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KHACHIKIAN, Samuel (Sāmuʾel Ḵāčikiān), Iranian filmmaker (b. 20 October 1923, Tabriz; d. 21 October 2001, Tehran; FIGURE 1). He was born to Armenian parents in Tabriz where his father, Arsen Khachikian, ran a carpet retailing business. Arsen Khachikian was the only survivor of a large family, who had perished in…

KHADEMI, Ali Mohammad (ʿAli Moḥammad Ḵādemi, b. Jahrom, Fars, 30 November 1913; d. Tehran, 7 November 1978), pilot, officer, and first general manager of Iran Air (FIGURE 1). Khademi was a career officer in the Air Force, who was promoted in 1966 to lieutenant general (sepahbod). He served from 1962…

KHADIV-JAM, Seyyed HOSEYN (Seyyed Ḥoseyn Ḵadiv-Jam, b. 1927, Mashad; d. 17 October 1986, Tehran), Iranian translator and scholar of Persian and Arabic. His major publications range from translation of contemporary Arabic scholarship on Islamic philosophy to the critical edition of a number of major works in the fields of medieval philosophy and…

KHAGAN (Ḵāqān, “supreme ruler”), title of Xianbei (a leading nomadic group in northern China) origin that entered Persian during the first Turkish empire and has been used by medieval Muslim historians in reference to various rulers, including heads of Turkish federations, the emperor of China, etc. The first records of…

KHAKSAR, Mansur (Manṣur Romez Ḵāksāri, b. Abadan, 26 August 1939; d. Irvine, 17 March 2010; FIGURE 1), poet, writer, editor and political activist. Khaksar was born to a working-class family in Abadan. His father worked as a technician in the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (see OIL AGREEMENTS IN IRAN). Khaksar completed…

KHALCHAYAN (lat 38°17’37’’ N, long 67°58’44’’ E; = Khalchiyan, Surxondaryo prov., southern Uzbekistan), site of a settlement and palace of the nomad Yuezhi, with paintings and sculptures of the mid-1st century BCE. The site of Khalchayan, in the valley of the Surkhan Darya (a northern tributary of the Oxus or…

KHALESI, MAHDI KHALESI (Ḵāleṣi), MAHDI b. Ḥosayn Kāẓemi (مَهدی خالصی, b. Karḵ, Iraq, ca. 1276/1860; d. Mashhad, 12 Ramażān 1343/6 April 1925), a leading, outspoken, Kāẓemayn-based Shiʿite jurist, whose close involvement in anti-British politics and opposition to British occupation in Iraq resulted in his exile to Iran.  Born in the…

KHALKHAL (Ḵalḵāl), the southeasternmost district of Azerbaijan. Its main city and administrative center, formerly named Heruābād, now likewise is called Khalkhal. It is located at lat 37°28′ N, long 48°31′ E. Since the administrative reform of 1998, the district has been divided between the provinces of Ardabil and East Azerbaijan…

KHALKHAL i. The Town and District  Historical data.  Mentions of Khalkhal and of some of its subdistricts and localities appeared relatively late in medieval geographical and historical chronicles.  The first place within the area that is mentioned is Ḵunaj, referred to by Eṣṭaḵri (pp. 181, 194), Ebn Ḥawqal (pp. 239,…

KHALKHAL ii. Basic Population Data, 1956-2011 This article deals with the following population characteristics of Khalkhal city: population growth from 1956 to 2011, age structure, average household size, literacy rate, and economic activity status for 2006 and/or 2011 (different dates for the categories are determined by the availability of census…

KHAN (ḵān), a Turkish high title indicating nobility. Its meaning and designation, however, depends upon the historical and social contexts in which it is used. Context is critical, and the meaning of the title varied greatly depending upon place and time period.  For instance, in the Mongol period, the title…

KHANLARI, PARVIZ (Parviz Nātel-Ḵānlari; b. Tehran, Esfand 1292 Š./March 1914; d. Tehran, 1 Šahrivar 1369 Š./23 August 1990), prominent scholar of Persian language and literature, poet, essayist, translator, literary critic, university professor, and founding editor of the periodical Soḵan (FIGURE 1). LIFE Khanlari was the son of Mirza Abu’l-Ḥasan Khan…

KHANLARI, ZAHRA (زهرا خانلری, Zahrā Ḵānlari, b. Tehran 1291 Š./1913; d. Tehran, 1369 Š./1990), author, translator, literary scholar, university professor (Figure 1). Zahra Khanlari (née Zahrā Kiā) was born in the Sanglaj neighborhood of Tehran. Her ancestors were from Nur, Māzandarān (T. Khanlari, p. 148). Her mother was ʿEṣmat-al- Ḥājia…