Table of Contents

• ĀŠTĪĀNI

  E. Yarshater

  the dialect of Āštīān, belongs to the group of “Central” dialects spoken in Kashan and Isfahan provinces and some adjacent areas.

• ĀŠTĪĀNĪ, ḤASAN

  H. Algar

  (d. 1319/1901), late 19-century moǰtahed who played an important role in the campaign against the tobacco concession of 1309/1891.

• ĀŠTĪĀNĪ, MAHDĪ

  H. Algar

  known as Mīrzā Kūček (1306-1372/1888-89 to 1952-53), a scholar who excelled in both the traditional (manqūl) and rational (maʿqūl) sciences.

• ĀŠTIŠAT

  M. Van Esbroeck

  religious center of pagan Armenia and first official Christian see.

• ASTŌDĀN

  A. Sh. Shahbazi

  “bone-receptacle, ossuary.” The term has an important place in the vocabulary of ancient Iranian funerary rites.

• ASṬORLĀB

  D. Pingree

  (or OSṬORLĀB), astrolabe, an instrument used in astronomy for a variety of purposes, e.g., demonstration and solution of problems in spherics, measuring altitudes, and telling time.

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• ASTRAKHAN

  B. Spuler

  a town (Russian since 1556) on the river Volga.

• ASTROLABE

  Cross-Reference

  See ASṬORLĀB.

• ASTROLOGY AND ASTRONOMY IN IRAN

  D. Pingree, C. J. Brunner

  i. History of astronomy in Iran. ii. Astronomy and astrology in the Sasanian period. iii. Astrology in Islamic times.

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• ASTVAṰ.ƎRƎTA

  M. Boyce

  the Avestan name of the Saošyant, the future Savior of Zoroastrianism.