Table of Contents

  • ʿAṢṢĀR, Sayyed MOḤAMMAD-KĀẒEM

    Ahmad Kazemi Mousavi and EIr

    (b. 1302/1884-85; d. Tehran, 19 Dey 1353 Š./9 January 1975), outstanding Shiʿite scholar and professor of philosophy at the University of Tehran.

  • ASSARHADDON

    J. A. Delaunay

    king of Assyria 680-69 B.C., son of Sennacherib and father of Aššurbanipal. Here only Assarhaddon’s relations with the Cimmerians and Mannians, and the Medes, are described. The Cimmerians  with an admixture of Scythians came down from the Caucasus about 700 B.C. and began to press on the eastern borders of Assyria.

    This Article Has Images/Tables.
  • ASSASSINS

    Cross-Reference

    (Ar. Ḥaššāšin), pejorative name given to Neẓāri Ismaʿilis by their adversaries during the Middle Ages. See ISMAʿILISM iii. History.

  • AŠŠURBANIPAL

    J. A. Delaunay

    The Cimmerians (Gimirru) had entered Assyria about 700 B.C. but were stopped by Assarhaddon and so turned towards Lydia (Luddu). The king of Lydia, Gyges (Gūgu, Guggu), who had founded the Mermandes dynasty, following the advice of the god Aššur in a dream, sent a delegation to Aššurbanipal to ask for assistance.

    This Article Has Images/Tables.
  • ASSYRIA

    M. Dandamayev, È. Grantovskiĭ, K. Schippmann

    i. The Kingdom of Assyria and its relations with Iran. ii. Achaemenid Aθurā. iii. Parthian Assur.

  • ASSYRIA i. The Kingdom of Assyria and its Relations with Iran

    M. Dandamayev and È. Grantovskiĭ

    Texts belonging to the 9th-7th centuries B.C. provide valuable data on the expeditions of Assyrian kings to Iranian territory, including “Messages to the Deity” and summaries of royal victories presented in geographical order.

  • ASSYRIA ii. Achaemenid Aθurā

    M. Dandamayev

    Old Persian Aθurā “Assyria” goes back to Akkadian Aššur, the name of the city of Aššur and of the original Assyrian territory on the middle course of the Tigris.

  • ASSYRIA iii. Parthian Assur

    K. Schippmann

    In 141 B.C. the Parthian king Mithridates I conquered large parts of Mesopotamia, including probably Assyria. Although the Parthians were soon driven back out of Mesopotamia, Assur finally fell under Parthian influence from the reign of Mithridates II onwards.

    This Article Has Images/Tables.
  • ASSYRIANS IN IRAN

    R. Macuch, A. Ishaya

    The development of the modern concept of “Assyrians” among the East Syrian Christian communities began with Botta’s excavation of the palace of Sargon II in Khorsabad (1843), followed by Layard’s discovery of Nineveh. This research opened the eyes, not only of the West, but also of the ethnically nameless Aramean population in these regions which had been satisfied to identify itself by religions denominations.

    This Article Has Images/Tables.
  • ASSYRIANS IN IRAN i. The Assyrian community (Āšūrīān) in Iran

    R. Macuch

    Clearly, this small ethnic group divided into different confessions needed special arguments for accepting a standard name “Assyrians” after this term had already been accepted, for practical reasons, by others.

    This Article Has Images/Tables.