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FERRIER, JOSEPH PHILIPPE (b. 12 April 1811, Lyon. d. 6 November 1886, Marseille). French soldier in the Persian service (1839-42, 1846-50). Ambitious, keen observer of political men and events, and a prolific writer, Ferrier neither succeeded in using his organizational abilities nor in obtaining the role he wanted to play…

FERRIER, JOSEPHE-PIERRE, 19th-century French traveler. Little biographical information survives relating to this intrepid explorer in Afghanistan. A professional soldier who saw service during the Algerian campaigns of 1830-37, he was one of several French officers loaned to Moḥammad Shah’s government in 1839, following the withdrawal of British military advisors over…

FERTILITY AND MORTALITY. Fertility and mortality in a population depend on sociocultural history, sanitary conditions, and biological factors. Although the last element is generally similar in all human communities, sociocultural and sanitary factors vary considerably. FERTILITY Fertility is measured by a combination of four classical parameters: birthrate (number of births…

FESANJĀN (fesenjūn, fasūjan), a well known Persian dish (ḵoreš, a kind of stew) made of walnut or almond, poultry (usually duck) or small meat balls (kalla gonješkī) and pomegranate sauce or juice. The earliest dictionary mentioning it (Farhang-eĀnandrāj; q.v.) refers to it as fasūjan and states that it is a…

FESTIVALS. This article treats mainly religious or communal festivals and commemorations in Persia and Afghanistan. For specific festivals and secular celebrations, see under individual entries. i. Zoroastrian. ii. Manichean. iii. Shiʿite. iv. Yazidi and Ahl-e Ḥaqq. v. Kurdish (Sunni). vi. Bahai. vii. Jewish. viii. Armenian. ix. Assyrian. x. In Afghanistan.  

FESTIVALS i. ZOROASTRIAN Zoroastrian festivals fall into two broad categories. There are the seven feasts of obligation, that is, No Rōz (Nowrūz) and the six gāhānbārs (gāhāmbār; q.v.), which formed the framework of the religious year, and which it was a sin not to keep; and others, which it was…

ii. MANICHEAN The rationale of the Manichean cult was the release of light. The release of light particles which are bound in the world is achieved through the redemption of the souls, through the sacramental repast of the elect, and the glorification of the deities in hymns and psalms. The…

iii. Shi’ite. iv. Yasidi and Ahl-e Haqq. v. Kurdish (Sunni).   iii. SHIʿITE Shiʿite festivals mark important occasions in Shiʿite history as popularly understood, and are reckoned according to the Islamic lunar calendar. The festivals are noted for their often emotional expression of deep affection for the Shiʿite Imams and,…

vi. Bahai. vii. Jewish. viii. Armenian. vi. BAHAI The major Bahai festivals and holy days have been fixed by the founders and central figures of the Bahai faith (q.v.). Of the list below, the first five (totaling seven holy days) were established by Bahāʾ-Allāh (q.v.) in al-Ketāb al-aqdas (par. 110-111;…

FESTIVALS ix. ASSYRIAN The adoption of Christianity by the Assyrians in the latter part of the 1st century led to the harmonization of older community celebrations and commemorations with Christian doctrine as well as the introduction of specifically Christian religious holidays. This dual nature of many of the religious feasts…

FESTIVALS x. IN AFGHANISTAN Festive ceremonies in Afghanistan mark special religious days and major events in individual life cycles. Few are formally organized, being celebrated primarily to keep family bonds strong and community ties congenial. Religious festivals. According to popular belief among the Shiʿites in Afghanistan, Imam ʿAlī b. Abī…

FEṬRAT ZARDŪZ SAMARQANDĪ, SAYYED (also, mistakenly, Saʿīd; Miklukho-Maklaĭ, No. 2825) KAMĀL (b. about 1070/1660 in the Zardūzān quarter of Samarkand; d. after 1110/1699, probably in Bukhara), Tajik poet. Little is known about his life. Our main source on his biography is Malīḥā Samarqandī, according to whom (fol. 93b) Feṭrat was…

FEṬRAT, ʿABD-AL-RAʾŪF BOḴĀRĪ; (official Soviet name: Abdurauf Abdurahimov, b. Bukhara, ca. 1886; d. Tashkent, 1938), teacher, man of letters, and the most important thinker of the Jadid movement of modern Central Asia. He wrote in both Persian (later known as Tajik) and Turki (late Chagatay, q.v.; subsequently Uzbek). His biography…