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FLURY, SAMUEL (b. 20 April 1874 in Isabella, Brazil; d. 24 January 1935 in Basel, Switzerland), pioneer of Islamic paleographical studies (FIGURE 1). Of Swiss origin, Flury grew up in Germany and Switzerland after his father’s early death in Brazil. He studied theology but was reluctant to become a minister. When Flury…

FOLK POETRY in Iranian languages. The term ‘folk poetry’ can be properly used for texts which have some characteristics marking them as poetry and belong to the tradition of the common people, as against the dominant ‘polite’ literary culture of the area. Given the breadth of this definition no comprehensive,…

FOLKLORE STUDIES. This article aims to provide a summary of folklore studies made in or about the Iranian world. i. of Persia ii. of Afghanistan iii. of Tajikstan. Forthcoming online.

FOLKLORE STUDIES. i. OF PERSIA The term folklore denotes, in a very broad sense, the traditional cultural expression of any notable group of people, not necessarily belonging to a specific social stratum. It encompasses a wide field of varying notions, ranging from popular beliefs and customs to myths, legends and…

FOLKLORE STUDIES ii. OF AFGHANISTAN Folklore may be defined as roughly comprising the oral-traditional component of culture, complementary or competitive with an official, canonical “written” culture, but this definition presents certain problems. In Afghanistan in the 20th century, as in Persia until recently, a predominantly oral culture has long mingled…

FONDOQESTĀN (FONDUKISTAN), early medieval settlement and Buddhist monastery in Afghanistan, in the province of Parvān (Parwan). The site is situated in the Ḡūrband valley, five kilometers south of Sīāhgerd and 117 kilometers north-east of Kabul, at 34° 58′ N 68° 53′ E. It was named after a village located nearby….

FOOTBALL (soccer). The game of football was introduced to Persia in the first two decades of the 20th century by British residents and American missionaries. In Tehran the employees of the British legation, the Imperial Bank, and the Indo-Persian Telegraph Company each had a team and competed with each other. In…

FOQQĀʿ, aneffervescent drink preserved in heavy and usually rounded clay vessels (FIGURE 1). The beverage was kept cool by placing ice around the container. A reference to fūgān in Loḡat-e fors (ed. Eqbāl, p. 390) has led some lexicographers, including Dehḵodā and Moʿīn, to regard the word foqqāʿ, which is…

FORĀT B. EBRĀHĪM KŪFĪ, Shiʿite(most probably Imami) Koran commentator and Hadith scholar. The dates of his birth and death are unknown, but the time he flourished can be estimated by the dates of the scholars whom he quoted or who transmitted Hadith on his authority. They include Abu’l-Ḥasan ʿAlī b….