Baghdad is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world and in West Asia after Tehran. It is located on the Tigris river. In 762 AD, Baghdad was founded as the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, and became its most notable major development project. Within a short time, the city evolved into a significant cultural, commercial, and intellectual center of the Muslim world. This, in addition to housing several key academic institutions, including the House of Wisdom, as well as a multi-ethnic and multi-religious environment, garnered it a worldwide reputation as the "Center of Learning".
Zoroastrianism, also known as Mazdayasna and Behdin, is an Iranian religion. Among the world's oldest organized faiths, it is based on the teachings of Iranian prophet Zarathustra—commonly known by his Greek name Zoroaster—as set forth in the primary religious text called the Avesta. Zoroastrians exalt an uncreated and benevolent deity of wisdom, commonly referred to as Ahura Mazda, as the universe's supreme being; opposed to Ahura Mazda is Angra Mainyu, who is personified as a destructive spirit and the adversary of all things good. Zoroastrianism combines a dualistic cosmology of good and evil with an eschatology that predicts the ultimate triumph of Ahura Mazda over evil. Opinions vary among scholars as to whether the religion is monotheistic, polytheistic, henotheistic, or a combination of all three. Few scholars see zoroastrianism influenced Iranian culture and history as well as ancient Western philosophy and the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.While the majority of scholars, especially scholars of Persian history, see Zoroastrianism as going through stages of reconciliation with other religions such as Christianity and Islam.
Zarathushtra Spitama more commonly known as Zoroaster or Zarathustra, was an Iranian religious reformer who challenged the tenets of the contemporary Ancient Iranian religion, becoming the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism. Variously described as either a sage, and/or a wonderworker; in the oldest Zoroastrian scriptures, the Gathas, which he is believed to have authored, he is described as a preacher and a poet-prophet. He also had an impact on Heraclitus, Plato, Pythagoras, and the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire 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, from whom 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 Iranian calendars or Iranian chronology are a succession of calendars created and used for over two millennia in Iran, also known as Persia. One of the longest chronological records in human history, the Iranian calendar has been modified many times for administrative, climatic, and religious purposes. The most influential person in laying the frameworks for the calendar and its precision was the 11th century Persian polymath, Omar Khayyam. The modern Iranian calendar is currently the official civil calendar in Iran.
Haoma is a divine plant in Zoroastrianism and in later Persian culture and mythology. Haoma has its origins in Indo-Iranian religion and is the cognate of Vedic soma.
Ja'far ibn Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh ; March 822 – 11 December 861, commonly known by his regnal name al-Mutawwakil ala Allah, was the tenth Abbasid caliph, ruling from 847 until his assassination in 861. He succeeded his brother, al-Wathiq, and is known for expanding the empire to its maximum extent. He was deeply religious, and is remembered for discarding the Muʿtazila, ending the Mihna, and releasing Ahmad ibn Hanbal. He is also known for his tough rule, especially with respect to non-Muslim subjects.
Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Muʿtazz bi-ʾLlāh, better known by his regnal title al-Muʿtazz bi-ʾLlāh was the Abbasid caliph from 866 to 869, during a period of extreme internal instability within the Abbasid Caliphate, known as the "Anarchy at Samarra".
Cupressus sempervirens, the Mediterranean cypress, is a species of cypress native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Iran. While some studies show it has modern medicinal properties, it is most noted for uses in folk medicine, where the dried leaves of the plant are used for a variety of ailments. It is well adapted to the conditions and the environment that it lives in due to the ability to survive in both acidic and alkaline soils, and withstand drought. Cupressus sempervirens is widely present in culture, most notably in Iran, where it is both a sacred tree and is a metaphor for "the graceful figure of the beloved".
The Barmakids, also spelled Barmecides, were an influential Iranian family from Balkh, where they were originally hereditary Buddhist leaders, and subsequently came to great political power under the Abbasid caliphs of Baghdad. Khalid, the son of Barmak became the chief minister (vizier) of Al Saffah, the first Caliph of the Abbasid dynasty. His son Yahya aided Harun al-Rashid in capturing the throne and rose to power as the most powerful man in the Caliphate.
Kashmar is a city in the Central District of Kashmar County, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Kashmar is near the river Shesh Taraz in the western part of the province, and south of the province's capital Mashhad, in Iran, from east to Bardaskan, west to Torbat-e Heydarieh, north to Nishapur, south to Gonabad. Until two centuries ago, this city was named Torshiz (ترشیز).
Zoroastrianism is considered to be the oldest religion still practiced in Iran. It is an Iranian religion that emerged around the 2nd millennium BCE, spreading through the Iranian plateau and eventually gaining official status under the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BCE. It remained the Iranian state religion until the 7th century CE, when the Arab conquest of Persia resulted in the fall of the Sasanian Empire to the nascent Rashidun Caliphate. Over time, the persecution of Zoroastrians led to them becoming a religious minority amidst the Islamization of Iran, as many fled east to take refuge in India. Some of Zoroastrianism's holiest sites are located in Iran, such as Yazd.
Religion in Iraq dates back to Ancient Mesopotamia, particularly Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia between circa 3500 BC and 400 AD, after which they largely gave way to Syriac Christianity and later to Islam.
Zoroastrianism in Azerbaijan goes back to the first millennium BC or earlier and was the predominant religion of Greater Iran before the conversion to Islam.
The persecution of Zoroastrians has been recorded throughout the history of Zoroastrianism, an Iranian religion. The notably large-scale persecution of Zoroastrians began after the rise of Islam in the 7th century CE; both during and after the conquest of Persia by Arab Muslims, discrimination and harassment against Zoroastrians took place in the form of forced conversions and sparse violence. Muslims who arrived in the region after its annexation by the Rashidun Caliphate are recorded to have destroyed Zoroastrian temples, and Zoroastrians living in areas that had fallen under Muslim control were required to pay a tax known as jizya.
The Cypress of Abarkuh, also called the Zoroastrian Sarv, is a Persian cypress tree in Abarkuh in Yazd Province of Iran. It is protected by the Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran as a national natural monument and is a major tourist attraction with a height of 25 metres and with a perimeter of 11.5 metres at its trunk and 18 metres higher up around its branches. It is estimated to be over four millennia old and is likely the oldest or second-oldest living lifeform in Asia.
The Banu al-Munajjim, was an Iranian family of Abbasid officials attested in the 9th and 10th centuries. They claimed descent from the Sasanian dynasty.
The Abbasid dynasty or Abbasids were an Arab dynasty that ruled the Abbasid Caliphate between 750 and 1258. They were from the Qurayshi Hashimid clan of Banu Abbas, descended from Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The Abbasid Caliphate is divided into three main periods: Early Abbasid era (750–861), Middle Abbasid era (861–936) and Later Abbasid era (936–1258). A cadet branch of the dynasty also ruled as ceremonial rulers for the Mamluk Sultanate as Caliph (1261–1517), until their conquest by the Ottoman Empire.
Sangan Zarbin Cupressus is a 3,212-year-old cypress tree located in Sistan and Baluchestan province, 45 km from Khash city with a height of about 30 meters and a trunk diameter of 3 meters. This cypress tree is registered as one of the national natural monuments of Iran and the life of it is estimated to be about 2000 years.
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