The first Festival of Iranology Websites was held on 25 February 2019 at the Iranology Foundation. The purpose of this Festival was to bring together the natural and legal owners and supporters of the websites active in the field of Iranian studies, identify the most desirable of such websites, and support them in order to promote the status of Iranian websites among national organizations and scientific centers.

The participants could register in the Festival between 11 November 2018 and 20 January 2019. Finally, 65 websites announced their participation in this event. Among them, 44 websites were placed in the Natural Section and 21 in the Legal Section so that they would compete in five main areas and theSpecial Section of the Festival, as follows:

- Iranian History, Culture, Customs, and Traditions

- Language, Persian Literature, Great Figures, and Iranologists

- Art, Architecture, and Archeology of Iran

- Geography, Wild Life, Nature, and Tourism of Iran

- Iranology Organizations, Research Centers, and News Agencies

* Special Section: Persian Gulf

Ultimately, the Board of Referees announced the names of 10 selected websites of the Festival and acknowledged their efforts in the related fields by awarding them letters of appreciation, the Festival tablet, and cash prizes.

The names and addresses of the selected websites are given below:

Legal Section:

- Karnaval (https://www.karnaval.ir)

- Heritage Research Center (www.mirasmaktoob.ir/fa)

- Aftab Kalout (https://kalouttravel.com)

- Mountaineer Radio (www.radiokuhnavard.ir)

Natural Section:

- Writers’ Circle (www.kateban.com)

- Ganjoor (https://ganjoor.net)

- Islamic Shrines (islamichrines.net)

- Iran Birds Encyclopedia (https://iranbirds.com)

- Hamoon Iran (www.hamooniran.com)

Special Section:

- Persian Gulf Studies Center (www.persiangulfstudies.com)

It is noted that this Festival was held with the cooperation of the Digital Media Center of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, UNESCO, Education Channel of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) Media Corporation, and Tehran Urban and Suburban Railway Operation Co.

Continuing with previous years, the 8th Iranology Knowledge Enhancement Course was successfully held with the cooperation of the Iranology Foundation and the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization. This course, which lasted for 14 days, was attended by a number of students from six countries, Armenia, India, Georgia, Kazakhstan, China, and Turkey. At the end of the course, on 12 September 2018, the related certificates were awarded to the participants during the closing ceremony. In this event, which was attended by some of the authorities of the Iranology Foundation and the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization, the participants expressed their satisfaction with the scientific quality of the classes and the designated programs. Some of them also mentioned that they were willing to travel again to Iran and to participate in later courses.

On 3 rd February 2018, the 7th edition of the “Knowledge-Enhancement Course on Iranology” began with the presence of the authorities at the Iranology Foundation and the Center for Expanding Scientific-Academic Cooperation of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization and 15 participants from Armenia, Pakistan, India, Kazakhstan, and Sweden.

In the opening ceremony of this Course, Dr. Alizade, Information and International Affairs Deputy of the Iranology Foundation, greeted all the attendants and extended the regards of the President of the Iranology Foundation, Ayatullah Professor Seyyed Muhammed Khamenei, to the guests. He also expressed his gratitude for the great efforts of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization and the different units of the Iranology Foundation in holding the 7th Knowledge-Enhancement Course on Iranology.

By referring to the coincidence of holding this course with the 39th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, Alizadeh maintained that the Revolution happened in 1978 in order to free the country from the tyrannical West and the cruelty and oppression of the Pahlavi Dynasty. The Islamic Revolution gained victory with the cooperation of all the different social classes in Iran and resulted in the establishment of democracy in the country as one of the main goalsof the nation.

Given the richness of Iran in the fields of culture, history, language, and literature and the breadth of the related discussions, Alizadeh emphasized that such courses provide only a general perspective of cultural Iran and Iranians to the participants. He expressed hope that they attain some valuable knowledge from this Course and return to their countries with great achievements.

The speaker also asked the participants to kindly inform the Iranology Foundation about their ideas, suggestions, and criticisms and ensured them that the Foundation will spare no effort in raising the status of Iranology and disseminating it all over the world. In fact, based on its main mission, the Foundation will devote all its facilities and potentials to elevating the great name of Iran and introducing its history, culture, and civilization to all nations in the world.

Next, Dr. Rakhshandeh, Head of the Center for Expanding Scientific-Academic Cooperation of the Islamic Culture and Relation Organization, extended his gratitude to all the participants for accepting the invitation of the Organization and attending the Course and wished a good experience for them in Iran. He also thanked the authorities at the Iranology Foundation for holding this Course and referred to this Foundation as the main academic center for promoting the knowledge of Iranology in Iran. He added that the use of the prominent masters in the field of Iranology in this Course is a very important opportunity for the participants to acquire a desirable knowledge of Iranian culture and history. He also stated, “The holding of such courses creates friendship among nations and, with a sound knowledge of the culture and history of Iran and familiarity with the contemporary changes and advances in scientific and cultural areas in our country, you will be our true cultural ambassadors in your own countries.”

Later, Dr. Bahramzadeh, Research Deputy of the Iranology Foundation, divided the different studies in the realm of Iranology into four fields, which direct all the activities of the Research Deputy Office of the Iranology Foundation. These fields include “Iran’s place in the World”, “Studies on cultural Iran”, “Iranian World”, and “Iranians”. He maintained that the area of “Cultural Iran” embodies all tangible and intangible cultural works and artefacts and Iranian customs and traditions. The speaker reported that, upon the suggestion of Professor Ayatullah Seyyed Muhammed Khamenei, President of the Iranology Foundation, the Research Unit of the Foundation has initiated a thorough study of the history of Iran from the time this vast plateau was given the name of “Iran”until the present time. One of the achievements of this huge project so far has been the development of the “Table of A Comparative Chronology of Iran and the World”. This Table deals with 10 primary human activities such as farming, domestication of animals, rural life, pottery, and extracting and melting metals (based on 600 Iranian and non-Iranian documents) and introduces the Iranian plateau as the ethnic crossroad of today’s human beings (Homo sapiens), distributing them in different parts of the world.

The findings of this study were presented in a conference on introducing the “Table of A Comparative Chronology of Iran and the World”. This Table will be presented to the world in some international events in order to introduce the historical background of cultural Iran between 1.200.000 – 800.000 years BC.

At the end of this event, Dr. Tahuni, Head of the Higher Education Department of the Iranology Foundation, after introducing the Department and the different courses which are offered there, informed the participants about employing the most experienced professors in the field of Iranology to teach the related courses. She invited the participants to take the necessary steps in case they wish to continue their education in the Higher Education Department of the Iranology Foundation (with or without scholarship). Finally, she wished a fruitful and happy time for the course participants in Iran.

In the 7th edition of the Knowledge-Enhancement Course on Iranology in the Higher Education Department of the Iranology Foundation, the following lessons were taught over eight days: History of Persian and Iranian Languages, Mythology, Iranian Art and Architecture, History of Iran before Islam, History of Islamic Iran, History of Iranian Culture and Civilization, and History of Iranian Literature. The participants were MA and PhD holders in the fields of Persian Language and Literature, International Relations, Armenology, Iranology, History of Balkan, Oriental Studies, and Middle Eastern Languages and Societies.

On 11 January 2018, the Iranology Center was established at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of Lisbon University in Portugal. Given the limited number of the scientific activities in the field of Iranian studies in this country, the Iranology Foundation decided to establish a branch there. Previously,on 4 July 2017, a cooperation agreement had been signed in this regard by the University of Lisbon and the Iranology Foundation. Based on one of the items of this agreement, the University of Lisbon accepted to allocate an appropriate site to this Center. In the light of the efforts of the university authorities and the cooperation of the Iranology Foundation and the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the main steps were taken to accomplish this task. On 18 July 2017, upon the suggestion of the Iranology Foundation, Sepideh Radfar (PhD) was appointed as the Head of this Center.

Professor Radfar received her MA in French language and literature from the University of Tehran and her PhD in Teaching Foreign Languages and Cultures from Sorbonne University in Paris. She is a professor at the University of Lisbon and has written and translated several cultural and scientific papers in Persian, French, and Portuguese.

On 4 September 2017, coinciding with the 10-day Velayat occasion (the time interval between Eid-e Ghorban or Feast of the Sacrifice and Eid-e Ghadir Khumm), the ceremony of unveiling the Arabic Website of the Iranology Foundation was held in its Head Office. This event was convened with the presence of Ayatullah Professor Seyyed Mohammed Khamenei, President of the Iranology Foundation; Ayatullah Mohammad Ali Taskhiri, Advisor on the Affairs of the World of Islam to the Supreme Leader of Iran; Mohammad Hassan Tabariyan, Advisor to the General Secretary of the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought; Mirzaei, President of the Iranian Association of Arabic Language and Literature; Naeimi, Editor-in-Chief of Taghrib News Agency; Najaf, translator of the Arabic Website, and the deputies and a number of colleagues at the Iranology Foundation.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Rahimiangiz, Head of the Computer and Information Technology Department of the Iranology Foundation, provided some explanations regarding the launching of the Arabic Website. In his speech, he referred to the official recognition of this Website as one of the Arabic websites of the world, production of attractive and applied content on Iranian history and culture, reporting the news of the Persian Gulf for the Arabic speaking people of the world, and exercising extreme care in the translation of the content of the Persian Website into Arabic.

Moreover, Alizadeh, Information and International Affairs Deputy of the Iranology Foundation, provided a brief account of the activities of this Office. He also added that, upon the order of the esteemed President of the Iranology Foundation and in the light of his support, after reactivating the Information and International Affairs Office, the second website of the Iranology Foundation in a foreign language (Arabic) would be launched that day. He declared, “After the Arabic and English websites of the Foundation, we will witness the launching of the Iranology Website in Russian, French, and Spanish.

In the next part of the program, Ayatullah Professor Seyyed Muhammed Khamenei, President of the Foundation, while congratulating the occasion of Eid-e Ghadir al-Khumm, expressed his satisfaction at the unveiling and launching of the Arabic Website of the Foundation as one of its other valuable achievements in 2017.

Ayatullah Professor Khamenei stated that the attempts at the Iranology Foundation are directed towards introducing the Iranian history and culture and cultural Iran to the world in different languages. He expressed hope that the Arabic Website would function as a space for the Arabic speaking people of the world where they can attain a deeper knowledge of cultural Iran. Indeed, the history and culture of Arab countries and people enjoy close proximity to the Iranian culture.

The President of the Iranology Foundation maintained that cultural Iran is not limited to the present geographical borderlines and emphasized the significance of becoming familiar with ancient Iran and publishing the works of Iranian experts in the related fields in different languages of the world. Regarding the publication of new findings and information about cultural Iran, he referred to the development of the “Table of a Comparative Chronology of Iran and the World” by the researchers at the Iranology Foundation. This Table illustrates the ancient background of different nations and their chronological priority or posteriority to each other. Finally, Ayatullah Professor Khamenei stated that any effort directed at learning about the history and culture of Iran and cultural Iran is a precious endeavor and is deemed to be a great service to the Iranian culture and nation and to humanity, in general.

The next speaker, Ayatullah Mohammad Ali Taskhiri, Advisor on the Affairs of the world of Islam to the Supreme Leader of Iran, proposed the beginning of a meticulous search for an appropriate Arabic equivalent for the word “Iranology” which could clearly demonstrate the main duty of the Iranology Foundation. He also said that attaining the knowledge of Iranian civilization and culture results in a familiarity with a glorious part of the supreme Islamic civilizations and added that learning about the Islamic Revolution of Iran and its prominent leaders is a holy accomplishment. Finally, he stated that the rise of the movement of “Islamic Awakening in Arab countries” is the product of the services of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the world of Islam.

The Exhibition of the Selected Photos of the 6th Photo Festival of the Iranology Foundation on the theme of “Manifestations of Iranian culture and Arts” was opened on 9 April 2017 in Arasbaran Culture House. It will continue for 10 days.

According to the report of the Public Relations Unit of the Iranology Foundation, the opening ceremony of this Exhibition was held with presence of Dr. Ghodratollah Alizadeh, Information and International Affairs Deputy of the Iranology Foundation; Dr. Mohsen Soleymani, Director of Arasbaran Culture House and the Culture President of the Third District, and a number of lovers of photography and Iranology.

It is noted that 5061 photos from 734 photographers were received by the Secretariat of the 6th Iranology Photo Festival, which was held in February 2017. From among them, 3290 photos were entered in the professional category and 1771 in the amateur category. The Board of Referees chose 90 photos by 72 photographers, including 77 in the professional category and 13 in the amateur category, for the Festival Exhibition. Finally, the Festival authorities honored 10 selected photographers, including seven in the professional category and three in the amateur category, by awarding them prizes, appreciation letters, and festival logos.

Date: Sunday, 5 February 2017

The 6th edition of the “Iranology Photo Festival” entitled “Manifestations of Iranian Culture and Art” was held on 5 February 2017 following a special ceremony. The exhibition section of this Festival will continue for one week. The inauguration ceremony of this event was held with presence of the deputies of the Iranology Foundation, Board of Referees of the Festival, owners of selected works, Iranologist researchers, and lovers of the art of photography. At the beginning of the program, Dr. Alizadeh, Director of the 6th Iranology Photo Festival, while extending the warm regards of the President of the Iranology Foundation to the participants, read his message to the 6th Iranology Photo Festival, as follows:

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Time and life are God’s gifts to you, so be ware to appreciate them as much as possible. The correct and appropriate use of opportunities is an art which belongs to knowledgeable, astute, and efficient people, and the consequences of conscious punctuality and meticulousness are extremely influential and long lasting. Iranian artists have ornamented an important part of the cultural treasures of the world with their beautiful and creative skills. Photography is the creative art of recording moments and entails the praiseworthy efforts of artists who create images of various aspects of life and the passing time. In this way, they provide us with documented tokens which are reminiscent of the colorful manifestations of life, nature, and creativity. Now that the opportunity has been provided for your valuable art to create picture of the cultural and artistic works of the land of Iran and produce tangible, visible, and durable images of its glorious spiritual treasures, you are expected to reflect their history and richness in your works as thoroughly as they deserve and, as always, combine your artistic views with a sense of responsibility, experience, and awareness in order to introduce the beautiful picture of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the glory and magnificence of our country to the whole world. I pray to Almighty God to grant health and success to all the esteemed artists and colleagues who made it possible to hold this Festival. May peace and Allah’s Mercy and Blessings be upon you.

Seyyed Muhammed Khamenei

In the rest of the program, Dr. Alizadeh provided a report of the processes of holding the 6th Iranology Photo Festival and judging the quality of the received photos. Accordingly, 5061 photos by 734 photographers were sent to the Secretariat of the 6th Iranology Photo Festival. 3290 photos were entered in the professional category and 1771 in the amateur category. Following the review process, the Board of Referees chose 90 photos by 72 photographers, including 77 photos in the professional category and 13 photos in the amateur category, for the Festival Exhibition. At the end of the Festival, 10 photographers, including seven professional and three amateur photographers, will be awarded prizes, a commendation letter, and a Festival logo. Moreover, each of the photographers whose work is displayed in the exhibition section of the Festival will receive 1,000,000 rials for each photograph as the publication fee.

Next, Dr. Motarjemzadeh read the statement of the Board of Referees of the 6th edition the Festival, as follows:

In the Name of God

Greetings to all the photographers and photography lovers who displayed their commitment to presenting a visual reflection of the various beautiful and innovative manifestations of the culture and art of our dear country, Iran, by sending their precious works to the Festival. While acknowledging the vastness of the theme which had been announced in the Call for the Festival and accepting the related criticisms, each of the members of the Board of Referees choose between 200 and 300 photos (from among 5061 photos) individually at the first stage. Next, they examined them through group work. However, the variety and indescribable beauty of most of the photos, on the one hand, and the limitations imposed on the number of accepted works and presenting them, on the other, had made their job very difficult. Finally, 90 photos were chosen to be exhibited in the Photo Festival.

In the next stage, in order to select the best photos, the Board of Referees, after consulting with each other and receiving the consent of the esteemed Festival holders, decided to introduce 10 photos by 10 photographers as the selected works of the Festival. The purpose here was to award more prizes and encourage photographers to pay more careful attention to effective cultural values. The criteria of the referees for selecting the best pictures included the following items:

• - Paying Attention to and concentration on the subject and explicitness and simplicity in photographic expression
• - Including the technical photographic features with the least amount of post-photography editions
• - Exercising an emotional effect on viewers and making them happy, and enjoying thought-provoking and constructive aspects
• - Being up-to-date
• - Presenting rarely witnessed visual images of the cultural and regional variety of Iran
• - Enjoying visual beauty

The Board of Referees hopes that the goal-oriented and systematic continuity of such important events in the realm of Iranian culture and art can encourage professional and nonprofessional photographers to develop a more profound view of the sights and subjects around them and to show a higher level of creativity in their works more than ever before.

Afshin Bakhtiar, Kavoos Sadeqloo, Mostafa Sadr, Seifollah Samadian, and Mohammad Khodadadi Motarjemzadeh

February 2017

In the next part of the program, the prizes of the selected photos in the two professional and amateur categories were awarded. Mehran Cheraghchi Bazar, Peyman Hamidipour, Javad Rouin, Ahmad Zafari Hashjin, Sina Shiri, Jaber Gholami, and Mahmoudreza Moinpour in the professional category, and Sara Beigmohammadi, Mehrdad Jamali, and Moslem Goudarzi in the amateur category received their prizes and honor awards.

The final part of the program was visiting the Photo Exhibition of the 6th Iranology Photo Festival. This Festival began on 5 February 2017, and interested people could visit the Exhibition for one week from this date at 10 am-16pm. The Iranology Foundation is located at the following address:

Iranology Street (West 64),

South Bahaei Street,

Tehran, Iran

The foreign elite guests of the International Farabi Festival visited Professor Ayatullah Seyyed Mohammed Khamenei, President of the Iranology Foundation, on 13 February 2015. This meeting was attended by a number of foreign elite Iranologists who had participated in the Farabi Festival including: Professor Bruno Overlaet from Belgium, Professor Willem Floor from Netherland, and Pier Francesco Callieri from Italy.

After welcoming the guests and expressing his pleasure at their presence in Iran, Professor Ayatullah Seyyed Mohammed Khamenei introduced the Persian language as the key to the treasure of Islamic and Iranian gnosis and stated that learning this language will pave the way for gaining a more thorough knowledge of Iran and Iranian people. He also added that the learning of other languages creates unity and sympathy among different nations and, from a political point of view, contributes to the establishment of peace all over the world. Then, through reading some couplets from Mevlana (Rumi), he emphasized that thinking alike is more important that speaking the same language:

Having the same tongue is kinship and affinity,

With those with whom no intimacy exists, a man is in prison.

There are many Hindus and Turks with the same tongue.

And oh, Many a pair of Turks, strangers to each other.

Hence the tongue of intimacy is something else.

It is better to be of one heart than of one tongue.

The President of the Iranology Foundation mentioned that the people of today’s world are now closer to their primordial nature (fitrah) and speak in the language of fitrah in order to analyze the problems of modern Man. They are against war and bloodshed and stand against coercion, brutality, and massacring innocent human beings. He declared that Persian plays a significant role in transferring fitri concepts so that in the United States the book of the teachings of a gnostic such as Mevlana is the second best-selling poetry book after the Bible. This is because what the people of the whole world feel in their hearts has been explicitly expressed in the teachings of Iranian and Muslim gnostics in the mold of words.

Accordingly, we can claim that Persian is the language of philosophers. In fact, after the rise of Islam and after Iranian philosophers’ benefitting from Qur’anic and Islamic teachings, Iranians have made the greatest of all services to human civilizations from the West (Greece, Andalusia, and Italy) to the East (China).

During the rest of the meeting, each of the guests briefly introduced himself. Professor Bruno Overlaet, expert in the Iron Age, responded to the question of Professor Ayatullah Seyyed Mohammed Khamenei, as to whether iron has descended from heaven or is a terrestrial element, as follows: “Based on archeological investigations, there are two ideas in this regard: some believe that it is a terrestrial element while some others maintain that it is of an ultra-terrestrial nature and emphasize that it has descended from other galaxies.” The President of the Iranology Foundation, while confirming the theory of the ultra-terrestrial nature of iron, stated, “In Muslim’s Heavenly Book, the Holy Qur’an, which was descended 1400 years ago, the descent of iron from heaven to earth has been explicitly acknowledged in a chapter called al-Hadid.

Next, Professor Pier Francesco Callieri, President of the Societa Iranologica Europaea (Society of European Iranologists) expressed his interest in establishing more relationships with the Iranology Foundation and exchanging somedata and experiences through signing bilateral cooperation agreements.

Then one of the on-going projects of the Iranology Foundation entitled “A Comparative Chronology of Iran and the Word” was introduced to the guest. After becoming familiar with the different stages of this project, the guests presented their own ideas and suggestions in this regard. At the end of this meeting, the President of the Iranology Foundation extended his appreciation to the guests for their visit, and invited them to visit the Iranology Exhibition Complex and the Photo Exhibition of the 6th Iranology Photo Festival on the same day.

It is worth noting that in the international section of the 8th edition of the International Farabi Festival, Professor Ulrich Marzolph from Germany, Professor Vladimer Ivanov from Russia, Professor Victor Alkek from Lebanon, Professor Willem Floor from Netherland, Professor Francis Richard from France, and Professor Pier Francesco Callieri from Italy were praised and commended for their activities and accomplishments in the field of Iranology. Moreover, Professor Bruno Overlaet, Iron Age expert, was appraised and given the 8th Farabi International Award for his book Iron Age in Pusht-Kuh, Luristan.

The Iranology Foundation held the symbolic ceremony of Shab-e Yalda (Yalda Night) for a number of foreign university students from different countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, and Ukraine, on 19 December 2016. In this event, which was held under the title of “Yalda Caravan” and with the cooperation of Channel 4 of IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting), Dr. Alizadeh, the Information and International Affairs Deputy of the Iranology Foundation, delivered a speech on the Philosophy of Shab-e Yalda and its features.

While confirming the words of Dr. Azar, the event host, regarding the idea that Yalda is the moment of the battle between darkness and light, Dr. Alizadeh maintained that Hafiz’s Divan and Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh indicate Iranians’ interest in consolidating their cultural roots and intangible legacies. He also referred to the central role of the elders of the family and appreciating them on Shab-e Yalda and stated at, according to God’s order, one should show their love and respect to their parents after God. He also added that this night clearly shows Iranians’ hospitality and belief in the idea that the joy in feeding others is greater than feeding oneself.

Then a film was shown to the participants about the customs and traditions of Shab-e Yalda and the history of reciting and narrating Shahnameh and some verses of this book of epic poems were recited. Storytelling and reading Fal-e Hafiz (Divination with the odes of Hafiz) were the next programs. At the end of the ceremony, Iranians’ traditional food of Shab-e Yalda was served to the guests.

On 11 December 2016, the Iranology Foundation hosted Professor Willem Floor, the Dutch Iranologist, who is now residing in America. In a speech on the topic of “Iranian Culture in the Safavid Era”, he explained and analyzed the economic status of the Iranian government and people, their lifestyle, and the trade conditions in the Safavid Era. According to the speaker, during this period, 85% of Iranians made their living through farming, and the rest were tradesmen and lived in cities. The economy of the Safavid Iran lacked consistency, and Iranian states did not do much business with each other due to high transportation expenses. The country’s export mainly consisted of raw materials including silk and wool. People mostly ate bread and vegetables. These poor economic conditions continued until the Qajar Era, following which the overall living conditions became more orderly and progressed for the better. At the end of his speech, some time was allocated to responding to the questions of university students and researchers.

Dr. Willem Floor studied development economics and non-Western sociology at the MA level in Netherland and received his doctoral degree in sociology from the University of Leiden in the same country. He also studied sociology at Tehran University for some time. He is fluent in Persian, Latin, English, French, German, and Arabic and is familiar with some ancient languages (such as Pahlavi, Zand, and Avesta).