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| Friday, 25-Aug-2006 08:34 |
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my Birthday
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Today is my brithday, so i have a gift of love for you:
Will you accept a heart that loves
But never yields? And burns but
Never melts? Will you be at ease with a soul that quivers before the
Tempest, but never surrenders to it.?
Will you accept one as a companion
Who makes not slaves, nor will become
One? Will you own me but not possess.
Me,by taking my body and not my heart!!!
Love one another, but make not a bond of love
Let it ragher be moving sea between the shores of your souls…
Sing and dance togher and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the land of life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and cypress grow not in each other's shadow
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| Friday, 25-Aug-2006 03:25 |
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Hamedan -Ecbatana
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Ecbatana (Achmetha in Biblical Hebrew, Haŋgmatana in Old Persian, Agbatana in Aeschylus, written Agámtanu by Nabonidos, and Agamatanu at Behistun) was the capital of Astyages (Istuvegü), which was taken by the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great in the sixth year of Nabonidos (549 BC).
The city is assumed to be near Hamadan and located 400 km southwest of Tehran, in modern day Iran; however in shed of very recent discoveries it is now thought that Ecbatana was located hundred miles northwest of modern city of Hamedan, and located in the Kurdish-inhabited areas of Iran in south of lake Urmia.
The Greeks supposed it to be the capital of Media, and ascribed its foundation to Deioces (the Daiukku of the cuneiform inscriptions), who is said to have surrounded his palace in it with seven concentric walls of different colours.
Under the Persian kings, Ecbatana, situated at the foot of Mount Elvend, became a summer residence. Later, it became the capital of the Parthian kings.H Rawlinson attempted to prove that there was a second and older Ecbatana in Media Atropatene on the site of the modern Takht-i-Suleiman, but the cuneiform texts imply that there was only one city of the name, and Takht-i Suleiman is the Gazaca of classical geography. Ecbatana was the main mint of the Parthians, it produced drachm, tetradrachm, and assorted bronze denominations. It is also mentioned in the Bible (Ezra, vi. 2).
Ecbatana/Hamadan (Iran) is not to be confused with Ecbatana/Hamath (Syria) where Cambyses II is supposed to have died according to Herodotus.
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Hamadan or Hamedan ( Persian: همدان , Kurdish: Ekbetan) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. It had an estimated population of 550,284 in 2005.[1]
Hamadan is believed to be amongst the oldest Iranian cities and one of the oldest in the world.
Hamadan is a green mountainous area on the foothills of the 3574-meter Alwand Mountain,in the mid west of Iran. The city is 1850 meters above sea level.
The special nature of this old city and its historic sites attract tourists during the summer to this city, located approximately 400km southwest of Tehran
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamedan
http://www.livius.org/ea-eh/ecbatana/ecbatana.html
http://www.hegmataneh.ir/
Ali sadr Cave
If you reckon seeing another mosque, archaeological site or museum, take a detour to these remarkable caves, about 100km (62mi) north of Hamadan in western Iran. The caves, discovered only 40 years ago by a local shepherd looking for a lost goat, are up to 40m (130ft) high, and contain several huge, deep lakes. Nothing lives in the clear water - bats don't even hang around here - and there are no signs of any previous inhabitants. Frequent minibuses travel between Ali Sadr village and Hamadan, which is in turn accessible by bus from Tehran, 336km (208mi) to the north-east.
http://www.iranchamber.com/geography/articles/ali_sadr_cave.php
http://www.pbase.com/hadi01/alisadr
http://www.payvand.com/news/05/sep/1034.html
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| Wednesday, 23-Aug-2006 11:35 |
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Avicenna's Tomb - Hamedan
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Ibn Sina, Abū ‘Alī al-Husayn ibn ‘Abd Allāh ibn Sīnā (Persian ابوعلى سينا Abu Ali Sina or arabisized: أبو علي الحسين بن عبد الله بن سينا) often referred to by his latinized name Avicenna was a Persian physician, philosopher, and scientist who was born in 980 in Afshana near Bukhara, now in Uzbekistan (then Persia), and died June 1037 in Hamadan, Persia (Iran).
He was the author of 450 books on a wide range of subjects. Many of these concentrated on philosophy and medicine. He was one of the Islamic world's leading writers in the field of medicine and followed the approach of Hippocrates and Galen. George Sarton called Ibn Sina "the most famous scientist of Islam and one of the most famous of all races, places, and times." His most famous works are The Book of Healing and The Canon of Medicine, also known as the Qanun (full title: al-qanun fil-tibb).
Early life
His life is known to us from authoritative sources. An autobiography covers his first thirty years, and the rest are documented by his disciple al-Juzajani, who was also his secretary and his friend.
He was born in 370 (AH) / 980 (AD) in Afshana, his mother's home, a small city now part of Uzbekistan (then part of Persia). His father, a respected Ismaili scholar, was from Balkh of Khorasan, now part of Afghanistan (then also Persia) and was at the time of his son's birth the governor of a village in one of Nuh ibn Mansur's estates. He had his son very carefully educated at Bukhara. Traditionally of the Shia branch of Islam, Ibn Sina's independent thought was served by an extraordinary intelligence and memory, which allowed him to overtake his teachers at the age of fourteen.
Ibn Sina was put under the charge of a tutor, and his precocity soon made him the marvel of his neighbours; he displayed exceptional intellectual behaviour and was a child prodigy who had memorized the Koran by the age of 7 and a great deal of Persian poetry as well. From a greengrocer he learned arithmetic, and he began to learn more from a wandering scholar who gained a livelihood by curing the sick and teaching the young.
However he was greatly troubled by metaphysical problems and in particular the works of Aristotle. So, for the next year and a half, he also studied philosophy, in which he encountered greater obstacles. In such moments of baffled inquiry, he would leave his books, perform the requisite ablutions, then go to the mosque, and continue in prayer till light broke on his difficulties. Deep into the night he would continue his studies, stimulating his senses by occasional cups of wine, and even in his dreams problems would pursue him and work out their solution. Forty times, it is said, he read through the Metaphysics of Aristotle, till the words were imprinted on his memory; but their meaning was hopelessly obscure, until one day they found illumination, from the little commentary by Farabi, which he bought at a bookstall for the small sum of three dirhems. So great was his joy at the discovery, thus made by help of a work from which he had expected only mystery, that he hastened to return thanks to God, and bestowed alms upon the poor.
He turned to medicine at 16, and not only learned medical theory, but by gratuitous attendance on the sick had, according to his own account, discovered new methods of treatment. The teenager achieved full status as a physician at age 18 and found that "Medicine is no hard and thorny science, like mathematics and metaphysics, so I soon made great progress; I became an excellent doctor and began to treat patients, using approved remedies." The youthful physician's fame spread quickly, and he treated many patients without asking for payment.
His first appointment was that of physician to the emir, who owed him his recovery from a dangerous illness (997). Ibn Sina's chief reward for this service was access to the royal library of the Samanids, well-known patrons of scholarship and scholars. When the library was destroyed by fire not long after, the enemies of Ibn Sina accused him of burning it, in order for ever to conceal the sources of his knowledge. Meanwhile, he assisted his father in his financial labours, but still found time to write some of his earliest works.
When Ibn Sina was 22 years old, he lost his father. The Samanid dynasty came to its end in December 1004. Ibn Sina seems to have declined the offers of Mahmud of Ghazni, and proceeded westwards to Urgench in the modern Uzbekistan, where the vizier, regarded as a friend of scholars, gave him a small monthly stipend. The pay was small, however, so Ibn Sina wandered from place to place through the districts of Nishapur and Merv to the borders of Khorasan, seeking an opening for his talents. Shams al-Ma'äli Qäbtis, the generous ruler of Dailam, himself a poet and a scholar, with whom Ibn Sina had expected to find an asylum, was about that date (1052) starved to death by his troops who had revolted. Ibn Sina himself was at this season stricken down by a severe illness. Finally, at Gorgan, near the Caspian Sea, Ibn Sina met with a friend, who bought a dwelling near his own house in which Ibn Sina lectured on logic and astronomy. Several of Ibn Sina's treatises were written for this patron; and the commencement of his Canon of Medicine also dates from his stay in Hyrcania.
Ibn Sina subsequently settled at Rai, in the vicinity of modern Tehran, (present day capital of Iran), the home town of Rhazes; where Majd Addaula, a son of the last emir, was nominal ruler under the regency of his mother (Seyyedeh Khatun). At Rai about thirty of Ibn Sina's shorter works are said to have been composed. Constant feuds which raged between the regent and her second son, Amir Shamsud-Dawala, however, compelled the scholar to quit the place. After a brief sojourn at Qazvin he passed southwards to Hamadãn, where the emir had established himself. At first, Ibn Sina entered into the service of a high-born lady; but the emir, hearing of his arrival, called him in as medical attendant, and sent him back with presents to his dwelling. Ibn Sina was even raised to the office of vizier. The emir consented that he should be banished from the country. Ibn Sina, however, remained hidden for forty days in a sheikh's house, till a fresh attack of illness induced the emir to restore him to his post. Even during this perturbed time, Ibn Sina persevered with his studies and teaching. Every evening, extracts from his great works, the Canon and the Sanatio, were dictated and explained to his pupils. On the death of the amir, Ibn Sina ceased to be vizier and hid himself in the house of an apothecary, where, with intense assiduity, he continued the composition of his works.
Meanwhile, he had written to Abu Ya'far, the prefect of the dynamic city of Isfahan, offering his services. The new emir of Hamadan, hearing of this correspondence and discovering where Ibn Sina's was hidden, incarcerated him in a fortress. War meanwhile continued between the rulers of Isfahan and Hamadãn; in 1024 the former captured Hamadan and its towns, expelling the Turkish mercenaries. When the storm had passed, Ibn Sina returned with the emir to Hamadan, and carried on his literary labours. Later, however, accompanied by his brother, a favourite pupil, and two slaves, Ibn Sina escaped out of the city in the dress of a Sufite ascetic. After a perilous journey, they reached Isfahan, receiving an honourable welcome from the prince. Avicenna also introduced medical herbs.
Late life
The remaining ten or twelve years of Avicenna's life were spent in the service of Abu Ya'far 'Ala Addaula, whom he accompanied as physician and general literary and scientific adviser, even in his numerous campaigns.
During these years he began to study literary matters and philology, instigated, it is asserted, by criticisms on his style. He contrasts with the nobler and more intellectual character of Averroes. A severe colic, which seized him on the march of the army against Hamadãn, was checked by remedies so violent that Ibn Sina could scarcely stand. On a similar occasion the disease returned; with difficulty he reached Hamadãn, where, finding the disease gaining ground, he refused to keep up the regimen imposed, and resigned himself to his fate.
His friends advised him to slow down and take life moderately. He refused, however, stating that: "I prefer a short life with width to a narrow one with length". On his deathbed remorse seized him; he bestowed his goods on the poor, restored unjust gains, freed his slaves, and every third day till his death listened to the reading of the Qur'an. He died in June 1037, in his fifty-eighth year, and was buried in Hamedan, Iran.
Works
Imaginary portrait of Avicenna is seen depicted on a stamp issued by the United Arab Emirates.Ibn Sina is usually considered as a great philosopher and physician, comparable to such greats as Abu Bakr Mohammad Ibn Zakariya al-Razi. He is remembered in Western history of medicine (under his latinised name Avicenna) as a major historical figure who made fundamental contributions to medicine and the European reawakening.
In Iran, he is considered a national icon, and is often regarded as one of the greatest Persians to have ever lived. Many portraits and statues remain in Iran today. An impressive monument to the life and works of the man who is known as the 'doctor of doctors' still stands outside the Bukhara museum and his portrait hangs in the Hall of the Faculty of Medicine in the University of Paris. There is also a crater on the moon named Avicenna
Philosophy
Ibn Sina wrote extensively on the subjects of philosophy, logic, ethics, metaphysics and other disciplines. Some of his works were written in Arabic - which was the de facto scientific language of that time, and some were written in the Persian language. Of linguistic significance even to this day are a few books that he wrote in nearly pure Persian language[citation needed]. Ibn Sina's commentaries on Aristotle often corrected the philosopher, encouraging a lively debate in the spirit of ijtihad. Accordingly he is one of the earliest pioneers of the scientific process of peer review as we know it today, his influence on that process being profound at least, and perhaps even decisive.
Scarcely any member of the Arabian circle of the sciences, including theology, philology, mathematics, astronomy, physics, and music, was left untouched by the treatises of Ibn Sina, many of which probably varied little, except in being commissioned by a different patron and having a different form or extent. He wrote at least one treatise on alchemy, but several others have been falsely attributed to him. His book on animals was translated by Michael Scot. His Logic, Metaphysics, Physics, and De Caelo, are treatises giving a synoptic view of Aristotelian doctrine. The Logic and Metaphysics have been printed more than once, the latter, e.g., at Venice in 1493, 1495, and 1546. Some of his shorter essays on medicine, logic, &c., take a poetical form (the poem on logic was published by Schmoelders in 1836). Two encyclopaedic treatises, dealing with philosophy, are often mentioned. The larger, Al-Shifa' (Sanatio), exists nearly complete in manuscript in the Bodleian Library and elsewhere; part of it on the De Anima appeared at Pavia (1490) as the Liber Sextus Naturalium, and the long account of Ibn Sina's philosophy given by Shahrastani seems to be mainly an analysis, and in many places a reproduction, of the Al-Shifa'. A shorter form of the work is known as the An-najat (Liberatio). The Latin editions of part of these works have been modified by the corrections which the monastic editors confess that they applied. There is also a Philosophia Orientalis, mentioned by Roger Bacon, and now lost, which according to Averroes was pantheistic in tone.
Ibn Sina's philosophical tenets are not considered part of western philosophy today. The West only pays attention to a portion of his philosophy known as the Latin Avicennaian School, and his other significant philosophical contribution, which had been hailed by Suhrawardi, is still unknown to West. This notable part is called حكمت مشرقيه (hikmat-al-mashriqqiyya) by him. In some of his writings, he mentions this to his disciples as his major achievement. Heavily influenced by Ibn Sina, Suhrawardi made philosophical contributions which have developed much from Ibn Sina's work, later founding illuminationist philosophy and believing to have finished what Ibn Sina began.
Medicine
About 100 treatises were ascribed to Ibn Sina. Some of them are tracts of a few pages, others are works extending through several volumes. The best-known amongst them, and that to which Ibn Sina owed his European reputation, is his 14-volume The Canon of Medicine, which was a standard medical text in Western Europe for seven centuries. It classifies and describes diseases, and outlines their assumed causes. Hygiene, simple and complex medicines, and functions of parts of the body are also covered. It asserts that tuberculosis was contagious, which was later disputed by Europeans, but turned out to be true. It also describes the symptoms and complications of diabetes. An Arabic edition of the Canons appeared at Rome in 1593, and a Hebrew version at Naples in 1491. Of the Latin version there were about thirty editions, founded on the original translation by Gerard of Cremona. In the 15th century a commentary on the text of the Canon was composed. Other medical works translated into Latin are the Medicamenta Cordialia, Canticum de Medicina, and the Tractatus de Syrupo Acetoso.
It was mainly accident which determined that from the 12th to the 17th century Ibn Sina should be the guide of medical study in European universities, and eclipse the names of Rhazes, Ali ibn al-Abbas and Averroes. His work is not essentially different from that of his predecessor Rhazes, because he presented the doctrine of Galen, and through Galen the doctrine of Hippocrates, modified by the system of Aristotle. But the Canon of Avicenna is distinguished from the Al-Hawi (Continens) or Summary of Rhazes by its greater method, due perhaps to the logical studies of the former. The work has been variously appreciated in subsequent ages, some regarding it as a treasury of wisdom, and others, like Averroes, holding it useful only as waste paper. In modern times it has been seen of mainly historic interest as most of its tenets have been disproved or expanded upon by scientific medicine. The vice of the book is excessive classification of bodily faculties, and over-subtlety in the discrimination of diseases. It includes five books; of which the first and second discuss physiology, pathology and hygiene, the third and fourth deal with the methods of treating disease, and the fifth describes the composition and preparation of remedies. This last part contains some personal observations. He is, like all his countrymen, ample in the enumeration of symptoms, and is said to be inferior to Ali in practical medicine and surgery. He introduced into medical theory the four causes of the Peripatetic system. Of natural history and botany he pretended to no special knowledge. Up to the year 1650, or thereabouts, the Canon was still used as a textbook in the universities of Leuven and Montpellier.
In the museum at Bukhara, there are displays showing many of his writings, surgical instruments from the period and paintings of patients undergoing treatment.
Ibn Sina was interested in the effect of the mind on the body, and wrote a great deal on psychology, likely influencing Ibn Tufayl and Ibn Bajjah.
Along with Rhazes, Ibn Nafis, Al-Zahra and Al-Ibadi, he is considered an important compiler of Early Muslim medicine
Poetry
Almost half of Avicenna's works are versified.(E.G. Browne, p61) His poems appear in both Arabic and Persian. As an example, Edward Granville Browne claims that the following verses are incorrectly attributed to Omar Khayyám, and were originally written by Avicenna (E.G. Browne, p60-61):
از قعر گل سیاه تا اوج زحل,
Up from Earth's Centre through the Seventh Gate
کردم همه مشکلات گیتی را حل,
I rose, and on the Throne of Saturn sate,
بیرون جستم زقید هر مکر و حیل,
And many Knots unravel'd by the Road;
هر بند گشاده شد مگر بند اجل.
But not the Master-Knot of Human Fate
God as the first cause of all things
For Avicenna, essence is non-contingent. For an essence to be realised within time (as an existence), the existence must be rendered necessary by the essence itself. This particular relationship of cause and effect is due to an inherent property of the essence, that it is non-contingent. For existence in general to be possible, there must exist a necessary essence, itself uncaused - a being or God to begin a process of emanation.
This view has a profound impact on the monotheistic concept of creation. Existence is not seen by Avicenna as the work of a capricious deity, but of a divine, self-causing thought process. The movement from this to existence is necessary, and not an act of will per se. The world emanates from God by virtue of his abundant intellect - an immaterial cause as found in the neoplatonic concept of emanation.
Avicenna found inspiration for this methaphysical view in the works of Al-Farabi, but his innovation is in his account a single and necessary first cause of all existence. Whether this view can be reconciled with Islam, particularly given the question of what role is left for God's will, was to become a subject of considerable controversy within intellectual Islamic discourse.
The Ten Intellects
In Avicenna's account of creation (largely derived from Al-Farabi), from this first cause (or First Intellect) proceeds the creation of the material world.
The First Intellect, in comtemplating the necessity of its existence, gives rise to the Second Intellect. In contemplating its emanation from God, it then gives rise to the First Spirit, which animates the Sphere of Spheres (the universe). In contemplating itself as a self-caused essence (that is, as something that could potentially exist), it gives rise to the the matter that fills the universe and forms the Sphere of the Planets (the First Heaven in al-Farabi).
This triple-contemplation establishes the first stages of existence. It continues, giving rise to consequential intellects which create between them two celestial hierarchies: the Superior Hierarchy of Cherubim (Kerubim) and the Inferior Hierarchy, called by Avincenna "Angels of Magnificence". These angels animate the heavens, but a deprived of all sensory perception, but have imagination which allows them to desire the intellect from which they came. Their vain quest to join this intellect causes an eternal movement in heaven. They also cause prophetic visions in humans.
The angels created by each of the next seven Intellects are associated with a different body in the Sphere of the Planets. These are: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury and the Moon. The last of these is of particular importance, since its association is with the Angel Gabriel ("The Angel").
This Ninth Intellect occurs at a step so removed from the First Intellect that the emanation that then arises from it explodes into fragments, creating not a further celestial entity, but instead creating human souls, which have the sensory functions lacked by the Angels of Magnificence.
The Angel and the minds of humans
For Avicenna, human minds were not in themselves formed for abstract thought. Humans are intellectual only potentially, and only illumination by the Angel confers upon them the ability to make from this potential a real ability to think. This is the Tenth Intellect.
The degree to which minds are illuminated by the Angel varies. Prophets are illuminated to the point that they posses not only rational intellect, but also an imagination and ability which allows them to pass on their superior wisdom to others. Some receive less, but enough to write, teach, pass laws, and contribute to the distribution of knowledge. Others receive enough for their own personal realisation, and others still receive less.
On this view, all humanity shares a single agent intellect - a collective consciousness. The final stage of human life, according to Avicenna, is reunion with the emanation of the Angel. Thus, the Angel confers upon those imbued with its intellect the certainty of life after death. For Avicenna, as for the neoplatonists who influenced him, the immortality of the soul is a consequence of its nature, and not a purpose for it to fulfill
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avicenna
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| Tuesday, 22-Aug-2006 06:42 |
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The Shrine of Esther and Mordechai in Hamadan
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Today we will visit Iranian Jewish's the most important mausoleum in Iran. And the
second religious monument of Jewishes in the world
Iranian jewishes live with us kindly ,they have their own schools and synagogoues cemetries.they have their own jobs such as shops.the most of them are merchants ,nobody do any harm to them they are a part of our society . I am sure :They are absolutely NOT Zionist.so they are not agree with slaughtering of children and women in Lebanon
They have a member in iran's parliament
SO i hope you will be agree with me that my country is land of peace and friendship
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The name Mordecai is of uncertain origin. It is most commonly understood to mean "[servant] of Marduk" in Aramaic, identical to the name Marduka attested in the Persian period. Mordecai may have been a Persian or Babylonian name given to him. (The Book of Daniel contains similar accounts of Jews living in exile in Babylonia being assigned names relating to Babylonian gods.)
Some suggest that as Marduk was a war god, the expression "[servant] of Marduk" may simply denote a warrior - the popular translation of "warrior" is commonly found in naming dictionaries. Others note that Marduk was the creator in Babylonian mythology whence the term might have been understood by Jews to mean simply "[servant] of God".
Another interpretation of the name is that that it is of Persian origin meaning "little boy". Other suggested meanings of "contrition", "bitter" or "bruising" are listed in Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary of the late 19th century
The story
Esther was the daughter of Abihail, a Benjamite. She resided with her cousin Mordecai, who held some office in the household of the Persian king at "Shushan in the palace."
Ahasuerus, having rid himself of Vashti, chose Esther to be his wife and queen. Soon after this he gave Haman the Agagite, his prime minister, power and authority. Haman, without the king's knowledge, plans to kill and extirpate all the Jews throughout the Persian empire. This attempted genocide was averted when Esther reveals this to the king and the king gives the Jews license to defend themselves against all who try to kill them. The king orders Haman and his 10 sons to be hanged on the gallows, just as Haman had planned for Mordecai. The fight begins on the 13th of Adar and thousands lost their lives from both sides across the empire, the other side being enemies of the Jews from various nations.
Jews established an annual feast, the feast of Purim, in memory of their wonderful deliverance. According to traditional Jewish dating this took place about fifty-two years after the Return.
Esther appears in the Bible as a woman of deep piety, faith, courage, patriotism, and caution, combined with resolution; a dutiful daughter to her adopted father, docile and obedient to his counsels, and anxious to share the king's favour with him for the good of the Jewish people. That she was raised up as an instrument in the hand of God to avert the destruction of the Jewish people, and to afford them protection and forward their wealth and peace in their captivity, is manifest from the Scripture account.
For a discussion of the historicity of Esther, see Book of Esther.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordechai
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Esther
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| Monday, 21-Aug-2006 17:11 |
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Baba Taher Oryan mausoleum - Hamedan
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Baba Taher (also spelled as Baba Tahir) is known as one of the most revered and respectable early poets in Persian literature. Most of his life is clouded in mystery. He probably lived in Hamadan. His nickname, Oryan (the Naked), suggests that he was a wandering dervish, or mystic. Legend tells that the poet, an illiterate woodcutter, attended lectures at a religious school, where he was not welcome by his fellow-students. The date of his birth and death are unknown. One source indicates that he died in 1019. If this is accurate, then Baba Taher is a contemporary of Ferdowsi and Pour Sina (Avicenna) and an immediate precursor of Omar Khayyam. Another source reports that he lived between 1000 and 1055, which is most unlikely. Reliable research notes speculate that Baba Taher lived for seventy-five years. His tomb is in Hamadan, the capital city of the Hamadan province in Iran.
Baba Taher poems are recited to the present day all over Iran accompanied with Seh Tar (three stringed viol or lute). The quatrains (Dubayti or two-bayt metre poems) of Baba Taher are also written in local accents such as Mazanderani. They say Pahlaviat to these kinds of poems and they are very ancient. Baba Taher songs originally read in Pahlavi, Luri, Kurdish and Hamadani dialects, taking their present form in the course of time. The quatrains of Baba Taher have a more amorous and mystical connotation rather than philosophical (Various Sources).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_Taher
http://www.persian.ws/poet/fullnews.php?id=81
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| Saturday, 19-Aug-2006 16:39 |
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GanjNameh inscriptions - Hamedan
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The waterfall near Gandj Nameh, at the end of a small valley near the ancient road between Ecbatana and Behistun, twelve kilometers southwest of modern Hamadan. To the left of the waterfall are two Achaemenid inscriptions, written in what Darius I the Great called the "Aryan script". The valley is lovely, with trees of common ash (locally known as "sparrow's tongue") and must have been an ancient picknicking place along the road.
The two inscriptions near Gandj Nameh. Both are in three columns of 20 lines, and in three languages: Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian .Both texts are almost identical. They both begin with praise for the supreme god Ahuramazda, continue with the genealogy of the maker, and end with the royal titles.
A great god is Ahuramazda, who created this earth, who created yonder heaven, who created men, who created happiness for man, who made Darius king. One king for many, one lord for all.
I am Darius, the great king, king of kings, king of countries containing all kinds of men, king in this great earth far and wide, son of Hystaspes, an Achaemenian.
One king for many, one lord for all.
I am Xerxes, the great king, king of kings, king of countries containing all kinds of men, king in this great earth far and wide, son of king Darius, an Achaemenian
http://www.livius.org/a/iran/gandj_nameh/gandj_nameh.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganj_Nameh
http://www.iccim.org/english/Iran/27/index.htm
انسان بودن یعنی برخورداری از فکر و اندیشه.و تکامل و در غیر اینصورت با حیوانات تفاوتی نخواهیم داشت .و باید در مسیر تکامل قدم گذاشت وقتی که به 3 سال پیش بر می گردم می بینم که یک اتفاق ناگوار مسیر زندگیم را تغییر داد و خوشحالم که تسلیم یاس و نا امیدی نشدم و دو باره بلند شدم. و تصمیم گرفتم هر روزم متفاوت از دیروزش باشه.در زمینه فعالیتهای علمی رشته تخصصی خودم هم بیکار نبوده ام اما احساس می کنم که باید بدنبال خواسته قلبیم بروم .خواسته من و عشق من همینه که می بینید خدمت در جهت گسترش گردشگری و توریسم.شاید وقتی 17 ساله که بودم راهی را انتخاب کردم به پیش رفتم اما اکنون می بینم که خواسته واقعی ام در جای دیگریست...
لزوم گسترش گردشگری برای کشور ما هنوز برای مسئولین مربوطه بطور آشکار روشتن نشده است و روند توسعه گردشگری بسیار کند است دلیل اش هم همین بی توجهی آنها به گسترش مراکز خدماتی در جاده ها است در طول صدها کیلومتر شما یه توالت بهداشتی پیدا نمی کنید و هنوز توالتهای ایران که ادعای نظافت هم دارد مثل دوران قرون وسطی است و بسیار متاسفم بگویم که ترکیه ای که بی فرهنگ خطابش کردم در فاصله های مشخصی مجموعه های بسیار تمیز تاکید می کنم بسیار تمیز دارد که مسافران دغدغه ای ندارند اما در کشور ما.......وارد توالت که می شویم بوی مشمئز کننده ای به مشام می رسد و جای دارد بگویم که این وضعیت برایزیبنده کشور ما نیست... بگذریم درد دلی بود که باید مطرح کرد تا شاید بگوش دوستان برسد
فقط به نکته ای تاریخی اشاره کنم: در بعد از جنگ جهانی دوم کشورهای متخاصم سابق تصمیم گرفتند که برای همیشه به جنگ در قاره اروپا خاتمه دهند و بهترین راه را در گسترش دوستی ها و ارتباطات بین ملل اروپایی یافتند و یکی از دلایل گسترش صنعت گردشگری همین موضوع بوده است
حالا چرا در کشور ما گسترش گردشگری بویزه تورهای داخلی اهمیت دارد؟؟؟
ما همیشه از رشد اقتصادی صحبت می کنیم اما مهمتر از رشد اقتصادی رشد فرهنگی و اجتماعی و حفظ امنیت و وحدت ملی است
از طرفی لزوم گسترش گردشگری از جهت دیگری هم قابل بحث است:
تا پیش از به اصطلاح اصلاحات ارضی و انقلاب سفید شاه که ریشه بسیاری از معضلات جامعه ما در آن است...جامعه ایران ترکیب خاص اجتماعی و اقتصادی ای داشت که میتنی بر کشاورزی و زندگی عشایری بود و در چنین جامعه سنتی ای در طول هزاران سال سنتهایی شکل گرفته بودند که عامل ایجاد محبت و تکامل روحی و روانی ایرانیان بوده است مثل رقصهای سنتی و بازیهای بومی و همه و همه اینها در یک جامعه سنتی باعث شکل گیری شخصیت و ایجاد محبت در بین تمام اعضا جامعه می شده است و و از طرفی در چنین جامعه ای روابط زن و مرد تعریف شده بود و مثلا در رقصهای بختیاری و همینطور کردی زن و مرد بصورت مختلط به رقص و پایکوبی می پرداختند و البته هیچکدامشان هم به جهنم فرستاده نمی شدند.اما با فروپاشیده شدن سنن بومی و کمرنگ شدن آنها و مهاجرتها به شهر ها انسانهایی که دارای هویتی غنی بودند بتدریج خود را در جامعه ای متفاوت و هسته ای یافتند و بسیاری از مشکلات روحی و.....جامعه ما در این سرعت صنعتی شدن بوده است.
آن روابط اجتماعی و آن دوستی ها کمرنگ شد حالا چه باید کرد؟
برای جایگزین کردن چنین خلایی به نظر من ایجاد تورهای گردشگری و برقرار کردن محیطی که بتوان همدیگر را دوباره یافت بهترین راه حل است
در تورهای گردشگری هم می توان در بین اعضا تور دوستان جدید و همفکر یافت و هم با سفر به نقاط مختلف کشور فاصله ها را کم کرد....و هم چرخهای اقتصادی کشور به چرخش در آید چرا مقصد گردشگری باید فقط ساحل مازندران باشد؟ چرا نباید به خوزستان بیشتر سفر کرد؟ دیدن آن مناظر زیبا در کوهستان سردشت دزفول برایم به رویا بیشتر شبیه بود...باورم نمی شد که چنین کشور زیبا و بزرگی به من تعلق دارد....
از طرفی سفر و شناخت روحیات بقیه اقوام ایرانی باعث می شود که به پیشداوری نپردازیم و واقع بین باشیم
و مثلا دوستی که ساکن شهر مراغه است با سفر به استان فارس و دیدن نام مغازه ها و رستورانهایی که به زبان ترکی است شگفت زده خواهد شد که تا چه حد مردم ایران به هم نزدیک هستند و خودشان خبر نداشته اند و یا وقتی که به کازرون سفر کند متوجه می شود که دومین شهر مهم استان فارس در وضعیتی بسیار نا مطلوب تر از دومین شهر استان آذربایجان شرقی قرار دارد.
تمام این موضوعات قابل بحثی طولانی است که دلم نمی خواهد مطلب را به درازا بکشانم
نکته بسیار مهم دیگر در این سفر ها می تواند کمک کند به یافتن همسر مناسب ...چون در طول سفر می توان با روحیات همدیگر بهتر آشنا شد و با خانواده طرف مقابل نیز از نزدیک برخورد داشت و عملا ازدواجهایی که با شناخت بهتر صورت بگیرند از دوام و قوام بیشتری برخوردار خواهند بود
پس دوستان عزیزم می بینید که گسترش گردشگری فقط یک امر فانتزی و تفریحی نیست ابعاد مهم زیادی دارد.و در بعد بین المللی نیز می تواند چهره مناسبی از ایران و فرهنگ آن ایجاد کند و از طرفی با ایجاد مشاغل مرتبط از مشکلات اقتصادی و بیکاری تا حدودی بکاهد
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| Thursday, 17-Aug-2006 14:27 |
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Anahita Temple,Kangavar- Kermanshah Province
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The Anahita Temple at Kangavar in western Iran is the most important architectural remnant of the cult of the Persian deity Anahita (or Nahid in Modern Persian).
The cult of Anahita, whose name means "unstained" or "immaculate", was strongest in Western Iran, and had extensive parallels with those of Semitic near-eastern goddesses such as Ishtar. Anahita is not present in the earliest parts of the Avesta; her cult would have been alien to the henotheistic spirit of the Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) presented in the Gathas.
Archeological investigation
In 1968 an Iranian team conducted some archaeological excavations in the vicinity of the Anahita Temple. Somewhat later the residential areas around the site were purchased and levelled to expand the excavation area to allow a comprehansive plan of the Temple and its precinct. The archaeological investigations indicated that the site is about 230 m long and 210 m wide. The site's highestpoint on the southeastern corner is 32 m high and the width of the surrounding wall is 18.5 m. Further investigations revealed that along the western, eastern, and southern parts of the Temple there had been a series of pillars on the exterior part of the building, which originally were 35.4 m high and consisted of three parts: shaft, plinth and capital.
Recent investigation in 1995 located a hitherto unknown part of the northeastern wall, considering of four rocky strata. Fortunately, the presence of some pillars in the northwestern front has provided evidence to reconstruct architectural details by special renovation techniques, which was necessary before excavation process could proceed.
The facing stairways (similar to those at Persepolis), discovered in the southern front of the site, indicate that the main entrance to the building had been located on this part. The distance between the tops of the stairways is 148 m. The stpes are 41.5 cm wide, 12 cm high, and 32 cm deep. Today there preserved 26 steps in both the eastern and western fronts. The scattered remains of steps in this area further suggest that actual number of the steps were more than 26. Evidence for additional entrance to the Temple is provided by the continuation of the eatern wall that leads to another stairway on its northeatern section.
In the central part of the Temple there exists a well-preserved wall (94 m long and 9 m wide) that leads from the eatern to the western side of the Temple. Its facade had been plastered. The soutthwestern and southeastern cornors continue northward, where, near the wall, a small canal was found. The purpose of this canal is not certain; it was either dug to collect rain water or was consturcted for ritual purposes
http://archi-west.tripod.com/anahita.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anahita_Temple
http://www.vohuman.org/SlideShow/Anahita%20Kangavar/Anahita-00.htm
http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/ot_grp7/ot_kangavar_20050323.html
http://www.livius.org/a/iran/kangavar/kangavar.html
http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/887/
AHAHITA
The ancient Persian water goddess, fertility goddess, and patroness of women, as well as a goddess of war. Her name means "the immaculate one". She is portrayed as a virgin, dressed in a golden cloak, and wearing a diamond tiara (sometimes also carrying a water pitcher). The dove and the peacock are her sacred animals.
Anahita was very popular and is one of the forms of the 'Great Goddess' which appears in many ancient eastern religions (such as the Syrian/Phoenician goddess Anath). She is associated with rivers and lakes, as the waters of birth. Anahita is sometimes regarded as the consort of Mithra
When Persia conquered Babylonia (in the 6th century BCE), Anahita began to show some similarities with the goddess Ishtar. Since then her cult included also the practice of temple prostitution. During the reign of king Artaxerxes (436-358 BCE) many temples were erected in her honor; in Soesa, Ecbatana, and in Babylon.
http://www.iranian.ws/cgi-bin/iran_news/exec/view.cgi/4/8378/printer
http://www.avesta.org/ka/yt5sbe.htm
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| Tuesday, 15-Aug-2006 15:33 |
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Moaven Olmolk mourning place .Kermanshah
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The capital of Kermanshahan Province, in an altitude of 1, 630 m above sea level, Kermanshah is 525 km to the southwest of Tehran. It can be reached either by air or via Hamadan (190 km), partly on a highway and partly on a first class national asphalt road.
Being a populous city of 631,199 inhabitants, mainly Kurds, Kermanshah stands, like Hamadan, on the great highway that connected Baghdad and the West with Iranian Plateau. The town’s situation is highly picturesque, and it is one of the liveliest market centers of the province, where you will meet a large number of Kurds and mountain peasants once famous as warriors. These Kurds still speak their own language among themselves and remain faithful to their testamentary traditions: the men wear large turbans on their heads and black dungarees tight at the waist and at the ankles. The women wear trousers and bright-coloured scarves and sometimes brocade bodices, but they are mostly changing into urban type of dress, particularly in towns.
First built on a site a few km from the present town, it probably dates from the 4th century AD. Its vulnerable position has always rendered it liable to incursions, and it was in turn captured by the Arabs in 649 AD, the Buyids in the 10th century, soon after by the Seljuks, and then sacked by Mongols in the early 13th century. After several centuries of relative peace and prosperity, its strategic position on the road to Baghdad brought trouble in the form of very heavy Iraqi missile and bomb attacks during the Iraqi war against Iran.
Modern Kermanshah is an important agricultural and a burgeoning industrial center. In the surrounding country fruit of many kinds is grown; another local product is sugar-beet. Carpet-weaving and manufacture of givehs (canvas covered shoes like the Spanish alpargata in appearance) have long been carried on in the town. Since the construction of an oil refinery on the banks of Qara Su River in 1935, motor spirit and other petroleum products have been processed there for consumption in northern and north-western Iran.
However, the present Kermanshah does not seem to be of any great interest, especially for a foreign visitor. And although it is not, relatively speaking, an old town, there are some very ancient remains in its neighborhood, which suffice to attract the attention of the interested tourist. It has a beautiful setting, framed by permanently snow-clad mountains. Kermanshah is best avoided in winter, but the climate is very pleasant for most of the rest of the year.
Kermanshah Museum
Kermanshah Museum is located in Dr Shari’ati Avenue, Shahid Haddad-e Adel Street, in a famous building called Takyeh Mo’aven ol-Molk (locally known as Hosseinieh), which is one of the historical monuments from the Qajar period. Built in 1890 AD, it was finally handed over to the former Ministry of Culture and Art by Mo’aven ol-Molk family. The building consists of the following three sections: A) Hosseinieh; B) Zeinabieh; and C) Abbasieh. The latter section with its beautiful painted walls, is built in two floors, of which the second floor is allocated to the exhibit of ethnological articles. The first floor is planned to be allocated to the display of archaeological exhibits in future. For centuries, the building acted as a popular court with religious significance. Parts of the building that have been damaged during the Constitutional Revolution were repaired and renovated in 1912-13 by Mo’aven ol-Molk, the last private owner of the building.
That day The museum was closed 
http://www.iranchamber.com/cities/kermanshah/kermanshah.php
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| Saturday, 12-Aug-2006 18:37 |
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Taq e bostan - Kermanshah Part 2
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مدتها بود که می خواستم چند کلمه ای بنویسم ولی فرصت نمی شد.خب راستش نوشتن هم تمرکز می خواد و هم حوصله و زمان مناسب.البته ممکنه که این سئوال پیش بیاد که آهای آقا تو که داری این عکس ها رو می گذاری می تونستی چند کلمه ای هم بنویسی ولی.باید بگم این دو موضوع کاملا متفاوت است نوشتن یه حال و هوای خاصی می خواهد البته گذاشتن این عکسها خودش یه مصیبت غظمی است چون باید عکسها را میان صدها عکس انتخاب کنم چون از یک سوژه من ده ها عکس می گیرم تا یکیش مناسب در بیاد و از طرفی برای این سایت باید عکسها سبک بشن تا هم راحت آپلود بشن و هم راحت باز بشن و کلی وقت می گیره ....
این روزها بشدت سرمش شلوغ است . صبح ها می رم سر کار و بعد از ظهر ها هم از ساعت 4 تا 8 می رم سر کلاس های تور لیدری ای که زیر نظر سازمان میراث فرهنگی اجرا می شود.و از طرفی هم هر درسی که به اتمام می رسه باید پشت بندش امتحان بدیم و می بینید که چه به حال و روز آدم می یاد همین سه شنبه یه امتحان مشکل دارم و الان مدت دو هفته است که دارم تو سر خودم و جزوه مربوطه می زنم .هیچوقت فکرش رو هم نمی کردم شناختن ایران تا بدین حد پر دردسر باشه امتحان روز سه شنبه در مورد شناخت اقوام ایران زمین است با محوریت عشایر.و اون اسامی سخت و ناجور
و اینها رو گفتم تا کمی با شرایط سخت این دوست بلاگرتون آشنا بشید.
چون می خواستم که عملا شناختم از ایران کامل باشه همزمان و قبل از این کلاس ها رفتم به ایران و قلب این سرزمین و شما رو هم همراه خودم کردم قصدم به تنهایی تفریح نبود چون در مواردی با برخوردهای نه چندان دلچسبی هم مواجه شدم.می دونید برای تهیه اون عکسهای غروب چغازنبیل چقدر دردسر داشتم؟
من به همراه یک گروه پیره زن و پیر مرد رفته بودم خوزستان و البته چاره ای هم نبود جوانان این مرز و بوم بیشتر ترجیح می دن وقتشون رو جور دیگه ای تلف کنن تا اینکه بطور هدفمند برن و ایران رو بشناسن.خلاصه در بین اعضا تور یه خانم مسنی بود که مدام آرایش می کرد و از گرین کارت آمریکاش و زندگی در آمریکا تعریف می کرد و به ما ها بدید تحقیر نگاه می کرد آخه عزیز من اون آمریکا تاریخ مدونش از سال 1776 بود و تاریخ تو از 10000 سال پیش بوده ( روی 10000 سال تاکید دارم چون به نظر من بزرگ نمایی 2500 سال اهدافی سیاسی داشته و عملا تاریخ ما را محدود کرده بود چرا که تاکید صرف بر اقوام آریایی یک اشتباه بوده است ما ایلامی ها را با تمدن عظیم اشان داشته ایم و همینطور کاسی ها لولوبی ها و گوتی ها اوراتو ها) خلاصه دردسرتون ندم ما رفتیم چغازنبیل که 45 کیلومتر با شوش فاصله داره و وسط بیابون و عصر بود وو هوا کم کم داشت تاریک می شد و من دیدم نور افکن های اطراف معبد روشن شدن ولی هوا تا اون حد تاریک نشده بود که زیبایی خودش رو نشون بده فقط 15 دقیقه وقت می خواستم و اون دوست تورلیدرم هم با من و چند تا از بچه هایی که مثل من دیونه ایران بودند همراهی کرد ولی چشموتون روز بد نبینه اون خانم در داخل اتوبوس چنان قشقرقی راه انداخته بود که تمامی نداشت...و راننده را تحت فشار گذاشته بود که این ها رو جا بگذارید و خودشون با تاکسی تلفنی بر گردن
بعدش هم که با مقاومت مادرم که در اتوبوس نشسته بود ساکت شد....
ما که وارد اتوبوس شدیم با چهره های اخم آلود اونها مواجه شدیم اون هم فقط بخاطر 15 دقیقه...اما در مقابل خوشحالم که تسلیم نشدم و شما الان عکس های غروب چغازنبیل رو هم دارید
و یا همین درسر رو در تنگه چوگان کازرون داشتم و می خواستم از نقش برجسته ای دوره ساسانی عکس بگیرم که یکی از همین خانمهای با کلاس مانع من شد: آقا هوا گرمه و بریم یه جا زیر درخت مینی بوس رو نگه داریم و استراحت کنیم این سنگها که دیدن نداره....اما من در مقابلش ایستادم و برنامه تور رو که در دست داشتم نشونش دادم و البته نگاه سرد بقیه مسافرها حاکی از حمایت کردن از اون خانم داشت اما پافشاری کردن من باعث شد که شما عکسهای تنگه چوگان رو هم داشته باشید.....
خلاصه از این اتفاقات زیاد برام رخ داد.
حالا یه موضوع دیگه: من علاقه زیادی به شناخت عملی هویت بومی مناطق مختلف کشورم دارم و یکی از قومیتهای مهم و اصیل کرد ها هستند و متاسفانه با توجه به حجم زیاد درسها و امنحانات پشت سر هم امسال فرصت این را پیدا نخواهم کرد که به کردستان سفر کنم ولی دلم خوش بود در کرمانشاه بتونم از موزه مردم شناسی تکیه معاون الملک عکس بگیرم ولی متاسفانه در ساعت کاری اونها یعنی 10 صبح جمعه وقتی به اونجا مراجعه کردیم با درهای بسته رو به رو شدیم و عملا من نتونستم کردها رو اونطور که دلم می خواست وارد این وبلاگ کنم.و سازمان میراث فرهنگی باید این بی نظمی در کارها را توضیح بده که برای چی از دولت بودجه می گیره؟ تکیه معاون الملک چرا باید در روز جمعه که تنها روز کاری اونها است بسته باشه؟ چون می دونید که موزه ها معمولا روز تعطیلشون وسط هفته است ومعمولاروز دوشنبه...
بگذریم که در طول این مدت از این اتفاقات زیاد رخ داد.
و جالبه بگم که اوایلی که این کار رو شروع کردم فکر کردم که کار عجیبی است و یک پزشک بهتره بره توی مطبش بشینه ولی در طول سفرهام بسیاری از پزشکان متخصص و مشهور این مرز و بوم رو دیدم که دوربین عکلاسی بدست گرفته اند و مثل عکاس ها این ور اون میشن.و در این کلاسها با گروهی از جوانان ایران دوست رو به رو شدم که عشق به ایران اونها رو به این راه کشونده است .و یا در کلاس ما دو نفر خلبان هستند چند نفر مهندس صنایع غذایی مهندس مکانیک و در گروههای گردشگری طیف های مختلف اجتماعی را می بینیم.
اینکه چگونه به این راه افتادم خودش داستانی داره....البته من از وقتی که خودم رو شناختم همراه پدر و مادرم بودم که من و خواهرم رو به گوشه گوشه ایران می بردند و یه چادر مسافرتی داشتیم که حالا به من رسیده و خلاصه در همون دوران بچگی تمام ایران به استثنا سیستان و بلوچستان را دیدم و سفر در خونم وارد شده بود
ولی سفرهایی که به ترکیه داشتم جرقه ای رو در ذهنم زد .کشوری که از نظر فرهنگی بسیار عقب افتاده است و فقط به کمک برنامه های ماهواره ای. خودشون رو با فرهنگ نشون می دن این همه توریست داره و در آمد توریسم در ترکیه برابری می کنه با درآمد نفت ایران.
در ترکیه با نگاهی موشکافانه و مقایسه ای با ایران به این نتیجه رسیدم که دست روی دست گذاشتن فایده نداره و باید عملا کاری کرد که البته هنوز کاری نکرده ام و امید به آینده دارم ولی همون موقع هم سعی کردم با نزدیک شدن به توریستهای غربی از کشورم بگم و متاسفانه اونها شناختی از ایران نداشتند و فقط می دونستن که اینجا حجاب اجباری است فقط همین
مخصوصا یکبار در حیاط توپ کاپی با یک آقای دکتر ایتالیایی وارد صحبت شدم و وقتی متوجه شد من هم دکترم و دوربین بدست خیلی خوشش اومد و باورش نمی شد که ایرانی ها هم به مکانهای تاریخی علاقمند باشن و از من خواست که یه سایت کامل از ایران بهش معرفی کنم که عکسهای متنوع داشته باشه ولی عملا چیزی در دست نداشتم
نداشتیم........بله نداشتیم و
و این شد که اینجام و شما همراهم...
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| Wednesday, 9-Aug-2006 19:00 |
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Taq e bostan - Kermanshah Part 1
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At Taq-e Bostan ("the arch of the garden"), situated in the neighborhood of modern Kermanshah, several Sassanid reliefs can be found: cave 1 (the big one) is richly decorated; cave 2 is -frankly- less interesting; and there's also a beautiful rock relief. In front of the monuments is a little artificial lake and an ancient garden, or "paradise". They were probably created in the Parthian age.
Cave 1 -technically, an iwan- is the youngest and most splendid monument. It contains artistic elements from various cultural traditions and was created by Khusrau II the Victorious (590-628), the last great king of Persia before the arrival of Islam. The upper section of the relief shows his investiture. From the right, the supreme god Ahuramazda hands over a ring to Khusrau, in the center. This ring, called cydaris, is the symbol of power. The water goddess Anahita (notice the little jar) presents a second ring. This composition is inspired by sixth-century Byzantine apsidal paintings (with Christ between two saints). Khusrau embarked upon a career as a conqueror, defeating the Byzantines, who were weakened by a long Italian war, on several occasions.
He invaded Syria and captured Jerusalem in 614, taking with him the relic of the True Cross. Khusrau's armies went on to invade Egypt and in 626, their advance guards paused only a mile from Constantinople. The Persians even occupied Cyprus and Rhodes. It seemed as if the ancient Achaemenid Empire, the model of the Sassanids, was restored. On this relief, Khusrau's belt, caftan, and handkerchief are inspired by the art of the people from the steppe.
Cave 1 of Taq-e Bostan was created after Khusrau's successful campaigns. However, the Byzantine emperor Heraclius trained an army, and in 627, he invaded Assyria and Mesopotamia. His campaign was extremely successful. The Persian army mutinied and Khusrau was murdered (628). His successor Ardašir III made peace and the relic of the True Cross was restored to Jerusalem.
Cave 1 of Taq-e Bostan shows the last flowering of Sassanid art. This is the magnificent hunting scene on the left wall. The king is standing in a boat.
After the death of Khusrau, four kings reigned in four years, and in 632, the armies of the Islam invaded the Zoroastrian empire. In 636, the Arabs captured Ctesiphon, and in 651, the last Sassanid king died as a fugitive.
On the first hunting scene, the king is hunting from a boat and shoots wild boars. His attendants are also represented, like these hunters on elephantback. This may be inspired by Indian art. After all, the natural habitat of elephants is not in Iran.
A second hunting scene is shown on the opposite wall. Now, we see the king hunting for stags.
The king and his entourage. There are also musicians.
One of the two Victory's outside the cave. These winged deities are a Greek-Roman influence.
King Khusrau II the Victorious, as he is represented on the capital of a column in the garden. He can be recognized by his crown
Cave 2 at Taq-e Bostan shows king Shapur III (383-388). He came to power after much struggle, and presents himself standing next to his grandfather Shapur II (309-379). He is the king standing to the right. This representation is pretty original. Usual, a king showed that he was the lawful ruler by presenting himself as receiving power from the gods.
Third relief
This relief shows the investiture of Shapur II. This is a more common representation of royal power: the supreme god Ahuramazda gives the king a cydaris ring and a diadem.
The king is standing on top of a defeated enemy, who can be identified with the Roman emperor Julianus Apostata, who had been defeated by Shapur in 363. To the left, the god Mithra.
The same relief seen from a different angle. Some scholars have argued that the Sassanid ruler is not Shapur, but his successor Ardašir III (379-383), but this view seems to be incorrect.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taq-e_Bostan
http://www.livius.org/a/iran/taqebostan/taqebostan1.html
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A great day to you, friend!
