Abstract
The Sasanian Empire is one of the most magnificent dynasties in ancient Iran. Numerous archaeological and artistic works as well as written manuscripts have been remained from the Sasanian period. In the meantime, oral traditions of the period and its inspiration on Islamic era cannot be denied. The Sasanian inscribed bullae are among the most important heritages of this glorious era. This article deals with a technical analysis based on “electron probe microanalysis” to understand compounding materials of the Sasanian bullae. It also stresses on the mineralogy of the bullae’s compounds and raise a question if their manipulation follow any standard(s) or not? Evaluating such a hypothesis, the authors have selected small sample pieces of the bullae from three well-known historical sites: Takht-e Soleyman (West Azarbaijan Province), Qasr-e Abu-Nasr (Fars Province) and Teppe Kabudan (Golestan Province). To answer to main question of the paper, EMPA technique has been selected, which is one of the most accurate tests. Initially, fixed compound elements of each bullae were discovered and then an attempt was undergone to evaluate and compare the bullae compounds of the three Sasanian sites.
Keywords: Sasanian, Bullae, EPMA, Mineralogy, Compound Materials.

Introduction
The Sasanian Empire is one of the most magnificent dynasties in ancient Iran, which was founded by Ardashir I (224 AD), and constituted the last great Iranian empire before the advent of Islam (651 AD).The collapse of this dynasty was so bitter for Iranian identity and nationality, that it can be equal to Zoroastrian final resurrection in some texts.
Varied cultural heritage of this magnificent era, including royal inscriptions, coins, gold and silver vessels, glass containers, seals and bullae belonging to nobles and officials, including  priests, governors and army commanders, can be a proof of the claim. Such archeological evidences have been discovered in most of the historical sites of Iran, especially in Sasanian homeland: Fars province (cf. Gyselen 2006: 25).
Nevertheless these Zoroastrian Pahlavi manuscripts, written heritage, or the Sasanian heritages in the other countries, is out of this paper.
Although so many scholarly works have been published about the history, art and culture of the Sasanian in the past 100 years up to now (Malandra 2005: online), but less effort has been made on technical tests such as fingerprinting of the bullae, analyzing glass works with non-destructive testing, etc. in Iran.  These technical tests are obviously a part of Iranian Studies, Archaelogy and Museum studies. So, we decided to conduct a highly accurate EPMA (electron probe micro-analyzer) test on some Sasanian bullae in three different geographic regions. This paper describes the results for the first time. We avoided ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma) test or other destructive technical tests. EPMA is one of the safe ways to examine and preserve objects without any damages. In professional ICP technical test a solution, i.e. part of an object with a liquid should be made, but such a test runs counter to the rules. 

Sasanian Bullae 
The Sasanian inscribed bullae are one of the most important remnants from this great cultural period. These works are most important references in archeological studies and Iranology, etc. such as research on artistic aspects and inscriptions (including individual names, their designation and religious legends). The bullae were also used in administrative matters, both in political affairs and in commerce (Gyselen 2002: 24). Several collections of Sasanian bullae has been discovered in Iran’s provinces most of which have been printed by Western scholars (cf. Gignoux and Gyselen 1987). These works have been made out of raw mud which has been kneaded with hands and are mostly in rounded form. In an overview, most of them are looks like the same in shape and color. The largest collection of Sasanian bullae is discovered from Takht-e Solayman. 
However, this article doesn’t focus on historical, artistic and administrative aspects of the works (cf. Azarpay 2003: online; Gubaev et al 1996: 56); but the authors of the paper are looking to find out how well the makers of these bullae were familiar with the knowledge of mineralogy? Whether they used any standard(s) to extract mines or select initial mud for the creation of these works? Whether technical tests, based on analyzing of the compound materials of the samples, can improve us about ability and knowledge of the makers? How much similar or dissimilar are those compound materials from a site to another one? 

Background
In the past years, some scholarly works were published based on the technical tests (or chemical) on metals, ceramics, bronze and porcelains. Most of them used “XRF” or “PXRF” (cf. Ashkanani 2013: 245; Tanasi at al 2017: 222-234). Meanwhile no chemical or other tests have been reported on bullae
Furthermore, the results of the tests such as XRF and the like cannot be comparable with the technical test of EPMA. While the other tests are destructive, EPMA is completely safe. Moreover, it is much easier for scholars to access to the ancient archeological works such as ceramics and bronze rather than bullae.

Selecting Samples of the Bullae from Three Historical Sites 
To answer the above mentioned questions, we selected samples from three known Sasanian sites (Iran) including: Takht-e Soleyman in West Azarbaijan ProvinceI, Qasr-e Abu Nasar in Fars ProvinceII and Tappeh Kabudan in Golestan ProvinceIII . The samples were selected from the Department of Seals and Coins of the National Museum of Iran, where the bullae of these three sites are kept. The samples were sent to Research Institute of Processing Minerals of the Ministry of Industry, the only holder of EPMA instrument in the country; Mr. Qolizadeh and his colleagues were responsible to do the technical test. Two small pieces of bullae were selected from each above mentioned site (Bullae) and sent for the EPMA test. Meanwhile, the team was unable to use the “polish section” test on the basis of BSE because of ICHTO rules; also the EPMA photos are of a higher resolution.  Obviously the resolution of %10 - %15 is enough for such a test and there is no need for resolution of %1 -%2. In this work, the expert team used the BSE shooting method, which means “backscattered electrons (for photography)”. The following, charts indicate the compound materials of the samples:
According to the charts, close similarities have been seen in the compounds of the Takht-e Soleyman samples except iron. Qasr-e Abu Nasr’s samples could be considered of having the same similarities next to Takht-e Soleyman. In fact, remarkable dissimilarities between the examples of these two sites can be seen in those of Teppeh Kabudan. 
Meanwhile the question arises as: “why there are such similarities and dissimilarities between the compounds?” 
Takht-e Soleyman is one of the most sacred, important and well-known Sasanian sites. Enough has been said and written about the religious aspect of the site for the Zoroastrianism (Boyce 1987: online) and Iran under Sasanian; the very important works of the Sasanians have been discovered in this site (Gobl 1976). This site is geographically surrounded by the nearby mountains so that the craftsmen accessed probably to the mines of clay. It is not reasonable to suppose that they transferred mud from far away!
Although Qasr-e Abu Nasr is one of the most important Sasanian sites, but it cannot be compared with Takht-e Soleyman. Meanwhile archeological excavations attest its rank in Sasanian studies. The Achaemenid evidences from Qasr-e Abu Nasr can be considered as a part of archaic background of the site (Frye 1973: 8).
Tappeh Kabudan, unlike the two above mentioned sites, is almost unknown,in which the least excavations have been conducted. Sasanian bullae from Tappeh Kabudan in the National Museum of Iran have been discovered in the site accidently. The lack of the archeological excavations to get more information about the site from one side, and its special geographical location in Golestan Province which has been surrounded by the mines, fertile hills and rivers from another side, differentiate Tappeh Kabudan from the previous sites. Most probably the craftsmen who worked in Takht-e Soleyman and Qasr-e Abu Nasr cannot be compared with those in Teppeh Kabudan. Post-Sasanian texts have frequently referred to Sasanian kings who visited Takht-e Solayman for the ritual rite. Also a royal gateway of Qasr-e Abu Nasr’s site can be assumed as a connection between the site and the Power, while there is no trace in this regard on Tappeh Kabudan. It seems that Takht-e Solayman and Qasr-e Abu Nasr were two significant political and religious sites in Sasanian era.
In spite of this, we need many other samples from the north, south, east and west sides of the country to determine similarities and dissimilarities of the bullae. However such destructive tests on objects are illegal, we were unable to find more samples. 

Conclusion
The Sasanian bullae are one of the most outstanding heritages for understanding the administrative geography of Iranshahr in the eraIV These bullae have been widely used in administrative matters, especially in the trade.
They belonged to the nobles and ranked class such as the priests, army commanders, provincial governors, tradesmen and etc. Despite the scholarly works, the technical tests to analyze the compounds of the bullae have not been done yet. As any destructive test is prohibited according to the rules, we need broken fragments and pieces for doing such a test on the bullae. In fact we hardly received a few number of the samples for EPMA test from the National Museum of Iran. 
The EPMA is one of the most accurate technical tests for analyzing the compound elements of the archeological clay objects; thus it can serve as a gateway to other tests on the other clay works such as jars, bowls and etc. The result of our technical test testifies that the bullae compounded from fixed elements, the issue that has not been studied during the last century. 
The results of the tests show that the makers prepared raw mud very accurately; so that they did not use the raw mud of anywhere. The similarities of the compound’s elements of the two most important sites of the Takht-e Soleyman and Qasr-e Abu Nasr show that the makers have had good information for selecting the mud. These similarities have been certified as a standard selection of raw mud for Sasanian bullae. However, a question arises as to whether those who provided the mud were same as who kneaded it?
 It cannot be also ignored that most of these bullae date back to the late Sasanian (sixth century A.D.). Obviously during the sixth century art, music, coinage technique, and probably the knowledge of how to prepare mud for such a work had reached its peak. At least The percentage of silver in Sasanian coins is a good attest for standardization in this century. However the tests, which have been done on the bullae, testify the skill of the makers of these works.
Furthermore this achievement is a significant event in archeology, Iranian studies, and etc. Takht-e Soleyman, as a sacred religious site, was probably a place where craftsmen and masters worked in. The specific geographical location of this Zoroastrian site would have possibly provided the artists with a unique opportunity to look for their required mud within the site and nearby. Perhaps the similar compounds of the bullae can be considered as a proof to testify that makers extracted mud from specific mine(s) of that region.  
Many masterpieces have been discovered from Qasr-e Abu Nasr site in Fars province.  Similarity in compounds of the bullae of this site, same as Takht-e Soleyman, can be a claim that craftsmen followed a kind of standards for their works. Historical sites of Fars province, homeland of Sasanian kings, have played a significant role on Sasanian studies since the last century.
Tappeh Kabudan, unlike the two above mentioned sites, is a less known site in archeological studies, especially on Sasanian era. A considerable difference is being noticed in the percentage of the compounds of the samples of this site in comparison with the two discussed sites. The geographical location of Tappeh Kabudan can be a notable factor that causes dissimilarities between this site and Takht-e Soleyman and Qasr-e Abu Nasr. Against to the archeological knowledge about Takht-e Soleyman and Qasr-e Abu Nasr in the past fifty years, our information about Tappeh Kabudan is not enough. In fact, the results of the tested samples of this less known site, in northern part of the country, cannot be compared with the two mentioned well known Sasanian sites.

Endnote
I. The site was excavated by German archaeologists in 1960s. They discovered a most important collection of the bullae and seals (Osten and Naumann 1961). Meanwhile Mr. Y. Moradi (RICHTO) excavated the site some years ago and discovered more than 300 new bullae: cf.RICHTO, Archive).
II. Qasr or Takht-e Abu Nasre is located in Fars Province, near Shiraz city. The collection of the bullae (and other objects) was published by R. Frye (Frye 1973).
III. Cf. Akbarzadeh and T. Daryaee 2012: online.
IV. The term used by Sasanian inscriptions and Zoroastrian Pahlavi texts (Daryaee 2009: 5).

Abstract
Obviously Persepolis is one of the most important archaeological sites in the world. Numerous scholarly works have been published about this site since the last century. However, this article stresses on a specific and new topic concerning a tool on shoulders of an Indian among India’s delegation in Apadana Palace of Darius the Great. The portrait of the delegation has been pre-served in the eastern and (damaged) northern staircases. The author, unlike previous works, be-lieves that this tool reflects a bamboo-stick which is known in India.  Indians used accessible bamboo-sticks, as a native plant, to carry their loads. They put a bamboo-stick on the shoulders while tied two containers in its two sides. The bamboo-stick is also widely used in ritual cere-monies (Hinduism). Clearly, to transfer the holy water of Ganges River to Shiva temples, pil-grims use a bamboo-stick tied to two containers. The bamboo-stick has been a significant tool in Kanwar Cult or Kanwar-yatra in India. Furthermore, Krishna’s Flute is made of a bamboo wood! In the famous Indian story of Shravan Kumar, this devoted child takes his blind parents to pilgrimage with a tool exactly like the one depicted in Persepolis, two baskets attached to bamboo-sticks on the back. Flexible bamboo-stick does not hurt the shoulders, it is easier to control with both hands and it is less likely to break. For this reason, these flexible sticks - un-like scales - do not need handles in the middle and fastenings at the two ends with their bas-kets! In fact, the Indian bamboo-stick carrier arrived at Darius the Great court with a pure Indi-an traditional manner. So, the author relying on the special standing of bamboo stick in Indian culture ranging from ritual ceremonies to the life style challenges previous scholarly works on this subject.
Keywords: CPersepolis, Apadana, India, Bamboo-Stick.

Introduction
Obviously, Persepolis is one of the most important archeological sites in the world. Many sci-entific works have been published about the site since one hundred years ago. Persepolis is lo-cated 60 km northeast of Shiraz in the Marvdasht plain. Around it, the glorious heritage of the Achaemenid to the Sasanian Empire can be seen on the mountains and valleys. The oldest de-scription of Persepolis, according to Diodorus Siculus (Herzfeld, 1941: 230), is based on ac-counts of Alexander’s appearance in the East. Nevertheless, Iranian geographers of the first Is-lamic centuries such as Mas’udi, Ibn Balkhi and Moqadasi ... have also pointed to this area in-tertwined with King Jamshid (cf. Akbarzadeh, 2014: 36). This magnificent national historical site was registered in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979.
From the late Qajar period, western scholars began exploring and studying ancient sites and Persepolis was one of them. Shapur Shahbazi (2009: online) has referred to a list of these peo-ple. Among them, I should refer to the masters like Schmidt (1953, 1957, 1970; Herzfeld,1941; Stronack, 1961-1963; Behnam, 1939, Mostafavi, 1951, Shahbazi, 1976) and etc.

Topic of the Article
However, the subject of this article is a new research on the portrait of a tax-paying Indian del-egation on the eastern (also damaged northern) stairs of Darius the Great’s Apadana.
An Indian (of the delegation) is carrying something like a scale (according to previous work i.e Schmidt, 1953-1970; Root, 1979, Callieri, 2004: online; Briant is silent; Briant, 2002: 268). Meanwhile, the main question is that: Can this tool be a scale?
This tool, which is the main topic of this article, will be discussed according to a photo about the delegation (Persepolis). To challenge the previous works, I will refer to Indic texts where I will describe some old significant Indian rites.
In the photo, a long carrying stick all over the man’s shoulder (with protrusions on both sides), two cheek baskets that hang from the end of each piece of wood, without any fasteners is clear-ly visible. Moreover, the man’s hands are the most important factor in maintaining this flexible wood attached to heavy baskets on both sides. The powerful Achaemenid craftsman accurately displayed the flexibility of the wood.

Discussion
A look at the scale’s forms in the ancient world from the Hellenic borders to Egypt and Iran (Buttner & Renn, 2016: 757) as well as text studies (see next) clearly diminishes belief in that the Indian man is carrying a scale!
However, to answer the main question: I should note that this tool can never be a scale as all western and Iranian scholars have been convinced. I would explain it as a bamboo-stick, the fa-mous native plant of the country (India). This plant can be seen all over India, especially along rivers and valleys. The Indians have widely used (even today in villages) flexible bamboo wood to carry light cargo.
In the famous Indian story of Shravan Kumar (Balasokulam, 2005: no. E32), this devoted child takes his blind parents to pilgrimage with a tool exactly like the one depicted in Persepolis, two baskets attached to bamboo-sticks on the back. “Once upon a time, when king Dashrath ruled, there lived a boy named Shravan Kumar. His parents were old and blind. He had to do all the works for them, since they couldn’t see. One day, Shravan Kumar’s parents expressed their de-sire to go on pilgrimage. As an obedient son, he wanted to fulfill their wish; but how would he do that? He couldn’t afford any transportation since he did not have money. He found another way. He took a strong bamboo-stick, tied baskets at its two ends and placed his parents in those baskets…” 
Furthermore, the bamboo-stick is mingled with the Hindu beliefs. Krishna normally appears with a flout which is made of bamboo! Sacred Ganga water carries by bamboo-stick (Kanwar) to Shiva Shrines.  In fact, Kanwar (Kanwar-yatra-) is a genre of religious performances where participants ritually carry water from a holy source in containers suspended on either side of the pole (cf. Singh: 2017, 46). 

Conclusion
The author believes that the portrait of that Indian tribute/gift bearer in Persepolis is only a re-flection of an Indian tradition in which Indians carried their goods in this way. It is strongly be-lieved that the two baskets at the two ends of the stick are the least reason why some scholars have confused it with the scales. In fact, this Indian man, according to his tradition, has brought a gift to the king! The multifunctional bamboo-stick of Persepolis (Skt. Vaina-, Hindi. Behngi and Kanwar (Bihar), probably Sogd. wn-, wn’kh (Apte, 2006: 27; Gharib, 2004: 408) were strongly supported by Indic texts and religious rites. In the story of Sravan Kumar, the loyal child took his parents to the pilgrimage by a bamboo-stick tied to two baskets! Also, Kanwar rite is one of the most important Hinduism beliefs where the bamboo-stick plays a significant role.
A part of religious aspect, flexible bamboo-stick was controllable by hands and it was accessi-ble and none-costly in all parts of the country.  Also, Indians were skilled to bring things by such bamboo-sticks. 
So, the craftsman recorded a detailed Indic tradition in the court of the Achaemenid king, Dari-us the Great, where this Indian man arrived with a bamboo-stick and nothing more. The author thinks that the bamboo-stick’s flexibility is a reason that some scholars mistakenly supposed some heavy things like gold stones (cf. Shahbazi, 2002, 268) can be referred in the boxes (of the baskets). 

Abstract
Sasanian Silver Bowl at the National Museum of Iran, known as the “dancer-musicians scene”, has been one of the museum’s most archaeological works for the past sixty years. According to Ali Sami, this bowl was purchased in 1334 (1955); it is attributed to the north of Iran (Kelardasht of Mazandaran). The palm-shaped head of this bowl shows four dancer-musician-singers with four different well-known musical instruments as well as a figure of a pheasant in the center. In all previous scholarly works, as well as in the many exhibitions in which this bowl has been displayed, this work has been referred to as the motif of the “female dancers-musicians”. However, doubtful interpretations of musical instruments of the motif can be found in the same scholarly works. Obviously Iranian scholars to the internally held exhibitions have followed previously mentioned works. The author will first challenge the “femininity” of these four dancer-musician-singers and will testify the view that three of them are only masculine. Secondly, I will present a new proposal to the readers with a different interpretation of these Iranian music instruments. Also, the author considers this bowl to probably be a heritage from the Persian Gulf (southern, not northern Iran). Furthermore, I will also focus on the identity of these dancer-musicians in such a musical group scene as “Indian gypsies” or at least inspired by such a musical style. The author will also refer to two other lesser-known similar bowls of the Museum. Meanwhile, the author will present a new perspective on the date of this silver object which is based on its motif details and two more Silver Works at the National Museum of Iran. In this comparative study, I will draw a line between the three motifs (of the bowls, especially two of them) based on the two seasons of “winter and spring (or summer)”!
Keywords: Sasanian Silver Bowl, National Museum of Iran, Musician-dancers Scene, Kelardasht, India Gypsy, Persian Gulf.

Introduction
Much has been said and written about the Persian Gulf. Since more than 500 years ago until now, about cultural landscapes, art, music, clothing, food styles to different harbors and etc. through foreign travelogues and Iranian documents can be attributed to colorful valuable data on the Persian Gulf. Archaeology has also testified a large tangible data about Iranian identity over the Persian Gulf. Pre-historic objects to the valuable inscription of Darius the Great obtained from the Suez Canal to other archeological finds from Bushehr, Siraf, Kharg, Qeshm, Hormoz, etc., are proof of this claim. Zoroastrianism legacy in Saudi Arabia and especially Yemen to recent Sasanian coins from the United Arab Emirates, Sasanian fortresses in Oman (cf. Potts, 2012: online)... can be proof of our historical ownership of the Persian Gulf.
Nevertheless, the article stresses on a review of a Sasanian magnificent artistic relic in the National Museum of Iran. This masterpiece frequently has been referred for at least the lasxty years. This significant object has been displayed in most of exhibitions from the inside to the abroad. This Sasanian heritage has been published in most of the catalogs of the National Museum of Iran and international exhibitions. This very beautiful Sasanian work, “silver bowl” known as the “scene of dancer-musicians” with registry number 1332, weight 575.7, diameter 22.55 cm, and height 7 cm, obtained from Kelardasht (?), Mazandaran.

ConclusionUndoubtedly, the Sasanian silver bowl at the National Museum of Iran can be studied from a new perspective. This view can challenge all previous scholarly works from two different aspects.
First, the musical instruments portrayed on this work can testify to its interrelationship with the shores of the Persian Gulf. For example, Castanet or Sinj is a typical instrument. There is a golden shipwreck’s photo (with eight musicians-singers), has some similarities with the silver bowls of the National Museum of Iran, on the website of Asian Civilizations Museum in Singapore.6 According to the website, the work has been discovered from a Persian Gulf bound ship drowned near Indonesia. However, the author has doubts about authenticity of this report! 
Although there are few written archaic texts but these instruments have been valid from generation to generation in Iran as endorsed by sources in Sasanian, Post-Sasanian, oral history as well as archeological documents until they have reached our time. 
Most Post-Sasanian sources have preserved valuable information about Arghanun, sorena, lute (barbat) and even chime.7 Although Zoroastrian texts do not help on such a topic but the story of Khusraw ī kawādān ud rēdak (Oryan, 2004: 58) mentioned some of the best musicians: “harp-players, lute-players, wan players,8 tambour players, and reed players.” 
Chime (cf. Ibn Sina)9 is one of the oldest musical instruments in southern Iran. The Haft-Joush (seven parts) chime was also one of the most common of these musical instruments; the Indian type of which (made of bronze) had a special reputation in Bushehr (Darvishi, 2004: 540,32). Type of the short handled and tied to the fingers have been (and still are) the most common chimes in southern Iran (for the same instrument, see: Gunter and Jett, 1992: 191).
Another important fact is that the production and control of the melody with these four instruments were very difficult for females (women); three of them (bowl) still considered male instruments. In Taq Bostan too, sorena and a kind of arghanun (or bagpipe, maybe nay-e anban) are played by men where females are depicted as tambourine and harp players (farmer, 1964: 96). Both of these latter instruments have always been depicted and described in this way (female).
So, the gender of the musicians will be the second key point of this object. It is as if the previous works did not pay attention to the connection between the “type of instrument and the type of gender” which, according to the tradition, they were at least skilled players. 
The story of “ Khusraw ī kawādān ud rēdak “ (Oryan, 2004: 96) describes “a sweet-singing-dancer and a beauty with big breasts, wasp waist, black and long hair ...”. Here are two questions:
1. Whether the female musician-dancer figures on the Sasanian silver legacy, with big breasts, slim waist and charming disheveled hair (National Museum of Iran, cf. fig. 6) cannot be a seal of endorsing the above-mentioned Pahlavi text? If that is the case, which I believe it is:
2. Isn’t this (description) contrary to the motif of the musicians of the silver bowl at the National Museum?
This issue of course according to the type of make-up and body shape confirms that three of them are males. Therefore, in the dance-music scene of other objects, the shawl on the breast (or part of it such as Bishapur mosaic), from behind (such as the silver decanter at the National Museum) or above the head like a sunshade (fig. 9) can be seen. Here, the shawl is skillfully placed on privy parts (low body) by the craftsman in order to have observed Iranian ethics (of course with partial rotation of the body). If in other objects, the shawl plays a role in covering the breasts of women, here it covers probably their low bodies.  This is not very compatible with Roman art!
In the Sasanian silver decanter at the National Museum, despite a kind of decorated forehead, the hair of the musician is hung from both sides towards the shoulders but here typical long-braided hair can remind us of Indian style which impacted the Persian Gulf coasts. However, no trace of the hair of the above mentioned musicians can be seen here, and they wear a head-gear (with two different logos on the forehead in pairs) that is fastened with a bandage under the throat (it is unlikely to be a hair strand). On this bowl, the whole body (with details) is portrayed in front and the head is turned to another side (profile), something that does not occur much with other works. The highly balanced and professional limbs of these dancer-musician-singers indicate their affiliation with a professional group. The beautiful and balanced body as well as the “hairless face” of these three male musicians plus one female, is thought to be one of the reasons for calling these four dancers females.
Furthermore, a theme rarely seen in Sasanian art is a “harmonious music group”  (male and female) scene. Even in the royal hunting scene of Taq Bostan, less resemblance (coordinated group) can be found to this bowl.  The musicians of Taq Bostan cannot be called a scene of a group performance.
Another similar silver bowl (fig. 10) with the same motif (four dancer-musicians from Kelardasht) at the National Museum of Iran published by S. Ayazi (2005: 92-93) already. These two bowls differentiate each other by some significant details which have never been studied. In the second bowl, the relatively “thick cover” of the musicians along with the figures of the “birds” is very significant. It seems, to me, that the first one reflects summer or spring season but the second one clearly recalls the winter season. Figures of different birds (which can be discovered in the spring season) is a part of the claim (the second one). There is also a third bowl with the same scene, in the National Museum, which I will write about in more detail in the future.
The author believes that the motifs of these three bowls are merely radiant of a “simple secular feast” (cf. Boyce and Farmer, 1990: 55; also: Gunter and Jett, 1992: 200). Obviously, the Sasanian heritages can never have been recorded without religious traces, which subconsciously ruled the artist’s mind. Hence, the meaningful name of the owner of the first bowl  (Farrokh-hormozd not windad-hormozd) to the design of the black “ten” leaves of the palm branch, the pearl ring around the pheasant in the middle of the object, the number of pearls of the pearl ring, two ribbons and also the three branches in the beak (Glory, triple social casts  or the doctrine of the Zoroastrianism) are part of this claim.
 Although the existence of motif of birds and animals in Sasanian art (rock, art, bullae, etc...) is a normal subject, but the figure of a pheasant (center of the bowl) can remind us of the “Khorasan Art School” that goes as far as China (Akbarzadeh, 2020: 267). 
The author believes that there is no connection between this scene and the one from Roman legacy of Dionysian or the goddess Anahita (Catalog of Wien, 2003: 233; Gunter and Jett, 1992: 27), as mentioned in all previous works. The following reasons can support me to challenge the previous works: “the typical oriental type of dance of these dancer-musicians, which is evident from their body shape, the pheasant figure most unrelated to the Zoroastrian goddess, the partial nudity dancers, which is not compatible with the officially known Sasanian art (but they are covered on the second bowl), their instruments, the absence of any bold religious symbols etc... supposedly for their body shape (type of dance), type of head-bands, shawl pattern, typical southern chime (with base, like pliers), dancer-musicians in group scene ...” Also, the author points the finger at India, not the Roman heritage for such a coordinated group performance that Sasanian art lacked (cf. Boyce and Farmer, 1990: 60). 
The Indians have always been known as female-males dancer-musicians in group form (unlike individual Sasanian dancer-singers). Also, the figure of the peacock (bowls 2-3) can support this claim. Moreover, the presence of Indian musicians-dancers in the Sasanian period is a well-known issue. It is obvious that Bahram V (Gur), after treating the mental condition of the Iranian society, ordered many musicians from India to come to Iran and play in public. These musicians are known as “gypsies” in the history of Iran.10 In fact, the author evaluates this group of naked (and partly-covered) dancer-musicians (with a completely different body shape) on these Sasanian bowls as Indian gypsies. Their half-nakedness cannot be an Iranian tradition in dance. In a work, about such instruments, attributed to Ibn Khordadbeh (Mallah, 1963: 28; Sami, 1970: 49) narrates that: “Iranians usually played the lute with the flute and the tambourine and the sorna with the dohol (drum) and mastaj (chime) and the senj.” 
The author also believes that due to the to the accuracy in construction and high technic of these valuable bowls and the processing of artistic symbols, especially such a dancer-musicians in group scene, its attribution to the eighth century AD., Post-Sasanian period (given the socio-political situation of Iran), is questionable. If this bowl(s) was made in the geographical boundary of Sasanian Fars province (including parts from Khuzestan to Fars and the whole of present-day Bushehr province) (which is strongly believed to be the case), the eighth century AD. was the most difficult period of this part of the Persian Gulf. Furthermore, the artistic details of these objects are never less, if not more beautiful than the objects of the sixth century AD. (cf. Lawergren, 2009: online). The skill in the inscribed needle-shaped of the owner’s religious name, the exact size of the body of the musicians, the branches of the grape, colored lace and other details indicate that the creation of this work can be even brighter than the eighth century AD. 
Despite this, a fundamental problem will remain and that is the type of cover of the dancers on these three bowls. This coverage can mean a “seasonal difference”, that is likely to be the case. Based on this one, we should focus on the eighth century AD. The author suggests that the second bowl (covered dancers) can be a reminder of Mihragan Festival at the beginning of winter and the first one (naked) can be reminiscent of Nowruz Festival (or a summer fest). This six-month gap (between two seasons) is the least reason why the two group of the two objects can be considered the same. If we cannot opine about the time of Mihragan Festival, but the time of Nowruz Fest was not fixed at the beginning of spring in the Sasanian calendar. This event is related to the early Islamic periods and this one does not contradict the eighth century. In short, that discovery of this bowl (for whatever reason) from northern Iran will never be an excuse to consider its origin as northern, and of course this is not surprising in archeology.

Sasanian Empire was one of the most powerful periods in ancient Iran. Archaeological evidence and traces, and Sasanian and Post-Sasanian texts show cultural and artistic relations of the Sasanian Empire from the East to the West. However, official Sasanian methods of warfare are one of the most important legacies of the period that have been less studied. These offensive and defensive arms and armor can be analyzed by looking at remaining evidence left by kings and officials within the national borders to the lands abroad. Sasanian swords are depicted on rock reliefs, silver dishes, and coins (drachmas and dinars). Although studies have been done on the classification of Sasanian swords shown on rock reliefs, no systematic study on the depiction of Sasanian swords on Sasanian drachms has been done so far. The following paper tries to restudy the subject by comparing the swords depicted on Sasanian coins and compare them to the swords shown on rock reliefs and dishes. Sasanian swords are depicted on different Sasanian royal arts such as Sasanian coins, Sasanian silver dishes, and Sasanian rock reliefs. Different elements will be taken into consideration such as the shape of swords in general and their method of hanging from the belt in particular. A closer look shows that Sasanian drachmas and dinars show two major types of hanging Sasanian swords via a scabbard slide system: A. hanging the sword in front of the body. B. hanging the sword on the left or the right hip. Additionally, the following paper will compare them to some extant examples of Sasanian swords that are kept in museums and private collections. 

Relations between Iran and the East Asia date back to ancient times. These interactions ranged in function and scale from the initial development of overland trade routes by hopeful merchants, all the way to the political entanglements of ruling dynasties. These relations can be traced through material culture but also through their incorporation into written texts. Although, China (Čīn) and Korea (Silla) had been referenced in relation to the Zoroastrian heroes of the resurrection, Japan did not have any position in this regard according to Persian texts. Additionally, the name China was known for the Middle Persian languages such as Sogdian, Manichean and Zoroastrian Pahlavi texts, those texts have never mentioned the name of Japan. Although, many scholarly works have been published on Iran-Japan historical relations, the author believes that some aspects of these relations need to be reviewed. Zoroastrian late texts describe Čīnestān while it is hard to explain the term included Japan and Silla, but this information can be seen frequently in the Early Islamic Periods widely about Silla. According to the Persian texts, Čīn and Silla were two “holy toponyms” where the final (Zoroastrian) savior would come to rescue Iran from the Arabs. Surprisingly heroes-kings like Jamshid, Faridun, Faranak, Zahhak, Garshasb, Sām were entangled with these two toponyms according to Persian texts. Clearly Japan appeared less frequently as a toponym in Persian classic texts. The author believes that believe “refraining to give support to Sasanian princes” should serve as a significant factor in dropping Japan’s name by Persian texts. In this article I will try to answer “why references to Japan are lacking in Persian classic texts?”