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    Rüdiger Schmitt




    the northernmost and largest of the five traditional Ṭāleš khanates (Ḵamsa-ye Ṭavāleš) in western Gilān.


    Forogh Hashabeiky and Behrooz Sheyda

    (1953-2012), Iranist, fiction writer, and journalist. Kargar’s later works of fiction, written in Sweden, participate in the more modern spectrum of writing in the twentieth century and are characterized by his experimentations with disrupted chronology, non-linear plots, and interrupted language reminiscent of stream of consciousness.

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    Morteza Nouraei

    a term used from the early 19th century until the abolishment of capitulation (kāpitulāsion) in 1927 to refer specifically to an agent of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who was charged with regulating relations between Iranian subjects and foreigners.


    Keith Hitchins

    pen-name of Abdul-Karim Qurbon, Tajik folk poet (1878-1918).


    John R. Perry

    (ca. 1705-1779), “The Wakil,” ruler of Persia (except Khorasan) from Shiraz during 1751-79. The Zand were a pastoral tribe of the Lak branch of the northern Lors, ranging between the inner Zagros and the Hamadān plains, centered on the villages of Pari and Kamāzān in the vicinity of Malāyer.

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  • KĀRIZ i. Terminology

    Xavier de Planhol

    underground irrigation canals, also called qanāt. The kārēz conducts water from the level of an aquifer to the open air by means of simple gravity in order to distribute it to lower areas.

  • KĀRIZ ii. Technology

    Xavier de Planhol

    The technology of kārēz exploits a difference in grade between a tunnel and the groundwater table. The grade of the tunnel is less steep than the grade of the water table, so that the tunnel ends at an elevation distinctly higher than that of the water table. In Iran the average grade may be around 0.5 percent.

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  • KĀRIZ iii. Economic and Social Contexts

    Xavier de Planhol

    The major significance of the kārēz lies in its continuous discharge throughout the year. In contrast, irrigation systems that rely on surface water runoff can completely cease to discharge water during the dry season. The continuous discharge, however, needs be distinguished from a constant discharge. Significant seasonal variations can be observed.

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  • KĀRIZ iv. Origin and Dissemination

    Xavier de Planhol

    One very common technique is an underflow channel in a river valley. The underflow channel captures water from the shallow aquifer formed by seepage from the watercourse, whether it be intermittent or continuous. This technique is always subject to significant variations, because it depends on the surface flow.

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