Download or read book Recurrent Patterns in Iranian Religions written by Societas Iranologica Europaea and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Esoteric Traditions in Islamic Thought written by Leonard Lewisohn and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2024-09-12 with total page 508 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The notion of esoteric knowledge is one of the pillars of Islamic intellectual tradition. Though most visible in Sufism, it also dominated the first three and a half centuries of Shi‘ite thought. In this rich anthology, Leonard Lewisohn explores Islamic esotericism through the works of eleven authors who flourished in Persia, Central Asia and Asia Minor from the eleventh to the nineteenth centuries. He presents excerpts from each text in translation, accompanying these with introductions to the author’s life, works and thought. In the course of his erudite and enlightening commentary, he explores the common ground of esoteric thought and terminology, revealing a unity of perspective among Muslim thinkers.
Download or read book Mithraic Societies From Brotherhood Ideal to Religion s Adversary written by Abolala Soudavar and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2014-02-10 with total page 406 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although by its title, this book seems to be about a specialized topic, the spread of Mithraic societies and its avatars (in time and geographical expanse) enhances its relevancy. From Roman legionaries to chivalry orders, from dervish circles to guild organizations, and from Freemasons to French revolutionaries, the hierarchy of Mithraic societies, their initiation rites, and their oaths of secrecy, provided a model for brotherhood organization that was efficient, but also flexible. They could adapt their philosophy to the prevailing politico-religion conditions of the day, because they did not worship any particular god, but could also be comrades in arms with nascent religious movements, such as with Christianity. Mithra was the initial guarantor of their oath, and if need be it could be replaced by Jesus, Allah or any other divinity. Their "religion" was their brotherhood, and as such they usually provided a counter-balance to the power elite, and had the potential to become politically active.
Download or read book Sufism in the Secret History of Persia written by Milad Milani and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-10-14 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sufism formed one of the cultures of resistance which has existed in the social fabric of Persia since antiquity. Such resistance continues to manifest itself today with many looking to Sufism as a model of cooperation between East and West, between traditional and modern. 'Sufism in the Secret History of Persia' explores the place of Sufi mysticism in Iran's intellectual and spiritual consciousness through traditional and contemporary Sufi thinkers and writers. Sufism in the Secret History of Persia examines the current of spirituality which extends from the old Iranian worship of Mithra to modern Islam. This current always contains elements of gnosis and inner knowing, but has often provided impetus for socio-political resistance. The study describes how these persisting pre-Islamic cultural and socio-religious elements have secretly challenged Muslim orthodoxies and continue to shape the nature and orientation of contemporary Sufism.
Download or read book The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism written by Michael Stausberg and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2015-03-23 with total page 696 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first ever comprehensive English-language survey of Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest living religions Evenly divided into five thematic sections beginning with an introduction to Zoroaster/Zarathustra and concluding with the intersections of Zoroastrianism and other religions Reflects the global nature of Zoroastrian studies with contributions from 34 international authorities from 10 countries Presents Zoroastrianism as a cluster of dynamic historical and contextualized phenomena, reflecting the current trend to move away from textual essentialism in the study of religion
Download or read book The Age of the Seljuqs written by Edmund Herzig and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2014-11-20 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From their ancestral heartland by the shores of the Aral Sea, the medieval Oghuz Turks marched westwards in search of dominion. Their conquests led to control of a Muslim empire that united the territories of the Eastern Islamic world, melded Turkic and Persian influences and transported Persian culture to Anatolia. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries the new Turkic-Persian symbiosis that had earlier emerged under the Samanids, Ghaznavids and Qarakha-nids came to fruition in a period that, under the enlightened rule of the Seljuq dynasty, combined imperial grandeur with remarkable artistic achievement. This latest volume in The Idea of Iran series focuses on a system of government based on Turkic 'men of the sword' and Persian 'men of the pen' that the Seljuqs (famous foes of the Crusader Frankish knights) consolidated in a form that endured for centuries. The book further explores key topics relating to the innovative Seljuq era, including: conflicted Sunni-Shi'a relations between the Sunni Seljuq Empire and Ismaili Fatimid caliphate; architecture, art and culture; and politics and poetry.Istvan Vasary looks back in Chapter 1 to the early history of the Turks in the wider Iranian world, discussing the debates about the dating and distribution of the early Turkish presence in Central Asia, Iran and Afghanistan. NizaAZm al-Mulk is the subject of Chapter 2, in which Carole Hillenbrand subjects this 'maverick vizier' to critical scrutiny. While paying due credit to his extraordinary achievements, she does not shy away from concluding that his career illustrates the maxim that 'power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely'. A fitting antagonist for NizaAZm al-Mulk is the subject of Chapter 3, in which Farhad Daftary follows the career of the remarkable revolutionary leader Hasan-i SabbaAZh and the history of the Ismaili state-within-a-state that he founded with his capture of the fortress of Alamt in 1090. In Chapter 4 David Durand-Guedy examines the Seljuq Empire from the viewpoint of its (western) capital, Isfahan. He concentrates on the distinction between the parts of Iran to the west of the great deserts (and in close connection to Iraq and Baghdad) and the parts to the east, notably Khorasan, with its ties to Transoxiana and Tokharestan.Vanessa Van Renterghem in Chapter 5 challenges the long-held view that the Seljuq takeover of Baghdad represented a liberation of the Abbasid caliphs from their burden-some subordination to the heretical Buyids. Alexey Khismatulin in Chapter 6 presents a forensic examination of two important works of literature, casting doubt on the authorship of both the Siyar al-muluAZk attributed to NizaAZm al-Mulk and the NasAZhat al-muluAZk ascribed to al-GhazaAZlAZ. In Chapter 7 Asghar Seyed-Gohrab discusses the poetry of the Ghaznavid and Seljuq periods, demonstrating the poets' mastery of metaphor and of extended description and riddling to build suspense. The final chapter by Robert Hillenbrand shifts the focus from texts and literature to architecture and to that pre-eminent Seljuq masterpiece, the Friday Mosque of Isfaha
Download or read book Family Portraits with Saints written by Alexandre Papas and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2020-08-10 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No detailed description available for "Family Portraits with Saints".
Download or read book Religions of Iran written by Richard Foltz and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-11-01 with total page 541 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A sweeping new work exploring Iran’s cultural import and influence on each of the world’s major religions Today it is Iran’s association with Islam that commands discussion and debate. But this perception obscures a far more influential and complex relationship with religion. Iran has in fact played an unparalleled role in shaping all the world religions, injecting Iranian ideas into the Jewish, Buddhist, Christian, and Muslim traditions. This vivid and surprising work explores the manner in which Persian culture has interacted with and transformed each world faith, from the migration of the Israelites to Iran thousands of years ago, to the influence of Iranian notions on Mahayana Buddhism and Christianity. Travelling through thousands of years of history, Foltz’s powerful and evocative journey uncovers a vital and fresh account of our spiritual heritage in this fascinating region.
Download or read book The Zoroastrian Flame written by Sarah Stewart and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2016-02-16 with total page 643 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For many centuries, from the birth of the religion late in the second millennium BC to its influence on the Achaemenids and later adoption in the third century AD as the state religion of the Sasanian Empire, it enjoyed imperial patronage and profoundly shaped the culture of antiquity. The Magi of the New Testament most probably were Zoroastrian priests from the Iranian world, while the enigmatic figure of Zarathushtra (or Zoroaster) himself has exerted continual fascination in the West, influencing creative artists as diverse as Voltaire, Nietzsche, Mozart and Yeats. This authoritative volume brings together internationally recognised scholars to explore Zoroastrianism in all its rich complexity. Examining key themes such as history and modernity, tradition and scripture, art and architecture and minority status and religious identity, it places the modern Zoroastrians of Iran, and the Parsis of India, in their proper contexts. The book extends and complements the coverage of its companion volume, The Everlasting Flame.
Download or read book Religion and Daily Life in the Mountains of Iran written by Erika Friedl and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2020-12-10 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Until the 1960s, little was known inside or outside Iran about the tribes living in the country. The anthropological research of Erika Friedl is now renowned for presenting comprehensive data collected over a 50-year period from her time among the Boir Ahmad tribal people living in the Zagros Mountains of Iran. In this new book, Friedl turns her attention to the subject of religion, which she had only touched upon in her previous work. About ninety percent of people in Iran and nearly everybody in Boir Ahmad are Muslims of the Twelver Shia group. However, studies of tribal people's religiosity, beliefs and rituals are scarce, and many researchers have discounted their views and experience, regarding the tribes as only “nominally religious” because their practices do not fit in with the mainstream practices and ideas in Iran. Religion and Daily Life in the Mountains of Iran corrects this view and provides a hallmark study of tribal people's religiosity. Demonstrating the great diversity of their philosophical and religious ideas, the book reveals the ways in which the tribes choose and express their religion, define their communities and understand their world. From conversations about God and his relationships with people, to observations on ageing and death, and research into the tribe's use of spells, amulets and sacrifices, to their beliefs about saints, health and well-being, the book is an original ethnographic exploration of religion and daily life.
Download or read book From Da n to D n written by Christine Allison and published by Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. This book was released on 2009 with total page 538 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Die Festschrift enthalt insgesamt 30 Beitrage zu verschiedenen Bereichen der Iranistik. Es handelt sich sowohl um Artikel zu Forschungsschwerpunkten von Ph. G. Kreyenbroek, wie dem Zoroastrismus, der kurdischen Literatur und Religion, insbesondere die der Yeziden und Ahl-e Haqq, aber auch um Beitrage zur iranischen Philologie, der Zeit der Achameniden sowie der Geschichte und Kultur Irans in islamischer Zeit. Die Aufsatze umfassen so unterschiedliche Themen wie z.B. Sinn und Zweck von Ritualen aus der Sicht von Parsi-Priestern, eine Gegenuberstellung von Tawusi Melek und dem Pfau in der Mandaischen Tradition, Zeitkonzepte des Yezidismus, einen Uberblick uber die persische Presse der letzten Jahrzehnte, judaische Gesandte im Achamenidenreich, Ohrmazd in der soghdischen Uberlieferung, Modalitatstypologie im Kurdischen und Hawrami oder baktrische Demonstrativpronomina. Ein Uberblick uber das Werk Kreyenbroeks sowie ein Verzeichnis seiner Schriften erganzen den Band.
Download or read book Tafsir as Mystical Experience Intimacy and Ecstasy in Quran Commentary written by Todd Lawson and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2018-11-26 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Tafsir as Mystical Experience, Todd Lawson shows how the Quran may be engaged with for meaning and understanding, the usual goal of mystical exegesis, and also how it may be engaged with through tafsīr in a quest for spiritual or mystical experience. In this earliest of the Báb’s extended works, written before his public claim to be the return of the hidden Imam, the act of reading is shown to be something akin to holy communion in which the sacred text is both entrance upon and destination of the mystic quest. The Quran here is a door to an “abode of glory” and an abiding spiritual encounter with the divine through the prophet, his daughter Fāṭima and the twelve Imams of Ithna-ʿasharī Shiʿism who inhabit the letters, words, verses and suras of the Book. Cover calligraphy by Burhan Zahrai of Quran 53:11
Download or read book Traditions of the Magi written by Albert F. de Jong and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2015-08-27 with total page 510 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first full treatment of the Greek and Latin references to Zoroastrianism since the pioneering works of Benveniste, Bidez & Cumont, and Clemen. It focuses on the possibilities offered by the classical reports on Zoroastrianism to reconstruct the history of that faith. The book is divided into three sections. The first section deals with introductory problems concerning ancient religious ethnography and current views of the history of Zoroastrianism. The second section consists of commentaries on five selected passages. The third section offers a thematical overview of the materials and their relevance for the history of Iranian religions. Apart from offering introductions to a wide range of debates and topics in Classics and Iranian studies, the book aims to illustrate the diversity of beliefs and practices in ancient Zoroastrianism.
Download or read book The Role of Nature in Yezidism written by Rezan Shivan Aysif and published by Universitätsverlag Göttingen. This book was released on 2021 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Yezidis are a religious minority living in Kurdistan as the native land. They also live in Transcaucasia and in other countries as diaspora communities such as Russia and Western Europe and particularly in Germany. Their shared language is Kurmanji-Kurdish dialect. Yezidism is a cultural and religious system based on ancient religious traditions and it has roots in some ancient Iranian religions, Mesopotamian cultures and Sufism. Generally, it is regarded as a way to understand life, not an acquired dogma. In addition, each of monotheism, gnosticism, orthopraxy and the holiness of elements of nature play a central role in its traditions. What is more, its religious beliefs and practices have been preserved through oral traditions, which can be considered as a religious literature that has its own forms and categories such as Qewl, Beyt and Qeside, etc. Lalish which is located in Kurdistan is the Yezidis’ holiest place in the world. This book contains a detailed study of describing and analyzing the considerable role that the elements of nature, notably the four elements: fire, water, earth and air/wind play in Yezidism, in its religious beliefs and practices, and on the basis of the religious poetic texts and living religious traditions. The fieldwork of the study was carried out in Yezidi areas in the Kurdistan region of Iraq which is the centre of their religion.
Download or read book Studies in the Islamic Decorative Arts written by Robert Hillenbrand and published by Pindar Press. This book was released on 2019-12-31 with total page 531 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Islamic artists channelled their energies not into easel painting and large-scale sculpture, but rather into what Western scholars, obeying a very different hierarchy of art forms, rather disparagingly term the decorative arts or even the minor arts. In point of fact, some of the greatest masterpieces of Islamic art are in the media of ceramics, metalwork, textiles, ivory and glass. Often the images they bear express a complex set of meanings, for Islam inherited much material from the iconographic systems of earlier civilizations, notably those of the ancient Near East and of the classical world. Islam also developed its own distinctive vocabulary of signs and symbols. Accordingly, questions of iconography and meaning bulk large among the studies gathered together in the present volume. These studies, written over a period of almost thirty years, and taken from a wide variety of published sources, deal with aspects of the decorative arts from Spain to India and from the 7th to the 17th century. They focus in turn upon ceramics and metalwork; on coins, carpets and calligraphy; and on carving in wood and ivory. They are arranged under three headings. The first comprises general surveys of the field covering the content of these arts and confronting the challenges they present, such as the Islamic approach to three-dimensional sculpture. The second deals with questions of iconography and meaning, while the third comprises a series of studies devoted to specific media such as ivory, woodwork and numismatics. This volume therefore offers not only a general introduction to some of the problems posed by Islamic art, but also readings of key objects in an attempt to explore their meaning; and finally, an in-depth focus on individual objects representing specific genres and media.
Download or read book Religion and Society in Qajar Iran written by Robert Gleave and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2004-11-23 with total page 497 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: E.G. Browne relates this story in his A Year amongst the Persians in orderto demonstrate the gross ignorance which sometimes characterises [amulls] decisions. The episode was related to Browne by one of his Bbassociates in Kerman, and the question was designed to expose this ignoranceof the clergy. As it is related here, however, the jibe is unwarranted. A hole half a yard in each direction is not half a yard square (it is half ayard cubed). The mull, in the absence of a specification of depth, assumesthat the hole is dug to the same depth as the original request. This assumptionis.
Download or read book The Persian Presence in the Islamic World written by Richard G. Hovannisian and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1998-11-19 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The thirteenth volume based on the Giorgio Levi Della Vida conference reassesses the role of the Iranian peoples in the development and consolidation of Islamic civilization. In his key essay, Ehsan Yarshater casts fresh light on that role challenging the view that, after reaching a climax in Baghdad in the ninth century, Islamic culture entered a period of decline. In fact, he maintains, a new and remarkably creative phase began in Khurasan and Transoxania, symbolized by the adoption of Persian as a medium of literary expression. By the mid-sixteenth century, Persian literary and intellectual paradigms had spread from Anatolia to India, encompassing the greater part of the Islamic world. Yarshater also challenges traditional assumptions about the 'Islamization of Persia'. In the essays which follow, six distinguished scholars consider the historical, cultural, and religious aspects of the Persian presence in the Islamic world.
