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Rotating wkly acct. ft. a new historian each wk. Founder/Manager: K. Rezakhani @sasanianshah. Do not use contents w/o permission. This week’s host: sundry hosts
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Mar 8, 2022 30 tweets 12 min read
Khodadad Rezakhani @sasanianshah here:

In honour of the International Women’s Day, let’s talk about one very famous women of ancient Iran, Queen Shirin. She’s perhaps the most famous queen consort of the Sasanian period & a main character in many later historical accounts. In popular imagination, she is mostly associated with the dual romances of “Khosrow & Shirin” and “Shirin & Farhad”… yeeees, this legendary woman has TWO medieval romances written about her! Take that Guinevere!

But she was MUCH more than that…
Jan 21, 2021 15 tweets 8 min read
As promised, tonight I'll talk about religious storytelling or Pardeh Dari with a focus on Pardeh paintings. This is Golnar Touski, tweeting from Historians of Iran./1 @GolnarNemat While reenactment and recitation of Shi’a tragedies were established by Safavid rulers (1501-1736) the practice gained popularity in Qajar Persia where Tekieyeh (تکیه) was a place of congregation for religious ceremonies. Here's a painting of one by Kamal al-Molk./2 @GolnarNemat
Jan 20, 2021 17 tweets 8 min read
If you ever watched a Morshed (storyteller) performing from scenes of battles,heroes,infernal serpents and paradise birds, you know the absolute joy of Naqali,the art of storytelling. This is Morshed Mirza Ali whose family have been storytellers for generations. 1/17 @GolnarNemat Image These days brilliant women storytellers are part of this traditionally male-exclusive profession. This is Sara Abbaspour; one of Morshed women today. The staff stick is a crucial part of performing, used to dramatize and to point to the painted scenes. 2/17 @GolnarNemat Image
Jan 11, 2021 16 tweets 5 min read
Thank you all for your support this week. It's been a blast! If you missed anything, here's a "thread of threads" of everything I talked about this week.

Please follow me at @IranChinaGuy for more posts like this! Also please check out my other project, @iranstudiesUS 1/ How far back can ties between ancient China and early Iranian societies in Central Asia be traced?

Jan 11, 2021 20 tweets 8 min read
1/ In 1965, a leftist Iranian student movement in Europe declared its support for Mao Zedong's theories. The Revolutionary Organization of the Tudeh Party (Sāzmān-e Enghelābi-ye Ḥezb-e Tūdeh) would become a major faction of the student opposition.

#IranChina by @IranChinaGuy ImageImageImage 2/ The ROTPI claimed “Comrade Mao has evolved Marxism, [and] we must solve issues from the point of view of Mao Zedong Thought." They began circulating translations of the works of Mao Zedong and other militant texts among Iranian students abroad. In pamphlets and periodicals... Image
Jan 9, 2021 17 tweets 8 min read
1/ Persian was an important admin. and religious language during the Yuan and Ming, but declined under the Qing (1644-1912).

On the rise (and fall) of Persian language use in China and the decline of traditional Sino-Iranian ties by the 20th century.

#iranchina by @IranChinaGuy 2/ During the Yuan, China and Persia were linked by Mongol rule, and Persian was one of the official administrative languages. A few Persians held important status as members of the semuren (色目人), an administrative class made up of non-Mongol, non-Chinese subjects.
Jan 9, 2021 15 tweets 8 min read
1/ Religion was another important link between #China and #Iran in both ancient and medieval times. This thread will briefly explore the Sino-#Iranian connection in the spread of three religions in China: #Buddhism, #Zoroastrianism, and #Islam.

#iranchina by @IranChinaGuy - B.F 2/ (Disclaimer: Each of these could be an entire topic, but as I am do this in my limited free time, I simply can't cover all three as well as I'd like. Please forgive anything left out, simplified, or overlooked. Follow me @IranChinaGuy and I will post more on each next week!)
Jan 8, 2021 20 tweets 8 min read
1/ We've discussed Persia-in-China, but what about China-in-Persia? Before the Mongols, known sources record few Chinese ppl in Iran. However, Chinese products left a distinct mark. The most famous (and imitated) was Chinese blue-and-white porcelain. #iranchina - @IranChinaGuy 2/ Chinese ceramics were an important part of a global trade network that linked China and the Middle East to the world economic system. Many of these objects were transported overland in a series of trade networks, today called the "Silk Road". In addition to land routes...
Jan 7, 2021 15 tweets 7 min read
1/ As I have mentioned, the story of #IranChina relations is not always a story of economic exchange and social integration. The lives of the elite were one thing, but this thread will look at the history of Persian slaves, merchants, and pirates in China. - by @IranChinaGuy 2/ Feng Ruofang is known to historians as a pirate who once made his base at Hainan, an island off the southern tip of China. In 742, a shipwrecked monk attested to his activities. Feng "seized two or three Persian merchant ships every year, taking the cargo for himself and...
Jan 6, 2021 14 tweets 5 min read
Between the 5th and 13th century, there were a number of Chinese families of Iranian descent surnamed Li who left their mark on history. Let's begin with two famous siblings: Li Xun and Li Shunxian, a brother and sister who were both accomplished poets, and more. 1/

#iranchina 2/ Li Xun (~855-930 CE) was a Chinese poet of Persian descent, and an accomplished physician. Exact details of his early life are not known, but his surname marked him by his ethnic background. Li (李) was a royal surname associated with the founders of the Tang dynasty...
Jan 5, 2021 16 tweets 5 min read
There are several important figures in Chinese history from Parthian or Sassanian backgrounds. These figures reflect the cultural and political connections ancient China had with Iran.

Let's begin with An Shigao, the Iranian translator who helped bring Buddhism to China. 1/ 2/ An Shigao was of Parthian descent, a fact made evident by his surname An (安). Short for 安息, the Chinese name for the Parthian Arsacid dynasty, this surname was adopted by many Parthians and their descendants at the Han court. His translations date from 148-180 CE.
Jan 4, 2021 11 tweets 5 min read
1/ Over the next few centuries, diplomatic contact between the two regions continued. The Sassanians, called "Bosi" (波斯), sent dozens of embassies to China ca. 400-500 CE. Sassanian-Tang relations were famously close, especially after the Muslim conquest of Persia.

#iranchina Image 2/ "The largest of these embassies...numbered several hundred persons, while even the smaller parties included over 100 members… In the course of one year anywhere from five to six to over ten parties would be sent out." (Shiji).

img: Persian envoy to China, c. 650 CE Image
Jan 4, 2021 12 tweets 4 min read
How far back can ties between ancient China and early Iranian societies in Central Asia be traced? 1/

Sino-Iranian relations go back to at least to 126 BCE, when Han diplomat and explorer Zhang Qian traveled to Bactria and Sogdiana.

Image: 8th century, Mogao Caverns Sogdia and Bactria were Iranian civilizations centered around Samarkand and modern Afghanistan. The overthrow of the Greco-Bactrian state by the 月氏 (Yuèzhī, also called the Tocharians) in 125 CE marks the first historical event noted by both Chinese and European records. 2/
Oct 26, 2020 20 tweets 6 min read
On Nowruz 1350 (1971/72), the Shah declared the new year “Cyrus the Great Year.” He said: “The best gift which we can certainly offer to this immortal hero at the beginning of such a year is the existence of a proud, progressive and prosperous Iran who, ~rs 1/20 Image drawing on her magnificent past heritage is looking up to a yet more magnificent future.” During this special year, the regime placed great emphasis on economic development: dams, industrial complexes and hotels were completed and airports and roads were expanded. ~rs 2/20 ImageImage
Oct 22, 2020 16 tweets 6 min read
The Celebrations officially began on 12 October 1971 with a ceremony at the tomb of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae, where the Shah said to the ancient king: “Cyrus, hero of Iran and the world, rest in peace, for we are awake and will always be awake.” ~rs 1/16 Image The Shah was later mocked for these words. His opponents made jokes like “Sleep calm, we’re ruining the country. Sleep calm, we’re pissing away all the wealth.” You can watch the Shah's speech in the official propaganda film on the Celebrations, ~rs 2/16
Jun 2, 2020 19 tweets 6 min read
One of the most momentous aspect of the formation of the Safavid Empire was Shāh Ismā'īl's decision to convert his polity to Twelver Shi'i Islam. The 'Shi'ization' of the Iranian lands introduced changes to the experience of sainthood and sanctity, but much continued from before. Image This thread will look at Safavid devotion to the shrines of the imāms and how their sanctity was understood, presented, and channeled; later I'll do a separate thread on Safavid saints' shrines of the mostly sufi variety, which continued to be venerated through the Saf. period
May 31, 2020 19 tweets 10 min read
Before I hand over @HistorianofIran to my successor, the one and only @Mar_Musa. Here is a meta-thread linking all the threads from this week in, hopefully, chronological order. Thank you all for this week. It was great, and now I need some rest.~tw 1/ Monday we started out with #bookhistory, still an emerging field interesting to every #twittistorian. Starting out with evening the playing field and some general remarks:
~tw 2/
May 30, 2020 23 tweets 12 min read
In order to get a better understanding of the manuscript trade in (and beyond) Cairo around 1900 and especially of how European libraries got to contain so many Arabic manuscripts, we have to look at the Yahuda family fo Jerusalem.~tw 1/23 In particular, the two brothers Isaac Ezekiel (1863-1941) and Abraham Shalom (1877-1951) are central in this regard. Both were scholars of Semitic languages as well as manuscript collectors. At different points both traveled to Germany but neither stayed there.~tw 2/23
Apr 24, 2020 19 tweets 7 min read
Hi there, @fran__olmos one day more talking about Central Asia in Iranian history. Today we will discuss about the rivalry between the Safavids and the Shaybanids from the Khanate of Bukhara, who for a century fought over the possession of Khorasan fo/1 Image The Shaybanids were an Uzbek dynasty that ruled Transoxiana and parts of Khorasan during the 16th century. Descendants of Genghis Khan’s eldest son, they became Turkified in the steppes of Central Asia and Siberia fo/2 Image
Apr 10, 2020 18 tweets 5 min read
@Rob_Haug here a little later today and this time we will be focusing on the Arab-Muslim conquest of eastern Iran and Central Asia. The east played an important role in the fall of the Sasanian Empire, after all, this is where Yazdgird III (r. 624-651) met his final demise. rh 1/ The most famous battles of the conquest of the Sasanian Empire had happened well before Yazdgird’s death, of course. Qadisiyya which gave the Muslims control over Iraq and the Sasanian capital at Ctesiphon was in 633. Illustration, Astrabad, 1614 in British Library. rh 2/ Image
Mar 14, 2020 13 tweets 11 min read
Look at these 10/10 extremely good bois

THREAD about birb in Iranian art 🦆🦚🐓🦅🐣

~ NA @eranudturan #HistoryofIran

patreon.com/eranudturan ImageImage You’ll notice that #ducks are REALLY common in #Sogdian art, appearing primarily in #textile (there’s also a wooden painted panel from Kucha). They almost always hold a necklace in their beaks

~ NA @eranudturan #Historyofiran ImageImageImageImage