"Al-Ghazali: The Alchemist of Happiness" by Ovidio Salazar

ḠAZĀLĪ, ABŪ ḤĀMED MOḤAMMAD, b. Moḥammad Ṭūsī (450-505/1058-1111), one of the greatest systematic Persian thinkers of medieval Islam and a prolific Sunni author on the religious sciences (Islamic law, philosophy, theology, and mysticism) in Saljuq times.



Hossein Tehrani's Tonbak (Zarb) Ensemble from Unknown Movie

Hossein Tehrāni (1912 – February 25, 1974) (Persian: حسین تهرانی), was an Iranian musician and tonbak player. He is regarded as the father of the modern tonbak.

He was born in Tehran, Iran. At an early age he was going to Zurkhaneh -زورخانه (an Iranian gymnasium) and was impressed by the big clay vase covered on open bottom with skin called Zarb- ضربZurkhaneh. At age if 13 Hossein found a similar type of Zarb Zurkhaneh in a smaller size which was called tonbakتنبك and began practicing by himself.

Hossein Tehrani was a tonbak instructor at the Madrese Ali Mosehgee - مدرسه عالی موسیقی (Music College) and National Music college of Tehran. Hossein innovated a rhythm technique, which involved the tonbak being played in harmony with the saying of Persian phrases such as 'Baleh vo Baleh, Baleh Digeh and Yek Sado bisto Panj.

"Fire in the Chest" by QAMAR-AL-MOLUK VAZIRI

QAMAR-AL-MOLUK VAZIRI (Waziri), commonly referred to as Qamar, the stage name of Qamar-al-Moluk Vazirizāda (1905-1959). She was a popular, pioneering Persian mezzo-soprano, much revered for her mastery of the repertoire of Persian vocal music (radif-e āvāz) and her sensitive rendition of taṣnif or through-composed metered songs (taṣnif, tarāna).

Qamar’s mezzo-soprano voice had a wide expanse; it was powerful and lyrical, accurate and sensitive, faithful to the traditional values and emotive. The tone of her voice was elegaic and plaintive, the qualities she had learned in singing the moving lamentations at religious ceremonies as a young girl. She was respected among musicians for her mastery of the modal vocal repertoire of Persian music and its various modal segments, and her nuanced declamatory delivery of them. Qamar also excelled in her execution of all the ornamental refinements of āvāz, known as riza-kāri, and was particularly noted for her extraordinary ability in performing of the taḥrir, a falsetto break between higher and lower notes in the melody line of the āvāz, a signal trait of Persian traditional music.

As a vocalist, Qamar was respected for her musical as well as her pioneering spirit as a vocalist in public concerts as well as her progressive social and political tendencies and legendary compassion for the poor and the powerless and her generosity to them. She was the first Persian vocalist to perform in public without the socially and religiously sanctioned dress code for women, the first recording artist, and the first female vocalist to sing and record highly charged political songs such as Abu’l-Qāsem Āref’s Constitutional Revolution song Mārš-e jomhuri.  (From Encyclopædia Iranica)

Islam: Empire of Faith

Islam: Empire of Faith is a documentary series, made in 2000, that details the history of Islam, from the birth of the Islamic Prophet, Muhammad to the Ottoman Empire. It is narrated by Ben Kingsley and is available as three DVDs or two video volumes in NTSC format.

The first episode deals with the life of Muhammad, the second with the early Caliphates, Crusades, and Mongol invasion, and the third with the Ottoman Empire and Safavid dynasty. (From Wikipedia)

Abbas Kiarostami Talks About His Cinema

Abbas Kiarostami (Persian: عباس کیارستمی Abbās Kiyārostamī; born 22 June 1940) is an internationally acclaimed Iranian film director, screenwriter, photographer and film producer. An active filmmaker since 1970, Kiarostami has been involved in over forty films, including shorts and documentaries. Kiarostami attained critical acclaim for directing the Koker Trilogy (1987–94), Taste of Cherry (1997), and The Wind Will Carry Us (1999).

"Engineering an Empire - The Persians" by Hassan Ildari and Mark Cannon

Baghdad: House of Wisdom

The Parthian Shot

The Parthian shot was a military tactic made famous by the Parthians, ancient Iranian people. The Parthian archers, mounted on light horse, would feign retreat; then, while at a full gallop, turn their bodies back to shoot at the pursuing enemy. The maneuver required superb equestrian skills, since the rider's hands were occupied by his bow. As the stirrup had not been invented at the time of the Parthians, the rider relied solely on pressure from his legs to guide his horse.

You wound, like Parthians, while you fly,
And kill with a retreating eye.

—Samuel Butler, An Heroical Epistle of Hudibras to His Lady (1678)

This tactic was used by most Eurasian nomads, including the Scythians, Huns, Turks, Magyars, and Mongols, and it eventually spread to armies away from the Eurasian steppe, such as the Sassanid clibanariis and cataphracts.

A notable battle in which this tactic was employed (by the Parthians) was the Battle of Carrhae. In this battle the Parthian shot was a principal factor in the Parthian victory over the Roman general Crassus.

Houshang Golshiri Reads "Massive Explosion" (Farsi)

Houshang Golshiri

Houshang Golshiri (Persian: هوشنگ گلشیری; March 16 , 1938 — June 6, 2000) was an Iranian fiction writer, critic and editor. He was one of the first Iranian writers to use modern literary techniques, and is recognized as one of the most influential writers of Persian prose of the twentieth century.


Golshiri was born in Isfahan in 1938 and raised in Abadan. He came from a large family of modest circumstances. From 1955 to 1974, Golshiri lived in Isfahan, where he completed a bachelor's degree in Persian at the University of Isfahan and taught elementary and high school there and in surrounding towns.


Golshiri began writing fiction in the late 1950s. His publication of short stories in Payam-e Novin and elsewhere in the early 1960s, his establishment of Jong-e Isfahan (1965/73), the chief literary journal of the day published outside of, and his participation in efforts to reduce official censorship of imaginative literature brought him a reputation in literary circles.


Golshiri's first collection of short stories was As Always (1968). He became famous for his first novel Prince Ehtejab (1968/69). Translated in Literature East & West 20 (1980), it is the story of aristocratic decadence, implying the inappropriateness of monarchy for Iran. Shortly after production of the popular feature film based on the novel, Pahlavi authorities arrested Golshiri and incarcerated him for nearly six months.


An autobiographical and less successful novel called Christine and Kid came out in 1971, followed by a collection of short stories called My Little Prayer Room 1975, and a novel called Ra'i's Lost Lamb 1977.


In 1978, Golshiri travelled to the United States. Back in Iran in early 1979, Golshiri married Farzaneh Taheri whom he credits with editing his subsequent writing and was active in the revitalized Association of Iranian Writers, the editing of journals, literary criticism, and short-story writing. In the 1980s, he published The Fifth Innocent (1980), The Antique Chamber (1983), The Story of the Fisherman and the Demon (1984), and Five Treasures (1989), which he published in Stockholm during a visit to Europe in 1989. In 1990, under a pseudonym, Golshiri published a novella in translation called King of the Benighted, an indictment of Iranian monarchy, engage Persian literature, the Tudeh Party, and the Islamic Republic. A collection of Golshiri stories in translation was scheduled for publication in 1991 with the title Blood and Aristocrats and Other Stories.


In the winter of 1998 he published The Book of Genies and Struggle of Image with Painter, and in the autumn of 1999 he released a collection of articles called Garden in Garden.
In 1999 Golshiri was awarded the Erich-Maria Remarque Peace Prize for his struggle to promote democracy and human rights in Iran. (From Wikipedia)

Jalaluddin Rumi's "The Song Of The Reed" Read by Anton Lesser

Jalaluddin Rumi - The Song Of The Reed by poetictouch

Shapur I from "Iran the Forgotten Glory" by Makan Karandish

Shapur I

Shapur was the son of Ardashir I (r. 226–240 [died 242]), the founder of the Sassanid dynasty and whom Shapur succeeded. His mother was Lady Myrōd, who—according to legend—was an Arsacid princess. The Talmud cites a nickname for her, "Ifra Hurmiz", after her bewitching beauty.

One of the great achievements of Shapur's reign was the defeat of the Roman Emperor Valerian. This is presented in a mural at Naqsh-e Rustam, where Shapur is represented on horseback wearing royal armour and crown. Before him kneels Philip the Arab, in Roman dress, asking for grace. In his right hand the king grasps the uplifted arms of what may be Valerian; one of his hands is hidden in his sleeve as the sign of submission. The same scene is repeated in other rock-face inscriptions. Shapur is said to have publicly shamed Valerian by using the Roman Emperor as a footstool when mounting his horse. Other sources contradict and note that in other stone carvings, Valerian is respected and never on his knees. This is supported by reports that Valerian and some of his army lived in relatively good conditions in the city of Bishapur and that Shapur enrolled the assistance of Roman engineers in his engineering and development plans.  (From Wikipedia)

Dariush Mehrjui Talks about "The Cow"

The fim's poster

Iranian New Wave refers to a new movement in Iranian cinema. It started in 1969 after the release of The Cow directed by Darius Mehrjui. It was followed by Masoud Kimiai's Qeysar, and Nasser Taqvai's Calm in Front of Others. They set off a trend that was cultural, dynamic and intellectual. The Iranian viewer became discriminating, encouraging the new trend to prosper and develop. In 3-4 years, 40-50 noteworthy films were made, establishing the New Wave of Iranian cinema.

Dariush Mehrju'i (Persian: داریوش مهرجویی , born 8 December 1939 in Tehran) is an Iranian director, screenwriter, producer, and film editor. As an Iranian New Wave cinema icon, Mehrjui is regarded to be one of the intellectual directors of Iranian cinema. Most of his films are inspired by literature and adopted based on Iranian and foreign novels and plays.

The Cow (Persian: گاو, Gāv) is a 1969 Iranian movie directed by Dariush Mehrjui, written by Gholam-Hossein Saedi based on his own play and novel, and starring Ezatolah Entezami as Masht Hasan. Some believe that "New Wave" of Persian cinema emerged after this film.

The story begins by showcasing the close relationship between a middle-aged Iranian villager Masht Hasan and his beloved cow. Hassan is married but has no child. His only valuable property is a cow that he cherishes - the only cow in the village.

When Hasan must leave the village for a short time, the pregnant cow is found dead in the barn. Hasan's fellow villagers fear his reaction and cover up the evidence of the death and tell him upon his return that his cow has run away. Finding great difficulty confronting the loss of his beloved cow, as well the loss of livestock that affects his social stature at the village, Hasan gradually goes insane following a nervous breakdown and believes he is the cow, adopting such mannerisms as eating hay. His wife & the villagers try their best to bring him back to the normal life but all in vain. The tragedy ends with Hasan's death. (From Wikipedia)

Nasseroddin Shah Actor-e Cinema or Once Upon a Time, Cinema (1932) by Mohsen Makhmalbaf

Set in the Qajar era, the film follows the character known as the cinematographer (Mehdi Hashemi) as he shows films to the Shah (Ezzatolah Entezami). The film shows clips from older Iranian films from the silent age onwards. The Shah falls in love with an old film character, Golnaar (Fatemeh Motamed-Aria). After she leaves the movie, she appears in and enters the "real" world. (From Wikipedia)



 


Mohsen Makhmalbaf

 




Jiroft BBC Channel 4

The "Scorpion-man" board game of 16 playing spaces excavated at Jiroft, Iran.

A "Jiroft culture" has been postulated as an early Bronze Age (late 3rd millennium BC) archaeological culture, located in what is now Iran's Sistan and Kermān Provinces. The hypothesis is based on a collection of artifacts that were confiscated in Iran and accepted by many to have derived from the Jiroft area in south central Iran, reported by online Iranian news services, beginning in 2001.

The proposed type site is Konar Sandal, near Jiroft in the Halil River area. Other significant sites associated with the culture include; Shahr-e Sukhteh (Burnt City), Tepe Bampur, Espiedej, Shahdad, Iblis, and Tepe Yahya.

The proposition of grouping these sites as an "independent Bronze Age civilization with its own architecture and language", intermediate between Elam to the west and the Indus Valley Civilization to the east, is due to Yousef Majidzadeh, head of the archaeological excavation team in Jiroft. Yousef Majidzadeh speculates they may be the remains of the lost Aratta Kingdom. Yousef Majidzadeh's conclusions have met with skepticism from some reviewers. Other conjectures (e.g. Daniel T. Potts, Piotr Steinkeller) have connected the Konar Sandal with the obscure city-state of Marhashi, that apparently lay to the east of Elam proper. (from Wikipedia)

The Kamkars – The Nobel Peace Prize Concert



The Kamkars



The Kamkars (Kurdish: Kamkaran کامکاران, Persian: کامکارها ), a Kurdish family of seven brothers and a sister, all from the city of Sanandaj, are one of the leading musical ensembles in Iran today. Their repertoire ranges from the vast array of traditional Kurdish and Persian music with its poignant, entrancing melodies and uplifting high energy rhythms to the classical Kurdish and Persian classical music of Iran. The repertoire of Kurdish music is richly diverse and deeply-rooted in the ancient history and culture of its proud and passionate people. It speaks of epic tales and wars, romantic love, and recounts ancient myths and stories of national and religious heroes, some of which date back to thousands of years to the time of the ancient Medes (the ancestors of the Kurds).”

The group has performed numerous concerts around the world, including their performance at the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony honoring Shirin Ebadi. (From Wikipedia)