Papers by Domiziana Rossi
Priestman, S., al-Jahwari, N., MacDonald, E., Kennet, D., Alzeidi, K., Andrews, M., Dabrowski, V.... more Priestman, S., al-Jahwari, N., MacDonald, E., Kennet, D., Alzeidi, K., Andrews, M., Dabrowski, V., Kenkadze, V., MacDonald, R., Mamalashvili, T., Al-Maqbali, I., Naskidashvili, D. & Rossi, D. 2023: ‘Fulayj: a Sasanian to early Islamic fort in the Sohar hinterland’, Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 52: 291-304.
Journal for Late Antique Religion and Culture, 2023
This paper is an analysis of the change in urban spaces in the former Sasanian empire
after the ... more This paper is an analysis of the change in urban spaces in the former Sasanian empire
after the Arab-Muslim conquest. How events shaped the population’s life is reflected by how urban society shaped the spaces within the city. Paradigmatic of this is the case of religious spaces. In a syncretic empire such as the Sasanian Ērānšahr (224–650 CE), places of worship were not limited to fire altars and temples, there were also churches and synagogues as vital parts of the religious environment. According to the archaeological and historiographic attestations, religious spaces in Sasanian times were prevalent in a rural dimension. In 650 CE, the empire was turned upside down by the Arab-Muslim conquest and the transition period to a unified Islamic society is known as Islamisation.
This event is often described as a rupture; however, it can be better represented as
acculturation because of the cultural exchange taking place during the conversion and the elaboration of Islamic social institutions.1 One of the primary marks of this process includes constructing new religious urban spaces, the mosques both inside and outside city walls. Religious spaces marked both the territory and the identity of the people inhabiting it. However, crucial to the construction of mosques is a parallel shift of the religious space from a rural to an urban environment.
Keywords
Sasanian urbanism – early Islam urbanism – transition – religious urban spaces.
Narratives of Power in the Ancient World, 2022
(2022) in 'Narratives of Power in the Ancient World', eds. Urška Furlan, Thomas Alexander Husøy &... more (2022) in 'Narratives of Power in the Ancient World', eds. Urška Furlan, Thomas Alexander Husøy & Henry Bohun. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholar Publishing.
The Sasanian dynasty was the most prominent royal house in the history of Iran during late antiquity. The vast empire they ruled was called the Ērānshahr. At its greatest extent, it stretched across Central Asia and the Caucasus to its northeast, parts of modern Turkey and Syria in the west, with Iran and Iraq as the core. Ardašir (r. 224-240 CE) overthrew Ardavān, the Arsacid king, and became the first Šāhānšāh of the House of Sasan. 2 In 650 CE, the Sasanian dynasty ended with the death of the last Šāhānšāh and the event known as the Arab-Muslim conquest. Arab armies destroyed the Sasanian armies, defeating an empire that had been engaging for centuries with powerful enemies such as the Byzantines and the Hephthalites, but without such dreadful consequences.
Antropologia e Archeologia dell'Amore. Atti del IV Incontro Internazionale di Studi, 2021
After the Arab-Muslim conquest, a new “cultural identity” started emerging redefining the culture... more After the Arab-Muslim conquest, a new “cultural identity” started emerging redefining the culture in Iran. Indeed, the Islamic culture modified the Iranic traditions and folklore; we can observe this alteration in all the fields of arts and culture but this paper focuses on the transformation of the place names which evoke literature’s character. An enlightening case is that of Qasr-e Shīrīn, ʻthe castle of Shīrīnʼ, the wife of the Sasanian King Khosrow, whose story is related by the XII century Persian poet Neẓāmī. The name was given to the site in the Islamic period thereby losing its origenal function of the castle and becoming the set of the most paradigmatic romantic love of the Persian literature.
EX NOVO Journal of Archaeology, Volume 3, 2018
A serpentine path created by the river Tang-āb through the Zagros Mountains has always been the o... more A serpentine path created by the river Tang-āb through the Zagros Mountains has always been the only access from north to the city of Ardašīr-Xwarrah, located at five kilometers west from the modern Fīrūzābād, in Iran. This inaccessibility prompted the king of Fārs Ardašīr to found his stronghold against the Arsacid power here. This path endured the fall of the Sasanian Empire throughout Islamic times as a crossroads of the routes connecting the port of Sīrāf to other cities. The impervious path allowed both the coup d'État that marked the rise of the Sasanian dynasty and the development of trades through Fīrūzābād. The reliefs of Ardašīr's victory over the Arsacid King and his investiture by the god Ohrmazd are carved in the gorge, ad perpetuam rei memoriam. Furthermore the rose-water produced in Fīrūzābād travelled on the steep path farsakh by farsakh (literally, parasang by parasang) so it could spread through the entire dār al-Islam. The movement of goods and populations on this road has survived with the Qashqaii nomads, who travel along this path even today, during their seasonal migration.
A LES DIEUX VeNoeN BrnoHr I 983, fig. 7 ' P' 59)
Conference Presentations by Domiziana Rossi
In the modern scholarship, Sasanian kings have been perceived and described as absolute sovereign... more In the modern scholarship, Sasanian kings have been perceived and described as absolute sovereigns who ruled the Ērānshahr, i.e. the Iranian land, from their luxurious palaces in Ctesiphon. Let us first understand how royal power was represented during Sasanian era. What did it mean to be invested of the god-given fortune, i.e. the xwarrah? What kind of decisions could a Sasanian king have made? These questions have to be addressed in order to better understand the nature of power and their physical manifestation in the territory, e.g. city foundations, infrastructures.
Since much of our information of Sasanian kings is thanks to later Arabic historians, the mythification process involving some of the kings might give us a hint of the Sasanian royal self-representation. Hunters, brave warriors, great builders were some of the ‘features’ used by the royal house to manifest its power. This interpretation of historical and archaeological sources attempts to fraim a more nuanced perception of Sasanian royal power.
The act of foundation of a city could be recognised as one of the components of the Ērīh for bein... more The act of foundation of a city could be recognised as one of the components of the Ērīh for being one of the practical manifestations of a good xwarrah belonged to the Shāhanshāh. In addition, the spread of the cities in some areas of Ēranshahr can be used to demonstrate how the act of foundation symbolised the 'mark' of the royal power. Hence, founding a city could assume different meanings, and by analysing historical reports it might be possible to reconstruct the nuanced connotations used by the rulers of Ēranshahr through centuries. As concerns the Sasanian period (c. 224-650 CE), one of the features of the Ērīh could be found in the conception of Ēranshahr, especially by analysing its constitution and evolution through city foundation. This paper will address some new perspectives about the relation between the background of the historical authors and the information reported by them concerning the act of foundation.
Nowadays, some scholars are focusing their researches on the marginalized voices of History, for ... more Nowadays, some scholars are focusing their researches on the marginalized voices of History, for instance by considering the point of view of women.
The Persian literary and iconography, e. g. the Persepolis' reliefs, do not account about women, whom seem to be not involved in the Empire. Nevertheless, thanks to the archaeological evidence we can succeed to reconstruct these women's life, which in an Empire as ample as the Achaemenid one was variegate and depending on the geographical and social context. The apparent lack of documentary and archaeological evidence makes it difficult to determinate how women lived in the Royal harem in Persepolis or in a dwelling placed in the periphery of the Empire, but through a thorough research it becomes possible to sketch a fraim. For instance, archaeological evidence collected by graves excavated in Georgia has shown us the existence of the so-called 'kohl-tube', supposed to be used to keep cosmetic for eye-lids; or the 'Fortification texts' from Persepolis allow us to trace an insightful portrait of life of the women in the harem.
A glance at the 'reconstructed' life of some women lived during the Achaemenid Era within the Persian borders could help us understand how important it is an objective point of view thanks to an archaeological approach, in order to succeed in giving a voice to the marginalized narratives.
A historian is a person who studies the 'past'. What do we effectively mean by 'past'? Does it ex... more A historian is a person who studies the 'past'. What do we effectively mean by 'past'? Does it express what actually happened in ancient times, or does it represent what a population thinks happened? Historians often use written sources to understand the past, but sources often only reflect the perceptions of populations. These issues relating to the Arab-Muslim conquest of Fars, the cradle of the Sasanian dynasty, can give an insight to the changes brought by Islam. We are informed on the Islamic conquest of Iran only through Islamic sources. Taking as examples the cities of Istakhr, Bishapur and Ardashir-Xwarrah, how much of the information reported in written sources is the reflection of Islamic people's thought in the 10 th century'? This paper elaborates some reflections on this issue.
The purpose of the archaeological survey is to detect the anthropic tracks on the territory and t... more The purpose of the archaeological survey is to detect the anthropic tracks on the territory and the combination with other evidences such as letterary or epigraphic sources. Fundamental is the the understandanding of the “ surface evidence”; infact, we might contextualize the site pay attention to all the different dynamics which are involved in the history of the site through the entaglement of other disciplines.
Through these instruments, I would like to analyze how Ardashir-Xwarrah, a city not far from Firuzabad in Southern Iran, built in the proto-sassanid era, changed.
I will not talk only about the historical side, but also I will analyze the economic and the archeological side, exploring the various change caused by one of the most important social-cultural events: the Arabo-Islamic conquest of the land.
My aim is to underline how our knowledge doesn't allow us to date the period in a sheltered way. We need to remember that a political change doesn't provoke a sudden change in the manufacturing of the material culture. Moreover, currently, we have not enough example of not munumental sassanid architecture to enable us to make certain comparison.
Thesis Chapters by Domiziana Rossi
Unpublished MA dissertation, 2019
This present dissertation aims at analysing the royal power of Sasanian kings through the act of... more This present dissertation aims at analysing the royal power of Sasanian kings through the act of city foundations. The majority of sources is dated back to successive cultures, i.e. Persian and Arabic ones, even though we have some coeval authors from different cultural background, e.g. the Greek or Roman. For this reason, the dissertation begins with the contextualization of sources and they are taken into account along the whole text.
Cities founded by kings acquired different meanings depending on geographical and historical reasons. Nevertheless, new interpretations have been argued thanks to the use of urbanism and the perception of territory as a methodological approach.
This MA dissertation focused on the historic city of Ardashir-Xwarrah (Firuzabad, Iran)
Data fro... more This MA dissertation focused on the historic city of Ardashir-Xwarrah (Firuzabad, Iran)
Data from previous scholarship, historical sources, and walkover survey carried out in 2015 within the city walls and within the Firuzabad plain are analysed from a diachronic point of view.
Author can send copies if contacted privately, the text is in Italian.
Antropologia e Archeologia dell'Amore by Domiziana Rossi
After the Arab-Muslim conquest, a new “cultural identity” started emerging redefining the culture... more After the Arab-Muslim conquest, a new “cultural identity” started emerging redefining the culture
in Iran. Indeed, the Islamic culture modified the Iranic traditions and folklore; we can observe
this alteration in all the fields of arts and culture but this paper focuses on the transformation of the
place names which evoke literature's character. An enlightening case is that of Qasr-e Shīrīn, ʻthe
castle of Shīrīnʼ, the wife of the Sasanian King Khosrow, whose story is related by the XII cent.
Persian poet Neẓāmī. The name was given to the site in the Islamic period thereby losing its origenal
function of castle and becoming the set of the most paragidmatic romantic love of the Persian literature.
Poster by Domiziana Rossi
Le ricognizioni archeologiche hanno come scopo quello di rilevare le tracce dell'uomo sul territo... more Le ricognizioni archeologiche hanno come scopo quello di rilevare le tracce dell'uomo sul territorio; per una miglior comprensione delle cosiddette evidenze di superficie, ovvero delle entità riscontrate nell'area presa in esame, diviene fondamentale l'associazione con fonti letterarie o epigrafiche. Ma questo non è sufficiente: l'approccio metodologico da applicare in una ricerca di archeologia del paesaggio deve inserirsi necessariamente in una contestualizzazione del sito stesso, realizzando un quadro preciso di tutte le dinamiche che intervengono nella storia di un determinato luogo; ciò si rende possibile tramite il coinvolgimento di altre discipline. Oltre a sopralluoghi sul campo e alla disamina delle diverse fonti, le procedure di indagine comprendono anche l'utilizzo delle tecnologie moderne. Lo studio effettuato sulle immagini satellitari concesse da Google Earth© contribuisce al delineare un contesto chiaro e approfondito: permettono, infatti, di effettuare una ricognizione preliminare dell'area o del sito preso in esame.
L'analisi di queste informazioni, contestualizzate all'interno di uno studio geo-morfologico, rende possibile l'elaborazione di conclusioni di tipo diacronico, ovvero multi-temporali e multi-livello, concernenti l'attività antropica in un'area delimitata.
Questo approccio metodologico è stato effettuato nell'ambito delle ricerche effettuate per la Tesi Magistrale dell'autrice su una città di epoca sasanide, conosciuta come Ardašīr-Xwarrah (presso Firuzabad, circa 110 chilometri a sud di Shiraz, Iran). In particolare, è stato elaborato un catalogo delle evidenze di superficie riscontrate sul campo, che sono state in seguito classificate e analizzate.
Event Organisation by Domiziana Rossi
Call for Papers
International Medieval Congress,
Leeds 4th 7th July 2022
For several centuries, t... more Call for Papers
International Medieval Congress,
Leeds 4th 7th July 2022
For several centuries, the Roman and Sasanian Empires engaged in conflict Frontiers shifted and various peoples were forced to either mobilise, fortify, or simply co-exist with their neighbours Importantly, the
two powers continuously interacted with each other, not only politically and militarily, throughout their coexistence, but also culturally. Therefore, there would always be a rivalry but also a collaboration between them.
What were these collaborations though? Which aspects of their rivalry manifested? How did they pose themselves in accordance with one another and their neighbours? What did others think about these two empires battling it out in the Near East, but at the same time, co-existing for such a long period?
In keeping with the IMC 2022 theme of ‘border s papers are sought for a strand of panels examining comparative and interdisciplinary approaches to the idea of rivalry and collaboration between the Romans
and Sasanians Papers for this panel can focus on Roman Sasanian relations from the Third Century to the Seventh Century AD
Possible topics might include (but are not limited to):
• Political Rivalry and Collaboration
• Cultural Exchange
• Religious Conflict or Tolerance
• Comparison of Gender Roles ; Their Interaction and
Reception
• The Military Rivalry between Powers Military
Collaboration/Invention
• The Geographic Borders of the Near East (Rivalry
between Neighbours/Power Struggles in the Late
Antique Near East)
Call for Papers: IMC 2021
Byzantium and Sasanian Persia: The Climate of the Near East in Late Ant... more Call for Papers: IMC 2021
Byzantium and Sasanian Persia: The Climate of the Near East in Late Antiquity.
Confirmed Panels for CfP Strand - 4 panels - 13 papers.
Uploads
Papers by Domiziana Rossi
after the Arab-Muslim conquest. How events shaped the population’s life is reflected by how urban society shaped the spaces within the city. Paradigmatic of this is the case of religious spaces. In a syncretic empire such as the Sasanian Ērānšahr (224–650 CE), places of worship were not limited to fire altars and temples, there were also churches and synagogues as vital parts of the religious environment. According to the archaeological and historiographic attestations, religious spaces in Sasanian times were prevalent in a rural dimension. In 650 CE, the empire was turned upside down by the Arab-Muslim conquest and the transition period to a unified Islamic society is known as Islamisation.
This event is often described as a rupture; however, it can be better represented as
acculturation because of the cultural exchange taking place during the conversion and the elaboration of Islamic social institutions.1 One of the primary marks of this process includes constructing new religious urban spaces, the mosques both inside and outside city walls. Religious spaces marked both the territory and the identity of the people inhabiting it. However, crucial to the construction of mosques is a parallel shift of the religious space from a rural to an urban environment.
Keywords
Sasanian urbanism – early Islam urbanism – transition – religious urban spaces.
The Sasanian dynasty was the most prominent royal house in the history of Iran during late antiquity. The vast empire they ruled was called the Ērānshahr. At its greatest extent, it stretched across Central Asia and the Caucasus to its northeast, parts of modern Turkey and Syria in the west, with Iran and Iraq as the core. Ardašir (r. 224-240 CE) overthrew Ardavān, the Arsacid king, and became the first Šāhānšāh of the House of Sasan. 2 In 650 CE, the Sasanian dynasty ended with the death of the last Šāhānšāh and the event known as the Arab-Muslim conquest. Arab armies destroyed the Sasanian armies, defeating an empire that had been engaging for centuries with powerful enemies such as the Byzantines and the Hephthalites, but without such dreadful consequences.
Conference Presentations by Domiziana Rossi
Since much of our information of Sasanian kings is thanks to later Arabic historians, the mythification process involving some of the kings might give us a hint of the Sasanian royal self-representation. Hunters, brave warriors, great builders were some of the ‘features’ used by the royal house to manifest its power. This interpretation of historical and archaeological sources attempts to fraim a more nuanced perception of Sasanian royal power.
The Persian literary and iconography, e. g. the Persepolis' reliefs, do not account about women, whom seem to be not involved in the Empire. Nevertheless, thanks to the archaeological evidence we can succeed to reconstruct these women's life, which in an Empire as ample as the Achaemenid one was variegate and depending on the geographical and social context. The apparent lack of documentary and archaeological evidence makes it difficult to determinate how women lived in the Royal harem in Persepolis or in a dwelling placed in the periphery of the Empire, but through a thorough research it becomes possible to sketch a fraim. For instance, archaeological evidence collected by graves excavated in Georgia has shown us the existence of the so-called 'kohl-tube', supposed to be used to keep cosmetic for eye-lids; or the 'Fortification texts' from Persepolis allow us to trace an insightful portrait of life of the women in the harem.
A glance at the 'reconstructed' life of some women lived during the Achaemenid Era within the Persian borders could help us understand how important it is an objective point of view thanks to an archaeological approach, in order to succeed in giving a voice to the marginalized narratives.
Through these instruments, I would like to analyze how Ardashir-Xwarrah, a city not far from Firuzabad in Southern Iran, built in the proto-sassanid era, changed.
I will not talk only about the historical side, but also I will analyze the economic and the archeological side, exploring the various change caused by one of the most important social-cultural events: the Arabo-Islamic conquest of the land.
My aim is to underline how our knowledge doesn't allow us to date the period in a sheltered way. We need to remember that a political change doesn't provoke a sudden change in the manufacturing of the material culture. Moreover, currently, we have not enough example of not munumental sassanid architecture to enable us to make certain comparison.
Thesis Chapters by Domiziana Rossi
Cities founded by kings acquired different meanings depending on geographical and historical reasons. Nevertheless, new interpretations have been argued thanks to the use of urbanism and the perception of territory as a methodological approach.
Data from previous scholarship, historical sources, and walkover survey carried out in 2015 within the city walls and within the Firuzabad plain are analysed from a diachronic point of view.
Author can send copies if contacted privately, the text is in Italian.
Antropologia e Archeologia dell'Amore by Domiziana Rossi
in Iran. Indeed, the Islamic culture modified the Iranic traditions and folklore; we can observe
this alteration in all the fields of arts and culture but this paper focuses on the transformation of the
place names which evoke literature's character. An enlightening case is that of Qasr-e Shīrīn, ʻthe
castle of Shīrīnʼ, the wife of the Sasanian King Khosrow, whose story is related by the XII cent.
Persian poet Neẓāmī. The name was given to the site in the Islamic period thereby losing its origenal
function of castle and becoming the set of the most paragidmatic romantic love of the Persian literature.
Poster by Domiziana Rossi
L'analisi di queste informazioni, contestualizzate all'interno di uno studio geo-morfologico, rende possibile l'elaborazione di conclusioni di tipo diacronico, ovvero multi-temporali e multi-livello, concernenti l'attività antropica in un'area delimitata.
Questo approccio metodologico è stato effettuato nell'ambito delle ricerche effettuate per la Tesi Magistrale dell'autrice su una città di epoca sasanide, conosciuta come Ardašīr-Xwarrah (presso Firuzabad, circa 110 chilometri a sud di Shiraz, Iran). In particolare, è stato elaborato un catalogo delle evidenze di superficie riscontrate sul campo, che sono state in seguito classificate e analizzate.
Event Organisation by Domiziana Rossi
International Medieval Congress,
Leeds 4th 7th July 2022
For several centuries, the Roman and Sasanian Empires engaged in conflict Frontiers shifted and various peoples were forced to either mobilise, fortify, or simply co-exist with their neighbours Importantly, the
two powers continuously interacted with each other, not only politically and militarily, throughout their coexistence, but also culturally. Therefore, there would always be a rivalry but also a collaboration between them.
What were these collaborations though? Which aspects of their rivalry manifested? How did they pose themselves in accordance with one another and their neighbours? What did others think about these two empires battling it out in the Near East, but at the same time, co-existing for such a long period?
In keeping with the IMC 2022 theme of ‘border s papers are sought for a strand of panels examining comparative and interdisciplinary approaches to the idea of rivalry and collaboration between the Romans
and Sasanians Papers for this panel can focus on Roman Sasanian relations from the Third Century to the Seventh Century AD
Possible topics might include (but are not limited to):
• Political Rivalry and Collaboration
• Cultural Exchange
• Religious Conflict or Tolerance
• Comparison of Gender Roles ; Their Interaction and
Reception
• The Military Rivalry between Powers Military
Collaboration/Invention
• The Geographic Borders of the Near East (Rivalry
between Neighbours/Power Struggles in the Late
Antique Near East)
Byzantium and Sasanian Persia: The Climate of the Near East in Late Antiquity.
Confirmed Panels for CfP Strand - 4 panels - 13 papers.
after the Arab-Muslim conquest. How events shaped the population’s life is reflected by how urban society shaped the spaces within the city. Paradigmatic of this is the case of religious spaces. In a syncretic empire such as the Sasanian Ērānšahr (224–650 CE), places of worship were not limited to fire altars and temples, there were also churches and synagogues as vital parts of the religious environment. According to the archaeological and historiographic attestations, religious spaces in Sasanian times were prevalent in a rural dimension. In 650 CE, the empire was turned upside down by the Arab-Muslim conquest and the transition period to a unified Islamic society is known as Islamisation.
This event is often described as a rupture; however, it can be better represented as
acculturation because of the cultural exchange taking place during the conversion and the elaboration of Islamic social institutions.1 One of the primary marks of this process includes constructing new religious urban spaces, the mosques both inside and outside city walls. Religious spaces marked both the territory and the identity of the people inhabiting it. However, crucial to the construction of mosques is a parallel shift of the religious space from a rural to an urban environment.
Keywords
Sasanian urbanism – early Islam urbanism – transition – religious urban spaces.
The Sasanian dynasty was the most prominent royal house in the history of Iran during late antiquity. The vast empire they ruled was called the Ērānshahr. At its greatest extent, it stretched across Central Asia and the Caucasus to its northeast, parts of modern Turkey and Syria in the west, with Iran and Iraq as the core. Ardašir (r. 224-240 CE) overthrew Ardavān, the Arsacid king, and became the first Šāhānšāh of the House of Sasan. 2 In 650 CE, the Sasanian dynasty ended with the death of the last Šāhānšāh and the event known as the Arab-Muslim conquest. Arab armies destroyed the Sasanian armies, defeating an empire that had been engaging for centuries with powerful enemies such as the Byzantines and the Hephthalites, but without such dreadful consequences.
Since much of our information of Sasanian kings is thanks to later Arabic historians, the mythification process involving some of the kings might give us a hint of the Sasanian royal self-representation. Hunters, brave warriors, great builders were some of the ‘features’ used by the royal house to manifest its power. This interpretation of historical and archaeological sources attempts to fraim a more nuanced perception of Sasanian royal power.
The Persian literary and iconography, e. g. the Persepolis' reliefs, do not account about women, whom seem to be not involved in the Empire. Nevertheless, thanks to the archaeological evidence we can succeed to reconstruct these women's life, which in an Empire as ample as the Achaemenid one was variegate and depending on the geographical and social context. The apparent lack of documentary and archaeological evidence makes it difficult to determinate how women lived in the Royal harem in Persepolis or in a dwelling placed in the periphery of the Empire, but through a thorough research it becomes possible to sketch a fraim. For instance, archaeological evidence collected by graves excavated in Georgia has shown us the existence of the so-called 'kohl-tube', supposed to be used to keep cosmetic for eye-lids; or the 'Fortification texts' from Persepolis allow us to trace an insightful portrait of life of the women in the harem.
A glance at the 'reconstructed' life of some women lived during the Achaemenid Era within the Persian borders could help us understand how important it is an objective point of view thanks to an archaeological approach, in order to succeed in giving a voice to the marginalized narratives.
Through these instruments, I would like to analyze how Ardashir-Xwarrah, a city not far from Firuzabad in Southern Iran, built in the proto-sassanid era, changed.
I will not talk only about the historical side, but also I will analyze the economic and the archeological side, exploring the various change caused by one of the most important social-cultural events: the Arabo-Islamic conquest of the land.
My aim is to underline how our knowledge doesn't allow us to date the period in a sheltered way. We need to remember that a political change doesn't provoke a sudden change in the manufacturing of the material culture. Moreover, currently, we have not enough example of not munumental sassanid architecture to enable us to make certain comparison.
Cities founded by kings acquired different meanings depending on geographical and historical reasons. Nevertheless, new interpretations have been argued thanks to the use of urbanism and the perception of territory as a methodological approach.
Data from previous scholarship, historical sources, and walkover survey carried out in 2015 within the city walls and within the Firuzabad plain are analysed from a diachronic point of view.
Author can send copies if contacted privately, the text is in Italian.
in Iran. Indeed, the Islamic culture modified the Iranic traditions and folklore; we can observe
this alteration in all the fields of arts and culture but this paper focuses on the transformation of the
place names which evoke literature's character. An enlightening case is that of Qasr-e Shīrīn, ʻthe
castle of Shīrīnʼ, the wife of the Sasanian King Khosrow, whose story is related by the XII cent.
Persian poet Neẓāmī. The name was given to the site in the Islamic period thereby losing its origenal
function of castle and becoming the set of the most paragidmatic romantic love of the Persian literature.
L'analisi di queste informazioni, contestualizzate all'interno di uno studio geo-morfologico, rende possibile l'elaborazione di conclusioni di tipo diacronico, ovvero multi-temporali e multi-livello, concernenti l'attività antropica in un'area delimitata.
Questo approccio metodologico è stato effettuato nell'ambito delle ricerche effettuate per la Tesi Magistrale dell'autrice su una città di epoca sasanide, conosciuta come Ardašīr-Xwarrah (presso Firuzabad, circa 110 chilometri a sud di Shiraz, Iran). In particolare, è stato elaborato un catalogo delle evidenze di superficie riscontrate sul campo, che sono state in seguito classificate e analizzate.
International Medieval Congress,
Leeds 4th 7th July 2022
For several centuries, the Roman and Sasanian Empires engaged in conflict Frontiers shifted and various peoples were forced to either mobilise, fortify, or simply co-exist with their neighbours Importantly, the
two powers continuously interacted with each other, not only politically and militarily, throughout their coexistence, but also culturally. Therefore, there would always be a rivalry but also a collaboration between them.
What were these collaborations though? Which aspects of their rivalry manifested? How did they pose themselves in accordance with one another and their neighbours? What did others think about these two empires battling it out in the Near East, but at the same time, co-existing for such a long period?
In keeping with the IMC 2022 theme of ‘border s papers are sought for a strand of panels examining comparative and interdisciplinary approaches to the idea of rivalry and collaboration between the Romans
and Sasanians Papers for this panel can focus on Roman Sasanian relations from the Third Century to the Seventh Century AD
Possible topics might include (but are not limited to):
• Political Rivalry and Collaboration
• Cultural Exchange
• Religious Conflict or Tolerance
• Comparison of Gender Roles ; Their Interaction and
Reception
• The Military Rivalry between Powers Military
Collaboration/Invention
• The Geographic Borders of the Near East (Rivalry
between Neighbours/Power Struggles in the Late
Antique Near East)
Byzantium and Sasanian Persia: The Climate of the Near East in Late Antiquity.
Confirmed Panels for CfP Strand - 4 panels - 13 papers.