نشریه یافته های تاریخی
سال یکم شماره 2 (تابستان 1403)

Mardavij was one of the political contenders and the founder of the Ziyarian dynasty in the years 319 to 323 AH. After gaining power, he took actions such as celebrating pre-Islamic Iranian rituals, placing the crown on his head and opposing the Abbasid caliph. Also, from the reports in the historical sources, it appears that after he marched to Khuzestan in 323 AH and expelled the Caliph's agents from that area; He intended to capture Baghdad and revive the Sassanid Empire. Some of Mordavij's political actions can be influenced by his tendencies and belonging to Iran's ancient past. According to his actions, which will be analyzed in this article, this attachment can be considered as his tendency to recover the Iranian identity. Looking at Iranian culture before Islam is one of the most obvious aspects of the 4th century of Hijri (AH) and it should be considered as the ruling spirit of this era, which has been the standard of value and attention by most of the rulers of this era. In addition, the 4th century of Hijri should be considered the peak of Iran's culture and civilization after Islam. The prominent features of this century and its remarkable progress in various fields are not hidden from anyone. Richard Fry, a prominent Iranologist, describes this period as "the golden age of Iranian culture and civilization". Also, many thinkers refer to this period as the "renaissance era of Iranian culture and civilization". Undoubtedly, the social situation is one of the basic and influential factors in the changes and emergence of different tendencies in society. This article, with a historical-analytical approach, first examines the actions affected by the tendency to restore Iranian identity in Mardovij's reign and then examines the influence of the social and cultural conditions of the fourth century in the creation of this tendency.

Iran has had numerous capitals in history; hence, this land is unique and even somewhat exceptional among different regions of the world in terms of the number of different capitals throughout history. Therefore, Iran is unparalleled in this regard compared to other nations. The problem addressed in this article is how Iran is different from countries such as China, India, France, Russia, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Mesopotamia, Arabia, the Roman Empire and Greece. All these countries have had at most one or two capitals in history. However, Iran has had various capitals in history. Although Iran enjoys a long history of civilization, the question is why it does not have one or two capitals or huge cities like other countries. As we glance at the history of Iran, we face a great number of capitals, and each dynasty has chosen a capital or even several cities over time and this territory with multiplicity has faced a variety of capitals. Thus, Iran seems to be unique in this respect. In an attempt to tackle this issue, the researcher in the present study delves into the reason underlying this multiplicity of capitals.

In the first centuries of Islam, Iran witnessed extensive changes in the religious realm, because in addition to the conversion of Iranians to Islam, many sects, including Islamic and eclectic ones appeared and in order to gain political power and attract more followers, they competed with each other. Since Taqiyya was one of the influential factors in these developments, this paper studies the role of Taqiyya in the religious developments of Iran in the first centuries of Islam by using the descriptive-analytical-deductive method. Research findings show that the religious developments of Iran in the era were largely influenced by Taqiyya. The followers of most sects and religions such as Zoroastrians, Khurramites, Sepid-Jamegan (white garments), Imamiyyah Shia, Ismailis, Sunnis and some sub-sects of Zaidis and Kharijites forcibly made Taqiyya, but some sects such as Zandiqs, some sub-sects of Kharijites as Azariqah and Zaidis were anti-Taqiyya. Therefore, they were easily at the mercy of pursuit and torture and vanished more rapidly. Appealing to taqiyya had a double effect because some sects protected themselves from threats by being under the umbrella of taqiyya, but gradually, taqiyya made them forget their identity and gradually accept the dominant religion. The matter played an important role in the decline of Zoroastrianism, Khurramites, Sepid-Jamegan, and some Islamic sects such as Hanbalis.

The national identity of Iranians is a historical issue and there is a definite agreement on this historical point that existing Iranians have always been close to each other during their long history and have lived within certain geographical boundaries that they have played a role in managing or defending. The result of this shared and long history, despite some historical differences, ruptures and interruptions, cultural-ethnic pluralism and identity diversity has been nothing but social cohesion and integration. Iranians have been a nation from their historical past until today, while none of our country's neighbors today have had the experience of being a nation like Iranians. The purpose of this article is to provide a sociological analysis of the evolution of identity sources in Iranian society. First, to clarify the concept of "identity" and "national identity", which are among the complex and complicated concepts in the field of social sciences, the conceptual space of these two categories is discussed and then the evolution of identity sources in Iran in different periods of ancient Iran, and the formation of Iranian identity is discussed to this day. The history of Iranian national identity is divided into five distinct periods with their own sources and elements, including Iran of the ancient period, Iran of the Islamic period, Shiite Iran of the Safavid period, Iran of the Qajar period, and finally contemporary Iran. Moreover, in each period, the elements of specific national identity and the crises and ruptures that Iranian identity has encountered are analyzed.

The power of the Tahirids in Khorasan, Baghdad and their harmonious relations with the Abbasid caliphate caused Muhammad ibn Tahir to receive control of the Khorasan government from the caliph after the battle of Deir al-Aqul. During the two decades, the Tahirid struggled to revive their government in Khorasan, but they did not have enough military power. With the arrival of Hossein ibn Tahir in Nishapur, it became clear that Khojastani only used the name of Tahirid to gain legitimacy and not only did not join the forces of Tahirid, but even defeated them in several battles. The weakening of Hussain ibn Tahir caused Muhammad ibn Tahir to accept Rafi bin Harthama’s governing. Rafi ruled on behalf of the Tahirid in Khorasan for several years, but with the change of the Caliph's approach, he dropped the name of Muhammad ibn Tahir from the sermon. The present study, with a descriptive and analytical approach, seeks to find an answer to this question: What measures did the Tahirid take to restore their power in Khorasan? The findings of the present research show that the legitimacy of the Tahirid and the context of their relationship with the Abbasid caliphs caused the extension of their rule in Khorasan, however, the inefficiency of the members of the Tahirid, the power and independence-seeking nature of the influential forces in Khorasan, and their lack of union around Hussein ibn Taher, besides the caliph's expedient policy with the Saffarid, which led to the approval of Amr, caused the failure of the Tahirid in reviving their rule in Khorasan.

Several researchers have investigated the Silk Road's status during the Mongol Empire, each of which, in their own way, has occasionally criticized prejudicially on the basis of their respective vantage points and attitudes. Undoubtedly, a comparative and contrastive study of the opinions of these researchers as well as their assessment employing primary sources and historical evidence could be of paramount importance in understanding the Silk Road's status during the Mongol era. One of the eminent historians pursuing the Mongol era is René Eqbal. An examination of his approach to the status of the Silk Road in the Mongol era as a topic which has not yet been argued upon can admittedly give rise to a better identification of the Silk Road's prominence in this period. Accordingly, not only does the current study compare and evaluate Eqbal 's standpoints with new investigations regarding the Silk Road's status during the Mongol Period, but it also critically analyzes his comments on the status of the Silk Road network in this era. The research method implemented in this study is based on review and comparison.