https://www.chistorys.ir/ Muṭāli̒āt-i tārīkh-i farhangī(Cultural History Studies) en daily 1 Thu, 23 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0330 Thu, 23 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0330 https://www.chistorys.ir/article_247549.html Historiographical research reveals historians' scholarly influence by examining their academic traits, methodologies, and interpretative frameworks. A historian's personal background, social context, and lived experiences are essential for understanding the presuppositions shaping their writing. This paper is an attempt to identify and examine Alireza Shapour Shahbazi’s approach to historiography by reviewing his perspectives in Sasanian studies and his broader articles, followed by a critical evaluation of his methodology. The study offers a practical example of assessing an Iranian historian who adheres to scientific criteria while tracing the historical and cultural continuities of his chosen period. Aimed at examining Shahbazi's Sasanian historiography through his scholarly output, this study tries to find what approaches and methods he used to analyze Sasanian events and subjects. A review of various historiographical schools and Shahbazi's works shows that he framed his event analysis and research responses within a robust context of subject description, sources, and data. He also employed a comparative method to examine historical processes. His work consistently balances empirical description with analytical rigor, making his historiography a valuable case for understanding modern Iranian historical scholarship. This assessment highlights how Shahbazi integrated traditional source criticism with contemporary methodological awareness, ultimately contributing to a deeper comprehension of Sasanian history within its broader cultural and temporal framework. https://www.chistorys.ir/article_248263.html Theater in contemporary Iran is considered one of the important arenas of cultural and social developments, and the city of Rasht was one of the active centers in this field during the Reza Shah era. This research aims to investigate the social and cultural contexts of women's presence in Gilan theater, focusing on the life and activities of Fatemeh Nashouri. The main question addressed in the present study is what social, institutional, and cultural factors played a role in shaping the possibility of women's presence in Rasht theater, and how can Fatemeh Nashouri's activities be explained in this process? The research method in this study is descriptive-analytical, and the data were collected and analyzed using library resources, historical documents, Reza Shah era press, and some oral narratives. The main claim of this article is that the expansion of cultural institutions, the formation of theaters, the development of urban space, and the gradual changes in social attitudes towards the role of women provided a new context for their presence in the field of performing arts. In the meantime, Fatemeh Nashouri can be considered a prominent example of women's activism in the gradual process of changing their position in Gilan theater; a presence that was a reflection of the broader cultural transformations of society at that time. https://www.chistorys.ir/article_247809.html Abu Saeed Abdolhay Gardizi, a historian of the fifth century AH, is one of the Iranian historians who, by writing the book Zain al-Akhbar, entered the field of identity based on Iranian-Islamic identity. He made an important contribution to strengthening Iranian historiography in Persian and tried to revive some of the components of Iranian identity and link it with Islamic identity, thus advancing the two in parallel. Considering this issue, this study attempts to examine and analyze Gardizi's role in reviving and recovering the components of Iranian identity and assimilating it with Islamic identity in the historiography of Zain al-Akhbar using a descriptive-analytical method and relying on library sources. Gardizi was among the thinkers who, besides his attachment to Islamic teachings, was also interested in the culture and identity of pre-Islamic Iran and made a serious effort to harmonize some of the identity components such as geography and specific territory, Persian language, common past and history, monotheistic beliefs, and Iranian thought which emphasized wisdom and reason, justice and fairness of rulers and government officials, in the Islamic era. In addition to consolidating and perpetuating this identity, he tried to encourage the rulers of the Ghaznavid Turkic race to preserve and protect the Iranian-Islamic identity, so that in addition to gaining legitimacy and acceptance among the Iranians, they could reduce their oppression and oppression of the people and act on the principles of justice and fairness in the Iranian thought that did not conflict with Islamic culture. https://www.chistorys.ir/article_248451.html The present study aims to investigate the discursive mechanisms of power and knowledge in the images of Iranian history textbooks, and conducts a statistical and content analysis of 2008 images from 76 history textbooks from the Qajar and Reza Shah periods. The data were obtained through systematic and documented collection from reliable sources, including the Ayatollah Boroujerdi Digital Library and the Agha Bozorg database. The theoretical framework of the study is based on the integration of Foucault's thought on discourse and regimes of truth drawing on Krippendorff's quantitative content analysis model with an interdisciplinary approach. The findings show that the images in textbooks were not a neutral representation of history, but a tool for producing and reproducing legitimate historical knowledge within the framework of the power order. In the Qajar period, representations focused more on the glory of the monarchy and the continuity of tradition, while in the Reza Shah period, the image served the discourse of the modern state, nationalism, and cultural discipline. By combining statistical and discursive analysis, this research offers a new perspective for understanding power relations, historical memory, and visual education in Iran. https://www.chistorys.ir/article_250515.html The pace of change in human societies has increased considerably. Some of these changes and transformations are a function of scientific developments resulting from the intellectual endeavors of scholars across various fields. People in the modern world perhaps regard themselves, more than anything else, as indebted to scientists whose inventions and discoveries have brought and continue to bring remarkable changes to their lives. Alongside the empirical, technical, and basic sciences, humanities have likewise undergone transformations in their subjects, questions, and methods in response to the changes and developments occurring in human societies from various perspectives. Historiology is no exception to this rule. The fundamental question, however, is to what extent historians and historical scholarship are keeping pace with these transformations. Do historians pay sufficient attention to the effects of social change on their field of knowledge? Do they take the necessary measures to prevent the discipline from falling behind scientifically in response to these changes? More fundamentally, what threats the discipline of history and historians currently face, and what threats are likely to emerge in the near future from the perspective of the issue under consideration? This article answers these questions in the negative. The author argues that historians, as practitioners and custodians of an academic discipline, may be facing a major and unexpected challenge. The crisis of epistemic inefficacy, together with the transfer of the skill of data verification to technological sciences, is depriving history of one of its oldest and most fundamental functions and transferring that function to technologists. This essay seeks to demonstrate the nature and extent of this major threat and, ultimately, propose a way out of the crisis. https://www.chistorys.ir/article_250546.html Characterological writing (kholqiyāt-negāri) is one of the most widely received literary genres in Iran. Given the strongly ideological dimensions of such texts, a critical perspective toward them appears essential. Ali Rezaqoli's ‘Sociology of Elite-Killing’ ranks among the best-selling works within this genre. This article examines the representation of Iranian moral behavior in this book—as a notable instance of characterological discourse—using Van Dijk's model of critical discourse analysis. The study addresses two main questions: first, how is Iranian temperament represented in ‘Sociology of Elite-Killing’?; second, what ideological devices does the author employ in this representation? ‘Sociology of Elite-Killing’ offers an analysis of the historical roots of despotism and underdevelopment in Iran, emphasizing that the collective political, economic, and social life of Iranians was structurally such that it ultimately led to the elimination of elites. Accordingly, the author argues that the efforts of individual figures such as Amir Kabir, while effective in their own right, ultimately proved futile in altering this trajectory. The findings indicate that the author focuses exclusively on morally reprehensible behaviors and pays no attention to praiseworthy moral conduct among Iranians. Moreover, through polarization, he consistently compares Iran with the West, depicting Iranians using negative terms relative to Westerners in all instances. Ultimately, Rezaqoli attributes Iran's underdevelopment to Iranian temperament, and, in turn, explains temperament through economic culture as the determining factor. This line of reasoning falls into circularity and tautology; if taken as a basis, it would imply that Iran can never achieve development. https://www.chistorys.ir/article_250463.html Abstract Before the advent of the translation movement of rendering works from European languages into Persian during the Qajar Iran, very little knowledge of the Achaemenids could be found in Persian historical and/or literary works. On the other hands, in Western historical and religious sources, the Achaemenid kings were quite familiar characters, along with ample information about them and Iranian ancient history and culture. This study intends to offer relevant evidence as to the medieval literary masterpiece "The Canterbury Tales" by the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer, to illustrate how in the Western world, unlike Iran, ancient Iranian monarchs as well as scholars from the Islamic period of Iran, were known to "The Father of the English Poetry". Two research questions are formulated on the ways and the reasons why Chaucer had gained relevant knowledge to elaborate on in his masterpiece. Then, relevant data gleaned from "The Canterbury Tales" are provided to highlight the poet's command of the topics and themes. The results and findings suggest that Chaucer made use of his deep and comprehensive knowledge to employ parables and allegories within the framework of didactic literature to address human virtues vs. vices for the improvement of ethical norms in society Keywords: The Canterbury Tales ; Chaucer; Ancient Iran; The Achaemenid Dynasty; The Western World; Translation; Cultural History. https://www.chistorys.ir/article_252231.html Although various dīwāns (administrative bureaus) are mentioned in Sasanian administrative sources, the Dīwān-i Kirdagān, despite its significance in the Mādayān ī Hazār Dādestān, has received limited specialised scholarly attention. This study draws on the theoretical framework of religious-economic institutions and their role in organising resources and regulating social relations. Its methodology is descriptive-analytical, based on an examination of legal documents, particularly the Mādayān ī Hazār Dādestān, religious texts such as the Dēnkard and the Dādestān ī Dēnīg, and their comparison with historical sources. The analysis begins by identifying the administrative structure and hierarchy of offices within the bureau, including positions such as the rad and the kirdag, and proceeds to examine the legal mechanisms of endowments and resource redistribution within the framework of Zoroastrian teachings. The findings suggest that the Dīwān-i Kirdagān functioned as an intermediary institution between the state, religion, and society, performing multiple ethical, legal, and financial functions through the management of religious endowments and charitable affairs. The study further argues that, beyond its supervisory role, the Sasanian state was itself a principal patron of many of these activities and, through this bureau, organised economic affairs and social welfare in close connection with religious institutions. https://www.chistorys.ir/article_252429.html One of the important factors in the direction of musical life in Safavid Iran was the institution of power, or more precisely, the manifestation of the politics of court culture on this art. Therefore, considering the subject matter of this article, it is essential to become aware of the policy of bloodshed1 and the way King Tahmasp I dealt with his religious prejudices in the process of continuing the life of this art and explaining the position of musicians, especially in the court of that era. Therefore, considering the necessity and importance expressed in this research, the question is: what impact did King Tahmasp I's religious policy have on the situation of the community of musical artists and the life of this art in the court? The research method is descriptive and analytical, and the data and information were collected through library sources and documents. It seems that King Tahmasp's view on the art of music was based more on his religious beliefs and prejudices; However, in some cases, he also had the political aspect in mind. With the argument that we witness the role of the people of the musical arts and the organization of feasts, periodically in the Shah's court and under his direct orders; because the prohibitions issued by the Shah himself, in sensitive times when the political interests of the court were the main priority, lacked any guarantee of execution and were in practice completely violated by Shah Tahmasp himself.