Parseh Journal of Archaeological Studies

Revisiting Kamarband Cave: Behshar, Mazandaran Province, Iran

Haasan Fazli Nesheli

Abstract
The southeastern Caspian Sea, which archaeologists call the coastal zone, like many other areas of the Fertile Crescent, experienced significant changes in the structure of human societies on the cusp of the Neolithic Revolution in the early Holocene. Although archaeologists have been unable to establish a link between the end of the Mesolithic and the beginning of the Neolithic in the region, based on the current information, we now know that hunter-gatherers arrived in the area ca. 15,000 years ago. This marked one of the most important cultural events in human societies on the cusp of sedentism. One of the caves that has been studied as evidence of the presence of humans during the Mesolithic period is Kamarband (“Belt”) Cave. It is considered one of Iran’s most beautiful caves, attracting hunter-gatherer groups as settlers around 14,300 years ago. The cave was excavated by Carleton Coon between 1949 and 1951, and the description of his excavations during that time have fascinated readers for decades. Nevertheless, while Coon’s excavations at Kamarband Cave shed new light on the cultural epochs of the cave dwellers, they led to numerous ambiguities in understanding the chronological sequence of societies that existed in this cave for a variety of reasons. Over the past 70 years, archaeologists have not been able to accurately evaluate the cultural and social evolution of cave-dwelling human societies due to confusion in Coon’s excavation data. Therefore, a team of Iranian archaeologists re-excavated in limited and untouched parts of Kamarband Cave in 2021, managing to resolve some of the ambiguities in Coon’s chronology. Apart from the archaeological values of Kamarband Cave, recent excavations by the archaeological team have collected other valuable data, which will be addressed in other articles. This article primarily encompasses a chronological assessment of Kamarband Cave based on new data.
Keywords: Kamarband Cave, Mesolithic, Southeast of the Caspian Sea, Mazandaran Province, Hunters and Gatherers.

Introduction
Homo sapiens appeared on the planet about 300 thousand years ago, and except in the time range between 20,000 and 10,000 years ago, the range of remarkable changes among hunter-gatherer societies was not so noticeable and effective that it could cause fundamental changes in the dimensions (Watkins 2024, Flannery and Marcus 2012). The important point is that the cognitive capacities of Homo sapiens occurred around 40,000 to 50,000 years ago, called a revolution of behavioral modernity (Henshilwood and Marean 2003, Powel et al., 2009). However, archaeologists consider the evidence of this behavioral change in humans to be related to a period 15 thousand years ago. Caves such as the Kamarband, Hotu, Komishan and Ali Tepe, and the Mesolithic period significantly differ significantly from their predecessors. The results of archeological studies show that in the north of Iran around 14300 years ago, in the period from which terms such as Epipaleolithic or Mesolithic, a different and transformed society emerged. Scattered research shows the presence of humans throughout Mazandaran province from the Middle Paleolithic period onwards (Ramazanpour and Moradian, 2022). However, the basic question here is that in the southeast of the Caspian Sea, what were the characteristics of the transformative changes on the verge of the Neolithic? Apart from their chronological values, we need to know to what extent northern Iran sites excavated in recent years effectively understand the range of human developments in the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. Investigating the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods can help us understand each society’s ideological and ritual concepts in the transition from the period of hunting and food gathering to the period of agriculture.
The Mesolithic period in the southeast of the Caspian Sea has been well-known for a long time due to the excavation of Hotu and Kamarband caves in 1949-1951 by Carleton Coon (Coon, 1951; 1957). Coon’s investigations and excavations in the plateau and north of Iran became a turning point in the recognition of an important period of human societies living in caves. Following that, a new wave of research began throughout this area. Despite the great fame of these two caves, unfortunately, there was no reliable information about this period, and the only reliable information about the Mesolithic period in the southeast of the Caspian Sea was related to the excavation of Ali Tepe Cave by McBurney and Komishan Cave by Vahdati Nasab. However, these communities’ social and economic status needs to be clarified (McBurney 1968, Vahdati Nasab 2021).
However, these excavations could not answer the questions of this period in the region; for this reason, in the winter of 2021, to review the stratification of the cultural deposits of the Kamarband and to investigate the resilience of humans with the environment from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic period; It was excavated for 40 days by a team from University of Tehran. Before the revision excavation, it seems the Neolithic context of Kamarband was destroyed, and our team only recorded layers of the Mesolithic period. This article describes the results of the 2021 excavation of the Mesolithic stratigraphy of Kamarband.

Kamarband Cave
Kamarband cave is located about 8 km west of Behshahr city and 7 km south of the Caspian Sea at a height of 36.40 meters above sea level. This Cave was first excavated in 1949 and 1951 by Coon. Coon started three trenches in this Cave, including Trench A, B and C. He identified 31 layers in Trench A (Fig. 4). Coon divides the Kamarband sequence into four cultural horizons based on the 28 layers from Trench A from top to bottom: Horizon 1: This period includes layers 1 and 2, consisting of mixed accumulation of Neolithic remains along with the Iron Age, the Islamic period, and the remnants of contemporary periods. Horizon 2: This period, considered the true Neolithic horizon, includes layers 3-10 and is divided into two parts, 2a and 2b. Section 2a includes layers 3 to 7, including pottery and bone remains of domesticated animals. Horizon 3: Upper Mesolithic period includes layers 11-17. Horizon 4: Early Mesolithic includes layers 21 to 28, the oldest phase identified in this Cave.
Kamarband Cave was re-excavated in 2021, and the team opened two trenches (D-E). In Trench D (2.20×3 M), the team recorded 28 contexts. After we removed all the rubbished materials from the Carleton Coon excavation of 1940, very small parts of the southern wall were untouched, which was very significant for stratigraphy. Context 1 contains the surface layer of the cave, and Context 2 contains the remains of the Coon`s excavation. Contexts 11, 12, 13, 14, 27, and 28 contain fireplace structures. Among the cultural remains in this trench, the team found remarkable plant remains such as seeds (recorded from fireplace structure), fossils, shells, snails, and stone artifacts. Trench E (65×220 M) after cleaning the Coon’s excavation, we reached the rocky bed of the cave, which allowed us to have a very good view of Trench E to control the section and stratigraphy. This trench is 65 x 220 cm. Context 1 is the surface layer, and contexts 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,12,15,16,22,23,24,25,26,27,34, and 35 are fireplaces structures. Among these contexts, one of the special findings is the existence of many plant seeds. Contexts 13, 17, 18, 19, 28, 29, and 30 are settlement layers. Contexts 14 and 33 are rubble layers. Context 36 starts from -190 cm to -352 cm on the bedrock of the Kamarband cave and has no cultural finds. Context 37 is the bedrock. The cultural materials of this trench include stone artifacts, chipped stones, plant remains, animal remains, shells, snails, and fossils. Among the special 2021 excavations, we found the Carnivora /wolf teeth in many southeastern Caspian Sea caves, indicating a common shared ideology of Mesolithic people. Due to the destruction of the Neolithic layers in the cave, no evidence of pottery was found during the excavation. Only from Context 2, Trench D, which contained the remains of the Coon`s excavation, were pottery pieces obtained.
Regarding the chronology of Kamarband Cave, Libby from the University of Chicago conducted the first C14 tests of Kamarband Cave on eight charred bone samples from the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. Elizabeth Ralph studied the C14 results of the second season of the Belt Survey (Libby 1951, 1955). However, these results were problematic, so Gregg and Thornton have calibrated past radiocarbon results in recent years (Gregg and Thornton 2012).
Seven charcoal samples from the Trench E 2021 excavation were tested for absolute dating. The first sample of Context 2 (the uppermost layer) is related to the 11810 ± 60 BC period (Fig. 21). The second sample from context 10 shows the date 12030 ± 60 BC. The third sample is from context 16, showing 12010 ± 60 BC. The fourth sample is from context 13 and shows the date of 12150 ± 60 BC. The fifth sample from context 23 shows the date 12210 ± 60 BC, and a sample from context 29 shows the date 12200 ± 60. The last sample is the lowest space of fire preparation from a depth of 180 cm and shows a date of 12270 ± 60. The results of our studies indicate only the Mesolithic occupation of the Cave, while there is a short gap between the two trenches are visible, and it seems the Cave covered by pale soil/Loss. However, Coon’s report and his section indicate such a short cultural gap as well. It seems the Cave was abandoned much earlier before Younger Dryas and after a long interval before the Pottery Neolithic period was occupied again. During the Mesolithic period, the Kamarband Cave was highly used for daily activities, specifically for the production of stone tools. During the excavation of 2021, around 6736 stone tools were found in the two small trenches, while in the Hotu excavation 2020, less than 2000 stone tools from 10meter cultural layers were recorded, which indicates the different functions of the two Caves (Jayez et al., in press).

Conclusion
According to the past and recent excavations of Hotu, Kamarband, and Komishani Tepe, we still see the chronological gap from the Mesolithic into the Early Neolithic period in the southeastern Caspian Sea shoreline. The emergence of the Modern Mind, the modern behavior revolution, and the formation of symbols and symbolic behavior are the main characteristics of the Mesolithic people of the Caspian Sea. The advances of warmer climate during the Bolling- Allerod period from 18,000 to 12,000 years ago caused the consumption of different resources and the subsistence strategy of the Caspian Sea cave people. From the 2021 excavation of Kamarband, we have recorded remarkable seed remains plus stone implements to support the theory of a new group evolving toward pre-agricultural management in one of Iran’s few regions of coastal societies.

The Role of Earthquakes in the Distribution of Bronze and Iron Age Settlements in the East of Central Zagros, Iran

Abbas Motarjem

Abstract
Earthquakes have always been considered a threat to human settlements. According to the results of archeological studies, one of the behavioral patterns of humans in the face of earthquakes has been to permanently change their place of residence. The fact that the major part of Iran’s plateau is located in one of the earthquake-prone areas of the planet makes the research and investigation about the impact of these natural events on the human way of life, especially in the prehistoric era, to be studied more. In this direction and with the aim of assessing the impact of this natural phenomenon in Central Zagros and in order to know how humans react to this phenomenon, it has been studied. Our main question in this research revolved around how ancient earthquakes can be identified in archaeological contexts, and based on what evidence? What were the effects of this destructive phenomenon on the change in people’s biological patterns in the period after the incident? The information of this research has been collected from the archaeological excavations of Godin Tepe, Kangavar and Baba Kamal Tepe Tuiserkan from the Bronze Age to the end of the Iron Age III BC. In the following, based on the evidence of the severity of the destruction caused by the earthquake, an attempt has been made to reconstruct the intensity scale of the earthquakes based on the Mercalli scale. As a result, it was determined that the occurrence of destructive earthquakes with an intensity of more than 6 degrees on the Richter scale in the area of the investigation, especially in the Bronze and Iron Age, was not unrelated to the impact of climate change caused by the intensity of melting glaciers and the change in the hydrological conditions of the earth. After the Late Bronze Age, the events caused by this event caused the relative collapse of many settlements until the Iron III period, and practically at this time, the population of the region was reduced to the minimum possible.
Keywords: Ancient Earthquakes, Archeology of Eastern Central Zagros, Godin Tepe, Baba Kamal Tepe, Bronze & Iron Age.

Introduction
Throughout history, villages and cities have always been threatened by cultural or natural disasters such as war, fire, earthquakes, floods, and storms. Earthquakes are natural events that have been important causes of damage and destruction for humanity. The land of Iran, due to its location in the middle part of the Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt, is always exposed to high-intensity earthquakes and is known as one of the centers of destructive earthquakes.
Studying and researching the remaining signs of ancient earthquakes in Iran according to archaeological data can provide information on long-term seismicity in different parts of this land for researchers. By using archaeological data and matching their information with specific regional geological conditions, it tries to recognize the occurrence of earthquakes that occurred in prehistoric times and their effects on the formation of settlement patterns.
In this regard, the Kangavar Plain and the eastern region of Central Zagros have been studied and researched, focusing on the archaeological information of Godin Tepe and Baba Kamal Tepe. This research aims to investigate and identify the archaeological studies carried out in Godin Tepe and East Central Zagros to study and investigate the events that are suspected to be natural earthquake hazards in Godin Tepe and Baba Kamal. Also, the role and effect of these earthquakes in the distribution of settlements after the earthquake will be studied in the region, seeking to answer questions such as: How can the earthquake during the settlement of Tepe Godin and Tepe Baba Kamal be recognized? In what period of the settlements of Tepe Godin and Baba Kamal and with what approximate magnitude did these earthquakes occur? How can the role and effect of these earthquakes be explained by the change and distribution of settlement patterns in the post-earthquake era of the region? In the investigations and field studies, the evidence and signs of earthquakes in the Bronze Age of Godin Tepe Kangavar and the Iron Age of Baba Kamal Tepe Tuysarkan have been observed, which can be the hypothesis proposed in this regard.

Discussion
The investigation of different cultural layers showed that the Godin site experienced at least three important events that changed the lives of the people at that time. Evidence of these events can be seen in layers III5, III4, and III2 in the Bronze Age in different years between 2400 and 1650 BC. Yang, the explorer of Godin Tepe, believes that the earthquake in these phases caused destruction and destruction in the buildings, which caused the settlement to leave and the site to be abandoned at the end of phase III2. Among the damages caused by the earthquake in Godin Tepe and Baba Kamal, the following can be mentioned:- Collapse of ceilings and walls;
• Collapse of ceilings and walls;
• Debris left on the floor of the rooms;
• Crushing of healthy pottery under the debris;
• Humans being buried under the rubble and being killed by falling bricks;
• Cracks in the walls
• Abandonment of the site after the earthquake
Using the empirical relationships and the Mercalli intensity scale (MMI), we can attribute an average magnitude of 6 to Godin III2 and Iron III Baba Kamal events, and an average of 7 to Godin III4 and III5 events.
According to the archaeological surveys conducted in the studied area, it can be seen that the region has experienced a decrease in human settlements and population collapse in the periods after the Godin earthquakes. The reduction of settlement areas during different phases of the Middle and New Bronze Age compared to the previous layers is observed in the plains of Kangavar, Nahavand, Asadabad, Tuysarkan, Malair, Sanghar, Sahne and Borujerd. In layer III2, the number of sites with artifacts from this period increases in the region. Young and Henrikson believe Godin III2 pottery at the same time as this phase, or probably at the end of this phase, we see an increase in the nomadic process, and it is likely that this issue has influenced the increase in the number of ancient sites.
During the Iron Age, the central Zagros region underwent changes that led to the reduction of human settlements in Iron Age I. Archaeological data show that there was no population density in Iron Age I/II in areas like Kangavar Plain. Several abrupt climate changes occurred during the Holocene epoch. This change in weather conditions, along with the earthquakes in the region, could have been a factor that affected the settlement of human populations and settlements in the region in prehistoric times and caused a change in the settlement pattern and a decrease in human populations.

Conclusion
In this study, in order to investigate the seismicity of the eastern central Zagros region and the earthquakes that occurred in the Bronze and Iron Ages of the region, the collection of evidence and documentation of the earthquakes of the mentioned periods, obtained from archaeological excavations, was collected. Earthquake evidence in Baba Kamal Tuiserkan Tepe was obtained in the form of disturbed layers with cracks in the Iron Age III clay structure. Also, these signs have been observed in the form of ruins and human remains found under the debris, scattered artifacts and pottery on the floors of residential houses, and cracks on the walls in the Bronze Age of Godin Kangavar Tepe. Godin Tepe has witnessed three destructive earthquakes in phases III5, III4, and III2, which, in addition to the destruction that followed, caused the area to be abandoned for a long time. The abandonment of the area can also be seen on Baba Kamal hill, which was without settlement until the Parthian period.
After the Godin III period until the end of the Iron Age I and II, the reduction of settlement areas is observed not only in the Kangavar plain but also in most of the surrounding areas of the Kangavar plain in the east of central Zagros. However, some researchers have pointed out the change in weather conditions as another reason for the decrease in the number of settlements in the region, and climatological research has proven that during this period, climatic dry events occurred in Southwest Asia. According to the seismicity of the central Zagros region and the evidence of earthquakes from Godin Tepe and Baba Kamal, these climate changes, along with the occurrence of earthquakes in this region, are both factors that have provided unfavorable conditions for life in the region at the same time. Based on the data obtained from the Godin and Baba Kamal sites, a magnitude of 7 was estimated for the Godin earthquakes of layers III5 and III4 and a magnitude of 6 for the earthquakes of Godin layer III2 and Iron Age III of Baba Kamal.

Classification and Typology of The Sassanian Pottery in Gorieh Site of Ilam Province

Mlilad Baghsheikhi

Abstract
Gorieh site located in Zarneh section of Ivan Gharb city is one of the important Sassanid and early Islamic sites in archeological studies of the west of the country which has been excavated in 2015. During a season of excavation in this ancient site, a variety of cultural artifacts were found, including pottery, and due to the importance of pottery and its role in archaeological studies, this cultural material was studied in this article. Therefore, for this study, 127 pieces of pottery from the Sassanid era, from 1500 pieces of pottery obtained from excavation, were selected for study. Initially, these pottery were classified typologically based on their technical characteristics and shape or form. This research has a fundamental nature with a descriptive-analytical approach and the method of this research has two parts: library and field studies (pottery). The main purpose of this article is to study the quantity and quality of Sassanid pottery in Gorieh area, then their typology, classification and relative chronology. Chronology has been done comparatively and cultural relations with adjacent areas have been explained based on comparative studies of pottery. The results showed that among the identified forms among the pottery of Gorieh area, including Ewer, jug, bowl, cup and plate and the most common decorative patterns of pottery are carved patterns. Pottery is often suitable for baking and a sign of oven temperature control for baking pottery, and the quality of their construction is generally average. Also, a comparative comparison showed that in terms of relative chronology, Sassanid Gorieh pottery is relatively similar to the areas of the late period. Therefore, while having some local characteristics, the pottery of this area with areas such as, Qasr-e-Bonsar, Hajiabad, Sassanian sites identified in the survey of the Mahneshan of Zanjan, North Khuzestan, Mianab Shushtar, Bushehr, Ras al-Khaimah and Tal-e mahuz sites, Abu Sharifa in Iraq They are comparable and in addition to the influences of regional style, it is most similar to the cultural sphere of southwestern Iran.
Keywords: Typology, Classification, Sasanian Potteries, Gorieh Site, Ilam.

Introduction
Gorieh area is located in geographical coordinates of 38s x: 605380 and Y: 37522210. This site is located 50 km northwest of Ilam, Zarneh district in Ivan city, about 800 meters south and southwest of lower Sartang village. (Khosravi, 1395: 32) Gorieh region drowned in water after impounding of Kangir dam in year of 1394 AH. (Fig. 2) Part of the Zagros Mountains, which overlooks to Mesopotamia and the plains of Khuzestan, is now called Ilam Province. Pottery is the most abundant cultural material in archaeological excavations and studies. Pottery is mostly used for relative dating and to know the cultural and trade relations of the ancient sites. (Khosrozadeh et al., 1399: 119) Therefore, in the present study, the Authors try to introduce and study the pottery findings as one of the cultural materials discovered from the excavation of Gorieh site, which was excavated by one of the Authors of the article, with other sites at the same contemporary.

Discussion
Masbezan was one of the Sassanian provinces during the rule of Ardeshir Babakan (ruled 244-241 AD) (Rawlinson, 1362: 44); in historical books, this province has been recorded in two forms: ((Masbezan)) and ((Mah, sebzan)). The word Mah or May in the word ((sabzan)) is the changed form of the word ((Mad)) which means city (Qara Chanlu, 1360: 31-32) and the change of the word Mad to Mah and May, which was done during the Parthian and Sassanian eras, was also a common word in the Islamic period for refer to Iraq and non-Arabic places. (Ibid: 32) During the early centuries of Islam, western Iran in the terms of geographical divisions was considered as Jabal province (mountain) in. (Fig. 1) among the cultural findings of the excavation in the Gorieh site, a number of pottery obtained from different spaces. In the present study, from hundreds of Sassanian pottery pieces obtained by screening method, Index pottery was selected from 127 pieces and then categorization, typology and chronology were proposed. Most pottery was made using the wheel-making technique and most of them are sufficiently baked; the pottery s are made entirely of mineral chamotte (sand). In terms of the quality of the pottery s, the earthenware of Gorieh area can be divided into three groups: 1. medium 2. Average 3. Rough. In the present study, the studied samples are pottery s from ancient textures and spaces which cognitively obtained and representative of all classes and species, these potteries were selected accordingly and then discussed and analyzed. Therefore, from a comparative study conducted in a chapter of archeological excavations in Gorieh area, the number of pieces was selected separately: 96 rim, 1 pipe, 4 handles, 18 body and 8 pottery bottom Sassanian unglazed pottery s in terms of color of the dough are divided in three main groups: pea near to green (79 of 127 pieces), pea (20 of 127 pieces), red (19 of 127 pieces), brown (7 from 127 pieces) and gray (3 out of 127 pieces). In addition to the above, for the classification of pottery s which studied in Gorieh, the shape of their rims has also been considered. Accordingly, the rim founded pieces are classified into separate groups: gutters shape, triple, compact, standing and round, round inward or outward, quadruple, and flat .The highest rim diameter among Ceramics is 400 mm and the lowest is 40 mm, in terms of rim type’s number, the highest type of rim is the rounded rim. The pottery bottoms are divided into three groups: flat (Table6, numbers 1 and 3), legged bottom (Table6, number 4 to 7) and upright bottom (Table6, number 2), and handles are in two circular shapes (Table6, number 9 to 11) button shapes, (Table6 number 8) and a container tube (Table6 number 12) are separable Motifs and decorative elements of Gorieh pottery’s can be divided into four categories: 1. Simple patterns (stump) 2. Composite patterns 3. Added patterns and 4. Compression patterns.
The studied potteries, as mentioned before, is placed in common (simple) type in terms of construction and technical characteristics. In the present study dishes, based on the general shape of the earthenware and the type of edge are divided into different shapes of jug, crock, bowls, plates and cups.

Conclusion
In each cultural region, the quality and quantity of archaeological data provide the basis for archaeological evaluations. The exploration, typology, and chronology of the potteries of a Guriyeh region were carried out to answer the research questions. The technical characteristics of the pottery show that sand is used in its composition. What is clear is that most of the potteries were fired sufficiently, and some of them were fired insufficiently, which indicates the lack of heat control in the pottery kilns. Most of the potteries studied in the present study were in the medium group, showing the tendency of the residents of Guriyeh to use vessels with medium elegance. The majority of the pottery has been made through wheel throwing, demonstrating the use of the potter’s wheel in making pottery; only a few of them are handmade. Wet hand polishing is also observed on the inner and outer walls of most of the pottery. In addition to the polishing of some earthenware, a thin or thick mud layer was also applied on the inner or outer wall and even both walls. In total, several types of pottery, including jugs, crocks, bowls, cups, and plates, were obtained from the Guriyeh area. The comparison of the kinds of pottery with those of other regions showed that pottery with general use, such as jugs (48.96%), is the primary type used by people living in this region. In terms of decorative diversity, Guriyeh’s pottery includes engraved, embossed, and combined motifs. Among them, the use of fingernail pressure to design the pottery seems to be indigenous to the Western region of Iran, and it has not been observed in other areas. Since there is very little archaeological information about Sassanid pottery in the Western region of Iran, the pottery of the Guriyeh area was compared with other regions. Based on comparisons, it was found that the potteries of the Guriyeh area have relative similarity with those of regions at the end of this period, such as (Abu Nasr Palace in Fars, Abu Sharifah Hill in Iraq, and Bushehr surveys). In general, the Guriyeh area was located on two ancient communication routes from Iran to Mesopotamia, as well as a route to the West and Southwest of Iran. Accordingly, Guriyeh’s pottery is comparable to that of other cultural regions of Iran. It can be concluded that based on the available documents, the area of Guriyeh seems to be culturally influenced by the cultural region of Southwest and South Iran, which can be attributed to its specific regional style.

Revealing Pearl as A Functional Element or A Sacred Concept in Sasanian Art

Yaghoub Mohammadifar

Abstract
The pearl motif stands out as one of the most prominent and widely used decorative elements in Sasanian art, with its diverse reflections evident in the cultural and artistic works of the era. This study aims to explore the significance and position of this motif in Sasanian decorative arts, analyzing it as one of the most notable designs employed in royal ornaments and as a sacred or meaningful symbol. The research adopts a fundamental approach, utilizing descriptive and comparative-analytical methods, with data collected through library-based studies. Findings reveal that the use of the pearl motif in Sasanian art extended beyond mere decoration, serving as a symbolic, spiritual, and royal element. The analysis indicates that the motif was deeply connected with Zoroastrian beliefs, representing farr-e izadi (divine glory). This symbolic motif was extensively featured in various decorative arts, including silk textiles, gold and silver vessels, coins, and architectural adornments such as stucco and wall paintings. The use of the pearl motif emphasized themes such as royal legitimacy, divine sanctity, and the aspiration for increased divine favor, ultimately leading to greater prosperity and success. The results highlight that the pearl motif, by bridging religious and social values, became a cornerstone of Sasanian decorative arts and a powerful symbol of the interconnectedness between humanity, the divine, and the royal order during this period.
Keywords: Pearl, Symbol, Decorative Art, Sasanian, Farreh Izadi.

Introduction
The motif of the pearl in Sasanian art stands out as one of the most prominent and widely used elements in the artistic decorations of this period. Beyond its decorative aspects, it served as a symbol of spirituality and royalty. Despite its significance, existing studies have not comprehensively analyzed its meanings and applications. The symbolic use of pearls in art emphasized royal legitimacy, divine sanctity, and the attainment of khvarenah (divine glory) and greater prosperity. This paper demonstrates how pearls, as a significant symbol, established a profound connection between humans, deities, and the royal system.
Despite the importance of pearls in the Sasanian era, current research lacks a thorough analysis of their meanings and functions in Sasanian art. This study explores the roles of pearls in Sasanian art, examining their association with the spiritual and social values of the time. It also highlights how this symbolic element reflected the relationship between humans, divine beings, and the royal order. The primary goal of this research is to analyze the significance and role of the pearl motif in Sasanian art. It aims to show how this motif, beyond its decorative purposes, embodied spiritual and social meanings and served as a symbol of khvarenah and royal legitimacy in artistic works.
This study also investigates the various applications of the pearl motif in Sasanian decorative arts, including textiles, vessels, coins, and architectural ornamentation. It examines its connections to Zoroastrian beliefs and its impact on the social and religious values of Sasanian society. Moreover, it analyzes how the pearl motif was used to emphasize royal legitimacy and to secure prosperity and well-being, while also exploring the bond between humans, divine entities, and the royal system as reflected in artistic works.
The key research questions are: What symbols and functions does the pearl represent in Sasanian art? How are the most significant visual manifestations of the pearl motif related to the spiritual values of the Sasanian era?
In response to the first question, the hypothesis suggests that the pearl motif in Sasanian art transcended its decorative nature, symbolizing spiritual and royal values that reflected the religious and social beliefs of Sasanian society. For the second question, it is hypothesized that the visual expressions of the pearl motif, through specific designs and compositions, were closely tied to spiritual and ideological values and served as a symbol of khvarenah and royal legitimacy in artistic creations.

Identified Traces
Since Sasanian art was primarily intended for the court and was entirely official, its artistic elements were naturally aligned with royal objectives. Pearls, intrinsically associated with farrah (divine glory) in both tangible and abstract forms, were used extensively in Sasanian art for decorative and symbolic purposes.
One of the primary uses of pearls was as royal adornment. They were frequently seen in various types of jewelry, royal garments, crowns, and in the decorations of royal rings. A notable decorative element was the design of one or two strands of pearls, often interspersed with square jewel-encrusted pieces. This motif seems to have been one of the standard designs used in various decorations.
Among royal jewelry, there was a necklace that appeared to hold a distinctive value compared to other jewels. It consisted of a single strand of gems or pearls ending in a flowing ribbon, with three large gemstones or three royal pearls in the center. This necklace seems to have held a status akin to that of the royal ring. In Sasanian art, such necklaces were either worn by kings and deities or by specific animals on their necks or beaks.
Pearls were also used as symbolic elements in architectural decorations. Pearl-encrusted medallions and circular frames were among the most common features in Sasanian decorative and symbolic art. Beyond their aesthetic function, these pearl frames had two meaningful aspects: first, they surrounded sacred and pre-defined symbolic elements in Sasanian religious and philosophical thought, emphasizing their significance and sanctity; second, elements that were not inherently sacred gained new meaning when placed within these frames, sometimes carrying a message from the king and ultimately attaining a spiritual and transcendent quality. The concept of a sacred halo, like the pearl motifs, was also related to the notion of farrah (Sodavar, 2017: 19).

Conclusion
The motif of pearls in the Sasanian period can be explored from both an artistic and decorative viewpoint, as well as from a mythological and religious perspective. Since Sasanian decorative art was dedicated to celebrating the finest creations of the divine, pearls, with their sacred status as symbols of Mithra, Anahita, and other deities associated with water, became one of the most prominent decorative elements. In Sasanian art, pearls were never used purely for ornamental purposes; rather, they were imbued with deep religious meanings, transforming them into a widely used and sacred motif.
Pearls were among the most common embellishments in Sasanian handicrafts and architectural decorations, serving as a visual representation of farrah. The various forms in which pearls manifested farrah included not only the usual jewelry worn by priests, courtiers, nobles, and aristocrats but also a specific type of necklace comprising a strand of jewel-encrusted pearls, with three large gemstones or royal pearls in the center. This special necklace, in addition to symbolizing power, was presented by sacred animals such as the peacock, duck, ram, and winged horse as a sign of the king’s legitimacy and divine selection as ruler.
Finally, pearl-encrusted solar rings were transformed into a sacred halo around the heads of kings and deities, symbolizing divine presence and spiritual power.

“Clay processing Building” in Yelsuie Germi Castle, an Unknown Structure from the Middle Ages of Islam

Reza Rezaloo

Abstract
Archaeological excavations in Yelsuie Germi Castle, very rich findings and valuable documents such as pottery, architecture and other handicrafts were identified and excavated from under a mound of soil that can play an important role in the detailed analysis of this area. One of these landmarks is an unknown structure with complex architecture and building elements located on the hills of the castle near the Sambur Chay River. This building has sections and spaces of four corners that the presence of water conduction paths into the building on the walls and water outlet channels in the floor, has increased the importance of the building and has made it more difficult to identify and evaluate the main function of the building. In this regard, the present research is descriptive-analytical and based on field studies and review of library documents, while identifying and introducing the mentioned building, seeks to find a logical answer to the following questions: What is the usage of the unknown building of Yelsuie Castle and how did it work? What era does the unknown building of Yelsuie Castle belong to? Studies were carried out show that the unknown building is due to the presence of ponds and inlets and outlets water conduction paths was in association with water usage, which is probably used for the preparation and processing of clay, and accordingly by the authors, The name of the building is called “clay processing building”. On the other hand, the study of pottery obtained from different spaces of this building and its comparison with other areas, confirms that this building belongs to the Islamic Middle Ages and the Seljuk period.
Keywords: Germi, Yelsuie Castle, Clay Processing Building, Pottery, Medieval Islam.

Introduction
The current research method is based on a descriptive-analytical and historical approach and its data collection is in the form of library and field studies and archaeological excavations in the area. According to this, at first, the whole building and its various spaces have been drawn, designed and three-dimensional with the help of various software; Also, in order to achieve the most accurate information and general analysis of the building, the obtained pottery from inside the brick building has been compared and matched with the pottery works of other areas of the Islamic era. The ancient place of Yelsuie Castle in the Ingot section of Germi city consists of a small castle on top of a high natural hill and a residential area located in its southwestern part. Yelsuie Castle is located in the watercourse of Sambur Chay River. Easy access to river water resources as well as the precipice situation in the southern and eastern part of the hill on which the castle was built, is one of the most important strategic features that has been influential in choosing this place to form such an area. In general, this area can be considered as one of the most key Islamic area in northwestern Iran. The brick building is located on the eastern side of the castle and on the watercourse of the Sambur Chay River. In this regard, in order to identify this brick building, a workshop called Workshop No. 4 was created in this part of the area by the excavation team. While continuing the excavation process, a brick building with special architecture and unknown usage was discovered. The mentioned building has an almost rectangular plan that includes several spaces inside. The main materials used in the structure of this building are bricks with gypsum and lime mortar, and in some parts, especially in the outer parts of the building, river rubble has been used. The walls of the brick building are completely smooth and flat and are made with an average width of 50 cm and the height of all of them is the same and is about 70 cm.

Discussion
In general, according to the general structure of the brick building, the most reasonable usage for this architecture is being a pottery workshop and processing and preparing clay in it. One of the most important steps before making pottery is to find the right clay or grinding clay, without clods and other materials. Therefore, for this purpose, it is necessary for the pottery clay to be well shaped, sifted, cleaned and prepared. It seems that small ponds that are embedded lengthwise in different parts of the brick building; Along with water inlet and outlet channels, they are made for just such a use. In fact, in this building, water is directed into these ponds and collected in them through small canals that are embedded on the walls. After filling them, in the next stage, the clay, which was suitable for pottery, was mixed with water inside these basins and became a slurry. While mixing the clay with water, the water flow is redirected into these ponds again, and during this operation, the excess material inside of the soil as well as other additional materials are poured out of the ponds along with the excess water into large side spaces. And was led out of the building by floor channels. Also, the grains of sand that may have been inside the clay, due to the weight of the bottom of the ponds and the parts that are embedded in the bottom of the floor, were deposited. After doing this, the water flow was cut off and the produced clay was deposited in the ponds for a few days and remained there until it was soft and smooth and so-called settled. After a few days, the prepared clay was collected and transferred to pottery workshops and then to pottery kilns.

Conclusion
In fact, it should be added that the existence of various pottery in various forms, styles and techniques in Yelsuie Castle indicates the possible presence of pottery kilns in this site, which also confirms the fact that the brick building is a workshop for producing high quality clay. On the surface of Yelsuie Castle, there are limited traces of pottery balls that indicate the presence of pottery kilns in the area, so that with the help of these balls, the temperature of the kilns was regulated. In this article, 3 maps and 13 images including the castle itself, its geographical location, as well as the brick building and its various parts are given. Also, in two tables, the types of obtained pottery from the brick building are displayed, and in another table, similar samples of obtained pottery from other sites of the Islamic period in other parts of Iran have been compared and matched. According to potteries and other artifacts, the date and time of construction of this building should be belong to the Middle Ages of Islam and the Seljuk era.

The Formation, Development and Decay of the Historical City of Dehdasht

Hassan Karimian

Abstract
Dehdasht is one of the most significant historical cities in the southwest of Iran, which in its flourishing period was considered the center of a region that was important from the Sassanid period and after that with the names of Beladshapur and Kohgiluyeh had. This city is one of the historical cities of Iran, which despite many historical developments, it can still be considered the healthiest historical city with stone architecture in the country. During its heyday, Dehdasht had all the components of a city, including government citadel, tower and ramparts, mosque, school, caravanserai, bath, market, square, and other public buildings and more than a thousand residential houses. The purpose of this research is to understand the history and how the formation, development and decline of this valuable city. In this research, which was conducted in a historical-analytical way, it was attempted to compare the results of field studies, cultural materials (coins, architecture, pottery finds, inscriptions and inscriptions on tombstones) and Documents (written sources) be answered to this question, how was the historical course and the way of formation, development and decay of the historical city of Dehdasht? The obtained results indicate the growing trend of Dehdasht from the middle Islamic centuries and the peak of its development and prosperity in the Safavid period and the gradual decline of the city after this period. The results of the field studies also revealed that the initial location of the city was probably first formed in the neighborhood that is called “Rawaq neighborhood” today, and later in the Safavid period, the concentration and prosperity of the city increased in the eastern(main) part, and then the western part falls from its initial prosperity. Despite the development of Dehdasht in the west-east axis, with the fall of the Safavid rule, this city lost its prosperity so that today its historical context remains uninhabited and abandoned.
Keywords: Beladshapur, Kohgiluyeh, Dehdasht City, Jumeh City, Safavid Period.

Introduction
The historical city of Dehdasht is located in the current province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyar Ahmad, located in the southwest of Iran and on the southern side of the new city of Dehdasht(Fig. 1 and 2). This city was the center of a region that became known as “Beladshapur” from the Sassanid era due to the construction of a city by Shapur I. Beladshapur was one of the important rastaqs of the Shapur khoreh and then the Arrajan khoreh, which were considered the most famous areas of Fars in the Sassanid and the Islamic era (Ibn Khordadbeh, 1889: 45; Maghdasi, 1411: 28; Estakhri, 2004: 135). In the 2nd and 3rd centuries, Beladshapur district was under the administration and control of a person named Giloyeh (Gilo/Gelo, Gilo Mehr) and his family, who, thanks to his bravery, was called “Ram Giloyeh, Kohgiluyeh “also became famous (Estakhri, 2004: 144). According to historical sources, the city that was founded by Shapur I in the region of Beladshapur was called “Jumeh”, which was also known as “Beladshapur” after the name of the region itself (Maghdasi, 1361: 635; Estakhri, 1373: 98). Jumeh, the main center of Beladshapur, was destroyed during the Ismailian conflicts (Ibn Balkhi, 1374: 351 & 353; Mostoufi, 1362: 127), but after this destruction, it could not regain its past prosperity. With the decline of Jumeh, Dehdasht started its prosperity and replaced Jumeh as the main center of Beladshapur. Despite the importance of the Dehdasht, comprehensive, continuous and purposeful archaeological studies based on methodical archaeological excavations were not recorded, and there are many questions about this city, especially its history and how it was formed. Finding, development, decline and reasons for its decline remain unanswered. Answering these questions, while explaining various aspects of the developments of this city, provides valuable information about historical developments in Iran, which is necessary in its own way. In this research, it is tried to analyze the information left from the historical texts and cultural materials, while answering the questions to explain the historical course and how it was formed. It is assumed that the initial core of that formed in the current neighborhood of Rawaq and grew and developed relatively in the middle Islamic centuries, and although it flourished in the early Safavid with the development in the west-east axis, but in at the end of this period, it has experienced its gradual decline.

Discussion
Historical sources do not provide any information with the name Dehdasht before the 9th century AH. The correspondence of Dehdasht with “qhariyeh” that is mentioned as a station on the Arrajan-Isfahan route is also possible, and assuming its authenticity, it does not provide the correct form of the qhariyeh (Dehdasht). The information about the 9th century AH is also very little. In the first decade of the 9th century A.H., the name of Dehdasht came along with the districts and big cities such as Ramhormoz, Behbahan, Kuh-Giloyeh and Zaidon. According to numismatic documents, Dehdasht was an important and highly important city in the history before the 9th century A.H. and also during this century, so that during the mentioned century it had extensive commercial relations. Trade was with big cities on both sides of Zagros and especially Isfahan. In this way, there is no doubt that this city has gone through its growth stages before and its formation was related to earlier periods. In addition to the numismatic documents, the pottery obtained from Dehdasht and to some extent some architectural works and single findings such as tombstone inscriptions on the importance of Dehdasht in history before the 9th century AH and also during this century, they testify. Documented by written sources, there is no doubt that with the beginning of the Safavid period, the importance of the Kohgiluyeh area and the city of Dehdasht doubled. The archeological studies conducted also place most of the buildings of the historical context of Dehdash and the formation of the main context of the city in connection with the Safavid period. This issue also shows that the significant growth and physical development of the city took place in the Safavid period. A topic that the study of pottery data, the analysis of historical sources and the analysis of cultural materials also reflect well. Dehdasht lost its importance and prosperity at the end of Safavid rule and at the same time as it fell. As it can be seen from the analysis of historical sources, the analysis of the remaining works and the analysis of cultural materials, the last periods of construction, reconstruction and repairs of construction works, as well as the activities and efforts for the development of the city of Dehdasht, related to the Qajar period and its last half. is the period.

Conclusion
The results obtained from the analysis of historical sources and cultural materials indicate the gradual development of Dehasht from the 8th and 9th centuries AH and after that. If the matching of Dehdasht with the “qhariyeh” mentioned by maqhdasi in this article is correct, Dehdasht was a station on the Arrajan-Isfahan communication route in the 4th century. Before this date and even after that until the beginning of the 9th century, there is no name from Dehdasht or “qhariyeh” in historical texts. In addition, among the studied cultural materials, there is no reliable data that can be confidently attributed to before the 8th and 9th. Despite this, the analyzes obtained from the documents of this research testify to the importance of Dehdasht during the 8th and 9th centuries and even before that, and confirm the existence of Dehdasht earlier than the mentioned date. Although, many remains of architecture and older parts of the historical context of Dehdasht have been lost, the available data show evidence from the 8th and 9th centuries and most of them belong to the Safavid period. According to studies, the initial growth of Dehdasht took place in the western part, Rowaq neighborhood, and with the significant development of Dehdasht at the same time as the Safavid, this part of the city fell from prosperity and the city was formed in the eastern part. As it can be seen from the analysis of the studied cultural materials, Dehdasht was considered one of the main centers of Kohgiluyeh in the 8th and 9th and had a mint and significant trade exchanges with the big cities around it. The results obtained from the study of historical texts, the Evidence remains and the analysis of cultural materials, place the main growth and development of the city of Dehdasht in relation to the Safavid. At the end of Safavid rule and its fall, the city of Dehdasht gradually lost its past prosperity. According to historical sources, wars, rebellions, consecutive looting, insecurity, destruction of roads, destruction of bridges, intermediate stations, deterioration of the economic situation and heavy taxes led to the decline of the city of Dehdasht and the city’s depopulation, so that not a single household remained in it. The final collapse and the end of the political-social life of the city is related to the Qajar and the end of the reign of EhtEsham al-Douleh (1281-1298) in Kohgiluyeh.

The Study of Lustre Glass Works in the Islamic Era and its Compliance with the Instructions of “Al-Durra Al-Meknuna”

Mohammad Mirshafiee

Abstract
Lustre is an enamel painting on glass or glaze, which is baked in a furnace with a regenerating environment, and after the baking process is completed, it forms a shiny layer with a metallic polish. This metallic luster can be in different color ranges such as gold or copper red, which is created by copper and silver nanoparticles. The first works that have been obtained from the implementation of the Lustre technique are on glass containers. However, according to the theory of most researchers, this technique was used on glazed pottery from the 3rd century AH and continued. On the other hand, in the historical sources, the instructions of Lustre on Abgineh are discussed in the manuscript of Al-Durra Al- Meknuna. In the present research, it has been tried to answer the question, what are the points of commonality between the glass works of Lustre and the instructions of Risalah Al-Durra Al- Meknuna? The current research is of fundamental type and the scientific information and historical documents of the research were collected in the form of documents and then analyzed and explained using the descriptive-analytical research method. The results show that the elements used in the gilding of the glasses of the early Islamic periods are in accordance with the instructions of Al-Durra Al- Meknuna. Also, there is a match between Lustre’s glass works and the instructions of Al-Durra Al- Meknunain the way and implementation of coloring and also in the color variation.
Keywords: Glass of the Islamic Era, Lustre Enamel, Al-Durra Al- Meknuna, Lustre Glass.

Introduction
The method of collecting information will be based on library sources. The research method is based on the way of collecting information in the form of descriptive and analytical research and the type of basic research. In this research, it has been tried to collect Zarinfam glass works from books and also from the reliable sites of different museums.
An overview of the history of Lustre glass and the theory of transfer of Lustre technology from glass to pottery:
The theory of the transfer of Lustre from glass to pottery argues that the oldest documented date for the method of Lustre is related to glass and belongs to the 2nd century of Hijri and was produced in Egypt. This theory emphasizes that this technology was gradually transferred from Egypt to Basra, Iraq over time, and then transferred to pottery by Iraqi potters in the 3rd century AH. (Carl Johan Lamm, 1941; Akbari, 1393: 4 & Porter, 1381: 15; Carboni, 2001:51).
Finally, it should be mentioned that the basic questions regarding the works obtained from Syria, Iraq and even Iran remain unanswered and it is still possible to attribute the origin of Lustre glass to each of the mentioned countries. In an article entitled: Analysis of the theory of the transfer of gilded glass technology from glass to pottery, based on the treatise Al-Durra Al- Meknuna, Mirshfi’i has tried to emphasize that the oldest written work related to Lustre glass is the handwritten treatise Al-Durra Al- Meknuna written by Jaber bin Hayyan. And this treatise is even older than the Egyptian glass work (163 AH) which has been cited by researchers, and it shows the familiarity and production of Lustre by glassmakers in Iraq in the first half of the second century. In fact, it can be said that since the 3rd century A.H., Lustre flourishes on pottery and probably the production of Lustre glasses has decreased from this period onwards and then stopped. Of course, considering that in the book Javahernameh Nizami in the 6th century of Hijri, there are instructions that mention the production of Lustre both on pottery and on glass, it can be said that the production of Lustre on glass was still common until this time. is (at least in Iran). This is despite the fact that in the written works of the following centuries, such as Arais al-Jawahir and Nafais al-Ataib in 700 AH and even the treatise of Cipriano Piccolpaso in 966 AH, only the golden instructions on pottery were discussed.

Discussion
Glass works with Lustre painting:
The collection and study of the works of the first centuries of golden glass have been taken from the written sources of the researchers as well as the works available in the prestigious sites of different museums of the world. This sample of works will help us in accordance with the instructions of Risalah al-Darrah al-Makununa. Finally, these works are compiled in table number (1) based on the estimated construction date.
Instructions related to Lustre glass in Al-Durra Al- Meknuna manuscript:
The instructions related to Lustre, in the treatise of Al-Durra Al- Meknuna, start from page 9 of the book and with the words: “Qal Jabir in the chapters of talawih”. Jabir used the word Talawih for Lustre. In the following, the instructions contained in the handwritten treatise of Al-Durra Al- Meknuna, have all been read and then translated into Farsi.

Analysis and adaptation of Lustre glass works with the instructions of Al-Durra Al- Meknuna
1- Analysis of the elemental composition of the instructions of Lustre in Risalah Al-Durra Al- Meknuna: From the analysis of the instructions presented in this treatise, it can be seen that in the instructions contained in the book of Al-Durra Al- Meknuna, metals such as copper and silver were used the most, so that copper was used in about 85% and silver in 73% of the instructions. In today’s research conducted by Brill and other researchers on gold, it has been determined that silver and its compounds cause a golden yellow color and copper compounds also cause a red color. The chemical analyzes of Lustre glasses from the early Islamic periods show that the elements used in them are in accordance with the instructions of Al-Durra Al- Meknuna. If Brill’s chemical study, regarding a number of golden pieces of glass in the Corning Glass Museum, also confirms this (Brill, 1970). Also, the description of the stages of implementation of Lustre and the baking conditions is a revival of what is clearly stated in the description of Al-Durra Al- Meknuna.
2- Match in color variety: Reading the instructions of Risalah Al-Durra Al- Meknuna shows that the instructions can create different color spectrums (Table 2). On the other hand, the examination of the works and samples presented in this research also indicates that Lustre is made in different color ranges such as yellow, dark brown, light brown, red, reddish, golden, blue, rainbow. . This shows that the artists used many instructions for painting Lustre and were not limited to one instruction. Also, in the early period of the emergence of Lustre, two or more colors were used together, which is known as multi-color Lustre.
3- Comparison of the instructions of Al-Durra Al- Meknuna and the works of Lustre glass according to the implementation method: Studying some of the instructions of Al-Durra Al- Meknuna, shows that Jaber emphasizes on the internal and external coloring of the object after presenting the instructions (image no. 4). The external and internal painting of objects in the presented glass works is quite evident and is one of the characteristics of Lustre glass in the early period. In pictures No. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 19 and 20, it can be seen that Lustre paintings were done inside and outside.

Conclusion
The sample of works shows that there are a very limited number of works that have inscriptions containing information about the place of construction or the date. However, numerous works obtained show that Syrian countries such as Iraq, Egypt and even Iran were active in the production of glass painted with Lustre enamel during the Abbasids, Copts and Fatimids. The chemical analysis of the Lustre glasses of the early Islamic periods shows that the elements used in them are in accordance with the instructions of Al-Durra Al- Meknuna. If the chemical study of Brill, regarding a number of Lustre pieces of glass in the Corning Museum of Glass, also confirms this fact that there are silver and copper as the main material in the surface of the glass. Also, the description of the stages of implementation of Lustre and the baking conditions is a revival of what is clearly stated in the description of Al-Durra Al- Meknuna. And Jaber also mentions the baking of relish under the instructions. The technical reading of the treatise Al-Durra Al- Meknuna shows that the instructions of Lustre can create diverse color spectrums, as 12 different color spectrums are presented. Various elements, metals and compounds used in Jaber’s instructions are among the main and effective factors on the variety of colors created. In this way, copper compounds produce ruby-red and copper-red colors, and instructions with silver compounds produce green-golden or yellow-golden gilts. As Pradel has confirmed, yellow, brown and deep brown, amber, orange and sometimes gold colors are created by the combined use of copper and silver compounds. This issue shows the conformity of colored works and samples with the instructions of Al-Durra Al- Meknuna. Also, in the comparative comparison of the instructions of Al-Durra Al- Meknuna and the works of Lustre Shihrah based on the method of execution, it shows that Jaber emphasizes on the interior and exterior coloring of the object under some of the instructions. The external and internal coloring and painting of the objects in the presented glass works are quite evident, especially in the works such as cups, bowls, and especially the works that have stability, and this subject is in complete agreement with the instructions contained in the book of Al-Durra Al- Meknuna.

Dating of Tiles with Human Figures of the Safavid Period with the Help of Concurrent Paintings

Mitra Shateri

Abstract
With the election of Isfahan in 1597 A.D. As the capital of the Safavid dynasty, many buildings were built in the city, most of their interior and exterior surfaces were decorated with tiles. The miniaturists of this era came to the help of tile artists and created beautiful and eye-catching works by drawing various motifs. In the Safavid period, and with the flourishing of the Isfahan school, the restriction of human figures, disappeared. According to this study, with the aim of relative dating of tiles by comparing their human motifs with the dated miniatures motifs of this period, has tried to answer these questions: What effects did the painting of the Safavid period have on the human motifs of the tiles of this period, and these effects How can it be used in the dating of tile paintings? The method of gathering the findings of this research; Findings were made through library and field studies and by identifying more than 80 tile frames with human figures from non-religious buildings and works in different museums, and the research method is descriptive, analytical, and comparative. The results of the research indicate that the human motifs on the tiles from the Isfahan school of the Safavid period have been deeply influenced, and according to the themes of the motifs, the characteristics of the drawing of clothes (Turbans, hats, shawls wrapped around the waist, long and flowery dresses), facial expressions, eyebrows, even The type of designed dishes and their matching with the motifs of figures, it is possible to consider the time period between the end of the first half to the beginning and the end of the second half of the 11th century AH for the frame of the tiles.
Keywords: Safavid Period, Dating, Human Figure, Tile, Painting.

Introduction
Tiling is one of the practical methods in architectural decoration. Since the invention of tile, this art and craft has been used in a wide way to enhance and cover the surfaces of interior and exterior of Iranian buildings. With the emergence of the Safavid dynasty, art and craft found a new life and the Safavid rulers, who were art lovers, made their court as the center of artistic and industrial gathering. Although the art of tiling is not considered an innovative art of the Safavid period, but in this time, it was not limited to the mere adaptation and imitation of the art of the predecessors, and the expansion and manifestation of this art was given special attention. The motifs drawn on the tiles of this period were more diverse than in the past, and included all types of plant motifs, geometrical, inscriptional, human, animal and even mythological motifs, while in the Timurid period, mostly plant motifs, geometrical, and inscriptional were drawn and the use of human and animal motifs was not acceptable. Such a trend had an influence on painting and, as a result, the motifs drawn on the tiles of the early Safavid period, as the tiles of the first Safavid period mostly had geometrical, Islimi and inscription motifs, but gradually with the flourishing of the Isfahan school of painting and the tendency abundant with human images, the use of single faces in terracotta works and tiles also spread.
Since the drawing of motifs on the tiles and pottery of each period was done by contemporary painters and in line with the common painting school, based on this, the following article has tried to study the human motifs of the tiles left over from the Safavid period (on buildings or separated from them).
Research questions: The current research has been carried out in the direction of the relative dating of the tiles with human motifs that have remained from the Safavid period, so the main questions of this research are What effects did the painting of the Safavid period have on the human motifs of the tiles of this period, and these effects How can it be used in the dating of tile paintings?
Research method: In this research, the information is collected through collecting library documents and texts, and field investigations in works, buildings (such as baths and churches) and museums and indoor collections (such as national museum) and museums of outside Iran (such as the Louvre or Metropolitan) have been collected. In this regard, 80 tile frames with human motifs, all were made in underglaze technology, were identified, 13 frames are still in the buildings, in their own place, and all of them are in the city of Isfahan and the rest, are separated from their main places and scattered in museums and collections inside and outside of Iran. It should be mentioned that for comparison, 50 paintings of Isfahan style, which have human motifs and have the most similarity in terms of subject and theme, style and execution method with the human motifs of the tiles, were selected. Based on the research goal and questions; the research method are descriptive, analytical and comparative.

Research background
Based on the investigations carried out, it can be said that the researches that have been carried out on the motifs of the Safavid period tiles have mostly focused on plant motifs, geometrical, and inscription motifs, and have only pointed to human motifs. Their relative dating also has not been researched. The most important references made in this area among the sources of the first category belong to travelers such as “Pietro Della Valle” (2005), who in his travelogue briefly discussed the general patterns of the tiles of this period. Among the second-hand sources, researchers such as “Sourani”(2017) have investigated the effects of painting on human and animal motifs of Safavid period fabrics. “Bakui” (2014) has also paid attention to the investigation and comparative study of the human motifs of the metals of this period. “Reisi” (1990) briefly mentioned only the introduction of a few human motifs in some of the buildings left from this period. “Mansouri Jazabadi” (2013) investigated different motifs of Safavid to Qajar bathroom tiles in the city of Isfahan and among the introduction of different motifs, she also discussed some human motifs. Despite these studies, no independent and focused research has been done on the human motifs of the tiles and their relative dating with other works, which is what the present study aims to achieve.

Discussion
The spread of Isfahan’s painting style had an impact on all arts such as tile work, metal work, pottery, or cloth weaving. This was more evident in the art of tiling, because the selection of Isfahan as the capital led to an increase in the process of urban development and the construction of various private and public works and buildings, and the need to cover their internal and external surfaces with tiles quickly. This was made possible with the help of seven-color (Haft Rang) tile technology. Among the motifs drawn on the tiles, human motifs found a revival after centuries, but these motifs were mostly used in the decoration of palaces, baths and churches. Since it was not customary to mention the date of making the tiles with human motifs, nowadays it is enough to attribute them to the Safavid period. Whereas, by classifying the themes and matching and comparing the elements in the tiles’ patterns with figures, a relatively more accurate history can be obtained.

Conclusion
By checking and studying the themes of the collected tiles and also examining the way of drawing motifs, we can be witnessing the influence of the Isfahan school by carefully observing the details of the patterns on the tiles. What is often seen in the paintings of the Isfahan school are motifs of flower-watching and recreation scenes by men and women in gardens, motifs of everyday life scenes, single faces, hunting or escape, which can also be seen in the surviving examples of tiles from this period. Investigations indicated that there are many similar features in the patterns of the tiles with Isfahan style paintings. The most important commonalities can be classified into four general sections. Drawing facial and body expressions; Clothing and its types; Objects in the scenes such as containers or patterned backs; and natural elements such as trees, flowers and bushes. So following the painting style of the Isfahan school with careful attention to the details of the motifs, the enlargement of motifs in the middle of the frame and the dominance of motifs over the frame and the placing of single faces in the center can be clearly seen in the collected examples.
In general, according to the matching of the mentioned cases on the frames with the paintings, it seems that the tiles with human motifs with hunting themes and themes of young people studying in the time frame of the first half of the 11th century A.H.(16th A.D) and human motifs with the themes of flower procession and fun and single faces are placed in the second half of the 11th century A.H.(17th AD) according to the European clothes, aprons and hats.

The Mason’s Marks of the Safavid Complex of Bagh-e Shah and Abbasabad in Behshahr

Iraj Rezaei

Abstract
Ashraf, the modern Behshahr, was built in 1021 AH (1612 AD) by Shah Abbas the Great. The flooring of its royal buildings was made by carved stones, some of which have the mason’s marks of Safavid sculptors. Despite the great importance of this collection, apart from a short reference by De Morgan in the late 19th century, no independent study has been done on the mason’s marks of the Behshahr collection. In this research, which was conducted based on both field research and library studies, 266 blocks, including 309 mason’s marks from the Safavid period, were identified and documented in Bagh-e Shah and Abbasabad in Behshahr. The aim of this research is to answer questions about the nature and meaning of the mason’s marks in the Behshahr collection, their classification, and to obtain information about the constructions of the aforementioned collection through the study of mason’s marks. To achieve this goal, the aforementioned marks have been studied and classified, and some of the visual and conceptual aspects of these marks have been clarified through comparative comparison with similar examples in Iran and other neighboring regions. The result of this research indicates that some of the mason’s marks of the Behshahr collection have similar examples, even among the oldest examples from the Achaemenid to the Qajar periods. Most of the mason’s marks of the Behshahr collection can be classified as geometric marks, then tools and objects, and a smaller number can be classified as plant or animal motifs. Some signs have similarities with the Armenian and Georgian alphabets, which probably indicates the presence of sculptors from these regions in the construction of Behshahr complex. However, almost none of the signs can be called religious motifs with certainty.
Keywords: Behshahr, Ashraf, Safavid, Shah Abbas, Bagh-e Shah, Abbasabad Palace, Mason’s Marks.

Introduction
In the book Tarikh e Alam-ara-ye Abbasi, it is stated that in 1612 AD, in Ashraf (modern Behshahr), one of Mazandaran’s towns, urban development was carried out by the order of Shah Abbas the Great and palaces, gardens, baths, and buildings were constructed there (Skandarbeig, 1971: Vol. 2, 855-856). Today, in Behshahr, only remnants of the Safavid palaces of Chehelsotun, Abbasabad and Cheshmeh Amarat have remained, albeit with many changes from the Afshariya, Qajar and Pahlavi periods (Fig. 1). During the Authors visit to Bagh-e Shah and Abbasabad Palaces, traces of mason’s marks were observed on a large number of stone blocks used in the construction of the building’s floor. This study investigates the mason’s marks in the Behshahr complex, including the palaces of Bagh-e Shah and Abbasabad.

Research Background
In 1890, De Morgan traveled to Mazandaran and prepared a sketch including 25 mason’s marks of the stone blocks of Bagh-e Shah (Fig. 2). However, a significant number of signs registered by the Authors are not seen among De Morgan’s sketch, and this article is the first research dedicated to the mason’s marks of Behshahr exclusively.

Data
Safavid Complexes of Behshahr
a. Abbasabad: The palace of Abbasabad, named after its founder Shah Abbas I, was built in 1020 A.H. at the same time as the city of Ashraf was founded by him. Some parts of the Abbasabad complex, including the floor of traffic routes, stairs and the bottom of the pool are paved with stone blocks. The stone blocks are made in both square blocks with dimensions of about 45 cm and rectangular blocks with dimensions of about 25 x 60 cm. The average thickness of these stone blocks is about 7 cm. The Authors observed mason’s marks on four stone blocks located in the northeastern part of the Abbasabad complex (Fig. 3).
b. Bagh-e Shah: Bagh-e Shah is one of the most important complexes in Behshahr, dating back to the period of Shah Abbas I, with many changes since then. According to Della Valle, during Shah Abbas’s reign, the building was called Diwan-khaneh (Della Valle, 1991: 217). The mason’s marks of Bagh-e Shah are carved on a number of stone blocks on both sides of the stream, about 365 meters in length (Fig. 6). The dimensions of the largest stone slab recorded by the Authors in Bagh-e Shah were 110 x 192 cm and the smallest was 82 x 57 cm. The average thickness of the stone blocks is about 15 cm. On many stone blocks, depending on the dimensions of the stone, there are one or more small holes called “candle place.
Despite extensive changes to the Bagh-e Shah complex in the last four hundred years, due to their large size, the stone blocks have not been moved and have preserved their original state. In the Authors’ survey, 262 stone blocks were identified in Bagh-e Shah, each with one or more mason’s marks on their surface. Therefore, considering the four marked blocks of Abbasabad, the total number of identified blocks in the Safavi complex of Behshahr will be 266, with a total of 309 signs identified. All the mason’s marks in the Behshahr complex, including Bagh-e Shah and Abbasabad, are engraved on the flat surfaces of stone blocks. Most of the engraved marks are about 4 to 5 cm long, with an average depth of about 1 cm.

Discussion
All the remaining examples of mason’s marks in the Behshahr complex are those that were engraved only on the carved stones used in the floor. Although most of the marked stone blocks of the Behshahr collection bear only one mason’s mark, a considerable number of stone slabs have more than one sign, mainly two or three signs (Fig. 8).
Among the 309 signs identified in Bagh-e Shah and Abbasabad, by removing duplicate and similar signs, 56 independent and separate signs can be identified. Additionally, all six mason’s marks identified in the Abbasabad collection are also seen among the Bagh-e Shah samples. In general, the signs identified in the Behshahr complex can be divided into different categories such as geometric shapes, animals, plants, objects, and alphabets. The largest number of mason’s marks in the Behshahr collection are geometric signs such as circles, ovals, curved types, triangles, rhombuses, squares, multi-branched shapes, wavy lines, straight lines and cruciform shapes, etc. The most frequently occurring sign in the Behshahr complex is number 28 with a total of 45 (Fig. 9).
Some signs in the Behshahr collection, such as signs No. 38 and 50, may be animal motifs (scorpion and goat). Some other signs like numbers 15 and 18, could represent plant motifs. Additionally, a significant number of signs seem to depict war tools such as swords (25), bayonets (24), bows and arrows (23). Some signs may represent specific objects, for example, a hookah (No. 21), which, due to its popularity in that period, could have been used as a mason sign. Tavernier, a French traveler of the 17th century AD, provided an interesting description of hookah and hookah-smoking habits of Iranians in the Safavid era (Tavernier, 1382: 309).
Some other signs in the Behshahr collection resemble Arabic and Persian alphabets (for example, numbers 53 and 54) and even alphabets of northern peoples such as Georgian and Armenian (for example, symbols of numbers 5, 35, 39 or 44). De Morgan referred to many signs in the Behshahr collection as Georgian letters. European travelers like Della Valle and Chardin have mentioned the presence of Georgians and Armenians in Iran during the reign of Shah Abbas I (Della Valle, 1370: 212-13, 216; Chardin, 1350, vol.4, 25-6).

Conclusion
While some specific marks and shapes in the Behshahr complex, such as cruciform motifs (No. 44), may be ideological and religious symbols (possibly related to Christianity due to the presence of Christian sculptors from the Caucasus region), overall, none of the mason’s marks in the Behshahr collection can be definitively classified as a religious symbol. Additionally, none of the letters and signs in the Behshahr collection have a clear connection with the official religion of the Safavids (Islam/Shi’a).
Some mason’s marks in the Behshahr collection have similar or identical counterparts among the Achaemenid mason’s marks of Persepolis (Herzfeld, 2002: Fig. 339; Schmidt, 1953: 144-45), Pasargad (Herzfeld, 2002: Fig. 338), Susa (Maras, 2010: fig. 18.2) and signs on Achaemenid pyramidal seals and coins from Asia Minor and other places (for example, see Boardman, 1998: fig.1, D1, D1.1, D1.2, D11, D37, D51.1, D.52.1, Fig. 4). They also bear resemblance to the signs of other periods, such as the Anahita Temple of Kangavar from the Achaemenid to Sassanid era (cf. Kambakhsh Fard, 1987, Figs 2-6), the Parthian site of Bisotun, as well as the marks on Sassanid buildings, like Takht e Suleiman (Shah-Mohammadpour, 2013), Shahr i Gur of Firozabad, and the Sassanid collection of Bisotun including Khosrow’s palace, Farhadtarash and Khosrow’s bridge (Alibaigi, 2013). Among works related to the pre-Islamic era, the mason’s marks in this collection perhaps have the most similarity with the Caucasian Darband collection (Narin Qala) (Gadjiev, 2010: 147).
However, a larger number of the mason’s marks in the Behshahr collection are similar to the mason’s marks of the Islamic era, especially the Safavid period. A significant number of mason’s marks in the Behshahr collection can be found among the signs of the Safavid period in Isfahan, such as Pol e Khaju, Chehel-sotun, Ali-Qapu and Shah-Musa. The mason’s marks of the Behshahr collection can be considered an important source for studying the system of mason’s marks of the Safavid period.

Firearms’ Archaeological Investigation and Their Production Process, Uses, and Efficiency in the Economic and Political Environment of the Qajar Period

majid Montazerzohouri

Abstract
Human being has always attempted to produce and evolve weaponry based on the archaeological studies of the remaining cultural materials. As an important factor in achieving military success in all historical eras, a significant part of the metalwork industry and art has been devoted to the weaponry production. In spite of the prominent increase in archaeological studies of the Qajar period, the kinds of military weapons utilized in the period have gained less attention; since, studies conducted on the military context of the Qajar period have mostly concentrated on cold weaponry and the army’s military structure after foreign military delegations beginning to commute as well as their impacts; this is while the role of these weaponry in the Qajar era and the developments stemming from them have gained lower attention in the archaeological research. The present study aimed at the archaeological examination of these weapons, investigating the cultural behavior of each period in dealing with the production and importing weapons for answering the following questions: How were these weapons obtained or domestically manufactured? And how the differences among them can be explained? To conduct this study, a comprehensive study of written and non-written cultural materials, measurement, and assessment of cultural materials besides analysis and explanation of the obtained data were done. Results revealed that the army’s use of firearms as the main war weapons started at the early pre-Naserian period after Iran’s inter-regional and intra-regional relations with other countries; also, from the very beginning, attempts for their domestic production had been considered. Additionally, domestic guns have more length and less decorations in comparison with the imported ones, which are mostly with periodic geometric patterns.
Keywords: Archeology, Europe, Import, Firearms, Production, Qajar.

Introduction
In his work War and Anti-War, Toffler names three civilization waves: The first is specified by the agricultural revolution, the second by the industrial revolution, and the third, by technology. As he mentioned, each civilization has brought about its own special warfare and production ways. In the Qajar period that has the features of the second wave, the industrial revolution led to weaponry advancement and more attempts to apply industrial techniques in manufacturing them. Iran entered international relations as well as military confrontations with other countries in that time. Simultaneous with the regional conditions and unrest, all of these factors enhanced the importance of firearms and their availability so their import was put on the agenda of the central government. Additionally, more attempts were made to manufacture the weapons domestically simultaneous with the import of them.
Given the prominence of the Qajar period when Iran officially began international relations, it is essential to investigate each period’s cultural behavior in dealing with modern weapons and attempts to produce and use them. The main goal of this research was how these weapons were obtained and to examine the domestic production of weapons after an importation period. According to above-mentioned points, the research questions were stated as follows: 1- How were the weapons obtained or domestically produced in Qajar period? 2- How their difference can be explained in detail?

Methodology
The research method involves a thorough and all-encompassing review of both written and unwritten cultural materials. This includes gathering the necessary data, documenting these materials, and photographing unwritten documents, such as weapons from domestic military museums. After the data is collected, it is processed, analyzed, and evaluated. Both written and unwritten materials are examined together to understand their connections and differences. Finally, the data is analyzed and explained to provide a better understanding of the role and significance of these cultural materials.

Ways of weaponry preparation
The primary importation of military equipment was mainly through offerings by the political and military envoys of Western countries. Military firearms, especially guns and cannons have always been important components in the offerings of the ambassadors of foreign countries. Accordingly, producing the first Iranian weapons, similar to those of the Europeans, has been through following the imported samples by foreign military experts brought to Iran. Simultaneous with the arrival of European technology, manufacturing guns and weapons was done by Iranian craftsmen. It also appears that cannon production as the weaponry only at the disposal of the central government was manufactured in just the state-related cannon workshops; but, the weapon manufacturing was not necessarily dependent on the state-owned factory and was also produced in different cities both by the central government and craftsmen.
Producing firearms experienced a decreasing trend in Iran and developed against the import of weapons after the changes in the social, political, and economic conditions of that time. Eventually, these industries faced stagnation in the post-Naserian era due to the constitutional movements and internal crises.
Majority of these weapons were first imported by the government. However, Iran’s political situation, the requirement for a market to sell them, and the rich profits coming from the arms’ trade, which had replaced slave trading and piracy, led to the indiscriminate importation of weaponry. The ban on the free sale and purchase of weapons was brought to the attention of the government with the emergence of problems caused by the wide spread of weapons among the people, which itself induced the expansion of its illegal import.
Firearms of the Qajar period can be classified into light and heavy categories. Light weapons include rifles and handguns while heavy weapons consist of Zanburaks, cannons, and machine guns. As the archaeological evidence reveal, the light weapons utilized in the Qajar period included a variety of rifles and waist weapons, increasing in diversity and efficiency over time until the end of this period. Also, according to the extant archaeological evidence, domestically-produced weapons included muzzleloaders and breechloaders in different types. Almost all the early rifles were of the muzzleloader type. Besides, the first weaponry officially used by the government forces were the muzzleloaders.

Domestic rifles’ types
Most domestic weaponry were utilized until the middle of this period. Among the features of domestic weaponry, the use of periodic geometric motifs (diamond shape) in the form of shell or ivory work in the butt of the gun, gold decorations in the barrel, the use of plant motifs in the form of shell or ivory work in the place of the gun belt, the use of very thick metals for the trigger housing and decorating it with plant motifs, as well as the use of thinner metal fasteners to connect the barrel and body to each other were more common than the imported examples.

Types of domestic small firearms
The major difference between rifles and handguns is their size. The small firearms used in this period included pistols and then revolvers.

All kinds of imported firearms
Foreign guns included different imported types in the form of gifts, purchases, and etc., used in different sectors, including combats, hunting, and ceremonial-decorations from different countries.

Types of imported small firearms
The revolver is the second type of the waist weapon and has a higher technology, and it entered Iran from the Naserian period.

All kinds of imported small firearms
Entering Iran since the Naserian period, the revolver is the second type of the waist weapon and has a higher technology.

All kinds of heavy weapons
The first official heavy weaponry used in the army was Zanburak in the pre-Naserian era. Then, the cannon and in the Naserian period, the machine guns were also added to it. Based on the studies conducted by the Authors and examining the documents and first-hand written sources from this period, it is evident that the cannon import was more in the early Qajar period. Also, apparently, the cannon import was never in mass form and its domestic production had been accompanied with more success. To a large extent, the low import rate of it can be due to its heavy weight and transportation problems. Cannons were also applied in various segments during the Naserian era, while keeping the use of war, and were also used to punish people. In the post-Naserian period, the cannon lost its combat use for external wars and was mainly used in internal battles, a clear example of which can be the parliament bombardment by canons.

Conclusion
In summary, as the archaeological evidence suggest, the basis of martial weapons in the Qajar period had been modern weapons, supplied by domestic production and imports. Because of the internal production of weaponry by craftsmen in the market as well as governmental centers, this weapon has never been exclusive to the state forces and had been available to the general public as well. In the Naserian period, due to the excessive importation of firearms, the ban on their free sale and purchase was put on the agenda, which itself induced its illegal importation. Given the production of canons, it appears that it had been manufactured in government workshops and by government-affiliated specialists, remained in the hands of state forces.
Additionally, regarding the difference between domestic and imported weaponry, the difference in their size can be mentioned. This difference in weaponry length can be found in domestic and imported pistols as well. Another difference is tractable in the decorations of the weapons. Investigating the existing weapons and the extant written sources, it appears that the rifles produced in Iran had been muzzleloaders, breechloaders, and flintlock rifles. In fact, rifles, such as Moser and Martini never reached the domestic mass production; but, the domestic mass production of muzzleloader and breechloader rifles and their various models continued at least until the middle Naserian period and before the vast importation of weaponry. On the heavy weaponry, despite the importance of the cannon, the Zanburak maintained its dual ceremonial-war role until the late Naserian period, after which it was completely abandoned. Additionally, for the the presence and importance of the machine gun in the post-Naserian period as a heavy weapon, the significance of the cannon was never decreased; however, due to the silence of the written sources about this weapon at the end of this period, it was seemingly abandoned or its use was limited. Finally, it can be concluded that until the end of the Naserian period, these weapons were used both in intra and inter-regional wars and in internal unrest; but, in the post-Naserian period, their use was mainly in the internal battles.

A Research on the Relief of Fath-Ali Shah’s Lion Hunting in Shahr-e Ray

Farideh Kalhor

Abstract
In the past, there existed a relief known as Fath-Ali Shah’s lion hunting in Shahr-e Ray. Regrettably, this precious piece of history has undergone significant damage due to the mining activities of Ray Cement Factory. Presently, only a fragment of this relief is preserved. Since most of this relief is lost, there are many uncertainties about it; For example, the exact location of the relief in Shahr-e Ray remains unknown. Various studies attribute the construction year of this relief to 1246 AH, but its accuracy is still subject to debate. Additionally, there was an inscription surrounding the relief containing poetic verses in Nastaliq script, which have not been deciphered yet. On the other hand, due to the proximity of this relief to Cheshme-Ali’s relief, the information related to these two is sometimes mistakenly attributed to the other, causing researchers to make mistakes. This research aims to give a clear picture of this relief and to remove the gaps surrounding it. This research intends to answer the following questions: What was the original location of the relief on Sorsore Mountain and when was it built? What precisely is the content of the poetic inscriptions surrounding it? What alterations has this relief undergone over time, and what has ultimately become of it? This research adopts a descriptive-analytical approach, relying on historical texts and images as primary sources to guide the investigations. Finally, by the primary sources, the location of this relief on Sorsore Mountain is determined. The results show that the poems of the inscription are in praise of Fath-Ali Shah, and the chronogram indicates the year of its construction in 1246 AH. eventually, sometime between 1340 and 1345 SH, due to the explosions of the Ray Cement Factory, this relief was destroyed, and only a fragment of it including the lion’s tail and the inscriptions around it remained, which is kept in the museum of the Ray Cement Factory.
Keywords: Rock Relief, Fath-Ali Shah, Shahr-e Ray, Inscription.

Introduction
In the past, there existed two rock reliefs of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar in Shahr-e Ray, one of which has been disappeared. This relief, which is located on the southern part of Sorsore Mountain, is known as “Fath-Ali Shah’s lion hunting”. An older, probably Sassanid relief had been erased and replaced by the Qajar one. There are many uncertainties about Fath-Ali Shah’s lion hunting; For example, the exact location of the relief in Shahr-e Ray remains unknown. Various studies attribute the construction year of this relief to 1246 AH, but its accuracy is still subject to debate. Additionally, there was an inscription surrounding the relief containing poetic verses in Nastaliq script, which have not been deciphered yet. On the other hand, due to the proximity of this relief to Cheshme-Ali’s relief, the information related to these two is sometimes mistakenly attributed to the other. It is necessary to do detailed research on this relief to solve these mistakes and answer the ambiguities raised. This research intends to answer the following questions: What was the original location of the relief on Sorsore Mountain and when was it built? What precisely is the content of the poetic inscriptions surrounding it? What alterations has this relief undergone over time, and what has ultimately become of it? This research adopts a descriptive-analytical approach, relying on historical texts and images as primary sources to guide the investigations.

Literature
For the first time, Mustafavi wrote a note in the monthly information magazine, in which he stated the location and address of access to the lion hunting relief, the year it was made, and introduced the artists involved in making it (Mustafavi, 1953: 10). Luft, in an article entitled “The Qajar rock reliefs”, in a short mention to the Lion Hunting relief, tries to estimate the year of its construction (Luft, 2001: 32). Mirzaei-Mehr also describes the artistic aspects of the relief in Abdullah Khan’s book (Mirzaei-Mehr, 2014: 43-45). Doroodian has done a detailed research on the incomplete relief that Fath-Ali Shah erased in “A study about the Sasanian rock relief of Ray”. Doroodian introduces this role in his article and tries to identify its character. (Doroodian, 2016: 63&64). Safinejad has given an estimate of the size of the relief and the inscription around it in the book of Ray’s Historical Places and has described the details of the figure of Fath-Ali Shah and lion. He also deciphered the poems around the inscription, but his reading has many mistakes. (Safinejad, 2015: 344&345). Movathagh has given some information about Sassanid relief, which he has referred to the book of Kariman (movathagh, 2017: 110).

Discussion
First of all, the exact position of the relief is examined with the help of the remaining drawings and maps. According to Mustafavi’s descriptions of Ray cement factory near the relief in the 1960s, Jules Laurence’s painting in 1848, William Ouseley’s painting of the location of the Sassanid relief that existed former the lion hunting and his explanation of the access route to relief, its position can be determined on Schmidt’s aerial photo of the Sorsore Mountain. Before Fath-Ali Shah’s figure was engraved on the body of the Sorsore Mountain, there was an old relief. That relief was first found by Robert Gordon and James Morier in 1812. (Morier, 2007, Vol. 2: 229). Morier drew a sketch of this relief (image 7). William Price, William Ouseley, and Ker Porter also visited the relief, and described it in their travelogues. It can be concluded from their texts and images, that there were two flat tablets in the mountain at the rock site, one on top of the other. The lower plate was a half-finished sketch of a horseman with two orbs on his shoulder and one on his head, attacking an opponent whose horse’s head is depicted only. The upper slab was without a design. Fath-Ali Shah ordered to erase the mentioned ancient relief and replaced it with his own figure. Both Fraser in 1834 (Fraser, 1985: 150) and Korf in 1834 pointed out its disappearance. (Korf, 1993: 215).
There are many pictures of Fath-Ali Shah’s lion hunting relief in the archives of Iranians and foreigners who came to Iran. These images have been presented in order of creation date. (Images 11 to 21) In Roger Viollet’s 1958 photo collection, the inscriptions around the image, the king’s beard and crown, his horse’s boots and saddle, as well as the inscription under the horse, are all painted over. Another change is the frame above the relief, which is not present in the older images. These changes were apparently made by Ray cement factory in 1949 (Mustafavi, 1953: 10).
The inscription around the relief contains 11 verses and its poet is Mirza Taghi Aliabadi. In order to read and accurately record what was executed, several photos were used in each part of the inscription. (Images 23, 24, 25 and 26) Examining the remaining images and reading the inscription shows that some words of the poet’s original poem have been changed in some verses. Also, some verses have been removed and replaced by others in the execution of the inscription. The chronogram in the last verse includes the words after “ke”: “shod inak musiye emran ayan be sineye sina” gives the year 1246 AH. The last historical photo of lion hunting relief was taken by Hossein Malek-Iraqi in 1961. Kariman states in his book, which was published in March 1966, that the lion hunting relief was destroyed by an explosion. (Kariman, 1966, Vol. 1: 302)

Conclusion
in this article, the location of Fath-Ali Shah’s relief on the southern body of Sorsore Mountain was identified by the help of historical texts and images. Also, re-reading of the inscription’s poems was done, which showed that the content of the inscription’s poem is in praise of the statue of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar. According to the last verse and the chronogram of the inscription poem, this relief was made in 1246 AH. Rereading the poems made it clear that there were changes in the poem during its performance and the original poem of the poet was not performed. It was also identified that the designer of this relief is Abdullah Khan-e- Memar and its sculptor is Mohammad Qasem Khan-e- Hajjarbashi. On the other hand, numerous pictures revealed that this relief was painted during the repair by the Ray Cement Factory in 1949. The relief of Fath-Ali Shah, which was made by erasing the previous ancient relief, was finally destroyed sometime between 1961 and 1966 due to the explosions of the Ray Cement Factory, and its pieces fell to the foot of the mountain. The big piece of the relief was at the foot of the mountain for years, but there is no information about its fate. The smaller piece, which includes the lion’s tail and the inscriptions around it, was later moved to Ray Cement Factory by one of the technicians. It is kept in the museum of Ray Cement Factory now in 2023.

Visual and Semantic Analysis of the Decorative Triptychs of the Qajar House of Ghasabnejad Shushtar based on the Critical Regionalism Approach

Mansour Kolahkaj

Abstract
In the traditional architecture of Shushtar, as one of the architectural types of Iran, there are examples of architectural regionalism approach. Houses decorated with motifs, designs and decorations, which have given a special glory to the architecture of this city with a combination of three materials, stone, plaster and brick. A small part of the patterns and decorations of these houses is in the entrance area of the main door, but most of the decorations and arrays are in the interior of the houses of this city. Most of these houses are known by the name of the owner or owner. One of these houses is “GhasabNejad” house. This house is a dominant example of Shushtar decorated houses. This research is done with the aim of getting to know better about the decorative elements and motifs of Shushtar city as an example of warm and dry regional architecture and at the end of the article, the question of what and why are the three decorative motifs and elements of Shushtar Butcher House, based on the critical regionalism approach The answer is given. The information of this article was collected in the field using visual and library evidence and presented in a descriptive and analytical way.
Keywords: Shushtar Traditional Architecture, Ghasabnejad House, Critical Regionalism, Anthology Networks, Brick and Stone Decorations.

Introduction
Shushtar is one of the old cities of Iran, where there are monuments from different historical periods. This city was prominent as the center of Khuzestan during the Qajar period and most of the existing works of residential architecture with decorative elements are attributed to this period. Among the important buildings of this city, we can mention the “Afzal” complex, the houses of “Marashi”, “Mustafi”, “Bakal-Sadat”, “Gazer”, “Qasabnejad” and the like. In addition to the specific and functional architecture, the mentioned buildings are decorated with arrays that stand out like a beautiful painting on the walls. Harmonious proportions, various visual elements including line, surface, volume and texture in combination with light and shadow, appropriate combination of components such as lungs, frames and borders, headers and the quiet whisper of change from pattern to frame and from frame to surface of some of these buildings. The city built something that the concept of well-formed calligraphy tradition can be applied to parts of these buildings. In the area surrounded by the two branches of the Karun River in Shushtar, the building studied in this research is GhasabNejad’s house. This building located in “Dol Dol (Moghi)” neighborhood is located in the vicinity of Gazer’s house and belongs to the Qajar period, which was renovated in 2016 under national registration number 29157 and at the end of 2016. This house consists of four floors, ground floor, first floor, Shabestan, and Shawadan. Due to its area, this house is one of the historical, large and highly decorated houses of Shushtar and has triple motifs of stone, plaster and brick. According to what has been said, the purpose of the current research is to study the types of motifs used in GhasabNejad’s house in order to better identify the historical houses of Iran, and finally to the question of what and why are the motifs and three decorative elements of Shushtar’s Butcher’s house, based on the approach of critical regionalism The answer is given. The discussion about the architectural and structural elements of this house, such as arches, columns and the like, is out of the scope of this research.

Theoretical foundations
Since this research focuses on architectural decorations, the three decorative elements of butcher houses are analyzed as an example of Shushtar houses, based on the approach of regional architects. Critical regionalism is a middle ground between the two, with regional preferences that are not identical to native architecture. From Frampton’s point of view, local cultures should be viewed in a way that is modern and has the ability to become modern. Achieving critical regionalism is the exploitation of local characteristics inside and outside the modern building form and does not mean returning to traditional building. Frampton calls this type of architecture, which resists the trend of homogenization of world architecture, as critical regionalism (Tadjdee and Islami 2018: 22, quoted by Frampton). In Table 1, the features of regionalist architecture are stated in terms of Islamic and modernism.

GhasabNejad’s house
GhasabNejad’s house is one of the historical houses of Shushtar city, which is located in “Doldol (Moghi)” neighborhood, adjacent to “Gazer” house. This house, like most of the remaining traditional houses in this city, belongs to the Qajar period, which, in addition to the traditional architecture, has different decorative arrays. About the history of ownership of this house (Fig. 1) (Fig. 2) shows the plan of these two complexes. Currently, both parts of this historical house have been registered in the national register. The architect of this house is “Mohammed Taghi Mimarbashi Shushtri” according to the inscription that is located near the porch of its outer part (Gazar House) and the date of completion of the building is 1277 AH (photos 3).

Decorations of GhasabNejad house
GhasabNejad house has triple decorations of stone, plaster and brick. Brick patterns are like (Fig. 4). Another part of the decorations of the old houses of Shushtar is the butcher house of Setonah, which is built with materials such as stone and brick, and their decorations include the motifs of “Kartele”, “Baik” and “Congress” (Fig. 5). Plaster grids are among other motifs used in Shushtar houses, which are placed on the facade of the building and usually between the arches and above the windows. In addition to decorative use, these elements were used to ventilate the air and let light in. (Fig. 6). Fig. 7, shows the three decorations of GhasabNejad’s house. The stone decorations include animal and plant motifs, each of which has different meanings. (10) The location of the plaster grids is also shown. Also, pictures (11 and 12) show other brick motifs in the butcher’s house building.

Conclusion
Three elements, brick, stone and plaster, are the main materials of Shushtar architecture and its decorative arrays, which were used in GhasabNejad’s house with refinement and merit in the structure and decorations of the building. The materials, motifs, form and decorations are common in most Shushtar houses, with the difference that each architect has made changes in them according to the personal taste and interest or the opinion of the owner of that building. The stone carvings of the butcher’s house include animal motifs such as peacocks, parrots and plant motifs such as lotus flowers. The roles of these animals and plants are sometimes mythical and probably liked by the architect or owner of the building and according to the cultural conditions of that time and the owner’s financial ability. The motifs of Golchin Gachi networks are a combination of Islamic geometric Chinese knot motifs and its famous shamsehs, and one case is a combination of Chinese knot and cedar tree. The decorative brick motifs of this house are arranged on the top of the porch and the edges around it. There are three motifs, Serzi Sarbala (in the local language), on the top of the porches, and complex key armband motifs, and one, two, and three plains, are engraved on their margins. The technique of performing brick patterns above the porch is flat and their edges are highlighted. The pattern of the columns was from the Moqrans design shared by the houses of Shushtar, such as the pattern of Kartele, Congress and Beyk. Some roles have been named according to their resemblance to something else. Like the pattern of the head below the head, which is similar to the pattern of the mat.
The reason for the use of these decorations is to align with Shushtar’s traditional architecture and this feature is consistent with the regional preferences side of the critical regionalists’ approach in architecture. Following this tradition, there are brick patterns on the front of the porches and on the outside of the houses, stone patterns are on some of the gates, considering the structural function of the stone, and plaster grids are also implemented in the upper part of the building. Among the three elements used in GhasabNejad’s house, the patterns of the front bricks of the porches were functional, mostly decorative, and the stone carvings and plastered grids had both decorative and practical functions. In this building, in addition to the decorative function, these three elements have been used to express the spiritual, material or traditional interests of the owner of the property. Among the three mentioned elements, according to the long-standing media tradition, stones have always been the representation of the personal feelings of the architect or the owner of the building.
Relying on the approach of critical regionalism, it can be said that the stone element is a special functional and decorative element in the architectural structure of Shushtar city as well as GhasabNejad’s house, which makes the architecture of this city different even compared to its neighbor, Dezful. It originates from the stone bed of the city and the presence of stone mines near the city of Shushtar. It seems that the architects of Shushtar have taken advantage of their unique native and regional element in building in the right place. Also, perhaps the use of stone for personal expression reminds us that the oldest means of expressing human emotions in a space other than its original place, i.e. mountains and deserts in the man-made environment, is still capable of expressing human emotions. The tradition that started from the heart of the mountains, rocks and caves continued in the cemeteries and the like, and in public and private places, it has a dual function of structure and media.
The adaptation of architectural elements, especially the triple arrays of GhasabNejad house as a relatively complete example of Shushtar’s traditional houses, showed that the architecture of this house is compatible with most of the features of the critical regionalism approach, despite the time difference and the youth of the critical regionalist architecture discussion with ups and downs. The use of stone in the building as a special local element and the presence of a parrot in the stone bearer inscriptions as a non-regional bird in this building are two important features of the critical regionalism approach that has been digested in Shushtar’s architecture.

Reading the Meanings and Concepts of the Challenges of Conserving the Cultural Landscape of the Historical Bridges of Lorestan

Mehdi Pirhayati

Abstract
Lorestan province has established the connection between the capitals and important cities of Iran during different eras. The need for quick and easy access and permanent communication between these areas has led to the construction of huge bridges despite the rivers full of water and deep valleys. Because these bridges are a natural interwoven complex and have interactions with humans, bridges over time in the geographical area of Middle Zagros of Lorestan connect with great civilizations and in a way realize human rights and religious, ethnic, and economic relations. and cultural as well as the development of welfare, security and comfort are used in difficult mountainous areas, they can well represent the concepts of the cultural landscape. Studying these properties and their cultural landscape can help to identify the components of cultural landscapes and their conservation in addition to conserving the bridges themselves. On the other hand, the first and most important step is to identify the challenges that have not been identified and classified so far. Based on this, the research aims to identify the challenges of conserving the cultural landscapes of Lorestan’s historical bridges through the review and analysis of documents related to this issue. In this research, library and field information was collected on the valuable historical bridges of the Kashkan River, and then the concepts of challenges and their subsets through analysis using the qualitative research method. Data analysis was done through coding operations at 3 levels and finally, the challenges and sub-challenges related to it were categorized into 6 general categories according to the characteristics and indicators of the study samples.
Keywords: Conservation Challenges, Historical Bridges of Lorestan, Cultural landscape, Kashkan River, Coding.

Introduction
Bridges have existed in the mountainous land of Iran as buildings with Iranian architecture since prehistoric times. These properties made the distances shorter and faster because they made it possible to pass easily and safely through the natural complications of rivers and valleys. The need for quick and easy access and permanent communication between these areas has led to the construction of huge bridges (Minorsky, 1937). So far, a significant number of bridges have been reported in the mountainous land of Zagros, which surrounds Khuzestan (Siroux, 1949). Most of these bridges are located in Lorestan. Lorestan is located between the two ancient capitals of Susa and Hamedan. Therefore, the existence of roads, highways and bridges has been necessary as a means of communication. The traces of 100 historical bridges have been observed in more than 25 ancient sites on the map of Lorestan, some of which were built in the Sassanid period in parallel with the expansion of cities and have made great progress in terms of engineering methods and understanding of hydrodynamics it has been observed. Lack of awareness and knowledge of the high value of these properties and related elements (cultural landscape) have caused them to be exposed to much damage. On the other hand, the custodians of conservation have never been able to achieve the necessary successes in the field of conservation of Lorestan historical bridges due to a lack of knowledge of the challenges of conserving these properties and the context in which they are located and the one-dimensional view of conservation on this issue.
The challenges faced in conserving cultural landscapes show the inefficiency of the current system of conserving cultural landscapes, which, if not identified and categorized and solutions are not considered, can lead to the following crises at different times:
• The emergence of a one-dimensional perspective (mere physical protection) and one-dimensional approaches such as a product-oriented approach to the issue of cultural conservation of historical bridges of Lorestan;
• Ignoring the important and key issues in planning the cultural landscape of Lorestan historical bridges;
• Inability to educate and attract the participation of the public to preserve these valuable properties;
• Failure to provide appropriate solutions and not identify internal and external threats in the field of policy and legislation to conserve the aforementioned properties;
• Making the problem of increasing the level of expertise of experts concerning the mentioned cultural landscapes.
Therefore, this research has tried to introduce and categorize the challenges as far as possible to understand. Considering the qualitative and objective of the research, to achieve the research objectives, the following questions are raised:
• What are the challenges of cultural conservation of Lorestan historical bridges?
• How can we achieve a classified, classified structure of the challenges of conserving cultural landscapes of Lorestan historical bridges?

Identified Traces
Since each qualitative research is unique and inimitable, the analytical approach used in this research is also unique, but as mentioned, coding was done in 3 Stages through searching in documents, and related charters and used in the form of first-round, second-round (middle) and third round (post-coding). The term “cultural landscape” itself has been a double essence in its nature since the early years of its creation in the field of scientific societies. The challenges posed in conserving cultural landscapes themselves demonstrate the inefficiency of the current system of cultural landscape conservation. Eventually, 137 codes to 68 codes and finally 18 common codes in the field of cultural landscape conservation challenges were achieved. This research has been conducted by continuing to analyze and adapt the common outcomes with the study samples, reaching 10 common categories and 6 main concepts that form the main framework and conclusion framework of the research.
“These concepts are the beginning of writing theories, reading the challenges of conserving the cultural landscape of Lorestan historical bridges, and the last stage of the journey from reality to abstraction.”
Therefore, as mentioned, the challenges that have been achieved from the researcher’s study in the literature of the research subject to conserve cultural landscapes have been used and adapted with the field studies of the researcher to achieve the challenges of cultural landscape conservation of historical bridges, were finally categorized into the following 6 categories:
• Policy making and legislation;
• Conservation approaches;
• The level of expertise of cultural landscape experts in the areas of identification, evaluation, monitoring and management of cultural landscapes;
• Educating the community to conserve cultural landscapes
• Threats arising from internal and external factors of cultural landscapes; and
• The paradigm shift of Conserving Cultural Landscapes.

Conclusion
This research tried to identify the meanings and concepts of challenge, as qualitative and applied research, and to classify the challenges of cultural conservation of historical bridges of Kashkan River in Lorestan by analyzing the literature and theoretical foundations. Finally, these challenges were divided into 6 groups through coding in three stages and the path from reality to abstraction, with related sub-challenges of each category. The number of codes and percentage of each of the challenges were presented in the relevant tables to be able to familiarize readers with them, study the most important of these challenges and their impact on the studied properties in different dimensions if needed and be aware of them.
In response to the first question of the research, all the challenges of conserving the cultural landscapes of the mentioned historical bridges were obtained through library and field studies and then by analyzing the literature and theoretical foundations of the subject in 6 general categories along with the sub-challenges. Challenges that each one needs to understand, plan and use different experts to meet them at different time intervals.
In response to the second question, the research attempted to achieve a structured, classified, and categorized framework by collecting, and analyzing the literature and theoretical foundations of the research, exploring the concepts and challenges of conserving cultural landscapes through the process of conservation in charters, conventions and treaties related to the subject, and localizing the mentioned challenges to be adaptable and using them as a conservation factor.
These achievements are certainly not complete and only part of the researcher’s achievements in this field are due to interest and dependence on valuable and unrepeatable properties of the historical bridges of Lorestan. properties that have embraced the identity and cultural values of a people from a long time ago and require the participation of all people, especially local communities whose main beneficiaries. In all stages from identifying challenges to conserving cultural landscapes of Lorestan historical bridges, the unmatched role of indigenous people and local communities should be considered the most important factor in conserving historical bridges, because they are the main owners of these monuments and the most important unclaimed conservationists.

The Issue of Manifestation in Islamic Calligraphy; Relying on the Principles of Refinement and Dignity

Davoud Mirzaei

Abstract
The concept of “manifestation” (Tajalli) is one of the fundamental concepts of Islamic wisdom and mysticism, which has its roots in the Holy Qur’an and the traditions of the innocents (peace be upon them), and from this passage, it enters the tasteful language of Muslim mystics, especially Ibn Arabi, pay special attention to it. they do. With this description, since the issue of manifestation in art finds a special place in mystical discussions and since one of the basic principles of the art of calligraphy is indeed “refinement” (Sh’an) and until the rust is not removed from the heart and refinement is not achieved, an image in it will not be manifested; Therefore, it seems that through the expression of this concept of manifestation, a close bond is established between mysticism and calligraphy. Based on this, the current research has tried to answer these two questions: 1. What is manifestation and what is its place in our sacred and mystical texts? 2. What is the relationship between manifestation and the theoretical foundations of Islamic calligraphy, especially “refinement” and “dignity” (Safā)? In order to reach a clear answer to these two questions and to establish a bridge between mysticism and Islamic calligraphy and to find the mystical dignity of “manifestation” in it, therefore, first the meaning of manifestation in religious sources such as verses and narrations was discussed and then in mystical texts (according to Ibn Arabi and mystics before him) has understood its meaning. In the following, the category of sanctity in calligraphy is discussed and based on the twelve principles governing it (according to the text of Babashah Isfahani’s Adab al-Mashq), the connection of “manifestation” with “refinement” and “dignity” in Islamic calligraphy and its relationship with its beauty (Hosn) is examined.
Keywords: Manifestation; Principles of Refinement and Dignity, Islamic Calligraphy.

Introduction
The fact is that there are not many sources about the wisdom of the origin of calligraphy and the investigation of its intellectual foundations among different Islamic nations. Therefore, there is no escaping the issue of having an opinion on the intellectual foundations of some Islamic sages and thinkers, although of course they have not directly addressed this specific issue and their talk has always been art in general. But what stands out more than anything else in the study of the wisdom of Islamic art is its wealth of terms such as intuition, presence, manifestation, imagination, discovery, dignity, love, etc. These terms find a special place among great people such as Suhrawardi, Ibn Arabi, Mulla Sadra and others. Meanwhile, the issue of “manifestation” in art has a special place in his mystical discussions. Therefore, it seems that since one of the very important principles of calligraphy (among its twelve principles) is indeed “dignity” - and a special meaning is meant by it and it is the foundation of the next stage, namely “dignity” - there is an inseparable relationship between mysticism and Calligraphy is in place. Therefore, the main preoccupation of this article is to find convincing documents and proofs related to the keyword “manifestation”, both in sacred and mystical texts and in texts related to calligraphy, to prove the mentioned claim. Based on this, the present research pursues two specific questions: 1. What is manifestation and what is its place in our sacred and mystical texts? 2. What is the relationship between manifestation and the theoretical foundations of Islamic calligraphy, especially refinement and dignity?

Discussion
Holiness has a long history in Islamic calligraphy. Undoubtedly, calligraphy has taken its sanctity from the Qur’an, which, as the first and most glorious Islamic art, has actually been the closest companion to the Word of Revelation. References in the Holy Qur’an such as “Nun. By the Pen and the [Record] which [men] write” (Qalam, 1) and the use of words such as tablet, pen, chair, line, cut letters, etc. also confirm this sanctity. Calligraphers in this position, knowing this sanctity, pay attention to the beauty of their handwriting so that the truth hidden in words is not hidden in the image form of calligraphy and is revealed in the best way. Calligraphic writing is not the same as calligraphy, but it implies a meaning, and the external role is to express a hidden role. Rumi has mentioned this in this regard: “No calligrapher writes line by technic/ The same line is not readable” (Rumi, 2013: Book 4). On the other hand, the wisdom of Islamic art, with its mystical base, is full of terms such as intuition, presence, manifestation, imagination, discovery, dignity, love, etc., which cannot be expressed and interpreted except with the language of judgment, and the audience as well. If he is not familiar with this language, he will not be able to understand it. With this description and according to the opinions of Islamic mystics - the most important of which was given in the first part of this research - the manifestations of holiness in the lives of Muslims are revealed. By generalizing his opinions to the field of religious art, Islamic art and sacred art, we can find the mysteries in Islamic calligraphy. The juxtaposition of the old popular myths with the opinions of Islamic thinkers, symbols, codes and its influence on Sufi intellectuals and popular culture, all lead to the discovery of relationships that show the sanctity in this art more than ever before.

Conclusion
The current research has clearly sought answers to two questions: 1. What is manifestation and what is its place in our sacred and mystical texts? 2. What is the relationship between manifestation and the theoretical foundations of Islamic calligraphy, especially dignity and dignity? In order to reach a clear answer to these two questions and establish a bridge between mysticism and Islamic calligraphy and find the mystical dignity of “manifestation” in it, the meaning of manifestation in religious sources such as verses and hadiths was first discussed. We saw that in this regard, this concept occurs in the most obvious way possible in the noble verse 143 of A’rāf, which is known as “the manifestation verse”. With this meaning, it is from manifestation that the divine names and attributes appear in the world and explain the nature of God’s relationship with his creatures. In addition to the Qur’anic verses, in many Islamic traditions, relying on those verses, especially “the manifestation verse,” God’s relationship with creation is mentioned, especially in sermons 108 and 147 of Nahj al-Balagha, where God manifests himself to his creatures, without them seeing him. And this is where the difference between manifestation and incarnation in Christianity is established. In addition to verses and traditions, this concept finds a special place in mystical texts, especially Ibn Arabi, which is one of the pillars of answering the above questions. Of course, with the mystics before Ibn Arabi (such as Hasan Basri, Rozbahan Baqli, Bayazid Bastami and others), manifestation has an intuitive meaning, meaning that the seeker goes through the states and mystical Authorities one by one with the intuition of the actions, attributes and nature of the Supreme Being. According to Ibn Arabi, a metaphysical (existential) meaning is also meant by it, which explains the system of existence and the way of connecting truth and creation and the connection of the world of multitudes with the absolute unity of truth. While discussing this concept, Ibn Arabi discusses the heart, which is the bearer of divine manifestations, and maintaining its dignity is the duty of the seeker, so that the heart does not have dignity, and the names and attributes of the Most High do not manifest on it. The existential meaning of manifestation according to Ibn Arabi is that for the appearance of different levels of beings, the existence of the absolute one must be determined through manifestation. In the manifestation of absolute existence, the general image of single existences emerges, which he interprets as “Khams”. These gentlemen are the bearers of God’s manifestation, and according to that, the world of the kingdom is the manifestation of the world of the kingdom; The world of the kingdom is the manifestation of the world of strength; The world of strength is the embodiment of the world of nobles; The world of nobles is the manifestation of the divine names (Vāhediat) and the unity is the manifestation of unity. Thus, man has the ability to be the embodiment and full-view mirror of the existence of truth and manifest his truth in the mirror of the human heart. It is from here that we can enter into the discussion of Islamic calligraphy and its connection with manifestation. Apart from the issue of sanctity of calligraphy in Islamic culture, which on the one hand is based on its connection with the writing of the Qur’an and on the other hand, from some Qur’anic verses, referring to texts such as Adab al-Mashq by Babashah Esfahani, in which he enumerates twelve principles for good calligraphy, the eleventh principle It, i.e. “refinement” clearly has a mystical element and is derived from the eternal quality of the human heart according to the likes of Ibn Arabi, to the extent that it manifests itself in the rusted mirror of the human heart. Therefore, “dignity” with all its mystical meanings in the basic form of the principles of calligraphy and is described as a stage that polishes and refines the heart to manifest or reflect the goodness of God, and the sincerity of the word is to say Sultan Ali Mashhadi: “The dignity of the line is the result of the dignity of the heart”.

The Idea of Inter Subjectivity: The Solution to the Dispute Over the Interaction of Object and Subject in the Restoration of Paintings

Mohsen Marasy

Abstract
Based on their claim to understand artworks and the change in the nature of restorers and art audiences, the subjective and objective approaches have tried to establish themselves in different periods in history. However, each had defects in its context which affected some aspects of an artwork in the process of restoration. Based on this, this study attempts to examine three different periods of restoration of paintings using theoretical basic research, library data and samples of restored artworks. To achieve this goal, in three different readings, the theory of classical conservation, the theory of scientific conservation in the first half of the 20th century, and finally the contemporary theory of conservation in the late 20th century and early 21th century are discussed. Based on this, an approach to the dispute over the opposition between subjective and objective approaches and a common understanding between the subjects in the idea of inter subjectivity is sought. The main goal of this study is to examine and present the idea of inter subjectivity to solve the problem of the defects of the two aforementioned approaches. In conclusion, using the views of Habermas, this study aims to explain the idea of inter subjectivity and propose the need of the surrounding social world and the shared world of subjects in a given format.
Keywords: Painting Restoration, Subjectivism, Objectivism, Intersubjectivity, Habermas.

Introduction
The intellectual and philosophical foundation of each age guides and determines the updated cultural, social and artistic orientations in human civilizations. One of the most important structural differences in the orientations of the world’s philosophers and thinkers is viewing categories from the two objective and subjective perspectives. The worlds of subject and object are two opposite categories among philosophical thoughts as they have offered ways to understand and discover the surrounding world from the two perspectives of objectivity and subjectivity. Based on this and considering these inherent philosophical differences, readings of related categories can be offered. One of these categories is discussing conservation and restoration of historical artworks, which has always been the subject of serious disputes in this field. The aforementioned dichotomy in the different periods of human’s philosophical understanding of the world since the 18th century is a dispute which has fundamentally affected the technical and historical structures and the aesthetic nature related to the field of restoration of historical artworks especially paintings. In fact, this is the basis of the present study; Readings of the two dimensions of objectivism and subjectivism in the historical context of previous centuries which led to different readings of the process of restoration of paintings. In the first reading, the serious effects of the subjective view of restoration as something beautiful and hedonistic is discussed. In this reading, the basis of interpretation of an artwork and its restoration is an aesthetic view and from a subjective and extreme perspective. This led to vast changes and interventions in paintings which in turn led to the formation of anti-restoration and anti-conservation movements.
In the second reading and from the late 20th century, a new approach in this field was proposed by gaining a new understanding of the surrounding world and a positivist view based on respecting the material forming the artwork. Supporters of science and defenders of the conservation science were seeking a view toward artistic and historical artworks which downgraded the artwork to an object which could be examined and had tangible and objective qualities. This view did not believe in any subjective interpretation based on the restorer’s subject and allowed any interventions in the artwork if it was based on objective inference and scientific data. This very approach i.e. downgrading the artwork to a tangible and objective object led to lack of concentration on issues which were considered inherently subjective and somehow interpretive. Here, aesthetic, conceptual and spiritual issues were always in opposition to the artwork material, time and history and doomed to be ignored. At this point, considering the distinctions of contemporary man and the changes of the world, it seems necessary to deal with an intermediate space which is far from the biases of the two extreme objective and subjective views. In fact, to find an approach and solve the contradictions between the objective and subjective approaches, the third reading of this study seeks a solution which is based on the social world. In this space which is proposed as the idea of inter subjectivity, the inherent duty of historical artworks is to convey and commemorate their meanings. Here, considering the idea of Habermas, an inter subjective approach to solve the problem of the restoration of paintings is proposed.

The first reading: subjectivism and restoration
What is specifically discussed here is the interpretation of subjectivism in the process of restoration and subjective perceptions in the process of restoring paintings. Since, before the 20th century, still there weren’t concepts such as conservation, in the specific sense of the word, and no specific foundations for this concept cannot be imagined, in fact, it was personal and “subjective” perceptions which were used as the basis of restoration. In other words, the process of restoration is less dependent on the object material and more focused on the interpretation and perception of “restorer-artist”. “Aesthetic restoration” or “artistic restoration” have always been redefined in opposition to “scientific restoration” in the 2oth century. The use of adjectives “aesthetic”, “artistic” and other such words for restoration in fact confirms attention to its subjective aspect as in them, perceptual and emotional criteria prevail over the process of objective examinations in which, based on the object, the main nature of the forming materials or the date it was created are considered important. Among the many restorations carried out in the centuries leading to the 20th century, many cases of focus on the subjective view can be found.

Second reading, objectivity, conservation and science
In this view, due to being goal-oriented, the process considered any interventions in the artwork justifiable as the final mission was perfect adornment, beauty and providing pleasure. Also, at the heart of the idealist thoughts of the 19th century, in the views of people such as “viollet-le-Duc”, restoration was defined in a way that it did not even exist in its initial and original state and the restorer as a skilled artist removed the foundation of a historical artwork. In order to better understand the events of the second half of the 19th century which led to the improvement of the relationship between science and conservation, it is necessary to examine its underlying concepts and theories. Since the 19th century, Western society had practically entered a space in which scientific approaches and science development were considered a basis for acceptance and development. In fact, it was “positivism” which was formed based on the views of the French thinker “Auguste Comte” in the 19th century and became prevalent in the 20th century. In fact, it was this continuation of the scientific approach from the middle of the 19th century which spread to the restoration world and totally changed the world in front of it.

Third reading
Habermas emphasizes that the subject-object relationship is definable in an intermediate space and that is the issue of the presence of the other subject. In fact, it is this “other experience” or other subject experience which along with other subjects provides a shared world to understand objects (ibid. 2012: 36). The aggregation of these subjects leads to social experience and provides correct relationships to understand and achieve knowledge.

Conclusion
In three separate readings, this study discusses the examination of the effects of each of these objective and subjective approaches and the extent to which restorers are influenced by their intellectual foundations. In the first reading, the effects of the subjective approach on forming concepts of painting restoration have been discussed. In this section, the claim was examined that the effects of subject in the ages before the 20th century led to the creation of a concept which considered the artwork in the form of a beautiful object and from the perspective of hedonistic and aesthetic thoughts. Here any interventions or changes to achieve the aesthetic integrity of the artwork and putting the artwork in a perfect and ideal situation is acceptable and applicable. In the late 19th century, with the predominance of positivist thoughts based on the application of different sciences in human life, the world faced an approach which was materialistic and based on mere attention to the object. The objectivism used in the scientific conservation has sought to justify any scientific studies and the application of different sciences in the process of recognition and restoration of paintings. The approach based on objectivity and focusing on the inherent qualities of objects focused attention on the artwork material and did not allow any intervention or change in the artwork material. Perhaps the most important defect of the positivist approach in scientific conservation was inattention to the position of subject. In cases where the artwork required subjective analysis such as aesthetic judgment, the theory of scientific conservation either did not have an answer to it or did not pay attention to it. It was this defect which, in the decades leading to the late 20th century, directed the theory of contemporary conservation toward an approach to solve the problem of subject and object in the process of restoring historical artworks and consequently restoring paintings. The idea of inter subjectivity which was referred to in this study is in fact an approach which tries to solve the dispute over the opposition between subject and object and the constructive interaction of subjects in restoration. This idea, by raising the idea of Habermas’ triangle, points to the fact that based on the shared world of subjects, a social world can be found based on the conservation of shared meanings of humans. This idea will cover the defect of ignorance of materialistic thoughts of conservation to a great extent and tries to retrieve the needs of different societies in an interactive context among commonalities and meanings of subjects.