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BARĀDŪST (Kurdish Brādōst), name of Kurdish tribe, region, mountain range, river, and amirate. The tribe, mostly settled now, lives in Barādūst nāḥīa of Rawāndūz qażā in Arbil lewā/moḥāfaẓa, Iraq. They are Shafeʿite Sunnis and speak the Kurmanji dialect of Kurdish mixed with the neighboring Sorani dialects (see the folklore material…

BARAḠĀNĪ MOLLĀ MOḤAMMAD-TAQĪ, QAZVĪNĪ, ŠAHĪD-E ṮĀLEṮ, an important Shiʿite ʿālem of Qazvīn (d. 1263/1847). Baraḡānī was the first cleric to declare takfīr (ca. 1238/1822) against Shaikh Aḥmad Aḥsāʾī (q.v.), and subsequently became the leading opponent of Shaikhism in Iran. He studied in Iran and Iraq, and accompanied his teacher, Moḥammad-ʿAlī…

BARAK, a kind of firm and durable woven cloth used for coats, overcoats (labbāda), shawls (in Afghanistan), čūḵas (surcoats for shepherds) and leggings (locally peytowa). It seems that in the past it was mainly used to make hats and gowns (qabā) for dervishes (see Ānand Rāj I, p. 678, quoting…

BARAKĪ BARAK, an inhabited locality in the province of Lōgar in Afghanistan (Afghanistan, p. 15) 33°58’ north latitude, 68°58’ east longitude), made up of three component parts: 1. a large village of the Tajik type with rows of houses sandwiched between narrow alleys leading to squares—a compact layout suitable for…

Search terms:  بارکزایی barkazi  barkazae baarkazaaei baarkazi  بارکزی      

BĀRAKZĪ (singular Bārakzay), an ethnic name common in the entire eastern portion of Iran and Afghanistan, where it is found both among the Pashtun of Afghanistan and Pakistan and the Baluch of southeastern Iran (in the region of Bampūr). It is formed on a common classical model: the name of…

Search terms:  برامکه baramakeh baraamakeh    

BĀRĀN “rain.” The words for “rain” and “to rain” in Iranian languages are all derived from the OIran. root wār-, though the stem formation of the noun varies. The thematic form *wāra- is found both in Old Iranian: Avestan vāra-, Middle Iranian: Khotanese bāra-, Sogdian wʾr, and in modern Iranian:…

BARANĪ, ŻĪĀʾ-AL-DĪN B. MOʾAYYED-AL-MOLK, (ca. 684-758/1285-1357), Indian-born Muslim historian who wrote in the period of the Delhi sultanate. Related by descent and marriage to middle-ranking Muslim service families (his father was nāʾeb of Baran and his uncle was kūtwāl of Delhi), Baranī spent his maturity as courtier and sometimes boon…

BARĀQ BĀBĀ (655-707/1257-58-1307-08), a crypto-shamanic Anatolian Turkman dervish close to two of the Mongol rulers of Iran. The name Barāq means “hairless dog” in Qipchaq Turkish, this being the title of honor given him by his master Sarï Saltūq when he eagerly swallowed a morsel his master had expectorated (Köprülü,…

Search terms:  براق خان baragh khan baraaq khan    

BARAQĪ, ḴᵛĀJA ʿABD-ALLĀH, first of the successors appointed by Ḵᵛāja Yūsof Hamadānī (d. 555/1160, q.v.) to exercise spiritual authority after his passing. He is said to have originated in Ḵᵛārazm and joined the circle of Hamadānī in Bukhara in his early youth, although, according to another account, it was his…

BARAŠNOM, the chief Zoroastrian purification rite, consisting of a triple cleansing, with gōmēz (cow’s urine), dust, and water, followed by nine nights’ seclusion, during which three simpler cleansings take place. The rite is administered by a “purifier,” Av. yaoždāθrya-, Pahl. yōjdāhragar. The cleansings are from head to foot, hence its…

BARĀʾA, an Imami theological term denoting dissociation from the enemies of the imams. During the conflict between ʿAlī and Moʿāwīa, formulas of dissociation were used by both parties, and this practice was continued by both Omayyads and ʿAlids throughout the Omayyad period. At this stage the ʿAlids only dissociated from…

BĀRBAD, minstrel-poet of the court of the Sasanian king Ḵosrow II Parvēz (r. 591-628 a.d.). His name is recorded as Fahl(a)bad/ḏ, Bahl(a)bad/ḏ, Fahl(a)wad/ḏ, Fahr(a)bad/ḏ, Bahr(a)bad/ḏ, or Bārbad/ḏ in the Arabic sources and as Barbād/ḏ in the Persian sources. As to the original form, Nöldeke (p. 42 n. 2) thought that…