Pivot of the Universe

Pivot of the Universe PDF Author: Abbas Amanat
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520083219
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 572

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Book Description
"In this book, the first in English about Nasir al-Din Shah, Abbas Amanat gives us both a biography of the man and an analysis of the institution of monarchy in modern Iran. Amanat poses a fundamental question: how did monarchy, the center-piece of an ancient political order, withstand and adjust to the challenges of modern times, both at home and abroad? Nasir al-Din Shah's life and career, his upbringing and personality, and his political conduct provide remarkable material for answering this question.

Valley of the Sorcerers

Valley of the Sorcerers PDF Author: Kamal Abdulla
Publisher: Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency
ISBN: 1631353438
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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Book Description
Kamal Abdulla is a well-known Azerbaijani writer and scholar. He has written works on linguistics, culturology and mythology, and is the author of poetry, essays, plays, stories, and novels. His prose has been published and translated into French, Turkish, Russian, English, Portuguese, German, Polish, Bulgarian, Georgian, Arabic, Lithuanian, Japanese, and other languages. His plays have been performed in Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Estonia. His work is not without its detractors. Many articles and books have been written about his work, some positive, some negative. He has won literary awards in his own country, and been subject to unfair criticism. In the early years of Azerbaijan's independence, liking his novels was considered a sign of good literary taste. In later years, not liking these works is considered a sign of good literary taste. Original language, world view, philosophical foundation, and mythological sense characterize his work. His writing features mountains invisible to the eye, and valleys of sorcerers where it is forever spring. Here ancient manuscripts come to life and history is re-read in a completely different way. Centaurs roam his favourite city, Baku, while in ancient Egypt, people turn into flowers, and flowers into people. The idolized heroes of his mythological texts are fleshed out as ordinary, everyday people. Sometimes dead people emerge from their images, restore justice, and then return to their images. Not satisfied with living in their own worlds, characters lead very different lives in parallel worlds. The story of Theseus and the Minotaur enters our own time, and finally the phantasmagoria reaches such a point that Paris gives the apple to Hera, not Aphrodite...

The Iranian Constitutional Revolution and the Clerical Leadership of Khurasani

The Iranian Constitutional Revolution and the Clerical Leadership of Khurasani PDF Author: Mateo Mohammad Farzaneh
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
ISBN: 0815653115
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
The Iranian Constitutional Revolution was the twentieth century’s first such political movement in the Middle East. It represented a landmark in Iranian history because of the unlikely support it received from Shi‘ite clerics who historically viewed Western concepts with suspicion, some claiming constitutionalism to be anti-Islamic. Leading the support was Muhammad Kazim Khurasani, the renowned Shi‘ite jurist who conceived of a supporting role for the clergy in a modern Iranian political system. Drawing on extensive analysis of religious texts, fatwas, and articles written by Khurasani an other pro- and anti-constitutionalists, Farzaneh provides a comprehensive and illuminating interpretation of Khurasani’s religious pragmatism. Despite some opposition from his peers, Khurasani used a form of jurisprudential reasoning when creating shari‘a that was based on human intellect to justify his support of not only the Iranian parliament but also the political powers of clerics. He had a reputation across the Shi‘ite community as a masterful religious scholar, a skillful teacher, and a committed humanitarian who heeded the people’s socioeconomic and political grievances and took action to address them. Khurasani’s push for progressive reforms helped to inaugurate a new era of clerical involvement in constitutionalism in the Middle East.

CVC Veri a Guide to the Epic of the Martian Empire

CVC Veri a Guide to the Epic of the Martian Empire PDF Author: Lee Streiff
Publisher: eBookIt.com
ISBN: 1456611909
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 124

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Book Description
Introduction By Lee Streiff "In 1937 James Streiff and Bob Parks created 'the Epic of the Martian Empire'; in 1942 Paul Carter added his vision of the Cosmic Vortex to it, and the Universe was never the same again..." Lee Streiff Once we lived in the world of the Martian Empire, but that now seems like a long time ago - it all began in those last remaining years before World War II changed our consciousnesses forever. It was an ephemeral, still time; a quiet space in which we could dream about the future without the burden of its consequences: ghastly war - genocide - the atomic bomb. It was in 1937... and my brother James was 13, and in the eighth grade at Robinson Junior High School in Wichita, Kansas. And in James's mind he was fashioning a cosmic empire filled with strange and wonderful creatures and races - in which a stalwart group of Exiles from the planet Mars were the chief actors and heroes. This Empire, the Martian Empire, eventually spread over most of the known Universe before it finally faded away in 1948'. During the eleven years it flourished however, the Martian Epic became very elaborate - covering some 15 billion years of Martian history - and Martian technology, manners and morals, art, music, religion, language and literature. And it generated a narrative Epic that encompassed many galaxies. Although a number of people became involved in this epic - Bob Parks, John Roth, Robert Frickel, Charles Goodrum, and Robert Arnold, among others - it was first and foremost the vision of James, who worked out and brought together the maps, timelines, the celestial spaces, the customs, and the characters that made up the Martian Empire in all its diverse grandeur. In early 1937 I was only four years old - and so it was that most of my childhood and youth were somehow surrounded or suffused with the images and tales of the Epic. However it was not until I reached the age of eleven that I became the brief inheritor of, and participant in the affairs of the Epic itself. It was during World War II in 1943. that I first took over the job of running the business of the Martian Empire while all of its members were away from Wichita, in the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Knowing that he would soon be drafted, James began grooming me for the task early in that year. He reported for active Military duty on June 3, 1943, and that changed the course of my daily life. I was now on my own, with a heavy responsibility, I published The Martian News Letter, the official journal of the group, using carbon paper - and a bit later a hectograph; published, The Order of Shultz, which circulated the business of the inner circle; reorganized The Files; answered correspondence among the far flung Martians scattered around the globe; and did research for a number of topics for James, using my contacts in the world of Science Fiction Fandom. When James returned from active service in February of 1946, my task had been completed, and in any case, my interests were largely turning in other directions. By 1947, in my sophomore year at East High School, I was even leaving Science Fiction itself behind and was now involved in art and literature. But then that is another story. In the Following seven Chapters, Lee Streiff describes in his "Guide to the Epic of the Martian Empire" of how the tales and creation of the Epic... all came about.

Iranian-Russian Encounters

Iranian-Russian Encounters PDF Author: Stephanie Cronin
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136187200
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 434

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Book Description
Over the past two hundred years, encounters between Iran and Russia have been both rich and complex. This book explores the myriad dimensions of the Iranian-Russian encounter during a dramatic period which saw both Iran and Russia subject to revolutionary upheavals and transformed from multinational dynastic empires typical of the nineteenth century to modernizing, authoritarian states typical of the twentieth. The collection provides a fresh perspective on traditional preoccupations of international relations: wars and diplomacy, the hostility of opposing nationalisms, the Russian imperial menace in the nineteenth century and the Soviet threat in the twentieth. Going beyond the traditional, this book examines subaltern as well as elite relations and combines a cultural, social and intellectual dimension with the political and diplomatic. In doing so the book seeks to construct a new discourse which contests the notion of an implacable enmity between Iran and Russia Bringing together leading scholars in the field, this book demonstrates extensive use of family archives, Iranian, Russian and Caucasian travelogues and memoirs, and newly available archives in both Iran and the countries of the former Soviet Union. Providing essential background to current international tensions, this book will be of particular use to students and scholars with an interest in the Middle East and Russia.

Aliens and the Multi-Paradox of Reality

Aliens and the Multi-Paradox of Reality PDF Author: Peter J Miele
Publisher: Phantom Inc
ISBN:
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Attention All Truth Seekers: The urge to know our origin has never been greater and the secrets of humanity's past are ready to be revealed. Peter J. Miele pulls back the veil with this insightful depiction of our extraterrestrial ancestry and the decisive events that have formed our world today! Cutting through all myth, mysticism, confusion and allegory to expose the raw truth Peter has personally traveled to the most remote temples on the Indian continent and around the world to bring you this Ancient Wisdom once thought lost. This book is as much practical as it is spiritual, guiding the reader through a detailed history of humanities bizarre beginnings influenced by a cabal of morally questionable beings from the sixth dimension of the Capricorn constellation. Today even NASA has begun to study the astrophysical knowledge of the Vedas uncovering the universal truths hidden within the text. How is it that a book thought to be several thousands of years old can contain exact scientific data that surpasses the forefront of our own modern age? Who were these strange beings thought to be immortals that appear time and time again throughout the myths and legends of old? Dare to study these mysteries and find out why the truth is far stranger than fiction!

Chu Hsi and His Masters

Chu Hsi and His Masters PDF Author: Joseph Percy Bruce
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Philosophy, Chinese
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description


A History of the Iranian Plateau

A History of the Iranian Plateau PDF Author: Dr. Parviz Kambin
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 1462035469
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
As a student in Iran, Parviz Kambin became fascinated by his countrys history. In this textbook, he writes from a unique perspective about his native lands complex past. This history is more important than ever to understand as the East and West are increasingly at odds. Divided into six parts, the text covers key issues of the Iranian plateau, including: how Arab-Islamic conquest affected the land and its people; why the Pahlavi kings and limited monarchy were important; how the belief system of occupants developed; how art and science played an important role in society. Youll also discover the surprising freedoms that women enjoyed prior to the seventh century and little-known details behind the Arab-Islamic conquest. The achievements of Iranian poets, philosophers, and scientists are also a focal point. Develop a keen understanding of a region of the world that is increasingly playing a role on the world stage. Take a broad view of Irans political landscape and the unrest that exists there today by looking back and exploring A History of the Iranian Plateau.

The Way of Complete Perfection

The Way of Complete Perfection PDF Author:
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438446535
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 471

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Book Description
Originating about 1163 CE, Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoism is one of the most important Daoist movements in Chinese history. It remains the dominant form of monastic Daoism in the modern world, especially in its Longmen (Dragon Gate) lineage. This landmark anthology provides complete or partial translations of twenty-one Quanzhen texts. Most have never been translated or even discussed in scholarly literature. Louis Komjathy gives particular attention to work completed by the Quanzhen movement's founder, Wang Chongyang (1113–1170 CE), and his first generation disciples. Translations include representative works from every major genre of Quanzhen literature, from poetry and discourse records to didactic texts, commentaries, and hagiographies. Three monastic manuals from the late medieval and late imperial periods of Quanzhen history are also included. An introduction to Quanzhen Daoism begins the work, and each chapter provides discussions of the history and topics relevant to each translation.

Liminalities of Gender and Sexuality in Nineteenth-Century Iranian Photography

Liminalities of Gender and Sexuality in Nineteenth-Century Iranian Photography PDF Author: Staci Gem Scheiwiller
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315512114
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 444

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Book Description
Nineteenth-century Iran was an ocularcentered society predicated on visuality and what was seen and unseen, and photographs became liminal sites of desire that maneuvered "betwixt and between" various social spaces—public, private, seen, unseen, accessible, and forbidden—thus mapping, graphing, and even transgressing those spaces, especially in light of increasing modernization and global contact during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Of primary interest is how photographs negotiated and coded gender, sexuality, and desire, becoming strategies of empowerment, of domination, of expression, and of being seen. Hence, the photograph became a vehicle to traverse multiple locations that various gendered physical bodies could not, and it was also the social and political relations that had preceded the photograph that determined those ideological spaces of (im)mobility. In identifying these notions in photographs, one may glean information about how modern Iran metamorphosed throughout its own long durée or resisted those societal transformations as a result of modernization.