ARCHIVE
|
History
Pirooz in China
Defeated Persian army takes refuge
By Frank Wong
August 11, 2000
The Iranian
In 651 A.D., the Persian king Yazdgerd III was captured and beheaded
by Arab invaders in what is today's Turkmenistan. His son, Pirooz survived
and fled east to China. Here's an account from Chinese historians.
I read the story of Pirooz written in a formal and ancient aristocratic
Chinese language. It was quite tough, but with the help of my Chinese friends
and associates I got through it. It was written by Prince Nah-shieh (Narseh),
who was the son of Prince Pirooz, who was the son of King Yazdgerd III--
the last Sasanid king of Persia. Narseh was a Chinese general stationed
in the Tang Chinese military garrisons in what are today's Afghanistan,
Tajikistan and parts of Uzbekistan >>>
GO TO FEATURE
History
Not too deep
Shortcomings in the study of Iranian history
By Khodadad Rezakhani
August 11, 2000
The Iranian
My concern is that in almost all the universities around the world which
offer classes on Iranian history, there is no in depth study of various
subjects. Professors and students just satisfy themselves with When and
Where, and they take on a little bit of Why, but they don't go very deep.
Most only rely on Western sources and what is generally accepted as fact,
but they don't try very hard to check those facts or to broaden their understanding.
Heroodotus, Sophocles, Procopius, and such Greek and Roman historians,
are still the major sources of Achaemenid and Sasanid studies >>>
GO TO FEATURE
Outlook
Reform & conservatives
BBC Persian Service
President Mohammad Khatami is to chair a committee of reforms. The committee,
a brain child of the conservatives, will oversee a pre-defined set of reforms
and as such it is looked at cynically by the moderates. Saeed Yekta discusses
with Sadegh Zibakalam whether such a committee can be effective? >>> LISTEN
HERE
Iran's delicate balance tips to the right
By Roula Khalaf
Financial Times (London)
August 8, 2000
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader and the ultimate authority
in the Islamic republic, has always tried to stay above the fray of politics.
In some of the most intense power struggles between conservatives and
reformists in recent years, the senior Shia cleric often struck a delicate
balance, warning against speedy reforms but also declaring his support
for President Mohammad Khatami, the architect of Iran's political liberalisation
>>>
FULL TEXT
Life after the revolution
The Independent - London
August 7, 2000
Singer Googoosh was forced into a media exile when Iran became an
Islamic republic, but her popularity didn't wane, as this week's BBC Radio
selection shows. Here's an interview with Googoosh by Amin Zarghami:
AMIN ZARGHAMI The first question I want to ask is this: after 21 years
of not performing, you're returning to the stage. Aren't you afraid?
GOOGOOSH Yes, very. My fear is that I will fail to return all the love
and support I've received from people over the years, while at the same
time maintaining my own image and allowing for something new >>>
FULL TEXT
I mean, really...
Body building: "A world with feminine colors." Hmmm >>> SEE HERE
More Letters
* Respecting soldiers
Masoud writes: I
read "At
war with your people" and thought to myself we should respect
our soldiers and volunteers who sacrifice their lives for our nation and
our county.
We may not agree on the war itself or how long it took. But, we should
not forget that there were more than a million men and women throughout
the war who did the sacrifice and they should not be mistaken with bunch
of thugs many of whom never have seen the battlegrounds.
The people you're talking about are bunch of young impressionable patsies.
They are basically used by a group of power hungry who have a lot to lose
if things are to change.
* Psychological help
R. Mehdipour writes:
I want to compliment the writer of the article on the soldiers who
can't let the war go ["At
war with your people"]. It's time for them to get some psychological
help, so they can stop bullying their countrymen and countrywomen. Let
the old wounds heal and let the country move into the 21st century.
* Punishing horrible crimes
Bahar Bonyan
writes: In his reply to Najmieh Fakhraei's "At
war with your people", Mr
Navab writes: "In any event I wish Ms. Fakhraei would come to
the point to agree that the individuals she has written about are victims
of our society and they need treatment. Insulting is a very old approach.
I liked it when Mr. Khachatourian, in the recent Saturday gathering in
front of the Federal Building sent a message to these victims: we will
forgive you, we won't try you in our courts when we win."
I very much disagree with him . There should be fair and open trials
for individuals who have been responsible for all sorts of horrible acts
during the last 20 years, whatever many years we have to wait until true
democracy prevails in Iran. Mr Khachatourian , whoever he is,"az kiseh-ye
khalifeh mibakhshand". If anyone has been just a "victim"
let that be proven in a lawful and open court.
* Self-discovery
Haleh Vaziri writes:
I wish to thank The Iranian for featuring Nina Habibi's "Many me".
I appreciate her sharing a creative form of self-discovery and expression,
and I will now await her next set of thematically organized images. Her
work colorfully remind us that each one of us is indeed "many"
images integrated into a whole. We simply choose which image(s) to show
the world and which ones to conceal.
Art: Artists at Rumi conference, southern
California
Dear Friends,
Here is an invitation to see a great art exhibition and attend an
interesting conference on Rumi in southern California. There are least
five Iranians in the exhibition! Seyed Alavi, Kamrooz Aram, Termeh Dimi
Yeghiazarian, Taraneh Hemami and Nasser Ovissi. Hope to see you down there
>>>
DETAILS HERE
Books
THE IRANIAN
Bookstore
Music store
Translation of today's poem by Zara
Houshmand:
Ever since my arms let you go
There's no end to my tears that one could see
My heart, my soul, my eyes cannot forget you.
For God's sake, don't you forget me.
-- Rumi
Previous
translations
Copyright © Abadan Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved.
May not be duplicated or distributed in any form
|
More
news
International criticism mounts over crackdown
on Iran's press
NICOSIA,
Aug 10 (AFP) - International criticism is mounting over a continuing crackdown
on the reformist Iranian press by the country's conservative Islamic regime.
After months of successive newspaper closures and the jailing of journalists,
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Sunday issued a shock decree
banning the new reformist-dominated parliament from carrying out plans to
overturn the country's tough press laws >>> FULL TEXT
Amnesty expresses concern over arrest of
journalists
Amnesty International, 9 August 2000 -- In a renewed crackdown
on freedom of speech in Iran, the authorities have arrested three prominent
journalists. One of them is diabetic, and has reportedly found it difficult
to obtain insulin in custody. Amnesty International considers the three
men to be prisoners of conscience, detained solely for the legitimate expression
of their opinions >>> FULL TEXT
MP, who questioned leader, offers to resign
under intimidation
08/10/2000,
BBC Monitoring, Source: `Iran' daily newspaper web site -- The Majlis deputy
from Mahallat and Delijan, Ali Asghar Hadizadeh [who questioned the leader
Ali Khamene'i's right of veto over Majlis authority], addressing the Majlis
speaker yesterday, said: The presidium of the Majlis is duty-bound to defend
the rights and status of the deputies >>> FULL TEXT
Cheney, Iran-Contra link probed
WASHINGTON (AP) - As a member of Congress in 1986, Dick Cheney
was present for one of the defining moments in the Iran-Contra scandal -
a White House meeting where Oliver North misled members of the House Intelligence
Committee. The episode, however, didn't keep Cheney from defending North
at the Iran-Contra hearings a year later or from stumping for him in 1994
when North ran for the U.S. Senate >>> FULL TEXT
Iran prisons hoping to cut numbers by freeing
women and minors
TEHRAN,
Aug 11 (AFP) - Iran's prison system hopes to reduce the inmate population
with a measure that would exempt women and minors from serving time, a newspaper
reported here Thursday. The Iran newspaper said prison officials are expected
to introduce a draft version of a bill to parliament this year that would
let women and underage criminals go free on bail rather than go to prison
>>> FULL TEXT
Ancient sarcophagus discovered in Iran
TEHRAN,
Aug 11 (AFP) - The sarcophagus of a woman, believed to date from at least
three centuries before Christ, was discovered in western Iran during digging
to lay a gas pipeline, the official IRNA news agency said Thursday. Mohammad-Rahim
Ranjbaran, an official with the archeological center in the province of
Hamedan, was quoted by IRNA as saying the terracotta sarcophagus would appear
to date from the Ashemenides era, which ran from 668 to 330 BC >>>
FULL TEXT
Jealous man murders neighbour and stabs
wife
TEHRAN,
Aug 10 (AFP) - A 70-year-old bus driver stabbed his wife and then shot his
30-year-old landlord dead because he suspected they were having an affair,
the press reported here Thursday. The landlord was killed instantly but
the driver's seriously injured wife is still alive in hospital, the papers
said >>> FULL TEXT
NYMEX crude pulls back on pre-weekend profit-taking
NEW
YORK, Aug 11 (Reuters) - NYMEX crude oil futures gave up gains late and
settled lower Friday as traders took profits ahead of the weekend, cutting
short a rally spurred by worries over tight supplies. September crude settled
at last traded at $31.02, losing 32 cents on the day, after soaring to a
fresh contract high of $31.85. Before the day's loss, the contract had racked
up gains of $2.22 in a two-day rally >>> FULL TEXT
State v. private broadcasting
Tehran , (Jam-e Jam) -- IRIB chief Ali Larijani and communications
experts Pirooz Mojtahedzadeh and Hamid Molana debate broadcasting privatization
>> FULL PERSIAN TEXT
Iraj: Maybe some other time :-)
Tehran
, (Iran daily) -- Iraj's first concert in more than 20 years in Tehran will
not take place "for now" >> FULL PERSIAN TEXT
Literature?
Tehran,
(Iran daily) -- Mahmoud Motaghedi discusses literature, society, pluralism,
responsibility and... >> FULL PERSIAN TEXT
Mahdavi-Kia delivers
Tehran
, (Ettelaat) -- An goal and an assist by Mehdi Mahdavi-Kia gives Hamburg
2-0 victory >> FULL PERSIAN TEXT
Wrestling: So far so good
Tehran , (Ettelaat) -- Iran's national wrestling team members (free
style) earn eight victories on first day of Asian championships >>>
FULL PERSIAN TEXT
Chess: Women
Tehran
, (Ettelaat) -- Iranian women's team will take part in world chess championhips
>>> FULL PERSIAN TEXT
BBC
Arab Observers still optimistic about Iranian
reforms
The Arab World has closely been following
the process of reforms in Iran. What impact will the recent restrictions
on the freedom of the press leave among Arab observers? Maria Sarsalari
reports >>>
LISTEN HERE
BBC Persian
Service
Exchange rate
Updated August 4
Buying: 812 to 816 tomans per dollar
Selling: 822 to 828 tomans per dollar
CALL TOLL FREE: 877-SEHHATY (877-734-4289)
or 800-995-0264
Mention this code for a better rate:
FA 37 B
Business
news
The Web
Iran
Shabnameh
In the tradition of undergraound opposition
newsletters.
Beyond Iran
Tough
Men
"How tough are they? This and other questions
have remained unanswered way to long. To find the answers, initiative was
taken to conduct the necessary research. The results are published on these
pages."
More
web sites
Quote Unquote
Seems so
Every hero becomes a bore at last.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Photo of the Day
Iraqi
POWs freed
Music
Anis
Music
artists index
Art
Nazanin Parviz
Untitled |
