https://jhr.usb.ac.ir/ Journal of Historical Researches of Iran and Islam en daily 1 Thu, 06 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0330 Thu, 06 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0330 https://jhr.usb.ac.ir/article_9549.html The diversity of religious minorities in Yazd and the long-standing coexistence of Zoroastrians, Christians, and Jews alongside one another have historically led to the emergence of a multicultural society in this city. These religious minorities, by virtue of their particular social conditions and their enjoyment of certain civic privileges, played a significant role in the development and growth of education and the formal educational system in Yazd following the Constitutional Revolution. At the same time, they themselves underwent important transformations throughout this process. As Yazd was among the first cities and regions in which the educational system experienced fundamental changes, the religious minorities residing in the city were also among the earliest and most influential groups involved in these transformations. In particular, Yazdi Zoroastrians, with their rich historical and cultural background, carried out effective activities in this field. Among them, the Association of Yazdi Zoroastrian Elders residing in India, possessing strong foundations of Iranian identity and a deep emotional attachment to their homeland, along with positive memories of coexistence with Muslims, played a more prominent role in the transformations of the educational system. The rapid expansion of education was further facilitated by the printing industry, the growth of newspapers, and the establishment of Zoroastrian, Christian, and Jewish boys’ and girls’ schools. This article seeks to answer the following question: what were the motivations, reasons, contexts, and roles of religious minorities in the establishment, growth, and development of schools and education in Yazd? Given the historical nature of this inquiry, a descriptive examination of how and why schools were founded precedes the analysis of exploratory data, which are primarily based on archival documents, library sources, field studies, and interviews. https://jhr.usb.ac.ir/article_9678.html Islamic works of the Ascension are not merely a narrative of a historical event but also a visual allegory of the path to truth. This article analyzes a painting of the Ascension of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) from the Zand and Qajar periods. In this painting, the Prophet’s body is depicted symbolically and mythologically, and this image is a platform for the crystallization of sacred concepts in traditional art. This research aims to investigate the structural features of the work of the Ascension of the Prophet (PBUH) from the Zand and Qajar periods, considering Hossein Nasr’s view of religious art, and has studied various parts of this work. The question of this research is: How can the motif of the Ascension in the painting of the Ascension from the Zand and Qajar periods be analyzed and described based on Hossein Nasr’s views on religious art? Data was collected from library sources and the research was conducted with a historical approach and in a descriptive-analytical manner by analyzing the work in the context of Hossein Nasr’s view. This research shows that the aforementioned work is an example of Islamic art in the service of spiritual transcendence and esoteric conduct; an art in which the shine is not merely the compound of the Prophet but also a symbol of the connection between heaven and earth. https://jhr.usb.ac.ir/article_9636.html This study traces the transformation and continuity of the Friday‑Prayer leadership (Emamat‑e Jom‘e) in Zanjan from the Qajar era to the Islamic Republic through the Hosseini‑Zanjani family. It argues that durable authority rested on a dual foundation:Religious legitimacy—jurisprudential training, Sayyid lineage, and ritual mastery.Strategic alignment with state power—state patronage, security institutions, and revolutionary organizations.Using family and organizational archives, waqf deeds, seals, judicial endorsements, manuscript lists, library sources, press materials, and interviews, the article reconstructs the genealogy and institutional trajectory from Seyyed Mohammad Majtahid Sardani’s founding tenure to Seyyed Mohammad Azaddin Hosseini’s activist leadership and its post‑revolution reconfiguration.The office evolved from a primarily ritual role into a multi‑functional religious, judicial, economic, and political institution, yet faced recurring legitimacy crises over endowment management, intra‑clerical rivalries, land transactions, and shifting state policies. Through a historical‑institutionalist lens, the analysis identifies path dependence stemming from early non‑local appointment choices, and critical junctures—including Babist uprisings, the Constitutional Revolution, Reza Shah’s centralization, World War I famine, the post‑1941 opening, and the 1979 Revolution—that reshaped roles and alliances.The study shows how symbolic religious capital was converted into structured influence via documentation, rule‑bound waqf governance, court recognition, and alliances with marjaʿ networks. It further demonstrates institutional recombination across generations—including library building, seminary bylaws, civic education, and mobilization—that stabilized authority amid policy turbulence and security pressures. Ultimately, the Imam Jom‘e office became a key node linking religious legitimacy to local administration and social order by adapting governance practices to evolving expectations and broader societal needs. https://jhr.usb.ac.ir/article_9600.html The emergence of the Taliban movement in Afghanistan and their dominance over the country's lands, among various political parties and groups, in two periods of time, 1996 to 2001 and 2021 to date, cannot be analyzed without considering a set of internal and external factors. The main issue of this article is to examine the impact of external factors on the emergence of the Taliban and their dominance over Afghanistan. The main hypothesis of this research is based on the premise that the intervention of various countries, including the United States, Saudi Arabia, and especially Pakistan, played a decisive role in the emergence and dominance of this group over Afghanistan. This article was conducted using a historical research method, with a qualitative and analytical approach, and using the method of collecting documents and sources in a library manner and using reliable data available in databases. The results of this study show that external factors, including variables such as the presence of the Red Army in Afghanistan and the confrontation of the communists with the religious beliefs of the Afghan people, as well as the intervention of the United States and the support of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, are among the factors that have led to the emergence and dominance of the Taliban group in Afghanistan. https://jhr.usb.ac.ir/article_9614.html This study examines the political and military strategies of Badh ibn Dustak, founder of the Marwanid dynasty in Diyar Bakr, Utilizing a descriptive-analytical approach, this research draws on primary and secondary historical sources to analyze the rise of Badh’s power against the backdrop of the gradual decline of the central Buyid authority. The study interprets political and military actions through the lens of Ibn Khaldun’s theory on the role of frontier regions and social dissatisfaction in state formation.The findings reveal that Badh’s emergence was facilitated by social unrest, the strategic geographic position of frontier regions (thugur), and opportunities arising from the power vacuum and internal conflicts following ʿAdud al-Dawla’s death. By adopting pragmatic policies, including alliance with the Byzantine Empire and employing irregular warfare in difficult terrain, Badh was able to establish local legitimacy and mobilize popular support despite opposition from the Abbasid Caliphate. Conversely, ʿAdud al-Dawla and Ṣamṣām al-Dawla responded with a conventional, centralized military approach but failed to achieve lasting success due to limited influence over frontier zones and internal crises after ʿAdud al-Dawla’s demise.This comparative analysis demonstrates how exploiting the weakness of centralized structures, popular mobilization, and control over frontier regions can foster the emergence of local powers, as Ibn Khaldun’s theory of power transition through borderlands insightfully explains. The study highlights the dynamic interaction between central authorities and peripheral entities in shaping political authority during this period. https://jhr.usb.ac.ir/article_9650.html Abstract This study examines the reconfiguration of Iranian identity in the province of Jibāl from the Islamic conquest to the consolidation of local dynasties, adopting a historical–sociological approach. Moving beyond the binary of pre-Islamic versus Islamic Iran, it explores the interplay of religion, power, and culture during the transition from Sasanian structures to the Abbasid caliphal order, highlighting a gradual and multidimensional transformation of identity. Drawing on critical historical analysis of early Islamic chronicles, geographical works, and literary sources, the research focuses on social actors—particularly Iranian elites—and their strategies for mobilizing cultural, symbolic, and historical resources. Jibāl is conceptualized as a dynamic arena in which Abbasid authority, local elites, and diverse cultural currents negotiated power, legitimacy, and social status. Findings indicate that religious transformation went beyond the simple replacement of Zoroastrianism with Islam, becoming a contested sphere over meaning, authority, and social positioning. Iranian elites leveraged the Persian language, festivals, and historical memory to reinterpret cultural capital and secure influence within the new political and religious order. Local dynasties, especially the Buyids and Ziyarids, reinforced this process by selectively reviving pre-Islamic symbols and rituals, establishing a balance between caliphal authority and Iranian heritage. This study underscores the importance of regional analysis for understanding identity transformation in transitional societies. https://jhr.usb.ac.ir/article_9472.html Revisionist perspectives maintain that Islam was originally a Judeo-Christian movement that emerged in more northern regions and was later rewritten by the Abbasids as a religion centered on Mecca; therefore, reliance on Islamic sources for examining the identity and history of this religion also faces serious challenges. This study seeks to assess the plausibility of such a large-scale fabrication by the Abbasid government. The main question is whether the Abbasids fundamentally possessed the necessary infrastructure for such a major and consequential undertaking to the extent that they could rewrite traditional Islamic narratives or impose a new religion. The research method is based on analyzing non-Islamic sources contemporary with and subsequent to the Abbasids, as well as reports concerning certain material evidence. The findings indicate that political instability caused by internal divisions, familial rivalries, and regional rebellions had weakened the cohesion of the caliphate. The vast geographical extent of the empire, together with the cultural and political diversity of non-Arab societies, made narrative homogenization impossible. Moreover, religious and ethnic diversity among Arabs had led to the formation of independent narrative networks. In addition, political, commercial, and cultural interactions with the Byzantines, Persians, and Armenians enhanced widespread awareness of the traditional Islamic narrative. Material evidence, including early discovered Qurʾanic manuscripts and Umayyad inscriptions, also confirms the early consolidation of Islamic identity and the existence of these obstacles. The overall conclusion is that structural constraints and material evidence severely limit and render highly implausible the possibility of the Abbasids fabricating or rewriting the history of Islam. https://jhr.usb.ac.ir/article_9607.html The Fedayan-e Islam society (Jamiat Fada'iyan Islam), led by the young cleric Nawab Safavi, engaged in nearly a decade-long struggle against the Pahlavi regime in the mid-twentieth century, with the aim of establishing an Islamic government, and exerted significant influence on the political developments of that period. This article, by examining the concept of Islamic government from the perspective of the Fedayan-e Islam, raises the fundamental question of whether the establishment of an Islamic government in Iran was feasible based on the ideas and views of this society. In order to provide a reasoned answer to this question, the article employs a descriptive–analytical approach and utilizes library-based research, drawing on sources produced by or related to the Fedayan-e Islam. By analyzing the data and organizing them into five components—(1) the possibility of formulating a theory of Islamic government, (2) the capacity to develop such a theory, (3) the sources for establishing an Islamic government, (4) the strategies for establishing an Islamic government, and (5) the practical mechanisms proposed by the society for this purpose—the study arrives at the following conclusion: the Fedayan-e Islam suffered from substantial theoretical and practical deficiencies across all dimensions, and the establishment of an Islamic government based on their ideas and viewpoints was not feasible. https://jhr.usb.ac.ir/article_9599.html Neyshabur, owing to its rich civilizational background (from the ancient to the contemporary period), possesses exceptional potential for research across various fields of history. The objective of the present study is an analytical pathology of academic productions in the field of Neyshabur historiography during the period 1978–2025, relying on a mixed-methods methodology (qualitative and quantitative content analysis of 34 theses). The central question of this research focuses on identifying recurring patterns, methodological shortcomings, and epistemological ruptures in the record of Neyshabur's historical research based on theses. Findings indicate that 85% of studies are confined to a specific timeframe (3rd–7th centuries AH) while pre-Islamic eras and contemporary developments (from the Safavid period to the Islamic Revolution) have been less examined. Furthermore, the dominance of a political-religious discourse (70% of titles) has limited Neyshabur merely to a stage for elite agency, neglecting attention to other social classes. A methodological crisis is also evident, as reliance on classical texts by 94% of the studies, with no attention to urban archaeological approaches, archival sources, or discourse analysis, has resulted in the production of descriptive narratives. Additionally, an imbalance in academic levels (91.2% Master's theses versus 8.8% Doctoral dissertations) and a fragile geographical distribution (concentration of 62.5% of productions in Tehran and Mashhad, with 15.6% in Neyshabur itself) constitute other observable pathologies. In summary, although Neyshabur historiography in the realm of theses has experienced quantitative growth in the past decade, it lacks the civilizational continuum, thematic diversity, and methodological depth necessary for a multi-layered rereading of Neyshabur's history. Proposed solutions to halt and correct this flawed cycle include adopting interdisciplinary approaches, developing research infrastructure, and redefining the role of the University of Neyshabur as the central hub for indigenous research. https://jhr.usb.ac.ir/article_9601.html Unlike the Sunni conception, the Shi‘i theory of imamate is fundamentally a priori. Nevertheless, the practical requirements of governance in Egypt produced notable shifts in the Fatimid interpretation of the doctrine of imamate. The caliphate of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah marked a critical moment that pushed the Ismaili da‘wa organization from a purely a priori theorization toward a more a posteriori engagement with political realities. Given the significance of this transition in the history of Shi‘i thought, the present article seeks to answer the following question: What role did the political and religious crises of al-Hakim’s caliphate play in shaping the Ismaili conception of the imamate?To address this question, the study adopts a conceptual-history approach to examine the treatise Ithbat al-Imama by al-Nishaburi as a case study. The application of this method demonstrates that the extreme fluctuations in al-Hakim’s policies, the doubts cast by the Abbasid caliph al-Qadir regarding the Alid lineage of the Fatimids, and the weakening of Fatimid legitimacy under the influence of extremist claims of al-Hakim’s divinity constituted the crises that compelled al-Nishaburi to formulate a retrospective reinterpretation of the Ismaili doctrine of imamate.Thus, al-Nishaburi not only defended the necessity of a divinely designated imamate in its Shi‘i sense but also sought to persuade Fatimid supporters who had become doubtful under al-Hakim’s erratic governance. He therefore attempted to draw the public back to the Fatimid polity through concepts such as the necessity of obeying a benevolent imam and justified the caliph's inconsistent political temperament by appealing to the demands of ruling a community characterized by diverse and shifting dispositions. https://jhr.usb.ac.ir/article_9531.html The cultural and scientific relationship between the two countries of Iran and Iraq after Islam has always been an outstanding example of religious coexistence and cultural affinity. One of the most obvious manifestations of this relationship can be seen in the presence of Allameh Helli (1250- 1326) and his son Fakhr al_Muhaqqeeq (1283 – 1369) in Iran and their exemplary two_way relationship with the minister of the Ilkhanids, Khwaja Rashid Al_Din Fazlullah Hamedani.(1250- 1318) These are Shiite jurists and theologians from the Iraqi city of Hellah, and Khawaja,an Iranian philosopher and thinker, of Jewish origin who converted to Islam and followed the Sunnis. Despite such differences, nothing has ever been exchanged between them except respect and devotion, both in their presence and absence. The present article explores this two_way relationship by researching surviving manuscripts as well as some of their published works, and shows that it should always be considered as an excellent and complete example for cultural dialogue and understanding in the present era. The present article has followed the evidence of this good relationship by relying on such things as: questions and answers exchanged between these scholars, recording each other's thoughts in Arabic and Persian, participating in each other's study sessions, using expressions full of respect for each other, and providing financial assistance to each other. https://jhr.usb.ac.ir/article_9685.html Haj Aqa Mohsen Araqi was among the most prominent landowners and benefactors of Markazi Province during the Qajar era, playing a pivotal role in the political and social developments of Arak. Drawing on primary sources from the National Archives of Iran, the detailed proceedings of the National Consultative Assembly, and Qajar administrative records, this study examines the role of Araqi and the Mohseni family in managing an extensive network of estates and endowments, and their impact on local power structures. The central research question investigates the extent to which these endowments influenced the continuity or transformation of local power patterns during and after Haj Aqa Mohsen’s lifetime, and how the Constitutional Revolution affected traditional landlord–peasant relations and the waqf system.The findings indicate that the Mohseni family, leveraging their substantial assets, were able to maintain their social and political status until the end of the Naseri period and even beyond the Constitutional Revolution, despite peasant protests. Analysis of the parliamentary proceedings also reveals that, although there were criticisms regarding the family’s land management and administration of endowments, there was no effective political will among the representatives to implement structural changes, rendering such protests largely ineffective. Consequently, Haj Aqa Mohsen’s heirs continued to preserve their economic and social influence amidst the political transformations of the Constitutional era.