Iran 02 (1964)

IRAN
Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies
VOLUME
II 1964
CONTENTS
Page
Governing Council ii
. .
Statement of Aims and Activities iii
1
0..
Director's Report - , * v
. . . .
Three Persian Poems, by Professor A. J. Arberry - I
. . .
A Brief Report on the Excavation of Marlik Tepe and Pileh Qal'eh,
by Professor E. O. Negahban 13
. .
Excavationsat Pasargadae,Second PreliminaryReport, by David Stronach 21
Excavations at Tall-i-Nokhodi, 1962, by Clare Goff 41
. .
Kfachu Balfichand Ichthyophagi, by Brian Spooner 53
. .
An Introduction to the Economic Organization of Early QatjairIran,
-
by Gavin Hambly . 69
. . . .
The Significance of KitdbBurhdnul-HIaqq,by S. C. R. Weightman 83
?
Application Forms opposite1o4
. .
Publishedannuallyby
THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF PERSIAN STUDIES
c/o The British Academy, Burlington Gardens, London, W.I
Price: ?2 Ios. od.

NOTES FOR CONTRIBUTORS
TITLES The titles of books and periodicals should be printed in italics (in typing, underlined), while
the titles of articles in periodicals should be in Roman letters between quotation marks.
REFERENCES Where references are made, the volume and date of publication of a book should
both be cited in the first reference to it. The number of a volume in a series should be given in
Roman numerals.
ILLUSTRATIONS Only clear glossy prints of photographs or strong outline drawings should be
submitted. Photographs reproduced as half-tones or collotypes will appear as " Plates ", numbered
in capital Roman numerals. All line drawings, including maps, will appear as " Figures ", numbered
consecutively in Arabic numerals throughout each article.
TRANSLITERATION The transliteration into Roman script of names and words in Oriental
languages (other than modern Turkish) should be in accordance with the system employed by learned
bodies such as the Royal Asiatic Society. Modern Turkish names and words should be written in the
current Turkish orthography.
MEMBERSHIP OF THE INSTITUTE
Anyone wishing to join the Institute should write to the Honorary Secretary, J. E. F. Gueritz,
Esq., M.A., 85 Queen's Road, Richmond, Surrey. The annual subscription for Membership of the
Institute is ?i, while the total sum of ?2 ios. od. entitles the subscriber to receive the Journal.
Application Forms opposite page 104.
IRAN
Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies
VOLUME II 1964
CONTENTS
Page
Governing Council . ii
Statement of Aims and Activities . . . . . . . iii
Director's Report . . . . . . . . . v
Three Persian Poems, by Professor A. J. Arberry I
A Brief Report on the Excavation of Marlik Tepe and Pileh Qal'eh,

by Professor E. O. Negahban . . . . . . . 13
Excavationsat Pasargadae,Second PreliminaryReport, by David Stronach 2I
Excavations at Tall-i-Nokhodi, 1962, by Clare Goff . 41
Kfich u Balzachand Ichthyophagi,by Brian Spooner . . . . 53
An Introduction to the Economic Organization of Early Qajar Iran,
by Gavin Hambly . . . . . . . . . 69
The Significance of KitdbBurhdnul-HIaqq,by S. C. R. Weightman 83
Application Forms . . . . . . . opposite 104
Publishedannuallyby
THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF PERSIAN STUDIES
c/o The British Academy, Burlington Gardens, London, W.I

BRITISH INSTITUTE OF PERSIAN STUDIES
GOVERNING COUNCIL
President
*Professor M. E. L. MALLOWAN, C.B.E., M.A., D.Lit., F.B.A., F.S.A.
Vice-President
Professor A. J. ARBERRY, M.A., Litt.D., D.Litt., F.B.A.
Members
R. D. BARNETT, Esq., D.Lit., F.B.A., F.S.A.
*Sir MAURICE BOWRA, M.A., D.Litt., Litt.D., LL.D., F.B.A.
P. R. E. BROWNE, Esq., O.B.E., T.D., Q.C.
Sir TRENCHARD COX, C.B.E., D.Litt., F.S.A., F.M.A.
Professor C. J. GADD, C.B.E., D.Litt., F.B.A., F.S.A.
BASIL GRAY, Esq., C.B.E.
Professor A. K. S. LAMBTON, O.B.E., D.Lit., Ph.D.
Professor SETON H. F. LLOYD, C.B.E., M.A., F.B.A., F.S.A., A.R.I.B.A.
*Sir MORTIMER WHEELER, C.I.E., M.C., T.D., D.Lit., F.B.A., F.S.A.
Professor R. C. ZAEHNER, M.A.
Hon. Editor
LAURENCE LOCKHART, Esq., Litt.D., Ph.D., F.R.Hist.S.
Hon. Treasurer
Sir JOHN LE ROUGETEL, K.C.M.G., M.C.
Hon. Secretary
JOHN E. F. GUERITZ, Esq., M.A.
OFFICERS IN IRAN
Director
DAVID STRONACH, Esq., M.A., F.S.A.
AssistantDirector
BRIAN SPOONER, Esq., B.A.
c/o The British Academy, P.O. Box 2617,

Burlington Gardens, Tehran,
LONDON, W.I. IRAN.
*DenotesFounderMember
STATEMENT OF AIMS AND ACTIVITIES
I. The Institute has an establishment in Tehran at which British scholars, men of learning versed in
the arts, friends of Iran, may reside and meet their Iranian colleagues in order to discusswith them
subjectsof common interest: the arts, archaeology, history, literature, linguistics, religion, philosophy
and cognate subjects.
2. The Institute provides accommodation for senior scholars and for teachers at British Universities
in order that they may refresh themselves at the source of knowledge from which their teaching
derives. The same service is being rendered to younger students who show promise of developing
interests in Persian studies.
3. The Institute, whilst concerned with Persian culture in the widest sense, is particularly concerned
with the development of archaeological techniques, and seeks the co-operation of Iranian scholars
and students in applying current methods to the resolution of archaeological and historical
problems.
4. Archaeological excavation using modern scientific techniques as ancillary aids is one of the
Institute's primary tasks. These activities, which entail a fresh appraisal of previous discoveries,
have already yielded new historical, architectural, and archaeological evidence which is adding
to our knowledge of the past and of its bearing on the modern world.
5. In pursuit of all the activities mentioned in the preceding paragraphs the Institute is gradually
adding to its library, is collecting learned periodicals, and is publishing a journal, Iran, which
is expected to appear annually. The Institute aims at editing and translating a series of Persian
texts, the first of which, the Humay-Nama,edited by ProfessorA. J. Arberry, has already appeared.
6. The Institute arranges occasional seminars, lectures and conferences and enlists the help of
distinguished scholars for this purpose. It will also aim at arranging small exhibitions with the
object of demonstrating the importance of Persian culture and its attraction for the world of
scholarship.
7. The Institute endeavours to collaborate with universities and educational institutions in Iran
by all the means at its disposal and, when consulted, assists Iranian scholarswith technical advice
for directing them towards the appropriate channels in British universities.
iii
DIRECTOR'S REPORT
April ist 1962 to May 31st 1963
The period of the past fourteen months has seen a broad extension of the Institute's activities,
culminating in a move to spacious new premises at the beginning of May 1963. In addition, the
publication of the first volume of the Institute's Journal Iran has aroused keen interest both in
Tehran and the provinces.
New Premises
As a more adequate base for its work in Iran the Institute has moved to a most attractive and
comfortable house on Avenue Takht-i-Jamshid, not far from the American Embassy. The house
is approached through its own gate and driveway and possessesa pleasant garden with a wide variety
of trees. The principal rooms at the front of the house provide a cool, spacious setting for the library
as well as ample accommodation for lectures and receptions. Staff, student and guest accommodation
is adequate for our needs, providing space for up to twelve people to stay at any one time. The garden
includes a garage and a small house for resident servants.
Library
We have received the welcome news that the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation has made a most
munificent gift of ?5,ooo which will enable the Institute to provide a working library for scholarsfrom
the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, as well as Persian scholars who wish to work at the
Institute. Moreover, the E. J. W. Gibb Memorial Trust has generously presented 26 volumes; a
further gift of 77 volumes has been received from the University of Tehran; and the Society for the
Preservation of National Monuments has given thirteen of its publications. Among numerous other
benefactions, particular mention must be made of the Spalding Trust's offer of ?50 per annum for
the next three years, which will enable us to make substantial additions to our books on Eastern
religions and ethics.
It is hoped that from 1965 onwards the Institute will be able to set aside a sufficientsum to maintain
the Library and to add to it. Meanwhile, the Library, in its present form, has already begun to attract
a wide circle of readers.
Guests
During the past fourteen months the following guests stayed at the Institute:
Mr. Basil Gray Lecture tour on behalf of the Institute.
Miss Mary Burkett
Excavations at Yarim Tepe.
Miss G. Malet de Carteret
Dr. A. D. H. Bivar Lecturer in Iranian and Central Asian Archaeology, School of
Oriental and African Studies, London University, on study leave.
Dr. C. B. M. McBurney University Lecturer in Archaeology at Cambridge, on archaeo-
logical reconnaissance in N.E. Iran.
Miss J. M. Munn-Rankin University Lecturer in Near Eastern History and Archaeology at
Cambridge, on study leave.
Professor T. Cuyler Young Chairman, Department of Oriental Studies, Princeton University,
studying current affairs.
Dr. B. G. Martin Acting Head, Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies,
University College, Ibadan, Nigeria, on study leave.
V
Dr. J. I. Clarke Reader in Geography, Durham University, engaged in geo-
graphical research in Fars.
Miss Christina Ditchburn Language Study.
Mr. Iqbal Ahmad Visit to Iran on behalf of the IslamicReview.
Dr. B. B. Lal Director, School of Archaeology, New Delhi, visiting sites and
museums.
Mr. Peter Avery University Lecturer in Persian at Cambridge, travelling to the
International Congress on Shaykh Ansari of Herat at Kabul
and later lecturing on behalf of the Institute.
Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Burney Excavations at Yanik Tepe.
Mr. Ian Todd Excavations at Yanik Tepe.
Mr. P. GuthrieJones Excavations at Yanik Tepe.
Members of the Pasargadae Expedition (see below).
Miss Nancy Sandars Oxford University Near Eastern Fellowship Fund.
Mrs. Rachel Maxwell-Hyslop Visit to archaeological sites and museums.
Mrs. R. S. Cowen Visit to archaeological sites and museums.
Mr. BaharuddinB. Abu Kassim Studies for the new National Mosque of the Federation of Malaya.
ProfessorH. Bowen-Jones Study of Economic Development for The Durham Centre of
Middle East Studies.
Dr. Eric Sunderland Social anthropological research near Yazd on behalf of the
Miss Judith Travers Department of Geography, Durham University.
Mr. David Darwent Study of Urban Development in Meshed on behalf of the
Mr. G. W. Taylor Department of Geography, Durham University.
Mr. Peter Willey Reconnaissance at Samiran.
Mr. S. P. Gupta Visit to archaeological sites and museums, on behalf of the
National Museum, New Delhi.
Professorand
Mrs. D. Talbot Rice Lecture tour on behalf of the Institute.
Sir George and Lady Pickering Visit to Isfahan and Shiraz.
Mrs. J. M. Birmingham Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at Sydney University, on study
leave.
Visitors
Among distinguished visitors to the Institute during this same period we were glad to welcome
ProfessorA. K. S. Lambton, Professorand Mrs. J. Rypka, ProfessorK. Bittel, ProfessorR. Naumann
and Professorand Mrs. P. Amandry.
Lectures
Following Sir Sydney Roberts' visit in February 1962, the Institute's next Visiting Lecturer,
in April and May of the same year, was Mr. Basil Gray, Keeper of Oriental Antiquities at the
British Museum. Mr. Gray's seventeen-day tour of Iran, which was sponsored by both the British
Council and the Institute included no less than three separate lectures in Tehran apart from additional
lectures at Tabriz and Meshed. In Tehran, Mr. Gray first lectured under the auspices of the Society
for the Preservation of National Monuments, giving an illustrated talk on " Specimens of Iranian
Islamic Art at the British Museum ", while in succeeding talks, each of which were extremely well
attended, he addressed the Institute on "Persian Influence on Chinese Art from the Eighth to
Fifteenth Centuries" and the British Council on " Persian Influence on Indian Paintings of the
Fifteenth, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries ".
Further collaboration between the Institute and the British Council led to Mr. Peter Avery,
Lecturer in Persian at the University of Cambridge, giving a jointly sponsored lecture on " Shaykh
Ansari of Herat ", first in Tehran on October 6th and later at Shiraz on October 9th.
At Shiraz Mr. Avery's talk was followed by another lecture on November 27th in which Mr.
vi
Stronach described the current excavations of the Institute at Pasargadae. The lecture, which was
sponsored by the British Council, was held at the University and was introduced by Mr. Feridoun
Tavallali, the Director of Antiquities in Fars, who paid handsome tribute to the long record of
British archaeological research in Iran.
At Tehran, the Institute's next lecturer was Mr. Spooner who read a paper on December I5th
entitled " A Pattern for Persian Studies ". In his talk Mr. Spooner sought to show that scholars of
different disciplines, who had once pursued quite distinct paths, were beginning to feel the need for
more unified forms of area research in which each could contribute towards a more comprehensive
view of man's response to his environment.
Somewhat later, in the spring of 1963, we were most pleased to welcome Professor and Mrs.
David Talbot Rice, who were able to spend several days in Iran while on their way to Afghanistan.
The visit allowed the Institute to organize a most successful reception and lecture on March 3rd
at which ProfessorTalbot Rice spoke on " The Mongol School of Islamic Painting ". The following
day, before a second lecture at the British Council, the Talbot Rices were honoured by a special
reception at the Ministry of Court at which H.E. Mr. Hussain Ala, the Chairman of the newly formed
Imperial Council for Culture, expressed his delight at the Talbot Rices' visit and his appreciation
of the contribution that the Institute and the Council were making in bringing scholars of standing
to Iran.
Finally, at the invitation of the British Council, Mr. Stronach gave a further talk on Pasargadae
at Isfahan on April 3oth. Thanks to a generous gesture from the University, the lecture was held at
the Faculty of Letters where the Dean, Dr. Abbas Faroughi, took the chair.
WolfsonFellows
During the past year the Institute's four Wolfson Fellows have each shown welcome inititative
in the pursuit of their separate studies. Miss Clare Goff, although unable to carry out her planned
archaeological survey in Fars, has nevertheless made very full use of her second year in Iran. After
excavating with the Institute at Pasargadae, where she again had charge of the sounding at Tall-i-
Nokhodi, she visited Baghdad for a month and then returned to Iran to take part in the excavations
of the Oriental Institute at Choga Mish in Khuzistan. At present, as an alternative to her original
survey in Fars, she is engaged in an extensive field survey in parts of Luristan and Kurdistan.
Mr. ChristopherWeightman, our other second-year Fellow, has had still further success in tracing
and recording Ahl-e-Haqq material from Kurdistan, including an important nine hundred-page text
from the village of Kerind. In addition, he was able to give a lecture at the British Council on May 6th
in which he gave a brief account of the history, beliefs and practices of the Ahl-e-Haqq sect.
With regard to the Institute's two new Fellows, Mr. John Emerson has read widely in connection
with his late Qajar research, as well as travelling extensively, while Sir Jonathan Backhouse has begun
a promising survey of modern Persian interpretations of the work of Hafez.
Excavationsat rarim Tepe and Pasargadae

In the course of a short season from early May to late June 1962, Mr. Stronach was able to bring
to a close the excavations at Yarim Tepe near Gunbad-i-Qabus, which had been awaiting completion
since December 196o0. The details of this work, which first began with British Academy support in
1960, will be published in the third volume of Iran early next year.
The results of last autumn's excavations at Pasargadae are published below. The field staff of the
I962 Expedition consisted of the following:
Mr. D. B. Stronach (Director); Miss C. L. Goff (Field Assistant); Mr. R. Oakley (Field Assistant);
Mr. D. Towill (Field Assistant); Mr. E. J. Keall (Architect); Miss O. A. Kitson (Photographer);
Mme. M. T. Ullens de Schooten (Photographer); Miss A. Searight (Pottery Assistant); and
Mr. S. Ganjavi (Representative of the Archaeological Service).
As in the first season, work was concentrated on the citadel hill (the Tall-i-Takht) and the pre-
historic mound of Tall-i-Nokhodi. On the former site great strides were taken towards defining the
vii
circuit of the citadel defences as well as towards revealing more of the central plan. In the course of
this work the base of the great stone platform was revealed for the first time; important apartments
with stone column bases were found on the platform itself; and, in clearing different parts of the
final Period III settlement, which we now know to date from Seleucid times, the Expedition recovered
many whole pots, together with an undisturbed hoard of silver coins and jewellery. From a historical
point of view the discovery of the Hellenistic coin hoard was particularly fortunate, since it allows
us to date the destruction and final desertion of the citadel to c. 280 B.c.-when, as far as one can see,
the Seleucid garrison must have been surprised and overthrown in a national uprising.
Field Trips
During the course of the Pasargadae season the Institute was able to assist Dr. Alastair Lamb,
Reader in History at Kuala Lumpur University, to make an initial survey of the early Islamic port
of Siraf on the Persian Gulf. The survey, which it is hoped will be the forerunnerof proper excavations
in 1965, proved that the site is rich in Chinese and other ceramic imports and that its future exploration
would be of the utmost value in any study of early Islamic sea-trade with the Far East.
A second interesting field trip took Mr. Stronach and three other members of the Pasargadae
Expedition to the newly discovered tomb of Gur-i-Dokhtar, south of Kazarun, which represents the
only known intact parallel to the Tomb of Cyrus. Small and somewhat roughly constructed, without
any of the stone dressing techniques found from the time of Darius onwards, the tomb is certainly
as old, if not older, than the Tomb of Cyrus itself. As such, it received most careful study, the resultsof
which appear elsewhere in these pages.
In yet another sphere of Institute activity, Mr. Brian Spooner is at present engaged in a detailed
anthropologicalstudy of certain Baluch villages in the area of Saravan, in south-easternIran, where he
expects to complete a period of almost three months before returning to Tehran in late June.
InauguralLectureand Receptionat the Institute'sNew Premises

On the completion of the move to the new house, the Institute held its first meeting at its new
premises on Monday, May 27th. To mark the occasion Mr. Stronach gave an illustrated lecture,
reviewing the Institute's excavation and surveysin Fars over the past two years. Among those attending
were Sir Dennis and Lady Wright, Dr. Ahmad Farhad, Dr. 'Ali Akbar Siyasi, Dr. Matin Daftari,
ProfessorBadi'oz-zaman Foruzanfar and Dr. 'Isa Sadiq. Altogether some 130 guests attended the
lecture and the reception that followed. It should be added that the occasion was used to introduce
the Institute's new journal, Iran,which was later reviewed in the press in Tehran and Isfahan.
V111
THREE PERSIAN POEMS
By Professor A. J. Arberry
Yaram chu qadah ba-dast. girad

bizar-i butin shikast. girad
har-kas ki bi-did. chashm-i fi guft
kii muhtasibi ki mast. girad
dar bahr. futdda am chu mahi
tdiyar. mard ba-shast. girad
dar pash. futida am ba-zdtri
iya buvad an ki dast. girad
khurram dil-i dn-ki hamchu Hafiz
jdmi zi mai-yi alast. girad
In this paper I shall try to expound some of the qualities which make for great poetry in Persian,
and in doing this I shall attempt to elucidate what the Persian poet aims at doing when he sets about
the task of creating a poem. The example which I have chosen to initiate the discussion is one of the
shortest, simplest and most perfect of the five hundred or so lyrics composed by the greatest of the
poets of Iran, Khvaja Shams al-Din Muhammad of Shiraz, who died in A.D. 1389 and was
thus an exact contemporary of our Chaucer. .Hfiz
Since it is necessary to presume that not everyone, even in this distinguished audience, understands
Persian, particularly as recited by me, it will help matters forward if the poem is translated. First
I will quote the version made by John Payne (1842-1916), a remarkable linguist and rhymester
best known for his translations of Villon, Boccaccio, Heine and the Arabian Nights, who went to the
trouble of rendering the entire Divdn of IHfiz into verse-forms which he believed closely imitated the
rhythms and rhyme-schemes of the originals.
When my Beloved the cup in hand taketh
The market of lovely ones slack demand taketh.
I, like a fish, in the ocean am fallen,

Till me with the hook yonder Friend to land taketh.
Every one saith, who her tipsy eye seeth,

" Where is a shrieve, that this fair firebrand taketh? "
Lo, at her feet in lament am I fallen,

Till the Beloved me by the hand taketh.
Happy his heart who, like Hafiz, a goblet

Of wine of the Prime Fore-eternal's brand taketh.
Payne used a text in which the second and third couplets were transposed; for the rest, he understood
well the literal meanings of HIfiz' deceptively straightforward words. If the art of verse-translation
consists in conveying the gist of the original with as little deviation or distortion as possible, given
the considerable handicap of maintaining an artificial rhythm and rhyme, then it may be said that
Payne succeeded well and even extraordinarily. It is true that his rhythmic pattern is quite different
from that of his model; but he contrived very cleverly to imitate the monorhyme, even to the extent
of employing the same auxiliary verb to round off each couplet. But who would seriously maintain
that what he produced was really a poem? I hope presently to indicate the degree to which he failed
to apprehend the meanings; before that, however, let us set his version beside that of another craftsmen.
2 JOURNAL OF PERSIAN STUDIES
What time in his hand the bowl he shaketh,

All worth of the beauty-mart he breaketh.
Fish-like in a sea behold me swimming,
Till he with a hook my rescue maketh.
All they that behold his drunken eyes' glance
Cry, " Call for the reeve, the drunk that taketh."
When low at his feet I fall complaining,
He raiseth again the heart that acheth.
How blest is the soul that like to HAFIZ
All thirst in the Wine of Heaven slaketh.
The maker of this version was that eminent banker and Homeric scholar Walter Leaf (1852-1927),
assuredly no mere amateur in the translator's craft. The outstanding merit, if it be a merit, of his
experiment was that he actually succeeded in manipulating our recalcitrant English rhythms into
a very passable masquerade of Persian prosody. As for the theory behind the attempt, Leaf quotes
with warm approval the words of J. A. Symonds in his Wine, Womenand Song: " It has always been
my creed that a good translation should resemble a plaster-cast, the English being plaque upon the
original, so as to reproduce its exact form, although it cannot convey the effects of bronze or marble,
which belong to the material of the work of art." That is a bold and ambitious formula, surely;
it is as relevant to the actual problem as taking a tape-measure to solve a differential equation.
To complete the review of English rhyming versions of this poem, I will finally recite that made by
Herman Bicknell (I83o-75), surgeon, world-wide explorer, pioneer Alpinist, probably the first
Englishman to make the pilgrimage to Mecca undisguised, a forgotten avatar, one might say, of
Sir Richard Burton, whose posthumous volume on HIfiz is a monument to Victorian persanerie.
When my Loved one takes the cup,
Marts of idols soon shut up.
Fish-like to the sea I took,
Wishing for my Loved one's hook.
All exclaim, who see those eyes,
" Muhtasib, secure thy prize! "
Near those feet I pine in grief,
Waiting for those hands' relief.
Blest is he
Whose grasp can twine,
HAFIZ-like,
Round Alast's wine!
I do not know what my audience will have made of these three versions, but it would surprise
me if they have given the least impression that their original is a masterpiece of the poetic art as
practised by the greatest of Persian poets. Let us therefore look for those qualities in the simple phrases
of IHkfiz which have wholly defied translation. But before that it may be helpful to remind ourselves
of the nature and history of the literary form of which was the supreme exponent.
.HifizThe generally accepted theory is that this
The origin of the ghazal is lost in the mists of time.
comparatively short love-poem came into being through the detachment from the qasida or formal
ode of the erotic prelude (tashbib, nasib) which the panegyrist used as an introduction to his main
theme. Dr. Dhabih Allah Safa in his Ganj-i sukhan traces the beginnings of this evolution to the
somewhat obscure ninth century, and its more distinctive development to the tenth century: " The
first charming and lustrous Persian ghazals were composed by Rfidaki." Dr. Safi adds that " one
of the special features of the ghazal was-and still is-that it would be recited to the accompaniment
THREE PERSIAN POEMS 3
of musical airs. Attention has always been directed in them to brevity of words, smoothnessand delicacy
of language, and subtlety and refinement of themes and contents." The term ghazal itself is of course
of Arabic origin, and is defined by the Arab lexicographers as connoting " play, sport, or diversion
with women; the talk of young men and (or with) young women; the talk, and actions, and circum-
stances, occurring between the lover and the object of love". If these definitions are accepted, then
it is permissible to go back farther in time and to classify as ghazals, or as models upon which the
Persian ghazal was formed, much Arabic poetry of the seventh and eighth centuries, and notably
the work of such masters of " diversion with women " as 'Umar ibn Abi Rabi'a and (significantly,
because of his equal preoccupation with handsome youths, and the accompanying pleasures of the
wine-cup) the half-Persian Abfi Nuwds.
" Glorification of wine and drinking scenes," writes ProfessorEhsan Yarshater, " is, in fact, one
of the major themes of early Persian poetry. Descriptions are direct, vivid, and refreshinglyvaried.
Generally, the poet speakswith knowledge and authority on the subject, and his delightfully appealing
delineation reveals that sensuous quality so characteristicof Persian art." A drinking-party,whether
at court or in a private mansion, could not be a success without the ministrationsof a handsome and
attentive sdqi; and ProfessorYarshater pertinently reminds us that such notable charactersas Albtigin
and Anushtigin, founders respectively of the Ghaznavid and Khvarizmshahid dynasties, began their
palace careers as young slaves serving wine. " We find very often that the image of the sdqi,as a wine
server, mingles with that of the ma'shiaq or sweetheart. It was at drinkingparties with the accompanying
music, where youths served as sdqis, that the atmosphere was particularly conducive to amorous
feelings. The objects of these sentiments were, as may be expected, the handsome sdqis,who, in a less
formal gathering would also participate in the drinking, and were apt to be seen intoxicated. Hence
we find, among other traits of the beloved, drunkenness,obstreperousnessand even, at times, a tendency
to brawl."
Such was the environment in which the Persian ghazal, as an apt aesthetic aid to royal diversions,
grew to maturity. Meanwhile its sensuous imagery had been taken over lock, stock, and of course
barrel, by the mystical poets, who found the themes of wine and love astonishingly appropriate to
depict their spiritual raptures. By I;Ijfiz' time this was a long-established convention, immortalized
in the lyrical outpourings of such masters as Sani'i, 'Att~r, Rfimi, Sa'di and 'Iraqi. " Do wine and
love ", asks Walter Leaf in his essay on IH&fiz," mean always to him the visionary's ecstasy, and the
yearning for union with the Divine essence? " And he answers: " The truth is that sensuality and
mysticism are twin moods of the mind, interchanging in certain natures with an inborn ease and
celerity mysterious only to those who have confined their study of human nature to the conventional
and the commonplace. Hardly conscious themselves of the accepted antithesis, such carnal-spiritual
minds delight to express themselves in terms of spontaneous ambiguity, for this very ambiguity lies
at the roots of their being. Even in the West in our own day we can point to such a man as Paul
Verlaine, swaying between unbridled licence and intensest religious fervour. Of more than one of
his poems one may doubt if the fleshly or the mystic interpretation is the truer; and in the Persia of
the fourteenth century this union of apparent irreconcilables was fostered and emphasized in every
way." All that is well said; not that I by any means agree with every word of Leaf's conclusions.
Let us now return to the poem with which we began, and try to see more clearly what IHIfizwas
trying to say in it. This time we will lay our foundationsof understandingon a plain, literal translation.
I When my beloved takes the wine-bowl in his hand
the market of (all fair) idols is broken.
2 Who soever beheld his eye exclaimed
" Where is the warden, to seize the drunkard? "
3 Like a fish I have fallen into the sea
that the beloved may catch me in his net.
4 Abjectly I have fallen at his feet;
perchance he may take me by the hand.
5 Happy is the heart of him who, like Ilfiz,
takes a cup of the wine of Alast.
Thus baldly interpreted, it makes a pleasant, straightforward and, to be candid, a somewhat

commonplace little poem. Looking at the language of the Persian, we may admire HIfiz' effortless
skill in brushing aside all rhetorical embellishments and returning to the primitive simplicity of the
age of Rfidaki. Of the fifty-five words making up the poem, all but four are of pure Persian stock;
all are of common, indeed colloquial use, comprehensible to even the dullest schoolboy. Then we can
remark the dexterity of the rhyming, a dexterity unmarred by any trace of showmanship. The vowel-
assonances, the delicate touches of alliteration, delight the ear and make the composition eminently
singable. Going behind the literal meanings to the original words, and having in mind all that had
happened in Persian literature before it, we are compelled to pronounce the poem a verbal master-
piece.
But we are reminded that Persian literary critics, like their Arab teachers before them, judged
the quality of a poem not by the criterion of language alone. " As is well known ", wrote Mirzd
Muhammad of Qazvin, " poetry is made up of two elements-words, and meaning. The true poet
and skilled artificer maintains a proper balance between the two factors of words and meaning, and
does not exceed or fall short in respect of either." We must thereforeexamine the " meaning " of this
poem, that is to say, the images out of which it is composed. At first sight this is all plain sailing.
The scene depicted is immediately obvious. IIHfizis at a drinking-party,and is waiting his turn to be
served. To ingratiate himself with the wine-bearer, he declares that his beauty puts all other beauties
to shame. He surrenderscompletely to his charms, and places himself at his mercy, knowing that the
cup of wine which he will presently pour for him will gladden his heart beyond all measure.
That is the first level of interpretation. The second level is to be discovered by reference to the
circumstancesof the poet and the times in which he lived. Like all Persian poets since poetry entered
upon its courtly tradition, composed to earn a living, to please a princely patron in a fiercely
competitive world. The flattering description of the wine-bearer is therefore to be understood as
.HIfiz
directed at the prince who is giving the party; the party is the prince's audience; the wine which
HIjfiz craves is the gold with which he hopes the appreciative prince will fill his mouth; to earn it,
the poet is ready to protest the most servile adoration.
So far we have only touched the surface meanings of the poem. We know from many other poems
that HIfiz liked the Sufi fashion of using the themes of love and wine as mystical parables; and we
should be alerted to his intentions in this poem, if by nothing else, most surely by the phrase " wine
of Alast " in the concluding couplet. Alast is of course a reference to the primordial covenant which
man entered into with God, as described in Koran VII
7I:
And when thy Lord took fromthe Childrenof Adam,
fromtheir loins, their seed, and made them testify
touchingthemselves," Am I not your Lord?" (Alastubi-Rabbikum)
They said, " Yes, we testify."
The symbolism of the " pre-eternal wine " had been employed, in association with the mystical figure
of the Divine Beloved, by Sufi poets before IHafiz,and most famously in the opening couplet of Ibn
al-Farid's Khamrfya:
Sharibna 'ala dhikri 'l-Habibi mudamatan
sakirna biha min qabli an yukhlaqa 'l-karmu
We quaffed upon the remembrance of the Beloved a wine
wherewith we were drunken, before ever the vine was created.
It being thus established that the " wine of Alast " connotes " the Love of God manifested in His
creation, and indwelling in the human soul ", we may now look back at the beginning of HIfiz' poem:
When my beloved takes the wine-bowl in his hand
the market of (all fair) idols is broken.
Ibn al-Farid continues:
The moon at the full its cup was; itself was a sun...
There the moon, " symbol of the radiant Spirit of Muhammad, is the cup in which that sun-like
Wine is contained "; so we are justified here in interpreting H~Ifiz as implying, " When God pours
the wine of revelation into his vessel Muhammad, the worship of all false gods is finally abrogated."
The reference to the breaking of the market of idols then reminds us that when Muhammad took
possession of the Holy House of Mecca to restore it as the House of Allah, all the pagan idols inhabiting
the temple were broken.
Having progressed so far, we can now understand very clearly the mystical significance of the
remainder of the poem.
Like a fish I have fallen into the sea
that the beloved may catch me in his net.
We are reminded of Koran XXIV 40:
or they are as shadows upon a sea obscure
covered by a billow
above which is a billow
above which are clouds,
shadows piled one upon another.
" Now that fathomless sea ", comments al-Ghazdli in his Mishkdt al-anwdr, " is this world, this world
of mortal dangers, of evil chances and blinding trouble." The poet-mystic, conscious of his fallen
state as an immortal spirit inhabiting mortal flesh, compares himself with a fish swimming in the ocean
of otherness. But unlike the ordinary fish, whose home and livelihood is the sea and whose deadliest
enemy is the fisherman, the mystic yearns for the Divine Fisherman to cast His net about him and to
rescue him from the hateful deep.
Abjectly I have fallen at his feet;
perchance he may take me by the hand.
The mystic has been " landed " by God in a second fall. Of the world and yet out of it, he threshes
upon the shore abjectly like a fish in the agony of death; but he is still buoyed up by the hope that
the Divine Fisherman will take him by the hand-for is not God the supreme Dastgir ?-and finally
restore him to that blessed intimacy of lover and Beloved which was his on the primordial Day of
Alast.
That is the third level of interpretation of this delusively simple little poem. There remains still
a fourth, knitting the three previous levels together and resolving their contrarieties. To discover
this final level of interpretation we must call to mind that it was commonplace in HIfiz' time, following
the overthrow of the Baghdad caliphate and the rise of the semi-religious, semi-political Sufi orders,
for the ruling prince to be addressed as God's caliph in this double sense, as temporal potentate and
spiritual guide: the king in his court was the Shaikh of the monastery surrounded by his courtier-
disciples. He is the Perfect Man embodying in his time, and for his subjects, the Spirit of Muhammad.
" If you perceive mystically ", al-Jili writes in al-Insdn al-kdmil, " that the Reality of Muhammad
is displayed in any human form, you must bestow upon the Reality of Muhammad the name of that
form and regard its owner with no less reverence than you would show to our Lord Muhammad ...
The Perfect Man is a copy of God . . . As a mirror in which a person sees the form of himself and
cannot see it without the mirror, such is the relation of God to the Perfect Man, who cannot possibly
see his own form but in the mirror of the name Allah; and he is also a mirror to God, for God laid
upon Himself the necessity that His names and attributes should not be seen save in the Perfect Man."
The rhetorician 'Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjani (d. 47/I1078), one of that countless galaxy of brilliant
Persians who bestowed lasting lustre on Arabic literature, in a pregnant passage compares the poet's craft
with that of the goldsmith. For my part I like to reflect on the affinity of Persian poetry with what
for me is the finest and most satisfying of all Persian art-forms, that of the illuminator. Stand before
the sarlauhof a calligraphed Koran, or the richly decorated title-page of a Khamsaof NiTzmi, and
you will be transported by the infinite delicacy of design and the mesmeric harmony of colours into
a timeless world of pure aesthetic pleasure. The master-poet of Iran, with gossamer-spunconceits
for design and melodious sounds for colour, contrived to work the same enchantment.
Let us go back a little in time, and recall the celebrated definition of Nizdmi the Prosodist who
wrote his Chahdrmaqdlaprobably in 1156, at a period when the qasidastill held the primacy and was
known to be the surest way to a prince's heart. " Now the poet must be of tender temperament,
profound in thought, sound in genius, clear of vision, quick of insight. He must be well versed in many
divers sciences, and quick to extract what is best from his environment; for as poetry is of advantage
in every science, so is every science of advantage in poetry." (What a modern ring that last sentence
possesses!) " And the poet must be of pleasing conversation in social gatherings, of cheerful coun-
tenance on festive occasions; and his verse must have attained to such a level that it is written on the
page of Time and celebrated on the lips and tongues of the noble, and be such that they transcribe
it in books and recite it in cities. For the richest portion and most excellent part of poetry is immortal
fame, and until it be thus confirmed and published it is ineffectual to this end, and this result cannot
accrue from it; it will not survive its author, and, being ineffectual for the immortalizing of his name,
how can it confer immortality on another?
" But to this rank a poet cannot attain unless in the prime of his life and the season of his youth
he commits to memory 20,000 couplets of the poetry of the Ancients and Io,ooo verses of the works
of the Moderns, holds them constantly before his eyes, and continually reads and marks the diwdns
of the mastersof his art, observing how they have acquitted themselvesin the strait passes and delicate
places of song, in order that thus the fashion and varieties of verse may become ingrained in his
nature, and the defects and beauties of poetry may be inscribed on the tablet of his understanding."
This Alexandrian conception of the nature of poetry, as essentiallya craft of learning and emulation,
has become more congenial to us in our generation and should therefore make more acceptable those
scintillating toursdeforce which poured from the pens of the like of Anvari and Khdqdni, and were
merely boring to the taste of most of our predecessors. There is indeed something fairly daunting,
to be faced with a thousand close-packed pages of panegyric, the great majority composed to flatter
and wring gold from long-forgotten princelings. But concede the view of poetry as a craft, and one
cannot but admire as much the virtuosity as the pertinacity of those master-craftsmenwho so eagerly
competed for the ear of Sanjar or Arslin or Bahrdm ShIh. I offer you as a specimen of this school
the opening sequence from a qasidacomposed by a relatively unknown poet, Athir-i Akhsikati, a
contemporary of Nizami the Prosodist, who died circa577/1181. The metre is the same as that used
by IjHfiz in the little poem with which we began.
khttfin-izaman ba-dast-ishabgir
bar-ddsht.zi chahraparda-yiqir
shab kuhl. shud fi chu mardum-ikahl
dmikht.savdd-iqir. bAshir
nfir-irukh-iYfisuf-isamavi
partab.zad az muqa'ar-ibir
chashm-i khvush-i akhtarin firfi bast
az ghamzaba-khanda-yitabashir
sirhIn-i sahar qadib-i dunbil
dar qausa-yi charkh. rand. chfin tir
autad-i zaban.hi-yi autar
bar chang-i ufuq kashid. taqdir
pas dast.-zanan khurfis-i qavval
ahang. buland. kard. bar zir
man nim. ghunfida nim. bidar
k-amad nafas-i shamil-i shabgir
dar turra wadi'a-ha-yi nafa
dar jaib. khizana-ha-yi iksir
sard fi tar u khvush mizaj-i fi-ra
hamchfin dam-i ghamginan ba-ta'thir

bar-khis.tamash ba-pa-yi
bar dast. nihada dast-i tauqir
.hurmat
jinam ba-zabdn-i 'udhr. giya-
k-ai 'aks.-numd-yi charkh-i tazvir
ai haft. zamin zi tfi ba-nuzhat
v-ai hasht. jinan zi tfi ba-tashvir
righ az tu pur az mata'-i kharkhiz
b~gh az tu pur az nigar-i kashmir
bar shakh. kuni zi ghuncha amrfid
bar db. nihi zi larza zanjir
dyd khabar az kuj5-t. pursam
guft az dar-i khusrav-ijahingIr
This elaborate and elegant aubade constitutes the tashbib, as its final couplet indicates, of a qasida
in praise of a prince. Let us translate it, and admire its rhetorical embellishments.
The Queen of Time with the hand of Dawn
lifted from her face the veil of pitch;
night's eyes were anointed, and like an ageing man
mingled the blackness of pitch with milk.
The " Queen of Time ", more commonly the " Queen of the World ", is a poetical name for the
sun which the poet sees as an empress, her handmaid Dawn raising from her face the black veil of night.
Night has been smeared with kohl, the black eye-salve whose property it is to brighten the eyes and
by contrast to emphasize the whites surrounding the pupils; the pitch blackness of night is streaked
with the milky whiteness of dawn, just as the black hair of an ageing man is flecked with white. There
is jinds (of the variety called muddri'or ldhiq) between kuhl and kahl, and between qir and shir,
with internal rhyme. .tibdq
The light of the face of the celestial Joseph

shot an arrow from the profundity of the well.
The sun in its splendour is now seen, by inverted simile, as a heavenly Joseph hidden for a time,
like Joseph in Koran XII 15, in the bottom of a well; this figure of alluding to the Koran without
direct quotation is called talwih. The comparison of the darting rays of the rising sun with a shot
arrow reminds us that the flashing eyes of the beloved are often likened to winged shafts wounding
the heart of the lover.
The lovely eyes of the stars were closed
to wink no more with the smile of the daybreak;
the wolf of dawn the switch of its tail
flicked like a shaft in the rainbow of the sky.
The false dawn was commonly called " the tail of the wolf", corresponding almost exactly with
the Greek The mention of this " wolf" (with finds-i ldhiqbetween sirhanand sahar)is a
AvK6•bcoS.
further reminder of the Koranic story of Joseph and the " wolf" which his lying brothers alleged
had devoured him. The association of the false dawn's " shaft" with the " rainbow" of the sky is
a pretty extension of simile; the " rainbow " is of course the many-coloured efflorescence of sunrise.
The pegs of the flaming tongues of the strings
Destiny twisted on the harp of the horizon.
In preparation for the bird-chorus of dawn, Destiny which apportions man's days is pictured as
a musician tuning his instrument, the rounded lute of the horizon. We may note the jinds-i ldhiq
between autdd and autdr.
Then, clapping hands, the chanting cock
lifted up high melody over the bass.
The flapping of the cock's wings is compared with the hand-clapping of a minstrel singing to the
lute. The poet makes tibdq between buland and zir.
Half-slumbering, half-awake I lay

when came the breath of the north wind of dawn,
in its ringlets deposits of musk,
in its bosom treasuries of elixir,
cool, fresh and sweet, to the temperament
affecting as the drawn sigh of the sorrowful.
The cool and fragrant breeze of dawn, as often in Arabic and Persian poetry, symbolizes a messenger
bearing greetings from the beloved. Here it represents the prince's favourite, doubtless the cup-bearer,
sent to waken the poet after an all-night revel.
I rose before him on the feet of respect,
placing in his hand the hand of reverence;
There is the usual tibdq between pd and dast, and a neat balance of hurmat with tauqir.
my soul speaking with the tongue of apology:
" O mirror reflecting the wheel of deception,
The " wheel of deception " is the treacherous sphere of heaven which rules arbitrarily the unpre-
dictable destinies of men. The royal courier, the handsome cup-bearer notoriously fickle with his
favours, is thought of as a reflection of the inscrutable will of his master which determines by absolute
power the fate of each of his faithful but impotent subjects.
you in whom the seven earths are rejoiced,
by whom the eight heavens are put to shame,
There is tibdq between zamin and jindn. The couplet with its perfect balance is a good example of
muld'ama.
through you the meadow abounds in ware of Kharkhiz,
through you the orchard swarms with beauties of Kashmir;
It is the benign impregnation of the morning breeze that clothes the meadows in flowers like the
flowered cloths of Khirgiz, and fills the orchards with swelling fruit perfect as the famous beauties of
Kashmir. The poet has contrived another excellent muld'ama,with jinds-i ldhiq between rnighand bdgh.
There is a hint here of the robes of honour and gifts of handsome slaves which the poet hoped to win
from the prince.
you make the buds on the branch into golden pears,
you lay trembling chain of mail upon the waters.
The comparison of water rippling in the breeze with chain of mail is an ancient and favourite
image repeatedly used in Arabic and Persian poetry.
Whence, pray, shall I enquire for tidings of you? "
He said, " From the gate of the world-conquering Emperor."
With this sudden and brilliant transition the poet then passes into the panegyric which forms the
main contents of his qa$ida. The obligation to employ this device was a challenge to the poet's ingenuity
which has been eagerly accepted.
I turn aside from this review of the Persian ode and lyric, both forms of verse-making derived in
the first instance, as to monorhyme, prosody and rhetorical embellishments alike, from Arabic models,
to interpolate a few remarks on the only purely Persian invention in the field of poetry-for epic
and idyll have a kind of ghostly ancestor in Arabic, though it was the Persian genius that clothed that
ghost in vitality and beauty. The invention of which I speak is the famous quatrain, given worldwide
celebrity by our own FitzGerald's Rubdaydt.You know how it all began. According to the Persian
prosodists a boy was once playing marbles with walnuts, and as he rolled them along he shouted:
ghaltanghaltin hami ravad td bun-i gau
Rolling, rollingit goes along to the bottomof the gutter.
A poet standing by overheard and recognized a new rhythm in these random words, matched it,
added another distich, " and so created a new fashion of versifying, a fashion moreover which spread
with amazing celerity so that soon every old man and maiden, every young man and sage was turning
it to a new use ".
The quatrain, being so short a poem, suits ideally the Persian instinct for concentrated brevity-
let us remember the miniature painting which Iran gave to the world-and the Persian love of prover-
bial wisdom pithily expressed. " Soon every old man and maiden, every young man and sage was
turning it to a new use ": and so it continues down to the present day, in which the quatrain has proved
itself an admirable political squib. I have written much, too much, already on the twists which Omar
Khayyam gave to the rubd'i,but you will perhaps allow me to remind you that he was primarily
an astronomer,so that the astronomicalimage came naturally to his mind.
az jarr-i hadid-ikhak.ta auj-i zuhal
kardamhama mushkilit-igardfin-rihal
birfinjastam zi band-i har makru hiyal
har band. kushida shud magarband-i ajal.
You will recall how FitzGerald turned these lines.
Up fromEarth'sCentrethroughthe SeventhGate
I rose, and on the Throneof Saturnsate,
And many Knots unravel'dby the Road;
But not the Knot of Human Death and Fate.
It may be noticed that whereas the quatrain, as suits a poem composed extempore to be understood
by the ordinary listener at first hearing, is generally made up of simple Persian words, in this little
poem Omar employed no fewer than nine Arabic terms, thus matching the profundity of his topic
with a learned vocabulary. We may also remark, on the technical side, the (tibdqbetween hadidand
auj, and between khdkand gardiun,and the finds between makrand magar (indistinguishable ortho-
graphically in Omar's time)-a pretty array of rhetorical figures in so brief a compass.
For many centuries the poets of Iran found and gave delight in treating over and over again the
familiar themes, the gul and bulbul,the sham'and parvdna,seeking always to discover some new and
still more refined variation to keep them alive. But in the end the inevitable happened; the old topics
shrank away and died, the old techniques became sterile. In these past fifty years the Persian poets
have been searching for new themes and new techniques, experimenting with all the novel literary
fashions the West had to offer. Modern Persian poetry presents a wide and exciting field for investiga-
tion, the rebirth of language taking place simultaneously with the reawakening of creative imagination.
Not the least interesting aspect of this research is to observe how, in the work of the best younger
poets, we are no longer dealing with sedulous imitations of European models but with a fusion of all
elements to produce new forms which are at once recognizably original, and entirely faithful to the
classical tradition. I will try to illustrate this point by quoting a composition by a poet now working
in Cambridge, my friend and colleague Sharaf al-Din Khurisini " Sharaf". The poem comes
towards the end of a sequence entitled Pazthwdk (" Echo ") which was published at Tehran in I958.
You will recognize the rhythm as the same as that used by Hfifiz and Athir in their poems discussed
earlier in this paper, only the hampering convention of the monorhyme has been abandoned.
2A
khvabi-st. ki mdnda khili az hfish

hfishi-st. ki rafta jdvidin khvdb
chahi-st pur ustukhvan u pur sang
khdmfish.tar az divdr-i mahtib
barfi-st. firfi-nishasta bar bim

v-an b m. zi kulba-ist. matrfik
inji zi qafas parida paighdm
murghi-st. ki mi-zanad bar dn nfik
dar partav-i shani'-i nim.rfizi

khvabish. giran girifta chfin sang
az k~sa-yi in sukiit-i javid
gf'i shinavihanfiz.ahang
an-sfiy.dar in kivir-ikhamfish
barqi u nishini az sar5b-ast
ya partav-imih.tib u darya-st
yd jalva-yi hiriyan-i khvib-ast
z-dn mash'al-imishk.bfi-yimai-fam
dar khina-yi mi na-mindajuz dfid
z-Anm5da palang-ikhvushkhat fi khil
Ahi-st.darfin-ibishamafqfid.
har gfisha az in kivir-i bi-ab
bas risha-yitishna-khizu khwud-rfi-st
dar sina-yiin sipihr-ipur-khvib
khakistar-iyakjahin hayhih-st
bar-khiz.ki bid-. b~m.dldi

pichida dar in fadi-yi tarik
v-~n zauraq-ikhasta-yibi-iram
uftida dar in khalij-ibarik
In the introduction to his volume of poems Sharaf discussesthe private world of the modern poet,
and the inevitable obscurity which characterizes his work. " The Persian language ", he writes,
" is one of the richest and most beautiful languages for poetical description and expression, and the
poet is able, with the infinite patience and application and delicacy of a master goldsmith, to select
out of this glittering treasury that which he recognizes as better and more fully suited to his poetic
images, and certainly to bestow on them new meanings, a new melody and composition. It is possible
that on this road he will find himself confronted by a certain difficulty; his poetry may become com-
plicated and difficult to understand. But sometimes this is inevitable; for life in our epoch has lost
its simplicity, its lucidness, its clarity."
This of course is not the first time in its long history that Persian poetry has passed through a phase
of complexity. Its present predicament, however, is much more like that of times than of
and this for an obvious reason. I.Ifiz' were learnedly,
and the other poets of his school
Khaqmni's, Khqmini
scholastically obscure; their images were sharp, lucid, even rigid, only their language had become
progressively more erudite, their conceits more far-fetched. Hafiz was spiritually involved; his vocabu-
lary had recovered an almost primitive simplicity, but his soul was caught up inextricably with an
insoluble problem. Khaqani and stood on opposite banks of the great divide, that catastrophic
.HIfiz civilization which followed the Mongol devastations and the
collapse of an ancient and sophisticated
apocalyptic fall of Baghdad. The Persian poet of today, like his fellow-artist in other lands, is painfully
conscious of the dissolution of an old order, the atomic fission of all long-accepted and fondly cherished
values; Reason has once more been defeated, Unreason is again triumphant.
I will now try to translate Sharaf's poem and to expound it as far as I am able. It is called " Death ",
and it forms the culmination of an interior conflict in which the poet struggles to free himself from all
thought and all sensation, to sink into the deep, still base of the undifferentiated ego. Significantly
this poem is immediately followed by a piece entitled " To Buddha ".
It is a sleep that is forever emptied of consciousness,

a consciousness that has fallen eternally asleep;
it is a pit brimful of bones and boulders
more silent than the habitations of the moon.
It is a snow that has settled upon the roof

and that roof is the roof of an abandoned cabin;
there, the messenger having flown from the cage,
is a bird that is tapping its beak against it.
In the irradiance of the noonday candle

a sleep heavy as a rock has seized him;
from the viol of that eternal silence
it is as though you still hear a melody.
Yonder, within this silent salt-waste

is a lightning-flash, a token of the mirage;
either it is the ray of moonlight on the sea
or the epiphany of the houris of sleep.
Of that musk-scented, wine-hued torch

in our house nothing now remains but smoke;
of that leopardess, handsome, sleek and spotted,
there is a sigh lost in the heart of the forest.
In every corner of this waterless salt-waste

are many fibres thirsty-sprouting and self-sown;
in the bosom of this slumberful sphere
are the spent ashes of a world of clamour.
Rise up! for the breeze of morning

swirls round in this dark expanse,
and that weary and restless skiff
lies motionless in this narrow gulf.
The poem is an impressionistic description of a cemetery. Death is portrayed as a sleep of eternal

unconsciousness; the first couplet includes two rhetorical figures, muld'ama (balance) and radd al-'ajz
'ald 'l-sadr, the same word opening and closing the distich. The tomb is a pit filled with dry bones
and inanimate rocks, more silent even than the deserted dwellings of the dead moon, thought of as
a spent world in which life once abounded. The hush is absolute-snow settled on the roof of an aban-
doned cottage, a cage from which the vocal songbird, a passing messenger from another realm,
has flown, the soul sped from the body; a raven, inquisitive for carrion, pecks at the lifeless skeleton.
The noonday sun, symbol of boundless energy and vitality, blazes down but does not disturb the heavy
sleeper, inanimate as a stone. Yet a thin melody is heard, or thought to be heard, whispering out of
the eternal silence; a flicker of lightning flashes from the hushed salt-waste of Death. Is there after all
a life beyond the grave ? No; it is merely the gleam of a mirage, the unsubstantial play of moonbeams
on water, the apparition of phantom houris seen in the sleeper's dream, all that remains of the promise
of Paradise. Of the fragrant torch of the ardent body, once wine-red with life, only a wisp of smoke
is left; only a sigh in the depths of the forest recalls the bright and powerful leopard we admired of old.
2B
(The poet gives new meaning to the old poetic figure of khattand khdl,the " down " and " mole " that
symbolized young beauty.) The salt-waste swarms beneath its arid surface with thin and febrile
roots, faint semblances of life springing from the dead; nothing is left but burnt-out ashes of a once
pulsating and clamorous world-we are carried back again to the image of the silent moon. Yet hope
is not utterly extinguished; though the battered ship now lies becalmed, after long and restless tossing,
in the narrow creek of the grave, the dawn-breeze stirring in the still dark firmament promises
resurrectionand the prospect of new ventures to new horizons.
Sharaf's poem, like that of Hafiz, is capable of interpretation at a variety of levels. There is the
personal, which is obvious. Beyond this there is the national, a vision of a nation seemingly dead but
for which rebirth may be hoped. There is the literary, of a muted muse about to give song again.
Finally, there is the universal level of interpretation, the fatal predicament of modern man relieved
by a prospect at the last of miraculous deliverance.
13
A BRIEF REPORT ON THE EXCAVATION OF MARLIK TEPE

AND PILEH QAL'EH
By ProfessorE. O. Negahban
Marlik Tepe is located in the valley of the Gohar Rfid, fourteen kilometres north-east of Rfidbar
on the road from Tehran to Rasht. The Gohar Rfid receives its water from the forested highlands of
the Elborz mountains and empties into the Safid Rfid which in turn flows into the Caspian Sea.
Because of the fertility of the soil, mildness of the climate and plentiful rainfall, this valley is one of the
most productive regions of Rahmatabdd of Rfidbar. Olives and rice are cultivated at lower levels,
and above wheat and barley grow while extensive groves of fruit flourish, particularly figs and wild
pomegranates.
Due to its natural advantages, from ancient times this area has served as the home of rulers and
ruling classes whose lands extended over vast areas of northern Iran. Consequently, in this valley
there are numerous large and small archaeological mounds in which the remains of forgotten ancient
cultures have been buried, of which the most important are Marlik Tepe, Zeynab Bejar, Dura Bejar,
Pileh Qal'eh and Jazim Kool. The available evidence suggests that these mounds were culturally
related at various periods in ancient times. One of these five mounds, Marlik (locally called Cherdgh-
'Ali Tepe after its last owner), has been excavated. From it objects of great beauty and artistic and
historic importance have been uncovered which give us much new archaeological information con-
cerning one of the ancient civilizations of our country that had disappeared from human memory.
Marlik Tepe was found in the course of an archaeological survey of the region of Rahmatbaid of
Riidbar in northern Iran carried out in the autumn of 1961 by a team of archaeologists from the
Iranian Archaeological Service under the directorship of the author. This was the first step of a
projected archaeological survey of all of Iran which it had been for years, and continues to be, my
dream to see completed for only a fraction of the archaeological remains in the soil of ancient Iran
have been scientifically investigated. This section of the survey had been under way for only two
weeks when the survey team entered the Gohar Rfid valley, and, on the surface of what appeared to
the inexperienced eye to be an entirely natural mound, cut a test trench which in two days of excavation
yielded many interesting objects including two small bronze figurines of cows, two cylinder seals and
fourteen gold buttons. Despite the natural appearance of the mound, the discovery of these objects
indicated its archaeological importance and the valuable artifacts and historic documents which
possibly lay buried there. It was obvious that the excavation of this mound gave us the hope of
discovering the remains of a great civilization.
Excavation of this mound, Marlik, was urgently needed, particularly after the opening of the test
trench, for the news of the discoveriesquickly spread throughout the area. Therefore, it was necessary
that we discontinue our survey, and concentrate our activities on this mound. Within two weeks an
excavation team, composed of a number of young archaeologists from the Archaeological Service,
Seyfollah Kambaksh, Iraj Mafi, Mahmood Kordovani and a photographer, Mortaza Rostami, under
the directorship of the author, began work. Later on this team was joined by Reza Mostofi, Jahangir
Yasi, Mahmood Aram and Reza Memar Zahedani.
Marlik Tepe is circled by an irrigation ditch which supplies water to the surrounding fields (P1. Ia).
The crown of the hill above this ditch is one hundred and thirty-five metres long and eighty metres
wide. There are two natural stone peaks on the south and south-western sections of the mound. The
highest peak is eleven metres above the level of the irrigation ditch, and the lesser one is eight metres
above.
At the beginning of our work two test trenches were dug in order to obtain information on the
quality and archaeological condition of the remains on the mound. These test trenches uncovered
Avap of Part of Q 1LAN
showing the positions of ,
M(arlikTepe& Pidch
Qal'ch
_ _Road
River
Tepe PilehQal'eh
* Nisfi
'Ridbar.o
0 5 t10 15 20 Km.
*
hLValj. SCALE
Fig. I.
Pl. Ia. View of Marlik Tepe.
P1. Ib. Tomb at Marlik Tepe measuring 4 metres by 4 metres, containing a skeleton with
the legs contracted,a crushedand brokengold bowl, and gold buttonsand a numberof bronze
daggers and spearheads.
Pl. Ila. Jar decorated with an impressed
design below the neck,found at Marlik Tepe.
Height 5 cm. Diameter 9 cm. Pl. HIb. Pair of figurines holding long-spoutedvessels to their chests.
20"
Approximateheight, 30 cm.
Pl. I&c. Gold and bronzetoggle-pins. Pl. Ild. Bronze mace-head decoratedwith
Height iro8 cm. projecting human heads. Height 14'3 cm.
Pl. IIIb. Gold pendants. Height over all 8 cm.
P1. IIla. Bracelet and ringsfound at Mar
Pl. IIc. Silvercup, showinga mountain goat on topof
a leaflesstree. On the oppositeside is a warriorholding Pl. IIId. Goldvasewith a designof a fir treenearwhichis a m
a leopardby the throat.Height 14 cm. goat's neckis an eagle. Height io cm
P1. IVa. Gold bowl decoratedwith eagles and rams. Height, 9 cm. Diameter, 12 cm.
Pl. IVb. Gold bowl showingfour eagles in relief. Diameter, 6 cm.

in high reliefwith a doublerowof
P1. V. Goldbowldecorated
unicorns.Height, 17 cm.
A BRIEF REPORT ON THE EXCAVATION OF MARLIK TEPE AND PILEH QAL'EH 15
traces of irregularly and very roughly built walls which did not seem to indicate any systematic
construction on the mound. Walls were made by filling in the gaps between natural stone, producing
small chambers. From the nature of the contents of these small chambers we began to realize that
we had discovered the burial mound of a culture that had completely vanished from human memory.
The masterpieces of art discovered in these roughly constructed tomb chambers seemed to indicate
that this must have been the burial ground of the royal families of this forgotten kingdom.
We sank a well one metre square in the bottom of the first test trench in order to discover the
depth of the archaeologicalremains. From this we became absolutely sure that no previous occupation
layers were underneath the tombs which constituted a single archaeological layer atop a natural
mound. This layer varied in depth from one metre to two and seven-tenths metres. There are no
remains of preceding or succeeding cultures on the mound, except for a few miscellaneousobjects from
historic times near the surface. At this time the mound was divided according to the grid system into
sections five metres by five metres, and we proceeded to excavate almost the entire mound.
The tombs uncovered on this mound fall into four categories, in all of which the simple everyday
materials such as plain pottery and commonly used weapons are similar. These four types of tombs
varied widely however in the quantity of unusual and valuable objects which they contained. The
first type consists of large irregularly shaped tombs whose walls were constructed by filling, with
broken stone and clay mortar, gaps in the natural rock which was used as part of the wall whenever
possible. The average size of these tombs is approximately five by three metres. They contained
many and varied funerary objects from whose nature it can be surmised that these were the tombs
of warriorsand warrior kings. In one tomb of this type, almost certainly belonging to a warrior king,
thirteen different types of maceheads, almost one thousand bronze arrowheads of various sizes and
shapes, some suitable for hunting and others for battle, figurines of wild game, suggesting that the
owner of the tomb was a great hunter, long and heavy swords, spearheadsin varied shapes and sizes,
armour such as two dented bronze helmets, bronze wristletsfor protection in battle and bronze arrow-
holders were discovered. These people apparently believed that the valuables and honours earned in
a person'slifetime should be buried with him at his death.
Near the end of the excavation of Marlik Tepe a particularly interesting tomb of this type, four
metres by four metres in size was found (P1. Ib). This tomb had been built partially of large broken
stone and partially of slabs of creamy yellow stone. In the tomb a body had been buried in an unusual
manner. Along one side of the tomb a long rectangularslab of yellow stone, two and six-tenths metres
long, seventy centimetres wide and twenty centimetres thick, had been placed. On the stone, along
the edge of one side, lay several bronze daggers, evenly spaced and pointing inwards, and on the edge
of the opposite side were several bronze spearheads,also evenly spaced and pointing inwards. Between
the points of the daggers and spearheadslay a long bronze lancehead decorated with parallel grooves.
On top of the lancehead lay a skeleton on its side with its legs partly contracted. A row of gold buttons
which evidently had been attached to his clothing lay atop the skeleton and behind him lay a crushed
and broken gold bowl decorated with gods and goddesses with human heads and the bodies of birds.
Great importance must have been placed by these people upon a brave and courageous life. The
victorious warrior chiefs were buried with full honours, their pride in their heroic life immortalized.
On the opposite side of this tomb two large bronze pots about fifty centimetres in diameter with
long bronze ladles and a double kabob skewer about eighty centimetres long were uncovered. Pottery
jars and vessels containing the bones of animals and birds were also found indicating possibly that
these people believed that the dead should be supplied with food and other necessities for the life
hereafter. Also found in the tomb were a bronze model of oxen with yoke and plough, many small
bronze animal figurines including leopard, wolf, wild boar, deer and cow, and a number of pottery
figurines, including a gay little dog and a mountain deer with a large hump.
The second type of tomb is smaller than the first and rectangular in shape. Usually one side of the
tomb is curved. These tombs were constructed of slabs of stone filled in with mud mortar. In this
second type of tomb objects such as delicate ornaments, bronze and terra cotta animal and human
figurines, and toys and gaming pieces are prominent among the funerary remains leading us to conclude
that these were the tombs of queens and royal princes. In one tomb of this type, approximately one
and one-half metres in each direction and fairly carefully constructed of slab stone with one curved
wall, two large slabs of yellow stone, each more than one metre long, lay at the bottom. Above and
underneath these stone slabs lay various decorative objects including necklaces, bracelets, earrings,
rings, gaming pieces, bronze, pottery and gold vessels and human and animal figurines. Among the
latter were two bronze human figurines with exaggerated buttocks, a gold bust of a king with crown
and earring, a pottery charioteer with a sword at his waist, and a very beautiful naturalistic pottery
statuette of a mountain deer.
The third type of tomb is approximately square, three metres by three metres. These tombs are
more carefully constructed than the others, of large broken stone and clay mortar. Usually they are
about two metres deep, and, in spite of their careful construction, the funerary objects contained in
them are very limited, including such things as a gold forehead band, earrings, a few red carnelian
necklaces and a few bronze blades. Possibly these tombs belonged to the earlier period of this culture
in this region when the development of art and the accumulation of riches had not reached the high
levels exemplified in the other types of tombs. If this is so, it would indicate the long existence of this
culture in this area.
The fourth type of tomb, of which three examples have been found, is about one metre by two
metres in size, and carelesslyconstructed of boulders and clay mortar. The objects discovered in each
of these tombs have consisted of a set of horse teeth, a bronze horse bit and a few simple bronze loops.
These were the tombs of horses, indicating the great importance placed upon horses and horsemanship
by this culture. Apparently it was believed that the horse, sacrificed at its owner's death, would serve
him in the next world.
The archaeological remains in this single layer, that is the tombs, seem to indicate that this culture
flourished in the late second and early first millennium B.c. This culture, unified and indigenous to
this region, must have been aware of the contemporary arts and culture of the neighbouring areas for
its material products can be compared to the products of other regions of the Middle East of this same
period. However, the artistsshow clearly that they received much of their inspiration from the beauty
of the local environment and in their work the graceful shapes of many of the local plants, animals
and birds can be seen.
Some of the objects which were placed in the tombs, such as the pottery figurines, apparently
had an essentiallyritual purpose, possibly as libation vessels. Other objects show traces of use. Included
among the objects discovered in the tombs of Marlik Tepe are various types of decorative and ritual
figurines, ornamental vessels, weapons, personal ornaments, utensils of daily life, toys and gaming
pieces, models of various tools and cylinder and stamp seals.
The pottery is unpainted and either red or grey. Both types appear in large quantities at Marlik
Tepe. The pottery is well polished and sometimes also burnished. On some vessels the burnishing
forms a design and on others it covers the entire surface. Sometimes impressed or dotted designs
surround the shoulder, handle or neck of the vessel (Pl. IIa). The pottery for daily use is plain and
simple. More decorative vessels were modelled in the forms of birds, animals, and plants of the local
environment in which the potters found their inspiration, and also in the form of human beings. The
animal figurines include humped cow, deer, ram, bear, leopard, dog and mule in varying attitudes.
In most but not all of these animal figurines the mouth extends into a spout. Usually the ears of the
figurines, both animal and man, are pierced, and in some simple bronze or gold loop earrings still
remain.
The human figurines are always nude and usually have six toes to each foot. A number of these
figurines were found, in varying attitudes. One pair of figurines, a nude male and female holding
long spouted vessels to their chests (P1. IIb) found together, is illustrated here.
Various utensils used in the preparation of food were buried in the tombs. Obviously it was impor-
tant, according to the religious beliefs of these people, that these objects should accompany the dead.
Among these utensils are large stone mortars with spouts, used for grinding grain or possibly for
extracting juices, bronze ladles, bronze kabob skewers, and a bread hook. Some of these objects are
identical in shape with ones still in use in nearby villages.
Among objects for personal care and for sewing found in the tombs are delicate bronze tweezers,
gold and bronze ear cleaners, gold and bronze fingernail cleaners, gold and bronze awls, slender gold
and bronze toggle pins (P1.IIc), and a bronze spindle.
The bronze vessels include large and small cooking pots, simple bowls of various sizes, long spouted
vessels, small jugs, cups with handles and decorative chalices. Most of the bronze vessels are simple
and undecorated. A few ornamental bowls have been found with designs in relief, but unfortunately
these are badly crushed. Also of bronze are models of various tools such as the model of oxen with
yoke and plough found at Marlik Tepe.
The weapons used by these people are bronze, and vast numbers have been uncovered in the
tombs. The favourite weapon was apparently the spear which has been found in tremendousquantities
and in many different sizes and shapes. Various types of long spearheads,wide spearheads, and small
light spearheads which would have been extremely useful in the fast close mountain fighting have
been found. The next most popular weapon was the dagger of which many different types were found.
Large numbers of arrowheads,both for battle and for hunting, were also uncovered. Another popular
weapon was the sword. In several of the tombs extremely long heavy swords which could only have
been wielded by a particularly strong man were discovered. Many of these swords have a handle
fitted to the finger grip. The end of the handle is usually crescent shaped and in some is filled in with
wood. Among other military equipment found are large and small shields, helmets, some with marks
of battle, cymbals, often with a cloth handle still attached, bronze protective belts and bronze wristlets.
Among the unusual weapons are maceheadsof bronze,haematiteand marble,some of them extremely
decorative. One bronze macehead is decorated with nine projecting human heads whose eyes are
inlaid with bone (P1. IId).
Cylinder seals were found, made of haematite, frit, and stone, some edged with gold bands. Various
scenes of hunting, military parades, animals and religious activities are engraved on the seals. Two
inscribed seals have been found. One is so badly crushed that it has not been deciphered, but the other
contains an inscription that has been read by ProfessorGeorge Cameron of the University of Michigan
who estimates its date as not later than the eleventh or tenth century B.C. Several stamp seals also
were found.
Among the many personal ornaments found in the tombs are rings, earrings, bracelets (P1. IIIa),
pendants, buttons, decorativeleaves, pins, forehead bands and hair holders. Necklaces of gypsum beads
carved in the shape of monkeys and rams, of beautiful greenish grey or sea green frit beads, of red
carnelian beads in a wide variety of shapes, some edged with gold bands, and of lovely and finely made
gold beads have been found. Particularlyfascinatingare the many exquisite gold pendants, among them
a delicate cluster of pomegranates, a cage decorated with granulation (P1. IIIb), a double-headed
eagle, discs and crescents decorated with granulation and a simple double pyramid of granulation
on a fine gold chain.
One unusual aspect of this excavation is the very considerable number of valuable objects that
have been found. Included in this large number of precious objects are many gold, silver, bronze,
mosaic, and frit cups, bowls and chalices. I will describe only a few of these.
On one side of a tall silver cup is engraved a warriorwho, with arms extended, is holding a leopard
by the throat with each hand. On the opposite side of the cup a very peaceful scene appears. A moun-
tain goat, his hornsforming a graceful arc, is perched atop a leafless tree (P1.IIIc). Possiblyit was the
intention of the artist to show the powerful warrior protecting the weak, the mountain goat, who has
fled for safety to the top of the tree to escape the savage wild beasts.
A gold cup is decorted in relief with a design of the fir tree locally called zarbeennear which is a
humped mountain goat (P1. IIId). Under the goat's neck stands an eagle. The bodies of the mountain
goat and of the eagle are decorated with hatching. The large hump of the goat transforms him into
a creature of fantasy. The reproduction of this particular type of fir tree together with the mountain
goat and the eagle, all of which are still to be found in the Gohar Rfid valley, attest to the inspiration
which the artists derived from their local environment. The bottom of the cup is decorated with a
many petalled geometric rosette.
Another small gold bowl is decorated with a design of eagles and rams. On one side of the bowl is
an eagle with wings outspread over two rams (P1. IVa). The bodies of the rams are in profile and the
heads in front view, projecting outwards from the vessel. On the opposite side of the bowl a ram is
shown on each side of what is possibly the tree of life. On the bottom of the bowl is a lovely geometric
rosette.
Another small gold bowl shows four eagles in high relief, spaced around the vessel (P1. IVb).
A geometric rosette decorates the bottom of the bowl.
A somewhat larger gold bowl is decorated in high relief with a double row of unicorns (P1. V).
This is an extremely strong and well-muscled animal which moves gracefully and proudly around the
body of the bowl. The unicorn's body is decorated with lines and dots, and the joints of his legs and
back are adorned with plumes. Geometric rosettes are scattered between the repeated design of
unicorns. On the bottom of the bowl is engraved a lovely abstract geometric design in contrast to the
rosettes found on the bottom of most of the gold bowls.
When the greater part of the excavation of Marlik Tepe had been completed, part of our expedition
team began the excavation of Pileh Qal'eh, a large mound very close to Marlik. From the surface
material on this mound we were sure that there had been a connection between the royal cemetery of
Marlik and this fortressmound, for the pottery sherdsscattered over Pileh Qal'eh resembledthe pottery
found in the Marlik tombs. Consequentlywe hoped in the course of the excavation of Pileh Qal'eh to
clarify the stratigraphyof Gildn and to place the Marlik culture in its proper relation to other cultures
of the area.
Pileh Qal'eh is a very steep-sided conical mound, half natural and half artificial. The Gohar Rfid
encircles the western and northern sides of the mound, making it naturally and easily defensible.
We planned to excavate this mound completely from the top down. The first level atop the mound
was a fort constructed of sun-dried bricks. This was apparently built in late Sasanian times and
repaired in early Islamic times. As we were uncovering this topmost fort, we also cleared the earth
covering the southern slope of the mound in order to investigate the stratigraphy of the mound. We
learned that there were three main construction levels on the mound. From the debris of burned
material, bricks and timber, it seemed likely that the main construction on each of these three levels
had been destroyed by fire. In the short time at our disposal we proceeded very slowly to clear the
site, period by period, and to discover as much as we could about the stratigraphy of the mound;
for that purpose we cut a trench down the western side of the mound. Seventeen levels and sub levels
appeared, each represented by pottery sherds, for no whole objects were found there. Levels one
through seven (numbered from the bottom up) produced material earlier than Marlik, eight through
thirteen produced material of Marlik type and contained the earliest of the three fortresseswhose
foundations began at level eight and thereforemust have been constructed by the Marlik Tepe people.
At level thirteen the second main construction began, and the third and topmost one at level sixteen.
The excavation at this point was stopped. Consequentlythe greaterpart of this extremelyimportant
site remains to be excavated. At the present time our knowledge of the stratigraphy of this region
rests entirely upon the information obtained from the trench, trench M, which was cut down the
western side of Pileh Qal'eh.
For the dating of the Marlik culture I have had to rely upon a comparison of the objects found at
Marlik with the products of other peoples living in the Middle East in ancient times. A study of the
material found at Marlik Tepe reveals that it can be compared with material belonging to the late
second and early first millennium B.c. found at Sialk Cemetery B, Tepe Giyan near NahTvand, Susa,
Khorvine, Geoy Tepe and Hasanlu, Ziwiyeh in Kurdistan, Tepe Hisar, Kalardasht, and
Luristmn,
Hassan Zamini, Besht Tashni, Lankeran, Agha Evlar and Somtavro in Talysh and also sites outside
Iran such as Enkomi in Cyprus, Asshur, Ras Shamra in Syria and Tell-al-Fareh.
The objects found together in any single Marlik tomb do not correspond to material of a single
date as assigned in the reports of the other excavations mentioned above. Therefore I believe either
that the earlier objects continued in use until the date of the later objects or that their dating should
be reconsidered. In either case, I have had to date the tombs according to the latest objects found
in them. It appears that the royal cemetery of Marlik was used during the late second and early first
millennium B.C. and probably continued in use for a total of about two centuries. The zenith of art
and handcraft was reached in the early first millennium B.c. Possibly during the height of its power
this culture covered Gilan, Mazandaran and Azarbaijan, and then, under attack from the west,
particularly from the Assyrians,it was pushed back towards Sialk and Luristan.
Until now there has been little scientific excavation in Gilan and Mazandaran, and most of the
objects coming out of this area are the product of illegal, commercial excavations. Still, from a com-
parison of the objects found at Marlik with other existing materials, it seems certain that the artistic
centre of the whole region could not have been far from the Gohar Rild valley which contained the
royal cemetery of this great civilization.
A preliminary report of the excavation of Marlik Tepe is now being published in Tehran, and
should appear in the late winter.
21
EXCAVATIONS AT PASARGADAE: SECOND PRELIMINARY REPORT
By David Stronach
The second season of excavations at Pasargadae lasted from October 8th to December 8th 1962.
The work was conducted by the writer, assisted by Mr. Edward Keall (Architect), Miss Clare Goff
(Architect and Field Assistant), Miss Olive Kitson and Mme. M.-Th. Ullens de Schooten
(Photographers), Mr. Robin Oakley and Mr. David Towill (Field Assistants), and Miss Ann Searight
(Pottery Assistant). Mr. Sa'id Gangavi acted as the Representative of the Archaeological Service.
We were also very fortunate to have the help of Dr. and Mrs. H. A. Lamb, who were able to join us
for a brief period during November.
The work itself was supported by generous grants from the British Academy, the Ashmolean
Museum, Oxford, and the Iranian Oil Operating Companies, as well as by private donations from
both Mme. M.-Th. Ullens de Schooten and Dr. Laurence Lockhart. In addition, the expedition
must record its gratitude to both Mr. H. Mashun, Director-General of the Iranian Archaeological
Service, and Mr. F. Tavallali, Director of Antiquities in Fars, for help of many kinds, including
permission to live in the guest house at Pasargadae for a second year running.
Among many visitors to the site we were very glad to welcome Lady Harrison and Mrs. Rastegar;
Mr. H. Mashun, Director-Generalof the Iranian Archaeological Service; ProfessorG. Tucci, President
of the Italian Institute for the Middle and Far East; Dr. U. Scerrato; Field Director of the Italian
Archaeological Mission to Seistan; Dr. and Mrs. H. Luschey of the German Archaeological Institute
in Tehran; H.E. the Indian Ambassador and Mrs. M. R. A. Baig; Mr. Charles Wilmot, British
Council Representative in Iran; and Mr. and Mrs. John Gayford and Mr. and Mrs. Paul Gotch
of the British Council's Regional Centres at Isfahan and Shiraz.
Summaryof the I962 Campaign'

As in our first season, the work of the expedition was concentrated on the Tall-i-Takht, the
citadel hill that dominates the northern part of the site. Here we were able to embark on a varied
programme, throwing fresh light on various features of the great stone platform that dates back to
the reign of Cyrus the Great; revealing wide areas of the extensive mud brick citadel and storehouse
that was founded after his death; and, possibly most interesting of all, uncovering several new areas
of the Period III settlement that can now be dated to the early Seleucid period.
At Tall-i-Nokhodi a fresh series of soundings at last confirmed the existence of a definite break
in occupation between the mound's two main cultural phases, characterized on the one hand by
painted pottery of the Tall-i-Bakun A I-4 type and on the other by red burnished pottery of the
Tall-i-Bakun A 5 type. In addition, these latest soundings have revealed a much more detailed
picture of the industrial skills and funerary habits of both cultures.z
Elsewhere, the expedition began an initial examination of the area round the tall Tower known
to-day as the Zendan, as well as exploring and planning some of the enigmatic cairn burials that lie
in the neighbouring Bulaghi Pass.
Finally, as part of the expedition's long-term plan to prepare individual architectural studies
of all the main monuments at Pasargadae, we were able to complete a detailed record of the
Achaemenian features of the tomb of Cyrus. The greater part of this record is presented in the
following pages, in advance of still fuller presentation in the Final Report, since it is hoped that this
will facilitate comparison with the newly-discovered tomb of Gur-i-Dokhtar-a monument that was
also visited by members of the expedition before the end of the past season.
'For an account of the previous campaign in 1961 see 2 See Miss Clare Goff's article, p. 41.
D. Stronach, Iran I, 1963, pp. 19-42.
3
-jI 1 I
I
SOUTHEAST NORTH-EAST
SECTION T
NORTH-WEST SOUTH-WEST CORNICE
TOMB OF CYRUS E LE VATI O NS
1 0 5m
Fig. I. The Tombof Cyrus: Elevationsand SectionthroughCornice,
EXCAVATIONS AT PASARGADAE 23
PLANAT
ROOFLEVEL
SECTIONA-A
'. . .
. .._
PLAN
8-B
SECTION
TOMB OF CYRUS
PASARGADAE
1 0 5 10 metres
Fig. 2. The Tomb of Cyrus: Plans and Sections.
The Tombof Cyrus

Although it is probably the best-known Achaemenian monument, it is a remarkable fact that the
present illustrations of the tomb of Cyrus (Figs. I and 2) represent the only comprehensive scale
drawings that have been published since 1841.3 Also, although the Islamic additions to the structure
have received recent attention,4the most comprehensivedescriptionsof the tomb are those of Dieulafoy,
who published his account in 1884,5 and Herzfeld, whose main study appeared in 1910.6
Despite the absence of any inscription the identity of the tomb has seldom been questioned.'
No other structure at Pasargadae can be said to possess more fitting architectural qualifications and
amidst the minor discrepancies of various accounts, no other building can be said to bear a closer
3 See E. Flandin and P. Coste, PerseAncienne,1841, Pls. 95 f. Aufnahmenund Untersuchungen von Denkmalernaus alt- und mittel-
4A. Sami, Pasargadae,1956, pp. 100oo-102o. persischerZeit, I9go, p. I66 f.
7 Dieulafoy's objections, raised at a very early date, were largely
5sMarcel Dieulafoy, L'Art Antiquede la Perse I, 1884, pp. 38-51. inspired by various other misconceptions about the site as a
6 Sarre, Friedrich and Herzfeld, Ernst, Iranische Felsreliefs. whole. See Dieulafoy, op. cit., loc. cit.
resemblance to classical descriptions of the monument.8 The only real difficulty is the fact that most
descriptionsof the tomb refer to the presence of an inscription which Strabo gives as follows:
" O man, I am Cyrus, who founded the Empire of the Persians and was king of Asia. Grudge
me not therefore this monument."9
But since such an inscription could have been mounted on a stone or metal tablet attached to the
tomb or since it could have been cut into an adjoining structure, or even into the door-leaves that were
removed after the initial desecration,Io there are hardly sufficient grounds for refuting the present
identification.
The setting of the tomb is masterly. It stands apart from all other major monuments, dominating
the southern half of the Murghab plain. Its position is such that it attracts the eye from almost any
vantage point-not least from the head of the Bulaghi pass, where any mounted traveller from the
south would have seen the tomb and its enclosure the moment he caught sight of the plain ahead.
The character of the tomb is one of unusual attraction, remarkably in keeping with the spirit of
the man it commemorates. With its massive stonework and plain surfaces balanced by only the
minimum touches of decorative detail, it creates a memorable impression of dignity, simplicity and
strength.
In design the tomb combines two distinct elements: a high plinth composed of six receding tiers
and a modest, gabled tomb chamber which seems to preserve a very much earlier form of wooden
house (Figs. I and 2, and Pls. Ia and Ib).
The original height of the whole structure appears to have been II m. Its other principal dimen-
sions may be given as follows: Of the six tiers of the plinth the first has a height of I - 70 m., the second
and third each have a height of I o04 m., and the last three each have a uniform height of 57'5 cm.
Thus the total height of the plinth stands at almost exactly 50 m.-or half the height of the monument
as a whole. The base of the plinth measures c. 13'35 m. 5" X 12- 30 m., while the base of the tomb
chamber measuresc. 6-40 m. X 5'35 m. As for the tomb chamber's other measurements,the narrow
door is only I -39 m. high and 78 cm. wide; the passage I m. long; and the chamber m.
.20
of the chamber are to I 3.I7
thick.
long with a uniform width and height of 2- II m. The walls up 50om.
Above the chamber, a hollow compartment in the roof, almost divided in two for structural reasons,
measures 4. 75 m. in length and 85 cm. in height.
The separate tiers of the plinth are each too high to be regarded as steps and it has been thought
that they may be related to the receding tiers of a ziggurat."I But at the same time any such connection
would seem to be very tenuous; if we compare the design of Gur-i-Dokhtar (Fig. 3) with that of the
tomb of Cyrus we see that the architects of the latter monument may have done nothing more than
add suitable elevation to a set of three tiers that were already part of a traditional design for all free-
standing Achaemenian tombs.
At the base of the lowest tier a protruding band of rather rough stone forms a complementary
feature to a similar, still narrower band that runs round the base of the tomb chamber. From the
appearance of certain sections of the lower band it is possible to suppose that both bands were meant
to be converted into double-curved kymamouldings-corresponding to the kymamoulding in the
cornice. But it should be stressed that this intention-if it existed-was never realized, and that
Dieulafoy's drawings, which show the two bands as fully dressed kymamouldings, are imaginative
rather than accurate.'2
The exceptional care taken over the planning and construction of the tomb chamber is illustrated
by the calculated graduation of its megalithic masonry. As can be seen from Fig. I, the first course
measures I -28 m. in height, the second 80 cm. and the last two 56 and 51 cm. respectively. The same
Cf. Arrian, Anabasisvi, 29, and Strabo, Geographyxv, 3. The ordered to " do away with the door by building it up with
8
small inconsistencies arising from such accounts are sum- stone and plastering it over with mortar ". Arrian, Anabasis
marized by Curzon, Persia and the Persian QuestionII, 1892, vi, 29.
pp. 79-84. Tour de Babel, p. 50 f.
9 Strabo, Geographyxv, 3, 7- ", See A. Parrot, Zigguratset
12Dieulafoy, op. cit., figs, 34 and 35.
1o In restoring the tomb in the year 324 B.c. Aristobulus was
rI I
AT L
PLAN
ROOFLEVEL II L -- - -
F EAST ELEVATION SOUTH ELEVATI
1
rlp-
PLAN L SECTION NORTH ELEVATIO
GUR-I-DOKHTAR 1 ometr
Fig. 3. Gur-i-Dokhtar:Plans, Elevationsand Section.
pattern also repeats itself above the cornice, where the gable ends show two graduated courses and the
sides of the roof three.
The original modelling of the frame round the door is now but a shadow of itself (P1. Ia), but
it is still possible to see that the reconstructions of the last century added a non-existent capstone
to the top of the architrave.'s For although such a capstone would have brought the upper edge of
the architrave in line with the join between the second and third courses-an otherwise logical
proceeding in such a carefully planned structure-the surface of the monument is perfectly flat for
over 16 cm. below this particularjoin (Fig. 2). In other respects it is difficult to offer any criticism
of the earlier illustrations, for it is a sad fact that we are partly dependant on such records for our
knowledge of certain features.'4
The profile of the cornice (Fig. I, at right) is one of the more elaborate features of the whole
building. As we know from a number of Ionic parallels, this particular form of cornice was borrowed
directly from the Greek world.Is But in adapting this feature to their special needs the Achaemenian
architects wisely omitted the standard denticulation in the lowest register lest it should mar the sim-
plicity of their design.I6 As for the two gable ends facing north-west and south-east, each of these seems
to have projected well beyond the plane of the roof-adding an extra touch of clear-cut definition
to the outline of the building.
Immediately inside the door a small passage-way leads to the tomb chamber. Its long lateral
recesses, each 90 cm. long and 12 cm. deep, led Dieulafoy to suppose that doors of commensurate
length must have moved in opposed directions within the narrow space of the passage.I7 But as
Herzfeld has already indicated, there is no proper evidence to support such a theory;18instead the
stonework of the passage disproves Dieulafoy's assumptions and shows that the tomb was entered
through small double doors, pivoting just inside the open door frame.I9 As can be seen from Pls. IIa
and IIb there are upper socket holes on eachside of this frame, although none appear inside the corre-
sponding inner jamb. In addition, there are no other markingsthat could lend colour to the postulate
of an inner door: the floor beneath the inner jamb is perfectly smooth compared with the appearance
of the outer threshold, where, at the sides especially, the stone floor was cut away to allow the insertion
of each doorleaf (P1. IIc). It should be stressedas well that the length of each recess was not governed
by the actual length of the doorleaves, but rather by the thicknessof the outer wall and the preference
for thin, matching frames at each end of the passage. The square hollows in the north recess (P1. IIb)
are difficult to date, but their rough appearance suggests that they ought to be secondary features
unconnected with any locking device that might have projected from an original door.
Beyond the entrance way the tomb chamber itself consists of a modest room (P1. IId) apparently
only just large enough to accommodate the rich funerary furniture described by Arrian.2o Originally
all parts of the chamber were smoothly dressed with the exception of a thin protrudingband of stone
situated just below the ceiling. But at the present day a shallow prayer-niche or mihrdbreminds
us that the monument became the centre of a mosque some seven centuries ago (see Fig. 2, top right),
while two iron spikes, once connected by a string of modest trinkets,2Iwould seem to represent the
marks of more recent tribal piety.
Above the tomb chamber a long hollow space within the roof relieves almost all pressure from
the middle of the span below (Fig. 2). The hollow area is irregularin shape, its outline being dictated
by the thickness of the blocks around it and the need for a projecting support near its centre. The
stone sides of the hollow have a rough, uneven surface such as cannot be found on any finished part
of the tomb; also, in direct contrast to all normally visible surfaces, the side walls still show a number
'3 Cf. Flandin and Coste, op. cit., Pls. 195-196; Dieulafoy, s8See E. Herzfeld, LA.E., fig. 325.
op. cit., fig. 36. 19Cf. the entrance to the tomb of Darius the Great at Naqsh-i-
'4 This applies, for instance, to the kymamoulding over the door, Rustam; also note that the tower-like structures at Pasargadae
which appears to have been in much better preservation and Naqsh-i-Rustam were equipped with similar double-
seventy or eighty years ago. See Dieulafoy, op. cit., Pl. XIX. leaved doors.
'5 Cf. the cornice of the Erechtheion, Dieulafoy, op. cit., fig. 39.
20
Apart from robes, weapons and other finery, the main
furniture consisted of the king's sarcophagus, the couch on
i6 Details of what
may be traces of abandoned denticulation which it was mounted and a table that stood at its side.
are illustrated by Dieulafoy, op. cit., fig. 33. Arrian, Anabasisvi, 29, 6.
17 Dieulafoy, op. cit., p. 48 and fig. 2, Curzon, op. cit., p. 77.
54.
of metal clamps in exposed positions. The only access to the hollow comes from a square hole in the
north-eastern side of the roof which was first discovered when Mr. Sami's workmen were engaged
in removing shrubs and other vegetation from the roof in I951. To judge from the preservation of
the clamps, the opening cannot be of any great age, and it would seem more than likely that it was
cut within the past few hundred years. In describing his discovery, Mr. Sami has offered the novel
suggestion that Cyrus and his queen were both buried within the confined space of the two " com-
partments " within the roof and that the tomb chamber itself was used either as a repository for
funerary goods or as a guard house for the custodian of the tomb.22 But however colourful such argu-
ments may be, there is no real evidence-structural or historical-to support them. Instead, the
irregular plan and section of the hollow would seem to make it clear that the whole space was never
intended to serve as anything except an invisible architectural device.
Throughout its construction the tomb reflects established Achaemenian building methods in
which huge blocks of white limestone were dressed to perfection, fitted without mortar, and secured
at the joins by swallow-tail clamps of lead and iron. The actual surface dressing of the stonework
accords with standard early Achaemenian techniques and shows no trace of the multi-toothed chisel
which seems to have been unknown, or almost unknown, in Iran until Darius the Great introduced it
at Persepolis by way of imported Greek workmen.23
With regard to the architectural antecedents of the tomb of Cyrus, it is becoming increasingly
apparent that the essential character of the monument accords with an indigenous Achaemenian
tradition in which a primitive type of gabled house served as a prototype for all major free-standing
tombs. The popularity of such free-standing monuments-as opposed to contemporary rock-cut
tombs-is hard to judge. But whilst the tomb of Gur-i-Dokhtar seems to speak for the existence of
certain early provincial examples, the tomb of Cyrus appears to be one of two monuments-the other
being Takht-i-Rustam, near Persepolis-that speak for the survival of the type in the Imperial period.
The whole question of what may lie behind the contemporary appearance of free-standing and
rock-cut tombs is somewhat beyond the scope of the present paper. But to make only one other
general point, it would seem more than probable that Cambyses II intended to provide himself with
a tomb very like that of his father and that, as Herzfeld has said,24the unfinished tiers of " Takht-i-
Rustam ", which stand midway between Persepolis and Naqsh-i-Rustam, are almost certainly the
foundations of Cambyses' tomb. The close similarity between the foundations of both monuments
in scale and plan, not to mention prominence of setting, would seem to support this; the lack of multi-
toothed chisel marks on the two monuments would seem to add further confirmation; and, last but
not least, we have no right to assume that Cambyses, who seems to have left no personal trace at
Pasargadae, was not already active in developing the rich Persepolis region, which immediately
attracted his successor, Darius.
Returning again to the question of foreign architectural influences on the tomb of Cyrus, the
details of the cornice, not to mention those of the architrave above the door, would seem to have
been borrowed direct from sixth-century Greek architecture. But the supposed Phrygian or Lycian
contribution to the design of the tomb chamber25remains more in doubt, for, as more evidence begins
to accumulate, we shall probably find that an independent taste for gabled tombs grew up in Iran
as well as in Anatolia. Certainly the local archaeological record is not without possible antecedents,
including the underground gable-roofed tombs from Necropolis B at Sialk26 and those reported from
the cemeteries of Luristan.27 In addition, we should not lose sight of the fact that all the finished
compartments in the rock-cut tomb of Darius the Great have gabled ceilings.
22A. Sami, ArchaeologicalReportsVI, I96o0, pp. 47-50. 24I.A.E., p. 21I4.

23 1 am much indebted to my friend Mr. Carl Nylander of the 25Cf. G. Perrot and C. Chipiez, History of Art in Phrygia, Lydia,
University of Uppsala for first drawing my attention to the Caria and Lycia, 1892, figs. 264-266.
fact that such wide-headed chisels, which leave five or six
26R. Ghirshman, Les Fouilles de Sialk II, p. 26 and P1. VII.
parallel grooves in the stone at each blow (Pl. Va), only
seem to have been used on Achaemenian monuments from the 27 I am much indebted to Mr. Jorgen Medlegaard, leader of the
reign of Darius onwards--despite their earlier use in Greece. Danish Expedition to Luristan, for the information that most
As we shall see below, Mr. Nylander's observation already of the more important graves from the Hulailan area are of
constitutes a most valuable chronological criterion. the stone-lined, gable-roofed variety.
The construction of the tomb was almost certainly completed during the last decade of Cyrus'
reign. As we have seen already, all principal parts of the building have a smoothly dressed surface
and only the rough mouldings at the base of the plinth and the cella could point to possibly unfinished
workmanship. Also, the discovery of Gur-i-Dokhtar would seem to rule out any theory that the
Achaemenians only adopted the idea of such free-standing tombs at the very end of Cyrus' reign-
a view that has been used to support the notion that the tomb was not completed until well after
Cyrus' death.zs
Finally, in putting forward the present plans and elevations which were very largely drawn up
by Miss Elisabeth Beazley, A.R.I.B.A., in I96I, it may be as well to draw attention to certain depar-
tures from earlier illustrations of the tomb. In the first place, it should be stressed that the tomb
has only six tiers and not seven as shown in the drawings of Flandin and Coste. The original error
almost certainly stems from the fact that a rough-edged layer of foundation stones lies beneath the
tomb. Secondly, in connection with Dieulafoy's elaborate reconstruction,29 it need hardly be
emphasized that the stone steps below the door and the columns surrounding the tomb have no
place in the original design. As has been confirmed in recent years,3o these objects were brought
to the tomb from other parts of the site when the Atabeg rulers of Firs converted the monument
into a congregational mosque. Lastly, it is a matter for regret that many of the vertical joins in the
faCadehave disappeared beneath the cement repairs of recent years, for, at least with regard to such
surface detail, the present record is still not as complete as it should be.
The Tomb of Gur-i-Dokhtar

The white limestone tomb known today as Gur-i-Dokhtar, " the daughter's tomb " (Pls. IIIa-d
and Fig. 3), lies in a bleak upland valley of the southern Zagros mountains, some Ioo km. south-west
of Kazerun. Reached by nothing more than winding mountain tracks, it was first heard of in 1950,
when ProfessorW. B. Henning was engaged in making a study of the famous Sasanian rock relief
and inscriptions of Bahram II at Sar Mashhad. Unfortunately conditions made it impossible to
visit the tomb on that occasion and, since the area is somewhat remote, the tomb escaped all further
attention until 196I. But in that year the earlier reports led Professor L. Vanden Berghe to
investigate the valley immediately to the west of Sar Mashhad, where he found the tomb still in
excellent preservation. Reporting his discovery to the Iranian Press he described it as the probable
tomb of an early Achaemenian prince.
Like the tomb of Cyrus, Gur-i-Dokhtar stands in the midst of a flat valley not far from the point
at which a key pass cuts through the surrounding hills. But whereas the size and the majesty of the
tomb of Cyrus contrive at once to catch the eye, Gur-i-Dokhtaris so small as to be almost lost in the
broad sweep of its surroundings. Still remarkablypreserved by what must have been the force of local
religious superstition the tomb stands almost on the edge of an extensive Sasanian town that seems
to cover all other traces of Achaemenian occupation. But the very fact that the valley once enjoyed
such prosperity under the Sasanians is at least an argument for assuming the presence of further
Achaemenian remains.
The tomb itself is almost complete, consisting of a small gable-roofed chamber resting on three
receding tiers of uniform size. Its only entrance faces north. It bears no inscriptions, leaving only
the fabric to speak for its date and function. As is the case with almost all Achaemenian stone
monuments the tomb rests on its own stone foundation, part of which is still visible beneath the
lowest tier on the north face (P1. IIIa). Above this, the three stone tiers are virtually uniform in
size, each rising approximately 35 cm. in height. As can be seen from the accompanying plans and
photographs,3' the tiers have suffered extensive damage on the southern and western faces of the
monument while remaining almost intact elsewhere.
The tomb chamber still has very much its original appearance, its only secondary feature being
28 See Sami, Pasargadae,p. 37. 3I The work of Miss C. L. Goff and Miss O. A. Kitson respec-
29 Dieulafoy, op. cit., Pl.
XX. tively.
30 Sami, Pasargadae,pp. oo100-10o2.
a deep hollow in its stone floor which was once used by the local nomads for grinding and preparing
woollen dyes. In size, the interior of the chamber is far from large, measuring 2 o07m. in height,
2-20 m. in length and I -60 m. in width. The low door, which would barely seem to have been large
enough to admit a sarcophagus, measures only 67 cm. in height and 89 cm. in width. In the absence
of any sockets it must be assumed that the " door " was nothing more than a heavy blocking stone,
probably cemented into place once the tomb was closed.
Apart from the door, the only other features that were used to relieve the plain surfaces of the
outer walls were two miniature " windows "-really rectangular recesses-situated just below the
level of the gable on the two narrow sides of the building. In a primitive way they recall the similar
small " windows " that were placed above the door in both the Zendan at Pasargadae and the
Ka'bah-i-Zardusht at Naqsh-i-Rustam. It is difficult to say whether or not the " windows " at
Gur-i-Dokhtar could have served to frame any sort of stone or metal tablet identifying the tomb, but
it is really more probable that such recesses were simply traditional features in the fossilization of
an earlier house-form.
Although tightly jointed without the use of mortar, the walls of the chamber present a rather
haphazard appearance. The main joint between the first and second courses slopes diagonally across
each short face; there is extraordinary variety in the size of the individual blocks; and, above all,
there is no feeling for the consistent treatment of particular elements (contrast the single block below
the north gable with the presence of four separate stones in the same position at the rear of the building).
Indeed, the evident lack of planning and building experience would seem to point-together with
much else-to the probable early date of the structure.
Admittedly certain of the building's shortcomings, such as the clumsily contrived doorway,.
would seem to stem from the traditional Achaemenian tendency to carve complex structural elements
from single stones. But it should be remembered that even this technique is seldom obvious in later
buildings. In the case of the tomb of Cyrus, for instance, the only trace of any such device is to be
found in the dark interior of the tomb chamber.
The roof of Gur-i-Dokhtaris a feature of exceptional interest, offering obvious parallels to the tomb
of Cyrus. In particular the long arched stone that runs the length of the roof-representing the largest
single stone in the structure-performs precisely the same function as the irregular hollow space that
has already been noted in the roof of the tomb of Cyrus. Originally hidden from view by tall gable
stones at either end, the arched stone also served as a foundation for various smaller stones that formed
the external slope of the roof. At four separate points, in fact, one can see where long metal pins were
used to hold such covering blocks in place (Fig. 3 and P1l.IIIb and c). From the external shape of the
arched stone (P1. IIId) it would appear that the outer roof was once composed of three courses: the
first adjoining its initial vertical face, the second resting against its intermediate diagonal face, and
the third lying on its flat, upper surface. But, short of additional evidence from future excavations,
there can be no certainty about the size and shape of such missing courses.
The dressingof the individual stones is of a relatively high quality, employing many of the principles
and techniques found at Pasargadae. Thus the edges of joining surfaces are always most carefully
dressedin order to create tight joins, while the central portions of the same stones tend to be recessed
and rather more poorly dressed.32 With regard to the methods of dressing, the finest surfaces were
ground smooth while the rougher ones still display long diagonal chisel marks. Multi-toothed chisel
marks are unknown.
A further significant feature is the extensive use of metal clamps. In marked contrast to the tomb
of Cyrus and other later Achaemenian monuments, these were seldom hidden from view. Instead
the empty sockets, which still preserve the shape of each clamp, are to be seen at a great number of
visible joins throughout the building (Fig. 3, bottom left).33 In size the clamps seem to have closely
approached the length of the lead and iron clamps from Pasargadae-a point of possible chronological
32In Fig. 3, top left, the dotted area on the upper surface of seated on top of the wall). Contrasting surfaces have not
the eastern wall indicates the limits of fine dressing (i.e. the been marked elsewhere.
actual area where the outer slabs of the roof were firmly 33 Only one clamp is drawn out in full; all others are indicated
by their holdfast holes alone.
significance since the evidence from Takht-i-Rustam and Persepolis suggests that the average clamp
grew larger as the sixth century progressed. But at the same time the primitive shape of the Gur-i-
Dokhtar examples, which are sometimes little more than square-headed, must warn us against
identifying them too closely with those of Pasargadae.
To conclude the present survey, the tomb of Gur-i-Dokhtar shows a number of features in the
character of its construction, in its modest scale, in the style of its stone dressing, and in the form and
position of its clamps which would seem to point to a more primitive level of architectural accom-
plishment than anything found at Pasargadae. Such evidence, even when every allowance is made
for the provincial location of the tomb, would seem to point to a date in or about the first quarter
of the sixth century B.C. This estimate would also accord, perhaps, with ProfessorGhirshman'sview
that the much cruder platform at Masjid-i-Suleiman-which is quite without metal clamps-is
:still almost a century older.34
Finally, with regard to the tomb's original ownership, it hardly seems likely that such a small
building would have been a suitable memorial for any Achaemenian monarch; instead it would
seem logical to assume, as ProfessorVanden Berghe has already, that it was erected for some lesser
Prince of the royal house whose immediate authority was concentrated in the Sar Mashhad region.
Excavationsin the CitadelArea (Fig. 4)

The excavations on the citadel hill at Pasargadae (Pls. IVa and IVb) were concerned, as has been
said, with three distinct building periods: the monumental phase of stone constructionwhich is directly
associated with Cyrus the Great (Period I); the well-ordered mud-brick construction which probably
owes its origin to Darius the Great (Period II); and a still later phase of mud-brick construction
which appears to fall within the years 330-280 B.C. (Period III).
PeriodL In connection with the earliest phase we were able to concentrate our attention on
certain isolated investigations, each of which added to our knowledge of the citadel's original appear-
ance.35 In the case of the A staircase (P1. IVc), where our earlier work had still left various points
unsettled, we were able to penetrate still further into the heart of the platform, revealing the full
width of the upper flight and the thicknessof the flank stone at its southern edge (Fig. 5). The unusual
width of the upper flight, which proved to be 3 05 m. wider than the lower flight, and 2 70 m. wider
than the treads of the B staircase, came as a distinct surprise. However, in the absence of any other
evidence, it must be assumed that such extra width was designed to harmonize with the scale of
some projected gateway or similar structureat platform level. With regard to the unfinished condition
of much of the platform's stonework, it is interesting to see that only one tread of the upper flight
had been laid down (P1. Va) before the staircase was abandoned and largely blocked from view.
The actual blocking of the staircaseis also a feature of considerable interest, for whereas a straight-
forward mud-brick wall was carried over the stone treads of the B staircase,36a very much stronger
and more elaborate form of wall had to be used to fill the deep gap left by the A entrance. To meet
the special requirements of the situation the Period II builders first moved the heavy stone blocks
seen in P1. IVc across the top of the lower flight; next they filled the well of the landing with the layers
of mortar and rubble visible in P1.Va; and finally, above this fill, they built the thick wall of mud-brick
that was used to retain the loose rubble at the centre of the platform. Quite apart from stressing the
solidity of this construction, which in itself reflects the rigorous methods in use at the beginning of
Period II, it is worth noting that, until the Period II builders had blocked both staircases, it would
have been impossible to fill the central hollow of the platform or indeed to embark on any other form
of construction in the area. As a consequence, any foundations that may have been laid down at
platform level during Period I are almost certain to be restricted to the edge of the platform where
at least most of the outer frame already stood to its full height.
34 R. Ghirshman, Iranfrom theEarliest Times to theIslamicConquest, 35For an account of the principal features recovered in the past,
1954, p. 123. see Stronach, op. cit., pp. 27 and 30-35.
36Stronach, op. cit., p. 31.
.
SACREDPRECINCT .(
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Fig. 4. SketchPlan of Pasargadae.

/
- FLANK STONE
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MISSING STEPS ,e I
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flnk walls, steps & foundationsloabs are cut. S E C T I 0 N00 A - A
FOUNDATION F R
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Fig. 5. SectionandPlan of A Staircase.

In this last connection, the large foundation stones for the topmost treads of the A staircase (Pl. IVd)
would seem to represent the only Period I foundations that have yet been recovered at a height
approaching platform level. And even here a careful search failed to reveal any further foundations,
such as might have thrown new light on Cyrus' original plans.
In a further sounding, situated at the extreme south-west corner of the Takht, the base of the
platform was examined for the first time. Built well out from the main face of the fagade, the founda-
tions of the platform appear to consist of seven receding tiers (Pl. Vb). These show a considerable
variation in size with two narrow, double courses between others of more standard thickness. As to
the actual projection of the tiers, the upper three courses account for 50 -5 cm. of a total projection
of 6I cm. The dressing of the stones is another feature of interest, for the sixth and seventh courses,
together with the eighth course, which is in line with the rest of the facade, each exhibit a distinctive
treatment with a broad recessed panel at the base of each stone. This unusual form of rusticated
masonry finds its closest parallel in the dressing of the well-preserved risers in the B staircase.37
From such distinctive dressing, which seems to have been reserved for features of special note, it
seems probable that the sixth, seventh and eighth courses were regarded as the structure's standard
" foundation courses" and that all other courses below them were not so much part of the original
architectural concept as purely functional supports that had to compensate for various minor undula-
tions in the ground.38
Finally, mention must be made of a rather unexpected feature of Period I date that came to light
on the eastern slopes of the citadel hill. This consists of a massive stone drain (P1. Vc) that at once
recalls the very similar stone drain found on the south side of the platformimmediately below room 35.39
Although the new drain is without a stone bottom it shares many other significant features with the
first one: its side walls consist of solid, carefully fitted blocks of white limestone; its roof consists of
thin slabs of the same material; and, last but not least, both drains appear to have been designed
to carry a heavy volume of water under the citadel's defensive walls. In addition the new drain
(marked as B) is most helpful on two particular counts, for not only does it illustrate the exact width
of the eroded mud-brick wall that once guarded the eastern limits of the citadel, but it also proves
beyond all doubt that Cyrus had every intention of including the whole Tall-i-Takht in his
monumental design.
PeriodII. Turning to the succeeding phase, the past season saw the recovery of extensive new
areas of the Period II plan (Fig. 6). On the platform, where most of our original work took place in
I961,4o we were able to uncover all that is still left of the ground plan while, further to the east,
a number of exploratory trenches allowed us to study important sections of the perimeter defences.
Towards the crown of the hill much the most significant evidence came from Trench R, where a
generous depth of deposit allowed us to recover part of what appears to have been an inner terrace
wall encircling the summit. But elsewhere, as proved by Trenches F and J, the summit is badly
denuded and there is little hope that this part of the site will ever yield much in the way of architectural
details.
Excavationson the Platform

Above the platform itself it is now possible to reconstruct the bold outline of the whole Period II
plan. As can be seen from Pls. IVa and IVb and Fig. 6, this consists of three principal elements:
a central complex of rooms, open courts and other installations; a wide, circulatory street; and the
weathered foundations of powerful outer defences.
At the heart of the central complex is an extensive court (4) which, in its original state, measured
31 x 32 m. Designed with only two external entrances, an imposing columned hall on one side
and an elaborate buttressed and recessed facade on the other, it undoubtedly served as the citadel's
37Stronach, op. cit., p. 31 and fig. 6. such as can be seen on many monuments throughout Fars.
38The attractive, but roughly cut animal figures which appear 39 See Sami, op. cit., p. 71 and Stronach, op. cit., pp. 37-38.
on the masonry in P1. Vb represent typical tribal markings 40See Stronach, op. cit., fig. 7.
chief parade ground, where, on occasion, the king could review the garrison or inspect such tribute
as had been brought to the adjoining magazines. But at the same time the wide doors into magazine 7
and courtyard Io must have called for some sort of screening device at a very early stage, for, before
there was any perceptible rise in the floor level, a large north-south wall was carried across the greater
part of the original eastern facade (Fig. 6).
In contrast to the mundane magazines lying along its eastern edge, the western side of the great
court is flanked by a much more aristocraticstructure: a columned hall, which was originally designed
as a single chamber, 25 m. long and 7 m. wide, with eight wooden columns running down its centre
(Fig. 5). Each column was supported by a cylindrical stone base, in which the lower half was often
rough-punched and poorly shaped, while the visible, upper half was always perfectly rounded. But
much the most important feature of these curiously made bases is the fact that the upper surface of
each is covered with multi-toothed chisel marks (P1.Vd). For apart from a very small patch of similar
dressing that occurs near the mouth of the A stone drain, this is the only place where this particular
form of dressing is found anywhere on the Takht-or indeed at Pasargadae. In itself, therefore,
it is a most eloquent testimony to the date of the Period II changes, which, on this evidence, would
seem to be associated with Darius the Great rather than Cambyses II.4i As to the hall's other more
distinctive features, it may be noticed that the foundations of a low, plastered bench run along the
length of the south wall and down at least part of the west wall (P1. VIa); a shallow pilaster in the
centre of the north wall still indicates an obvious support for one end of the hall's longitudinal roof
beams; and, close to the south-eastern corner of the hall, in an area that has suffered from much
disturbance, a raised plinth with a baked brick floor still awaits further examination before its original
form and function can be discussed in detail.
Towards the end of Period II certain structural weaknesses, or at least a demand for additional
rooms, would seem to have brought about various changes at the north end of the hall. For, after
the floor level had risen by some 15 cm., an internal, L-shaped wall was built out from the north wall,
dividing the body of the hall (53) from two very much smaller rooms (46 and 48). In addition, a heavy
stone base with a concave top, which was found bedded in the floor of room 46 (Fig. 6), would seem
to indicate that the hall's original eighth column was supplemented by another wooden column
of massive size. Among the objects recovered from the hall, room 46 produced several fragments
of good quality pottery, including the greater part of a tall, painted jar with red swags and dots on
a warm buff ground, while the floor of room 53 yielded some of the finest " palace ware " fragments
that have yet been found anywhere on the Takht.
As mentioned earlier, the second major element in the plan of the platform consists of an open
street running round three sides of the central complex. Beginning in the I east court, which was
linked to the eastern part of the citadel by a small, presumably arched, opening in its north wall, the
street runs directly westwards as far as area 2 (Fig. 6). There it jogs inwards or southwardsat a point
where the internal defences themselves must have jogged inwards in order to accommodate the
platform'snorth recess. This last part of the street appears to have been one of considerableimportance
for, apart from being close to the adjoining doorwaysinto the great court (4) and the outer defences (44),
it provided access to a covered staircase (3) that would seem to have led to upper chambers over
adjacent magazines.
At the foot of the north-west tower the street performs a second dog-leg, passing between the
tower and the north-west corner of the reception hall before continuing in a straight line first to the
south-west corner and then to the south-east corner of the central rectangle. Finally, both extremities
of the street, not to mention its northern and north-western sections, all reflect the fact that the street
had fallen out of use-at least as a continuous thoroughfare-by Period III.42
The third element of the platform's plan is the least complete. But despite serious losses from
erosion significant stretches of the outer defences still survive. Starting in area I 16, where the deposit
first takes on an appreciable depth, a shallow descending staircase appears to have provided direct
4' As has been mentionedearlier,the probabletombof Cambyses 42 See Figs. 6 and 7.

at Takht-i-Rustamis without such chisel marks.
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A Drain
PERIOD I EXPOSED STONEWORK D
1 PERIOD II MUD BRICK WALLS

S ADDITIONS TO THE ABOVE
PERIOD III MUD BRICK WALLS |
Fig. 6. General Plan of the C:

Facing page
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88
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access to the adjoining defences. These almost certainly included a large and important tower at
this point, for, although there is little evidence left, it can hardly be without significance that a wide,
covered staircase leads into the area; that the platform fagade projects immediately to the north;
and that the north side of street I shows a limited stretch of buttressed and recessed decoration at
what could have been the base of a tower 13 m. square.
Further west two residual pieces of walling confirm the fact that the standard width of the plat-
form's outer wall was 8 -6o m. The only place where this figure was substantially reduced, in fact,
was above the north recess, where the thickness of the wall was allowed to shrink to only 7 m. But,
as a possible compensation for this reduction, there is evidence to show that a second tower may have
been constructed on the eastern flank of the north recess, where it could overlook the exposed, lower
flight of the A staircase. Not the least indication of this is the fact that the defensive system jogs
southwards over13 m. east of therecess-leaving ample room for the ground plan of a square tower.
At the next important strong-point the north-west corner of the platform was provided with a
massive mud-brick tower, i8 x i6 m. in size. Only entered from within the defensive network,
the remains of the ground plan still show three long, parallel rooms, each of which probably only
served as a storage magazine in the original structure. Apart from anything else, the presence of this
tower allows us to assume the existence of a similar tower at the opposite, south-west corner where
all traces of Period II construction have been lost.
At the last stretch of the platform's defences, to the east of the south recess, there is again just
enough evidence to postulate the existence of a fifth tower, which, like its counterpart in area 26,
seems to have measured 13 m. square. Both rooms 33 and 34 appear to belong to the ground plan
of such a structure and since they also communicate with at least one long corridor to the east (38)
it is tempting to suppose that the whole perimeter of the platform, if not the citadel hill as a whole,
was linked by an internal system of communications, either at ground level or at the level of a first
storey.43
Turning to areas immediately to the east of the platform's central rectangle, the relatively undis-
turbed nature of the ground provides a clear picture of the citadel's later history. In the vicinity
of the I east court the stratigraphic evidence is especially valuable. In Period II alone the numerous
floor levels, the secondary walls of late date, and the crude patches of baked brick paving in the upper
floors,each seem to document something of the length, and the ultimate degeneration,of an occupation
which begins c. 520 B.C. and lasts till at least 331 B.c. In addition, such evidence for slow change and
deterioration is sealed beneath a huge mass of mud-brick, which stems from a partial collapse in the
adjoining outer defences and which covers not only the I east court but also many other rooms to
the south (II3, 22, III, 117 and II18). In the I east court a large storage vessel lies crushed beneath
the debris (Pl. VIb), while in room I I I a thick layer of ash (Pl. VIc) would seem to point to deliberate
arson.
No classical source records any such destruction. Equally, its date is not fixed by coins or other
inscribed material. But the fact that this mass of debris permanently engulfed a vital part of the Period
II plan, and that it was levelled to make way for Seleucid structures of Period III, would seem to
show that it dates from the very end of the Achaemenian period. This itself is suggestive if we consider
the fate of Persepolis. For even if there is no record of any Greek assault on Pasargadae, but rather
an allusion to peaceful surrender,44 this is no guarantee that the citadel, or indeed any other building
at the site, was left without damage.
Despite the chance that goods of various kinds might have been lost in this local conflagration,
the Period II rooms under discussion (17, 2oa, 20b, 21a, 21b, 22, I Io, III and 112) have produced
very few objects that can be said to point to their original function. However, the presence of a
well-appointed bathroom (2oa) at the north-west corner of this range45 would seem to indicate that
at least some of the adjoining rooms must have been residential in character. Among them, room I io
43 Such internal ground communications would seem to be rare. only appear to open onto adjoining inner courtyards.
Cf. the recently excavated gate towers at Fort Shalmaneser D. Oates, IraqXXIV, Pt. I, pl. II.
(Nimrud), which still stand to a height of 3 m. and which 44Arrian,Anabasisiii, 18, Io.
45See Stronach,op.cit., p. 38.
possesses unusually well-plastered walls, while room 112, which may have served as a partly-open
corridor, has a narrow, plastered bench along its eastern wall. Further east again, rooms 1 I4, I I1
and I18 are still only partly explored, and any one of them may yet help to substantiate the role that
this part of the citadel played in Achaemenian times.
PeriodIII. As we now know from fresh excavations in the north-east corner of the platform, where
the first Period III buildings were identified,46and from other soundings elsewhere, the latest phase
of constructionon the Tall-i-Takht dates from within the early Seleucid period. In its architectureit is
characterized by thin, poorly built walls many of which have stone foundations (Pl. VIIa). Equally,
the pottery of the period has given us at least one distinctive new form (Pl. VIIIa and b).4
In the north-eastern part of the platform (area C), where the Seleucid dwellings sit astride the
debris of the Period II collapse, the western edge of the elevated settlement is marked by the retaining
walls that stretch across street I and staircase 26. But further east and south it is unlikely that any
exact boundaries will be found. As can be seen from the plan of the area (Fig. 7) little of substance
remains, save that an open court with a gatehouse would appear to lie alongside a series of small,
probably domestic rooms.48 Within the area, at least one rise in floor level can be observed in the
vicinity of rooms 60 and 61 and, although other changes are rare, there are also various signs of
secondary construction, where either walls have been reinforced or doorways blocked up.
The end of the Seleucid settlement-of which traces also exist in other parts of the platform,
as well as the hill behind-came suddenly. In area C a number of whole vessels were found scattered
in ashy debris and lines of ash could be traced over several stumps of walling. But the most dramatic
discovery came from room 82 in trench H (P1. VIIa). For here, in a single compact mass, were
fourteen Hellenistic silver coins, two snake-headed silver bracelets, three silver rings and various
other fragments of silver jewellery-all of which had been hastily thrust into the north-west corner
of the room. Such was the urgency of the moment that no attempt had even been made to bury them
beneath the beaten earth floor. But, as it happened, a slight collapse of debris was enough to
preserve them from view, leaving us much the most telling evidence that we have from this brief
period of occupation.
Limits of the Citadel
In concluding the present summary of areas excavated in 1962, at least some account must be
given of the nature of the mud-brick perimeter defences. At the time of writing, the broad outline
of these defences is already clear (Fig. 6). At almost opposing points, as areas P and D show, the outer
defences of the citadel swing out to accommodate the widening contours of the Tall-i-Takht. From
areas P to G much work still remains to be done during our third season; but from room 88 onwards,
as far as room 97, the whole inner edge of the Period II defensive wall has been recovered, together
with a series of secondary walls and higher floor levels (P1. VId) all of which date from either the
latter part of Period II or Period III. In the last phase at least the defences already seem to have
been in a poor state of repair and the only explanation for a thick blocking wall (92) at right angles
to what seems to have been a substantial buttressed tower would seem to be that the tower was in
danger of collapse. Quite unexpectedly the stone filling of this support wall produced several fragments
of alabaster vases inscribed in Babylonian script of the Neo-Babylonian or Achaemenian periods.
Although such fragments still await definitive publication, Professor George Cameron has very
kindly read two of the inscriptions which mention formulae used by the Kings of Babylon, together
with another, in the same script from room 97, which mentions two familiar units of measurement.
Taken altogether, such fragments may represent part of the booty that Cyrus the Great once carried
back from Babylon to his capital in Fars.
Beyond room 97 the exact line of the wall is still uncertain. But it is obvious that, after passing
46Stronach, op. cit., pp. 38-40. to the presence of a much later Islamic settlement on at least
47A form of heavy grey pottery with plastic or incised wavy-line the crown of the Takht.
decoration (P1. VIIb) was also found on a high secondary 48The multi-niched hearth, which appears in the west wall of
floor in Trench R. But if anything this would seem to point room 27 (Fig. 7), appears to be a typical domestic feature
in Period III.
Pl. Ia. The Tombof Cyrusfrom thenorth.
P1. Ib. The Tombof Cyrusfrom thesouth.

Pl. Ila. Left door-jambof Tomb of Cyrus, looking outwards. Pl. IIb. Right door-jambof Tomb of Cyrus, looking outwards.
Pl. MId. View lookinginto the tomb chamber,towardsthe much-

repairedsouth-eastwall. Note Miihrabat right.
P1. IIc. Detail of doorwayshowing roughsocket at base of right jamb.

Pl. IlIb. Gur-i-Dokhtar: east elev
P1. IlIa. Gur-i-Dokhtarfrom the north-east.
Pl. IIId. Gur-i-Dokhtar:southe
Pl. IIIc. Gur-i-Dokhtar:westelevation.
Pl. IVb. Aerial view of the Citadel Hill
Pl. IVa. Aerial view of the Citadel Hill looking south.
Pl. IVc. The A staircaseshowingthelowerflight, thestoneblocking,andpart Pl. IVd. The A staircaseshowingthefoundations
f
of thelanding.
Pl. Vb. The south-west cornerof the platform looking north.
P1. Va. The A staircase showing the first tread of the upperflight and
part of the landingfoundations at left.
Pl. Vc. The B stone drain looking west. P1. Vd. Detail of multi-tooth chisel marks on stone column base from
ReceptionHall.
P1. Via. The ReceptionHall, lookingtowardsthesecondary
walls at its northend. Pl. VIb. Viewof sectionin Court
Pl. VIc. Typical block qffallen brickworkof Period II with ash layer
underneath. From north cornerof room iii. Pl. VId. Areas go-92 in the course of
Pl. VIla. The site of the coin hoard: Period III chambersin Trench H. Pl. VIIb. Islamic jar and dipperfro
Pl. VIId. Achaemenian
pin with gold h
Pl. VIIc. Inscribedblockfrom Zendan-i-Suleiman.
P1. VIlla. Seleucid vase,full face. Pl. VIIIb. Seleucidvase,side view.
Pl. VIIId. Silvertetradrachm

of SeleucusL
stonelid.
Pl. VIIIc. Achaemenian
30
23 24.
62
61 60
KEY:
PERIOD II
PERIOD III
0 10 ADDITIONS TO
SCALE liil ' il THE ABOVE g
i East andAdjoiningAreas.
Fig. 7. Plan of PeriodIII Buildingsfound aboveCourtyard
certain massive corner defences-which very probably connect with the far-flung defences of the rest
of the citadel area49-the inner edge of the wall must have stepped out to come in line with the walling
recovered in trench K. Here, of course, the wall is terribly denuded; but one clear stretch of face,
combined with the presence of one open and one covered drain, not to mention the evidence of the
B drain still further south, would seem to provide a tolerably clear impression of its course.
From the south-east corner of the citadel, with its thin, enigmatic Period III walls within its angle,
the general course of the outer wall is predictable. As trench O shows, the defences at this point
must have been at least 6 metres thick, while elsewhere there are indications that 7 metres was the
norm.
The major problem, in fact, is no longer the position of the outer walls of the Takht, but rather
the location of its chief entrance in Periods II and III. In all probability, having regard to the location
of the Period I staircases and the present contours of the ground, it stood in the angle of the north
wall, between areas B and P. But, should this not prove to be the case, further excavation may
well reveal a major entrance on the gentle slope between Trenches O and H.
Small Objects
Thanks to the sudden destruction and desertion of the Period III level, the buildings of this date
tend to be richer in objects than those of Period II. But despite this fact the past season saw the
49Stronach, op. cit., fig. 3.
4
recovery of at least two magnificent examples of Achaemenian craftsmanshipfrom Period II. The
first of these is represented by a beautifully cut stone lid (P1. VIIIc) which was found at the south
end of area 12.
I The second consists of a gold and silver pin, with a most attractive and graceful
design (P1. VIId), which was found well below the Period III floor of room 80 (trench H). The
hollow gold head of the pin is shaped in the form of a pomegranate and covered with extremely fine
granulation. In its original state the open petals of the upper end may also have held a small gem,
concealing the interior from view.
Among the pottery vessels of Period III date, the most unusual and the most elegant is the two-
handled jar shown in Pls. VIIIa and b. Of warm, buff fabric, it possessesa globular body and tall
neck with high swung handles terminating in small bosses. Its base is rounded and marked by two
opposed spouts, each associated with zoomorphic " rope patterns ". Found at the eastern edge of
area 30 (Fig. 7), in a positionjust below the surface, its context may come to mean more after further
excavation towards the summit of the Tall-i-Takht.
The outstanding discovery from Period III, however, is the hoard of silver coins and jewellery
already mentioned. Altogether the coins include eleven tetradrachms and three drachms. Apart
from three tetradrachms and three drachms bearing the portrait of Seleucus I (P1. VIIId), they
consist of one tetradrachm that may still have been minted in Alexander's lifetime; three others that
represent posthumous Alexandrine issues; and four others that bear the name of Phillip III. The
mints include those of Aradus and Marathos in Phoenicia, Babylon, Ecbatana, and Persepolis.5so
In connection with Herzfeld's Persepolis hoard-the only other coin hoard of this period to have
been excavated in Irans5-the Pasargadae hoard confirms much that had been inferred from the
previous discovery. In the first place our six coins of Seleucus I would seem fully to confirm Newell's
original suggestionthat a specimen of a similarissue from the Herzfeld hoard was minted at Persepolis.52
And secondly, since our own coins are sealed in a destruction level, this obviously lends weight to the
view that a national revolution must have taken place during or immediately after the reign of
Seleucus I, and that the coins of Seleucus I must have been followed at once by the issues of Bagadat,
the first king of Persis to coin his own money.53
The ZendanInscription
In discussing the season's finds it may not be inappropriate to mention the Zendan inscription
(Pl. VIIc and Fig. 8), which was first found during Mr. Sami's excavations and which was again
examined during our past campaign. In removing the stone from its original position on the south
side of the monument54it was noticed that various signs had not been recorded in the only previous
copy55and that the first, much damaged sign of the Old Persianinscription,which had been interpreted
as Ra,56 or again as Ru,57was in reality Ku or Ga.
The effect of this change is great. Instead of reading <Yl
(1 <TiT , which would represent
Cyrus in the genitive form, or even V<ft
Pi<< , which would represent Cyrus in the nominative
form, we find that we have part of a word of unknown meaning that is neither of these things.58 As
a consequence, it should be stressed that the inscription is still almost as enigmatic as the Zendan
itself and that we cannot regard it as an absolute key to the building's function.59
;o I am much indebted to Mr. G. K. Jenkins, Deputy Keeper 56 See Ali Sami, op. cit., p. x4o and Carl Nylander, Orientalia
of Coins at the British Museum, for his valued comments on SuecanaXI (1962), p. 124 f.
the collection. It is hoped that Mr. Jenkins will be able to 57 W. Hinz, Zeitschrift des DeutschenMorgenldndischen Gesellschaft
present a full report on the coins in the third volume of Iran. CIX, 1959, P. 125 f.
5sFound during the 1934-1935 campaign at Persepolis. 58 The only word that might fit is (Ethiopia)-a reading
52 E. T. Newell, Coinageof the EasternSeleucidMints, 1938, p. I6o. that hardly makes sense in such anKfi1
abbreviated inscription.
s53E. T. Newell, op. cit., loc. cit. 59 On the strength of a Kfirau's reading both Sami and Nylander
54 It is now housed in the Persepolis Museum. have suggested that it must have been the tomb of Cambyses
55 Ali Sami, op. cit., p. 137. II.
Fig. 8. TheZendanInscription.
Conclusion
In the course of a varied season, in which architectural studies were well to the fore, perhaps the
most gratifying result of the excavations was the identification of a distinct Seleucid level, which
adds a fresh chapter to the history of Pasargadae. Previously this brief but important interlude in
Persian history was only documented by fragmentary scraps of evidence and it is a most welcome
change at last to have the prospect of a mass of information from the excavation of a settlement of
this date. It is not unlikely, in fact, that our findings already disprove Herzfeld's theory that Seleucid
power was overthrown " before 300 B.C."60 and that they go a long way towards supporting Newell's
view that independence was only achieved after Seleucus I had died in 280 B.C.6r For apart from
the testimony of our coin hoard, which speaks for the general circulation of coins that were only minted
towards 300 B.C.,62 it is hard to believe that any single attack-such as that at Pasargadae-could
have met with permanent success before the death of Seleucus and the great upheavals that attended
that event.
6o E. Herzfeld, Archaeological Historyof Iran, pp. 46-47. he had assumed the title of Bao-Aels. See A Guide to the
61 E. T. Newell, op. cit., p. 161. PrincipalCoinsof the Greeks,p. 50o.
62 Coins bearing the head of Seleucus were
only struck after
41
EXCAVATIONS AT TALL-I-NOKHODI, 1962
By Clare Goff
The second season of excavations at Tall-i-Nokhodi, a Chalcolithic mound west of the Tomb of
Cyrus, began on November ioth and continued for a further month.' The conduct of the excavations
was again in the hands of the writer, under the general direction of Mr. David Stronach, while
Mr. Robert Oakley shared much of the field supervision and Miss Olive Kitson again had charge
of the photography.
The work of the previous season had revealed a sequence similar to that known already from
Tall-i-Bakun, near Persepolis.' Crude red and grey wares, related to those of Bakun A V, overlay
fine buff wares closely resembling those from Bakun A I-IV. In the light of these general findings
we had two main objectives in view. First we hoped for more information about the later culture,
imperfectly documented at Bakun and so far known at Nokhodi only from thin courtyard deposits.
Secondly we wanted to establish the precise relationship of the two cultures to each other. Last year's
discoveries had suggested that there might be a transition between them, but it was hoped that a
sounding in a different part of the mound would conclusively confirm or explode this theory.
Our work was facilitated by the activities of a building lorry which had removed about a metre
of top soil from the western slope of the mound close to the previous season's Trench C. By largely
confining our excavations to this area (Trench D, Fig. I) we were able to uncover the plans of several
houses in the lowest Red Ware level, II, before carrying the sounding down to Level III. In addition,
levels II and III were also explored in an adjoining trench, E, where our own work extended an
earlier sounding left by the Iranian Department of Antiquities.3
The Red WareCulture

It is now clear that there were three main building levels associated with this later culture, Ia
and b and II, together occupying about I m. 8o cm. of deposit. Of these, Ia was too close to the surface
and mixed with intrusive Islamic remains to provide any reliable information. In Ib on the other
hand, were the remains of a house, and a hearth with a large grey baking plate recalled those found
in the buff ware levels in 1961.4
A plan of Level II is provided in Fig. 2. The house comprising rooms 2, 6, 7 and 8 was built first,
adjoining the courtyard, I (Subphase IIa). Then, at a slightly later date, the structure represented
by rooms 3, 4 and 5 was added (IIb). At a later stage still rooms 2, 6 and 8 were burnt-which,
considering the number of ovens in the area is scarcely surprising-and the house was subsequently
built in Level I on a different plan. The later additions were most probably outhouses or stables,
for whereas the walls of the western house were strongly built of mud-brick and thickly coated with
mud plaster on both faces, those of the other buildings were fragmentaryand the interiorsof the rooms
Our first prehistoric venture this season was a sounding in The published sherds from the sounding (Fig. 7: 18-19)
Doh Tulan A, one of a pair of mounds resting on natural were found directly below the platform. They seem to
conglomerate outcrops South of the Pulvar. The surface represent fragments of a spouted jar, with an out-turned
sherd collection was extremely rich, ranging from a scatter rim, made from a soft pinkish fabric. They were decorated
of Islamic glazed wares, through red and Chalcolithic painted with large hatched triangles and solid discs in a darker
wares to possible fragments of straw-tempered Neolithic reddish-brown paint. On analogy with rather similar wares
pottery. Moreover, Sir Aurel Stein, after his excavations there from the Takht itself (PAS/62/x64, 274) they would seem to
in I934 (Iraq, 1936, p. 218) had reported graves containing belong to the Achaemenian period.
metal objects and mud brick walls. However, after a few days' 2 A. Langsdorff and D. E. McCown, Tall-i-Bakun A, 1942.
work on the site, it became clear that little of value would be
achieved. All traces of any early deposit had been destroyed. 3 Excavations were conducted by Mr. Ali Sami for the Iranian
The whole mound appeared to consist of a huge mud brick Department of Antiquities at Tall-i-Nokhodi in 1951. Cf.
Iran I, 1963, p. 43-
platform over 2 metres high, into which had been sunk a series
of Islamic graves. 4 Iran I, p. 48.
248
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Fig. i. Plan of Tall-i-Nokhodishowingpositionof new trenchesD andE in relationto boththoseof thepreviousseasonand thoseof theDepartm
LINE OF SECTION
DEPARTMENT'S
T•ENCH TALL~-I-NOKHODI
1961- 1962
HEARTH
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1.33
C
Fig. 2. Plan of LevelII.
almost devoid of features or interesting pottery. There were merely a few pithoi sunk into the beaten
earth floors and a fragmentary hearth. The earlier structure, on the other hand was provided with
two well-preservedovens-one closely resembling those found in 1961 in the upper levels,5 the other,
two blocks of pis6 with an ash-filled hollow between them. One wonders if this last could not have
been some type of metal workers'furnace for a beautiful copper hammer head (P1. IIa and Fig. 8: I)
was discovered lying directly beside the entrance and, in view of J. Deshayes,6 these instruments
were essentially metallurgist's tools.
Further evidence for the metal working industry-already known from the 1961 excavations
to be well developed-was provided by several pin fragments, including an oversize specimen with
a knobbed head (Fig. 8: 4), a needle (Fig. 8: 2) and a small square sectioned bar (Fig. 8: 3), all from
Level II. That the inhabitants could also be just as skilful when working stone was indicated by
a fragment of a lugged alabasterjar and a beautifully worked chert arrow head (P1. IIb and Fig. 8: 5)-
Finally, the many fragments of complete or nearly complete pots from these rooms greatly enlarged
the repertoire of known red and grey ware types.
A single burial was found sunk from Level I into the edge of the main courtyard (P1.Ib and Fig. 3)-
The skeleton of a man lay crouched on its right side with its head to the west.7 Fragments of a fine-
ribbed jar (Fig. 6: 8) came from the immediate vicinity and had probably been displaced from the
grave by the activities of the lorry.
Fig. 3. Skeletonfrom Level II.
The RelationshipBetweenthe Two Cultures

Soundings into the Buff Ware levels were made both in Trench C and through the floor of the
courtyard of Trench D.
In Trench C we came to two stone floors directly below the floor of Level II, the higher covered
with mixed red and buff wares, the lower with a greater proportion of buff wares, but still with the
occasional red ware sherd. Below was over a metre of stony midden deposit-ash, charcoal, bones
and potsherds, jumbled together with no obvious stratification barring two black ash lines slanting
down to the north. The situtation was clarified by the second sounding (cf. the Section, Fig. 4)-
Here bands of ash, some as much as Io centimetres thick, sloped steeply upwards from north to south
and were abruptly truncated by Level II. We were on the extreme north edge of an older mound
which had been completely remodelled by the invaders. Not only had they flattened out the top,
cutting off at least a metre of deposit and possibly two levels, but they also seem to have built up the
mound to the north. On that side of the trench, between the thin white ash line marking the first
of the Buff Ware floors and the IIb floor above, was a deposit of mixed red and buff wares and the
s Iran I, p. 46. the long bones were as follows:

6 . Deshayes, Les Outils de Bronze, de l'Indus au Danube, 1960, Humerus: 36 cm.
vol. I, p. 299. Radius or ulnar: 30 cm.
7 The skull was preserved for further study. Measurements of Femur: 50 cm. (doubtful as bone was badly broken).
EXCAVATIONS AT TALL-I-NOKHODI, 1962 45
SU.FACEOF MOUND
-AF7f7OXIMATE
3 METLES
DOG-LEG OFOLDTEENCH
WEST LINE OF DENUDATION bY
LOLEY/,
I THN WARLS.
UEXCAVATED.H
UN fXC AVATT D.
of LevelIII floorsby LevelII.

Fig. 4. Sectionof westface of TrenchD, showingtruncation
IIb floor itself was reinforced with mud-brick. The stone floors of Trench C were presumably again
foundation layers for the houses above. Moreover, the layer of stones containing mixed pottery, found
last season in Trench B, was presumably again laid down as part of the same remodelling process,
and was not, as I then thought,8 evidence for a transition between the two cultures. On the contrary,
the change seems to have been abrupt, devastating and complete, and as we shall see, there is at
present no means of deciding whether the upper ash lines of Level III represent the final destruction
of the settlement by warlike invaders, who immediately reoccupied the ruins, or whether the new-
comers simply resettled a mound that had already lain deserted for several centuries.
The Buf WareLevels

The only permanent features in the depressing layers of tip in Trench D, were the remains of four
plastered areas sunk into the surrounding ash. The lack of attached ash pits or indeed of any other
structural features beyond fragments of pise walling, suggests that they were containers for storing
or drying grain rather than ovens. A well-preserved skeleton in the eastern baulk lay in the same
crouched position, but at the opposite orientation to that of Level I. There were no grave goods, and
indeed, apart from the odd chert sickle blade and a small clay bead, there were no small finds at all
from this level.
The pottery contains a far higher proportion of heavy pithos and coarse ware sherds than that
discovered in I961. The finer sherds on the whole merely serve to increase the known repertoire
of Bakun designs and shapes represented further north. The pair of boars on the interior of a small
ring-based bowl is, however, a new variation of a popular Nokhodi theme (Fig. 5).9
Potteryfrom Level I and II

Since the pottery discovered this year came mainly from the interiors of houses rather than from
courtyard deposits, it was on the whole of better quality than that discovered on the previous season.
Although most vessels were still made from the same coarse, badly-levigated clay-an exception
being the ribbed jar in Fig. 6: No. 8-the majority were covered with a thick red slip and were fre-
quently burnished. Unslipped coarse wares hardly occurred, although a few red slipped straw
8 Iran I, 1963, p. 46. 9 Idem, Fig. 9: 2.
5
Fig. 5. Buff warebowlfrom TrenchC, LevelIII. Scale : 3.
tempered pithoi, one of which had a peculiar raised horse-shoe (?) on the shoulder, were discovered
(Fig. 6: 21). A miniature pithos from Level Ib (Fig. 7: 1) was also straw tempered. A small porportion
of grey wares continued to appear alongside the red.
Although carinated bowls and jars, and globular jars with or without a central rib, were still by
far the commonest forms,Io certain other new shapes appeared. Deep, slightly hole-mouthed bowls
with or without slightly everted rims (Fig. 6: 1-5) also turn up further south at Bakun." Shallower
forms are represented on the same figure, Nos. 13-15. Other bowls have simple (No. 16) out-turned
(No. 17) or clubbed (No. 18) rims. The most usual jar form is illustrated in Fig. 6: 8. No. 9 shows
an unusual type with a low carination and No. Io is a narrower flask-like vessel.'? On the larger
globular jars and particularly on the heavy pithoi the central rib is often decorated with a row of
finger impressions. One almost complete grey ware example (Fig. 6: 7) has a handle as well. A
second type of handled vessel is a very crude cup (Fig. 6: i2), but the fact that more sophisticated
forms existed is proved by Fig. 6: I9 where the handle is split into three at the base. Another form
of " grip " was provided by huge overhanging lugs (Fig. 6: 20). A new form of pedestal (Fig. 7: 4)
also appeared and can be contrasted with a surface fragment (Fig. 7: 5) with elaborately-grooved
decoration. Oddities include a lid with a raised ring on the interior (Fig. 6: 1)I and a grey ware
" ash tray " (Fig. 7: I1).
Fragments of three red painted pots occurred. In two of the pots (Fig. 7: 1-6) the paint consists
of the usual red slip applied directly on to the buff surface. Both patterns are extremely crude, one
being a type of" fence " around the side of a miniaturejar, and the other a bold red crosson the bottom
of a carinated bowl. A third, rather finer jar (Fig. 7: 7), is entirely red slipped except for a band left
in reserve just below the rim, on which a series of horizontal bands have been painted in darker,
rather purplish paint. The only sherds possibly related to ProfessorVanden Berghe's " Kaftari b "
fabric'3-red with black decoration--are two surface examples, one of which is illustrated in
Fig. 7: No. 17.
There is no noticeable improvement in technique between Levels II and I and in general this year's
finds serve to confirm the impression already gained last year-that the Nokhodi pottery marks the
beginning rather than the end of the Red Ware tradition, and that although finer pieces could be
produced this was still the exception rather than the rule.
The coarseness of the local pottery is all the more striking when one contrasts it not only with
what went before but with certain obviously imported sherds of far better quality found in the upper
two levels. Since only about a dozen of these sherds were found and of these about a third came from
Level Ia, where they were mixed with other intrusive elements, one cannot be completely certain
that they are all contemporary with the red wares they accompany. However, the earlier examples
appear to be well stratified.
The sherds are invariably straw-tempered and usually painted. Several of the designs seem to
compare fairly closely with Vanden Berghe's " Kaftari c " sherds,I4but it is impossible, merely from
,o Iran, Fig. 8: 15-30. '3 L. Vanden Berghe, Archdologiede L'Iran Ancien, 1959, P. 42,
"uA. Langsdorff and D. E. McCown, op. cit., Pl. 20: 2, 19. P1. 5Ib.
12Idem, Pl. 20: 16. 14Idem, Pl. 5Ia, especially No. 3.
Fig. 6. Grey(No. 7), andredslippedwaresfrom LevelsI and II. Scale 1: 4-
Fig. 7. Red, grey,buffandpaintedwaresfrom LevelsI and II (Nos. '-'7)

with twoprobableAchaemenian sherdsfrom Doh Tulan (Nos. i8, rg). Scale :4-.
the published photographs, to see whether the wares are the same. In any case the Nokhodi examples
mark a complete break with the painted wares of the past. If one examines the three best stratified
examples (Fig. 7: 13-15) one sees that not only is the ware quite different being straw-tempered,
the shapes are
greyish to reddish buff with an orange-buff slip and rather purplish paint, but also
in Fdrs.
quite different showing moulded or grooved rims, quite unlike anything previously found
with brownish
Fig. 7: I6 is probably similar; Fig. 7: 8 is somewhat differentbeing pale cream, unslipped
paint. Other sherds (Fig. 7: 9) have a pinkish buff core, a light cream slip and designs composed of
horizontal lines and cross-hatchedbands.'5 All the new sherdsshow slow wheel markson their interiors.
Two further oddities ought perhaps to be mentioned: one is a very fine, possible wheel-turned dark
and decora-
grey jar (Fig. 7: o), the other is a rim fragment (Fig. 7: 12) with a purple slipped exterior
tion in white. Both are from Level II.
Metal
The most exciting find of this year was undoubtedly the copper hammer head (P1.IIa and Fig. 8: I)
found beneath the ashes of Room 2. It is of a type peculiar to Iran,'6 its characteristicfeatures being
the narrow, rectangular sectioned shaft hole, set at an angle, the reinforcing rivet holes, and the hook
on the butt for attaching a thong. Similar examples have been found both at Susa and in the Nihavend
been
area, but neither these nor the more developed decorated forms which follow them, have
Marteaux de Bronze Iraniens,in Syria XXXV, 1958, p. 284 f-.
I5 Compare L. Vanden Berghe, op. cit., Pl. 51a:cf.
No. 7.
Also E. Herzfeld, Iran in theAncientEast, 1941, p. 131, Fig. 248.
16 For a discussion of this type of hammer head, J. Deshayes,
found in stratified contexts. Deshayes, on stylistic grounds alone, tentatively dates the introduction
of the type to the middle of the third millennium.
The square bar and some pin fragments were sent for study'7 to the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, and I am grateful to Professor Cyril S. Smith for the following report.
" The square bar ", he writes, ". . . shows
very clearly the remains of a cast structure, though
it has been slightly distorted by working and has recrystallized. It must have been made in a casting
perhaps four or five times its present section and either hot-worked, or cold-worked and annealed."
The needle was also cast. On the results of the analyses given below, he comments: "The two samples
... contain the assortmentof impurities that come from repeated melting. Tin is not enough to call
it a bronze perhaps, and I suspect that the amount comes in accidentally through the use of scrap
at a time when bronze of higher tin content was being intentionally used."'8
Pin Bar
Cu 50%+ 50%+
As I-Io% I-Io%
Sb I-Io% 1-1o%
Sn I-Io% I-10%
Pb I-10o% 1-1%
Ag 01-1% 1I-I%
Ni 1-1%
%1-1%
Fe I-io% -1-1%
Co oi--I1% -oI-*i%
T1 *ooI-'oI% "ooI--oI%
Si -ooi-*oi% *oor--'o%
Mo ooI--oI%
"ooI--0oI%
Chronology
In the report on our last season's work, I argued that the red and grey wares were perhaps related
to the Uruk pottery in Mesopotamia.x9 However, in view of the developed metal types and techniques
associated with them, such a high dating may well have to be revised, particularly now we know that
there is no continuity between the two main cultures. ProfessorVanden Berghe tentatively links the
" Kaftari culture " with the coucheintermidiaire of Susa, and provides a somewhat vague ending to
171 am indebted to Mr. T. A. Wertime, Cultural Attache, indebted to the AmericanSmelting and Refining Company,
U.S.I.S., Tehran, for suggesting this course of action and South Plainfield,New Jersey.
making the necessaryarrangements.
18For the spectrographicanalyses themselves I am much '9 IranI, 1963, p. 54-
this phase by equating the succeeding " Tall-i-Qal'eh " culture with Giyan IV2o-itself doubtfully
linkedwith the latter part of the EarlyDynasticperiod. Thus our upperthreelevels may be taken
as falling somewherebetween 3200-2500 B.c.-the pottery indicatingan earlier, and the metal a
somewhatlater date. It is to be hoped that this uncertaintywill be reducedonce we have a report
on a carbonsampletakenfrom Level II and that furtherexcavationsin Fdrs2Iwill elucidatewhat
is at the momenta " darkage " followingthe colourfuland well-documentedChalcolithic.
Fig. 8. Metal objects(NVos.i-4), and a chertarrowhead(No. 5) from LevelII.
2o L. Vanden Berghe, op. cit., p. 42. "2Such as those at present being conducted by Mr. Tavallali
at Tall-i-Zohak,near Fasa.
CATALOGUE
Figure 5
Core: cream, fine; surface: same, slipped; paint: dark brown, faded. Diameter 18 cm. C III
midden. PAS/62/277.
Figure6
No. 1 Core: pinkish-buff, fairly coarse; red slip; burnished on exterior. Diameter 18 cm. D II, Room 2.
No. 2 Core: buff, medium fine; thick red slip; burnished on exterior. Diameter 17 -8 cm. D II, Room 6.
No. 3 Core: buff, fairly coarse; surface: red slip; unburnished. Diameter 20 cm. D II, Room 1.
No. 4 Core: brownish buff, coarse; red slip; lightly burnished on exterior. Diameter 25 cm. D II,
Room 2. PAS/62/278.
No. 5 Core: buff, fairly coarse; red slip; burnished on exterior. Diameter 24 cm. D Ib.
No. 6 Core: pinkish buff, coarse; streaky reddish-brown paint. Diameter 19 cm., height 32 cm. D and E,
Rooms 2 and 6, Level II.
No. 7 Grey ware, coarse with small white grits. Impressed design on raised band around centre. E II,
Room 2. PAS/62/261.
No. 8 Core: pinkish-grey, hard and brittle; surface: exterior, streaky reddish-brown slip, smoke blackened
in places, burnished, interior: fine matt red slip, burnished on rim. Diameter 4 cm., height
11 -9 cm. D II probably from Ib grave. PAS/62/182. 11.
No. 9 Core: buff, fairly coarse; red slip; black on interior, burnished. Diameter 7 cm. E II, Room 6.
No. 10 Core: buff, fairly coarse; red slip. Diameter 8-4 cm. D II, Room 2.
No. 11 Core: buff, fairly coarse; red slip, smoke blackened on base; raised ridge on interior. Diameter
of base 5 cm. E Ha, Room 2.
No. 12 Core: buff, very coarse; red slip. Diameter 9-8 cm., height 7-6 cm. D Ib. PAS/62/203.
No. 13 Core: buff, fairly well levigated; orange-red slip. Diameter c. 40 cm. C II.
No. 14 Core: buff, fairly coarse; red slip. Diameter 18 cm. D II, Room 5.
No. 15 Core: pinkish buff, fairly coarse; thick red slip. Diameter 26 cm. C III, upper stone floor.
No. 16 Core: buff, medium; red slip. Diameter 20 cm. D II, Room 1.
No. 17 Core: buff; fairly coarse; purplish-red slip, flaky. Diameter 20 cm. E II, Room 2.
No. 18 Core: buff, fairly coarse; red slip, slight burnish on exterior. Diameter 20 cm. E Ia.
No. 19 Core: buff, coarse; red slip. E II, Room 7.
No. 20 Core: buff, coarse; streaky red paint on exterior. Part of Ing handle on ribbed vessel. E II, Room 2.
No. 21 Core: greyish-brown, straw-tempered, coarse; red slip on exterior. D Ib.
Figure7
No. 1 Core: brownish-buff, coarse; surface: smoothed; paint: dull brownish-red. Diameter 6-2 cm.,
height 5-1 cm. D III, fill. PAS/62/204.
No. 2 Core: reddish, fairly well levigated; with small white grits; surface: red slip. Diameter 3-5 cm.,
height 5-1 cm. D Ib. PAS/62/204.
No. 3 Core: buff, straw tempered, medium; exterior and rim thin reddish-buff slip. Diameter 5 cm.,
height 6-7 cm. D Ib. PAS/62/205.
No. 4 Core: pinkish-buff, fairly coarse; surface: red slip. Diameter 10 cm. E II, Room 2.
No. 5 Core: buff, medium; surface: bright red slip, grooved decoration. Diameter 9 cm.
No. 6 Core: buff, fairly coarse; surface: wet smoothed; thin red paint applied all over exterior, over
sides and in broad cross across base of interior; from second fragment would seem to be part of
a carinated bowl. E IIa, Room 2.
No. 7 Core: pinkish-buff, hard, fairly well levigated; surface: pale red slip or paint with reserved band
on shoulder; paint: purplish-red; position of lower fragment in relation to rim shed uncertain.
Diameter 14 cm. E II, Room 2.
No. 8 Core: buff, fairly fine, straw tempered, possibly wheel made; exterior: buff slip, paint: brown. Ia.
No. 9 Core: buff to pinkish-orange, straw tempered; possible wheel marks on interior; exterior: cream
slip; paint: purplish-black.
No. 10 Core: grey, fine; surface: greyish-black, burnished; wheelmade(?) Diameter: 26 cm. D II, Room 2.
No. 11 Core: grey, coarse with white grits; smoothed only. Diameter 7-8 cm. C II.
No. 12 Core: pale orange, grit tempered, rather coarse; surface: inside, yellowish-orange slip; outside,
purple slip; paint: white. Diameter 14 cm. D II, Room 1.
No. 13 Core: grey to reddish buff; exterior: pinkish-buff slip; paint: purplish-brown. Diameter c. 24 cm.
E IIa.
No. 14 Core: buff, straw tempered, medium; surface: orange-brown slip on exterior and rim; paint:
purplish-brown. Diameter 15 cm. D II, Room 1.
No. 15 Core: brownish-buff, fairly well levigated, straw tempered; exterior: yellowish-brown slip; paint:
purplish-brown. Diameter 23 cm. D Ib, hearth.
No. 16. Core: pale brown, coarse, straw tempered; surface: wet smoothed; paint: brownish-red. Diameter
23 cm. D Ia.
No. 17 Core: pinkish-buff, coarse with small grits; surface: same, smoothed; paint: dark purplish-brown.
Diameter 16 cm. Surface.
Nos. 18 and 19. Both sherds from globular jar with out-turned rim and open (?) spout. Core: pinkish-
buff, well levigated; surface: smoothed; paint: reddish-brown, rubs away easily. Diameter c. 23 cm.
Doh Tulan, below " platform ".
Figure8
No. 1 Socketed copper hammer head with sub-rectangular section, blunt, splayed blade, narrow
rectangular socket and hooked butt. Pierced laterally by four string holes. Base of butt missing.
Length 12 cm.; greatest width 4-3 cm. D II, Room 2. PAS/62/212.
No. 2 Copper needle in four fragments. Circular in section with looped eye. End missing. Existing
length 8-2 cm. D II, Courtyard. PAS/62/291.
No. 3 Square-sectioned copper bar. Cast. Length 8-0 cm., width 0-9 cm. Level II. PAS/62/290.
No. 4 Copper pin with grooved eliptical head. Shank circular in section, corroded and broken at tip.
Trench D, from mixed strata below IIb floor.
No. 5 Tanged leaf-shaped arrowhead in brown chert. Pressure flaked on both sides. Length 6-5 cm.,
width 1.7 cm. D II, Room 2, uppermost ash line. PAS/62/293.
P1. Ia. Aerialview of Tall-i-Nokhodilookingnorth-east.
P1. Ib. Red wareburialsunkfrom LevelL

Pl. IIa. Socketedcopperhammerheadfrom LevelII.
Pl. IHb. Chert arrowheadfrom Level II.

53
KUCH U BALUCH AND ICHTHTOPHAGI
By Brian Spooner
An enquiry into the present condition of the Persian province of Balfichistan, its antecedents
and potentialities.
Introductory
This article has been written with the aim of providing a general account of available information
relevant to the province and people today, not only because no such general introduction to the
subject exists, but in order to provide a context for further work of a more specialized nature.
The main sources of written information concerning one or more aspects of the province or the
people may be summarized as follows:
(I) Mediaeval Muslim travellers and geographers;
(2) Indian Army officers'travelogues and reports;
(3) Two books in Persian-'Amaliydt-i Qushandar Balzachistan and Sarguzasht-iBalachistdnby
General Amanu'llah Jahdnbani;
(4) The Italconsult Reports.'
The general tenor of any mentions of the Balfich in mediaeval writers is that they were " pro-
fessional way-layers, herdsmen, intrepid and bloodthirsty ".2 This was the general reputation of
the Balach,and the Kachwith whom they are linked in Ferdowsi, and besides the occasional mention
of them in the mediaeval histories pinpointing various stages of their progress from the North-west
to the South-east of the Persian Plateau,3 it is practically all the world knew or knows of them and
their origins and entrance into the province which now carries their name.
In the twentieth century, according to General the inhabitants of Balfichistan are
" still in the of and in these Jahmnbani,
centuries have not taken a single step on the
living age barbarism, long
road of progressand civilization ".4 Such was the impression made on the ancients by the aboriginal
Ichthyophagi!
The province has always presented itself as something of a mystery to those unlucky enough to be
obliged to penetrate its protective outer ring of deserts, or to deal with it politically. The present
population would appear to be a hopeless racial mixture, but the two names which have survived
to form the basis of our prejudice when we look at the province and its population today are
Ferdowsi's Kfch u Balach and the Ichthyophagi of the Greeks-the one to be feared, a kind of noble
highwayman raiding from one end of the central desert of the Persian plateau to the other; the other
only to be despised, and so referred to as eaters of inferior food. The Indian Army travelogues and
reports combine a wealth of miscellaneous but generally useful and detailed information on the
province coloured by one or other of these basic attitudes towards the people.
As time has passed Ferdowsi's picture of:
" An army of warriors of the Kfich and Balfich,
Scheming war like the fighting-ram,
" No one in the world has seen (them turn) their backs,
No one has seen (as much as) one of their fingers unarmed ",
has dimmed and given way to the earlier scornful picture of the Ichthyophagi, a typical modern
' For more extensive bibliography see ItalconsultReports,Rome, in so far as they can be said to have entered it at all--on the
July 1959- south-western shores of the Caspian. Cf. E.I.
2 Hudad al-'Alam, trans. Minorsky, G.M.S., 1937, p. 124. 4 'Amaliyat-i Qushfin, p. 85.
3 It is now generally accepted that the Balfich entered history-
Persian reaction to the subject being: " Balach-hd?malakh5mikhwurand! " " The Balfich? They eat
insects! "
In 1928, in keeping with Riza ShTh's policies, Balfichistin was once and for all brought within
the orbit of the central government. In i957 as the general rate of development in Persia gathered
momentum, the government finally undertook to do something fundamental and expensive about
this province which had become an embarrassingeconomic, political and sociological backwater.
" As a result of the contacts which the Iranian Government had in 1957 with an Italian Economic
Mission, Italconsult was requested to study and submit a plan for the socio-economic development
of the south-eastern region of Iran . . .
" The scope and terms of the assignment were agreed upon during a visit of Italconsult's experts
to Iran in February 1958. It was then decided that, also in view of the substantiallack of reliable
information,6a preliminary reconnaissance of the region should be undertaken by missions of socio-
economic, agricultural and mining experts. These preliminary reconnaissances were completed
during the period from April 1958 to March I959 . . .
" Even while preliminary researches were still being carried on, the first part of the operational
program-which did not include only specific surveys and investigations, but also the execution of
projects warranted by the knowledge secured-was started."'7
The main result of this agreement now forms a not inconsiderable library of detailed technical
information on the agriculture, hydrology, geology, certain aspects of the sociology, etc., of a region
in south-easternIran of which the province of Balfichistin forms the heart. Although political pressure
from Tehran for quick tangible results somewhat spoilt the original grand plan, and the sociological
side in particular faded away, nevertheless the work which was done will undoubtedly constitute
a major contribution to the successof any future development programmesfor the area. The Italconsult
publications are not designed for the purposes of scholars in the " Arts " disciplines, whereas it is,
of course, these scholars whom the writer has in mind in the present article. The " Arts " in so far
as they turn their attention to the present day are interested in the intellectual and cultural condition
and development of a people, or society, and the findings of other disciplines are invaluable in so far
as they bear on problems arising from this type of study.
One other work deservesmention: in BetweenOxusandJumna,published only two years ago, Arnold
J. Toynbee pays a tribute to the population of Balfichistanwhich makes refreshingreading. Toynbee
is talking about the whole of Balfichistan, and particularly that part which now forms the western
province of Western Pakistan. Nevertheless, his words are equally applicable to the Persian province.
He writes:8
" The austerity of the landscape has a beauty that is all its own. The fantasticallyjagged sky-line
delights the eye, but it provides no sustenance for the body. Yet man does wring a living out of this
inhospitable land; he has, in fact, been making it support him since before the dawn of civilization.
To a stranger'seye the landscape of Central Balfichistanlooks irredeemablybarren. Yet, for thousands
of years, this country has been producing fine wheat and still finer wool.
" How the flocks keep alive is a mystery. You see them obediently following the shepherd as he
strides ahead of them across the country. They have to traverse their pastures rapidly because the
pasturage is so thin; and they must have to travel many miles more to find a drink. The flocks throng
around every pool of rainwater. They are under constant attack by hunger and thirst ... It is also
a mystery that Central Baliichistan should contrive to be a granary as well as a wool-farm. The rare
irrigation-water is too precious to be wasted on so unprofitable a crop as wheat; so nearly all the wheat-
5 The author is aware that in literary Persian the word malakh regard locusts as a delicacy, so it is unlikely that they would
means " locust ". However, in BalfichistAn and in most, if not ridicule the Balfich for eating them.
all, of eastern Persia, there are, in peasant parlance, three types 6 Author's italics.
of malakh, namely, malakh-i daryd'i, malakh-i havd'i, and
7 Italconsult, op. cit., vol. I, p. vii.
malakh-ima'mtilf,meaning, respectively, " shrimps ", "locusts"
and " flying insects " in general. It may be said that, in these 8The author is most grateful to Professor Toynbee and the
regions, the word malakh,unless the context is specifically re- Oxford University Press for giving him permission to quote
garding locusts, means " insects " or at least " flying insects " the passages that follow from BetweenOxus andJumna. These
in general. Moreover, it is noteworthy that Persian peasants passages are on pages 174 and I75 of that book.
KOCH U BALUCH AND ICHTHYOPHAGI 55
fields in Central Balfichistdn depend for their water on catching a few drops of precarious rain.
Wherever the terrain allows, an earth-built dam waits patiently for a casual shower. Perhaps, every
other year or so, this ' band' will collect enough rainwater above it to warrant the peasant in sowing
the plot in the hope of catching a crop. As I travelled through this thirsty land during the fourth week
in June, I was amazed to see how many of these rain-fed fields were golden with ears ripe for harvest.
The crop is thin; the harvestersgather it, stalk by stalk, into tiny bundles. Yet the aggregate amount
of grain harvested must be great, and this starveling wheat is as fine in quality as the starveling wool.
I have never eaten more tasty or more nourishing bread.
" The present-day inhabitants of Balfichistdn are heroes on a pathetically puny scale, but their
prehistoric predecessorswere giants. The dams that are going concerns today are modest earthworks,
but the gabarbands(' heathen dams ') of the pre-historic age are massive piles of well-built masonry.
The present-day economy, heroic though it is, is dwarfed by the relics of this higher economy dating
from a distant past. What is impressive is the amount of labour that man has been willing to expend
in the hope of reaping so small a reward. Where there is some mighty river to be tapped for volumes
of water that will irrigate millions of acres, it is not surprising that human beings should be willing
to undertake laborious and costly irrigation works. But a gabarbandon the chance of a catch-crop:
that is heroism indeed."
But this is also a net criticism, for the Balfich have not preserved the capital inherited from an
earlier population.
The above sources were prepared for various purposes and from varying points of view. It is the
present writer's aim to provide a general introduction to the whole study of the area, with sufficient
detail to delineate the special problems it must pose for any scholar who approaches it, whatever his
particular discipline. For the condition of the Persian province of Balfichistanposes several universal
questions for which there are no ready-made answers: what are the criteria for calling a society
backward? Should we measure simply by economic, industrial, or even agricultural and pastoral
yardsticks? Does culture come into it? Adherence to a world religion? Discussion of these questions
could be the starting point for the formation of a universal political philosophy towards such areas.
Geography
The accompanying map (which also shows the routes which are the limits of the writer's first-hand
information and were travelled in the winter of 1962 and the spring and early summer of 1963) is
an attempt to show at a glance the peculiar natural advantages and disadvantages of the area. It is
surrounded on the north and west by stretches of one of the most notorious deserts of the world.
The southern coastline is uniformly inhospitable with the one exception of the natural harbour of
the Gulf of Chdhbahar. To the east the border with Pakistan attempts to cut it off from what is in
fact the natural continuation of a homogeneous geographical region. Altitudes range from sea-level
along the coastal plain to over I3,ooo feet at the summit of the semi-active volcano Kah-i Taftdn,
and the climate varies accordingly. The whole area falls into natural subdivisions:
(a) The coastal plain, including Dashtiari, flat, and with good soil, but scanty and undependable
water supply.
(b) The Makran range, which crossesthe province from east to west, extremely difficult to traverse,
consisting almost entirely of jagged peaks and deep ravines, and seldom a piece of ground large or
level enough to pitch a group of tents, or safe enough from occasional lightning floods.
(c) The Jaz Mfiri~itndepression containing the fertile well-watered plains of Irinshahr, Bampfir
and Dalgin, altitude approximately I,5oo feet, but with temperatures soaring into the fifties (Centi-
grade) in the summer.
(d) The Sarivan area, up on the general Iranian Plateau level, consisting of small plains varying
in altitude from under three to over four thousand feet, and separated by ranges whose highest peaks
exceed nine thousand feet. The two main ranges are Kfih-i Birg and Kfih-i Safid. It is these ranges
and the Makran range that contain the flocks of people who maintain the old quasi-nomadic life of
earlier times, as isolated from the mainstream of the life of Iran as it is possible to be. In colloquial
Inset 1
THEPERSIAN OFBALUCHISTAN
PROVINCE '
of BalichistaI
Inset 1, Regions~ ..
SAR.)
4AD D
L
Inset Positionof Baliichistan
2, ,.
o "SardirNeshiin"Settlements s
0 Provincial Capital
8 Shahrestan - 3000ft. Contour Ii D*EPRss on :AVA N,
* Bakhsh Writer's a
.... Routes.. ........ .
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ibms
BNuhrat h* Q
.
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o -- ..
.
BJI
m Bandar
Aibls8'i•u-d-i-4ta~h-- P~tus
A
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,
. ih
.H.....ZP. . , Ch?hBahdr
Fig. I.
speech it is these people that theBaltichreferto as Balach. They live a life completely unprotected from
the extremes of the climate, and tempered by none of the comforts and aids of civilization that cannot
be simulated by a plaited or twisted palm leaf. Even in the most advanced centres of settlement of
Balfichistdn there is a lingering respect for the courage, industry and moresof these people, and a
feeling that among them only is preserved the nobility of spirit which was once the possession of the
whole people. It is in these people if anywhere that the spirit of Ferdowsi's Kachu Balzichis not yet
quite dead.
The rivers of the Sardvdn region flow eastwards into Pakistan, and the plains and mountain
ranges gradually lose height towards the border. In fact, "geographically speaking, the (whole)
region of Balfichistan seems much better connected with the two bordering nations, Afghanistan
and Pakistan, as evidenced by the fact that the road network is better suited to serve eastbound
rather than westbound traffic . . . Current trading, rather modest in volume, is mostly eastbound,
in both its legal and illegal forms ",9 and outside the main centres, more people appear to speak
Urdu than Persian.
(e) One quite large area remains: the sarhaddor border country. It is higher and cooler than the
rest of the region and contains the highest mountain of the province, the Kfih-i Taftin. It is an area
of immense plains broken by isolated mountains. Cultivation is scanty. If the spring rains come the
plains provide good forage for large flocks of sheep and herds of camels. When the rains do not come
the barren plains merge with the Dasht-i Lilt to the north and west. Even in a relatively good year
such as this year has been, the traveller may cross enormous distances and see no movement, except
perhaps a lonely camel wandering from tuft to tuft in a stone-strewn semi-desert.
The main centres are marked on the map. The main administrative centres: Zdheddn, Khw~sh,
Saravan, Iranshahr, Chthbahar, can now be called small towns. But this is only a very new develop-
ment. Formerly, there were simply centres of influence: the seat of the sarddr,which was often a fort
or castle on a hill, artificial or natural, surrounded by the mud houses or tents of his immediate
attendants and ghuldms.Any cultivated plots, palm groves or fruit gardens might or might not adjoin.
Bazaarshad no place in the settlement. Any trade that existed was by no means a conspicuousactivity,
and was normally conducted by aliens rather than the Balfich themselves. The main factor in the
selection of the site would have been its suitability for a fort in the first instance. Those places marked
on the map as sarddrneshin,and not administrative centres, continue to be this type of settlement.
Even Sarbdz (which is now the centre of an important bakhsh),mainly no doubt because of its situation
strung out along the sides of an important perennial river in the Makran range, defies any attempt
to give it shahrfyat-the appearance of a town, and still boasts nothing approaching a bazaar.
Communications are similarly primitive. For owing to the relative unimportance of trade in the
life of the province and lack of attention from the central government the importance of roads is still
perhaps not fully realized. There is one main road from north to south, reasonable to (120
miles); possible to Iranshahr (I20 miles), and jeepable for the remaining 200 miles to the coast. The
Khw.sh
road from Khw~sh to Saravan (I Io miles) is also reasonable. Anywhere else is accessible only by
jeep-type vehicles, and the coastal plain west of Chahbahar and the areas of Irafshan and Bampusht
are still completely roadless. The three main mountain ranges mentioned above are in many cases
impassable even for donkey traffic. Owing to the nature of the terrain routes are in most cases obliged
to follow water courses. Some of the main rivers-Rild-i Sarb-z, Rfid-i BampiWr, Rfid-i Mashkid-
have water flowing at least in some stretches of their beds throughout the year. All water courses
are subject at any time of the year to lightning floods of such force and unexpectedness that lorries
caught unawares under a blue sky have been carried miles down stream and broken up against
the rocks.
It is these lightning floods, when they occur,that keep the pasturage for the flocks in the mountains
green throughout the year. Agriculture depends, however, on seasonal rains. Wheat is almost
entirely rain-watered, and the harvest starts in early May, continuing to the beginning of July
according to altitude. Two good downpours, provided they come in early spring, ensure a good crop.
9 ItalconsultPreliminaryReport,vol. I, p. 7, Rome, July I959.
This year, after four years of nearly complete drought in most parts of the province, the rain came
late, and in the small village in which the writer was staying between Ashar and Irafshdn the crop
was so negligible that it sufficed for six weeks' consumption only.
One other form of precipitation also occurs in the summer, but apparently only in the mountains
south of Irafshdn. This is a type of Scotch mist, known locally as " n3d", which may come in over
the mountains from the east towards the end of the night and last until noon. In the limited region
where this occurs it is a useful factor in keeping down the summer temperatures and revivifying the
vegetation.
The most important crop, other than wheat, is the date crop. Besides providing perhaps the
staple item of the ordinary people's diet, the yearly surplus traditionally forms one of the few exports
from Balfichistin. Hdmin-the time of the date harvest-begins at the end of June in the hotter parts
of the province and continues into the early autumn in the higher and cooler parts. Hdminis one of
the important occasions of the year, when the people come in from the mountains and the surrounding
country to gather and eat and store away the dates.
Other important crops are rice and millet of various types which together make best use of the
available irrigation water through the summer and autumn. At times, mostly during the winter,
when agricultural work slackens off, there is a tendency for movement in the opposite direction to
that seen at the time of Hdmin:into the mountains to the flocks.
Agricultural settlements may be divided into two main types: those making use of river water for
irrigation, and those using qandts. Except for parts of the sarhaddwhere immigrant Persians from the
Kerman and Yazd areas have long had a hand in agriculturalactivity, qandtsin Balfichistdnare rather
elementary; in fact some of the so-called qandtsare simply channels led off under the banks from
perennial streams. I was unable to find a Balfich muqanni,and it would appear that the Balfich them-
selves have no knowledge or experience in the art of exploiting ground water by means of qandts.
So who built the few respectable qandtsthat do exist in Baliichistdn south of the sarhadd? Until
recently, so it was said, the Balfich themselves had no idea, and even gave the credit to divs. As we
shall see later, only now, owing to the changing pattern of social security and a certain amount of
planned development, is agriculture in Balfichistan (since it has been called by that name) becoming
a necessary and therefore respectable occupation.
History
There is not sufficient space here to fit together all the miscellaneous historical information
available on BaliichistAn. However, certain factors in the comparatively recent history of the province
are necessary to a proper understanding of the present situation.
In the tenth and eleventh centuries A.D. we read in Istakhri and Mas'fidi of the Balfich first in
the mountains of Kerman, and later in Sistdn together with the Kfich. Ferdowsi mentions the
Balfich as part of Kai Khusrau's army. Elsewhere he talks of an alliance between them and the tribes
of Gilan and war between them and Nfishirvan. The general opinion of scholars is that the Balfich
came from the shores of the Caspian, first to Kerman and Sistan, and then to the Makran and the
other districts of Balfichistan, and that this migration started in the time of Nfishirvin. In the fourth
century they were making a nuisance of themselves raiding from the Kerman mountains and Sistan
as far as north Khorasan. Both 'Azudu'd-Dauleh Dailami and Mas'fid of Ghazneh were forced to
deal with them. The former killed quite a number of them, and the latter inflicted a severe defeat
on them near Khabis. The arrival of the Seljiiqs in Kerman was probably the main factor that drove
them into Balfichistan proper, and in A.D. 1252 we hear of them as far east as Sind.'o
So much for their arrival in the province. During the last two centuries, after the death of Nadir
Shah in I747, the province was for a time under the Durrani rulers of Afghanistan. Then followed
a period of anarchy, after which eastern Baltichistan (now in Pakistan) finally acknowledged the
suzerainty of Ni•sir Khan, whose power was felt as far west as Bampiir. But his successors were
degenerate and Persian Baltichistan was independent when Pottinger crossed it in I8Io. In 1839
an intelligent traveller by the name of HIjji 'Abdu'n-Nabi reported that Muhammad Shah of Sib
O 'AmalkYt-iQushunp. 26--historical chapter written by S. H. Taqizideh.
KUCH U BALUCH AND ICHTHYOPHAGI 59
was the most powerful chief in the province. During the reign of MolhammadShah Qaajarmanoeuvres
were undertaken in Balfichistan by the Persian government and the Bampfir fort was taken. From
that time Bampfir remained in Persian hands, and gradually other centres were brought under
government control. In the eighteen fifties the son of a baker from Bam, Ibrahim Khan, was
appointed to the governorship of Bam, Narmashir and Bampfir. His qualifications and efficiency
in centralizing the influence of the central government in Balfichistan, and the fact that he brought
the inaccessible district of Sarbaz under his control were a great service to the Persian government.
He died in I884, after thirty years in office. His son died only a few months later, and Zainu'l-
'Abidin, his son-in-law, became governor, but in 1887 he was succeeded by Abu'l-Fath Khan, a Turk.
Abu'l-Fath Khan was, however, soon dismissed, and Zainu'l-'Abidin Khan reappointed. In the
reign of Nasiru'd-Din Shah, in the winters, the governors of Kerman began to take their armies into
Balfichistan to collect taxes. In 1891, after an absence of two years, the governor of Kerman visited
the province, making solemn promises that he would imprison nobody; but these were broken, and
the Balfich chiefs were seized, many of them being in prison when Sykes first visited the province
a year later. About this time the common Balfich term for a Persianbecame Gajar(Qdljdr),pronounced,
as Curzon well remarks, very much like the English word "cudgel "."
On the assassinationof Nasiru'd-Din Shah anarchy returned and the province became independent
again until in 1928 Riza Shah ordered its reduction and inclusion once and for all under the adminis-
trative system of the central government of Persia. The paramount chief or sarddrat this time was
Dfist Muhammad Khan Baranza'i. Dfist Muhammad Khan had allied himself to most of the other
influential families, and collected a tax, leaving some of it to the local sarddrsfor the upkeep of irregulars
for whenever he required them. According to General A. Jahinbani," who commanded the operation,
he wanted to be independent from the central government, but was willing to pay some form of
nominal tribute. His power was strongest in the Bampfir and Saravan regions, but only the sarhadd
region remained at all independent of him. According to Jahanbani's own account, on his entry into
Khwash the sarddrsof the sarhaddregion attached themselves to the government forces almost without
hesitation.'3 The Persian forces were comparatively well equipped with the weapons of the day, and
Dfist Muhammad's only real hope of survival lay in the peculiar climate and topography of his country.
The Balfich generally did not believe it possible that their forts could be taken. They had seen Persian
armies come before, but they had always gone away without achieving anything-beaten by the heat
of the summer if they outstayed the winter.'4 But this time, before the end of the winter it was all over.
Dfist Muhammad was left no choice but to surrender and accept safe conduct to Tehran."'
With the removal of Dfist Muhammad Khan the last shadow of Ferdowsi's Kafchu Balich dis-
appeared from Balfichistan. Three times since the ghost has appeared: in the abortive revolt of
Jum'eh Khan Isma'ilza'i in the sarhaddin 193I, a revolt in Kfihak subdued by General Alburz, and
the Dadshah episode, but it would now appear to have been laid for good. There remains the shadow
of the Ichthyophagi, which in the conspicuous loss of self-confidence among the Balfich themselves
and the derogatory and uninformed attitude towards Balfichistan which is widespread not only in
the rest of the country but also among the Persian government officials who work there, remains
the main obstacle to the development and integration of the province into the political and economic
life of the rest of the country.
Social Framework
The word Baliich used to signify a particular Iranian tribe. All it can now be said to signify is
a man whose native tongue is Balfichi. The travellers in the last century notice that many of the
Persia and the Persian Question,Hon. George N. Curzon, 1892, apparently rather impractical attempt to escape back to
I
vol. II, p. 259. Balfichistin he killed his guard and was hanged for common
12 Op. cit., p. 38. murder. For the information in this historical outline I am
'3 Op. cit., p. 45. indebted to Sykes: Ten Thousand Miles in Persia, London,
14 Op. cit., p. 70.
19o2, and JahSnbani's op. cit., including the chapter by
s5RizA Shah pardoned him and he lived in Tehran quite S. H. Taqizddeh.
freely though under surveillance for a year, after which in an
sarddrs,and therefore the common people, claimed Arab ancestry. Sykes realizes that the sarddrs
are probably of an alien origin, and that the remnant of the Iranian tribe are to be found among the
peasantry. He enumerates the following details which he collected about the chief families:
" The Gichki are the descendants of a Rajput family which settled in Baluchistan as late as the
17th century. The Bolidi'6hail from Muscat, the Malik are descendants of the Saffar dynasty, while
the Noshirwani were dispossessed by Shah 'Abbas, who drove them from the neighbourhood of
Isfahan to make room for Armenian settlers. The Bezanju are a branch of the Brahui ... the Hots
are a branch of the turbulent Rinds, who resemble Arabs more closely than any other Baluchis, and
are proud of the fact; while the Akazai, Sadozai and Askani Rinds, the Kowda and Jadgal, the
Kalmatta and the Gurgij, claim to be descended from Aleppo exiles, but Jadgal merely signifiesJat
speech.'7 The Shahzada tribe claims descent from the princes of Kandahar, and the Ra'is are,
I understand, descended from the famous or infamous Ghazz. The Meds are aboriginal pirates,'8
the Darzads are serfs. The Luris representthe gypsies, and the Wardilis immigrated from Sind."'9
The Shahbakhsh (formerly Ismd'ilzd'i) claim to be descended from a certain Isma'il Khan who
fled to Balfichistdnfrom Fars eight generations ago, was protected by the paramount chief of the time,
stayed and finallyfoundeda tribe. And this is the most likely explanation of how most of the present
" tribes " of Balfichistan came into being. A new man appears, a man whom the ordinary people
see, or want to see, roughly equal in standing with the existing sarddrs. Two of the ways in which
this might happen are (a) a member of an existing chiefly family breaks away from the patriarchal
authority; or (b) a noble alien appears and is protected and favoured by one of the sarddrs.The kernel
of the new " tribe " is formed by the new man's immediate family and retinue when he has one. The
rank and file is formed by a change of loyalty on the part of a section of the peasantry. Although
such a change may no doubt in certain circumstancestake place over night, more normally it would
take the form of a very gradual, almost imperceptible movement such that the new man himself
would not be conscious of having founded a new " tribe " or focus of loyalties, and it may be left to
the time of his heir for the fact to be generally recognized and the name attached. Such gradual
shifts of loyalty can be observed in progresstoday.
The most important " tribes" now are the following: Bdrakzd'i,'2 Mir Murddzd'i, Buzurgzddeh,
Bulideh-i,"' Mubaraki, Rigi, Shahbakhsh. These are the big families, and all other tribes
or families andShirmni,
their following pay what amounts to allegiance to one or other of them. There is
a considerable proliferation of tribal names, and some of the politically minor tribes are among the
largest in number, but can claim no members of the sarddrrank. Similarly, the sarddrrelies for his
position on a large and undefined confederacy of which his own tribe may constitute only a small
proportion. The Shahbakhsh, centred to the west of Zaheddn, in the outer sarhadd,are little involved
in the general inter-tribal politics. The Rigi's influence covers the remainder of the sarhaddand
penetrates into the Irdnshahr-Bampfirdistrict. The first five mentioned above form a confederacy
whose influence covers the whole of the remainder of the province with the exception of a little island
around Champ which is controlled by the Mubaraki. And at the end of May 1963 the Mubaraki
ostensibly came to terms and joined the confederacy."
The internal politics of this " confederacy " depend on personality, descent and marriage alliances.
Within the framework of tradition the people choose their own sarddr. At the present time, which,
to use their own terms, we shall call the Post-Balfch period,'3 this is done by referring their disputes
to him and accepting his judgement, and supporting him in his friendships and enmities with other
sarddrs. In making their choice they are influenced by the three factors defined above. A few examples
may help to illustrate this:
,6 The form now used as Bulideh-i. 20oAlso called Bardnza'i.
'7 Jadgal is in fact the plural of Jat. 2zAlso called Sardirz~'i.
18 It has -been suggested that these are the aboriginal 22At the present time the main cause of friction between these
Ichthyophagi. families lies in disputes over ownership of various properties
19 Sykes: Ten ThousandMiles in Persia, London, 1902, p. 97. in the Iranshahr-Bampair plain.
Another obvious example is the Kurds around Kfih-i Taftan 23 i.e. since the demise of Dfist Muhammad Khan. The period
and in the Zdbuli plain, who have retained the surname of before that is referred to as the Baliich period (Daureh-i
their origin though otherwise entirely Baluchized. Balach).
P1. Ia. A groupof tentsin summerin theHong region. Pl. Ib. A " 16g " in a small village between
Pl. Ic. On a track throughSalbh Kfih. Pl. Id. Sowingmilletin a small villagebetwe
P1. Ila. A " gwZp " or reedmat on whichthefish are Pl. IIc. A wanderingpa
P1. IIb. Smoking a hookahimprovisedfrompalm leaves.
guidedand strandedwhenthe riveris in flood. " sur6d "
" in a summertentin Salah
P1. IId. Playingthe " nay Kiih.
KOCH U BALOCH AND ICHTHYOPHAGI 61
The " confederacy" would seem to be to a large extent the outcome of the statesmanship, or at
least political acumen, of Dfist Muhammad Khan. He left five sons. The eldest, who according to
all accounts was unusually suited for his position and immensely respected by all who came into contact
with him, died in rather mysterious circumstances only a few years ago. The next eldest has been
by-passed by the people who have almost unanimously attached themselves to the third son who
is considerablyyounger. And the differencebetween the two, except for personality where the younger
admittedly gains, is that the mother of the younger was Barakza'i, whereas the mother of the elder
was Mir Murddzd'i.24This is the more interesting when we remember that the Balfich have an almost
excessive respect for age, and especially for the father and elder brother relationships.
The next most important man in the confederacyis the head of the Bulideh-i family. He is easily
the most travelled and active man of the six families and the most acquainted with Persia outside
Balfichistdn. He may in fact be more popular than the son of Dfist Muhammad, but because of the
lineage of the latter and the recent history of his family he would give way to him in any gathering.
While I was living in Sarivin a visit of the Governor-General to the heart of the province,
Irdnshahr, required the presence of the more prominent sarddrs. The son of D'ist Muhammad was
summoned from Sardvdn, but instead of simply answering the summons and proceeding to Irinshahr
on his own or with one or two of his close associates, he gathered on his way some dozen of the less
prominent sarddrsof the district, who on their arrival in Ir~nshahr joined with others of the con-
federacy, eventually presenting a formidable front on the issues which were to be discussed. On
occasions such as these in particular there seems to be a ready understanding of the fact that the force
of a man's word or opinion lies in the number and quality of his allies and supporters, and the more
conspicuous these are the better.
The main centres of tribal influence, that is, the seats of the more prominentsarddrs,are marked
on the map. In general, the further they are from administrative centres and roads, as might be
expected, the less influenced they are by mid-twentieth-century Persia. Such a place is Irafshin
and the area dependent upon it: Saldh Kfih, Hong, Mfirtin.
The sarddrof this area, a Bdrakzd'i, estimates the population at between five and six thousand
families. Irafshan itself consistsof some eight groups of mud huts strung along both sides of the Shahri
Kaur river. One of these " villages " houses the sarddr,one of his brothers, and their immediate
dependants and ghuldms. The whole area is cut off from the rest of the province by very difficult
country and parts of SalTh Kfih itself are impassable even for donkey traffic. For the conduct of his
affairs in Hong and Mfrtin which lie the other side of the Salah Kfih range, the sarddrconducts his
affairs through a representativeknown as a pdkdr. In the remainder of the territory there is in theory
no intermediary, but owing to bad health he has been unable in recent years to travel as freely in
such difficult country, and relies mainly on a younger brother (of an inferior mother) to maintain
contact. In this and other similar areas there is still no government influence except through the
medium of the sarddrand his representatives.
The sarddrclass as a whole normally have property interests in several quite different parts of the
province and travel quite frequently and regularly from one to the other. They normally keep their
wives and family in the district where they have the most property, but they may keep one wife in
another of the districtsin which they have an interest. Thus by continually travelling from one district
to another they keep very close contact not only with one another, but also with the peasantry which
is connected with their interests. Wherever he goes the sarddris accessible to the peasants, and he is
most generally found surrounded by a group of them and talking with them on quite equal terms,
while tea and hookahs are passed round. Actual ownership of land and water rights, even among
the sarddrs,is on a relatively small scale compared with what prevailed among the landowning class in
the rest of Persia until recently. None of the Balfich landowners are affected by the present Land
Reform law. Similarly, even the lowliest Balfich peasant usually has some form of property, however
little. The general pattern of ownership therefore throughout the province is khwurdeh-mdlek-with
the exception of the ghuldms.
24 In fact, a sister of ShS.h, the Mir MursdzB'i Sardir.

Mul.ammad
6
The position of the ghuldmin Balfich society in many ways emphasizes the main differencesbetween
this province and the rest of Persia. He is conspicuously and consciously of a different race from the
peasantry, and his origins, though obscure, should probably be sought in an historical study of the
Arabian slave trade. For the ghuldmhas been a slave, and in ordinary terms, though in theory now
free, still generally is either slave or serf. The typical ghuldmis very dark, with fuzzy hair and scant
beard. In purely Baliich environment he has no rights. He may, however, be the favoured retainer
of the sarddrand his most trusted servant, and so lead a more comfortablelife than many of the peasants.
In Balfich society every man knows his place, and in general never fails to show respect where he knows
it is due. In a large gathering the ghuldmwill usually be found at the back in the shadows, though
he may take full part in the conversation in such a way that it would be difficult to mark any social
difference between him and the others gathered. And in a small gathering all may sit round in one
circle.
One of the most conspicuous things in the life of the province today is a disastrous lack of self-
confidence and initiative. This is no doubt due to a large extent to the rather ignominious defeat
thirty-five years ago, for that campaign was in fact a fight to the death between central authority
and all that the word Balich had traditionally stood for. And the latter lost. But this defeat might
not be expected to have had the same effect on the ghuldmas on the Baliich. It is perhaps a measure
of how unready the whole population was for social change that the ghuldmhas taken so little advantage
of this. The theoretical freedom it gave him, at least until the integration of the province into the life
of the rest of the country becomes more meaningful, amounts only to the freedom to choose to leave
his neighbourhood, which in an area as economically backward as this would in most cases result
in him becoming a beggar, or if he is lucky he may make good in Karachi or one of the Arab shaikhdoms.
However, there are now ghuldmswho solely by their own efforts and industry have become respected
and useful members of the community-though the Balach never forgets that a ghuldmis a ghuldm.
One such, a native of Irafshdn, whose father was killed at Dizak"5in the service of Dfst Muhammad
Khin, campaigned for the opening of, and now runs, two local schools in Irafshan and Ashar-some
twenty-four miles apart, and has also acquired a certain amount of property in the Saravin area.
Others may be found in government offices. However, even such as these who have found their way
into the new order which slowly and clumsily, but nevertheless surely penetrates deeper and deeper
into the life of the province, in the evenings when they return to their homes and the round of Balfich
social life are still automatically ghuldmsand servants.
The section of the Makran range immediately to the south of Irafshan, known as Salih Kfih, is
one of the most difficult pieces of country in the province. According to official statistics it holds a
population of 2,213. However, in view of the constant traffic backwards and forwards across the
border and the complete lack of incentive for the people to obtain identity cards (it is on the issue of
identity cards only that the statistics are based), it would seem probable that the potential population
is a great deal more. Towards the centre of this tract of country a knot of peaks divide it into three
segments draining towards Irafshin and the Shahri Kaur river, Hong, and Mfirtdn respectively. The
first of these districts has the closest links with the sarddrfamily of Irafshdn, while in the latter two
a pdkdrlooks after the sarddr'sinterests. At the Hdminseason the people from each district gravitate
towards the respective centre. Hong itself is really only inhabited at this time. During the remainder
of the year it is generally only visited during the day by those tending the palms or working the small
area of agricultural land when there is enough water to allow this.
The basis of the economy of this mountainous area is, of course, sheep and goats. A small number
of cattle are bred for sale. But an apparently new and growing factor in the economy of the area is
the construction of small dams or silt traps (" garband") in the steep narrow ravines, behind which,
when it rains, enough moisture and soil are caught to keep alive half a dozen palms, perhaps more,
perhaps less. Or a heavier rain than usual may carry away the garband,soil, palms and all. This is
the heroism that impressed Toynbee,26 and certainly when the amount of hard labour required,
25 Now renamed Divar Pansh, a few kilometres from the centre 6 Op. cit., pp. 172-5.
ofSarivin.
the risk involved, and the minuteness of the crop which may survive are considered together, it is
heroism indeed. Behind some such garbandsthe writer has seen a wide (though numerically very small)
variety of fruit trees-from pomegranates to bananas-flourishing, and the ground under and between
them utilized for melons and vegetables. In earlier accounts these garbandare called gabar-band,"7
and like the qandtsof the plains their origin is referred back to primaeval or supernatural forces.
The industry which is presently displayed in creating new ones would appear to be a relatively recent
development, post-dating the " Balfich period ". What had existed previously were built before the
living memory of the present population and so attributed to " heathens " (gabr). They are now
being built in the smallest of ravines wherever there is enough soil to take the roots of a few palms.
The reason for this new interest in " agriculture " is probably to be sought in a kind of security vacuum
caused by the entrance of the central Government into Balfich affairs. These Balfich of the mountains
are a kind of superlative Balfich: the men of the plains refer to them as Balfich in distinction from
themselves. Never being tied to the land they could always be free for the errands and campaigns
of the sarddrs.
In a normal year, if such a thing can be said to happen in Balfichistdn,these Balfich are by their
own standards almost rich on the produce of their flocks. In a bad year they used to be able to live
on the sarddr.This they can no longer do. The sarddrsno longer have very much use for such services,
nor the means to retain them, though they retain a special affection for these Balfich of the mountains.
This new exploitation of the soil in a country where neither soil nor water for irrigation exists in really
exploitable quantities is a desperate attempt to find a new security.
The situation is further complicated by the Islamic law of inheritance: a flock can be divided and
divided again and again ad unumbecause in normal circumstancesit will always reproduce itself again.
Not so with a small plot of land and a few palms confined by the high vertical walls of a narrowravine.
This applies equally to larger plots with a longer history. Hong is watered by a qandtof considerable
potentiality. Since the ownership of the qandtis now divided among several hundred people, no
system can be worked out for the necessary upkeep, repair, and extension of it which would satisfy
and be fair to all the owners. And so the flow of water and the cultivation it supports gradually
diminish.
Besides being an extreme example of the drawbacks of the Islamic inheritance law when applied
to agriculture in poor areas, Hong is also a good example of the mental and physical separation in the
area between agriculture and shepherding. No one actually lives at Hong itself. The inhabitants of
the area (the mountain Baliich or Balfich in general) are divided up into groups of one to five, usually
inter-related, families, each of which chooses for themselves a site for their tents. The main require-
ments for this site are proximity of drinking water, suitability for the flocks, and sufficient distance
from any agricultural land to avoid the danger of the flocks wandering and spoiling the crops. And
the site may be changed as and when conditions vary, or simply to avoid the memory of an unpleasant
event such as the death of a child. For these reasons throughout the province-with the exception
of much of the sarhaddwhere the terrain is different, and parts of the plains which are almost entirely
agricultural such as the Ir~nshahr-Bampfirregion and parts of Saravan-settlements, encampments
(maitags),even small villages of mud huts are found on barren patches of comparatively level ground,
perhaps even as much as half a day's walk from their respective plot of cultivation.
Therefore there is no such thing as a Balich town, nor is it really correct to refer to the Baliich
as nomads or even as semi-nomads. Within the region of Salih Kih, for instance, they inhabit a
particular area, of say 400oosquare miles, or more, or less. The fixed points in this area are the garbands,
the tiny plots of cultivation and the groups of date palms. Each man is continually on the move
between his maitag and the garbands in which he has an interest. The maitag itself moves irregularly
according to the availability of pasturage and drinking water-which is in turn governed by the
irregular pattern of precipitation. Then there is the movement away from the mountains at Hdmin,
reciprocated by the people settled outside the mountains in the winter at lambing time. On top of
this there is the continual circulation of the sarddrsand their relatives and representativesthroughout
27 For discussion of the history of the gabar-bandssee " The Role Baluchistan ", by George F. Dales, Jr., in Anthropological
of Natural Forces in the Ancient Indus Valley and Papers, number 62, December 1962. University of Utah.
the province, and this has probably increased recently because of the new need to keep in touch with
the administrative centres. In connection with this pattern of movement it is interesting that most
place names-e.g. Saravan, Hong, Mfirtdn, Salah Kfih, Kazfir, Sarbaz, Bampiar, etc.-in Baliich
usage are names not of fixed places but of districts of varying size, vaguely defined by topographical
features. The places which have become " centres ", fixed points of settlement, are settlements which
grew up round the fort of a Sarddr.So the " centre " of Sarbaz is really qal 'eh-iSarbdz,and of Zdibull-
qal 'eh-i Zabuli, and is so called in Balfchi. And it is in these " centres " that mud huts (kat,katdn)
were sometimes preferred to tents (geddm)or palm huts (lag)-seldom anywhere else.
In these family groups the women seldom leave the immediate area of the maitag,and on occasions
when they do move outside, for example to a neighbouring family group for a wedding, they travel
normally in the company of a closely related man. However, within the immediate area of the maitag
there is little restriction on their movements-besides the amount of work, which consists mainly
of fetching water, which must normally come from a stream often as much as a few hundred feet
below the terrace on which the camp is situated; grinding corn with a hand mill and baking bread;
milking the flocks in the evenings and preparing ghee; and feeding the men. Time left over from these
regular tasks and not taken by washing, sewing and the bearing and rearing of a child a year is spent
on the minute and colourful embroidery of the bodice and pocket of their long shifts.
The men are responsible for the animals and crops, and any small " shahr" (cultivated area) or
garbandthey may own or have a share in. They are normally away from the maitagliterally from dawn
to dusk and not infrequently for some days on end. The flocks are taken off before sunrise and it is
dark by the time they return. And for men not required to shepherd, a shahras much as five or six
hours' walk away will need attention; a different crop must consume the trickle of water available for
irrigation. Those who return in the evening will sit and talk about the sheep they unfailingly know
one from another with the aid of no distinguishing brand, or the martial glories of the daureh-iBalich.
Often there will be a guest-travellerfrom another maitag,on his way back from a more distant shahr,
or from the sarddr,with new gossip. Hospitality is limited only by the natural limits of the poverty
of the region, and is the right of any traveller. The most usual evening meal is sour milk with a little
ghee eaten with bread, or perhaps a heavily peppered meat soup, for occasionally a chicken is killed
or there is the meat of a wild mountain goat. The addiction is a wad of local tobacco inside the cheek,
or occasionally a hookah. And the relaxation is a flute and poetry.
The simplicity of the life is remarkable. Essentials imported from outside the area are confined
to material for clothes, and wheat. The only surpluseswithin the area are ghee and wool. Household
equipment consists of a few metal bowls, skins for water. The leaves of the creeping wild palm ddz
(or when that is not available, the coarser "pork"), either fresh or dried, is the raw material for any
other implement or item of furniture. Shoes, mats, summer tents or huts, rope, tinder, torches-
without this ubiquitous wild palm life would be difficult indeed. To the traveller away from his tents
it serves as theraw material. He seldom carriesmore than a water skin. When he so requires,a nearby
ddz will provide a cup. If he wishes to smoke his tobacco within ten minutes he will improvise a
hookah from the same ddz.
He knows exactly when and where he may find water. He knows the site and condition of every
wild tree, fruitful or barren, every clump of shrubs which have any medicinal or nutritional use.
Should his route take him past a shahrbelonging to another maitag,he has by custom the right to eat
from it, ripe or unripe, whatever it may offer to satisfy his hunger. Similarly, there are no definite
rights of pasture. During 1962, after some three years of drought, shepherds were penetrating with
their flocks from as far north as the Mishkid river, and there were no disputes about pasturage.
A delicacy which occasionally varies the diet is fish, which the meagre streams yield in surprising
quantities. After a shower in the mountains when the river beds carry down the flood, a few hours'
work produces many pounds of tiny fish. At such times each stretch of the river bed is by custom
apportioned to different families. The flood purges the whole intricate network of water courses of
fish, and this is in fact the only direct benefit it confers. The water itself is completely wasted, except
for the little that is caught behind a garband.Otherwise the sole blessing of a flood is in its refertilization
of any land over which it may pass.
Religion
The religion of the Balfch is the Sunni form of Islam and they follow the Hanafi school.28 Their
religion is of prime importance to them and it is certainly not true to say (as is often heard said) that
they know nothing of their religion and are only nominally Muslims. As far as the outward appear-
ances of Sunni orthodoxy are concerned, namdz,razeh, attendance of the mosque, abstention from
alcoholic drinks,pork, etc., their performanceis both exemplary and without fanaticism. Every village,
however small, has a mosque or place set aside for prayers. The only Balfich the writer noticed omitting
to keep up any of these outward signs were men who had spent a considerable period either outside
the province or in non-Balfch company.
Apart from these " outward signs " and an apparently sincere effort of nfyat (intention) in the
performance of them, it is in general true to say that they have no further knowledge of Islam. But
no religion requires the true believer to be a theologian or an historian. In fact the main centres
of settlement, and particularly, of course, in the new administrative centres, there is a surprisingly
good supply of Mullds,who have often studied for two or three years in Pakistan, and a fair sprinkling
of Maulavis,who have studied seven or eight years in Karachi and another four or five in Delhi.
There are a certain number of sayyidswho are said to have come from Isfahan probably with the
Kurds sent in the time of Shah 'Abbas, but are now Sunni. The importance and influence of the
Maulavisoften rivals that of the sarddrs29and depends more on individual personality than on the
religiousnessof the people. Like their counterpartsin other parts they stand for an unwavering fulfil-
ment of the Law. They preach against the agricultural banks because interest is condemned by the
Law. In and around the main centres in the sarhaddthey have almost succeeded in closing down
the occasional shrines,30and spontaneous local music and dancing has become rare.
These Maulavisand Mullds,however, do not monopolize the religious instincts and sentiments of
the people. Here and there, often in the less accessible parts of the province, are men who may have
the title of Mulld or the rank of Maulavi, or are simply called Shaikh,who withdraw from public
preaching and local politics, and seek their own way independently of the " establishment " of
Maulavis,and teach only those who come to them. They are often men of great personal appeal
and inconspicuous piety. An outstanding example of a man of this order is Wajeh (Khwajeh)
Miyd of Ashdr. Throughout the areas of Sardvdn, Sarbdz and Irdnshahr, the ordinary people believe Mullt
in him as one closer to God than themselves, and a number of minor miracles are told of him. He is
a man of great humility, and being in great demand to pray for the sick, despite his advanced age
he spends a large part of the year travelling. He has travelled little outside these areas. He knows
Arabic, but not Persian. He is very close to the people who seek him and works in time-honoured
ways. For example, tabbmibandad-he binds a man's fever, that is, he knots a piece of thread and
murmurs a verse from the Qur'dn and blows on it, and ties it round the ankle of the fevered man to
break the fever. Facts such as these cannot legitimately be used to argue that the Balfich are only
nominally Moslems.
There can be no doubt about their consciousnessof belonging to Islam or of the difference between
a Muslim and a non-Muslim. But they suffer from a complete lack of knowledge of or contact with
the outside world. The few who do listen to the radio are like a man who has come in half way through
the story and just does not understand what is going on. Only the hdjjis,of whom several hundreds
cross the Gulf every year, legally or illegally, bring back incoherent, half-digested knowledge of the
cities of Arabia, and the Persian Gulf.
The Islam of the mountain Balfich is an outdoor religion, as their life is an outdoor life, and it is
tempting to compare this life with that of the Beduin of Arabia to whom the Prophet taught the faith,
morals and practice of Islam. As has been mentioned, certain sections of the Balfich like to think
that they are descended from the Beduin, and the orthodoxy, sincerity and simplicity of their faith
2aApparentlythe only exceptionin the Persianprovinceof 29 But a sarddrmay hire a Maulavf to settle a dispute.
Balfichistinis formedby what has now been reducedto a
merehandfulof familiesin the Sarbiz regionwho follow 30o For the general dichotomy between shrines and the official
the mysticalZikrisect whichhas its originson the Pakistan religion in Persia, see Iran, vol. I, " The Function of Religion
side of the border. in Persian Society ", by B. J. Spooner.
brings to mind the earlier situation. The few isolated and non-typical spots which shelter pre- or non-
Islamic or heretical variations are left in the background.
Conclusion
Many major cultures and political centralizationsthroughout the history of civilization have grown
and flourished in desert or semi-desert areas. Over the last few centuries these areas have tended to
play less and less significant roles in world affairs. The fact that despite their aridity they havebeen
among the most useful parts of the earth's surfaceis tantalizing to the " developers" of the present day.
But efficient re-development of them often presentssuch formidable social problems, and is so involved
and in many cases frustratedby political interests that the actual economics of the situations are simple
by comparison.
Balfichistdn, though it has probably never contained a large political or economic centre has
always been on the borders of one or more such centres and has seldom if ever been economically
independent of them. The greater part of it is desert or semi-desert. Within it, mention has been made
of the gabar-bandsand the more organized and larger scale exploitation of agricultural potentialities
in a former age which their existence leads us to assume. However, in historical times there is no
evidence to prove that the province was ever prosperous. It has always been inhabited, at times by
very virile people. Before the great leap forward in communications and transport systems and the
growth of the modern state, an outlawed tribe, such as the Kfich or the Balfich, could win by raiding
outside the province what it could not produce by agriculture and herding inside. Nevertheless, it is
very doubtful whether the province as a whole has ever been rendered capable of producing over any
significant period more than a subsistence level of existence for the majority of its inhabitants. The
fact that the Balfich made up the difference by raiding has added to today's problems, for in addition
to the general dislike and even contempt with which the ordinary Persian regards anywhere " garmsr"
or off the plateau,3' he has the peasant's memory for the suffering and losses inflicted on his ancestors
by the tribes which pressed on the borders of the plateau in former centuries. On the other side the
Balfich remember the first official Persian visitors to Balichistan during the Qatjarperiod. They
were generally tax collectors, and in Balachithe word " Qdjdr" became synonymous with " Persian "
and a term of abuse. The antagonismis intensified by the differencein religion. This religious problem
has not lessened with time. Owing to the growing number of Persiansworking in the province, mainly
as Government officials, at the religiously significant times of the Shi'a year-particularly Muharram,
a number of Shi'a dkhundsvisit the province to cater for the Shi'a minority. Not only is the level of
religious learning of the average visiting dkhundoften somewhat lower than that of the local Maulavi
who has studied twelve years or more in Pakistan and India, but the dkhunds are encouraged to attempt
to proselytize and scorn the Sunni masses by the fact that they are automatically part of the ruling
Persian-government-officialclass, thus adding to it a religious exclusiveness. Further, the Amirs
of the Qa'inat have for some time taken a special and ratherjealous interestin the province, and owing
to the policy of the Shaukatu'lMulk earlier in this century a large proportion of the civil servants there
are Birjandi,3'and often related, and so tend to keep together more than they might otherwise, and
further emphasize the exclusivenessof the class. The visible trade of the province is conducted mainly
by Yazdis and Kermanis, who in some cases have acquired a considerable amount of local property,
particularly around Khwash and Iranshahr. The administrative towns of Khwlsh, Iranshahr and
are to a large extent run by these Persians. The generality of the Balich have not really
Sarvain
understood the use of towns and bazaars, and they look on helplessly, bereft of self-confidence, while
the Persians supposedly attempt to run their country as though it were any other province of Persia.
Backward or under-developed societies may be divided into two main groups: those which have at
some point in their history passed through a stage of higher economic or cultural development than
that of their present condition, and those who have not. The former would seem to include the Balich.
31 There are, of course, exceptions to this: the most obvious 32 Cf. A. K. S. Lambton: Landlordand Peasant in Persia, Oxford
being the resorts on the Caspian, and, at the nauriz season University Press, 1953, p. 266.
only, such places as AbidAn and Tabas.
They have passed a peak, unable to develop further on their own traditions. Rather, if their society
and its physical environment are to be developed, it must be through the agency of some strong
expanding neighbour which would cause a violent change or social revolution in them, or absorb
them in its progress.
The essential things to the Balfich life are still the palm, the flock and the handmill; there can be
no form of insurance that the next year or so will not be drought and kill off the flocks; and the garband
is only marginal to the economy of the region where so much labour is being spent on it, and could
never be otherwise. But what of their culture?
While literacy in the Balfich language (particularly in the Persian province) is practically non-
existent, Balfich music and poetry flourish still within the framework of firm traditions and with full
popular support and participation. At least among the " mountain Balfich " the pride in the Balfich
way of life, the outdoor life, is still strong: for instance, two of the most respected attainments are
speed in long-distance walking and skill in weaving savds-the palm-leaf sandals. The rules of hos-
pitality and social intercourse are proudly kept in full. And it would be difficult to imagine Islam
playing a fuller part in the life of the people.
So culture there certainly is. But, as we have noted, enterprise and readiness for development
and social change are discouraginglyrare. The number of Balfich who have made their mark outside
the province is infinitesimal compared to other non-Persian provinces of Iran. And such a culture
is of value only to its own people, and would appear in fact to have lost most of its force and be on the
wane.
Leaving aside the social problems, the main areas of the province which would repay development
are:
(a) The rich plain of Irdnshahr-Bampfir;
(b) Dashtiari (if a reasonable and regular water supply could be guaranteed);
(c) The coastal plain in the vicinity of Kahir (water from river and possible dam);
(d) The area of Pishin;
(e) The plain in the sarhadd.
Apart Khw.sh
from these areas certain centres on perennial rivers in the mountainous areas (e.g. Sarbaz,
Irafshan, etc.) could be developed for fruit growing. The remainder of the province, although in
parts capable of supporting large flocks at times, owing to the capriciousness of the precipitation
pattern, could never be economically secure. The two essential ingredients for the success of any
development schemes in the area are a road network, and local self-confidence and initiative. The
first is possible at a price. The second, in the present context of a hangover from the social hierarchy
of the " Balfich period " and the lack of qualities of leadership in the majority of the sarddrs,and the
mutual suspicion and contempt between the Balfich and the Persians from whom they must learn-
presents grave difficulties.
Thus Balfichistan suffers from a very large percentage of the possible drawbacks to any policy
which would accept political and economic responsibilities for them. It can hardly be considered
unfair to regard the province as a cul desac not only from the point of view of the historical pattern of
communications of Western Asia,33but also its economic and cultural history.
The climate is to most people extremely unpleasant for six months of the year. It is doubtful
whether the province could ever make a useful contribution to the economy of the country as a whole.
Politically, it is hardly likely again to be either important or even embarrassing. Its only claim on
the attention of the central government, or in fact the world in the latter half of the twentieth century,
is that it is a black mark on its record of progress and therefore an embarrassment. Responsibility
for it is very much moral and political, and since its condition is not unique in the world today, invokes
a universal philosophy to bear it.
33 Cf. Toynbee, op. cit., chapter I.
69
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION

OF EARLY QAJAR IRAN
By Gavin Hambly, M.A., Ph.D.
This articleis the substanceof a paperreadat the BritishInstituteof PersianStudies,Tehran,on Saturday,

June 29th 1963. In view of thegeneralneglectby historiansof the economic historyof Iran it is theaim of this
articleto examinesomeof thesignificant factorsin theeconomic structureof Iran duringtheperiodbetweenthe death
of KarimKhdnZand in 1779 and the Treatyof Gulistdnin 1813. Thesethirty-five years covertheperiodwhen
AqdMuhammad Khdn overthrew all other contendersfor masteryof the Iranian plateauandfirmly established
the Qdjdrdynastyon thePeacockThrone,as well as thefirst half of thelongreignof his nephew,Fath 'Ali Shdh.
The principalsources for the economic surveywhichfollows are the reportsandpersonalimpressions of some
of the English travellers in Iran this the
during period. Although accuracyof facts the recorded by thesetravellers
naturallyvariesfrom individualto individual,theirvalueas source-material (in viewof thepovertyof othersources
of information) is veryconsiderable.All of themspokePersianin varyingdegreesof proficiency and a few were
fluentreaders of the language. Most of them spent several months or, in some cases,severalyears in Iran. The
majority were diplomats, soldiers or merchants of the East India Company who had-in Mysore,Hyderabad,or
the outlyingprovincesof the Mughal or Ottomanempires-experienced societiesnot whollydissimilarfrom that
of late eighteenth-century Iran. All wereconcerned with obtaininginformation for theiremployers and countrymen
abouta country,Iran, whichwas thencomparatively little knownto Europeans. Withregardto the accuracyof
theiraccountsof the economic life of Iran, it mustbe remembered that if, duringthisperiod,it was the supposed
Orientalambitionsof Napoleonwhich were the immediatecauseof Britishpre-occupation with Iran, the East
IndiaCompany was still, at this time,a commercial and
corporation therefore in
interested Iran notonlyfor strategic
reasonsbutalso as a potentialmarket.It maytherefore be safelyassumedthattheCompany's servantsin Iranwere
expectedto observeand recordas accurately as possiblethe economic conditions of a countrylikelyto be an areafor
future commercial expansion.
In any attempt to examine the economic structure of a particular historical society or area the
historian will first wish to establish as much accurate data as possible relating to the demography
of that society or area. There is, however, no possibility of the historian ever being able to make an
accurate assessmentof the population of Iran during the late eighteenth century. In the absence of
any official census such as the traditional Chinese State undertook all estimates must be no more than
random guesses. Nevertheless, allowing for the inadequacy of all estimates not based upon statistical
returns, it is interesting to note some contemporary opinions.
When Captain John Malcolm, in i8oi, despatched a confidential report on the state of Iran to
Henry Dundas, the Presidentof the Board of Control of the East India Company, he was unwilling to
offer any figure approximating to the population of Iran., Fourteen years later, in his monumental
Historyof Persiahe stressedthe utter impossibility of making any meaningful approximationin the light
of the prevailing ignorance of conditions in contemporary Iran. He did, however, accept as credible
an earlier estimate (of Pinkerton's) of six millions.2 The traveller and geographer, John Macdonald
Kinneir, was no less cautious. Dismissing Chardin's estimate of forty millions (of over a century before),
he supposed that between the Euphrates and the Indus (comprising not only Iran but also Sind,
Baluchistan, Afghanistan and much of Turkish Mesopotamia) the total population did not exceed
eighteen or twenty millions, of which nomads probably outnumbered the sedentary population.3
SJ. Malcolm to H. Dundas, President of the Board of Control 2J. Malcolm: History of Persia, London, 1815, 2 vols, vol. 2,
of the East India .Company, Ioth April I8o1, printed in pp. 518-19.
Journal of the Central Asian Society, vols. XVI and XVII, 3 . M. Kinneir: A GeographicalMemoir of the Persian Empire,
October i929, and January
1930o. London, 1813, P- 44. (This work will be referred to hereafter
as Empire.)
Fifty years later, in the middle of the nineteenth century, R. G. Watson could only guess that the
population was between five and ten millions!4 All observersnoticed that the countryside was clearly
underpopulated, even in comparatively fertile areas.
The lack of statistics which prevents any accurate assessment of the total population of Iran
inevitably inhibits any attempt to assess the racial, linguistic or occupational composition of the
population. It has already been stated that Kinneir considered the nomadic population to exceed
the sedentary in the region between the Euphrates and the Indus. In Iran proper Malcolm ventured
the guess that at least half the population was nomadic.5 It may be safely assumed, therefore, that a
far greater proportion of the Iranian population was nomadic in the late eighteenth century than in
the late nineteenth century or today. Of the settled inhabitants of the country, the vast majority
were engaged in some aspect of agriculture and only a very small minority were completely urbanized.
The total population of the six largest cities of Iran (including Herat) hardly exceeded half a million
people.
In all probability, the racial groupings were of similar proportions to those of today. Persian
and Turkish-speaking communities predominated, with ill-assimilated Kurdish, Arab, Baltich and
Turkoman tribes on the peripheries. Armenian communities were to be found in most of the major
cities, generally engaged in some form of commercial activity.6 There were also scattered Jewish
and Assyrian Christian communities. Foreigners, other than wandering fellow-Muslims from
neighbouring countries, were a rare sight. Hindu merchants frequented certain trading-centres
such as Bushire, Shiraz and Kirman, and were to be found as far north as Baku and Astrakhan.
European visitors were, with the exception of the occasional adventurer,limited to Russian merchants
on the Caspian littoral and the agents of the East India Company in Bushire and, when business
demanded, in Shiraz.
In a pre-industrial society, such as that of eighteenth-century Iran, despite a frequently high
birth-rate, there is a tendency towards recurring peak death-rates due to war and political upheaval,
drought, famine, epidemics, lack of adequate sanitation, and so forth.7 Deprived of any statistics
for eighteenth-century Iran, there is no way of measuring any increase or decrease in the total popu-
lation. No informationexists relating to fertility or mortality rates. During the period under discussion
there is no record of any decimation of population on the scale of the Black Death of fourteenth-
century Europe or the Bengal Famine of 1769-70. Thus, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary,
it might safely be assumed that the Iranian population was slowly increasing at the normal rate for
an agrarian society-that is to say, 0o5 to I -o per cent per year.8 Yet the fact remains that many
foreign observers concurred in thinking that the population of Iran in the late eighteenth century
was far below what it had been under the Safavi dynasty. Malcolm, for instance, thought that the
population had considerablydiminished since the Afghan invasions in the reign of Shah Sultan Husayn
but that it was again on the increase following twenty years of reasonable stability under the Qajars.9
Harford Jones, whose intimate knowledge of Iran probably exceeded that of most other foreigners,
thought very much the same. He assumed, however, that the decline between the reign of Shah
Sultan Husayn and that of Fath 'Ali Shah must have been temporarilyreversedduring the ascendancy
of Karim Khan Zand, a rather doubtful assumption which, if true, cannot have applied to much
of the country other than Fars.1o
There certainly seems to be little doubt that the writers on Iran during this period were struck
by the visible effects of what they assumed to be a decline in population and almost all describe in
some detail the deserted villages and abandoned agricultural land formerly under cultivation. Even
4 R. G. Watson: A History of Persia from the beginningof the 7 C. Cipolla: The EconomicHistory of WorldPopulation,London,
.9th centuryto theyear r858, London, 1866, p. 2. 1962, pp. 75-80.
5J. Malcolm to H. Dundas, Ioth April I8oI. 8 Ibid., p. 76.
6 Malcolm was informed that an enumeration of the Armenian

9J. Malcolm: Historyof Persia, vol. 2, p. 520.
population of Iran, undertaken by the Bishop of Julfdi, lo Harford Jones Brydges: An Account of the Transactionsof
resulted in the figure of I 2,383--one-sixth of the Armenian His Majesty'sMission to the Courtqf Persia in the rears s8o7--II,
population before the Afghan invasions of 1720-30. London, 1834, p. 430. (This work will be referred to hereafter
J. Malcolm: History of Iran, vol. 2, p. 521. as Mission.)
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION OF EARLY QJiAR IRAN 71
more striking were the desolate suburbs of almost all the cities visited by Europeans-Kazirfin,
Shiraz, Isfahan, Kashan, Qum, Qazvin, Tabriz, and Erivan. The last two, however, enjoyed a
revival of prosperity and population in the first years of the nineteenth century due to the presence of
comparatively enlightened governors who fostered trade. The same applied to Isfahan.
What was the cause of this decline? In the absence of information relating to epidemics in
eighteenth-centuryIran it mustbe assumedto have been the resultof over halfacentury of invasions,civil
wars and endemic lawlessness, beginning with the appallingly destructive Afghan invasions between
1720 and 1730. Not until Aghd Muhammad conquered Khurasan and murdered the last Afsharid,
Shah Rukh, could this characteristic " Time of Troubles " be said to have ended."I Yet even after
the final establishment of the on the Iranian plateau the outlying provinces remained
Qatjardynasty
in a state of insecurity and confusion. Georgia and the khanates of the north-west frontier were the
scene of the prolonged struggle with Russia. In Khurisan, on both sides of the modern frontier with
Afghanistan, the Qaajarscampaigned vigorously against the descendants of Ahmad Shah Abdali, whilst
there were sporadic affrays with the forces of the khans of Bokhara and Khiva. Moreover, extensive
areas of north-eastern Iran were exposed to slave-raiding expeditions by Turkoman tribes who paid
only nominal allegiance to their overlords in Khiva.
In a country such as Iran, where the greater part of the country provides sustinence for neither
man nor beast, the movements of large forces tend to be restricted to traditional routes along the sides
of which may be found sufficient cultivation to provide fodder for cavalry. Thus, extensive troop-
movements in a given area of limited agricultural capacity would be far more detrimental to the
economic life of settled communities than in a fertile countryside, such as contemporary Bengal or
Bavaria. Furthermore, the immense distances over which irregular cavalry, such as were employed
in eighteenth-century Iran, could range and their invariably predatory character, sampled by friends
and foes alike, were a further disruptive element in the situation.
At this point it is worth stressing that there were three factors in traditional Iranian society which
tended to intensify the disruption of economic life in times of dynastic upheaval. First, eighteenth-
century Iran had not inherited from the past an administrative elite and an administrative tradition
comparable to those possessed by the Chinese or Byzantine Empires which could act as the steel-
framework of society, regardlessof periodic political anarchy. Secondly, the elaborate and expensive
system of irrigation which existed over large areas of the Iranian plateau rapidly disintegrated in the
event of a decline in the cultivating population of a particular area as the result of either the ruthless
conscription of cultivators for the army or of the flight of hard-pressedfarming communities to more
remote districts. Thirdly, pastoral nomadism continued to survive over a large part of the country,
resulting in under-cultivation (and therefore under-population), unexploited agricultural potential
and the inevitable instability which accompanies tribal politics.
It would seem, then, that a successionof decades of political upheaval preceding the final establish-
ment of the dynasty on the throne of Iran was the principal cause of the decay of economic
life and the decline
Q.ajar of population in late eighteenth-century Iran. The destructivenessof the Afghan
invasions needs little emphasis, but it is perhaps worth stressing the impact of Nadir Shah's career
upon the history of Iran. First, his own rise to power involved the country in a series of bloodthirsty
upheavals, followed by the passage of his armies, and, towards the end of his reign, the savage sup-
pression of internal revolt-as in Shiraz. Secondly, his fiscal extortions must have destroyed any
incentive to trade or to cultivate much above subsistence level. Thirdly, unlike the Chingizid or
Timfirid conquerors of Iran whose armies were predominantly Turkish or Mongol, Nadir Shah's
armies included many Iranians so that one result of his remarkable campaigns must have been a
drain of Iranian manpower affecting the subsequent population-structure which may be compared
to the effects of Napoleon I's recruiting activities upon the rate of population-growth in nineteenth-
century France.
, A more detailed narrative of these events may be found in European history may be inclined to compare the events
an article by G. R. G. Hambly: " Aqa Mohammad Khan preceding the rise of the Qajdrs to the period which preceded
and the Establishment of the Qajar Dynasty ", in the Royal the establishment of the Romanov dynasty on the throne of
CentralAsian Journal, vol. L, Pt. II, April I963. Students of seventeenth-century Russia.
It has already been stated that only a small proportionof the total population of eighteenth-century
Iran were city-dwellers and even these retained close links with the surrounding countryside. Almost
all the cities of Iran during this period were-with the exception of Agha Muhammad'scapital, Tehran,
and the Caspian and Persian Gulf ports which had grown up to satisfy the demands of the Russian
and Indian trade-ancient foundations whose continuing importance could be ascribed to various
factors, of which a commercial or manufacturing tradition tended to be the most important. One
or two cities, of course, like Qum or Mashhad, owed their importance to their place in the history of
Shi'i Islam. Others were traditional provincial capitals where the new Qajar governors continued
to reside after the fashion of their predecessors. A few, like Kirmdnshdh and Erivan, owed some of
their importance to their strategicproximity to the Turkishor Russian frontiers. But the most important
factor which determined the continuing prosperityof a particular city was its location as a great mart-
as in the case of Isfahan, Shiraz, Qazvin or Kirmdnshah-or as a great manufacturing centre-as
in the case of Isfahan, Yazd, Rasht, Hamadan or Shiraz. The cities which were likely
Kdshmn,
to be least affected by temporary political upheavals were those, like Isfahan and Shiraz, which com-
bined the roles of traditional regional capital, caravan entrep6t and manufacturing centre.
It is no more possible to estimate with any reasonable degree of accuracy the population of an
individual Iranian city of this period than it is of the country as a whole. For the earlier part of the
period under discussion no figures are obtainable, but during the reign of Fath 'Ali Shth two fairly
reliable writers on Iran, Kinneir and William Ouseley, recorded their impressionsof the size of various
Iranian cities, impressionsbased partly upon personal experience and partly upon informationsupplied
by colleagues and Iranian acquaintances.12The absence of any other figuresrelating to the population
of Iran during this period makes these figures peculiarly interesting, although it must be remembered
that these estimates were based upon no scientific statistics.
At this period Isfahan was still the greatest city of Iran, having a population of approximately
200,000 and having no rival.'3 Herat, when it was in Persian hands, came an easy second at approxi-
mately Ioo,ooo, and this fact alone would account for Fath 'Ali Shah's determination to reconquer
it from the Durranis.'4 No other cities approached Isfahan or Herit in size or population.
After these two cities came a group of ten cities whose population apparently exceeded 20,000.
Of these, Yazd was probably the largest, being a major manufacturing city which had suffered less
than any other Iranian city from the upheavals following the extinction of the Safavid dynasty.
It was reckoned to contain 24,ooo houses which probably meant a population of at least 6o,ooo to
70,ooo.'5 In winter, Tehran's population was estimated at 60,ooo, making it the equal of Basra,16
but in summer the Shah, his court and his troops usually proceeded to the great camping-ground of
Sultnliyeh, while many of the humbler citizens bivouacked in the neighbourhood of Shemiran so
that the population of the capital was said to fall to little more than Io,ooo.'7 Mashhad was said to
contain 50,000 people and Kirmdnshah, with 12,ooo houses, cannot have been much smaller.'8
Kashan, a most important manufacturing centre for which no estimates are given, must have been
almost as large.19 Both Hamadan and Shirzz2o were reckoned to have 40,000 each, but following
the fall of the Zand dynasty and Agha Muhammad's occupation of the city, Shiraz had declined in
22Sir William Ouseley: Travels in various countriesof the East; death of Sultan IHusayn Biyqard. The Afghans conquered
moreparticularlyPersia, London, 1819, 3 vols. (This work will it in 1715. Nadir Shah restored it to Iran in I731. Following
be referred to hereafter as Travels.) his assassination it became, in 1749, part of Ahmad Shah
3 Empire,p. ii I. Durrani's kingdom. Fath 'Ali Shah recaptured it in I8Io,
Travels, vol. 3, p. 24. Malcolm believed that but lost it again soon afterwards.
between I8oo and 1815 the population of Isfahan had doubled
itself from ioo,ooo to 2oo,ooo as a result of efficient adminis- 5sEmpire,p. I13. Of these, 20,ooo were said to belong to Muslims
and 4,000 to the Zoroastrians.
tration which drew population to the city from more remote
x6 Ibid., p.
areas. J. Malcolm: History of Persia, vol. 2, pp. 519-2o. 290o.
17Ibid., p. 19. Travels, vol. 3, pp. 119-20o.
'4 Empire, p. 182. Mountstuart Elphinstone: An Accountof the
s8Empire,p. 175 and p. 132.
Kingdom of Caubul, London, 1839, 2 vols., vol. 2, p. 216.
During the eighteenth century Herat was constantly changing ,9 Ibid., p. I 5, where Kdshan is described as " one of the most
hands between Iran and Afghanistan. The Safavids acquired flourishing cities in Persia .
it after the Timfirids lost it to the Uzbegs, following the 2o0Ibid., p. I27 and p. 64.
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION OF EARLY QAJiR IRAN 73
prosperity and some observers placed its population at only half that figure.2x Tabriz was supposed
to have a population of 30,000,22 while Qazvin,23 the entrep6t of the Caspian trade, and Khfiy,24
the entrep6t of the trade with Turkish Anatolia, had 25,000 each.
After these major centres of population there were, perhaps, a dozen or more cities with a popula-
tion between 0,000ooo and 20,000. Both Kirman, appallingly devastated in Aghd Muhammad's sack
of 1794, and Tabas supported about 20,000 each.25 Turbati Haydari, virtually an independent
principality in the hands of an able adventurer, 'Isd Khan, had a population of 18,ooo.26 Nayshapfir
had a population of 15,000,27 and so had Maragheh28 and Shfishtar.29 Close in size to these was
Erivan which, under the firm rule of a Qajar noble, HjusaynKhan, was fast recovering from the
devastation of the surrounding countryside during the campaigns of Aghd Muhammad and whose
population in 1812 was reckoned at 13,000 or 14,ooo.3o Ridla'iyeh,3' Burfijird,32 and Lar33, the last
still a centre for the manufacture of muskets and cotton, contained about 12,oo000each, while Zanjin
supported some Io,ooo to 11,ooo.34
Of the population of Rasht during this period no figures are given, but it was a considerable
manufacturing city which may safely be included with those cities whose inhabitants numbered
1o,ooo to 20,000. The case of Qum is even less certain. It was believed to contain 1,700 to 2,000
families,35which may have meant a total population of some Io,ooo-a generous estimate.
By modern standards, the remaining cities and towns of Iran were extremely small. Bushire,
despite its great commercial importance, was not reckoned to have more than 8,ooo or 9,ooo inhabi-
tants;36Kazirfin, between 3,000 and 5,000;37Ahvaz, 600 to 700.38 Julfa in Armenia had 45 families,39
while Sultnliyeh, the once-gloriouscapital of Oljaitui,was variously reported to be totally
uninhabited4o or possessing20 families.4'Acrossthe undefinednorth-easternfrontier,in the marches
of the Turkomans,fabled Mary boasted3,000 inhabitants.42
By the standardsof contemporaryEurope,the roadswhich linkedthese cities to each other and
which linked Iran with her neighbourswere far from adequate,although they probablysatisfied
the needs of a countrywhere mules and camels were the principalformsof transport. Wheeled
vehicleswere hardly used, but the extremelymountainouscountrythroughwhich so many of the
trade-routespassedprohibitedthe passageof cartsor waggons. Thesetrade-routesconsistedof rough
trackswhich had been frequentedby caravansfrom the dawn of historyand on the plateau itself
many were impassablein winter. During the period under considerationIranianrulerstook little
or no interestin the improvementof communications-assuming,as did the OttomanSultans,that
the absenceof communications constituteda meansof defencefromexternalinvasion.43In the reign
of Fath 'All Shah,forinstance,repairsand improvementson the dangeroustrailup the KotaliDukhtar
betweenKazirfinand Shirazwere undertakenby a local merchanton his own initiativeand not by
the provincialgovernmentof Fars.44
The commonestmeansof transportwasby muleand mule-trainsvariedin sizefromsmallcaravans,
21 Travels, vol. i, p. 26. Ouseley reckoned the population of 26 Empire,p. 184.
ShirAz to be nearer 20,00oo than 30,000. Morier took some 27 Ibid., p. 186.
trouble to obtain an accurate figure for ShirAz. He concluded -s Ibid.,p. 156.
that the population was between I8,ooo and xg,ooo. See 29Ibid., p. 97.
J. Morier: A SecondJourney throughPersia, Armenia, and Asia 3o Travels,vol. 3, p.
440o.
Minor, to Constantinople,betweentheyears z8ro and i8r6, London, 3' Empire,p.
x818, p. II I. -54.
32 Ibid., p. I4o.
22Empire, p. 151, where it is described as " one of the most 33 Ibid., p. 83.
wretched cities I have seen in Persia ". 34 Travels,vol. 3, P. 386.
23 Travels, vol. 3, P- 377. Ouseley was told that Qazvin con- 35Ibid., vol. 3, p. 1o4-
tained 25,000 males, but he believed that this figure included 36 Ibid., vol. i, p. 192.
the total population. See also Empire,p. I21, where Qazvin 37Ibid., vol. I, p. 272. Empire,p. 65.
is stated to possess the reputation of being " still regarded as 38Empire,p. 89.
one of the largest and most populous towns in the kingdom ". 39 Travels,vol. 3, pp.
428-9.
24 Empire, p. 154. Morier believed Khfiy to have a population 40 Ibid., vol. 3, P. 384-
of 50,ooo, of which the majority were Armenians. See 4' Empire,pp. 122-3.
J. Morier: A SecondJourney,p. 299. 42 Ibid., pp. 179-80.
25Empire,p. 198 and p. 186. Pottinger, rather surprisingly, put 43 J. Malcolm: History of Persia, vol. 2, p.
525.
the population of Kirman as high as 30,000. See H. Pottinger: 44 Travels,vol. I, pp. 302-3.
Travels in Beloochistanand Sinde, London, 1816, p. 225.
such as the thirty-nine beasts which accompanied Harford Jones and a friendly merchant, Ijajji
Ibrahim Isfahani, from Shiraz to Bushire in 1791,45 to the hundreds of beasts which escorted persons
of consequence. Good mules were, therefore, valuable possessions and the prosperous village of
Zarqan, north of Shiraz, was particularly famous for its excellent mules, of which it possessed some
2,000 available for hire.46 Merchants and other travellers normally hired mules and muleteers for
their business, rarely owning the beasts they used. Thus the muleteer was one of the mainstays of the
commercial organization of the country and although foreign travellers complained of his cunning
and his idleness he was frequently entrusted with the transportof considerable sums in precious metals
from one city to another.47 Consequently, he sometimes attained a modest affluence. HarfordJones
met muleteers richer than the merchants who employed them and he mentions one who possessed
250 mules and 20 pack-horses.48
Travel by mule was inevitably a slow means of transport, whether for goods or men. A number
of records have been preserved from that period of the length of time such journeys took, but
information of this kind is not of much value unless it can be related to the state of the road, weather
conditions, the weight of loads carried by the beasts, the physical condition of the latter, and so forth.
Apparently travellers contracted with muleteers to travel from Isfahan to Bushire in thirteen days,
which implies a good steady pace, but this was a well-known, much-used route which was not perhaps
typical of the country as a whole.49
On the principal roads the Government placed officials at varying intervals to collect rdhddrior
tolls and to protect travellers.5o Under Aghd Muhammad this service may have been adequately
performed, but in the time of Fath 'Ali Shah the rdhddrsfrequently extorted money from travellers
by force or fraud and sometimes leagued themselveswith local bandits.5x The latter were by no means
rare, although the frequency and range of their activities depended upon the energy and vigilance of
the provincial governmentsand their agents.52 Banditrywas, however, a natural hazard. Occasionally
there would be large-scale descents made upon passing caravans by the Bakhtiari and other tribes,
and in 1811 Isfahan itself was rumoured to be the objective of a Bakhtiari foray which never
materialized.53 In Khurisdn there was the additional danger of Turkoman slave-raiders. Con-
sequently, travellerswere usually armed to the teeth.
The southern maritime trade with India and the Persian Gulf region passed mainly through
Bushire, which had completely supplanted Bandar 'Abbas as the principal southern port. Goods
landed at Bushire were taken by mule up the dangerous and precipitous road through Kazirfin to
Shiraz, the first major entrep6t. Goods were also occasionally brought to Shiraz from Basra via
Shfishtar and Dizfiil, while it was still possible to bring merchandise to Kirmtn from Bandar 'Abbas,
although this route was no longer popular.
The flourishingmaritime trade with Russia passed through Lankaran, Faralhbad, Rasht, Mashhadi
Sar and Ashraf (Bihshahr), while both Sari and Bdrfurfish(Bdbul) had large Armenian communities
engaged in trade with Astrakhan. Astrakhan was the Russian port which dominated the Caspian
trade and it was there that both Russian and Armenian traders engaged in commerce with Iran had
their base.54 The Caspian trade was almost entirely controlled by Russian shipowners who hired
Armenian crews. Their vessels were flat-bottomed so that they could easily navigate the shallow
creeksof the Caspian shore, but they were difficult to manoeuvrein heavy seas. The Iranian provincial
governments in Gilan and Mizandardn were said to discourage trade by their interference and
extortions,55 but there is little doubt that the Caspian trade was a flourishing one which was not greatly
45Harford Jones Brydges: The Dynasty of the Kajars, London, robbery in Iran. Compare W. Francklin: Observationsmade
x833, p. clviii. on a tourfrom Bengal to Persia, in theyears 1786-7, London,
46 Travels,vol. 2, pp. 226-7. 179o, p. 132, with E. Scott Waring: A Tourto Sheeraz,London,
47 Ibid., vol. 3, P. 375. 1807, pp. 26-7. (These two works will be referred to hereafter
48sMission, p. Io4. as Observationsand Sheerazrespectively.)
49 Travels,vol. 3, p. 29. 53 Travels, vol. 2, p. 449, and vol. 3, PP. 53-4-
50Ibid., vol. I, p. 271. Mission, p. 146. 54 Ibid., vol. 3, p. 317. It was said that Czar Alexander I had
5' Brydges: The Dynastyof the Kajars, p. clix. J. Morier: A Second successfully offered inducements to persuade 2,ooo Armenian
Journey,pp. 69-70. families to leave their homeland and settle in Astrakhan.
52 Opinions seem to have varied on the extent of highway- 55 Ibid., vol. 3, p. 317.
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION OF EARLY QiJAIR IRAN 75
affected by the spasmodic outbreaks of war between Russia and Iran in the Caucasus.56 From
Gildn Russian goods passed through the Sefid Rud valley to Qazvin which owed its continued impor-
tance throughout the eighteenth century to the fact that it virtually monopolized both the Gilan
silk trade with the cities on the plateau and the trade with Russia. Russian goods were also landed in
Mdzandarin and these passed through Sari, Aghd Muhammad's former capital and a most prosperous
little city, southwards to Firfizkfih. The Sdri-Firfizkilh route was not, however, as important as that
between Rasht and Qazvin.
Iran's communications with the Ottoman Empire, apart from the unimportant Basra-Shiraz
route, were either with Baghdad via Hamadan, Kirmanshdh and Qasri-Shirin, or with Erzerum
via Tabriz and Khfiy. Both Kirmdnshdh and Khiiy, despite the ravages from which they suffered
in the frontier wars of the early eighteenth century, owed their enduring prosperity to their proximity
to the Turkish border. In the north-east Mashhad enjoyed a similarly advantageouslocation, receiving
in its caravanseraisthe merchandise of the profitable two-way trade of Herit and the other cities of
Afghanistan, as well as that of Mary and BokhArd. Of the extensive network of trade-routes which
comprised Iran's internal and external commerce the three principal manufacturing cities of Isfahan,
Kashan and Yazd were the centre. In a way scarcely conceivable in the twentieth century, Yazd
was the very heart of Iran from the point of view of trade and industry. It had suffered less than any
other Iranian city from the upheavals of the eighteenth century and it was in Yazd that the roads
from Isfahan and Kashan via NM'inmet the road from Shiraz via Abarqfih, the road from Kirman,
and the road from Mashhad and Herat, via Turbati Haydari and Tabas, which was then the principal
caravan route towards Afghanistan and beyond.
Most of the internal trade and a good deal of the external trade of Iran was retained in Iranian
hands-with the obvious exception of the Caspian trade. The Persian Gulf trade was shared by
Iranians, Arabs and Indians-the individual European trader being an almost negligible factor,
although the East India Company itself was a major participant in Iranian commerce. Inside Iran
itself, most major cities had Armenian and Jewish communities whose principal occupation was trade,
and there were Hindu merchants permanently resident in Kirman and Shiraz,57as well as in Herat,
Kabul and Qandahar in the Durrani Empire. In Shiraz, under the last Zand rulers of Fars, there
were special caravanseraisin the city allotted to the Indian, Armenian and other Christian merchants,
while the Jews were compelled to trade in their own quarter.58
Then, as now, the small tradesman carried out his business in the bazaar, but the saddgar,the
merchant with means who traded with different cities of Iran or engaged in the profitable trade across
the frontiers, generally hired a room in which to conduct his negotiations in one of the caravanserais
of his native city-these caravanserais acting as a sort of Exchange for merchants.59 Frequently,
the s6ddgarwas a man with considerable capital and real local influence, whose occupation was one
which was traditionally respected in Islamic society.6o To kings, princes and governors he was an
invaluable subject who supplied, when necessary, the loans--voluntary and involuntary-to cover
the extra expenditureof foreign embassies,lavish building programmes,and the celebration of festivals,61
as well as to provide for the sinews of war. Almost equally valuable, it was he who procured the foreign
luxuries beloved by the ruling classes and his role in eighteenth-century Iranian society was, therefore,
not unlike that of the Jews of twelfth-century England or the London merchants under the Yorkist
dynasty. On occasion, the merchant community could exercise an unostentatious pressureupon both
the central and provincial governments. In I808-9, during the dispute in Iran between the
respective ambassadors of the East India Company and the British Government, Harford Jones was
acutely conscious of the influence which the wealthy Iranian merchants engaged in the Indian trade
exerted at both Shiraz and Tehrain.62
56 Travels, vol. 3, p. 286. 6o
Mission, p. 428.
57Empire,p. 198. Observations,p. 6o. 6x Francklin was in Shiraz during the festivities celebrating the
58 Observations,pp. 59-60. For an unfavourable account of the circumcision of a son of Ja'far Khin Zand, an extravagant
condition of the Jews in Shiriz under Fatlh 'All Shih, see display for which the merchants and traders were compelled
W. Wilberforce: Journals and Lettersof the Rev. Henry Martyn, to contribute a large pishkesh. See Observations,pp. I24-6.
6z
B.D., London, 1837, 2 vols., vol. 2, p. 357- Mission, p. 31 and p. 131.
59 Observations,p. 59. Mission, p. 428.
In general, the merchant class was probably the most prosperous and stable element in early
Qajdr Iran,63being almost wholly free from the conspicuous waste and extravagance common to the
governing and military classes, as well as being far less susceptible to the hazards of political fortune.
The Iranian merchants lived well, their houses were comfortable and sometimes opulent,64 and the
wives of the richest of them were said to be as well dressed as the women of the Royal Household.65
Nevertheless, their daily style of living remained unostentatious,66being intended to elude envious
and greedy eyes. Despite occasional extortion, the Government generally protected and cherished
geese which laid such golden eggs. Compared to every other member of the community, the s5ddgar
was privileged by paying virtually no taxes, his sole contribution to the exchequer being customs
duties-estimated at one-tenth of the value of imported commodities.67 Foreigners, who found the
arrogance of the military classes and the bigotry of the mullas insufferable, mixed easily with Iranian
merchants whom they found to be shrewd, intelligent people possessing a greater knowledge of the
outside world than any other class in Iran.68
Commercial transactions were conducted in the gold and silver currency minted by almost every
ruler of Iran between the fall of the Safavids and the final establishmentof the Qajar dynasty, including
many of the short-lived adventurers who aspired to no more than a local independence. Aghd
Muhammad himself minted gold coins in thirteen cities of Iran and silver in twenty-two. Fath 'All
Shah had twenty-five gold mints and thirty-one silver ones.69 It is valueless to speculate on the quantity
of coins issued at each mint, but the average output cannot have been very great. Ouseley noticed
that the gold tomansof Isfahdn and Tabriz were commoner than those of Tehran.7o In 1811 the gold
tomancontained less alloy than the contemporary English sovereign, while the silver coinage was
believed to be as pure as any silver coinage could be.71 Unlike the Ottoman Sultans, the Shahs of
Iran rarely debased the coinage so that the currency of the period apparently held its value.72
Counterfeiting, however, was not an uncommon crime.73
Despite the merits of the eighteenth century Iranian coinage the curious fact remains that foreign
currencies circulated extensively in various parts of Iran. Writing of his visit to Fdrs in I802, Scott
Waring observed:
" Few of the coins which are current in Persia are coined in that empire; those of the most
general circulation are the Qooroosh, or Peastreof the Turks, and the Mujjur, or Dutch ducat."74
63 J.Morier: A JourneythroughPersia ... in theyears i8o8 and 8o09, Aqd MuhammadKhdn Fath 'All Shdh
London, 1812, p. 237. Mission, p. 8o. gold silver gold silver
64 Brydges: The Dynasty of the Kajars, pp. cxxxiii-cxxxiv. Kirmanshih KirmAnshah Kirmanshah
65 Mission, p. 104. -
Lahijan Lahijan Lahijan
66 See Brydges: The Dynasty of the Kajars, pp. cxxxiii-cxxxiv, - - Maragheh
Maragheh
where the house of HIjji Yusuf, the principal jeweller of the - - Mashhad Mashhad
Zand family, in Shiraz is described. MAzandarAn Mazandaran Mazandaran Mazandaran
67J. Morier: A Journey throughPersia . . . in theyears i8o8 and - Nukhwi - Nukhwi
8o9g,p. 237. - - - Panahabid
68
Brydges: The Dynastyqf the Kajars, p. cxlviii. Qazvin - Qazvin Qazvin
-
69 The following table of mints during the reigns of Aqi Qum Qum Qum
Mulhammad Khan and Fatlh 'All Shah probably reflects the Rasht Rasht Rasht Rasht
economic as well as the political importance of the cities which - Rikab Rikab Rikab
- - Shaki
possessed them. See H. L. Rabino di Borgomale: Coins,
-- -
Medals, and Seals of the Shahs of Iran (150oo-941), Hertford, Shamakhi Shamakhi
1945, p. 62 and p. 65. -- Shiraz Shiraz Shiraz
Shiraz
Fat4 'Alf Shdh -
Aqd Mu4ammadKhdn SimnAn Simnan
gold silver gold silver -
-- - Tabaristan Tabaristan
- - Ardabil Tabriz Tabriz Tabriz Tabriz
Astarabad Astarabad Astarabad Astarabad Tehran Tehran Tehran Tehrin
S- Burijird - - - Tiaysirkdn
Burfjird
- Ri~d'iyeh - Riaiyeh
Erivan Erivan Erivan Erivan
S-
Ffimin Ffmin Yazd Yazd Yazd Yazd
- Ganjeh Ganjeh - - Zanjan Zanjin
Ganjeh
S-
Hamadan Hamadin 70 Travels,vol. 2, p. 490.
Isfahan IsfahAn Isfah~n 7' Mission, pp. 432-3.
Kishin Isfahxin 72 Ibid., pp. 432-3.
KishAn KIshAn KAshAn
Khfiy Khfiy 73 Travels,vol. 2, p.
Khfiy Khiiy 490o.
Kirman 74 Sheeraz,p. 128.
Kirman Kirman Kirmann
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION OF EARLY QiJAR IRAN 77
Fifteen years later, another English visitor confirmed that payments were frequently made in Turkish
piastres,Venetian sequins or Dutch ducats.75The presence of so much European and Turkish currency
in Iran was the inevitable result of Iran's favourable balance of trade with the Ottoman Empire
and Russia, both of which exported considerable sums of specie into Iran every year.
At the end of the eighteenth century commercial and manufacturingactivities in Iran still followed
a traditional pattern although there were already clear indications of changing trade-patternsarising
out of contacts with Russia and the East India Company's territories. But Iran was no longer the
opulent land described so eloquently by Chardin and Tavernier over a century before. In 18ol
Malcolm told Henry Dundas:
" The actual riches of the Persian Empire, and the great value of her commerce, have generally
been overrated, the martial habits of her inhabitants having often enabled her Sovereigns to bring
the riches of foreign conquests into their native country, which has, from the temporary accession
of such spoils, obtained a credit for wealth beyond that she actually possesses."76
Ten years earlier, in 1790, Francklin had written:
" Manufactures and trade are at present greatly decayed in Persia, the people having had no
interval of peace to recover themselves since the death of Kerim Khan to the present period;
but if a regular and permanent government were once again to be established, there is little doubt
but they would flourish, as the Persiansare very ingenious, of quick capacities, and even the lower
classes of artificers are industrious and diligent."77
Although the widespread economic exhaustion of Iran at the end of the eighteenth century had,
as one of its immediate causes, the prevalence of violence and lawlessness over a large part of the
country for a period of several decades, political instability was probably not the dominant cause of
the apparent decline in commercial activity. Generally speaking, it is a remarkable fact that the
merchant classes of Iran and Central Asia seem to thrive at times of the greatest political upheaval,
as they did during the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth centuries during the turbulent period of
Chingizid and Timfirid rule. It would not, therefore, be wise to attribute the decay of Iranian com-
merce in the eighteenth century solely to the breakdown of orderly government following the fall
of the Safavids. Of far greater significance for the commercial history of Iran was the growth of mari-
time trade-routes from the fifteenth century onwards. The opening of the passage around the Cape
of Good Hope in 1498 and the development of an extensive oceanic trade between Western Europe
and Further Asia by the Portuguese and, later, by the Dutch and English ultimately destroyed those
great trans-continental trade-routes across the Middle East and Central Asia which had been the
nerve-centre of world commerce from the earliest times and in which the Iranian plateau had played
the part of a vital link in a commercial chain stretching from China to the Mediterranean. The
immediate effect of this change in patterns of world trade was largely obscured in Iran by the
contemporarysplendour of the Safavid dynasty, whose rise to power had coincided with the emergence
of the new maritime age. By the eighteenth century, however, the decay of the trans-Asian caravan
trade had set in, and with it the economic stagnation of Iran. It was not until the early part of the
nineteenth century that there was any widespread revival of commercial activity and economic
prosperity, the result of the relative internal stability of Iran under Fath 'Ali Shah and of the novel
importance of the trade with Russia and India.
In 1801 Malcolm calculated the value of Iran's trade with her neighbours at approximately
I34 lakhs of rupees. The trade with Afghanistan was worth 40 lakhs; the Turkish trade, 35 lakhs;
the Indian trade, 30 lakhs; the Russian trade, 20 lakhs; the trade with Bokhara, 5 lakhs; the Persian
Gulf trade, 2 lakhs; and the trade with the Red Sea littoral, 2 lakhs.78 It is significant to note that,
75 Travels, vol. 2, p. 490. J. Malcolm: History of Persia, vol. 2, from a report on the commerce of Iran written by John
Malcolm and enclosed in his letter of ioth April I8oi to the
p. 515.
76J. Malcolm to H. Dundas, ioth April I8oI. President of the Board of Control of the East India Company,
77 Observations,p. 147. printed in the Journal of the CentralAsian Society,vols. XVI and
78 These figures, as well as most subsequent details relating to XVII, October 1929, and January 1930. The rupee was
the internal and external trade of Iran in I8oo, are taken then worth at least two shillings.
7
at the beginning of the nineteenth century, despite the slow strangulation of the Central Asian trade-
routes and the growth of Iranian contacts with the two European Powers, Russia and the East India
Company in India, the traditional qdfilehtrade with Afghanistan and the Ottoman Empire together
still made up well over half of the total value of Iran's foreign trade per annum, hence the prosperity
of Herat, Kirmanshth and Khfiy.
The regions lying west of Iran were important traditional markets for Iranian goods and during
the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century Iran's trade with Turkish Anatolia and
Mesopotamia was still very considerable. Iran exported to the Ottoman Empire Indian indigo,
Kashmir shawls, silk, gold cloth, printed and flowered Isfahani cloth, coarse printed cloth, cotton,
lambskins, tobacco, saffron, gum ammoniac, cochineal and rhubarb. Most of these goods found their
way to Istanbul and many must have been re-exported to various European countries. These goods
were paid for in velvet, tabbies (coarsewatered silk), French and Venetian woollens and other European
cloth, lace and gold thread, cloth from Aleppo and Damascus, glassware (including painted glass),
mirrors,iron, steel, hardware, opium, wood for dyeing, vermilion, white lead, coral, amber and jewels.
As the balance of trade in these commodities remained unfavourable to the Ottoman Empire a con-
siderable quantity of specie made up of gold coins and ingots was annually sent into Iran which was
then re-exported to India to cover the unfavourablebalance to Iran in that quarter. It must, however,
be remembered that Iran suffered an annual loss of specie to the Pashalik of Baghdad on account of
the Shi'i pilgrim traffic to Najaf and Karbela, estimated at Io lakhs of rupees.
Like the trade with the Ottoman Empire, the Russian trade was favourable to Iran, in so far as
Iran imported from Russia a considerable quantity of specie in gold and silver, as well as iron, steel,
cutlery of all descriptions, lead, brass, pistols, guns and gunpowder, clocks and watches, locks, glass-
ware, mirrors, paper and stationery of various kinds, senubar(deal-wood), whales' teeth, cochineal,
oil, some Kashmir shawls (presumablyvia the Oxus region), gold lace and thread, velvet, broad cloth,
printed and plain cloth of coarse quality, chintzes and dimities of European manufacture, Russian
leather for boots and water-containers, as well as small quantities of wines and spirits. This import
was amply paid for by the export from Iran to Russia of raw and manufactured silk, cotton, cotton
thread, Isfahani gold cloth, Kirman shawls, coarse cloth and coarse chintz manufactured in Iran,
some cloth and chintz manufactured in India, coarse lambskins, fox skins, pearls, fish, rice, fuel-wood,
naphtha, saffron, sulphur and gall-nuts.79 The value of this trade in I80o was estimated as standing
at 20 lakhs of rupees. Despite the Irano-Russian wars in the Caucasus it tended to increase steadily
year by year, and Harford Jones believed that in the years following the Treaty of Gulistan (1813)
it had doubled, trebled or even quadrupled in value.8o
By the end of the eighteenth century Iran's trade with the khanatesof Khiva, Bokharaand Khoqand
was extremely small, being limited mainly to trade with Bokhara. The failure of these neighbouring
khanates to maintain stable government within their jurisdictions and the fact that since the time of
Nadir Shah no Iranian ruler (despite the attempts of Agha Muhammad) had been able to assert
effective control over the Turkomans of the Mary region, or even prevent their raids deep into the
heart of Iran, made trading conditions in Turkestanextremely unattractive-even for the most venture-
some of merchants. In Khurisan itself, between and Mashhad, the roads were considered
extremely unsafe on account of Turkoman forays,8I while it was said in Tehrin that no one should
Bast.m
risk travelling to Bokhar",Samarqand or Balkh (and, least of all, from Herat to Balkh) unless he valued
his head at Io shdhZs.s82
Under such circumstances it is not surprising that the trade with Bokhara was so inconsiderable,
the annual import of goods into Iran from Bokhara being not worth more than 5 lakhs of rupees and
consisting principally of black lambskins, of which the best came from Bokhara and which were always
in great demand in Iran, as well as cotton thread and gold dust. These were paid for by the export to
79J. Malcolm to H. Dundas, i oth April i8oi. Travels, vol. 3, 2 vols., vol. 2, pp 165, and 173-4. See also, for a later period,
PP- 249, 289, and 293-4. Empire,pp. 37
and I6o. J. Wolff: Narrativeof a Mission to Bokhara,4th edn., London,
So
Mission, p. 434. 1846, pp. 6-9.
sI G. Forster: A Journeyfrom Bengal to England, London, 1798, 82 Travels,vol. 3, p. 346.
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION OF EARLY QAJAR IRAN 79
Bokhird of brocade and gold cloth, coloured lambskins, coarse cloth dyed in various colours, silks,
pearls, coral, amber and painted glass.83
The annual value of Afghan exports into Iran was approximately40 lakhs of rupees. As the annual
value of Iranian exports into Afghanistan was only 30 lakhs of rupees, Iran was compelled to export
specie into Afghanistan to the value of 10 lakhs. Besides specie, she exported raw silk from Gilan,
silk products of Yazd and Ktshdn, embroidered satins, velvets and brocades, lace, gold thread and
Isfahdni gold cloth, silk handkerchiefs,products made of Kirmin wool, some European cloth, a coarse
cotton cloth (of which the best came from Isfahan), diamonds, rubies, emeralds and pearls, hardware,
saffron, and-most curious of all-Masulipatam chintz which was brought from the Coromandel to
Bushire and from thence into Afghanistan.84 In return, Iran imported from Afghanistan Kashmir
shawls,85 carpets of Herat, coarse Multan chintz, Indian brocades, muslins and other cotton goods,
drugs, rhubarb, indigo and the fine horses of the countryside around Herat.
At the close of the eighteenth century Afghanistan was still Iran's most important single foreign
market. Herat and were the two Afghan cities principally concerned with tlie Iranian
Qandahtr
trade and of these Herat was, commercially, the more important. It was, in fact, the principal emporium
for the commerce of eastern Iran, Bokhdrt, Kabul, Kashmir and north-western India.86 From Herit
there were four routes to the west and north-west: one to Mary; one to Nayshdpiir; one to Mashhad
via Ghorian and Tayabtd; and another to Mashhad via Turbati Shaykh Jam.87 From Nayshapiir
and Mashhad the caravans could proceed westwards to Tehran, although the bulk of Afghan mer-
chandise passed from Mashhad via Tabas to Yazd. In general, the Afghan trade suffered considerably
from frequent military expeditions to Khurdsdn by both and Durrdnis, by the unsettled state
Qajatrs
of the province, the virtual independence of its chieftains, and the predatory character of the tribes
of the region. That the trade existed on the scale which it did must be partly attributed to the deter-
mination of the Durrdni rulers to foster commerce in their territoriesand partly to the immense profits
which it offered to the merchants, Iranian, Afghan or Indian, who were willing to risk their goods
in unsettled country.
From the southern shoresof the Persian Gulf pearls and some coarse cloth were imported into Iran,
to the value of 2 lakhs of rupees. They were paid for by the export to Bahrein of wheat, tobacco and
red dye. Iran exported to the Red Sea littoral wheat, dried fruit, cummin seeds, drugs, tobacco,
dried roses, rose water, red dye and carpets. In return, she received some Ethiopian slaves, a small
quantity of coffee and about a lakh of rupees in specie. Iranian pilgrims to Mecca probably averaged
three hundred per annum. If each carried cash to the value of 200 rupees the export of specie to Arabia
must have been approximately six lakhs of rupees.
Iran's trade with India was probably better organized and more stable than the trade with any
of her other neighbours. It was capable of great expansion, for it could ultimately satisfy almost all
Iran's needs with regard to foreign goods, as well as handle, via the Indus, most of the commodities
then entering Iran from Afghanistan. It operated mainly through Bushire, then ruled by a family
of Arab shaykhs nominally subordinate to the government of Fars but, in fact, independent until the
reign of Fath 'Ali Shah. These shaykhs made great profits from their virtual monopoly of the Indian
trade and were therefore eager to create in Bushire conditions which would draw the Gulf merchants
away from Basra. As early as 1762 Bushire was described as being
" full of inland merchants who seemed to have entire liberty to buy, sell or export their goods
when they thought proper . . . and a Person there need have no connections, or caress any one
but the Shaikh himself ".88
The trade of Bushire was partly in the hands of Iranian merchants, but there were also many Arab
83 J. Malcolm to H. Dundas, ioth April I8oI. indigenous shawl-weaving industry. See Mission, p. Io02,
84 Mountstuart Elphinstone: An Accountof the Kingdomof Caubul, and Elphinstone: Caubul, vol. I, p. 385.
vol. I, p. 385. 86 Empire, p. 182.
85During the reign of Fath 'Ali Shah the import of Kashmir 87Ibid., pp. 397-8, and
88 410xo.
shawls into Iran was restricted in order to encourage the Report of Agent Douglas, 1762, quoted in A. T. Wilson:
The Persian Gulf, Oxford, 1928, pp. 177-8.
and Indian merchants frequenting the port, as well as the agents of the East India Company which
had been establishedin the Gulf since Safavid times. By 18oo Bushirewas one of the main commercial
gateways to Iran, although as late as 1810 its population was not reckoned to exceed eight or nine
thousand.89 Despite the inferior appearance of the town, the bulk of its trade must have been very
considerable and was increasing annually. Harford Jones thought that when he first went to Basra
as a junior official of the East India Company in the seventeen-sixtiesBushireimported sixty to seventy
bales of Indian chintz per annum. When he finally left Iran in 1811 he reckoned that the annual
import was five to six hundred bales.9o In this latter period Bushire was visited annually by at least
ten or twelve ships flying the Company's flag and engaged in commerce between India and Iran,
and of these, seven or eight made two voyages to the Gulf per year.9I
The value of Iran's trade with India was 26 lakhs of rupees, made up of a very varied list of com-
modities. Sugar, indigo, muslins and piece goods were imported into Iran from the Bengal Presidency;
from the Madras Presidency came the famous Masulipatam chintz, piece goods and indigo; from the
Malabar coast came wood for shipbuilding, coir rope for rigging, black pepper, ginger, turmeric
and cardamoms. Bombay supplied articles of European manufacture, arms, china ware, sugar,
sugar candy, camphor, rice, coffee and dates. Surat supplied gold cloth, coarse piece goods, coarse
chintz, cotton cloth, cotton thread, handkerchiefsand indigo. From Sind came coarse chintz, leather,
oil and cotton. From Java (and possibly China) there was imported, via India, sugar and spices.
There appears to have been no direct trade with Europe or Portuguese Goa, but American merchant-
men occasionally visited the Gulf ports.
Apart from these imports, valued at 26 lakhs, there was the additional import into Iran of the
staple commodities of the East India Company, valued at a further 4 lakhs of rupees, consisting of
English-manufactured broad cloth (generally the darker shades, blues and greens), perpetts, iron,
steel, lead and tin in approximately the following proportions:
500 bales of broad cloth
8oo of perpetts
1,500 cwt. of iron
620 cwt. of tin
300 cwt. of lead
i50 cwt. of steel
Thus, the total value of imports into Iran from India was about 30 lakhs of rupees. This was paid
for in pearls, red silks from Rasht, silksfrom Yazd and Kirman, cotton, Kirman wool, carpets, sulphur,
myrrh, saffron, cummin seeds, tobacco, Khurdsdn rhubarb, preserved fruits, gall-nuts, rose-water,
asafoetida, drugs, wheat and salted fish, as well as horses, mules and Shirdzi wine.92 This export
amounted to no more than 15 lakhs of rupees, thereby necessitating an annual export of a further
15 lakhs in specie from Iran to India, a misfortune both for the Iranian merchants who lost by the
exchange and for the Iranian economy as a whole which sufferedfrom a heavy annual drain of precious
metals for which the favourable balance with the Ottoman Empire and Russia was unable to
compensate.
These figures for Iran's foreign trade in the early Qatjtr period, carefully collected by Malcolm
during the course of his first mission to Iran, reveal how restricted the commercial life of Iran had
become in the period following the fall of the Safavids. Nevertheless, the considerable variety of com-
modities exported from (as well as imported into) Iran implies the unbroken survival of traditional
manufacturing techniques, especially in the principal manufacturing centres of Isfahin, Yazd, Shiriz,
Hamadin and Rasht.
Ktshmn,
Isfahan was still, during this period, the chief manufacturing city of Iran, making high-quality
gold brocades, lambskin caps, coarse cotton goods, saddles, swords and other arms, and a wide range
of utensils in gold, silver, iron, steel, copper and brass.
89 Travels,vol. I, p. 192. from India to England in 1817, London, 1819, pp. 42-3.
90 Mission, p. 433. 92 J.Malcolm to H. Dundas, ioth April I8o0. Empire, p. 37.
91 W. Heude: A Voyageup the Persian Gulf and a Journey Overland
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION OF EARLY QAJAR IRAN 81
Yazd manufactured silks, carpets, namads,coarse cotton cloth, and the Yazd shawl made of a
mixture of silk and Kirman wool, as well as recent imitations of English damasks and velvets. Near
the city were lead mines and probably veins of copper and iron.
Shiraz manufactured guns and pistols, swords and other arms, articles of gold and silver, and
enamelled ware. It also produced coarse cloth and high-quality lambskins for caps, and possessed
(like Maragheh) a glass-factory.
Kdshan was, of course, famous for its silks and carpets, the quality of its silks being considered
inferior only to those of Rasht. It also produced imitations of European velvets, as well as shawls,
cotton goods and excellent copper-ware.93
Hamadan was renowned throughout Iran for the quality of its leather, distributing its saddles
and other leather goods, namadsand some coarse cloth to every part of the country.
Rasht produced the finest and most expensive silk, as well as the best saddle-cloths and coverings,
woven of a mixture of English broad cloth and Kashmir wool.
Other cities and localities were similarly known for some special product or commodity. Khurdsan
province was famous for its sword-blades while its capital, Mashhad, was renowned for its high-
quality velvets and fur pelisses.94 Nayshdpfir had its neighbouring turquoise mines. Tehran was
known for its lamps. In Tabriz Georgian slaves were frequently available.95 Kirmdn was famed for
its wool. Fars was the main producer of tobacco in Iran, growing sufficient to satisfy the home market
and to provide a surplus for export. Mdzandardn, famous for its rice, fish, honey, sugar and fruits,
also possessed iron mines. These were, however, little worked, European iron being generally
preferred.96
The picture of Iranian economic life at the beginning of the nineteenth century, as it has been
preserved by European travellers of the period, leaves the impression of a traditional economy dis-
integrating under the stress of political anarchy and the decline of trans-continental trade-routes.
There still existed, however, a tradition of skilled craftsmanship and of manufacturing techniques
which, at that time, was still appreciated among Iran's neighbours. With the establishment of the
Qajar dynasty securely on the Iranian throne and with the rapid growth of new marketsin the Russian
Empire and in the East India Company's territories,there seemed no reason why the long and rela-
tively stable reign of Fath 'Ali ShAh should not have witnessed a real revival of national prosperity.
Malcolm thought that, if internal stability could be maintained, Iran's external trade could be trebled,
despite the obstacles of under-population, widespread lawlessness,the annual export of specie, and the
absence of wheeled vehicles or navigable rivers.97 HarfordJones believed that Iran was a potentially
rich country which possessed a highly intelligent population hopelessly depressed by greedy and
irresponsible rulers whose extortions destroyed the incentive of agriculturist, trader and craftsman
alike, compelling them to produce little more than what was necessary for subsistence.98 Malcolm,
to a very great extent, shared this opinion. It was not, he felt, either constant warfareor the widespread
ignorance of the population which had ruined Iran, but decades of infamous oppression on the part
of the country's rulers.99 If these shrewd and well-informed observers were right, Iran in the early
Qaajarperiod would seem to be a most interesting and significant example of the retarding effect of
decades of political and administrative irresponsibility upon the development of a pre-industrial
economy.
93J. Malcolm to H. Dundas, Ioth April ?80 in the Tabriz bazaar. See Empire, pp. 26-7-
I8oI. Travels, vol. 3,
p. 92. 96J. Malcolm to H. Dundas, ioth April 18oi. Travels, vol. 3,
94 Empire,p. 176. p. 221.
95Although most Georgian slaves in Iran were captured in 97 J. Malcolm to H. Dundas, Ioth April I8o1.
border-raids, Armenian merchants were also able to obtain 98 Mission, p. 8o.
a small number which were first brought to Tabriz. In I8Io 99J. Malcolm: Historyof Persia, vol. 2, p. 526.
an attractive young Georgian girl was sold for approximately
83
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF KITAB BURHAN UL-HAQQ
By S. C. R. Weightman
Additional material for the study of the Ahl-i-Haqq.'
Introduction
There may be distinguished amongst the A H in Iran today three separate traditions which we
may call the Kurdish, the Turkish and the Persian. These names, as well as indicating ethnic groups,
have also a historical, geographical and linguistic significance for the sect.
The history of the A H in Iran, as far as it can be reconstructedfrom the scanty sources available,
would seem to fall into four periods.z The earliest appearance of the sect, according to A H tradition,
was in Luristan, and we may tentatively date this as the beginning of the eleventh century A.D.3
The Luri phase can be assumed to have extended until the reform of the order by Sultan Ishlq in
A.D. I316-I317.4 With Sultan Ishlq, who is regarded by many as the actual founder of the order,
begins the Kurdish phase. The centre of activity during this period was Pird-i War,5 the site of the
present village of Sheikhan on the north side of the river Sirvan as it flows into 'Iraq. Thus in the
formatory period of the A H, the centre of gravity of the sect, geographically, ethnically and linguis-
tically, was Kurdish.
During this Kurdish phase it appears that the influence of the A H moved northwards into the
Turkish-speakingregions of the north-west and there is certain evidence to connect the sect and its
beliefs with the Qara-qoyfinlu Turkoman dynasty.6 With the overthrow of the Qari-qoyfinlu,
however, in A.D. 1468-1469, there is a complete silence both from external sources and from sectarian
tradition for about one and a half centuries. This silence, I feel, must clearly be attributed to the rise
to power of the Safavid dynasty, which, being engaged in spreading the Shi'a propaganda, was not
at all tolerant to those it considered unorthodox.7 But in the seventeenth century, there was a great
resurgence of A H activity which produced three major figures-Qirmizi Bey, Muhammad Bey
and Atesh Bey.8 Although it is impossible to determine the length of the transition period between
the Kurdish and Turkish phases, it is apparent that by the beginning of the seventeenth century,
the centre of gravity of the sect had become Turkish. The geographical setting was Turkish and
the Kelams were written in Turkish. Atesh Bey appears to have been both a preacher and a reformer
and it is probable that new ideas and beliefs were introduced at this time. As most of our sources
are Atesh Begi, however, it is unfortunatelyimpossibleto determine the exact nature of these changes.
The last phase, which I have called the Persian, has developed slowly as the influence of the A H
spread beyond the specifically Kurdish and Turkish regions, and Kelams and religious poetry were
written in Persian. In northern Iran, and it is particularly clear in Tehran and Veramin,9 the
' In this article the abbreviation A H will be used throughout 5 Also spelt Pardiwar, Ivan, and Perdiver, Min .
for Ahl-i Haqq. 6"Jihdn-shdh Qard-qoyfinlu and his poetry", B.S.O.A.S.,
2 The
principle sources referred to in this article are as follows: 1954, XVI/2, Professor V. Minorsky, and the footnote Ed.,
(a) " Notes sur la Secte des Ahle-Haqq ", Revue du Monde p. I94. Also Ivan, p. 153, gives additional evidence.
Musulman, 1920-21, Prof. V. F. Minorsky (abbreviated to 7 For a description of the forcible conversion of Tabriz, see
Min. I); (b) " Ahl-i Ijaqq ", E.I., Prof. V. Minorsky (abbre-
viated to Min. II); (c) Ahl-i IHaqq Texts, Leiden, I953, W. LiteraryHistory of Persia, Vol. III, p. 53, E. G. Browne.
8 In this I accept the dating given in Ivan, p. Io-I I. Here the
Ivanow (abbreviated to Ivan); (d) Kurds, Turks and Arabs,
date of Atesh Bey's " disappearance " is given as A.D. 1702-
London, 1957, C. J. Edmonds (abbreviated to Ed.). A full
bibliography of the A H is given in Min I. I703-
3 For a discussion of this date and the problems involved, see 9 Both Minorsky's and Ivanov's texts came from Veramin.
Ed., p. 19o-191 and " Baba Tahir "; E.I. by Professor V. See Ivan, p. 24, footnote 3. They are dated 1843 and 1874.
Minorsky. For a description of the A H in Tehran in the middle of the
4 In this I
accept the date given for Sultan Ishaq in Ed., nineteenth century, see Trois Ans en Asie, Paris, 1859, Comte
p. 184-185. A. de Gobineau.
sectarians were of Atesh Begi persuasion. This, then, was the scene, when, at the beginning of this
century, a certain IHajjiNi'mat ul-lah Jayhfinaibdi attempted to introduce a reform into the A H
in the district of Dinawar.Io This reformwas not well received by the sheikhsand sayyids in the locality
and as far as we can see it did not have any noticeable effect in But more fertile ground
for these ideas was Tehran where their greater sophistication appears Kurdistmn.ii
to have triumphed over the
naivety of the popular Atesh Begi beliefs. Today the acknowledged spiritual leader of the A H in
Tehran is Nfir 'Ali Ilahi, the son of jHajjiNi'mat ul-lah. These are early days yet, but it is by no
means improbable that these ideas and this new tradition which has come into being slowly under the
careful guidance of Nfir 'Ali, will provide the future direction for the A H in the years to come.'2
After this brief survey of the historical development of the sect, it is clear that the three traditions
in Iran today-the Kurdish, the Turkish and the Persian-are representativeof the stage of develop-
ment of the A H at the corresponding historical period. Thus the oldest tradition, which is nearest
the teachings of Ish~q, is the Kurdish, to be found today in a belt of villages and tribes to the
north and southSult.nof the Baghdad-Hamaddn road. The Turkish tradition of the sect, which is to be
found in Azerbaijin and the villages on the southern side of the Elborz mountains as far as Tehran,
is still called Atesh Begi, after Atesh Bey himself. Naturally, both of these traditions have been slightly
modified as they assimilated, and adjusted to, local beliefs and customs.13
But it is the Persian tradition as it is found today in Tehran which is of primary concern in this
article. Nfir 'All Ilahi, the spiritual leader of this branch of the A H has been very strongly influenced
by his father's reformist ideas. At the same time he is still in close touch with the oldest surviving
tradition of the sect in southern Kurdistan, where he spends one-third of the year. In Tehran also
the A H had to come to terms, not only with the Atesh Begi tradition upon which it was itself founded,
but also with other more orthodox Shi'a tariqats which are strongly active in all the main cities of
Iran. From this blend of traditions has come a book. Nilr 'Ali Ilahi completed KitdbBurhdnul-Hiaqq
in the summer of 1962 and it is now being prepared for publication. Despite its other claims to our
interest, this will be the first exposition of the beliefs and practices of the A H that has been published
by the sect itself.
Kitdb Burhdnul-HIaqq
Nfir 'Ali Ilahi, in the introduction, sets out his reasons for writing the book and gives the sources
upon which he has drawn. He says that since the A H have no authoritative work on their own
doctrines and beliefs, they are in particular danger of falling into error and distorting their religion.
He writes that a group of simple-minded members of the A H, through being in close proximity to
other sects, have introduced mixed beliefs and important deviations into the very foundation of the
order, without themselves ever being aware of it. For example, some regard themselves as 'Ali-ilahis
when in fact they are neither extremists nor polytheists. Thus he has attempted in this book to set
out the central doctrines and beliefs of the order so that they shall not be misunderstood. His sources
are given as the oral traditions of the A H, the Kelims, notably the Kelam-i Saranjam and the
Kel~m-i Khaztneh-both in Auromani Kurdish-and finally the writings of his late father.
Admirable as the intention is, it is nevertheless clear that this book must be approached with
considerable caution. There are two reasons why we should not be too hasty in attributing absolute
xo Min IL Here there is a description of the unpublished Furqdn main sayyids of the village the following question: " What
ul Akhbdrwhich sets out the reformist ideas of Ni'mat do the A H believe about Shaitin ? ". I was given this answer:
ul-lah. Also, Ivan, p. 28. .Haljji " In the religion of the A H, Shaitdn is considered to be one
of the angels nearest to the throne of God and the agent
,x See " The Sect of Ahl-i Haqq ", Dr. Sayyid Khan, The Muslim
World, p. 31-42. 1927. through whom God comes to be known. If Shaitin was
not and had not entered into humanity and differentiated
I2 The great influence and authority that Nfir 'ali Ilahi has in
the good men from the bad, mankind would not have faith
Tehran, Isphahan, Shiraz and KermanshTh has been abun- in God."
dantly proved to me. In 1962 I interviewed an A H sayyid This reply is quite inconsistent with anything that we know
in a village near Qazvin and found two days later that Nfir of the A H and it is to be explained as the influence of a
'Ali knew every detail of our conversation.
pocket of Yazidis whom I found to be living to the north-west
'3 In Kerind, for example, which is one of the oldest strongholds of the village. How long they had been living there I could
of the A H and contains two major shrines, I put to the not ascertain, but it was certainly for 50 years.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF KITXB BURHAN UL-HAQQ 85
authority to this work, based ultimately as it is on early tradition and free as it is from the influence
of the later Atesh Begi sources with which Western Orientalists are mostly familiar. The first of
these reasons is that Nfir 'Ali Ilahi has been very strongly influenced by the doctrinal reforms of his
father, which have been set out in Furqt-nul-Akhbdr. I have myself heard Nfir 'All say that he regarded
his book as a summary of the main conclusions of his father's work. Thus we are seeing the oldest
traditions through the eyes of a reformer-a reformer, moreover, who was not at all well received
by the A H sayyids and sheikhs who lived in his locality. The second reason is that this book is an
orthodox apology of the A H for the general public. Taq?yyais still a religious virtue in Iran and
we must not expect to see anything in this book which might offend the religious susceptibilitiesof the
orthodox Shi'a Muslim.
In spite of these two cautions, this book is nevertheless important. Through the distortions, we
are able to reach back to the old traditions and find new and important facts about the order. But
more important is the fact that, the book does present a fairly true picture of the beliefs and practices
of the sect in Tehran today, which, as I have indicated, may well provide the direction in which the
A H will evolve in years to come.
The book itself is divided into twenty sections. These sections fall into certain convenient groups.
The first six deal with the religious position of the sect, the second with its historic development,
and the third with its religious practices. The final two are doctrinal. It is my intention in this article
to summarize briefly these twenty sections in the above four groups and to comment, in footnotes,
on the points raised.
The ReligiousPositionof the A H

SectionI. Who are the A H?14
The Divine ordinances which have been revealed to the Prophets in the various ages have each
two levels of meaning. The first level of meaning, which is to meet Man's need for a system of laws
to rule his ordinary life, is the level of the shari'at,or religious law. The second level, which gives
to Man spiritual guidance and reveals to him hidden mysteries, is the level of 'irfdn, or mystical
knowledge. The A H are one of the mystical orders who follow the shari'atof Muhammad.
Section2. What is the Objectof the A H?
The path to spiritual perfection (Seyr-iTakdmul)is divided into four stages, Shari'at(religious law),
Tariqat (the mystical order), Ma'rifat (knowledge of God), and finally Ilaqiqat (Truth or Reality).
The term A H is applied to those who have passed through the first three stages and reached the
level of IHaqiqat.'s A man's progress is thus:
(I) In the stage of the Shari'athe belongs to the religion (Din) of Adam, the nation (Millat) of
Abraham, the religious community of Muhammad (Ummat),and the sect (Madhhab)of the Imams.
It is categorically stated that the A H accept the Ithna 'ashariJa'fari form of Shi'ism, while stressing
that they respect other Islamic sects provided that they accord with the shari'atand the ordinances
of the
Qur'mn.
(2) In the stage of the Tariqat,he transcends his connection with the twelve Imams and comes
under the guardianship (Vilayat)of 'All.
(3) The stage of Ma'rifat is attained through obedience to "those in authority ". The A H say
that " those in authority" are the pure Imams, and then whoever " . . . reaches the level at which
he becomes the place of God's manifestation and of the Divine Will (Mashiyyat), with
(Mazhariyyat)
the result that all his doings are truly the Will of God ". Such a man the A H call Dide-ddr and
Badtin-ddr.I6
(4) In the last stage, IHaqq or Haqiqat, he " comes to see perfection in Union with God and
14 In these first two sections the author is clearly attempting A H in Tehran, Gobineau inverts Tariqat and Ma'rifat.
to establish the A H as a mystical order within the framework Trois Ans en Asie.
of orthodox Shi'a Islam. 16 I think this is a far more technical term than Ivanov allows.
15 This order is the oldest and most usual, but, in describing the Ivan, p. I 15, footnote 33-
Eternal Life in annihilation in God. He makes as nothing the drop of his existence in the infinite
ocean of God."17
" On questions of right and wrong, the moral decrees of the shari'at should be observed with
the following degrees of strictness; those who are on the level of the tariqat twice as strictly as those
on the level of the shari'at, those on the level of ma'rifat three times as strictly, and those on the level
of Haqiqat, which is the level of the A H, four times as strictly, for in the next world their punishments
and rewards will be in this proportion."
This section is well documented with quotations from the Qur'dn.
Section3. From whenceis the originof the A H?'8

From the time of Creation until the time of 'Ali, the fundamental principles of the A H were
a section of the mysteriesof the Prophets and those in contact with Haqiqat (Truth). These mysteries
were then handed down by 'Ali to the next Imdm until they were received by Mahdi and they were
only divulged by the Imdm of the time to his chosen helpers and then only in accordance with their
need. At the time of his disappearance, Mahdi held a secret assembly called Baydbas-iSdj-i Ndr in
the spiritual world, which consisted of his very special helpers, in order that these mysteries could
be made known by the saint of the time to the chosen few after his own disappearance. The names
of these saints are not to be found in the histories of the saints, but in the traditions of the A H they
are well known and respected.
The meaning of Baydbasin A H terminology is the covenant that was concluded as final and
sufficient, in other words the fundamental principles of the order. There is an alternative reading,
Baydbast,which means the covenant that was sworn to.I9
The meaning of Sdjis a flat pan used for baking bread and Ndr means fire, but in the terminology
of the A H, Sdj-i-Ndrmeans chashmeh-yi khiirshidor the sun, for the spiritual world resembles the sun
on account of its light and heat.zo
Section4. The Fundamentals of A H Belief2i

Apart from the five principles clearly stated in the shi'ite religion, namely, professingthere is one
God (tauhid), Divine Justice ('adl), the Prophethood (nubuvvat),the Imamate (imdmat),and belief
in the resurrection (ma'dd),the following points also must be obeyed and observed:
(I) It is necessary to know God by the explanations and descriptions which have been given by
the Prophets, Saints and those who have experienced union.
(2) With regard to Divine Justice, it is necessary to recognize everything in its proper place as
good, unless God has specifically decreed otherwise. Everything has been created with Divine Wisdom,
and evil stems from secondary causes which permit a change of nature. Thus it is necessary to strive
with all possible means to eliminate the secondary causes which are responsible for evil.
(3) It is necessary to respect and honour equally every created thing no matter what its nature
or mode of existence is.
'7 This cannot be taken as evidence of Ittihdd (Monism) which sincerely holds to, and is not something he is writing in order
the author is at pains to iefute in Section 20. It is rather the to make the sect seem more orthodox than they are.
customary inexact and vague usage that has been current in ,9 Baydbas is a term unknown, as far as we can tell, until the
Persian mystical poetry for many centuries. reforms of Ni'mat ul-lah. Despite the author's fanciful
8 This is the most important section of the first group. In it Ij•jji
derivations, I think it a dialect form from Bay'at Bastan. For
the author rejects the belief of the seven incarnations of the Baydbas see " The Sect of Ahl-i Haqq ", The Muslim World,
Deity, which has always been regarded as the principal 1927, Dr. Sayyid Khin.
doctrine of the A H. To preserve the historical continuity of 20oSj-i JVr has been one of the most problematic of all A H
the order he has introduced the Imams, Mahdi and a secret concepts. The author's identification of it with the sun,
assembly--a device used by other Shi'a sects who wish to however, would seem to fit in very well with what we know
trace their origin back to 'Ali. He regards 'Ali, Shah Khoshin of it and is perhaps a further indication that the earliest
Sultan Ishlq, Muhammad Bey, Qirmizi Bey and Atesh Bey stratum of A H belief was some form of early Iranian solar
not as God, but as the place of manifestation of God (Mazhar-i religion. For Sdj-i Jdr see Ivan, p. 47-48, and Min II.
Khodd), the state attained when one reaches the level of 2z These "fundamental beliefs" would seem to be the pious
Ilaqiqat. The author's standpoint is not one shared by the hopes of the author, for there is nothing in the texts that we
oldest tradition of the A H in Kurdistan, but it is one he have to indicate that these are specifically A H virtues.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF KITAB BURHIN UL-HAQQ 87
(4) It is necessary to assist others to enjoy to the full that which is good and suitable and to join
with them in removing that which is bad and unseemly.
(5) It is necessary to recognize that this world is the field for the harvest of the next and the
diligent sow well in order that they shall reap an abundant harvest.
Section 5. The Pillars of the A H
The pillars of the A H are summarized in one verse from the Kelam-i Saranjam in Kurdish:
TYdr bdvariwijd - Pdki wa rdstinisti wa ridd
The meaning of the line is:chachiyimn
The pillars of religion are four. Apply them. Purity, righteousness,
Not-being and helpfulness.
Pdki implies both external and internal purity and Not-being means to destroy utterly in one's
self, pride, vanity, egotism, self-will, sensual desire and moral weakness. The meaning given for
Ridd is helpfulness, or service to God's creation, but there is an alternative reading in some manu-
scripts of Ridd for Ridd. Ridd has two meanings, the first is general and signifies the stage before
Taslim (surrender) at which the seeker comes to prefer the actions that come from God rather than
from his own self-will and, finally, through difficult self-disciplines,is content solely with giving pleasure
to God. The second and specific meaning is the stage after Taslimwhen the actions and the Will of
God are manifestedin the fully submitted self-hood. This state does not imply a form of predestination,
however, for there is a great difference between the state of a man who is under the domination of
internal and external forces and that of a man who is giving pleasure to God through complete sur-
render and who has attained the level of
.Haqiqat.
Section6. What the A H ConsiderHoly
In addition to regarding as holy everything required by the shari'at and the principles of belief
given in Section 4, the A H also hold as sacred these things of their own:
(I) Baydbas, whether of Saj-i NMror of Pird-i War which will be explained later.
(2) The Kelam-i Saranjdm and the other important kelams of the A H.
(3) The Jam and Jamkhaneh. The A H gather in groups in a place called the Jamkhineh for
worship, special prayers and dhikr. The Jamkhaneh is not restricted to any special type of building,
nor is there any special time for the Jam. In the Jam the worshippers draw near to God and the
essence of IHaqqis manifested in every pure heart. The A H also believe that the Jam is a means
of resolving all difficulties.
(4) All vows, offerings and prayers which are made during the Jam.
(5) Agreements and covenants, which in A H terminology are called " Sharto Iqrdr".22
The HistoricalDevelopment of the A H

Section7. FamousA H Saints and someof theirHelpers23
(i) ShdhFa~dlVali. Shdh Fadl Vali lived in the closing years of the third century A.H., but no
further details are known. The names of some of his helpers were-Nasimi, Zakriya and Turk Sarbar.
There is also a tradition that b. Mansfir al-.Hallajwas one of his followers.
.Husainlived in the fourth century A.H., but there are no other details
(2) Baba Sarhang. Baba Sarhang
known about him. The names of some of his helpers are as follows: Qalam, Rfim, Khtink~ir.
(3) Mubdrak Shdh.24 Mubarak Shah, or Shah Khoshin as he Rut.f, was also called, lived after Biba
Sarhang in the fourth century A.H., in Luristan and he is reputed to have been contemporary with
Babi Tahir Hamadani. His helpers were known as the Nuhsad Nuhsada.s25 With these helpers Shah
2 The author
gives to Sharto Iqrdra more general meaning than given here comes from a pre-Atesh Begi tradition which, with
is usually understood by the phrase. See Min I, pp. 228-232. the addition of Khdwandgdr and 'Ali, would make the
23 In this section the author, having deposed
Shah Khoshin and number of incarnations seven and Sultan Isbhq the seventh.
Sultan Ishaq from incarnations of the deity to the rank of 24The details given here regarding ShTh Khoshin correspond
saint, introduces three more whose names are unknown in almost exactly with what we know from Atesh Begi sources.
the Atesh Begi sources. It is perhaps possible that the list 25Ivan, p. 12.
Khoshin wandered in Luristan until in the end he reached a river called Gam Asiyab where he settled
down. The names of some of his helpers were: Kaka Rida, QacdiNabi, Khuda Dad, Qarandi, Baba
Buzurg, Baba Faqih, Hundula, Khfibydr, Mirza Amana (who was the grandfather of Mama Jalala),
and Mama Jalala, who was the mother of Shah Khoshin.
Here it must be explained that Shah Khoshin performed the dhikrwith singing and musical
instruments. (Yet more Qur'anic quotations follow to justify this practice.)
(4) BdbdNdviis. Baba Navfis was a Kurd of the Jdf tribe and he lived between the fifth and sixth
centuries of the Hijra. There are no further details known about him, except the following names
of some of his helpers: QadiiNabi, Hamza, Sdlih, Ahmad, Ni'mat, Qumri-yi Kuta, 'Ali Dalyfiza (the
father of Khatfina Guli), Khatfina Guli, who was the mother of Baba Navfis.
(5) SultdnIshdq. Sultan Ishaq was also called Sahibkaram and Sultan Soh~q. He was directly
related to Imam Mfisa Kazim and was born in the seventh century of the Hijra in the village of
Barzinja in the Shahrazur region of Kurdistan. His father was Sheikh 'Isa and his mother Khatfin,
Dairak or Khatfin Ramzbar.26 After his father's death due to a dispute with his brothers, Qadir,
Khadir and Salamat, he moved to the village of Sheikhan in the Auroman districtof PersianKurdistan.
There he remained until his death far from the tumult of life, drawing to his presence only the real
seekers of Truth. His followers flocked to visit him from China, India, Bukhara and other lands far
from Iran and it is even said that Timfir Gurkan came to visit him.
Sultan Ishtq is regarded as the founder of the A H because he revealed the mystery at the heart
of the Imamate to his helpers and laid it down in the form of the laws and fundamental principles
of the order. These principles are called Baydbas-iPird-i War,since it is the renewal of the Baydbas-i
Sdj-i Ndr, which had been revealed to him, named after Pird-i War (the place of the bridge), near
Sheikhan.
The followers and helpers of Sultan Ishliq were divided into the following groups:27
(a) Haftanor the seven spiritual personalities.
(b) Haftavdnor Haftavdnaor the seven spiritual personalitieswho were like the Haftan.
(c) Haft nafarAhl-i Qawwal Tds.
(d) Haft Haftavdnwhich were seven groups of seven people, each group of which had a special
duty in the holding of the Jam.
(e) ChehelTan or the forty spiritual personalities.
(f) ChehelChehelTan or the forty groups of forty.
(g) Haftddo Dfi Pir or the seventy-two elders who had the status of teachers.
(h) Navado Nuh Pir-i Shdhiior the ninety-nine elders from Shahfi.
(i) Shasto SheshGhuldm-iKamarband-i Zarrinor the sixty-six slaves with golden belts.
(j) Hazar o Tek Ghuldm-i KhwdjehSiffat who were the thousand and one slaves of the Khwijeh
Siffat or Divine Will.
(k) BivarHazdr Ghuldmor the ten thousand slaves.
(1) Bivan Ghuldmor BivdnHazdr Ghuldmor the numberless thousands of slaves.
Section8. Concerningthe More OutstandingHelpersof SultdnIshdq
(a) TheHaftan. The Haftan was composed of the following people: Sayyid Khadir Shahfi'i, who
was also called Pir Benyamin, Mfist Siyah Cherdah, Musiyavah, who was also called Dawfid or
Yardawfid, Mela Rukn ud-Din Damashqi, who was also called Pir Mfisa, Mustafa or Mustafa-ji
Dairak or Khattin Ramzbair,who was the mother of Sultan Ishiaq,Shah Ibrahim,
Dtwadan, Khatfin
who was also called Malak Tayyar, and IHusein,who was also called Bibs or Shah Yadgar.
Benyamin, Dawfid and Pir Mfist were called reri Mard or the three men, and Shah Ibrahim,
Mustafa and Baba Yadgar were called the reri Tan or the three spiritual personalities. Another
26 The identification of Khittin Ramzbdr with Khitun Dairak not make mention of the Haft Khalifa. Group (c) I regard
the mother of Sultan Ishaq would seem to be new. as very dubious as it is usually regarded as contemporary
27 It is curious that this list, which confirms several of the with Qirmizi Bey. See Ivan, p. 93-
groups
about whom we know and introduces some we do not, should
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF KITAB BURHAN UL-HAQQ 89
grouping was that of the ChahdrMalak or the ChahdrJasad which means the four angels or the four
bodies and consisted of Benyamin, Dawfid, Mfisa and Mustafa.
Each of the Haftan had a special responsibility assigned to him by Sultan Benyamin was
to be the Pir (elder) to the whole A H and Dawfid was to be the Dalil (guide).Ish.q. Pir Mfisa was to be
the clerk and secretaryto Sultan IshIq and Mustaf- had the responsibilityof presiding over all matters
of order and discipline. Khatfin Ramzbar, in addition to being the mother of Sultan Ishlq, the
intercessorfor all his followersand the leader of the A H women, also directly supervisedthe preparation
of all cooked offerings.
Shah Ibrahim and Shah Yadgar were Sultan Ishlq's spiritual deputies-hence the title Shah.
But before Shah Ibrahim attained this position, first IHuseinBey Jald, from the Jald section of the
Jdf tribe, who was also the father of Khatfin Ramzbar, and then a man called Haybat, occupied
the position. The position of Baba or Shah Yadgar was first held by Ivat of Ardabil, who was called
IIashshar and Then 'Ali Qalandar held the position until he was killed. He is buried in
is on Mt. Dalahfi. There is a tradition that there were other people between 'Ali
Sarinah which.Hushydr.
and Shah Yadgar, but it is uncertain.zs
(b) The Haftavdnah.29These were Sayyid Muhammad, Sayyid Abd ul-Wefa, IHajjiBabfi 'Isa
(also called HIajjiBabfi Husain), Mir Sfir, Sheikh Mustafa, Sheikh Shihab ud-Din, Sheikh I;IabibShah.
Sheikh Habib Shah was one of the women and boon companion of Khatfin Ramzbar, who also had
ten other close companions. Shah Ibrahim was the son of Sayyid Muhammad.
(c) The Haft Nafar Qavval Tds. These were Qull, Shihib ud-Din, Shah Karam, Shah Nazar,
'Isd or Salman, Shah Murad, and Pir Dalavar.
The names of the other helpers of Sultan Ishlaq are not known for certain, but there are three
names of people who were leaders of their own groups. Pir Rustam was the leader of the Seventy-two
elders, and 'Abedin Bash ChTvfishand Nariman Gavrah Suvar were both leaders of two other groups
but we do not know which ones.
Section9. The Conditions for Enteringthe A H

It is first necessary to give definitions of certain A H technical terms:
(I) Khdneddn.3o Khanedan is applied to a person who has attained the level of IHaqiqatand who
has, together with his family, the ability to instruct the seekers of Truth according to the principles
of Bayabas-i Pird-i Wari.
(2) Dalil. Dalil is applied to a person who is authorized by the Padshah to give guidance and
direction to people entering the order, after which he passes them on to the Pir.
(3) Pir. Pir is applied to a person, who, with the authorization of the Padshah, instructs those
who have come from the Dalil and leads them to the Padsh~h.
(4) Pddishdh.3IPadishah is applied to a person who, having passed through all the stages to
perfection, has become the place of Divine manifestation. A man who has been instructed by a Pir
can be blessed by the grace of Divine Mercy by the attention of the Padshah. In addition, the Padishah
is responsiblefor appointing the Pirs and Dalils from those who are worthy and suitable.
(5) Shdh-iMehmdn.As will be shown in the case of Qirmizi Bey, he is a person who has attained
the same spiritual status as the Padshah.
(6) 'Ahd and mithdq. 'Ahd means an oath or covenant and mithdqmeans steadfastness to an oath.
(7) Shart and Iqrdr. These two words mean to live one's life in accordance with the principles of
the Bayabas-i Pird-i War and to have faith.
28The first four of these are agreed upon in all the sources. those in Ed., p. 186, and Min I, pp. 32-33. The only startling
Ed., p. 185, also agrees on Khdtfin Ramzbdr whom he called piece of information here is that Habib Shah was a woman.
Pir Razbar. There is a difficulty over the date of Baba Yadgar 30
Khaneddn is the Turkish ocak.
because the evidence seems to put him two centuries later than
31 The author retains the idea of the King of IjIaqiqat which
Sultan Ishaq, Ed., p. 187, footnote I. Ed. gives Evat, however,
which is confirmed here and Yar Zardaban in the place of appears in the Atesh Begi sources. Again, of course there is
Shah Ibrahim. no suggestion that the holder of this position is an incarnation
29 The names given here for the
of the Deity.
Haftavanah are the same as
(8) Sar sepurdan.This is initiation and means to submit and surrender one's head to the order
of the A H and through the Dalil and Pir to swear allegiance to the Sihib-i Khaneddn (the leader of
a Khdneddn) and by shart and iqrdr to become connected to the Lord of Truth (Pddshdh-i
IHaqiqat).
A man can enter the A H in three ways:
(a) Having passed through the three stages of shari'at, tariqat and ma'rifat, a man may join the
A H in order to attain the last stage of I;Iaqiqat. These entrants are called Chasbideh.
(b) Any man who has been fortunate enough to fulfil the following conditions may enter:
(I) To have been born into the A H.
(2) To have been initiated into an A H Khdnedan to which his family belongs by a lawful
guardian, at the earliest opportunity after his birth.
(3) To have grown up and matured in the environment of the A H and to have been brought
up under the care and supervisionof its elders.
(4) To have learned in detail all the requirementsof the order and to have applied them.
This class of entrant are called Chakideh.
(c) The man who has attained wisdom through the strengthening of God and not through having
passed through the three previous stages. The great majority of the A H notables were of this kind.
Sectionio. Sar Sepurdan(Initiation)32

Every member of the A H, whether male or female, must be initiated (surrenderhis head), under
the following circumstances:
(I) He must have a Pddishih, Pir and Dalil.
(2) The Padishdh, if he is not present physically must be regarded as present in Spirit
(Bdtin). (Z.dhir),
(3) The Pir must be one of the Khdneddns of the A H.
(4) His Dalil must be one of the Khinedin through which he is being initiated.
(5) There must be a nutmeg for each initiate.
(6) There should be a strip from a piece of pure, unused white cloth. Its length must not be
less than one metre and it should be the same width as the original piece, though it must not be as
wide as it is long. This piece of cloth is called in the terminology of the mystics, the shadd,and it
symbolizes steadfastnessto the oath of initiation.
(7) There should be a niydzof some kind, preferably a vegetable stalk.
(8) There should be a qurbdnand a khidmat.(The meanings of these three terms are given later.)
(9) There should be underneath the nutmeg, in the currency of the time, a sum of money equi-
valent to two mithqdlsof pure silver (ten grams).
(Io) There should be a Muhammadi coin on which to cut the nutmeg, but if one cannot be
found, then any coin will do. The Pir should look after this coin before the ceremony so that it is
ready.
(II) There should be a knife or some means of cutting the nutmeg.
In the Keldm-i Saranjam the phrase Jauz-i sar shekastan(to break the nutmeg of the head) is
used instead of to cut up the nutmeg. This, in fact, symbolizes the surrenderof one's head in doing
the Will of God and the breaking of pride and sensual desire, and it does not mean that the nutmeg
should be broken instead of being cut up.
The position of the Pir and Dalil has two aspects, the inner and the external. The spiritual state
of a true Pir or a true Dalil is very high, since they are the real threads that join the initiate to the
source of Prophesy and Unity, but in reality they are chosen from amongst the Yarin, or the ordinary
members of the order, and this appointment in no way implies that they have a superior spiritual
development. The external aspect of the positions is simply to perform the ceremonies in accordance
with the Bayabas-i Pird-i Wari.
32 Section 17 gives the initiation ceremony in great detail. For and Min I, pp. 223-228, but there is little difference on major
comparative purposes, the other sources are Ivan, pp. 89-92, points.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF KITXB BURHAN UL-HAQQ 91
Sectionii. The Formationof the Khdneddns of Truth33

Sultan Ishaq not only appointed Benyamin and Dawfid to be the Pir and Dalil to the whole
A H, but also to be his own external Pir and Dalil. Sultan Ishliq was both Pir and Dalil to Benyamin
and Benyamin both Pir and Dalil to there is also a tradition that Mfisa was their
Pir and Sayyid Muhammad their Dalil. Dawwid,although
Since it was necessary that there should be a Pir and Dalil for the future generations of the A H,
and since neither Benyamin nor Dtwfid had married and produced children, Sultin Ishiq established
seven Khanedans, whose families were called the " Sayyids of the Khaneddns ". These Khanedans
were to provide the future Pirs and these were thus directly related to one of the groups who existed
at the time of Sultan Ishtq. The Dalils were to be from either the Seventy-two Pirs, or from certain
membersof the Khanedans who were to be Dalils, generation after generation, to their own Khanedin.
Sultfin Ishlq did not appoint a successorto himself, but stated that there were three places where the
Essence of IHaqqor Truth could be found. The first place was in the Khanedans, the second in the
A H Jam, and the third was in those people who, through applying the principles of the Bayabas-i
Pird-i Wari, had attained perfection. The Khaned~ns of the Shah Mehman, which are described
later, were of this last kind.
The Khanedans established by Sultan Ishlq and those that came into being later are as follows:
(I) Khdneddn ShdhIbrdhim. Shah Ibrahim's children were Mir Bey, QOnfin Bey, Qalandar Bey
and Cheragh Bey. The children of Mir Bey were Khan Ahmad Khin and Khubydr. One of Shah
Ibrahim's helpers was Qaschi Agha who translated the Kurdish Kelims into Turkish.
(2) Khdneddn'Ali Qalandar. 'Ali Qalandar has already been mentioned in connection with the
Haftan, but he was already dead when the Khaned~ns were formed. Two of his closest friends were
called Dadeh 'Ali and Dadeh IHusein,and since they were extremely suitable people Sult•n Ishiaq
chose them to represent 'Ali Qalandar. Thus the Khanedan of 'Ali Qalandar sprang from these two
and the sayyids descended from Dadeh 'Ali are the Pirs and those from Dadeh IIusein are the
Dalils.
(3) Khdneddn Bdbda Ydgdr. Baba Yadgar produced no children, so two of his closest friends, Khayil
and Wasil succeeded him and the sayyids of this Khanedan sprang from these two people.
(4) KhIneddn SayyidAbdul-Wefd. He was one of the Haftavana and after his death his son Sayyid
Sheikh 'Ali and his grandson Sayyid 'Aud followed one another as successors to the Khanedan.
Sayyid 'Aud left three sons, Sayyid Khalil, Sayyid Reza and Sayyid Akabir who was also called
Sayyid Khamfish. As it was the custom for the successorto the Khaneddn Shih Ibrahim to appoint
the next Khinedin of the Khanedin Abdul-Wefi, the Ibrahimi Sayyid Mir appointed Sayyid
Khamfish, although he was the youngest of the three brothers. This so distressedthe other two that
they left the district, Sayyid Khalil joined the nomadic tribe Jamfir and left the A H, and Sayyid
Reza went to Luristan and had five sons and a daughter who were all pious and holy people. The
daughter, Khitfin Asmara produced a son called Dhu-l-Nfir Qalandar, about whom many miracles
are recorded. A large group gathered around him and he became the Khdneddn Dhu-l-Niar. Since
he had no children the sayyids were from the descendants of Sayyid Reza.
(5) Khdneddn Mir Sifr. He was one of the Haftavanah.
(6) Khdneddn SayyidMustafd. He was also from the Haftavanah.
(7) KhdnediznHIdjjiBdbii 'Isd. He again was from the Haftavinah.
These seven Khanedans with the addition of the Khanedan Dhu-l-Niir are generally called the
Khanedans of the Haftavanah. Some time after the death of the original Khainedans, when several
others had succeeded to the positions, a man called Shah Vaisquli34was born in the house of Pir Qanbar
Shahiii in the village of Darziyan in the district of Shahfi. Shah Vaisquli established the Khanedan
called KhdneddnShah Mehmdn. The meaning of Shah Mehman is that he should be the place of Divine
manifestation and possess the same spiritual state as Sultan Ishaq, the Lord of Truth. The names of
33This section is, I believe, quite without distortion and repre- as there are people who have written about the A H, I shall
sents all the information that the author could find from his not give the cross references.
sources. As there are as many differing lists of Khdnedins 34Shah Vaisquli is another name for Qirmizi Bey.
some of his helpers were as follows: Pir Qanbar, Kaka 'Arab, Kdki Rahman, KSka Pire and Khatfin
Rdzbinii, who was the mother of Shah Vaisquli.
In accordance with a prophecy that Shah VaisqulI had made, two people appeared after his
death who were each to have the rank of Shah Mehman. These two were Shah Ayaz from India
and Muhammad Bey from Luristan. Shah Ayaz had no children and a man called Shah
was his successor. Muhammad Bey had four sons, Atesh Bey, Jamshid Bey, Abdil Bey and Almas .Hayas35
Bey.
Atesh Bey and his descendants were the heirs to the position of Shah Mehman, and the three other
brothers and their descendants were the heirs to the position of Pir and Dalil. Some of the helpers
of Atesh Bey were Ka Mirijan, Ka Malek, Qara Pfis, and Mir Dfist. Thus the Khanedan Shah Mehman
ceased to be and in its place were the two Khanedans, Khaneddn IHaydsand Khdneddn AteshBey.
There was one other Khanedan which came into being in the time of Shah IHayas,with his approval.
This was the Khdneddn BdbdHIaidar, who was descended from Pir Rustam, the leader of the Seventy-two
Pirs. There are thus eleven KhinedSns in the order of the A H.
Section12. The Initiationof the Descendants of the Khdneddns after the Time of SultdnIshdq36
Since every member of the A H must be initiated through a Pir and a Dalil, when Benyamin
and Dawfid died, who were the Pir and Dalil to the whole of the A H, Sultan Ish~iqdecreed that
each Khanedan should choose a successor to the position of Pir from another Khanedin and be
initiated into that Khanedin, so that the successors to each Khanedan should himself have a Pir
and a Dalil. Thus, the Khanedans affiliated themselves to one another in the following way. The
Khanedin Shah Ibrahim and Sayyid Khamfish affiliated themselves to one another. The Khanedin
'Ali Qalandar, before Atesh Bey, affiliated itself to the Khdnedan Shah Ibrahim, and later to the
Khaneddn Atesh Bey. The Khanedin Baba Yadgar also affiliated itself to the Khanedan Shah
Ibrahim. The Khanedins Mir Stir and Mustafa affiliated themselves to one another. The Khanedin
Iaijji Bibfi 'Isi affiliated itself to the Khanedan Mir Stir. The Khanedan Dhu-l-Nfir and the
Khanedan Bdbd Haidar both made affiliations within their own ranks. The Khanedin Atesh Bey
and also the Khanedan Shah IHayasboth made similar affiliations within their own ranks.
Initiation for those who come with true faith and perception of heart is valid for the whole lifetime
and cannot become void. If, however, a person is deficient in these qualities and through ignorance
sins against the order, provided he is truly repentant, he may be initiated again, but to a different
Khanedan. In this case he must bring extra offerings, in accordance with his financial means and
perform prayers and disciplines as ordered by his Pir. The reason for going to another Khanedan is
that a Khaned~n is only able to receive a person's head (Initiation) once.
If a potential initiate is from the class of people called Chakideh,then he must be initiated into the
Khanedan of his legal guardian. If he is of the class called Chasbideh, then he must be initiated into
the Khanedan of his guide and teacher. If he is of the third class, who have found grace either through
the strengthening power of God or through his own efforts, then he may be initiated into whichever
Khanedin he pleases.
The ReligiousPracticesof the A H

Section13. The Rulesfor Holdingthe AH Jam
(I) The AH Jam shall not consist of less than three people.37
(2) The participants in the Jam must all be male and have been initiated into a Khanedin.
Women may not participate in the Jam with men, but with the consent of their husbands they may
be present at the back provided they are not seen, but are engaged in worship.
(3) The participants must be completely pure as explained in Section 5.
(4) The participants must have the true intention to worship and be without hypocrisy.
35 There is a date given for Shah IIaydsin a line of poetrywhich 36The affiliationsdiffer slightly from those in Ed., p. 186.
says Shah IJaydswas alive in 1125 A.H. (A.D.1713). This ties 37Ivan,p. 158, gives minimumnumberas five.
in very well with the otherdateswe have for AteshBey.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF KITiB BURHIN UL-HAQQ 93
(5) The participants must be girded at the waist. This can be individually or as a group joined
a
by rope or cord. This representsthe position of serfdom, the desire to worship and the bond ofunity.3s
There is no restrictionon clothing except that it must be clean and a hat is usually worn.
(6) The participant must enter the Jamkhdneh in a state of humility and presence of heart,
reciting the names of God and prostrating himself before the threshold. If he is the first one to enter,
after the prostration he must move to a place on his right and sit on his knees facing the qiblah. If
he is not the first, then, after the prostration, he must kiss the hands of all present, starting from the
right. Then he must prostratehimself again and, with the permissionof those present, sit on his knees
in any place that he can see.
(7) If a person who kisses the hands of the assembled company is in good health and seeks for
special favour, he may put, or drag, his left knee on the ground and, by putting his weight on the
right leg, in this way, kiss the hands in a state of semi-prostration. If not, he can stand on both legs
and kiss the hands, bowing from the waist.
(8) The method of hand-kissing is that the two people each take the right hand of the other
in both of their own and then kiss it.
(9) In the A H Jam there is absolute equality and no one has a special place. The officers of
the Jam are disposed as follows: The Sayyid, or his deputy, must have a place facing the threshold
of the Jam, and the Khalifa must be on his left and the Keldm-Khan must be on his right. The Khddim
must be facing the Sayyid and must stand for the khidmat,whereas the other officersmust sit for it.
(Io) The various duties of the officers of the Jam are as follows: The Sayyid, who is one of the
descendants of the eleven Khaned~ns, has the duty of blessing the offerings. If a Sayyid cannot be
present at a Jam, then a deputy can be appointed, either from the Dalils, or a local man of particular
piety, whom the Sayyid has chosen. The Khalifa is the person who has the duty of distributing the
offerings to the participantsof the Jam fairly and without discrimination. The Kelam-Khan is someone
well versed in the kelims of the A H, who recites or chants in the spoken or sung Dhikr. The Khddim
is not allowed to sit down and must perform the following duties standing up: preserve the order
both inside and outside the Jam, obey the orders of the Jam, announce the beginning and end of the
Jam and to take the divisions of the offerings from the Khalifa and hand them to the participants.
The Khidim may have help from a second Khddim outside the Jam, but if he has to go out he must
first put on a hat. Also he must not wear shoes or stockings-both out of respect for the Jam and also
because he can avoid treading on any offering that may have fallen underfoot. Because of this he must
wash up to the knees before the Jam. The Sayyid may not eat until he has blessed the offerings and
given the word to the Jam to begin. The Khalifa and the Khddim may not eat until the Jam has
been completed.
(i i) The participants must be engaged in worship from the moment they enter the Jamkhdneh
and they must greet all who enter with a bow and the words YdIHaqqor Yd'Ali. From the beginning
of the Jam until the end is announced everyone must sit on his knees in an unbroken circle, except
for the threshold where the Khidim remains standing. Nobody may get up or change their posture
from squatting on their knees with the hands crossed on the breast.
(12) There are two kinds of Dhikr, the communal one which is said or chanted aloud, and the
silent private one. The communal dhikrmay be performed before or after the distribution of the
offerings. During the pauses at the ends of the sections of the communal dhikrthe Sayyid may grant
leave for people to recover. The silent dhikr,which is the means of worship, should be maintained
by the participants throughout the Jam. There are five different types of dhikr:'Ibddat(worship),
Hdjdt (petitions), Mau'izdt (sermons), Jadhbiydt(attractions), Murdqibat(contemplation). Worship
and petitions may be part aloud and part silent, sermons and attractions, which are chants to bring
the hearer to a state of ecstacy and joy, are always aloud and contemplation is always silent.
(I3) Every member of the A H should attend the Jam at least once a month, and should eat
some form of offering even if only a crumb.
38This particularpracticeis by no means commonamongstthe A H.

8
Section14. The Explanationof Nadhr (Oferings)

This section begins with a lengthy explanation of the orthodox Islamic attitude to vows and offerings
and the method of making a nadhr. Then the author deals with the A H rules regarding nadhr.
There are six kinds of nadhr:Qurbdn(sacrifice), offerings of the same nature as sacrifice, offerings
made with the same ceremonies as sacrifices, Khidmat,]Niydzand Shukrdna.39
(I) Qurbdn,includes the camel, the domestic ox, domestic sheep-also non-domesticated ox and
sheep, like the stag, mountain sheep and gazelle and the cock, if it is a sacrificialone. All these animals
must fulfil the following requirements:
(a) The animal must be male and it must not have been emasculated. Since all domestic
bulls and oxes have to be emasculated so that they are tame enough to plough, these may
be sacrificed in exceptional cases only.
(b) The age of the camel, ox and sheep must not be less than one year-the age at which the
female of the species can bear young. The cock must not be less than six months old.
(c) The animal must not be old and useless.
(d) It must have no defects like blindness or lameness.
(e) It must be intact. That is to say there must be no ear or tail cut off, or a paw or leg
missing or its teeth falling out, etc.
(f) The animal must be healthy and not be hurt or wounded or ill.
(g) It must not be weak or scraggy.
(h) Whether the animal is domesticated or not, it must be cut up into the limbs which are
lawful and the limbs which are forbidden by Islamic law.
(i) It must be eaten and disposed of in accordance with the established regulations of the
A H (these will be given later).
Here it must be explained that if the animal does not fulfil the first five conditions it can be used
as nadhror in places of the fees of nadhr,for whatever price an experienced valuer gives, without,
however, the intention (Qasd) of sacrifice, but with the sacrificial ceremonies.
(2) Offerings of the same nature as sacrifice. These are as follows:
(a) Certain kinds of fish whose flesh is lawful.
(b) Nutmegs.
(c) Gerda,which is unleavened bread made from flour and pure animal fat. The proportions
are of 15 grams of fat, 150 grams of water and sufficient flour to give it the consistency
of dough, which is usually about 375 grams.
(d) Pomegranates.
The reason for fish not being classifiedas sacrificial,while yet being of the same category or offerings
is due to their not having artificial blood and because they cannot be killed in the accepted way.
The nutmeg Gerdaand pomegranate, although not being of the animal kingdom, nevertheless come
into this category of sacrificial offering on the command of Sultan Ishdiq,for a reason which does not
come within the scope of this book. Thus the A H have four varieties of the second kind, the fish,
nutmeg, gerda and pomegranate which do not have blood.
Bloodless sacrifices,with the exception of the nutmeg, are all performed with the same ceremonies
as a sacrifice but without the intention of sacrifice. The nutmeg is only used in initiation and in other
cases concerning agreements and covenants (Shart and Iqrar), like the oath of brother and sisterhood
and of fraternity, etc.
(3) Offerings made with the same ceremonies as sacrifices. These are as follows:
(a) A melon (Kfharbiize).
(b) Sugar, both granulated and lump.
(c) Almonds.
39 This classification is clearly that of the author or at least of often blurred. For comparative purposes, see Min I, p. 208;
his father, for in the Atesh Begi texts these words are used Ivan, p. 85. It is usually accepted that nadhrrefers to meal
loosely and the distinctions between one and the other are offerings and niydz to vegetables, Ed., p. 185, footnote 3.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF KITXB BURHXN UL-HAQQ 95
(d) Qawiyat,which is made from wheat and other crops and cereals. After having been roasted
the grains are ground up and mixed together. There should not be less than seven different
kinds of cereal in it.
(e) Salt.
(4) Khidmat. This consists of not less than 3 kilograms of rice, with an additional 250 grams for
what might be split or dropped, 750 grams of pure animal fat, and a piece of cock which must be more
tfian six months old and sufficient bread which must not be less than 3 kilograms. The rice should be
cooked with the meat and eaten with the bread in the manner prescribed for the A H. If the cock
is eaten alone with the intention of sacrifice, as has already been stated it counts as a sacrifice, but
if it is eaten with bread and rice with the intention of khidmat, then it is regarded as khidmat.
(5) Niydz. Niyaz consists of everything which can be used as nadhrexcept for animals and cooked
food. Everything else may be offered, without any specification of quantity or treatment or a previous
vow, at the time of the Jam in honour and reverence of that assembly, in a state of complete humility,
need and abjectness, with the intention of drawing near to God. According to the regulations of the
A H, it is consumed after the performance of the dhikr.
(6) Shukrdna.The shukrana must fulfil all the conditions for niJdz with the following difference.
It is not stipulated in the rules for holding the Jam, and only when a dhikror thought or awareness
of God occurs which opens the heart and causes the spirit to rejoice, is something eatable offered
with the usual ceremonies, as shukrdna or a thanks offering. In other words the niydzis used in a state
of praise to God and shukrdna in a state of thanksgiving to God.
Some of the A H regard the offerings listed below as niyiz and nadhr:
(a) Sanjad,a kind of fruit from a tree resembling a mountain ash.
(b) Watermelon (Hinduvdneh).
(c) Cucumber.
(d) Walnuts and their shells. (They also regard the kernel as suitable.)
There is no authority for regarding these as nadhrand niydz,but they are acceptable as shukrdna.
Although there is no explicit prohibition of things with a sour or bitter taste for nadhr or niyaz,
they are not normally regarded as suitable.
Sectionz5. The Ceremonies for MakingOfferings(Sarf-i-Nadhr)40

As has been shown in the previous section, nadhr comprises six separate classes of offering, and
now each of the ceremonies particular to these classes will be given separately.
(I) Qurbdn.The rules and ceremonies required in the performance of the sacrifice are as follows:
(a) The victim is first fed with grass and water and then cleaned and prepared for slaughtering.
(b) The sword or knife with which the animal is to be killed is sharpened and brought with a
shukrdnato the Sayyid or his representative. The person who is giving the blessing takes the sword
and the shukrdna as he is sitting on his knees facing the qiblah. (He must have a girdle or belt round
his waist.) He holds the end of the sword level with his mouth and someone who is acting as the
Khddim, girdled, and standing in a bowing posture facing the Sayyid, says " Allah " and the Sayyid
replies with Iv'alldhand with no pause blesses the sword with a special prayer. After the ending of
the blessing on the sword, the Khadim bows again and says " Allah " and the Sayyid repeats the words
and says a prayer to allow those present to sit or stand up, and after the Khtdim has bowed
Iv'allah
to indicate the finish of the ceremony, the shukrdna
is divided amongst those present. When there is
nobody to act as Khadim the Sayyid himself may do his part in saying " Allah " and dividing the
shukrdna.
(c) The edge of the sword which has been blessed must touch nothing apart from the limbs of
the victim until the ceremonies of the sacrifice have been completed.
(d) The victim is pointed towards the qiblah in accordance with the laws of the shari'at and
commended to God with the intention of the man who is making the sacrifice. The blood is so cleaned
up and washed away that no animal is able to drink it. Then the skin is cut off, both from the body
40oThe author states that this is a synonym for sabz namuidan.Cf. Min I, p. 2x0o.
and from the head and feet. Then its stomach is opened, the pieces and joints of bones are cut and
divided so that none of the bones are broken,41and the joints are sorted out into what is lawful and
what is not, and the lawfuljoints are all put into a saucepan or cauldron of boiling water in such a way
that absolutely none of them are lost. Salt is then added and the pot sealed so that the meat, untasted,
is cooked. Until the end of the sacrifice nothing, like peas or beans or peppers, may be mixed with the
boiling water.42
(e) Those members of the body which are unlawful and unclean must be kept in a place where
no animal can eat them. After the sacrifice is over, the remnants like the skin and the intestines must
be sold if there is a buyer, and with the proceeds, something, other than the sacrificed victim, must
be bought and used in the same sacrificialJam or after it. This is called Niydz-i Piist or the niydzof
the skin. If these remnants cannot be sold, then the owner of the victim is responsible for burying
them and offering their value, as given by an expert, as njydz.
The brains of the ox are unlawful according to a tradition and they must be removed before the
ox's head is put into the cauldron for cooking. The brains should be wrapped in a white cloth and
buried or else thrown into the desert so that other animals cannot eat them.
(f) The owner of the victim must prepare the bread for the sacrifice beforehand. There is a
special amount for each type of victim, but in no case except for the cock, is it less than three kilograms.
This bread must be brought with the victim, for until the bread has been blessed with the victim it
cannot be eaten. Bread is obligatory with the four blood sacrifices and with khidmatand if there is
no bread they are invalid.
(g) The fire under the cauldron must not be used for anything but nadhruntil the end of the
blessing of the victim and anything else which is cooked on it must be blessed and regarded as nadhr.
The same principle also holds for the fire that cooked the bread for the nadhr,but if it was shop-bought
this does not apply.
(h) After the victim is cooked and tender, those in charge make an announcement and everyone
who is entitled to participate must assemble in the Jamkhtneh. Although purity in every respect
is demanded of all participants, anyone who had to do with the separation of the bones of the victim,
must, unlesshe has had a bath, wash his hands carefully with soap up to the elbows and clean his nails
before entering the Jamkhaneh. When the Jam has assembled the Khadim, who has brought an ewer
and a basin in for the handwashing of the participants, takes the ewer in his right hand and the bowl
in his left hand and says-Avval va AkhirTdr,43which means the first and the last helper, and is one of
the names of God in the A H terminology, and thus declares the Jam officially begun. Then he pours
a drop of water from the ewer into the basin and in this same condition he bows and gets up again,
and in a state of half-bowing he begins to wash the hands of the participants,beginning with the Sayyid
who will bless the victim, and from then on continuing from the right until he reaches the end. The
participant with a special gesture of his hand kisses the edge of the bowl which has been put in front
of him, and then washes both hands with the water from the ewer. He kisses the bowl again on the
edge and then saying " Avval va Akhir dr " he touches his face with his damp hands. If there are
a large number of participants, then there may be several Khidims, each with a bowl and ewer, and
each one washing a certain number of hands, in the same way as described, beginning from the right.
When they have finished washing the hands of the participants, the Khadims wash one another's
hands and then pour the dirty water out of the bowl. Then, as before, they pour a drop of water from
the ewer into the bowl, saying " Avvalva Akhir dr ", bow to the ground and get up, and take the bowl
and the ewers out of the Jam.
From the moment that the Khadim brings the bowl and ewer into the Jam and announces that it
has officially begun, no one may sit or stand up until the Jam has finished, except in exceptional cases.
If somebody enters the Jam in the course of the hand-washing and has a place to sit, he is excused the
41 See Min I, p. 212, footnote I. The first is that rTr is one of the names of God and the second
42There are apparently differences of opinion as to whether that rar means a companion of God. Thus every member
the four feet and the stomach and intestines are included with of the A H is called Tdr and the whole A H is called raristdn.
the sacrifice. Cf. Ivan, p. 159-
43The author explains that Tdr has two meanings for the A H.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF KITIB BURHXN UL-HAQQ 97
hand-kissing, but he must stand in his place and have his hands washed by the Khadim. When the
hand-washing is completed, he must bow, together with the Khddim, and then he may sit down.
If he is forgetful and does not bow with the Khddim, but sits straight down, after the Khddim has
got up from his bow, the new entrant may not sit down again. When he bows with the Khadim and
then sits down he has the same status as the other participants and may not, except in special circum-
stances, sit or stand up until the Jam has been completed.
(i) The Khidim now brings in a tablecloth and with the words " Avval va Akhir dr " spreads
it on the floor of the Jamkhaneh. Then he brings into the Jam, in order, salt, bread and the plate
or plates of sacrificial meat with a bowl full of the watery soup from the sacrificial meat so that after
the blessing it may be mixed with the meat outside the Jamkhaneh. With each of these the dhikr
" Avvalva Akhir dr " is said and the salt, bread and bowl of meat water are put on the tablecloth in
suitable places. The plate of sacrificial meat is put in front of the Khalifa, who, with the permission
of the Jam, begins to separate the bones from the cooked meat of the victim.44
After the bones of the victim have been separated from the meat and the meat is free from little
bones, the Khddim puts all the bones into a bowl and sprinkles some salt upon them. The meat is
then all put on to the original plates and the required amount of salt is added. Then some of the
greasy meat water is added and the Khalifa brings it to the correct consistency. He then lays a few
slices of bread over the meat to protect it from the impuritiesin the air and also so that out of reverence
and the mystery of the blessing, it shall be veiled from the eyes of man. Then the plates and bread
which are to be divided up are put in easy reach of the Khalifa and he, with the permissionof the Jam,
cries out " Haqq" and " Avval va AkhirYdr" and begins to divide up the sacrificial food.
(j) It is necessary that prayers should be said several times for each of the six categories of nadhr.
For the first four categories of nadhrthe order of prayers is as follows:45
(ii) Du'd-yi Rakhsat Neither of these two prayers has a Takbir.

(iii) and (iv) The Du'd-yi Nadhr, which is said twice, the first time for the Sarjamand the
second time, after the sacrificehas been divided, for the participants. Both of these prayers
has a Takbir.
(v) The Du'd-yiSufreh,which is said after the second Du'd-yiNadhr,and does have a Takbir.
(vi) Du'd-yiRakhsat,which is said at the end of the Jam and does not have a Takbir.
For the other two categories of nadhrthere are three prayers. The two Du'd-yiNadhr,which have
a Takbir,and the Du'd-yiRakhsat,which has no Takbir.
44 In this, the author says, the KhAdim may be helped by others. Du 'd-yi Tigh. The actual customs and rites involved in the
45 Takbir is the prayer which the KhAdim must say. There are blessing of the sword have already been given. The following
several variations of it, but it must contain the following words: prayer is said when the Sayyid has said I v'alldh in answer
Hfaqq(God), Al-Hamduli-lldh,Rabbil-'dlamin(Praise be to God, to the KhAdim. It begins: Tfgh-i Burrdnafs gird (the cutting
the Lord of the worlds), Sufreh-yiSultdn (Sultan Ishliq's table- sword the taker of souls) and then continues as the Du 'd-yi
cloth), Karam-i KhIneddn (the blessing of the Khaneddn), Nadhr.
Az Dam-i Pfr Takbir (to acknowledge the greatness of God Du 'd-yi Rakhsat. This prayer is said when all the ceremonies
through the spirit of the Pir). Du'd-yi Nadhr is recited by the of the Jam have been completed to allow the participants
Sayyid or his deputy, and as with the Takbir, there are several to move. The KhAdim, who is standing in the position of
variants of it. The obligatory phrases are as follows: Va Pdld V6j,brings his two feet together and places his two thumbs
Ishdreh-yiShdh (the sign of the king-SultAn Ishliq), Va Shart-i on the big toes of his two feet and says " Allah ". The Sayyid
Pir Benydmin(the Covenant of Pir Benyamin), Va Ridd-yi Pfr or his deputy then says " I v'allah " and without pausing
Ddwdd (the Helpfulness of Pir DAwiid), Va Qalam-i zarrfn-Pfr says the prayer, which is in Kurdish and of which there are
Mdsd (the golden pen of Pir Mfisq), Va Khidmat-iPdk-i Khdtina several variants. " We, sinful slaves, return to our Lord
Ramzbdr (the pure service of Khattin Ramzbar), Ndz-i Ivat asking pardon, for He has granted the answering of prayers
Hushydrva Ndz-i Malak Tayydr(the charm of Ivat HIushyaTr and through the intercession of the pirs, that we should be saved
of Malak TayyAr-the names of Shah Ibrahim and Shah from disasters in this world and be forgiven in the world to
Yadgar are sometimes here instead), Avval rdr Akhir rdr (the come." After this initial prayer, in whatever form it should
first Yar and the last), Va IHukm-i'aziz-i ShdhKhdvandegdr (the be said, the Sayyid says: " The door of the Jam is open,
esteemed wisdom of the Lord Creator). the command of the master is that the participants are free
Du 'd-yiSufrehis the same prayer as the Du 'd-yi Nadhr except to tread the road of discipleship-Eternal Life--The mystery
that before the words Va Ishdre-yiShdh the phrase Sufreh-yi of the pirs-The blessing of Mahdi-The Lord of the age-
Sultdn, Nafs-i marddnjam-i Cheheltan(the table-cloth of Sultan the first Yar and the last-Through the esteemed wisdom of
IshiAq, the soul of the members of the assembly of forty the Lord Creator."
spiritual individuals) is added.
(k) The duties of the Khalifa now are to divide the sacrificial meat with his right hand, to place
the pieces on one of the pieces of bread which have been prepared and to wrap the bread over it.
The size of the pieces depends upon the number of people present, but no one must go without.
Every time that the Khalifa stretched his hand out to the plate of sacrificial meat he must say one
of the names of God, and, from the beginning of the distribution to the end, he must be continually
engaged in dhikr. Some Khalifas say as they hand out each separate piece, Musht-iPir va Pddshdh
(the hand of the Pir and the Pddishdh) which signifies the hand is from the Pir of Haqiqat and the
permission and blessing is from God.
(1) The order of distribution and blessing. At the beginning the Khalifa gives the Khadim the
first morsel called the Sarjam46and the bone called Bul~ili47and the victim's skull. The Khadim
advances towards this first offering and with great reverence takes it in his hand. Then he stands
on the threshold of the Jam in the Pdld VUj48 position and after saying Avval va Akhirrdr he recites
the Takbir. The Sayyid then, with no pause, blesses the victim. The participants who are sitting on
their knees, bow from the waist and keep their hands in a position of supplication to signify taking
refuge in God. After every one of the previousdhikrsthey say amen, which is a way of seeking the answer
to the prayers. When the Sayyid has finished the prayers, the Khadim, saying Avval va Akhir Ydr,
bows, and the participants also prostrate themselvesin the sitting position. Then he places the sarjam,
which up to that moment he has been holding in his hand, at the side of the plate of sacrificial meat
and moves to the Khalifa to distribute the portion of meat which he takes reverently in both hands
from the Khalifa who is busy dividing it all up. If there is only one Khadim, he himself must take
each portion from the Khalifa and give one to every participant, beginning with the Sayyid who gave
the blessing and continuing always to the right. No one may take more than one portion. Every
movement that the Khddim makes must always be to his right. If there is more than one Khadim,
the first stands in front of the sacrificial plate, facing the Khalifa and taking each portion passes it to
the second Khtdim or Khddims who in turn pass it from one to the other, always to the right, and
then give it to the participants.
When the portions have been distributed to the participants, the Khddims each take their portions
and stand on the threshold. Holding the portions with both hands they bow as before and the first
Khadim says " Avvalva Akhirrdr ". The Sayyid then repeats the first prayer. The participants also
in a state of prostrationhold their portions in both hands and are engaged in dhikrand saying amen.
When the second prayer is over the Sayyid gives the participants permission to eat their portions.
The soupy meat water which was brought into the Jam to be blessed is taken out and emptied into
the cauldron and anyone either a participant or not may drink some of it. It is a custom in some Jams,
when the food is eaten, to bring in this soup as well, in other Jams this soup is not given out until the
Jam has finished.
The bones of the victim, which are in the bowl near the Khalifa, are divided in the following
way in case anyone wishes to chew at a bone. First the bones from the legs of the victim (Qalam)
are distributed to the participantswith every portion. If these bones are not sufficientthen other bones
from the victim may be used. Some of those left over are given to the participants after the second
prayer and the remainder are kept and given after the Jam to the non-participants. But until the
Jam is completed none of the bones from the victim's limbs may be broken. After the Jam, any bones
that remain are buried or thrown into the desert so that no animal may eat them.
The permission to eat in the Jam is only for food which has been blessed as nadhr. There is then
a pause until the Du'd-yi sufreh. The Du'd-yi sufrehis said when the participants have finished eating.
(m) The order of proceedings after the Du'd-yi sufreh is as follows: The Khalifa may take the last
portion he can see on the plate for himself in addition to his own portion. When the Khalifa says
46Sarjamis the first portion of the victim which is dedicated behind this is that when an animal is fortunate enough to be
to the King of Truth. The author also uses three other tech- sacrificed, it acquires a spiritual personality. Then its forelegs
nical A H words. These are: Ndachah, which is the piece and head resemble those of a man who at the time of his
of breadon which the sacrificialmeat is eaten, Nevdlah,which initiation offers the hand of allegiance to the way and sur-
is a piece of sacrificialmeat, and Machah,which is a piece of renders his head.
bread and meat together. 48 Pdld Vfj, also PdId V~jmeans to stand in a bowing position.
47Bullf means the bones in the victim's foreleg. The idea
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF KITIB BURHIN UL-HAQ 99
he has finished the division, the Khddim gathers together the tablecloth, bread, bones and salt and
places them on the dish where the meat has been, then he takes them to the threshold of the Jam and
bows, holding the plate and the tablecloth, saying Avval va Akhir rdr. The participants also bow,
with their hands in a position of prayer and say amen. The Sayyid then says the Du'd-yisufrehand the
plate with its contents is taken from the Jam. Immediately water is then brought in to be drunk.
This water has to be passed round the whole Jam. It is brought into the Jam by the Khidim in
a cup or glass, who then says only Avval va Akhir rdr without a Takbiror special prayers, although
some Sayyids do wish to say special prayers for this, which are, of course, not without their value.
The Sayyid drinks first and then the person on his right and so on. Those who are thirsty drink their
fill, but those who are not thirsty must drink a drop out of reverence to the water.
Whenever the cup is empty, another one, which has been prepared beforehand must replace it
without a break. It is the duty of the Khddim to pass the cup round the Jam in his own hand and
where one man's lip has touched the cup he must rotate the rim for the next man. When the whole
Jam has drunk the Khddim in his turn drinks. Then he says Avvalva Akhirrdr and takes the cup
from the Jam.
When the water has been circulated, a bowl and ewer and some means of drying the hands are
brought in. The method of hand-washing is exactly the same as the first time, with the one difference
that instead of moistening the face with the hand, a handful of water is taken up to wash the mouth
and then swallowed for cleanliness.
After the water has been circulated and the hands washed, the Khadim or Khadims kiss the hands
of the participants as described before. The other people who are standing in the Jam, may, if they
wish, kiss the hands of the Jam with the Khidims. When the Khadims have kissed all the hands of
the Jam they kiss one another'sin turn and then bow, saying AvvalvaAkhirrdr. Then the first Khadim
in the PdldVijposition says "Allah ". The Sayyid then says the Du'd-yiRakhsat,after which the Khddims
again bow and say Avval va Akhir rdr. The Khadims rise, seeking the good offices of the Jam. At
this juncture, if the Niydz-i Piist has been prepared and eaten well and good, but if not the Sayyid
enquires about it from the Khddim, who tells him the position. Then there is a short pause, after which
the sacrificialJam is concluded and the participants are free.
If the JNydz-iPi~st or some other Nyadz has been prepared before the end of the Jam and the
participants are ready and not too tired, then it is brought in before the hand-kissing. After the division
of the niydzand the reciting of two prayersfor it, the ceremony of hand-kissingand the Du'd-yiRakhsat
are completed. Thus the hand-kissing and the prayer are not performed separately for the Niydz.
But if the Nyodzis brought in after the Du'd-yiRakhsatof the sacrificialJam, whether there is a pause
or not, the hand-kissing and the Du'd-yiRakhsatmust be performed separately for the NJydzjam.
The right to the Sarjambelongs to the following people, in the given order of precedence:
(i) A person who has come in late for whom there is no other place.
(ii) The person responsiblefor the cleanliness and lighting of the Jamkhdneh.
(iii) The Sayyid who gives the blessings and says the prayers.
(iv) Any other Sayyids who are able to be present.
(v) In addition to these Sayyids, Kelam-khan, Khalifas and Khadims.
(vi) Anyone else the Jam approves.
(n) The following points should also be known on this subject:
(i) Some do not say a special prayer for the Sarjam, but the Khalifa continues immediately
after the Sarjam to distribute all the other portions to the Khadims and participants.
Then the two prayers are said immediately after one another.
(ii) Some claim that the keeper of the lamps for the Jamkhaneh and the Sayyid, Kelim-khan
and the like should all have an additional portion.
(iii) Some do not say the first prayer or the Du'd-yi Rakhsat or the Takbir at all.
(iv) Some, before the sacrificial meat is put into the cauldron, take out the meat around the
neck and breast, called the Naqdina,49and roast it. Then they bless it and eat it.
49 This solves a long-standingAH problem, see Ivan, p. 87, and his after thoughtson p. 195.
(v) Some, before the sacrificial meat is brought into the Jam and the ceremonies performed,
have the soupy water blessed either by the Sayyid or else by the Khadim, and then
divide it in the kitchen. In this event they do not bring any more into the Jam for
blessing and consumption.
(vi) In some Jams the Khalifa stands to say the Takbirin the Du'd-yi sufrehinstead of the
Khaidim,and then remains standing until the end of the Jam.
(2) Offerings of the same nature as sacrifice. The four kinds of bloodless sacrifices, fish, nutmeg,
gerda and pomegranate, have the same ceremonies as the sacrifice with the following differences:
(a) There is no Niydz-i Pfist.
(b) Because the fish does not have to be killed by the sword, there is no Du'd-yi Tigh or Du'd-yi
Rakhsatsaid for the sword. Also its mode of cooking is not limited to the method of the blood-sacrifice.
The fish may be roasted or fried in fat or in any other way so that the food has nourishment and can
also be divided.
(c) For the nutmeg, gerda and pomegranate there is not water to circulate the Jam for drinking,
nor is there a hand-washing ceremony. There is also no Du'd-yiRakhsatfor the knife, since the ceremony
is not held outside the Jam. The nadhr and the knife are already in the Jamkhaneh and the ceremony
is as follows: After the knife has been blessed, the offering is then cut from top to bottom and then
divided up. The top, in the case of the nutmeg, is where it joined the branch and the top of the pome-
granate is where it flowers. In the case of the gerda, there is a special ceremony. A small section is
cut from it with the sword or knife that has been blessed and then the remainder is divided into equal
portions either with the knife or else by hand. Also when there are sufficient gerda or pomegranates
for each person to have one or more each without division, then it is all right provided that in the case
of the gerda, the ceremony of cutting off the top is performed. But in the case of the nutmeg, each
nutmeg, whether large or small, must be cut up with the sword and then divided.
(3) The third category of offering, granulated or lump sugar, salt, almonds and qawiyat,resemble
the sacrificial offerings only from the point of view of the ceremonies involved. These differ from the
ceremonies in Section 2 on bloodless sacrificesin the following respects:
There is considerable difference of opinion about the use of the sword and knife. Some claim
that since there is no need to use a knife on sugar, almonds, salt and qawiyat,then, as with the fish,
the knife should not feature in the ceremony. If a sugar breaker is used on the lump sugar a blessing
on that instead of on the knife is arbitraryand not obligatory, since it is regarded in the same category
as sugar. Only in the case of the melon, as with the pomegranate, is there a knife and a Du'd-yi Tigh.
There is another school of thought that claims that with the exception of the almond, which like the
fish, does not require a knife, there must always be a knife and a Du'd-yi Tigh to fulfil the requirements
of the ritual ceremonies. Consequently,in the case of the melon and the other offering of this category,
after the Du'd-yi Tigh, the blade of the knife (Dahan)is drawn over the plates of the offering in a form
of a cross. With the melon, the top of it, for the ceremony of cutting off the top (Sar Burridan),is
the place where it joined the root.
(4) Khidmat. The ceremonies here are identical with the ceremonies used in blood-sacrifice,
with the exception of the Niydz-i Piist, which here is called the Niydz-i Parr-iKhuriis(the Niydz of the
cock's feather). This niydzis a minimum of a twentieth and a maximum of a tenth of the value of the
cock. The reason for this is that a cock's feather is worthless and would never be sold, so there has
to be some set value to serve as a basis for the offering.
(5) and (6) AVydzand Shukrdna have the same ceremonies as the gerda and the pomegranate of
the second category or offering, with the exception of the Du'd-yi Tigh and the Du'd-yisufreh.
Sectioni6. Concerning OtherOfferingswhichare Broughtto theJam in the Courseof the PreviousOfferings

It is possible to bring any offering, be it a blood sacrifice or not, no matter with what intention,
provided it is ready, into the Jam for use and consumption while another offering is being made.5o
so The full procedureis given, but it does not introduce any new practices.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF KITAB BURHIN UL-HAQQ 101
Section17. The Ceremony of "Jauz-i Sar " (thenutmegof the head)

Since in Section io the subject of the initiation was explained, here there is no need to repeat all
of it, but merely to restrict ourselves to the actual ceremony involved in the breaking of the nutmeg
of the head. The ceremony then is performed as follows:
(i) The blood-sacrifice or the khidmat,which have been prepared with the intention of breaking
the nutmeg of the head, are cooked and brought into the Jam. Then they are blessed and the Jam
completed.
(2) When the Jam for this nadhrhas been concluded, the Jam for the nutmeg is formed and the
following objects are brought into the Jam: a nutmeg, a sword, a coin, a quantity of money, the Niydz-i
pd-yijauz, a piece of white cloth called the shadd, a bowl to break up the nutmeg in, a tablecloth. The
Pir, a Sayyid from one of the Khdneddns and the Dalil are present in the Jam, but if there is no Dalil
there the Pir must choose a suitable temporaryone. The person who is to be initiated, if he is a mature
and suitable male, must also be present at the Jam, but if he is not, his legal representative must be
present for him. When the Sayyid has satisfied himself that the person has the necessaryqualifications
either from the person himself or his representative, then he announces his acceptance of the initiate.
Then the nutmeg is blessed with a special prayer, there are several different versions of this prayer,
after which the knife to cut the nutmeg is blessed with the usual prayer and, with the permission of
the Jam and the consent of the initiate, the nutmeg is cut with it in the bowl. The Niydz-ipd-yijauz
is then distributed to the participants either by the Khalifa or the Sayyid-Pir himself and the usual
Du'd-yiNadhrwith a Takbiris said. After this the remainder of the nutmeg is cut up in the bowl and
is distributed to the participants.
The participants have already been given a portion of the niydz and this or a part of this they
place in the palm of their left hands. The remainder they place on the ground. Then they put the
back of their right hands over their left hands and keep the portion of the nutmeg in it. Then the
second Du'd-yinadhrwith a Takbirand the Du'd-yisufrehare recited and each person with the Sayyid's
permission eats his share of the nutmeg or else removes it with his share of the niydzso that his hands
are free for the hand-kissing.
At this juncture the Dalil, who together with the Pir has been sitting in the Jam, appoints one of
the participants to act for him. Through this man he holds the Khadim's gown and at the same time
fastens the shaddround the initiate's neck. The initiate then, with the shaddround his neck, takes hold
of the Khadim's gown with his left hand. Thus all three have their right hands free for the hand-
kissing. Then the hand-kissing and the Du'd-yiRakhsatare performed in the usual way, but with this
condition, that the hands of the initiate and the Dalil's deputy must not be released from the Khidim's
gown until the prayer is over. When the prayer has been finished the Dalil's deputy releases the gown,
as does the initiate, and then removes the shaddfrom the initiate's neck. This he presents to the Dalil
and Pir who have remained seated in the Jam and then declares that his deputyship is over, which the
Dalil then accepts. The sum of money underneath the nutmeg is regarded as the property of the Pir
and the shaddas the property of the Dalil. There is a school of thought that does not regard the shadd
as necessary.
The following points should be noted with regard to this ceremony:
(a) The time for the initiation of both the male and female children of the A H, should be after
the christening, that is not more than seven days after birth. This ceremony, is of course, performed
by the legal representative of the child. If it is not possible to perform the initiation in this period, then
a special niydz must be offered called a Muhlatdnehand the ceremony must be performed within a year.
With this class of entrant, who are called Chakideh,if supposedly the initiate when he has grown up
leaves the A H and gives up the benefits of his family and his inherited bliss, this is in no way the respon-
sibility of his legal representative. But the Chasbidehentrants must fulfil all the conditions set down in
Section 9, and one of these conditions is intelligence, maturity, correct guidance and distinction.
(b) If the child, who is, of course, Chakideh, dies before the initiation, it is the responsibility of
the child's guardian to perform a nadhrto fulfil his own duty and for the absolution of the child's soul.
This nadhrcan be a sacrifice, khidmator n?ydz,of the required amount, and it seeks to win the pleasure
of God and gain the intercession of the Pirs and Dalils.
(c) After the blessing of the nutmeg, the initiate must listen to the following speech from the Pir:
" For you, the Pddshdh of IHaqiqatwill be Sultan Ishlq, the Pir, Benydmin and the Dalil
of Haqiqat, Dawfid. This is so that through them you will be joined by the bond of continuity
of the order, to the guardianship of 'Ali and the prophethood of Muhammad and by means of
this you will pass through the spiritual stations until you reach the 'dlam-izarr (the world of Gold).
In the 'dlam-izarr the Padshah is the Lord, the Pir is Gabriel, who gives the guidance necessary
for salvation, and the Dalil is Israfil, who blows away the semblances of form so that real awareness
can be obtained. The successorto Sultan IshdIqis the light of IHaqqmade manifest, the successor
of Benyamin is the Khdnedan ... (one of the Khdnedans), the successorof Dawfid is the eighty-two
Pirs (or whoever was chosen as Dalil for the relevant Khanedan), the representativeof the Khanedan
in this Jam of the nutmeg is ... (he mentions the name of the Sayyid-Pir who is in the Jam) and
the representative of the Dalil is ... (he mentions the name of the Dalil present in the Jam)."
(d) It is possible for several people to be initiated in the same Jam. In this case all the nutmegs,
shadds,sums of money and niydzsare mixed together and one set of ceremonies sufficesfor all.
(e) If in a Jam where more than one person is being initiated, the Pir and Dalils are different
for different initiates, then one Pir and one Dalil are chosen to serve for all. But each initiate surrenders
his head to his respective Khanedan.
Section18. The ThreeKindsof SpecialA H Worship

This section is devoted mostly to material drawn from orthodox Shi'a mystical sources. It does,
however, deal with the A H fast which the author calls the Niyyat-i Marrni'i.s5 The date of this
three-day fast is given as the 12th, 13th and I4th of the lunar month, which comes between the signs
of Sagittarius and Capricorn.s2
The rites of the fast are as follows:
From the first night of the fast until the day of the Padshah, every householder in the A H should
make an offering if he is able to. The quantity depends on the financial position of the individual,
ranging from one crumb of bread a night to a khidmata night.
The offering on the first night should be made to Benyamin, the eternal Pir, on the second night
to Dtwfid, the eternal Dalil, on the third night to Mustafa-yi Dawiiddn, to ward off all evils, and
on the fourth night to the Padshah. Some say the offering on the first night should be for Mustafd-yi
Dawilddn and the second and third night offerings should be for the Pir and Dalil, but it makes no
difference.
Every individual must make an offering called Sar-ifitr-i 'driof five ShdhiPird-i Wari, which is
equivalent to a quarter of a mithqal of pure silver on either the first night of the fast or on the night
of the fourth day.
On the day of the Padshah or on the night of the sixteenth of the month, each person must offer
a gerda, in honour of the gerda of Ramzbar.
Every person must give every year, on the day of the Padshah, three Pird-i Wari rials, which is
equivalent to three mithqals of pure silver, two to the Pir of the Khanedan and one to the Dalil.
This is called the Sardneh-yirdri. If the Dalil is not present it must be given to the Pir to give to him.
5' There are also two other names given: Da 'vat-i Shdhi and fasting are called the fast of Marrni'i and the fourth day
Niyyat-i Qavval T7isi. These names are explained as follows: is known as the Day of the Padishah or the feast of IJaqiqat.
Njyyat is the intention to fast and Marrin'i means the new The Qavval Tds were the companions of Sultan in the
cave. The story behind this is given as follows: When Sultan cave. The name Da 'vat-i Shdhi or the Royal Decree Ish.q is used
Ishaq fled from Barzinja, his opponents, namely his brothers, because the fast was decreed by Sultan Ishaq. For alternative
raised a troop of soldiers and followed him. On the way, in versions of this story and discussion of the fast, see Ivan, p. 93
the mountain of Shender Kfih on the present Irano-Iraq and 135-136, and Min I, pp. 218-223.
border, there appeared a cave, which nobody had ever known 52 The author gives a number of details about the different
about before. Sultan Ishlq and his followers remained in times upon which this fast is held by different groups of the
that cave fasting for three days in a state of siege. On the A H and explains how confusion has arisen through the use
fourth day, fate decreed that a storm should strike the troop of different calendars.
and they all either perished or fled. Thus these three days of
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF KITiB BURHIN UL-HAQQ 103
Although the Pir and the Dalil can spend this money on whatever they wish, it is better if it is
spent on the holding of a Jam or on the Jamkhaneh. There is also nothing to prevent the members
of the A H from giving a niydzto the Pir and Dalil in addition to the Sarineh.
There is an additional offering which must be made in honour of the Mfisa who records conduct.
This must be made in the period between the sixteenth night and the end of the month of the fast.
Sectionig. On not Cuttingthe Moustache

This section contains no A H material at all. It is composed of an inconclusive selection of
conflicting Sunni and Shi'a traditions relating to moustaches.53
Section2o. The Refutationof False Accusations
(I) In the Kelam-i Saranjam and the other important Kelams of the A H, there appears the
following statement: " Every possessorof a soul is the Mazhar54or Dan or Jdmehof a previous soul."
This statement appears to lay the followers of the Kelams open to the accusation of Tandsukhiyya
(metempsychosis). In fact the whole content of these Kelams refutes the doctrines of Tandsukhiyya,
the in-dwelling of God in man, IHuliil,and monism. Ittihdd. In addition, mystics, theologians and
philosophers have proved with great cogency that these three doctrines are quite false and that the
concept of the path of perfection, Seyr-i Kemdl,is the correct one. It is clear that the state of
mazhariyyat(being a place of manifestation) of Perfection is attained after completing the path of
perfection, not from the in-dwelling of God or from Monism. The condition of Diin or Jdmehis a
stage on the path of perfection. The path of perfection is an ascending arc not a descending one. In
other words movement is from the lower world to the higher.
(2) In some instances the phrases Dhdt-i Mehmdn(the essence of Mehman) and Dhdt-iBashar(the
human essence) are used by the A H. This has lead to false accusations being levelled at the A H on
the grounds that the first is in-dwelling IHuliiland the second is either monism or metempsychosis,
but in fact Dhdt-i Mehmdnmeans Mazhariyyatnot Hulfl and Dhdt-i Basharmeans Diin or Jdmehand
not Ittihddand Tandsukhiyya.
(3) There seems to be a common rumour that the A H are 'All-Ilahis. This is definitely not so,
and such a suggestion is totally false, since the very foundation of the A H is Tauhid,or professing
one God. If the common people say things they are usually based on misunderstandingsand fallacies.
The A H are neither 'Ali-Ilahis nor polytheists, and the only status that the order give to 'All is that
of Mazhariyyatand also Mash?yyatul-ldh, which means doing the Will of God completely.
53 For a discussion of this see Ivan, pp. 97-98. in the Kelims. This does not indicate monism (IttiMd),but
54Ma.har. Mazhar means a place of display or manifestation. is used because of the prevailing custom. Jdmehmeans a
The usage here is that the soul, polished and burnished as garment or something to wear. The usage of this word is
the result of passing through the various stages of the path of that a soul displays the particularqualities of another soul
perfection, comes to be the place that reflects the manifest because both have acquired the same equal state in the
light of that essence which surrounds it. Here it must be spiritualworld on the path of perfection. Diin is the Turkish
said that the actual word which is the connection for Jdmeh.
between the surrounded andmazhar,
the surrounder, is often omitted
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ElementaryPersianGrammar Iran
L. P. ELWELL-SUTTON LEONARD BINDER
A modem Persian grammar for beginners. The A study of politicaland social developmentin modem
student is introducedto Persianscript from the start, Iran. 'One of the most precise, balancedand humane
learns progressivelyto discard vowels, receives help
with pronunciationand buildsup a workingvocabulary works on that country ever written.' TimesLiterary
of 1,500oocurrent words. Clothbound, 45s. net Supplement. Universityof CaliforniaPress.
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CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
HUMAY NAMA
An early Persianepic dating from about io5o.
Edited with an Englishsummaryby

A. J. ARBERRY,M.A., Litt.D., Hon.D.Litt.,F.B.A.
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IRAN

Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies

THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF PERSIAN STUDIES

c/o The British Academy, Burlington Gardens, London, W.I

Price: ?2 Ios. od.

MEMBERSHIP OF THE INSTITUTE

Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies

Three Persian Poems, by Professor A. J. Arberry I

A Brief Report on the Excavation of Marlik Tepe and Pileh Qal'eh,

THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF PERSIAN STUDIES

c/o The British Academy, Burlington Gardens, London, W.I

c/o The British Academy, P.O. Box 2617,

Excavationsat rarim Tepe and Pasargadae

InauguralLectureand Receptionat the Institute'sNew Premises

Yaram chu qadah ba-dast. girad

I, like a fish, in the ocean am fallen,

Every one saith, who her tipsy eye seeth,

Lo, at her feet in lament am I fallen,

Happy his heart who, like Hafiz, a goblet

What time in his hand the bowl he shaketh,

Thus baldly interpreted, it makes a pleasant, straightforward and, to be candid, a somewhat

hamchfin dam-i ghamginan ba-ta'thir

The light of the face of the celestial Joseph

Half-slumbering, half-awake I lay

khvabi-st. ki mdnda khili az hfish

barfi-st. firfi-nishasta bar bim

dar partav-i shani'-i nim.rfizi

bar-khiz.ki bid-. b~m.dldi

It is a sleep that is forever emptied of consciousness,

It is a snow that has settled upon the roof

In the irradiance of the noonday candle

Yonder, within this silent salt-waste

Of that musk-scented, wine-hued torch

In every corner of this waterless salt-waste

Rise up! for the breeze of morning

The poem is an impressionistic description of a cemetery. Death is portrayed as a sleep of eternal

A BRIEF REPORT ON THE EXCAVATION OF MARLIK TEPE

Pl. IVb. Gold bowl showingfour eagles in relief. Diameter, 6 cm.

EXCAVATIONS AT PASARGADAE: SECOND PRELIMINARY REPORT

Summaryof the I962 Campaign'

Fig. 2. The Tomb of Cyrus: Plans and Sections.

The Tombof Cyrus

22A. Sami, ArchaeologicalReportsVI, I96o0, pp. 47-50. 24I.A.E., p. 21I4.

The Tomb of Gur-i-Dokhtar

Excavationsin the CitadelArea (Fig. 4)

Fig. 4. SketchPlan of Pasargadae.

TAKHT-I -SU LEI MAN

D STAIN ON FLANKFLANK WALL

letters show separate blocks from IC:which M

Fig. 5. SectionandPlan of A Staircase.

Excavationson the Platform

4' As has been mentionedearlier,the probabletombof Cambyses 42 See Figs. 6 and 7.

PERIOD I EXPOSED STONEWORK D

1 PERIOD II MUD BRICK WALLS

PERIOD III MUD BRICK WALLS |

Fig. 6. General Plan of the C:

P1. Ib. The Tombof Cyrusfrom thesouth.

Pl. MId. View lookinginto the tomb chamber,towardsthe much-

P1. IIc. Detail of doorwayshowing roughsocket at base of right jamb.

Pl. VIIId. Silvertetradrachm

EXCAVATIONS AT TALL-I-NOKHODI, 1962

The Red WareCulture

Fig. 3. Skeletonfrom Level II.