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AMAZONS, designation of a fabulous race of female warriors in Greek beliefs, writings, and art, fancifully explained as a-mazos (breastless or full-breasted, see Toepfer, in Pauly-Wissowa I/2, cols. 1765f.). Its derivation from Old Iranian *maz- (combat), producing a folkname *ha-mazan “warrior” (J. Pokorny, Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern, I, p. 1959)…

AMAZONS IN THE IRANIAN WORLD. The Amazons of ancient Greek mythology were depicted in art and literature as fierce, barbarian women of exotic lands east of the Mediterranean (Mayor; David, pp. 203-25, 227-31). In myth, Amazons were the archenemies of ancient Greek heroes such as Heracles and Achilles; but Greek and…

ĀMEDĪ, ABU’L-FATḤ NĀṢEḤ-AL-DĪN ʿABD-AL-WĀḤED B. MOḤAMMAD (B. MAḤFŪẒ) B. ʿABD-AL-WĀḤED TAMĪMĪ, 6th/12th century traditionist and author of a well-known collection sayings attributed to ʿAlī. Virtually nothing is known about his life, and there are conflicting reports as to the century in which he flourished. The introduction to his Jawāher al-kalām…

AMESTRIS (Gr. Ámēstris, Ionic for Ámāstris), Greek form of an Old Persian female proper name. It may reflect Old Persian *Amāstrī-, containing *ama- “strength, strong” and *strī- “woman;” cf. the Avestan phrase kainīnō . . . amayǡ (Haδōxt nask 2.9; see Justi, Namenbuch, p. 512). 1. Achaemenid queen, daughter of…

AMIDA, Pers. Āmed (modern Dīārbakr), town situated at 37° 54’ north latitude and 39° 56’ east longitude on a plateau dominating the west bank of the upper Tigris. It lies at an ancient crossroads where the route from Ḵarpūt (Arm. Xarberd) in the north to Mārdīn in the south intersects…

AMĪN AḤMAD RĀZĪ, better known as AMĪN RĀZĪ, 10th-11th/16th-17th century author of the Haft eqlīm, a famous geographical and biographical encyclopedia. A native of Ray, he came from a family known for its literary taste and erudition; many of his relatives held prominent official positions. His father, Ḵᵛāǰa Mīrzā Aḥmad,…

AMĪN(-E) ḤAŻRAT, ĀQĀ MOḤAMMAD-ʿALĪ, the eldest son of Āqā Ebrāhīm Amīn-al-solṭān and the half-brother of Mīrzā ʿAlī-Aṣḡar Khan Amīn-al-solṭān. He succeeded his father as Head of the royal pantry (ābdār-bašī) which made him accompany Nāṣer-al-dīn Shah in all his travels in Iran and abroad (Mīrzā ʿAlī Khan Amīn-al-dawla, Ḵāṭerāt-e sīāsī,…

AMĪN(-E) ḤOŻŪR (Trustee in Presence), an official title under Nāṣer-al-dīn Shah whose successive administrative reorganizations after 1858 led to a multiplication of offices, particularly in the royal household where laqabs in ḥażrat, ḥożūr, and ḵalwat became frequent (see Alqāb). In 1284/1867-68, the laqabamīn(-e) ḥożūr, akin to monšī, mošīr, wazīr(-e) ḥożūr,…

AMĪN(-E) ḴALWAT (Trustee of the Shah’s private household or court), an office and title in the late Qajar period held by the following members of the Ḡaffārī family: 1. Mīrzā Hāšem Khan was the keeper of Nāṣer-al-dīn Shah’s private funds (rīāsat-e edāra-ye ṣarf-e ǰīb-e mobārak) until 1278/1861-62, when he was…

AMĪN(-E) LAŠKAR (Trustee of the Army), Qajar title held by Mīrzā ʿEnāyatallāh and Mīrzā Qahramān (see below) under Nāṣer-al-dīn Shah. In 1271/1854-55, Mīrzā Āqā Khan Nūrī, the prime minister, reluctantly put Mīrzā ʿEnāyatallāh, the then amīn-e laškar, in charge of the Wezārat-e Laškar (Ministry of the Army), only to replace…

AMĪN(-E) LAŠKAR, MĪRZĀ QAHRAMĀN QOMŠAʾĪ EṢFAHĀNĪ (1244-1310/1828-92), a middle rank Qajar official during the rule of Nāṣer-al-dīn Shah. Born in Isfahan, where his father, Mīrzā Yūsof, was in the service of the Qajar notables, he was trained as a scribe (mīrzā) and became a minor accountant to ʿAzīz Khan Mokrī…

AMĪN, ḤĀJJĪ, name given successively to two Bahaʾis who were trustees of the Bahaʾi system of religious taxation, the Ḥoqūq Allāh (q.v.). The first was Šāh-Moḥammad Manšādī, Amīn-al-bayān, who was a farmer and shepherd before his conversion to the Bābī faith. He then lived for a time in Baghdad while…

AMĪN-AL-DAWLA, ABŪ ṬĀLEB FARROḴ KHAN ḠAFFĀRĪ (1227-88/1812-71), a high ranking Qajar official. He was the great grandson of Qāżī Moʿezz-al-dīn Moḥammad Ḡaffārī (governor of Kāšān, Naṭanz, Qom, and Jowšaqān, 1162-93/1749-79) and cousin of Abu’l-Ḥasan Mostawfī and Abu’l-Ḥasan Ṣanīʿ-al-molk, the celebrated painters (Narāqī and Ḡaffārī, Ḵānadān, pp. 12, 13, 70, 71)….