Table of Contents

• RABʿ-E RAŠIDI

  Sheila S. Blair

  the charitable foundation (abwāb al-berr) established by the physician, vizier, and historian Rašid-al-Din Fażl-Allāh in an eastern suburb of Tabriz.

• RABATAK INSCRIPTION

  Cross-Reference

  in the Bactrian language. See KUSHAN DYNASTY ii. Inscriptions of the Kushans.

• RABBAN ŠĀPUR

  Florence Jullien

  East Syrian monk (7th century CE);  the monastery he founded in Ḵuzestān, in the mountains of Šuštar, exercised noteworthy influence on monastic practice in the Persian Gulf area and Fārs, as well as Beth Huzāye, during the 7th century.

• RĀBET, ʿABD-AL-AḤAD

  Mohammad Baqir

  19th-century Indian author of Persian works (d. 1268/1851-52).

• RAʿD

  Nasreddin Parvin

  (Thunder), the name of a newspaper published by Sayyed Żiyāʾ-al-Din Ṭabāṭabāʾi in Tehran, 1913-1921, with interruptions.

• RAʿDI AZARAKHSHI, Gholam-ʿAli

  Kāmyār ʿĀbedi

  (1909-1999), prominent poet.

• RADI, AKBAR

  Farindokht Zahedi

  (1939-2007) dramatist, short story writer, university lecturer, and an influential figure in popularizing theatre as an art in modern Iran, whose incorporation of colloquial Persian in his works, has contributed to the preservation of the dialects of the northern provinces.

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• RAFʿAT (REFʿAT)

  Gregory Maxwell Bruce

  (d. 1819), pen name of ḠOLĀM JILĀNI, scholar of Arabic and Persian literature, teacher at Rampur, and author of Dorr-e manẓum.

• RĀḠEB EṢFAHĀNI

  Geert Jan van Gelder

  (d. early 5th/11th cent.), scholar, littérateur, and author of works on Islamic ethics, Qurʾanic exegesis, Islamic theology, and Arabic philology, as well as anthologies.

• RAHAVARD

  Ḡafur Mirzāʾi

  one of the first Persian periodicals published by the Iranian community in the United States after the Iranian revolution of 1979.

• RAHI

  Cross-Reference

  pen name of prominent 20th century poet and lyricist Mohammad Hasan Mo'ayyeri. See MO'AYYERI, MOHAMMAD HASAN. 

• RAḤIMZĀDA, BĀQI

  Keith Hitchins

  (Boqī Rahimzoda in Tajik orthography; b. Sorboḡi, 15 May 1910; d. Dushanbe, 30 January 1980), Tajik poet who adapted classical Persian-Tajik forms to the social and cultural goals of the Soviet era.

• RAHMANI, NOSRAT

  Saeid Rezvani

  (1930-2000), modernist poet of 1960s-1990s, among the few of his contemporaries whose poems did not participate in the ideological discourse of the period in search of social justice and freedom, and whose rebellious discontent manifested itself more in his challenging of social norms and codes of behavior.

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• RĀHNEMĀ-YE ZENDAGI

  Nassereddin Parvin

  (Guide to life), a biweekly magazine published in Tehran, 1940-41.

• Railroads i. The First Railroad Built and Operated in Persia

  Soli Shahvar

  During the three decades between the 1850s and the 1880s various foreign concerns attempted to introduce railways to Persia, but these did not materialize.

• RAJʿA

  Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi

  (lit.: “return”), theological term that has had many meanings according to the context in which it was professed.

• RĀM WA SITĀ

  Prashant Keshavmurthy

  an early 17th-century Persian translation of an ancient Indian love story epic in Vālmiki’s Sanskrit Rāmāyaṇa that narrates the earthly career of Rām, an incarnation of the god Vishnu, and his wife Sitā. It was translated in the maṯnawi genre by Masiḥ Saʿd-Allāh Pānipati.

• RAM, Emad

  Morteżā Ḥoseyni Dehkordi

  (1931-2003), composer, vocalist, and flute player.

• RĀMHORMOZ

  Dénes Gazsi

  a town and sub-province in Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran.

• RĀNEKUH

  Cross-Reference

  old district encompassing eastern Gilān in the 19th century. It became a part of Lāhijān sub-province (šahrestān) in 1937 and was divided between the sub-provinces of Langarud and Rudsar in the 1960s.

• RĀŠED-AL-DIN SENĀN

  Farhad Daftary

  (1126-1193), one of the most prominent figures in the entire history of the Nezāri Ismaʿilis in Syria. He converted to Ismaʿilism in his youth and went to Alamut to furthur his education on the subject. He played a major role in the regional politics of Syria and succeeded in maintaining the independence of his community under the most adverse circumstances.

• RASHT i. The City

  Christian Bromberger

  city and district in Gilān province, the capital of Gilān and the largest city along the Caspian coast of Iran.

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• RASHT ii. The District

  Marcel Bazin

  the largest distirct in the plain of Gilān and the most populated in the whole province. 

• RAŠN

  William Malandra

  Avestan Rašnu, the deity of the ancient Iranian pantheon who functions as the divine Judge.

• RAŠN YAŠT

  Leon Goldman

  the Middle Persian title given to the twelfth Yašt of the Avesta. It is dedicated to the Zoroastrian deity Rašnu

• RASSEKH, MEHRI

  Cyrus Alai

  Returning to Iran in 1962, Rassekh taught asassistant professor at the University of Tehran Department of Psychology and Education. She was promoted to full professorship and in 1973 was appointed head of that department— the first woman department head in an Iranian university.

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• RASTḴIZ

  Nassereddin Parvin

  (Resurrection) newspaper published 1915-16 in Baghdad a group of Iranian expatriates in Europe, headed by Sayyed Ḥasan Taqizāda.

• RASULID HEXAGLOT

  Peter B. Golden

  a six-language glossary compiled by or prepared for the sixth Rasulid king of Yemen (r. 1363-77).

• RATHINES

  Rüdiger Schmitt

  a general of Pharnabazos, the satrap of the Daskylitis (see DASCYLIUM) under Dareios II and Artaxerxes II (see DARIUS iv and ARTAXERXES II).

• RĀVANDI, Qoṭb-al-Din Saʿid

  Etan Kohlberg

  Imami author, traditionist, and jurist (d. Qom, 14 Šawwāl 573/5 April 1178).

• RAWAK VIHARA

  Ulf Jaeger

  a ruined Buddhist stupa and monastery complex located about 40 km northeast of Hotan/Hetian in Xinjiang Province, western China; translated as “high building” or “steep house”.

• RAWLINSON, HENRY ii. CONTRIBUTIONS TO ASSYRIOLOGY AND IRANIAN STUDIES

  Peter T. Daniels

  His first relevant activity was to copy the trilingual inscriptions of Darius I and Xerxes I at Mount Alvand (Elvend) near Hamadān, in April 1835.

• RAWWADIDS

  Andrew Peacock

  a family of Arab descent that controlled parts of Azerbaijan and Armenia from the late 8th through the 11th centuries.

• RAWŻA-YE TASLIM

  S. Jalal Badakhchani

  title of the most comprehensive work on the Nezāri Ismaʿili theology of the Alamut  period by Naṣir-al-Din Ṭusi, the celebrated polymath who also served as vizier under the Il-khanid Hülegü.

• RAY i. ARCHEOLOGY

  Rocco Rante

  In the late 19th and early 20th century, the site was excavated unscientifically by Western archeologists and local dealers, mostly to search for precious objects; a large proportion of the finds found their way to the black market. At present several museums conserve some specimens from Ray belonging to this antiquarian surge.

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• RĀŻIA ĀZĀD

  Evelin Grassi

  (Roziya Ozod; 1893-1957), Tajik poet and educator.

• RED DEER

  Eskandar Firouz

  Cervus elaphus, in Persian: Marāl and also Gavazn and Gāv-e kuhi. i. Natural history. ii. In Persian art. The red deer ranges from Europe to Northeast Asia, its appearance changing gradually, until, from Central Asia eastward, it becomes quite similar to the North American wapiti.

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• REDARD, GEORGES

  Gerard Fussman

  Swiss scholar of comparative grammar of the Indo-European languages and Iranian dialectology.

• REICHELT, HANS

  Rüdiger Schmitt

  Among Reichelt’s publications are a number of studies on the Indo-European languages in general, especially on Greek and Latin, but the focus of his attention were the Old and Middle Iranian languages, more particularly, Avestan and Sogdian studies. All his work is characterized by his philological acumen.

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• RESĀLA-YE MADANIYA

  Sen McGlinn

  a treatise of some 130 pages by Abd-al-Baha, internally dated in 1292/1875, which calls on the Iranian people to ‘awake’ and take the steps necessary to modernize the country.

• REŻWĀNŠAHR

  Marcel Bazin

  small town and sub-provencial unit (šahrestān) in the western part of Gilān Province.

• RHETORICAL FIGURES

  Natalia Chalisova

  devices of embellishment, tropes, and figures considered as an intrinsic part of literary expression in medieval Persia.

• RHODOGUNE

  Rüdiger Schmitt

  probably a rendering of OIran. *Vṛda-gaunā-, fem. “rose-colored,” and the name of several female historical figures.

• RHOXANE

  Multiple Authors

  name of various women in Achaemenid times, most notably the wife of Alexander the Great (usually called Roxane or Roxana in English).

• RHOXANE i. THE NAME

  Rüdiger Schmitt

  name of various women in Achaemenid times, most notably the wife of Alexander the Great (usually called Roxane or Roxana in English).

• RHOXANE ii. ALEXANDER’S WIFE

  Ernst Badian

  name of various women in Achaemenid times, most notably the wife of Alexander the Great (usually called Roxane or Roxana in English).

• RHYTON

  Ulf Jaeger

  translated as “drinking horn,” its upper end can be filled with liquid and the lower end has a spout for pouring liquid out.

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• RIAHI, MOHAMMAD AMIN

  Moḥammad Esteʿlāmi

  prominent scholar of Persian classical literature, statesman, and professor of Persian language and literature.

• RICE

  Cross-Reference

  See BERENJ.

• RISHĀR KHAN

  Shireen Mahdavi

  (Rišār Khan), the Persian name of Jules Richard (1816-1891), a Frenchman in the service of Persian government as a language instructor at Dār al-Fonun College, court photographer, and translator.  

• RITTER, Hellmut

  Josef van Ess

  (1892-1971), German scholar of Islamic studies, and particularly of Persian literature and mysticism. His magnum opus: Das Meer der Seele: Mensch, Welt und Gott in den Geschichten des Farīduddīn ʿAṭṭār (Leiden 1955) is an encyclopedic manual which guides the reader through the psychology of Islamic mysticism. The book is the best introduction to date into Sufi thought. 

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• ROBINSON, Samuel

  Parvin Loloi

  (1794-1884), British scholar of Persian, translator, cotton manufacturer, and educationalist.

• ROMANIAN-IRANIAN RELATIONS

  Keith Hitchins

  Economical and political relations developed significantly between Romania and Iran in the second half of the 20th century;these led to cultural relations as well, as evidenced by the translations of classical Persian poetry and manuscripts into Romanian.

• ROSE WATER

  Cross-Reference

  See GOLĀB.

• ROSENTHAL, FRANZ

  Hinrich Biesterfeldt

  (1914-2003), American scholar of Arabic and Semitic Studies, and particularly of Islamic intellectual history.

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• ROSTAM b. Farroḵ-Hormozd

  D. Gershon Lewental

  Sasanian provincial ruler and military commander at the Battle of Qādesiya (mid-630s CE).

• ROXANE

  Cross-reference

  See RHOXANE.

• RUDĀBA

  A. Shapur Shahbazi

  princess of Kabul, wife of Zāl, and mother of Rostam in the Šāh-nāma.
  

• RUDBĀR

  Marcel Bazin and Christian Bromberger

  town and district in southwestern Gilān. Rudbār is located on both banks of the Safidrud river at lat 36°51′ N, long 49°25′ E, at an average altitude of 300 m.

• RUDSAR

  Marcel Bazin

  city and sub-provincial district (šahrestān) in eastern Gilān.

• RUḤAFZĀ, SOLAYMĀN

  Houman Sarshar

  (1900-1995), master of Persian classical music. He belongs to the first generation of Persian classical musicians who learned musical notation and the second generation to record his music.

• RUḤAWŻI

  William O. Beeman

  a comic type of traditional folk musical drama in Iran.

• RUMI, JALĀL-AL-DIN

  Multiple Authors

  (d. 1273), Persian poet and Sufi philosopher

• RUMI, JALĀL-AL-DIN vii. Philosophy

  William C. Chittick

• RUMI, JALĀL-AL-DIN viii. Rumi’s Teachings

  Jawid Mojaddedi

  His didactic poem, the Maṯnawi and his main prose work, the Fihe mā fihe represent the last two decades of his life, constituting the most substantial sources for his teachings without need for recourse to his many biographies.

• RUSSIA

  Multiple Authors

  I. Russo-Iranian Relations up to the Bolshevik Revolution. II. Iranian-Soviet Relations (1917-1991). III. Travelers in Persia to 1917. IV. Russians at the court of Moḥammad-ʿAli Shah.

• RUSSIA i. Russo-Iranian Relations up to the Bolshevik Revolution

  Elena Andreeva

  Prior to the 18th century, Iran and Russia treated each other as equal in their sporadic trade and diplomatic contacts. The fragmentation of Iran during the 18th century encouraged Russian aspirations to establish its domination in the Caucasus and the Caspian.

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• RUSSIA ii. IRANIAN-SOVIET RELATIONS (1917-1991)

  N. M. Mamedova

  From the outset, the very first international resolutions of the young Soviet state had an immediate impact on relations with Iran.

• RUSSIA iii. Russo-Iranian Relations in the Post-Soviet Era (1991-present)

  Clément Therme

  Since the end of the 1980s, Iran and Russia have sought to increase their cooperation in the military, nuclear, oil, and gas sectors. It emerged in the light of Iran’s need to bypass Western restrictions on technology transfers in the nuclear, aviation, and military sectors.

• RUSSIA iv. TRAVELERS IN PERSIA TO 1917

  Elena Andreeva

  Russian travelers’ reports are a valuable source on the history of Persia and its relationship with Russia.

• RUSSIA v. RUSSIANS AT THE COURT OF MOḤAMMAD-ʿALI SHAH

  Elena Andreeva

  The presence of Russians at the court of Moḥammad-ʿAli Shah (r. 1907-09) reflected Russia’s efforts to improve her competitive position against the British by strengthening her influence over the Qajar rulers.

• RUSSIA vi. Persian Art Collections in Russia

  Anatol A. Ivanov

  The collection of Iranian art in Russia is kept in the two major cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg; some small collections and individual pieces that may be preserved in other towns, but no information about them is available.

• RUZ-NĀMA-YE RASMI-E DAWLAT-E IRĀN

  Nassereddin Parvin

  (Official Journal of the Government of Iran), a paper published in Tehran as the official organ of government since 1911.

• RUZBEHĀN

  Lâle Uluç

  the proper name used in artist signatures in twelve manuscripts with illumination, which are associated with 16th-century Shiraz workshops.

• RYE

  Hušang Aʿlam

  (čāvdār), Secale cereale L. (fam. Gramineae). The Persian name is probably of Turkish origin.

• Raqs: Dozala va Tombak

  music sample

• Reng-e Čahārgāh

  music sample

• R~ CAPTIONS OF ILLUSTRATIONS

  Cross-Reference

  list of all the figure and plate images in the letter R entries.