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MANNEA (Neo-Assyrian Mannāyu, Old Testament Minni, Vulgata Menni, cf. Postgate, 1987-90, p. 340a), name refering to a region southeast of Lake Urmia centered around modern Saqqez. For all we know, Mannea expanded and gained control over adjacent regions during the first half of the seventh century BCE, the time of…

MANṢURB. NUḤ, the name of two of the later Amirs of the Samanids (q.v.), the first ruling in both Transoxiana and Khorasan, and the second in Transoxiana only. 1. MANṢUR(I) B. NUḤ (I), Abu Ṣāleḥ, called Amir-e Sadid “The Righteous, Just Amir” (r. 350-69/961-76). By the mid-4th/10th century, the Samanid…

MANSURI, ZABIH-ALLAH (ذبیح الله منصوری, Ẓabiḥ-Allāh Ḥakim-Elāhi Dašti, b. Sanandaj; d. Tehran, 8 June 1986), prolific, and arguably the most widely read journalist, writer, and translator, who also wrote under the pseudonyms  “Nāṣer” and “Pištāz” (Etteḥād, p. 134). His date of birth is variously recorded as: 1909 (Afšār, p. 589;…

MĀR ABĀ, 6th-century Zoroastrian convert to Christianity. Mār Abā was born into a Zoroastrian family during the last decades of the 5th century CE, and held a high position at the court of Ḵosrow I. After his conversion to Christianity (about 520/525 CE) he pursued his theological studies in famous…

MĀRMĀRI, the Christian apostle, considered as the first missionary in the Arsacid Empire. The Acts of this saint were written (and are known only) in Syriac after the end of the Sasanian period (cf. Abbeloos, 1885, pp. 42-138; Bedjan, 1890, pp. 45-94; Raabe, 1893), i.e., in about the 8th century…

Marā bebus (Kiss me), the title of one of the most popular songs (taṣnif) of mid-twentieth century Iran. Its music was composed by Majid Vafādār and its lyrics by Ḥaydar Reqābi (Hāla); it was sung by Ḥasan Golnarāqi. As a student, Reqābi was a member of the National Front and…

MARATHI LANGUAGE, PERSIAN ELEMENTS IN. Marathi (Marāti, earlier form: Marhāti), the southernmost Indo-Aryan language, is spoken by more than 40 million speakers, including inhabitants of Bombay and the state of Maharashtra (Mahāraštrā) in west-central India. The name of both the region and the language is derived from Maharathas or Maharatta,…

MARD-E ĀZĀD, a daily newspaper published in Tehran by the then Majles deputy, ʿAli-Akbar Dāvar (b. Tehran, 1885; d. Tehran, 1937), from 8 Bahman 1301 until 22 Ābān 1302 Š. (29 January to 14 November 1923) to support Reżā Khan Sardār-e Sepah (the future Reza Shah) in his bid for…

MARD-e EMRUZ (Man of today), a controversial and highly popular newspaper published weekly in Tehran, with frequent interruptions, from 19 August 1942 to 14 February 1947, by Mohammad Mas’ud (Moḥammad Masʿud, 1901-1947; q.v.), the noted journalist and the author of several popular, and also controversial social novels. Capitalizing on the…

MARDONIUS, name of several Persians in Achaemenid times, as OPers. M-r-du-u-n-i-y- /Mr̥duniya-/ (DB 4.84) is rendered in Greek (Mardónios) and Latin (Mardonius); further reflexes of the Old Persian form are El. Mar-du-nu-ia (DB El. 3.91 and Persepolis tablets), Bab. Mar-du-ni-ia (DB Bab. 111; see also Dandamayev, p. 98, no. 187)…

MARICQ, André, an eminently gifted epigrapher who died prematurely at the age of 34 (b. 29 November 1925 in Genval, Belgium; d. 22 June 1960, Paris, France; Figure 1). His life. Maricq attended for twelve years the Athénée d’Ixelles (Brussels) and then enrolled at the Université Libre de Bruxelles to…

MARIE ALEXANDRA VICTORIA (b. Eastwell Park, United Kingdom, 29 October 1875; d. Sinaia, Romania, 18 July 1938), queen consort of Ferdinand I, king of Romania (r. 1914-27). Marie was a descendent of two powerful royal houses of Europe. Her father, Alfred, was the second son of Queen Victoria of England,…

MARITIME TRADE i. PRE-ISLAMIC PERIOD In comparison with Mesopotamia, which provides an abundance of cuneiform sources as well as physical evidence in the form of imports bearing on the question of pre-Islamic maritime trade, Persia has far less incontrovertible proof that maritime trade was an important factor in her ancient…

MARKAZ-E TAḤQIQĀT-E FĀRSI-E IRĀN  WA PĀKESTĀN (Iran-Pakistan Institute of Persian Studies), an institute established as per an agreement signed between the Ministry of Culture and Art (Wezārat-e farhang wa honar) of Iran and Ministry of Education and Scientific Research of Pakistan on 1 Ābān 1350 Š./23 October 1971 for “strengthening…