181-545: Semnan ( Persian : سمنان ; pronounced [semˈnɒːn] ) is a city in the Central District of Semnan County , Semnan province, Iran , serving as capital of the province, the county and the district. The city is on the alluvial fan of the Golrudbar creek in the north-central part of the country, 216 km east of Tehran and 640 km west of Mashhad . With a population of 185,129 people in 2016, Semnan
362-529: A hot desert climate ( BWh ) bordering a cold desert climate (BWk) according to the Köppen climate classification . The city enjoys the traditional four seasons of winter , spring , summer , and autumn each year. The rain season starts in December and lasts into May, however, precipitation throughout the rain season is generally very light. During some winters, moisture-abundant blizzards make their way down from
543-638: A Dari dialect. In the 19th century, under the Qajar dynasty , the dialect that is spoken in Tehran rose to prominence. There was still substantial Arabic vocabulary, but many of these words have been integrated into Persian phonology and grammar. In addition, under the Qajar rule, numerous Russian , French , and English terms entered the Persian language, especially vocabulary related to technology. The first official attentions to
724-562: A bastion of Shia learning and politics. By 1000 they had become the chief political and ideological challenge to Sunni Islam and the Abbasids, who by this time had fragmented into several governorships that, while recognizing caliphal authority from Baghdad, remained mostly autonomous. The caliph himself was under 'protection' of the Buyid Emirs who possessed all of Iraq and Western Iran, and were quietly Shia in their sympathies. Outside Iraq, all
905-405: A capital, including al-Hashimiyya, which he used as a capital for a while. Various other sites in the region also appear to have served as "capitals" under either al-Saffah or al-Mansur prior to the founding of Baghdad. Al-Mansur centralised the judicial administration, and later, Harun al-Rashid established the institution of Chief Qadi to oversee it. The Umayyad empire was mostly Arab; however,
1086-522: A carpet and trampled to death by horses on 20 February 1258. The caliph's immediate family was also executed, with the lone exceptions of his youngest son who was sent to Mongolia, and a daughter who became a slave in the harem of Hulagu. Similarly to how a Mamluk Army was created by the Abbasids, a Mamluk Army was created by the Egypt-based Ayyubid dynasty . These Mamluks decided to directly overthrow their masters and came to power in 1250 in what
1267-485: A ceremonial religious function in much of the caliphate, the dynasty retained control of its Mesopotamian domain during the rule of Caliph al-Muqtafi and extended into Iran during the reign of Caliph al-Nasir . The Abbasids' age of cultural revival and fruition ended in 1258 with the siege of Baghdad by the Mongols under Hulagu Khan and the execution of al-Musta'sim . The Abbasid line of rulers re-centred themselves in
1448-510: A civil fortress, from which they oversaw the major trade route between their capital in Tehran and the holy city of Mashad . In addition to infrastructural growth, some Qajar royals built their estates in the city. Semnan was also an important medical center for members of the Qajar imperial family and was home to many notable physicians and doctors of the era. Economically, the city consisted of several feudal estates with agricultural plantations which relied on serf labor. The Pahlavi era marked
1629-522: A collection of fantastical folk tales, legends and parables compiled primarily during the Abbasid era. The collection is recorded as having originated from an Arabic translation of a Sassanian-era Persian prototype, with likely origins in Indian literary traditions. Stories from Arabic , Persian , Mesopotamian, and Egyptian folklore and literature were later incorporated. The epic is believed to have taken shape in
1810-418: A dictionary called Words of Scientific Association ( لغت انجمن علمی ), which was completed in the future and renamed Katouzian Dictionary ( فرهنگ کاتوزیان ). The first academy for the Persian language was founded on 20 May 1935, under the name Academy of Iran . It was established by the initiative of Reza Shah Pahlavi , and mainly by Hekmat e Shirazi and Mohammad Ali Foroughi , all prominent names in
1991-500: A language name is first attested in English in the mid-16th century. Farsi , which is the Persian word for the Persian language, has also been used widely in English in recent decades, more often to refer to Iran's standard Persian. However, the name Persian is still more widely used. The Academy of Persian Language and Literature has maintained that the endonym Farsi is to be avoided in foreign languages, and that Persian
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#17330863510652172-417: A literary language considerably different from the spoken Persian of the time. This became the basis of what is now known as "Contemporary Standard Persian". There are three standard varieties of modern Persian: All these three varieties are based on the classic Persian literature and its literary tradition. There are also several local dialects from Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan which slightly differ from
2353-598: A more ceremonial role for many Abbasid caliphs relative to their time under the Umayyads; the viziers began to exert greater influence, and the role of the Caliph's aristocracy was slowly replaced by a Baramkid bureaucracy. To the west, Harun al-Rashid agreed to grant the province of Ifriqiya (centered in present-day Tunisia) as a hereditary emirate to Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab , who founded the Aghlabid dynasty there. Al-Mahdi restarted
2534-810: A much more Persianate culture and statecraft. Only the central lands of Mesopotamia were under direct Abbasid control, with Palestine and the Hejaz often managed by the Tulunids. Byzantium, for its part, had begun to push Arab Muslims farther east in Anatolia . By the 920s, North Africa was lost to the Fatimid dynasty , a Shia sect tracing its roots to Muhammad's daughter Fatimah . The Fatimid dynasty took control of Idrisid and Aghlabid domains, advanced to Egypt in 969, and established their capital near Fustat in Cairo , which they built as
2715-758: A new settlement for his Khurasani soldiers and a palace for himself. It was al-Saffah's successor, Abu Ja'far al-Mansur ( r. 754–775 ) who firmly consolidated Abbasid rule and faced down internal challenges. His uncle, Abdallah ibn Ali , the victor over the Umayyads at the Battle of the Zab, was the most serious potential rival for leadership and al-Mansur sent Abu Muslim, the Khurasani revolutionary commander, against him in 754. After Abu Muslim successfully defeated him, al-Mansur then turned to eliminate Abu Muslim himself. He arranged to have him arrested and executed in 755. On
2896-529: A period of several centuries, Ottoman Turkish (which was highly Persianised itself) had developed toward a fully accepted language of literature, and which was even able to lexically satisfy the demands of a scientific presentation. However, the number of Persian and Arabic loanwords contained in those works increased at times up to 88%. In the Ottoman Empire, Persian was used at the royal court, for diplomacy, poetry, historiographical works, literary works, and
3077-630: A provincial news outlet dedicated to the Semnan Province. The city is served by both the Semnan Municipal Airport ( IATA : SNX , ICAO : OIIS ) and New Semnan Airport ( ICAO : OI21 ). The city is served by the Semnan Railway Station , which features double rails and services to the major cities of Tehran (Westward) and Mashad (Eastward). In addition to services to Tehran and Mashad , there are separate railway services to
3258-612: A rebellion in Azerbaijan by the Khurramites , which was supported by the Byzantines. Al-Ma'mun was also responsible for the creation of an autonomous Khorasan, and the continued repulsing of Byzantine forays. In the 9th century, the Abbasids created an army loyal only to their caliphate, composed of non-Arab origin people, known as Mamluks . This force, created by al-Ma'mun and his brother and successor al-Mu'tasim (833–842), prevented
3439-429: A result. Other influential Abbasid philosophers include al-Jahiz , and Ibn al-Haytham (Alhacen). As power shifted from the Umayyads to the Abbasids, the architectural styles changed also, from Greco-Roman tradition (which features elements of Hellenistic and Roman representative style) to Eastern tradition which retained their independent architectural traditions from Mesopotamia and Persia. The Abbasid architecture
3620-779: A significant population within Uzbekistan , as well as within other regions with a Persianate history in the cultural sphere of Greater Iran . It is written officially within Iran and Afghanistan in the Persian alphabet , a derivative of the Arabic script , and within Tajikistan in the Tajik alphabet , a derivative of the Cyrillic script . Modern Persian is a continuation of Middle Persian , an official language of
3801-431: A small cistern of drinking water known in Persian as Ab Anbar . These ancient, traditional, and clever designs and systems helped Semnan grow and prosper before the introduction of modern plumbing and appliances. Within the vicinity of the city, ancient caravanserais from the active era of the historic and legendary Silk Road can be found. The city of Semnan has traditionally been an important center of commerce along
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#17330863510653982-580: A speaker of Persian. Persian is a member of the Western Iranian group of the Iranian languages , which make up a branch of the Indo-European languages in their Indo-Iranian subdivision . The Western Iranian languages themselves are divided into two subgroups: Southwestern Iranian languages, of which Persian is the most widely spoken, and Northwestern Iranian languages, of which Kurdish and Balochi are
4163-489: Is "Maleh" which used to be a separate settlement but was not a part of Semnan. In the local language the inhabitants are known as Malezh. "Maleh" consists of three parts: Koery (Kodivar), Koshmeni (Kushmaqaan) and Zaveni (Zavaqaan). "Maleh" is now part of Semnan. As a result of the Qajar dynasty 's heavy influence on the city of Semnan, especially under Fath Ali Shah 's reign, some families in Semnan can trace their lineage back to
4344-466: Is "frônsé shô vu rüá," or "(The) French King and (the) Cat." The city of Semnan receives all the nationwide stations broadcast by IRIB . In addition to the nationwide channels, Semnan is the broadcasting location of Semnan TV , the provincial television station. Semnan TV has made several great achievements in the film and documentary fields. One notable documentary is that of the life of Ali Akbar Moallem Damghani, an Islamic scholar and mystic. Because of
4525-511: Is "the style of philosophy produced within the framework of Islamic culture". Islamic philosophy, in this definition is neither necessarily concerned with religious issues, nor is exclusively produced by Muslims. Their works on Aristotle were a key step in the transmission of learning from ancient Greeks to the Islamic world and the West. They often corrected the philosopher, encouraging a lively debate in
4706-505: Is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and used officially within Iran , Afghanistan , and Tajikistan in three mutually intelligible standard varieties , respectively Iranian Persian (officially known as Persian ), Dari Persian (officially known as Dari since 1964), and Tajiki Persian (officially known as Tajik since 1999). It is also spoken natively in the Tajik variety by
4887-610: Is a direct descendant of Middle and Old Persian. Gernot Windfuhr considers new Persian as an evolution of the Old Persian language and the Middle Persian language but also states that none of the known Middle Persian dialects is the direct predecessor of Modern Persian. Ludwig Paul states: "The language of the Shahnameh should be seen as one instance of continuous historical development from Middle to New Persian." The known history of
5068-654: Is attested in Old Persian cuneiform on inscriptions from between the 6th and 4th century BC. Middle Persian is attested in Aramaic -derived scripts ( Pahlavi and Manichaean ) on inscriptions and in Zoroastrian and Manichaean scriptures from between the third to the tenth centuries (see Middle Persian literature ). New Persian literature was first recorded in the ninth century, after the Muslim conquest of Persia , since then adopting
5249-425: Is conventionally divided into three stages: Early New Persian remains largely intelligible to speakers of Contemporary Persian, as the morphology and, to a lesser extent, the lexicon of the language have remained relatively stable. New Persian texts written in the Arabic script first appear in the 9th-century. The language is a direct descendant of Middle Persian, the official, religious, and literary language of
5430-634: Is known as the Mamluk Sultanate . In 1261, following the devastation of Baghdad by the Mongols, the Mamluk rulers of Egypt re-established the Abbasid caliphate in Cairo . The first Abbasid caliph of Cairo was Al-Mustansir . The Abbasid caliphs in Egypt continued to maintain the presence of authority, but it was confined to religious matters. The Abbasid caliphate of Cairo lasted until the time of Al-Mutawakkil III , who
5611-455: Is not actually attested until 600 years later when it appears in the Sassanid era (224–651 AD) inscriptions, so any form of the language before this date cannot be described with any degree of certainty. Moreover, as a literary language, Middle Persian is not attested until much later, in the 6th or 7th century. From the 8th century onward, Middle Persian gradually began yielding to New Persian, with
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5792-468: Is one of Afghanistan's two official languages, together with Pashto . The term Dari , meaning "of the court", originally referred to the variety of Persian used in the court of the Sasanian Empire in capital Ctesiphon , which was spread to the northeast of the empire and gradually replaced the former Iranian dialects of Parthia ( Parthian ). Tajik Persian ( форси́и тоҷикӣ́ , forsi-i tojikī ),
5973-570: Is one of the earliest attested Indo-European languages. According to certain historical assumptions about the early history and origin of ancient Persians in Southwestern Iran (where Achaemenids hailed from), Old Persian was originally spoken by a tribe called Parsuwash , who arrived in the Iranian Plateau early in the 1st millennium BCE and finally migrated down into the area of present-day Fārs province. Their language, Old Persian, became
6154-540: Is possible that the years of Abbasid rule traumatized the people of Semnan, and even to this day, the Semnani people despise the color black because of its utilization for the black flags of the Abbasid Caliphate . The Abbasid rule was ended by the brutal, devastating invasion of the Mongols in the year of 618 AH . The Mongol hordes massacred the people and burnt much of the city to the ground. Semnan would not recover until
6335-455: Is ready to be consumed by the community's mourners. The celebrations of Nowrouz are slightly different in the city of Semnan. Since the beginning of the Iranian (Islamic) solar month of Esfand , a man dressed in red with a charcoal-blackened face known as Hajji Firuz sits on top of a wooden horse, decorated with textiles, in the bazaars of Semnan. He congratulates the people and takes part in
6516-486: Is the appropriate designation of the language in English, as it has the longer tradition in western languages and better expresses the role of the language as a mark of cultural and national continuity. Iranian historian and linguist Ehsan Yarshater , founder of the Encyclopædia Iranica and Columbia University 's Center for Iranian Studies, mentions the same concern in an academic journal on Iranology , rejecting
6697-548: Is the first month of the Islamic Calendar , and also the month which marks the brutal and tragic martyrdom of the third Shi'a Imam, Imam Hussein and 72 members of his household. The people of Semnan observe Muharram and the overall 50 days of mourning by refraining from worldly pleasures, such as music and joyful gatherings, wearing dark clothes to show intimate grief, and participating in outdoor rallies consisting of massive mourning accompanied by sorrowful chants which recall
6878-632: Is the most populous city in the province and the hub of the Semnani language , a sub-branch of the Iranian languages spoken to the north. It is home to the Semnani ethnic group. Semnan offers various recreational activities; historical and religious sites; festivals, gardens and parks; and centers of higher education and Semnani culture. The city is the cultural and political capital of Semnan province. The city's main souvenirs are daffodil flowers , Shirmal pastry, Kolüçe cookies, kilim rugs, and shortbread . There are several theories which seek to explain
7059-661: Is traditionally seen as the approximate end of the Golden Age. Contemporary accounts state Mongol soldiers looted and then destroyed mosques, palaces, libraries, and hospitals. Priceless books from Baghdad's thirty-six public libraries were torn apart, the looters using their leather covers as sandals. Grand buildings that had been the work of generations were burned to the ground. The House of Wisdom (the Grand Library of Baghdad), containing countless precious historical documents and books on subjects ranging from medicine to astronomy,
7240-436: The Encyclopædia Iranica notes that the Iranian, Afghan, and Tajiki varieties comprise distinct branches of the Persian language, and within each branch a wide variety of local dialects exist. The following are some languages closely related to Persian, or in some cases are considered dialects: More distantly related branches of the Iranian language family include Kurdish and Balochi . The Glottolog database proposes
7421-502: The Kalila wa Dimna . The language spread geographically from the 11th century on and was the medium through which, among others, Central Asian Turks became familiar with Islam and urban culture. New Persian was widely used as a trans-regional lingua franca , a task aided due to its relatively simple morphology, and this situation persisted until at least the 19th century. In the late Middle Ages, new Islamic literary languages were created on
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7602-513: The ummah (Muslim community). Despite this initial cooperation, the Abbasids of the late 8th century had alienated both non-Arab mawali (clients). The political power of the caliphs was limited with the rise of the Iranian Buyids and the Seljuq Turks , who captured Baghdad in 945 and 1055, respectively. Although Abbasid leadership over the vast Islamic empire was gradually reduced to
7783-643: The Alborz mountains in the north, runs through the western side of the city. With proper irrigation, the municipality has managed to convert the entire southwestern portion of the city into green and lush pomegranate gardens. Around the city, further irrigation of the Golrudbar river and the surrounding creeks and tributaries have provided the proper environment for the cultivation of herbs, eggplants, potatoes, walnuts, and cotton. Semnan also produces handwoven rugs called Glim . These rugs consist of naturally dyed wools, woven into elaborate tribal and local designs. Muharram
7964-458: The Alborz mountains to the north of the city and dump several centimeters of snow in a single twenty-four-hour period. As a result of the city's position straddling the open desert plain , many winter days are dominated by a cold and gusty wind that often produces a potent windchill factor which makes the city feel much colder than the actual air temperature. According to Iranian Meteorological statistics, Semnan experiences around 44.5 days in which
8145-489: The Alborz Mountains and the vast desert plain to the south of the city. The Golrudbar creek, which begins in the mountains to the north of Shahmirzad , has historically provided a reliable supply of water for municipal and agricultural consumption. Irrigation methods since ancient times have allowed the people of Semnan to drink clean water, raise livestock such as cattle and sheep, and cultivate diverse crops. Semnan has
8326-555: The Battle of Talas . Al-Saffah focused on putting down numerous rebellions in Syria and Mesopotamia . The Byzantines conducted raids during these early distractions. One of the first major changes effected by Abbasid rule was the move of the caliphate's center of power from Syria to Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq). This was closer to the Persian mawali support base of the Abbasids and the move addressed their demand for reduced Arab dominance in
8507-651: The British colonization , Persian was widely used as a second language in the Indian subcontinent . It took prominence as the language of culture and education in several Muslim courts on the subcontinent and became the sole "official language" under the Mughal emperors . The Bengal Sultanate witnessed an influx of Persian scholars, lawyers, teachers, and clerics. Thousands of Persian books and manuscripts were published in Bengal. The period of
8688-680: The Caspian Sea passes over the High Alborz . With the right amount of heat and moisture, thunderstorms may develop during the afternoon and evening hours. Though the amount of precipitation is light, these thunderstorms often produce strong and gusty winds with frequent lightning strikes . Autumn is mostly a transitional season. Due to the relatively small size of Semnan when compared to other major Iranian cities such as Tehran , Tabriz , and Mashad , Semnan's rich historical monuments and scholarly figures are often forgotten. The following are some of
8869-657: The Hashemites , during the reign of Umar II . During the reign of Marwan II , this opposition culminated in the rebellion of Ibrahim al-Imam , the fourth in descent from Abbas. Supported by the province of Khorasan (Eastern Persia), even though the governor opposed them, and the Shia Arabs, he achieved considerable success, but was captured in the year 747 and died, possibly assassinated, in prison. On 9 June 747 (15 Ramadan AH 129), Abu Muslim , rising from Khorasan, successfully initiated an open revolt against Umayyad rule, which
9050-583: The House of Wisdom in Baghdad, where both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars sought to translate and gather all the world's knowledge into Arabic . Many classic works of antiquity that would otherwise have been lost were translated into Arabic and Persian and later in turn translated into Turkish, Hebrew and Latin. During this period the Muslim world was a cauldron of cultures which collected, synthesized and significantly advanced
9231-517: The Mamluk capital of Cairo in 1261. Though lacking in political power, with the brief exception of Caliph al-Musta'in , the dynasty continued to claim religious authority until a few years after the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517, with the last Abbasid caliph being al-Mutawakkil III . The Abbasid caliphs were descended from Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib , one of the youngest uncles of Muhammad and of
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#17330863510659412-417: The Muslim conquest of Persia , the religion of Islam was established within the city of Semnan. Though, unlike modern day Semnan, the people of the city originally practiced Sunni Islam , similar to the rest of early Islamic Persia. However, the institution of Sunni Islam did not last very long. The Alavids of Tabaristan had established a Shi'a Islamic emirate and upon conquering Semnan, brought
9593-623: The Mustansiriya School , in an attempt to eclipse the Seljuq-era Nizamiyya built by Nizam al Mulk . In 1206, Genghis Khan established a powerful dynasty among the Mongols of central Asia . During the 13th century, this Mongol Empire conquered most of the Eurasian land mass, including both China in the east and much of the old Islamic caliphate (as well as Kievan Rus' ) in the west. Hulagu Khan 's destruction of Baghdad in 1258
9774-494: The Qajar dynasty . Furthermore, much of the city's most important monuments have been built under Turkic dynasties. For example, the Jame' Mosque of Semnan, constructed nearly 1,000 years ago, was built by the Seljuq dynasty . The Imam Mosque, originally known as Soltani Mosque, was constructed by the Qajar dynasty . The Gate of Semman, or Arg e Semnan, which is the representative symbol of
9955-555: The Samanids had begun the process of exercising independent authority in Transoxiana and Greater Khorasan , and the succeeding Saffarid dynasty of Iran. The Saffarids , from Khorasan, nearly seized Baghdad in 876, and the Tulunids took control of most of Syria. The trend of weakening of the central power and strengthening of the minor caliphates on the periphery continued. An exception
10136-581: The Sasanian Empire (224–651 CE), itself a continuation of Old Persian , which was used in the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BCE). It originated in the region of Fars ( Persia ) in southwestern Iran. Its grammar is similar to that of many European languages. Throughout history, Persian was considered prestigious by various empires centered in West Asia , Central Asia , and South Asia . Old Persian
10317-455: The Sultanate of Rum , Turkmen beyliks of Anatolia , Delhi Sultanate , the Shirvanshahs , Safavids , Afsharids , Zands , Qajars , Khanate of Bukhara , Khanate of Kokand , Emirate of Bukhara , Khanate of Khiva , Ottomans , and also many Mughal successors such as the Nizam of Hyderabad . Persian was the only non-European language known and used by Marco Polo at the Court of Kublai Khan and in his journeys through China. A branch of
10498-439: The Turkic , Armenian , Georgian , & Indo-Aryan languages . It also exerted some influence on Arabic, while borrowing a lot of vocabulary from it in the Middle Ages. Some of the world's most famous pieces of literature from the Middle Ages, such as the Shahnameh by Ferdowsi , the works of Rumi , the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám , the Panj Ganj of Nizami Ganjavi , The Divān of Hafez , The Conference of
10679-449: The Western world . Semnan also offers an extensive bus route throughout the entire municipality as well as numerous public and private taxi services. Similar to most cities in Iran, Semnan has a particular taxi service referred to in Persian as "agence." This originally French word is used to denote taxis that arrive at the individual's place of residence and provide service to the individual's destination. This form of service varies from
10860-425: The Zaidi Shi'a sect of Islam. Then, in the year 427 AH , the Seljuq Turks invaded and devastated the city. Nevertheless, it was the very Seljuq Turks that built many of the historical monuments and infrastructure of medieval Semnan. As the Seljuq Empire grew weak, the Abbasids managed to reconquer and assert their sovereignty over Persia. The people of Semnan suffered severely under the Abbasid Caliphate . It
11041-481: The dynasty takes its name. They ruled as caliphs for most of the caliphate from their capital in Baghdad in modern-day Iraq, after having overthrown the Umayyad Caliphate in the Abbasid Revolution of 750 CE (132 AH ). The Abbasid Revolution had its origins and first successes in the easterly region of Khorasan , far from the Levantine center of Umayyad influence. The Abbasid Caliphate first centered its government in Kufa , modern-day Iraq, but in 762
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#173308635106511222-423: The ezāfe construction, expressed through ī (modern e/ye ), to indicate some of the relations between words that have been lost with the simplification of the earlier grammatical system. Although the "middle period" of the Iranian languages formally begins with the fall of the Achaemenid Empire, the transition from Old to Middle Persian had probably already begun before the 4th century BC. However, Middle Persian
11403-479: The " Persianized " Turko-Mongol dynasties during the 12th to 15th centuries, and under restored Persian rule during the 16th to 19th centuries. Persian during this time served as lingua franca of Greater Persia and of much of the Indian subcontinent . It was also the official and cultural language of many Islamic dynasties, including the Samanids, Buyids , Tahirids , Ziyarids , the Mughal Empire , Timurids , Ghaznavids , Karakhanids , Seljuqs , Khwarazmians ,
11584-669: The 10th century and reached its final form by the 14th century; the number and type of tales have varied from one manuscript to another. All Arabian fantasy tales were often called "Arabian Nights" when translated into English, regardless of whether they appeared in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights . This epic has been influential in the West since it was translated in the 18th century, first by Antoine Galland . Many imitations were written, especially in France. Various characters from this epic have themselves become cultural icons in Western culture, such as Aladdin , Sinbad and Ali Baba . A famous example of Islamic poetry on romance
11765-452: The Abbasid Empire reached its peak. However, Harun's decision to split the succession proved to be damaging to the longevity of the empire. After Rashid's death, the empire was split by a civil war between the caliph al-Amin and his brother al-Ma'mun , who had the support of Khorasan. This war ended with a two-year siege of Baghdad and the eventual death of Al-Amin in 813. Al-Ma'mun ruled for 20 years of relative calm interspersed with
11946-427: The Abbasid claim to leadership was based on his Alid lineage and thus presented a serious political threat. He was defeated by an Abbasid army led by Isa ibn Musa . It was after this victory, in 762, that al-Mansur finally established a proper Abbasid capital, Baghdad – officially called Madinat al-Salam ('City of Peace') – located on the Tigris River . Prior to this, he had continued to consider multiple sites for
12127-447: The Abbasids for the titular authority of the Islamic ummah . They commanded some support in the Shia sections of Baghdad (such as Karkh ), although Baghdad was the city most closely connected to the caliphate, even in the Buyid and Seljuq eras. The challenge of the Fatimids only ended with their downfall in the 12th century. Despite the power of the Buyid amirs, the Abbasids retained a highly ritualized court in Baghdad, as described by
12308-399: The Abbasids in Baghdad. When the dynasty began to weaken in the 12th century, the Abbasids gained greater independence once again. While the caliph al-Mustarshid was the first caliph to build an army capable of meeting a Seljuk army in battle, he was nonetheless defeated and assassinated in 1135. The caliph al-Muqtafi was the first Abbasid Caliph to regain the full military independence of
12489-463: The Abbasids progressively became made up of more and more converted Muslims in which the Arabs were only one of many ethnicities. The Abbasids had depended heavily on the support of Persians in their overthrow of the Umayyads. Al-Mansur welcomed non-Arab Muslims to his court. While this helped integrate Arab and Persian cultures, it alienated many of their Arab supporters, particularly the Khorasanian Arabs who had supported them in their battles against
12670-572: The Birds by Attar of Nishapur , and the miscellanea of Gulistan and Bustan by Saadi Shirazi , are written in Persian. Some of the prominent modern Persian poets were Nima Yooshij , Ahmad Shamlou , Simin Behbahani , Sohrab Sepehri , Rahi Mo'ayyeri , Mehdi Akhavan-Sales , and Forugh Farrokhzad . There are approximately 130 million Persian speakers worldwide, including Persians , Lurs , Tajiks , Hazaras , Iranian Azeris , Iranian Kurds , Balochs , Tats , Afghan Pashtuns , and Aimaqs . The term Persophone might also be used to refer to
12851-426: The Buyid bureaucrat Hilal al-Sabi' , and they retained a certain influence over Baghdad as well as religious life. As Buyid power waned with the rule of Baha' al-Daula , the caliphate was able to regain some measure of strength. The caliph al-Qadir , for example, led the ideological struggle against the Shia with writings such as the Baghdad Manifesto . The caliphs kept order in Baghdad itself, attempting to prevent
13032-571: The Chinese Tang dynasty in the An Lushan Rebellion against An Lushan . The Abbasids, or "Black Flags" as they were commonly called, were known in Tang dynasty chronicles as the hēiyī Dàshí , "The Black-robed Tazi" ( 黑衣大食 ) ("Tazi" being a borrowing from Persian Tāzī , the word for "Arab"). Al-Rashid sent embassies to the Chinese Tang dynasty and established good relations with them. After
13213-612: The Middle Ages, and is because of the lack of the phoneme /p/ in Standard Arabic. The standard Persian of Iran has been called, apart from Persian and Farsi , by names such as Iranian Persian and Western Persian , exclusively. Officially, the official language of Iran is designated simply as Persian ( فارسی , fārsi ). The standard Persian of Afghanistan has been officially named Dari ( دری , dari ) since 1958. Also referred to as Afghan Persian in English, it
13394-532: The Ottoman Empire all spoke Persian, such as Sultan Selim I , despite being Safavid Iran's archrival and a staunch opposer of Shia Islam . It was a major literary language in the empire. Some of the noted earlier Persian works during the Ottoman rule are Idris Bidlisi 's Hasht Bihisht , which began in 1502 and covered the reign of the first eight Ottoman rulers, and the Salim-Namah , a glorification of Selim I. After
13575-562: The Persian faction known as the Buyids from Daylam swept into power and assumed control over the bureaucracy in Baghdad. According to the history of Miskawayh , they began distributing iqtas ( fiefs in the form of tax farms) to their supporters. This period of localized secular control was to last nearly 100 years. The loss of Abbasid power to the Buyids would shift as the Seljuks would take over from
13756-521: The Persian language can be divided into the following three distinct periods: As a written language , Old Persian is attested in royal Achaemenid inscriptions. The oldest known text written in Old Persian is from the Behistun Inscription , dating to the time of King Darius I (reigned 522–486 BC). Examples of Old Persian have been found in what is now Iran , Romania ( Gherla ), Armenia , Bahrain , Iraq , Turkey, and Egypt . Old Persian
13937-476: The Persian language, a language historically called Dari, emerged in present-day Afghanistan. The first significant Persian poet was Rudaki . He flourished in the 10th century, when the Samanids were at the height of their power. His reputation as a court poet and as an accomplished musician and singer has survived, although little of his poetry has been preserved. Among his lost works are versified fables collected in
14118-401: The Persian model: Ottoman Turkish , Chagatai Turkic , Dobhashi Bengali , and Urdu, which are regarded as "structural daughter languages" of Persian. "Classical Persian" loosely refers to the standardized language of medieval Persia used in literature and poetry . This is the language of the 10th to 12th centuries, which continued to be used as literary language and lingua franca under
14299-618: The Persians. At the end of the eighth century, the Abbasids found they could no longer keep together a polity from Baghdad, which had grown larger than that of Rome . In 793 the Zaydi -Shia dynasty of Idrisids set up a state from Fez in Morocco, while a family of governors under the Abbasids became increasingly independent until they founded the Aghlabid Emirate from the 830s. Al-Mu'tasim started
14480-798: The Perso-Arabic script. Persian was the first language to break through the monopoly of Arabic on writing in the Muslim world , with Persian poetry becoming a tradition in many eastern courts. It was used officially as a language of bureaucracy even by non-native speakers, such as the Ottomans in Anatolia , the Mughals in South Asia, and the Pashtuns in Afghanistan. It influenced languages spoken in neighboring regions and beyond, including other Iranian languages,
14661-479: The Sasanian Empire (224–651). However, it is not descended from the literary form of Middle Persian (known as pārsīk , commonly called Pahlavi), which was spoken by the people of Fars and used in Zoroastrian religious writings. Instead, it is descended from the dialect spoken by the court of the Sasanian capital Ctesiphon and the northeastern Iranian region of Khorasan , known as Dari. The region, which comprised
14842-575: The Sassanids (who were Persians, i.e. from the southwest) from the preceding Arsacids (who were Parthians, i.e. from the northeast). While Ibn al-Muqaffa' (eighth century) still distinguished between Pahlavi (i.e. Parthian) and Persian (in Arabic text: al-Farisiyah) (i.e. Middle Persian), this distinction is not evident in Arab commentaries written after that date. "New Persian" (also referred to as Modern Persian)
15023-508: The Seljuks, the Sultanate of Rum , took Persian language, art, and letters to Anatolia. They adopted the Persian language as the official language of the empire. The Ottomans , who can roughly be seen as their eventual successors, inherited this tradition. Persian was the official court language of the empire, and for some time, the official language of the empire. The educated and noble class of
15204-410: The Semnani language of the locals. The Iranian Constitution recognizes the use of regional dialects and languages, and permits their usage second to the Persian language. According to the book Dictionary of Semnan Ancient Dialect , Semnan traditionally has had its own language. The book collected more than 12,000 words belonging to this language. The local people call their language Semani . Most of
15385-600: The Semnani language, bread that is baked in an oven is referred to as "nün," while bread made by other means is referred to as "sôdjí." The following are the names of some foods in English and Semnani: chicken (gırká), pomegranate (nôr), grapes (engír), cucumber (djürüng), walnut (yüz), eggplant (vıngun), and apricot (şillık). Poetry is the most important form of literature in the city of Semnan, especially in terms of its cultural value. Semnani people have contributed greatly to their poetry; they use poetry to express their emotions, philosophies, politics, etc., as well as to preserve
15566-405: The Umayyads. The Abbasid leadership had to work hard in the last half of the 8th century (750–800) under several competent caliphs and their viziers to usher in the administrative changes needed to keep order of the political challenges created by the far-flung nature of the empire, and the limited communication across it. It was also during this early period of the dynasty, in particular during
15747-611: The aggrieved settlers of Merv with the addition of the Yemeni faction and their Mawali ". The Abbasids also appealed to non-Arab Muslims, known as mawali , who remained outside the kinship-based society of the Arabs and were perceived as a lower class within the Umayyad empire. Muhammad ibn 'Ali , a great-grandson of Abbas, began to campaign in Persia for the return of power to the family of Muhammad,
15928-493: The area of Lake Urmia in the records of Shalmaneser III . The exact identity of the Parsuwash is not known for certain, but from a linguistic viewpoint the word matches Old Persian pārsa itself coming directly from the older word * pārćwa . Also, as Old Persian contains many words from another extinct Iranian language, Median , according to P. O. Skjærvø it is probable that Old Persian had already been spoken before
16109-408: The armor and clothing of the armies of Imam Hussein and his enemies, as well as decorating the local horses in the cavalry uniform of the era. Thus, the battle would be reenacted. During this month's sorrowful rituals, it is custom to cook a community meal (usually a stew). This is done by placing colossal cauldrons outside upon a source of heat, then, people would take turns stirring the stew until it
16290-516: The artistic monuments of the Qajars. Upon attempting to destroy the Gate of Semnan, the locals chained themselves to the building and stopped its destruction. Many prominent families in Semnan were also restricted from attaining high political posts as a result of their previous connection with and service to the Qajar imperial family. This resulted in the exodus of many prominent Semnani families to Tehran during
16471-455: The autonomous provinces slowly took on the characteristic of de facto states with hereditary rulers, armies, and revenues and operated under only nominal caliph suzerainty, which may not necessarily be reflected by any contribution to the treasury, such as the Soomro Emirs that had gained control of Sindh and ruled the entire province from their capital of Mansura . Mahmud of Ghazni took
16652-424: The blood of Al-Musta'sim , a direct descendant of Muhammad's uncle Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib , and the last reigning Abbasid caliph in Baghdad, was spilled. The Shia of Persia stated that no such calamity had happened after the death of Husayn ibn Ali in the Battle of Karbala ; nevertheless, as a precaution and in accordance with a Mongol taboo which forbade spilling royal blood, Hulagu had Al-Musta'sim wrapped in
16833-414: The broadcasting duration up to fifteen hours per day. Today, Radio Semnan is an important media asset for the entire Semnan Province, and serves as a major source of reliable information and discussions from a wide variety of topics. According to the representative of Radio Semnan, Abdulreza Dehrouye, "the variety of regional dialects, the strategic geographical location, the good climate, the contributions of
17014-407: The calendar. At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 124,999 in 36,298 households. The following census in 2011 counted 153,680 people in 45,311 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 185,129 people in 49,124 households. The city of Semnan is situated on an alluvial fan at 1,138 metres above sea level , straddling the southern foothills of
17195-525: The caliph al-Mansur founded the city of Baghdad, near the ancient Babylonian capital city of Babylon and Sassanid city of Ctesiphon . Baghdad became the center of science , culture , and invention in what became known as the Golden Age of Islam . It was also during this period that Islamic manuscript production reached its height. Between the 8th and 10th centuries, Abbasid artisans pioneered and perfected manuscript techniques that became standards of
17376-530: The caliph al-Qa'im was unable to defeat him without outside help. Toghril Beg , the Seljuq sultan, restored Baghdad to Sunni rule and took Iraq for his dynasty. Once again, the Abbasids were forced to deal with a military power that they could not match, though the Abbasid caliph remained the titular head of the Islamic community. The succeeding sultans Alp Arslan and Malikshah , as well as their vizier Nizam al-Mulk , took up residence in Persia, but held power over
17557-454: The caliph al-Radi (934–941) was forced to acknowledge their power by creating the position of "Prince of Princes" ( amir al-umara ). In addition, the power of the Mamluks steadily grew, reaching a climax when al-Radi was constrained to hand over most of the royal functions to the non-Arab Muhammad ibn Ra'iq . Al-Mustakfi had a short reign from 944 to 946, and it was during this period that
17738-454: The caliphal court in Baghdad during the early 9th century, while others such as al-Mutanabbi received their patronage from regional courts. Under Harun al-Rashid, Baghdad was renowned for its bookstores, which proliferated after the making of paper was introduced. Chinese papermakers had been among those taken prisoner by the Arabs at the Battle of Talas in 751. As prisoners of war, they were dispatched to Samarkand , where they helped set up
17919-529: The caliphate, with the help of his vizier Ibn Hubayra . After nearly 250 years of subjection to foreign dynasties, he successfully defended Baghdad against the Seljuqs in the siege of Baghdad (1157) , thus securing Iraq for the Abbasids. The reign of al-Nasir (d. 1225) brought the caliphate back into power throughout Iraq, based in large part on the Sufi futuwwa organizations that the caliph headed. Al-Mustansir built
18100-536: The capital cities of the Parthian Empire was Hecatompylos , and its ruins and numerous historical sites remain between the modern day city of Semnan and Damghan . With the fall of the Parthian Empire , and the rise of the Persian Sassanid Empire , Zoroastrianism was chosen as the state religion, and the city of Semnan was once again brought under the reign of Persian customs and traditions. After
18281-445: The capital from Damascus to Baghdad. The Abbasids were influenced by the Qur'anic injunctions and hadith , such as "the ink of a scholar is more holy than the blood of a martyr", stressing the value of knowledge. During this period the Muslim world became an intellectual center for science, philosophy, medicine and education as the Abbasids championed the cause of knowledge and established
18462-516: The cities of Garmsar , Shahrud , Damghan , Meyami , and Sorkheh , all within the Province of Semnan. The Semnan Railway Station features modern electric rail services as well. The city is further served by the Semnan Municipal Train system which connects the major points of the city by rail. This train service resembles the light rail transit systems that serve several cities throughout
18643-566: The city of Raqqa , along the Euphrates . Finally, in 836, al-Mu'tasim moved the capital to a new site that he created along the Tigris, called Samarra. This city saw 60 years of work, with race-courses and game preserves to add to the atmosphere. Due to the dry remote nature of the environment, some of the palaces built in this era were isolated havens. Al-Ukhaidir Fortress is a fine example of this type of building, which has stables, living quarters, and
18824-558: The city of Semnan, was also constructed by the Qajar dynasty . Many other historical sites within the city and the surrounding villages demonstrate a strong Turkic and Ilkhanate influence in their architectural designs. Also, much of the city's Sayyid population tends to descend from the Alavids of the Caspian region to the north of the province. The city also has its own language known as "Zaban e Semnani" in Persian or "Semani Zefön" in
19005-400: The city of Semnan. Every literate person in Semnan knows how to communicate in the Persian language. The majority of the city dwellers are Persians. Older Semnan was made up of four main districts: Shaji (Shahjoo), Naasaar, Latibaar and Espanjon (Esfanjan). These four districts still exist today, but the city has grown and become much larger including some new districts. To the west of the city
19186-497: The city's historical sites and places of interest: Semnan's proximity to the Kavir Desert has provided the city with the opportunity to construct numerous facilities in order to cope with the dry climate. As a result, Semnan has numerous ancient, traditional irrigation systems known as qanat . In addition, the roofs of many buildings are decorated with windcatchers known in Persian as badgir . These badgirs were normally attached to
19367-445: The city, and continues to dictate the style of life in city. As a result, the celebrations, rituals, and days of religious mourning play a major role in the life of a Semnani city dweller, and are for some families, more important that the national Iranian customs and holidays. The majority of the people of Semnan observe Shi'a Islam quite conservatively; hence, the martyrdom and birthdays of Shi'a Imams are very important days on
19548-422: The civil service. In 794, Jafa al-Barmak built the first paper mill in Baghdad, and from there the technology circulated. Harun required that paper be employed in government dealings, since something recorded on paper could not easily be changed or removed, and eventually, an entire street in Baghdad's business district was dedicated to selling paper and books. One of the common definitions for "Islamic philosophy"
19729-457: The code fas for the dialects spoken across Iran and Afghanistan. This consists of the individual languages Dari ( prs ) and Iranian Persian ( pes ). It uses tgk for Tajik, separately. In general, the Iranian languages are known from three periods: namely Old, Middle, and New (Modern). These correspond to three historical eras of Iranian history ; Old era being sometime around the Achaemenid Empire (i.e., 400–300 BC), Middle era being
19910-512: The collapse of the Sassanid state, Parsik came to be applied exclusively to (either Middle or New) Persian that was written in the Arabic script . From about the 9th century onward, as Middle Persian was on the threshold of becoming New Persian, the older form of the language came to be erroneously called Pahlavi , which was actually but one of the writing systems used to render both Middle Persian as well as various other Middle Iranian languages. That writing system had previously been adopted by
20091-474: The downward slide by using non-Muslim mercenaries in his personal army. Also during this period, officers started assassinating superiors with whom they disagreed, in particular the caliphs. By the 870s, Egypt became autonomous under Ahmad ibn Tulun . In the East, governors decreased their ties to the center as well. The Saffarids of Herat and the Samanids of Bukhara began breaking away around this time, cultivating
20272-522: The early Pahlavi era. Despite the tension and confrontation, the Pahlavi dynasty was successful in transforming Semnan into a more modern city. Throughout the early Pahlavi era, Semnan experienced several rounds of extreme drought, famine, crop devastation, and poverty. Prominent Semnani language poets such as Nosratollah Nouhian encouraged the Farmers and General Labor class to rise up and demand their rights from
20453-487: The educated elite, the centers of industry and mineral extraction, the various university complexes, the massive labor force, and the highly literate and educated municipal population are all contributing factors into establishing the framework of the great and spiritual network Radio Semnan offers today." Furthermore, Radio Semnan is unique in offering broadcast time in which residents may call in and engage in direct dialogue with city representatives and officials. This provides
20634-453: The empire. However, no definitive capital was yet selected. In these early Abbasid years, Kufa generally served as the administrative capital, but the caliphs were wary of the Alid sympathies in the city and did not always reside here. In 752, al-Saffah built a new city called al-Hashimiyya, at an uncertain location, most likely near Kufa. Later that same year, he moved to Anbar , where he built
20815-452: The empire. Still, the reigns of al-Rashid and his sons were considered to be the apex of the Abbasids. Domestically, Harun pursued policies similar to those of his father Al-Mahdi. He released many of the Umayyads and 'Alids his brother Al-Hadi had imprisoned and declared amnesty for all political groups of the Quraysh . Large scale hostilities broke out with Byzantium , and under his rule,
20996-605: The end of the strong caliphs. He strengthened his personal army with the Mamluks and promptly restarted the war with the Byzantines. Though his attempt to seize Constantinople failed when his fleet was destroyed by a storm, his military excursions were generally successful, culminating with a resounding victory in the Sack of Amorium . The Byzantines responded by sacking Damietta in Egypt, and Al-Mutawakkil responded by sending his troops into Anatolia again, sacking and marauding until they were eventually annihilated in 863. Even by 820,
21177-467: The establishment of the holiday environment. He sings in the Semnani language: arbaab e mani somboli baleikom, arbaab e mani sarbalaayii hei kon, arbaab e mani bozboz e qandi, arbaab e mani chera nemikhandi . As the celebrations approach the Nowrouz, many celebrators blacken their faces with charcoal and join the celebrations. Another interesting aspect of the Nowrouz celebrations are the massive gatherings of
21358-470: The events of the tragedy in Karbala , the place of Imam Hussein 's martyrdom. In addition, the mournings on the tenth day of Muharram, known as Ashura , consist of self-flagellation rituals in which the participants attempt to symbolically inflict pain upon themselves. Another major event held in Semnan during the month of Muharram is the reenactment of the tragedy of Karbala . Participating locals would wear
21539-583: The extent of its influence on certain languages of the Indian subcontinent. Words borrowed from Persian are still quite commonly used in certain Indo-Aryan languages, especially Hindi - Urdu (also historically known as Hindustani ), Punjabi , Kashmiri , and Sindhi . There is also a small population of Zoroastrian Iranis in India, who migrated in the 19th century to escape religious execution in Qajar Iran and speak
21720-612: The fighting with the Byzantines , and his sons continued the conflict until Empress Irene pushed for peace. After several years of peace, Nikephoros I broke the treaty, then fended off multiple incursions during the first decade of the 9th century. These attacks pushed into the Taurus Mountains , culminating with a victory at the Battle of Krasos and the massive invasion of 806 , led by Rashid himself. Rashid's navy also proved successful, taking Cyprus . Rashid decided to focus on
21901-400: The first Arab paper mill. In time, paper replaced parchment as the medium for writing, and the production of books greatly increased. These events had an academic and societal impact that could be broadly compared to the introduction of the printing press in the West. Paper aided in communication and record-keeping, it also brought a new sophistication and complexity to businesses, banking, and
22082-499: The following phylogenetic classification: Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire ( / ə ˈ b æ s ɪ d , ˈ æ b ə s ɪ d / ; Arabic : الْخِلَافَة الْعَبَّاسِيَّة , romanized : al-Khilāfa al-ʿAbbāsiyya ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad . It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE ), from whom
22263-562: The formation of many modern languages in West Asia, Europe, Central Asia , and South Asia . Following the Turko-Persian Ghaznavid conquest of South Asia , Persian was firstly introduced in the region by Turkic Central Asians. The basis in general for the introduction of Persian language into the subcontinent was set, from its earliest days, by various Persianized Central Asian Turkic and Afghan dynasties. For five centuries prior to
22444-471: The formation of the Achaemenid Empire and was spoken during most of the first half of the first millennium BCE. Xenophon , a Greek general serving in some of the Persian expeditions, describes many aspects of Armenian village life and hospitality in around 401 BCE, which is when Old Persian was still spoken and extensively used. He relates that the Armenian people spoke a language that to his ear sounded like
22625-440: The further disintegration of the empire. The Mamluk army, though often viewed negatively, both helped and hurt the caliphate. Early on, it provided the government with a stable force to address domestic and foreign problems. However, creation of this foreign army and al-Mu'tasim's transfer of the capital from Baghdad to Samarra created a division between the caliphate and the people they claimed to rule. Al-Mu'tasim's reign marked
22806-461: The general culinary preferences of Tehran. In fact, there is an old proverb among the local people that says, "Semnan has so many foods, that a wife from this city can cook a different dish for every night of the year." Some of the famous dishes are: Chelo Gousht, Sabzi polo, and Khoresht e Esfanaj va Gerdou (espenôj vu yüz). The Semnani people are also quite fond of a variety of breads such as shirmal , shortbread (kamôç), and Kolüçe pastries. In
22987-455: The governance of Al-Mansur, Harun al-Rashid, and al-Ma'mun , that its reputation and power were created. The position of wazir (vizier) developed in this period. It was initially akin to a secretary, but under the tenure of the Barmakids , an Iranian family close to the Abbasids, the position became powerful and Harun al-Rashid delegated state affairs to them for many years. This resulted in
23168-618: The heart , It spreads across the meadows and the desert ... A velvet-like green . - Rahim Me`marian There are countless short stories that belong to the Semnani language. Similar to poetry, short stories account for a major section of the literature of Semnan. Due to the previous, little use of orthography, the Semnani language was not able to produce any large single story or novel. Nevertheless, short stories were created to both record history and entertain. These short stories were passed on generation after generation, and have now been recently recorded in books. One famous short story
23349-426: The historical Silk Road , and is still an important agricultural, industrial, and cultural center today. The production of textiles and carpets were the most important industries in the history of the city. But nowadays, in relation to its population, Semnan has very powerful industrial sectors, with special regards to its automobile industry (cars and bikes). Another major industry is the production of cement from
23530-530: The knowledge gained from the Roman , Chinese, Indian , Persian , Egyptian , North African, Ancient Greek and Medieval Greek civilizations. According to Huff, "[i]n virtually every field of endeavor—in astronomy, alchemy, mathematics, medicine, optics and so forth—the Caliphate's scientists were in the forefront of scientific advance." The best-known fiction from the Islamic world is One Thousand and One Nights ,
23711-410: The language of the Persians. Related to Old Persian, but from a different branch of the Iranian language family, was Avestan , the language of the Zoroastrian liturgical texts. The complex grammatical conjugation and declension of Old Persian yielded to the structure of Middle Persian in which the dual number disappeared, leaving only singular and plural, as did gender. Middle Persian developed
23892-432: The middle-period form only continuing in the texts of Zoroastrianism . Middle Persian is considered to be a later form of the same dialect as Old Persian. The native name of Middle Persian was Parsig or Parsik , after the name of the ethnic group of the southwest, that is, "of Pars ", Old Persian Parsa , New Persian Fars . This is the origin of the name Farsi as it is today used to signify New Persian. Following
24073-464: The minimum temperature falls below freezing each year. Spring is characterized by mild to warm day temperatures and cold to cool nights. Muinimun Temperatures do not fall below freezing from May to October and rarely do so in March, April and November. Summers are often hot during the day and mildly warm at night. Summer months remain extremely dry with only trace amounts of rain. Occasionally, moisture from
24254-525: The most widely spoken. The term Persian is an English derivation of Latin Persiānus , the adjectival form of Persia , itself deriving from Greek Persís ( Περσίς ), a Hellenized form of Old Persian Pārsa ( 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿 ), which means " Persia " (a region in southwestern Iran, corresponding to modern-day Fars ). According to the Oxford English Dictionary , the term Persian as
24435-552: The national radio frequencies broadcast by IRIB . Due to Semnan's status as the provincial capital, Radio Semnan is based in the city and broadcasts for the entire Semnan Province. Radio Semnan first began to operate in 1976 with the utilization of 10 kilowatts . A few years after the Islamic Revolution , Radio Semnan underwent a major expansion in the year 1981. This provided a variety of broadcasting, i.e. religious, political, recent events, cultural, etc., as well as increasing
24616-461: The nationalist movement of the time. The academy was a key institution in the struggle to re-build Iran as a nation-state after the collapse of the Qajar dynasty. During the 1930s and 1940s, the academy led massive campaigns to replace the many Arabic , Russian , French , and Greek loanwords whose widespread use in Persian during the centuries preceding the foundation of the Pahlavi dynasty had created
24797-566: The native Semani language. Other poetic works tend to be about God and nature. Also, many books have been published full of traditional poetry. Perhaps the most famous is Nanén Hıkôtí , or Mom's Sayings . Two famous Semnani poets are Zabihullah Andaliba and Rahim Me`marian. The following is an excerpt from a poem about Spring, by Rahim Me`marian, in the Semnani language, along with an English translation: بییما فصلی بهاری... ماکره دل بیقراری دو وچش دشت و بیابون... سوزه چی مخملی واری The Season of Spring has arrived ... It sways (the emotions) of
24978-577: The nearby cement plants. The mountains and foothills around Semnan also hold major deposits of minerals used in the production of plaster; these mines are known in Persian as ma'dan e gach . Other minerals that are mined around the city consist of gypsum , salts , zeolite , bentonite , and celestine . Some heavy industries of Semnan consist of the Iran Khodro Semnan Production Plant (producing 100,000 Samand cars per year), Oqab Afshan Production Plant (largest bus production plant in
25159-495: The necessity of protecting the Persian language against foreign words, and to the standardization of Persian orthography , were under the reign of Naser ed Din Shah of the Qajar dynasty in 1871. After Naser ed Din Shah, Mozaffar ed Din Shah ordered the establishment of the first Persian association in 1903. This association officially declared that it used Persian and Arabic as acceptable sources for coining words. The ultimate goal
25340-414: The next period most officially around the Sasanian Empire , and New era being the period afterward down to present day. According to available documents, the Persian language is "the only Iranian language" for which close philological relationships between all of its three stages are established and so that Old, Middle, and New Persian represent one and the same language of Persian; that is, New Persian
25521-713: The northern part of Greece). Vardar Yenicesi differed from other localities in the Balkans insofar as that it was a town where Persian was also widely spoken. However, the Persian of Vardar Yenicesi and throughout the rest of the Ottoman-held Balkans was different from formal Persian both in accent and vocabulary. The difference was apparent to such a degree that the Ottomans referred to it as "Rumelian Persian" ( Rumili Farsisi ). As learned people such as students, scholars and literati often frequented Vardar Yenicesi, it soon became
25702-500: The official capital, Harun al-Rashid chose to reside in Raqqa from 796 until the end of his reign. In 803, for reasons that remain unclear, Harun al-Rashid turned on and imprisoned or killed most of the Barmakids, who had wielded administrative power on his behalf. During the same period, several factions began either to leave the empire for other lands or to take control of distant parts of
25883-529: The official language of the Achaemenid kings. Assyrian records, which in fact appear to provide the earliest evidence for ancient Iranian (Persian and Median) presence on the Iranian Plateau, give a good chronology but only an approximate geographical indication of what seem to be ancient Persians. In these records of the 9th century BCE, Parsuwash (along with Matai , presumably Medians) are first mentioned in
26064-471: The older generations and some among the younger generations of the city still know and maintain communication in this language. However, the majority of the younger generations do not communicate in Semani as a result of schooling and education in Persian . The people of the city of Semnan are almost all entirely Shi'a Muslim . The Shi'a Islamic faith dominates the culture, norms, traditions, and beliefs of
26245-576: The origin of the name Semnan . The city of Semnan has historically been one of the fourteen civil establishments of the ancient, Avesta -era province of "Vern." Semnan remained an important city throughout the era of the Persian Achaemenid Empire . After the invasion of Alexander the Great , which resulted in the fall of the Achaemenid Empire , and the establishment of the Seleucid Empire ,
26426-569: The outbreak of fitnas in the capital, often contending with the ayyarun . With the Buyid dynasty on the wane, a vacuum was created that was eventually filled by the dynasty of Oghuz Turks known as the Seljuqs . By 1055, the Seljuqs had wrested control from the Buyids and Abbasids, and took temporal power. When the amir and former slave Basasiri took up the Shia Fatimid banner in Baghdad in 1056–57,
26607-488: The people as well as city officials the opportunity to address general public concerns and discuss future plans. In addition to the numerous nationwide newspapers such as "hamshahri" and "Jomhuri ye Eslami", Semnan publishes many of its own newspapers as well as newspapers for other major cities throughout the Semnan Province. These newspapers consist of: The city's extensive online newspaper can be accessed at www.semnannews.com. The Islamic Republic News Agency also features
26788-463: The practice. This, in addition to housing several key academic institutions, including the House of Wisdom , as well as a multiethnic and multi-religious environment, garnered it an international reputation as a centre of learning. The Abbasid period was marked by the use of bureaucrats (such as the Barmakid family) for governing the territories as well as an increasing inclusion of non-Arab Muslims in
26969-628: The present territories of northwestern Afghanistan as well as parts of Central Asia, played a leading role in the rise of New Persian. Khorasan, which was the homeland of the Parthians, was Persianized under the Sasanians. Dari Persian thus supplanted Parthian language , which by the end of the Sasanian era had fallen out of use. New Persian has incorporated many foreign words, including from eastern northern and northern Iranian languages such as Sogdian and especially Parthian. The transition to New Persian
27150-556: The rebellion of Rafi ibn al-Layth in Khorasan and died while there. Military operations by the caliphate were minimal while the Byzantine Empire was fighting Abbasid rule in Syria and Anatolia , with focus shifting primarily to internal matters; Abbasid governors exerted greater autonomy and, using this increasing power, began to make their positions hereditary. While Baghdad remained
27331-578: The region during the following centuries. Persian continued to act as a courtly language for various empires in Punjab through the early 19th century serving finally as the official state language of the Sikh Empire , preceding British conquest and the decline of Persian in South Asia. Beginning in 1843, though, English and Hindustani gradually replaced Persian in importance on the subcontinent. Evidence of Persian's historical influence there can be seen in
27512-431: The region of Asia ), the Semnan Sodium Carbonate Company (largest in the region of Asia ), and the Semnan Rolling Mills Group (major producer of piping and profiles). One of the largest industrial zone in the city is the Semnan Industrial Town, which features 2,100 hectares of land and 900 industrial units. Agricultural traditions still persist around and within the city of Semnan. The Golrudbar river, which starts in
27693-423: The region which hosts the city of Semnan became known as Komesh. The beginning of the prosperous era of the city arrived with the rise of the Arsacid dynasty of Parthia . The Parthians are an Iranian people . The Arsacid dynasty of Parthia was very interested in the importing of Hellenism , or Greek culture. This resulted in the pioneering of sculpting and other forms of Western art in the city of Semnan. One of
27874-429: The regular taxi services in Semnan, which only operate on pre-assigned routes. Persian language Russia Persian ( / ˈ p ɜːr ʒ ən , - ʃ ən / PUR -zhən, -shən ), also known by its endonym Farsi ( فارسی , Fārsī [fɒːɾˈsiː] ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages . Persian
28055-441: The reign of Sultan Ghiyathuddin Azam Shah is described as the "golden age of Persian literature in Bengal". Its stature was illustrated by the Sultan's own correspondence and collaboration with the Persian poet Hafez ; a poem which can be found in the Divan of Hafez today. A Bengali dialect emerged among the common Bengali Muslim folk, based on a Persian model and known as Dobhashi ; meaning mixed language . Dobhashi Bengali
28236-489: The rise of the Turco-Persian Safavid dynasty . The Safavids brought the Twelver Shi'ism sect of Islam to Semnan, and contributed to the reconstruction of the city. With the rise of the Qajar dynasty , historical Semnan witnessed economical, cultural, infrastructural, and political progress. The very tribe that rose into becoming the Qajar dynasty was based out of the mountainous terrain between modern-day Semnan , Mazandaran , and Golestan . The Qajars turned Semnan into
28417-406: The same Banu Hashim clan. The Abbasids claimed to be the true successors of Muhammad in replacing the Umayyad descendants of Banu Umayya by virtue of their closer bloodline to Muhammad. The Abbasids also distinguished themselves from the Umayyads by attacking their moral character and administration in general. According to Ira Lapidus , "The Abbasid revolt was supported largely by Arabs, mainly
28598-554: The site of a flourishing Persianate linguistic and literary culture. The 16th-century Ottoman Aşık Çelebi (died 1572), who hailed from Prizren in modern-day Kosovo , was galvanized by the abundant Persian-speaking and Persian-writing communities of Vardar Yenicesi, and he referred to the city as a "hotbed of Persian". Many Ottoman Persianists who established a career in the Ottoman capital of Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul ) pursued early Persian training in Saraybosna, amongst them Ahmed Sudi . The Persian language influenced
28779-402: The spirit of ijtihad . They also wrote influential original philosophical works, and their thinking was incorporated into Christian philosophy during the Middle Ages, notably by Thomas Aquinas . Three speculative thinkers, al-Kindi , al-Farabi , and Avicenna , combined Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism with other ideas introduced through Islam, and Avicennism was later established as
28960-452: The standard Persian of Tajikistan, has been officially designated as Tajik ( тоҷикӣ , tojikī ) since the time of the Soviet Union . It is the name given to the varieties of Persian spoken in Central Asia in general. The international language-encoding standard ISO 639-1 uses the code fa for the Persian language, as its coding system is mostly based on the native-language designations. The more detailed standard ISO 639-3 uses
29141-458: The standard Persian. The Hazaragi dialect (in Central Afghanistan and Pakistan), Herati (in Western Afghanistan), Darwazi (in Afghanistan and Tajikistan), Basseri (in Southern Iran), and the Tehrani accent (in Iran, the basis of standard Iranian Persian) are examples of these dialects. Persian-speaking peoples of Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan can understand one another with a relatively high degree of mutual intelligibility . Nevertheless,
29322-494: The title of sultan , as opposed to the "amir" that had been in more common usage, signifying the Ghaznavid Empire 's independence from caliphal authority, despite Mahmud's ostentatious displays of Sunni orthodoxy and ritual submission to the caliph. In the 11th century, the loss of respect for the caliphs continued, as some Islamic rulers no longer mentioned the caliph's name in the Friday khutba , or struck it off their coinage. The Isma'ili Fatimid dynasty of Cairo contested
29503-408: The transition of Semnan into the industrial era. Semnan's original loyalty to the Qajar dynasty and the city's importance under the Qajars prompted a lot of anti-Pahlavi sentiment with the rise of Reza Shah. Reza Shah Pahlavi 's government began the immediate construction of modern infrastructure and paved roads throughout the city, however, this called for the destruction of the citadel of Semnan and
29684-436: The unjust, well-fed landlords who were carelessly watching the very farmers who grew the food starve and deteriorate into ruin and agony: دیگه صبر و قناعت وسه پی با دیگه ظلم شقاوت وسه پی با Patience and contentment is no more, rise up! Oppression and atrociousness shall be no more, rise up! ―Nosratollah Nouhian The Persian language is the official language of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and thus within
29865-422: The use of Farsi in foreign languages. Etymologically, the Persian term Farsi derives from its earlier form Pārsi ( Pārsik in Middle Persian ), which in turn comes from the same root as the English term Persian . In the same process, the Middle Persian toponym Pārs ("Persia") evolved into the modern name Fars. The phonemic shift from /p/ to /f/ is due to the influence of Arabic in
30046-451: The war, these embassies remained in China with Caliph Harun al-Rashid establishing an alliance with China. Several embassies from the Abbasid Caliphs to the Chinese court have been recorded in the Old Book of Tang , the most important being those of al-Saffah, al-Mansur, and Harun al-Rashid. In 762, al-Mansur suppressed a rebellion in the Hejaz led by al-Nafs al-Zakiyya , a descendant from Ali ibn Abi Talib , whose challenge to
30227-471: The western frontier, the Abbasids were unable to re-assert caliphal control over the western and central Maghreb, which the Umayyads had lost in the 740s. One member of the Umayyad dynasty, Abd ar-Rahman, also managed to escape the purge of his family and managed to establish independent in rule in al-Andalus (present-day Spain and Portugal) in 756, founding the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba . In 756, al-Mansur had also sent over 4,000 Arab mercenaries to assist
30408-427: The wide variety of dialects spoken throughout the Semnan Province, all of Semnan TV's main broadcasting is in the Persian language in order to avoid the unfair advancement of the city's own dialect. This policy has angered a significant portion of the population which remains deeply concerned with regards to the deteriorating state of the Semnani language altogether. Similar to television, the city of Semnan receives all
30589-468: The womenfolk in which they make covenants with God to cook large batches of samanu for the poor. The people of Semnan have many foods and dishes that are specific to Semnan. Some of the common ingredients used in Semnani dishes consist of pomegranate extracts, fresh walnuts from Shahmirzad (şômırzé), a variety of greens and herbs known in Persian as sabzijat , and more recently, potatoes. Semnani food tends to be slightly sour and spicey when compared to
30770-489: Was Layla and Majnun , an originally Arabic story which was further developed by Iranian , Azerbaijani and other poets in the Persian , Azerbaijani , and Turkish languages. It is a tragic story of undying love much like the later Romeo and Juliet . Arabic poetry reached its greatest height in the Abbasid era, especially before the loss of central authority and the rise of the Persianate dynasties. Writers like Abu Tammam and Abu Nuwas were closely connected to
30951-416: Was already complete by the era of the three princely dynasties of Iranian origin, the Tahirid dynasty (820–872), Saffarid dynasty (860–903), and Samanid Empire (874–999). Abbas of Merv is mentioned as being the earliest minstrel to chant verse in the New Persian tongue and after him the poems of Hanzala Badghisi were among the most famous between the Persian-speakers of the time. The first poems of
31132-399: Was carried out under the sign of the Black Standard . Close to 10,000 soldiers were under Abu Muslim's command when the hostilities officially began in Merv. General Qahtaba followed the fleeing governor Nasr ibn Sayyar west defeating the Umayyads at the Battle of Gorgan, the Battle of Nahavand and finally in the Battle of Karbala, all in the year 748. Ibrahim was captured by Marwan and
31313-437: Was destroyed. Claims have been made that the Tigris ran red from the blood of the scientists and philosophers killed. Citizens attempted to flee, but were intercepted by Mongol soldiers who killed in abundance, sparing no one, not even children. The caliph Al-Musta'sim was captured and forced to watch as his citizens were murdered and his treasury plundered. Ironically, Mongols feared that a supernatural disaster would strike if
31494-509: Was killed. The quarrel was taken up by Ibrahim's brother Abdallah, known by the name of Abu al-'Abbas as-Saffah , who defeated the Umayyads in 750 in the battle near the Great Zab and was subsequently proclaimed caliph . After this loss, Marwan fled to Egypt, where he was subsequently killed. The remainder of his family, barring one male, were also eliminated. Immediately after their victory, al-Saffah sent his forces to Central Asia , where his forces fought against Tang expansion during
31675-407: Was lost due to the ephemeral nature of the stucco and luster tiles. Another major development was the creation or vast enlargement of cities as they were turned into the capital of the empire, beginning with the creation of Baghdad in 762, which was planned as a walled city with four gates, and a mosque and palace in the center. Al-Mansur, who was responsible for the creation of Baghdad, also planned
31856-404: Was particularly influenced by Sasanian architecture , which in turn featured elements present since ancient Mesopotamia. The Christian styles evolved into a style based more on the Sasanian Empire , utilizing mud bricks and baked bricks with carved stucco. Other architectural innovations and styles were few, such as the four-centered arch , and a dome erected on squinches . Unfortunately, much
32037-484: Was patronised and given official status under the Sultans of Bengal , and was a popular literary form used by Bengalis during the pre-colonial period, irrespective of their religion. Following the defeat of the Hindu Shahi dynasty, classical Persian was established as a courtly language in the region during the late 10th century under Ghaznavid rule over the northwestern frontier of the subcontinent . Employed by Punjabis in literature, Persian achieved prominence in
32218-402: Was taken away as a prisoner by Selim I to Constantinople where he had a ceremonial role. He died in 1543, following his return to Cairo. The Abbasid historical period lasting to the Mongol conquest of Baghdad in 1258 CE is considered the Islamic Golden Age. The Islamic Golden Age was inaugurated by the middle of the 8th century by the ascension of the Abbasid Caliphate and the transfer of
32399-488: Was taught in state schools, and was also offered as an elective course or recommended for study in some madrasas . Persian learning was also widespread in the Ottoman-held Balkans ( Rumelia ), with a range of cities being famed for their long-standing traditions in the study of Persian and its classics, amongst them Saraybosna (modern Sarajevo , Bosnia and Herzegovina), Mostar (also in Bosnia and Herzegovina), and Vardar Yenicesi (or Yenice-i Vardar, now Giannitsa , in
32580-406: Was the 10-year period of Al-Mu'tadid 's rule ( r. 892–902). He brought parts of Egypt, Syria, and Khorasan back into Abbasid control. Especially after the " Anarchy at Samarra " (861–870), the Abbasid central government was weakened and centrifugal tendencies became more prominent in the caliphate's provinces. By the early 10th century, the Abbasids almost lost control of Iraq to various emirs , and
32761-425: Was to prevent books from being printed with wrong use of words. According to the executive guarantee of this association, the government was responsible for wrongfully printed books. Words coined by this association, such as rāh-āhan ( راهآهن ) for "railway", were printed in Soltani Newspaper ; but the association was eventually closed due to inattention. A scientific association was founded in 1911, resulting in
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