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DŌST MOḤAMMAD KHAN (b. Qandahār December 1792, d. Herat, 21 Ḏu’l-ḥejja 1279/9 June 1863), first ruler (1242-55/1826-39, 1259-79/1842-63) of the Bārakzay/Moḥammadzay dynasty of Afghanistan. He was the eleventh son of Sardār Pāyenda Khan (Sarfarāz Khan), chief of the Bārakzay clan, who was put to death by Shah Zamān Sadōzī (1208-15/1793-1800)…

DOTĀR, long-necked lute of the tanbūr family, usually with two strings (do tār). Several different types are current in the area between Turkey and Central Asia, sometimes with other names (generally derived from the word tanbūr). The principal feature is the pear-shaped sound box attached to a neck that is…

DOZĀLA,kind of flute consisting of two parallel pipes pierced with holes and fitted with a removable vibrating mouthpiece made by cutting a U-shaped incision into a thin reed. The principle of this instrument is used in different forms in the Mediterranean and western Islamic world (in instruments like the mezmār,…

DOZY, REINHARD PETRUS ANNE (b. Leiden, 21 February 1820, d. Leiden, 29 April 1883), Dutch orientalist renowned especially as a lexicographer of Arabic and a historian of Muslim Andalusia. He began his studies at Leiden University in 1834 with H. E. Weijers (1804-40), who introduced him to Arabic philology through…

DOʿĀ, the act of offering supplicatory or petitionary prayer, a principal manifestation of Muslim piety. Doʿā, with the literal meaning “calling” or “summoning,” frequently signifies worship as such in the Koran (e.g., 6:56, 17:110), but the technical definition of doʿā as a distinct practice is “seeking the occurrence or nonoccurrence…

DOʿĀ-NEVĪSĪ, the act of writing charms against various evils. Doʿā in this sense refers to spoken or written words assumed to have properties that can either avert harm, cure physical or mental sickness, or bring about a desired effect. A person who makes a living from writing doʿās is called…

DRAINAGE, the carrying away of excess surface water through runoff in permanent or intermittent streams. On Persian territory, because of seasonal variations in the climate, surface runoff also varies considerably at different times and in different places. There are basically three sources of water for drainage: rainfall remaining after evapotranspiration…

DRAMA, in formal Western terms a relatively new art form in Persia, though various types of dramatic performance, including religious plays and humorous satirical skits, have long been a part of Persian religious and folk tradition. Taʿzīya is a form of Persian religious drama that developed in the 16th century and…

DRANGIANA (or Zarangiana), territory around Lake Hāmūn and the Helmand river in modern Sīstān. The name of the country and its inhabitants is first attested as Old Persian z-r-k (i.e., Zranka)in the great Bīsotūn iii inscription of Darius I (col. I l. 16), apparently the original name. This form is reflected in…

DRÁPSAKA, Greek name of a Bactrian city in northern Afghanistan, the first town captured by Alexander the Great after crossing the Hindu Kush (Arrian, Anabasis 3.29.1). Shorter forms (< ancient Iranian drafša- “banner”) include Dárapsa (Strabo, 11.11.2), Ádrapsa (Strabo, 15.2.10), Drépsa (Ptolemy, Geography 6.12.6, confusing its location with that of...

DRAWING, an art form primarily dependent on expressive line. The high quality of Persian drawings maintained from the late 13th to the early 20th century provides a clear indication that this art form was appreciated by the Persian cultural elite. All artists were trained in ateliers under an arduous apprenticeship…

DRAXT Ī ĀSŪRĪG (The Babylonian tree), a versified contest over precedence between a goat and a palm tree, composed in the Parthian language, written in Book Pahlavi script, and consisting of about 120 verses. Probably in ancient times the Iranians adopted this literary genre, which has the characteristics of oral…

DREAMS AND DREAM INTERPRETATION i. In pre-Islamic Persia. See Supplement. ii. In the Persian tradition.   ii. IN THE PERSIAN TRADITION Dreams and their interpretation (ḵᵛāb, roʾyā; ḵᵛāb-gozārī), an integral part of the Persian world view, as well as the Shīʿite notion of “inner prophethood” (nobowwat-e bāṭen; Fahd, 1966b, p….