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KASHAN v. ARCHITECTURE (4) Historic Mansions The city of Kashan boasts at least nineteen historic mansions that are well preserved; they are presented in the first volume of the Ganjnameh devoted to these structures. The design and major components of historic mansions follow the general pattern of traditional architecture (see…

KASHAN vi. The Esbandi Festival   An elaborate festival held in the Kashan region on the eve of the month Esfand, as counted in the old Jalāli calendar (see calendars ii), Esbandi (or Esfandi) has roots in ancient Iranian traditions connected to the deity Spandārmad (see armaiti).   The rites…

KASHAN WARE. The town of Kashan, as a city associated with high-quality ceramic production in the medieval period, became a distinct point of scholarly attention in the twentieth century.  It appears to have been a major site for the manufacture of fine wares between the 1170s and 1220s (565-620s H.)…

KASHAN viii. Religious Communities   This sub-entry is devided into two sections:   (1) Jewish community.   (2) Bahai community.     (1) Jewish Community  Kashan was home to an important Jewish community and cultural center starting at least in the Safavid period. Although Kashan’s Jewish dialect indicates an ancient presence in the…

KASHAN viii. Religious Communities (2) Bahai Community  Like many Bahai communities in Iran, Kashan Bahais can trace their roots to the early years of the Babi movement. The Babi leader Mollā Moḥammad-Ḥosayn Bošruʾi visited Kashan in 1845 to bring news of the coming of a new religious dispensation. Although he was…

KASHGAR (Kāšḡar; Modern Uighur Qäšqär, Chinese Kashi), a town in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in northwestern China (lat 39°29′ N, long 76°02′ E; elev. 1,304 m). Located in the westernmost extremity of the Tarim Basin (which is occasionally called Kashgaria, as well as Eastern or Chinese Turkestan), Kashgar can be…

KASHMIR. Kashmir lies on the crossroads of important trade routes, where Persian historically was the lingua franca of traders and higher culture. It is the connecting link between Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent on the north-south axis, and, on the east-west axis, lies between Ladakh and Afghanistan.  This entry…

KASHMIR i. Introduction Iranian influence in and beyond the region of Kashmir is a long-term phenomenon. Inscriptions in Sogdian, Parthian, and Middle Persian demonstrate pre-Islamic contacts there with Iranian-speakers (Jettmar, p. 402; inscriptional material in Sims-Williams). New Persian spread in the valley of Kashmir during the rule of the Šāh-Miri…

KASHMIR ii. Persian Language in Kashmir Persian was the basis of administrations all over western Asia and the highly prestigious language at the courts. Hence, Persian learning radiated into Kashmir and found a fertile soil after the initial impulse. Continuous efforts in all fields of science brought forth treatises on…

KASHMIR    iii. Persian Language in the State Administration  Officially Persian became the court language in Kashmir during the 14th and 15th centuries. We lack any sources for this early period, but later, under administrators of the Mughals, Afghans, and Sikhs, the picture becomes clearer. As for the Dōgrā State…

KASHMIR iv. Persian Elements in Kashmiri This entry discusses the nature and extent of Persian influence on the Kashmiri language.  The influence of one language on another primarily takes place as a result of linguistic contact.  It is always the dominant language that influences another language or languages on different linguistic and…

KASHMIR   v. Persian Influence on Kashmiri Art  The Iranian influence on the art and architecture of Kashmir is indirect, appearing in ancient times via Hellenistic and Kushan culture and later through Muslim India. Spread over the western Himalaya, the once relatively inaccessible region’s architecture still reflects Himalayan traditions in…

KASHTARITI (kaš-ta-ri-ti, the Old Iranian Khshathrita), a city lord of Karkashshi which was located in the Central Zagros mountains. He ruled during the reign of the Assyrian king Esarhaddon (680–669 BCE), and all our information about him is from some twenty Assyrian oracle queries addressed to the sun god Shamash…

KĀŠI [or Kāšāni], ḠIĀṮ-AL-DIN JAMŠID b. MASʿUD b. MOḤAMMAD (b. ca. 787/1386, d. ca. 832/1429), mathematician, astronomer and scientific instrument-maker of the highest rank. He was also known as a practitioner of medicine, being sometimes referred to as “al-Ṭabib” (the physician), and he mentioned in one of his letters to his…