ĀʾĪN GOŠASP (var. Aḏīn Gošnasp, Aḏīn Jošnas), general of Hormazd IV (A.D. 579-590), sent by him to campaign against the…

ĀʾĪN-NĀMA, Arabic and New Persian form of Middle Persian ēwēn nāmag (“book of manners”), a general term for texts dealing…

ĀRAŠ, KAY, Avestan KAVI ARŠAN, a member of the Kayanid dynasty in Iranian legend. He receives only passing mention in…

ARJĀSP (Av. Arəǰaṱ.aspa), a chief of the Iranian tribe of the Xyōns (Av. Hyaona-), and an enemy of Kay Goštāsp…

ASFĀD JOŠNAS (Arabicized form of Middle Persian *Aspād-gušnasp), a native of Ardašīr-ḵorra (Gūr, Fīrūzābād) who commanded the supporters of Šērōya…

ĀSMĀN (sky, heavens), in Zoroastrian cosmology the first part of the material (gētīg) world created by Ohrmazd (Bundahišn, ed. B….

AXTARMĀR (or AXTARĀMĀR, Pahlavi; AXTARMAR, Man. Mid. Persian) “astronomer.” The astronomers were included in the category of the third of…

ĀXWARRBED, Middle Iranian term for the “Stablemaster, Royal Equerry,” lit. “lord of the manger” (see ĀXWARR), an official in charge…

ĀZĀD FĪRŪZ, governor of Bahrain and the surrounding area in the time of Ḵosrow (probably Ḵosrow II Parvēz). His name…

ĀZĪN (ĀḎĪN) JOŠNAS, a military commander of the Sasanian Hormazd IV (r. A.D. 579-90), killed in Hamadān on his way…

BĀḴTAR, designation of the “west” in Modern Persian, but its Pahlavi equivalent abāxtar means “north,” probably borrowed from Parthian (cf….

BĀMŠĀD, a musician at the court of the Sasanian king Ḵosrow II Parvēz (a.d. 591-628) whose name is mentioned together…

BĀRBAD, minstrel-poet of the court of the Sasanian king Ḵosrow II Parvēz (r. 591-628 a.d.). His name is recorded as…

BASTŪR (Mid. Pers. Bastwar, Av. Bastauuairi), a hero of the Iranian national epic, son of Zarēr, King Goštāsp’s brother. In…

ABDĪH UD SAHĪGĪH Ī SAGASTĀN (“The wonder and remarkability of Sagastān”), a short (about 300 words) Pahlavi treatise. Its authorship…

ĀBTĪN (in poetry, ĀBETĪN), father of the mythical king Ferīdūn (Av. Thraētaona) of the Pīšdādī dynasty. The name appears in…

ĀDUR-BŌZĒD, a Sasanian mobad of mobads (mowbedān mowbed) or high priest. He is mentioned in Middle Persian sources with two…

ĀDUR NARSEH, son of the Sasanian king Hormizd II (A.D. 302-09) and ruler for several months after his father. It…

ĀDURBĀD ĒMĒDĀN, second author of the 9th century A.D. Zoroastrian compilation, Dēnkard. He gives an account of his activity at…

ĀDURBĀD Ī MAHRSPANDĀN (“Ādurbād, son of Mahrspand”), Zoroastrian mobad of mobads (mowbedān mowbed) or high priest in the reign of…

ĀDURFARNBAG Ī FARROXZĀDĀN (Pārsī: Ādar-farrāʾ Farroḵzādān), first author of the 9th century A.D. Zoroastrian compilation, the Dēnkard. He is referred…

ĀḠOŠ VEHĀḎĀN (Āḡoš son of Vehāḏ), king of Gīlān at the time of Kay Ḵosrow, the Kayanid king, and one…

ĀRAŠ, Avestan ƎRƎXŠA, Middle Persian ĒRAŠ, a heroic archer in Iranian legend. i. In older literature. ii. In modern literature….

ARABIC LANGUAGE ii. Iranian Loanwords in Arabic Loanwords in Arabic, traditionally called moʿarrab (arabicized) or daḵīl (foreign words), include a…

ii. DĀRĀ(B) II Dārā II was the son of Dārā I (see i, above) and the last king of the…

i. DĀRĀ(B) I Dārā(b) I was the son of the Kayanid Bahman Ardašīr. According to most of the sources, his…

DĀRĀ(B) (< *Dārāw < Dāryāw < OPers. Dārayavau-; cf. Pahlavi Dāy), the name of two kings of the legendary Kayanid…

FACULTIES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TEHRAN iv. Faculty of Letters and Humanities The Faculty of Letters and Humanities (Dāneškada-ye adabīyāt…

CORRESPONDENCE i. In pre-Islamic Persia There is no information about correspondence in Median times, except for a fictitiously paraphrased letter…

FERĒDŪN (arabicized from Afrīdūn; Pahl. and Man. Mid. Pers. Frēdōn; NPers. Fereydūn or Farīdūn; Av. Θraētaona), Iranian mythic hero. He…

FARHANG-E TĀRĪḴĪ-E ZABĀN-E FĀRSĪ, a comprehensive historical dictionary of the Persian language, of which only one volume has been published…

FAHLAVĪYĀT (sing.: fahlavīya, Arabicized form of Persian pahlavī, in its original sense of Parthian), an appellation given especially to the…

EDUCATION ii. IN THE PARTHIAN AND SASANIAN PERIODS No concrete evidence on education in Parthian times has survived. It may…

DRUSTBED (Pahl. drwdstpt; Syr. lw. drwstbyd; Margoliouth, p. 94; Ar. lw. drwst’bḏ) “chief physician” in the Sasanian period. As the…

DRAXT Ī ĀSŪRĪG (The Babylonian tree), a versified contest over precedence between a goat and a palm tree, composed in…

DEŽ-E  SAFĪD (White fortress), Iranian fortress located near the border with Tūrān and conquered by Sohrāb, son of the Iranian…

DEŽ-E RŪYĪN (or Rūyīn-dež, Brazen fortress), castle belonging to the Turanian king Arjāsb (see ARJĀSP) and conquered by Esfandīār, son…

DEŽ-E GONBADĀN (Fortress of Gonbadān), a fortress where the Iranian hero Esfandīār, son of the Kayānian king Goštāsb, was imprisoned….

DEŽ-E BAHMAN (Fortress of Bahman, Pahl. Wahmandiz), according to legend a fortress in Azarbaijan conquered by the Kayānian king Kay…

DERĀZ-DAST (having long hands; OPers. *darga-dasta-; cf. Younger Av. darəγō.gava- “with long hands,” AirWb. col. 694), epithet of King Bahman-Ardašīr mentioned…

DEHQĀN, arabicized form of Syriac dhgnʾ (Margoliouth, p. 84a), borrowed from Pahlavi dehgān (older form dahīgān). The original meaning was…

i. Geography. ii. In Iranian mythology.   Geography The mountain Mount Damāvand is a recent volcano with regular contours, part…

DĀDESTĀN Ī MĒNŌG Ī XRAD (Judgments of the Spirit of Wisdom), a Zoroastrian Pahlavi book in sixty-three chapters (a preamble…

DABĪRE, DABĪRĪ (Mid. Pers. dibīrīh “script”; Man. Mid. Pers. Pahlawānīg dibīrī ud izwān “the Parthian script and language”; cf. Boyce,…

DABĪR (< Mid. Pers. dibīr < Achaemenid Elamite tup-pi-ra; Livshits, 1977, p. 166; Back, p. 207; cf. Arm. dpir), secretary,...

CLIME (kešvar), ancient division of the earth’s surface. According to Iranian mythology the earth consists of seven concentric climes. In…

ČINWAD PUHL (Av. činuuatō pərətu-), traditionally thought to mean “the bridge of the separator” but recently shown to be “the…

ČĒČAST (Av. Čaēčasta-), a mythical lake in eastern Iran, later identified in the Pahlavi and Persian sources with Lake Urmia…

ČAGĀD Ī DĀITĪ (or Dāityā), lit. “summit of the law” (cf. Av. dāitiia- “lawful”), a peak of the mythical mountain…

BOZORGĀN (MPers. wuzurg, oblique plur. wuzur­gān, usually written LBA/RBA, LBAn/RBAn), the third class-rank of the four or five divisions of…

BONYĀD-E ŠĀH-NĀMA-YE FERDOWSĪ, a research institute founded in 1350 Š./1971 and attached to the former Ministry of Culture and Art…

BONYĀD-E FARHANG-E ĪRĀN (Iranian Cul­ture Foundation) was established 16 September 1964. The Foundation was funded with an initial grant of…

BĪDERAFŠ (Pahl. Wīdrafš from OIr. *wi-drafša- “with unfurled banner”), Turanian hero of the army of Arjāsp. Bīderafš and Nāmḵᵛāst, another…

ABĀLIŠ, a Zoroastrian of the 9th century A.D. who apostatized to Islam (hence his epithets in Pahlavi , “accursed” [gizistag/guǰastag]…

FRĀXKARD (Mid. Pers.of Av. Vourukaša with wide extending inlets, also called Warkaš in Mid. Pers.), name of the cosmic ocean…