhān. Studies show that according to Kellens, religion in Gāhān is unknown; there is no evidence of Resurrection in Gāhān; Gāhān is a ritual text and not Zoroaster's poem; The proper names used are sometimes symbolic and do not refer to real characters. IntroductionJean Kellens (born on January 26, 1944 in Seraing, Belgium) is one of the famous Belgian orientalists who, in addition to PhD in the history and literature of Eastern Iran (Liège, 1973), is a professor of comparative linguistics and Indo-Iranian philology at the Université de Liège and a professor at Collège de France. Most of his researches are about Avestan and Indo-Iranian languages and religions. In Iran, Kellens’ opinions are less known. The first book of Kellens was translated by Ahmadreza Ghaem Maghami with the title of Essays on zarathustra and zoroastrianism. This article includes Kellens’ comments about the old Avestan religion, the Achaemenid religion, Resurrection in Gāhān, the Avestan script, the difference between Gāhān and Yasn-e Hafthā (in Avestā: Haptaŋhāiti). Materials & MethodsIn a review-descriptive method this article deals with Kellens' opinions about the old Avestan religion, Achaemenid religion, resurrection in Gāhān, Avestan script and writing, the difference between Gāhān and Yasn-e Hafthā, Gāhān as a ritual writing, special names in Gāhān and the singer of Gāhān.  Discussion of results & conclusionsAccording to Kellens, the Gāhānic religion is unknown: it cannot be considered polytheistic, neither monotheistic nor dualistic. Perhaps it can be considered a type of belief in unstable polytheism; The Achaemenid Zoroastrian religion was probably a religion similar to what was reflected in the New Avesta; In general, we cannot talk about the Achaemenid religion until we don’t  have comprehensive information about the old Zoroastrian religion; According to his opinion, there is no evidence of resurrection after death in Gāhān; Commentators have associated many words with resurrection based on their mental assumptions; In addition, based on his linguistic studies, Gāhān is a ritual text; The use of demonstrative pronouns, and the present participle verb in it, shows that these texts were used to be read in religious rituals; In Gāhān, Goštāsp is not the king; He is probably the son of Zoroaster. Also, Gāhān is not Zoroaster's hymn, but it is the expression of the state of a religious group written to be performed in religious rituals because there is no sign of inviting people to convert to religion. In addition, Zoroaster speaks of himself in the first person only once in Gāhān, and throughout this text, his name appears many times in the nominative case, which indicates that the composer was someone else.

Although the presence and position of women in Islamic societies have been important topics and of interest to Orientalists, for some reasons, in the book "Cambridge History of Iran: Period from the Arab Invasion to the Seljuks", research from the University of Cambridge, the position and role of women in the political and social developments of Iran Ignored.
In fact, by ignoring the role of women in the collection of articles in this book, their presence in various matters, including political, social, and other matters, has been made very less important. The present article has tried to reflect the position and role of Iranian women in a descriptive-analytical and critical way according to the authors of the collection of articles in this book. It seems that despite the knowledge of the authors of the articles in this book about the role and position of women in the developments of this period, the position of Iranian women, especially the ruling women, has not been properly defined and explained. So the main question is: What is the role and position of Iranian women in the Cambridge history book? What image of Iranian women have the Orientalists presented in this book? Although it must be admitted that the reflection of the obvious presence of women in historical books is generally very weak, the critical study of this collection of articles shows that the lack of comprehensive examination of written historical sources has been one of the important factors of ignoring the role played by women in the history of Iran's developments. However, in this category, the prejudices of the Orientalists towards Muslim women have also been the reason for the lack of attention to include their role in the developments.
 

The confrontation of orientalists with the role and position of women in Islamic lands has been one of the topics of their interest. It is very important. including the fame of its authors, the academic atmosphere of writing, and the many audiences of this work, at least in Iran; Finally, the inclusion of topics and the diversity of the authors of the articles in this book have added to its charms. It was compiled, edited, and published by Richard Nelson Frye at Cambridge University translated in Iran by Hassan Anousheh, and published in Tehran by AmirKabir Publishing House in 2005. We want to examine the image of women in this book, although we know that the image of women in historical texts is very faint and often neglected, but many traces of them can be found in historical developments.
 
 Material & Methods 
The present article has tried to reflect the position and role of Iranian women in a descriptive-analytical and critical way according to the authors of the collection of articles in this book. It seems that despite the knowledge of the authors of the articles in this book about the role and position of women in the developments of this period, the position of Iranian women, especially the ruling women, has not been properly defined and explained. So the main question is: What is the role and position of Iranian women in the Cambridge history book? What image of Iranian women have the Orientalists presented in this book? Although it must be admitted that the reflection of the obvious presence of women in historical books is generally very weak, the critical study of this collection of articles shows that the lack of comprehensive examination of written historical sources has been one of the important factors of ignoring the role played by women in the history of Iran's developments. However, in this category, the prejudices of the Orientalists towards Muslim women have also been the reason for the lack of attention to include their role in the developments.
 

Reviews and critical evaluation showed that although this book has provided good information about the history and civilization of Iran after Islam until the arrival of the Seljuks, for reasons such as lack of access to sources and lack of attention to the role of women in the history of Iran after In Islam, the presence of women in politics, society, culture, etc. has been ignored and sometimes this issue has been ignored as if it denies the presence of women in the society in question. And because most of the historical books were written by men, the neglect of women is a frequent thing in history, and this is not exclusive to Iranian women. However, it seems that orientalists have discriminated more against Muslim women, and it is as if historians have refused to look at women realistically and have written history by default based on the superiority of men over Muslim women. In this book, the ability of Iran's ruling women and achieve the highest political power in the territory of their government has been ignored, and this has caused the role of women to be greatly reduced by wording and writing less about their position. In this book, the dangerous and behind-the-scenes roles of women, which are sometimes difficult to prove, are detailed, but the role of women in religious sciences, jurisprudence, mysticism, poetry, astronomy, medicine, and dozens of other civilizational matters, of which there were many examples in this period It has been neglected. Although studies and investigations have shown that the neglect of this issue is not a unique issue. Of course, studies and investigations have shown that the neglect of this issue is not a problem that is unique to the history of Iran, but in other existing studies, traces of concealment and neglect of the role of women can also be seen.

An important and valuable Tazkira is "Thamarat al -Quds men Shajarat al-uns" written by Mirza Lal Baig Lali Badakhshi. (1022-968).In this tazkira, the name of a total of 594 famous mystics who were effective in the Indian subcontinent are listed.He completed the information in "Nafahat al-uns min hadarat al-quds" Jami's book, and this book fills the lack of information on mystics after Jami's period. The author of this tazkira has used many sources and famous and not famous tazkira to write the book and for this reason, this tazkira is one of the richest books that contains the biographies of Muslim mystics during the period of Timurid Government in India.In this period according to the peak of the flourishing of Persian literature and the strong connection of Indian Muslim mystics with the Persian language, transferring and recording the poems and mentioning the works of these mystics in such a book, has preserved and recorded a part of the history of Persian literature that had been neglected. This article wants to answer these questions:  how the Persian language is reflected in this book and to answer the question, what are the characteristics of Samrat al-Quds's prose? What are the historical-literary values in the book "Thamarat al-Quds"? What are the names of the works that appear in "Thamarat al -Quds men Shajarat al-uns"? IntroductionThis book is a description of the lives and works of nearly six hundred Muslim mystics who lived in the Indian subcontinent. Both those who lived there and those who spent part of their lives there. This book is the final part of a book written a century ago by Abd al-Rahman Jami (817-897 AH) in "Nafahat al-uns min hadarat al-quds". The author of this book is Mirza Lal Beg, Lali Badakhshi.The proofreader of this version is Seyed Kamal Haj Seyed Javadi, who introduced it in two full introductions.He has made references to Islamic mysticism in that country, and at the same time, he has introduced Sufism dynasties in the sub-continent, and about the introduction of the dynasties of"Suhrvardiyyah","Chishtiyyah","Qadiriyyah","Naqshbandiyyah",  and "Kubruyyah". ,"Noorbakhshiyeh", "Nemat Allahyeh" and... have brought appropriate materials and also pointed to the prosperity of Sufism in the subcontinent. Material & Methods     Because this tazkira is one of the richest books that includes the biographies of Muslim mystics during the Timurid rule of India and also contains important information about the spread of Islamic mysticism during the glorious era of Akbar Shah and his son Jahangir Shah, considering the peak of Persian literary prosperity In this period and the connection of Indian Muslim mystics with the Persian language, this article wants to explain how the Persian language is reflected in this book and answer the question, what are the characteristics of the prose of "Thamarat al -Quds men Shajarat al-uns"? And what are the historical-literary values in this book? What are the names of the works that appear in Al-Thamrat al-Quds? Discussion of Results & Conclusions     Preliminary studies showed that because the author of this tazkira, namely Mirza Lal Bey, Lali Badakhshi, has made many trips to different lands, he has seen and used many old sources and famous and not famous tazkira in his time. This tazkira is one of the richest books that contains the biographies of Muslim mystics during the period of Timurid rule in India. The studies showed that due to the author's access to the quotes and information from some tazkira books and letters and the inclusion of many names, his book is very rich. Examining the names and signs of some of these books gives the reader the confidence that Samrat al-Quds by Lali Badakhshi is a kind of collection of all the sayings and circumstances that have been written about the mystics of the Indian subcontinent until the time of this author. The investigations showed that the author's information about the prevalence of various mysticisms during the glorious era of Akbar Shah and his son Jahangir Shah has provided the riches of Persian literature. The research showed that the author of this book was able to reflect an important part of the peak of the flourishing of Persian literature in this period, and through the inclusion of poems, he was able to represent the strong connection between Indian Muslim mystics and the Persian language. By quoting poems and mentioning the works of Muslim mystics in such a work, the author has kept a neglected part of the history of Persian literature from being lost.

The use of luxurious carpets in political contexts, such as arranging audience halls or welcoming a political figure in a public space, has a long tradition. The diplomatic rites and customs of spreading the red carpet as a gesture of welcome in honor of a political figure, it was a result of the tradition of the middle history of the Islamic period in choosing unique and expensive carpets to decorate public halls, during the visit of political delegations. The political dimension of the carpet has not been investigated so far, and on the other hand, the political use of the carpet in diplomatic relations has its roots in the East and Islamic lands. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the position of the carpet due to its political importance. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to examine the historical role of the carpet in the court of the Islamic caliphs of the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, so the main question is, "What place did the carpet have in the diplomatic rituals during the Umayyad and Abbasid periods?" The basis of library and documentary studies proved the hypothesis of the use of carpets as a political meaning-making object in the court of Islamic caliphs. It showed that the physical structure of the carpet as an object and its primary quality as a knotted surface with specific borders, a unique space that in diplomatic rituals, is separate from the public domain and acts as a marker of space. Introduction Carpet is a luxury product and has a special place in the culture of the East. The red carpet is traditionally used to mark the path that heads of state take on official occasions. In general, spreading the red carpet is considered a hospitable and ceremonial act. Therefore, walking on the red carpet also has an honorable nature for political guests. Although the tradition of spreading the red carpet has become common in Europe, however, the historical custom of spreading the carpet in diplomatic meetings has its roots in the medieval period of Islamic history.Although the tradition of using oriental carpets can be seen in the Middle Ages and the European Renaissance, the oriental and Islamic roots of this tradition are tied to oriental carpets. In any case, in this article, we want to examine the place of the carpet in diplomatic etiquette. Material & Methods The political implications of the oriental rug are not in its motifs but in the historical background of its political uses. Therefore, according to the first historical evidence of the use of carpets in the court of the caliphs of the middle history of Islam, the purpose of the present research is to examine the historical meaning of the carpet in the court of the Islamic caliphs of the Umayyad and Abbasid periods. The hypothesis of the research, which is based on the commercial and cultural importance of carpets and related textiles in the mentioned period, and the use of carpets as a political meaning-making object in the court of the Islamic caliphs, will be realized by answering the following questions:Based on the historical evidence and documents, what was the position of the carpet during the Abbasid and Umayyad periods, in terms of material and culture?What are the structural features of the carpet that make it susceptible to becoming a semantic element in diplomatic relations?The current research is a comparative study with a historical and descriptive approach. Data collection is based on documentary and library sources and data analysis is qualitative. Discussion of Results & Conclusions Historical sources emphasize the important political role that the carpet played in the court of the Islamic caliphs during the late Umayyad and Abbasid periods. This rug represented the private royal realm in front of or around the Caliph's throne. Its decoration with unique motifs and symbols was intended to emphasize the idea of the carpet as a protected royal territory, and the combined arrangement of geometric and floral carpets may have determined the allocation of ceremonial space in the audience halls. In any case, stepping into it was allowed only with the permission of the caliph and was considered a symbol of mutual trust between the ruler and his subject. The use of luxurious carpets in political contexts, for example, to furnish audience halls or to welcome a political figure in a public space, has a long tradition. The contemporary diplomatic ritual of spreading a red carpet as a welcome gesture in honor of a political figure is a work of the medieval tradition of Islam in choosing unique and expensive carpets to decorate audience halls for visiting diplomatic delegations.Therefore, the characteristics of the carpet as an object, especially its primary quality as a knotted surface, which is separated and differentiated from the ground surface due to the height of the piles. as well as its marked margins have determined a kind of hierarchy from the margin to the center and top of the carpet; making it an ideal piece for any diplomatic or royal audience. The carpet creates a special space in the court, separate from the public realm. It is a marker of space, so it is not surprising that today's narrow red carpet - a kind of side carpet - indicates a certain path that a person or group of people should take during the welcome ceremony. Discussion of Results & Conclusions  Historical sources emphasize the important political role that the carpet played in the court of the Islamic caliphs during the late Umayyad and Abbasid periods. This rug represented the private royal realm in front of or around the Caliph's throne. Its decoration with unique motifs and symbols was intended to emphasize the idea of the carpet as a protected royal territory, and the combined arrangement of geometric and floral carpets may have determined the allocation of ceremonial space in the audience halls. In any case, stepping into it was allowed only with the permission of the caliph and was considered a symbol of mutual trust between the ruler and his subject. The use of luxurious carpets in political contexts, for example, to furnish audience halls or to welcome a political figure in a public space, has a long tradition. The contemporary diplomatic ritual of spreading a red carpet as a welcome gesture in honor of a political figure is a work of the medieval tradition of Islam in choosing unique and expensive carpets to decorate audience halls for visiting diplomatic delegations.Therefore, the characteristics of the carpet as an object, especially its primary quality as a knotted surface, which is separated and differentiated from the ground surface due to the height of the piles. as well as its marked margins have determined a kind of hierarchy from the margin to the center and top of the carpet; making it an ideal piece for any diplomatic or royal audience. The carpet creates a special space in the court, separate from the public realm. It is a marker of space, so it is not surprising that today's narrow red carpet - a kind of side carpet - indicates a certain path that a person or group of people should take during the welcome ceremony.