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NĀMA-YE BĀNOVĀN (Women’s journal), a biweekly paper published in Tehran between 1 Mordād 1299 and 24 Khordād 1300 Š. (23 July 1920-14 June 1921). Its publisher and chief editor was Šahnāz Āzād, the daughter of Mirzā Ḥasan Rošdiya, the founder of modern education in Persia. Both Šahnāz and her husband,…

NĀMA-YE BĀNOVĀN-E IRĀN (The journal of the women of Iran), a weekly paper published in Tehran from Farvard in 1317 until Tir 1319 Š. (March 1938-June 1940). The publisher was Jamāl-al-Din ʿĀdel Ḵalʿatbari, who also owned the paper Āyanda-ye Irān, and his wife, Faḵr ʿĀdel Ḵalʿatbari , the principal of…

NAQŠ-e ROSTAM, a perpendicular cliff wall on the southern nose of the Ḥosayn Kuh in Fārs, about 6 km northwest of Persepolis. The site is unusually rich in Achaemenid and Sasanian monuments, built or hewn out from the rock. The Persian name “Pictures of Rostam” refers to the Sasanian reliefs…

NARSEH  Sasanian king (293-302 CE). HISTORY Narseh ruled the Sasanian Empire as its seventh king from 293 to 302 CE.  In contrast to his royal predecessors, Narseh did not ascend the throne as a crown prince, but was crowned king only at the advanced age of approximately 60-65 (Histoire nestorienne…

NASAFI, ʿAZIZ b. Moḥammad, 7th/13th century mystical thinker and scholar from Nasaf (Naḵšab) in Transoxania (present Qarshi or Karshi in Uzbekistan), author of many works in Persian written in an easy, didactic style for anonymous dervish groups. The spread of his fame soon after his death was mainly through the…

NĀṢER-AL-MOLK, ABU’L-QĀSEM KHAN QARĀGOZLU (b. Ševerin, near Hamadan, Šawwāl 1272/July 1856; d. Tehran, 1346/1927; Figure 1, Figure 2), Qajar era courtier and statesman, who served as prime minister during the early constitutional period (see CONSTITUTIONAL REVOLUTION) and as regent during the minority of the last Qajar ruler, Aḥmad Shah; he also translated two…

NASIM-e ŠEMĀL (in popular parlance, Nasim-e šomāl; Breeze of the North), one of the best-known and most popular periodicals in the history of Iranian journalism. Nasim-e šemāl was published with lengthy interruptions from 2 Šaʿbān 1325/10 September 1907 to 1312 Š./1933 by its founder, the poet and journalist Sayyed Ašraf-al-Din…

NAṢR (I) B. AḤMAD (I) B. ESMĀʿIL, Amir-e Saʿid “The Fortunate Amir,” a title he was given after his death, ruler of the Samanid dynasty (q.v.) in Transoxiana and Khorasan between 301/914 and 331/943. The reign of his father Aḥmad (295-301/907-14), called Amir-e Šahid “the Martyr Amir,” was brought to…

NASU- (Av. nasao- f., nasuš- n.; MPers. nas; nasuš; nasrušt), the demon of carrion, the greatest polluter of Ahura Mazdā’s world. The most evil manifestation of the demons is the Nasu-/Nasuš, which attacks the body when it comes into contact with dead matter, especially human and animal dead bodies, with…

NATIONAL PARKS OF IRAN, including national nature monuments, wildlife refuges, and protected areas. The first conservation law (the Qānun-e šekār-e Irān), passed in 1956, created the Game Council of Iran (Carp, p. 163). In view of the large size of the country and the limited funds at the disposal of…

NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY IN IRAN: a brief history from the outset to the Islamic Revolution of 1978-79. In this article, after a technical overview of the natural gas industry, its general scope, elements, and definitions, a brief historical background is presented on the use of natural gas (and town gas)…

NAVY i. Nāder Shah and the Iranian Navy Nāder Shah’s (r. 1736-47) earliest moves toward establishing a navy arose out of the consequences of his military campaigns in the interior of Persia.  At the end of 1729 and the beginning of 1730, and again in 1734, Nāder Shah tried to…