The Journal IRAN
IRAN is a refereed journal which is published annually and enjoys a high international reputation. Volume 46 was out in December 2008.
IRAN includes articles on the whole range of Persian Studies and not only on work sponsored by the Institute. There is also a section on recent archaeological excavations in Iran. As one of the foremost journals in the field, IRAN is sold and distributed to a wide range of libraries, institutions and individuals throughout the world.
Editors of IRAN are:
Professor CE Bosworth, Dr Cameron A. Petrie and Professor Vanessa Martin
Copies of IRAN can be purchased for £36 (incl. postage). Enquiries should be made and orders and contributions sent to the Secretary of BIPS.
Submission Guidelines for IRAN
The journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies
1. IRAN is a refereed journal published once a year, which presents articles on Persian arts, archaeology, history, linguistics, literature, philosophy and religion, and is the foremost international journal in its field. The journal has three joint-editors, Professor C.E. Bosworth Dr. C.A. Petrie and Professor V. Martin, and a board of editorial advisors comprised of international specialists in the relevant fields. The journal publishes articles that are of the highest academic standard across a diverse range of fields. When articles submitted for consideration, they are assessed by the editors, and are peer-reviewed by the editorial advisors and other scholars as appropriate, before being accepted for publication. Articles may be submitted in English, French or German.
2. To be considered for publication in any year, all manuscripts must be submitted by the last day of March of that year. Even if manuscripts are submitted by this date and accepted for publication, there can be no guarantee that space will be available for its publication in that year. Contributors are asked to submit manuscripts that are formatted according to the guidelines outlined below, and the joint-editors reserve the right to return manuscripts that are not formatted accordingly before they will be considered.
3. Manuscript Format.
All manuscripts should be submitted in Word .doc or .rtf format, preferably using a generic font such as Arial or Times New Roman. Hard copy manuscripts (see 6. below) should be double spaced throughout (i.e. including notes), printed on one side of A4 paper or its nearest North American equivalent, and in 12 point type. Authors should avoid the use of complex formatting for headings and subheadings, as these must ultimately be changed in the typesetting process. Articles may be submitted in English, French or German.
Authors should provide a title, and an English language 100-word abstract and list of 5 keywords in English. Papers should normally be a maximum of 8000-10000 words in length, including end notes, but not including a consolidated bibliography. If a manuscript is likely to be longer than this, there should be prior consultation with the editors. Archaeological Reports of up to 5000 and words and Shorter Notices will also be considered. When referring to dates, authors should use BC, AD or AH, not BCE and CE.
4. Heading styles.
Authors are requested to set out headings and sub-headings in the following manner:
Headings should be numbered using Roman numerals – I., II., III., etc.
Sub-headings should be numbered using a combination of Roman and Arabic numerals – I.1., I.2., II.1, II.2., etc.
5. Reference Styles.
References should be given as end notes, not as footnotes or text notes as in the Harvard system. References in the text should thus be indicated only by an Arabic numeral. The end notes should be numbered consecutively, and should appear after the main body of text. In the end notes, the author, date and page of the reference should appear, followed by additional comments where they are deemed necessary. A full list of all references used should appear in a consolidated bibliography (double-spaced) at the end of the text that includes all references cited. Bibliographic references should follow a format such as that shown below.
ArticlesStein, M.A. 1936. “An Archaeological Tour in the Ancient Persis”, Iraq 3: 111-225.
BooksStein, M.A. 1940. Old Routes in Western Iran, Macmillan and Sons, London.
Papers in edited volumesSumner, W.M. 1999. “The Birds of Anshan”, in A. Alizadeh, Y. Majidzadeh and S.M. Sharmirzadeh (eds.), The Iranian World: Essays on Iranian Art and Archaeology Presented to Ezat O. Negahban, Iran University Press, Tehran: 85-100.
Authors should also use the periodical and book title abbreviations listed at the end of each issue of IRAN in the preparation of their bibliography.
6. Manuscript Submission.
Authors should submit one complete hard copy AND a complete digital copy on CD/DVD of their contribution, including illustrations. Manuscripts and disc should be sent to -
Secretary of BIPS
The British Academy
10 Carlton House Terrace
London, SW1Y 5AH
7. Images
Printed size for images can be up to 218 x 165 mm.
Up to 20 figures may be included if they are warranted.
Maps, drafted drawings, and photographs can be submitted in either digital or hard copy.
For digital submissions, greyscale images should be provided in .tif format at 600 dpi, and line drawings should be bitmap images in .tif format at no less than 1200 dpi. Hard copy images that are submitted should be produced to these specifications. Original photos should be crisp. Complex figures should be submitted as the author would like them to appear in print and sized correctly. Illustrations that do not meet these requirements may not be considered for publication.
8. Information relating to colour imagesAuthors may wish to submit colour illustrations with their papers. However, for colour illustrations to appear in the final issue, authors will be required to pay a subvention to cover the additional printing costs. There are two scales of costs - one price for printing between 1 and 8 colour images, and another for printing between 9 and 16 colour images.
For between 1 and 8 colour images, the cost is £360.00
For between 9 and 16 colour images, the cost is £500.00
9. Authors will receive 25 offprints free, and will be provided with a .pdf copy of the printed paper.
Persepolis
Persepolis (Old Persian: 'Pars', New Persian: تخت جمشید, 'Takht-e Jamshid') was an ancient ceremonial capital of the second Iranian dynasty, the Achaemenid Empire, situated some 70 km northeast of modern city of Shiraz, not far from where the small river Pulwar flows into the Kur (Kyrus). To the ancient Persians, the city was known as Parsa, meaning the city of Persians, Persepolis being the Greek interpretation of the name (Περσες (meaning Persian)+ π?λις (meaning city)). In contemporary Iran the site is known as Takht-e Jamshid (Throne of Jamshid).
The largest and most complex building in Persepolis was the audience hall, or Apadana with 36 columns, accessible by two large sets of stairs.
The first scientific excavation at Persepolis was carried out by Ernest Herzfeld in 1931, commissioned by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. He believed the reason behind the construction of Persepolis was the need for a majestic atmosphere, as a symbol for their empire and to celebrate special events, especially the “Nowruz”, (the Iranian New Year held on 21 March). For historical reasons and deep rooted interests it was built on the birthplace of the Achaemenid dynasty, which was not the centre of their Empire.
The main characteristic of Persepolitan architecture are its columns. They were made of wood. Only when even the largest cedars of Lebanon or the teak trees of India did not fulfil the required sizes did the architects resort to stone. The bases and the capitals were always of stones, even on wooden shafts, but the existence of wooden capitals is probable.
The remains including the bas-reliefs and sculptures provide an insight into hearts and beliefs of the ancient Iranians. The buildings at Persepolis are divided into three areas; military quarters, the treasury and the reception and occasional houses for the King of Kings. These included the Great Stairway, the Gate of Nations (Xerxes), the Apadana palace of Darius, the Hall of a Hundred Columns, the Tripylon Hall and Tachara palace of Darius, the Hadish palace of Xerxes, the palace of Artaxerxes III, the Imperial Treasury, the Royal Stables and the Chariot house.
The site is marked by a large 125,000 square meter terrace, partly artificial and partly cut out of mountain, with its east side leaning on Kuh-e Rahmet ("the Mountain of Mercy"). The other three sides are formed by a retaining wall, which varies in height with the slope of the ground. From 5 to 13 meters on the west side there is a double stair, gently sloping, which leads to the top. To create the level terrace any depressions that were present were filled up with soil and heavy rocks, and they joined the rocks together with metal clips.
Gray limestone is mainly used in the buildings at Persepolis. To reach the top of the terrace the construction of the broad Stairway, which is 20m above the ground and was planned to be the only main entrance, was begun around 518BC. This dual stairway, known as Persepolitan stairway, was built in a symmetrical manner on the western side of the Great Wall. The 111 steps were 6.9 meters wide with treads of 31 centimeters and rises of 10 centimeters, so a horseman could ride up them without difficulty.
The top of the stairways led to a small yard in the northeastern side of the terrace, opposite the Gate of Nations. After the natural rock had been leveled and the depressions filled in, the terrace was prepared. Major tunnels for sewage were dug underground through the rock. A large water storage tank was built inside the rock at the eastern foot of the mountain. Professor Olmstead believed that it was constructed at the same time the construction of the towers began.
The uneven plan of part of the foundation of the terrace acted like a castle whose angled walls enabled its defenders to target any section of the external front. The first wall was 7 meters tall, the second 14 meters and the third wall, which covered all the four sides, was 27 meters in height, though no presence of the wall exists in modernity.
Bakhtiari Cemeteries
This research project, which is a pilot study of cemeteries and funeral culture among the nomadic Bakhtiyari in northern Khuzestan, continued throughout 2005/6. The main emphasis is based on research about Lion tombstones, a field which until now has remained relatively unknown. This project has enabled a classification and analysis of this particular type of tombstones to be made. The Iranian collaborator, Pedram Khosronejad, is in the process of finishing his study of the origin and structure of these tombstones and will submit it as a PhD thesis to Sorbonne University, Paris, at the end of the year.
It is the first time that research of this type has been undertaken among a nomadic tribal group, which is a distinctive social formation of the past but is now under threat by the rapid urbanisation within Iran. The third and last phase of this field research will collect information from tribal groups living in the vicinity, who have preserved this tradition through oral history. It is planned to visit the area in April 2007. The result will be a comprehensive study about funeral culture in a nomadic tribal setting. A bilingual publication will be prepared in 2007 following the completion of this research project. The Institute for Nomadism in Iran has already proposed considering a follow-up study for another major tribal group, the Qashqa’is of southern Fars in southern Iran.
Zurkhaneh: between tradition and change
This project aims to research the history of wrestling in Iran, the contemporary role of Zurkhaneh wrestling in Iran, and the contemporary ritual and religious role of Zurkhaneh wrestling in Iran. This sporting institution, which is specific to the Persian-speaking world, is vastly expanding within and outside Iran. The Persian term javanmardi, often translated into English as “chivalry”, has a history that stretches back at least to the Arab conquest of Iran in the 7th century.
It is interesting to note how the term developed from one that included attributes of courage, bravery and generosity, into a more Sufi-inspired term, so that by the 11th century treatises were written by Sufis on javanmardi alone. Of interest too is how the concept was appropriated by the Caliphs in Baghdad for political purposes, as an attempt to impose their order over the fragmenting empire. Subsequent research will investigate the nature of javanmardi that appeared in the Safavid period in the 16-18 centuries. These tend to be associated with the trade guilds, and as such they inform us of the nature of Sufism during this period, since the texts were loaded with references to Sufi terms and concepts. As such they are particularly interesting, especially in light of the common belief that, in the later Safavid period at least, the ruling authorities frowned upon the Sufi tradition. This is an ongoing project that investigates a range of topics including identity formation, myth, nationalism, Sufism and social history.
Islamic fundamentalism and the post-revolutionary visual arts in Iran
A grant for £2,500 was awarded to Dr Ali Ansari to convene a joint workshop with the Institute for Iranian Studies, Vienna, on the subject of “History, Myth and Nationalism”. The money was awarded last spring and the workshop is scheduled for March/April in Vienna, with a financial contribution from the Austrian Academy. This workshop will aim to bring together researchers from Britain and the German- speaking world with a view to forging constructive and sustainable academic links. It is anticipated that academics from Iran will also attend. The workshop will not only foster links between BIPS and the Institute in Vienna, but also encourage the development of intellectual contacts with the new Institute for Iranian Studies being established in St Andrews. The new Institute, which will be formally inaugurated this academic year, has been generously endowed with 12,000 Persian language books, and consequently should become a major centre of studies for Iranian civilisation and culture in the United Kingdom. The books will form the basis of the launch of a dedicated Postgraduate course in Iranian studies from 2007.
History, myth and literature in modern Iran
The first grants for the modern history programme were awarded by the Research Committee in June 2006. A range of projects were provided with sponsorship including research on the development of museums, the historical imagination under Reza Shah and the development of the late Pahlavi Foreign Ministry world view. All successful candidates were instructed to maintain regular contact with the project manager, Dr Ali Ansari at the University of St Andrews, and a workshop to review programme has been scheduled in St Andrews for late spring. All grant holders will be expected to attend and report on their work at the workshop.