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KĀRIZ i. TERMINOLOGY As noted above, kārēz is the established term for underground irrigation channels in eastern Iran. For early uses of the word kārēz in New Persian poetry and other literature, see references in Dehḵoda (XXIV, pp. 156-57); compare also Manichean Mid. Persian qhryz (Henning, p. 84), Persian kahrēz…

KĀRIZ ii. TECHNOLOGY (1) Grade. The technology of kārēz exploits a difference in grade between a tunnel and the groundwater table. The grade of the tunnel is less steep than the grade of the water table (Figure 1), so that the tunnel ends at an elevation distinctly higher than that…

KĀRIZ iii. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONTEXTS (1) Water supply. The absolute discharge is measured in cubic meter per hour (m³/hr) and varies from kārēz to kārēz, as it depends on the local conditions of supply to the water table and a channel’s length. In a study of 2,000 channels in…

KĀRIZ iv. ORIGIN AND DISSEMINATION Where, when, and how was this very complex technique first developed, and what were the paths and stages of its diffusion? These questions are still far from being completely resolved, but at least the broad outlines are already clearly apparent. As with every invention, the…

KĀRIZ v. KĀRĒZ IN THE LATE 20TH CENTURY AND THEIR PROSPECTS In 1990 it was estimated that the kārēz technique supplied water to around 1.5 million hectares of the planet’s total irrigated surface area, which constituted only the minor portion of approximately 0.6 percent (Balland, 1992a, p. 1). The technique has largely…

KARḴEH RIVER (Rud-e Karḵeh), the third longest river in Iran after the rivers Karun and Safidrud,flowing in the western provinces of the country. It rises from the Zagros mountain range and, flowing for about 755 km in a southwestward direction, reaches the Hur-al-ʿAẓim lagoon on the Iran-Iraq border. It corresponds to the…

KARNĀ (Karrenāy), designation of three types of musical instrument, the most prestigious being long trumpets made of brass, gold, silver, or other metals.  This widely diffused instrument has been known by several other names, including nafir (adapted as Spanish añafil), buisine, and kakakai. Two regional instruments of Iran are also…

KARRĀMIYA, the adherents to a theological and legal movement with a broad following in Khorasan and Afghanistan from the 10th to the 13th centuries, with its intellectual center in Nishapur (Nišāpur). Theologically the Karrāmiya were notorious for their teaching that a verbal profession of faith is enough to render one…

KARSĀSP, Av. Kərəsāspa, Pahlavi various forms (see below), Pers. Garšāsp (Garšāsb, Arabicized Karšāsf), Avestan dragon-slayer, son of Sāma, and eschatological hero. In the Pahlavi and Zoroastrian Persian traditions, several heroic feats are connected with him. In the Šāh-nāma and early historiography, he is a bleak figure, but then again becomes…

KARŠIFT (Av. Karšiptar), the mythical bird, appears once in the Avesta (Vd. 2.42). In the Vidēvdād, Ahura Mazdā describes to Yima how to build an “enclosure” (Av. vara-, MPers. war; on this word, see Cantera, pp. 55-62) as a refuge to keep samples of all his creatures (Vd. 2.27-28 and 35-36) alive…

KARSĪVAZ (Garsivaz), Av. Kərəsauuazdah; Pahl. Karsēwazd, in the old Iranian epic tradition the brother of Av. Fraŋrasiian, Pahl. Frāsiyāb (Frāsyāw, Afrāsiyāb). The Avestan name meant “having meager (kərəsa-) fattiness (vazdah-)” (cf. Kərəsāspa “having meager horses,” see KARSĀSP). This entry will be divided into the following sections: i. In the Avesta and…

KARTĪR (Kartēr, Kerdēr, Kerdīr, Kirdēr, Kirdīr), a prominent Zoroastrian priest  in the second half of the 3rd century CE. This entry is divided into the following sections: i. Introduction.  ii. The name and titles.  iii. Kartīr’s inscriptions.  iv. Kartīr and the Mazdayasnian tradition.  v. Kartīr and other Iranian religions.  vi….

KARTLI, region occupying most of eastern Georgia. The original name of Georgia (Sakartvelo) and the Georgian people (Kartvelebi) derive from Kartli. According to the mythological tradition, the term “Kartli” comes from Kartlos, the first ruler of the Georgian people. Initially, the place where the legendary Kartlos lived was known as…

KARUN RIVER (Rud-e Kārun), the largest river and the only navigable waterway in Iran. It flows out of the central Zagros range, traverses the Khuzestan plain, and joins the Shatt al-Arab before the latter discharges into the Persian Gulf. This entry will be divided into the following three sections:  i. Geography…