Explore Iranica

EBRĀHĪM MĪRZĀ, Safavid prince, patron, artist, and poet generally referred to as Solṭān Ebrāhīm Mīrzā (b. Ḏu’l-qaʿda 946/April 1540; d. 5 Ḏu’l-ḥejja 984/23 February 1577). As grandson of Shah Esmāʿīl, son of prince Bahrām Mīrzā, and nephew (and eventually son-in-law) of Shah Ṭahmāsb, Ebrāhīm Mīrzā was almost naturally destined to…

EBRĀHĪM SHAH AFŠĀR, nephew of Nāder Shah, claiming the Afsharid throne briefly (1161-62/1748-49). Ebrāhīm was born the second of four sons of Moḥammad-Ebrāhīm Beg, Nāder’s younger brother, and was first named Moḥammad-ʿAlī. After his father’s death on a campaign in 1152/1739, he took the name Ebrāhīm Beg. During the 1740s…

EBRĀHĪM ŠĪRĀZĪ, RAFĪʿ-AL-DĪN (b. about 947/1540-41), historian of the ʿĀdelšāhī dynasty of Bījāpūr. He traveled from Persia to India as a merchant, and from the age of twenty served Sultan ʿAlī ʿĀdelšāh as a steward (ḵᵛānsālār) and scribe. In 1005/1596-97, he received from Sultan Ebrāhīm ʿĀdelšāh an appointment as ambassador to…

EBRĀHĪM SOLṬĀN b. Šāhroḵ, Timurid prince, ruler of Shiraz, military commander, and renowned calligrapher (796-838/1394-35). At his instigation and with his assistance Šaraf-al-Dīn ʿAlī Yazdī wrote his biography of Tīmūr (Tamerlane), the Ẓafar-nāma. Ebrāhīm himself achieved renown as calligrapher, particularly in the ṯolṯ script, which he employed in both Koranic…

EBRĀHĪM ṬEHRĀNĪ, also known as Mīrzā ʿAmū, a calligrapher specializing in the nastaʿlīq script. One of the principal students of Mīrzā Ḡolām-Reżā Eṣfahānī (d. 1307/1889-90), he was active during the reign of Nāṣer-al-Dīn Shah Qājār (r. 1264-1313/1848-96). Although some albums of his calligraphy are also known, Ebrāhīm is chiefly remembered…

EBTEHAJ, Abolhassan (Abu’l-Ḥasan Ebtehāj), prominent banker, economic planner, and one of the most important and powerful figures in the economic history of Iran during the middle decades of the 20th century (b. Rasht, 29 November 1899; d. London, 25 February 1999). He exercised a major influence on the development of…

ECBATANA (Ekbātān, present-day Hamadān), capital of the Median empire, summer capital of the Achaemenids, and satrapal seat of the province of Media from Achaemenid to Sasanian times. Location and environment. Ecbatana (48°31’ E, 34°48’ N; alt. 1,800 m) is in the Zagros mountains of central-west Persia at the base of…