Moshtagh Khorasani, M: Lexicon of Arms and Armor from Iran

the Middle Persian as (Karname-ye ArdeSir Babakan, Middle Persian/Pahlavi). Sources in New Persian are identified individually as well after the phonetic alphabet and the original script, such as (sahname). Over ninety primary sources in New Persian were consulted to search for arms-and-armor-related words among them the sahname, Eskandarname and different types of Zafarname. Further, due to their importance for this research, three manuscripts in Arabic were consulted that were written by Persian scholars. These include Alboldan by Abubakr Ahmad ben Mohammad ben Eshaq Hamedani, Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Ma'refat-e al-Qalim by samsoldin Abu Abdollah Mohammad ben Ahmad ben Ababakr sami Moqadasi, and Al-Jamahir fi Marefat al-Jawaher by Abu Reihan Beyruni. A phonetic alphabet is provided separately for the Avestan, the Old Persian, the Middle Persian, and the New Persian. A combined table of different phonetic alphabets in alphabetical order is also provided so that a search for a certain word can be done easily. Some suras from the holy Qur'an are also taken into consideration as these suras written in Arabic are used as gold-inlaid or gold-overlaid inscriptions on a number of Persian arms and armor.Categories of words and expressionsThe lexicon provides the following categories of words and expressions: a) all types of offensive weapons, such as swords, maces, b) all types of defensive weapons, such as shields, armor, c) techniques employed by each weapon, such as striking the top of the head with a sword, d) forging techniques, materials used in making crucible steel cakes and forging, and terms related to watered steel, e) different types of horses because horses were used by the cavalry in the battle, f) all horse-related equipment, such as harness, g) siege weapons, such as catapult, h) other types of animals used on the battlefield, such as elephants and camels, i) terms related to the warrior codex of javanmardi, j) terms related to the traditional Persian martial art of varzeS pahlavani and its related tools, k) wrestling techniques, l) metals and stones used as decorative elements in arms and armor such as gold and precious stones, m) terms related to fighting and warfare, such as attack, and n) historical firearms, such as matchlocks and flintlock guns. All major types of the Persian language are taken into considerationThe present lexicon uses the holy book of the Avesta for the Avestan terms as it provides a good source for the terminology related to the arms and armor in this old language. The holy book of the Avesta presents a marvelous description of an array of weapons used by different deities in the battlefield.For arms-and-armor-related terms in Old Persian sources, the following inscriptions in cuneiform are used: a) the inscriptions of DaryuS Bozorg in Bistun, b) the inscription of DaryuS Bozorg in suS (Susa), c) the inscription of DaryuS Bozorg in NaqS-e Rostam, d) the inscription of DaryuS Bozorg in Suez, e) the inscription of DaryuS Bozorg in Taxt-e JamSid, f) the inscription of XaSayarSah in Taxt-e JamSid, g) the inscription of ArdeSir II in suS, and h) the golden tablet of ArSam, Hamedan. For terms in the Middle Persian, the treatise Karname-ye ArdeSir Babakan [The War Treatise of ArdeSir Babakan] (2007/1386) was used as a source.Base of numerous Persian manuscriptsFor the terms related to arms and armor and warfare in New Persian many manuscripts were consulted. These manuscripts are chosen from the following groups: a) epic stories in verse and prose, such as sahname by Ferdowsi (1995/1384), b) period history books, such as Tarix-e Alam Araye Abbasi by Eskandar Beyyg Torkaman (2003/1382), c) popular stories such as Samak Ayyar by Al-Kateb al-Rajani (2004/1383), d) manuscripts written on metals and precious stones that often have a chapter on iron, steel, and swordmaking, such as Goharname by Mansur (1975/1354), e) famous anthologies such as Masnavi Ma'navi by Molavi (2007/1385), f) journey accounts, such as Safarname-ye Naser Xosro by Naser Xosro (1985:1363), g) period geography books, such as Gografiya-ye Esfahan by Tahvildar Esfahani (1964/1342), h) treatises of war and warfare, such as Adab al-Harb va al-soja-e by Mobarak sah Faxr-e Modabbar (1967/1346), i) books about spiritual journeys, such as Ardavirafname by Bahram Pazdo (1965/1343), j) books dealing with life and heroic lives of religious figures, such as Xavaranname by Xusofi Birjandi (2002/1381), k) books about the principles of warriors and javanmardan, such as Fotovvatname-ye Soltani by KaSefi Sabzevari (1971/1350), l) treatises on bows and archery, such as Jame al-Hadayat fi Elm al-Romayat by DorudbaSi Beyhaqi (1975/1354), m) treatises on the sword, swordmaking, and sword classification, such as Ta'id Besarat by Mirza Lotfallah (1706-1707:1118 or 1108:1696-1697), and n) treatises on army rules and regulations, such as Qavaede Koliye az Baraye MaSq va Harkat-e Piyadenezam Dolat-e Aliyeye Iran (1852/1268 hegira).Some of the manuscripts used in the lexicon have not been published before, such as Ta'id Besarat by Mirza Lotfallah (1706-1707:1118 or 1108:1696-1697), which is an extremely important source of sword classification written in India during the Safavid period. Another one that provides a lot of useful information on bows and archery is Jame al-Hadayat fi Elm al-Romayat by DorudbaSi Beihaqi (1975/1354). Many miniatures and pictures of artifacts accompany the text so that the readers could clearly see the types of weapons and fighting techniques used.Each entry is described not only in linguistic terms but also a full historical information and background are provided as well. Hence most entries provide very detailed information on the subject.Exceptional catalogThe book also offers a catalog of Persian arms and armor at the end offering a marvelous selection of sixty exquisite pieces of Iranian arms and armor from the Cultural Institute of Bonyad in Tehran and some pieces from private collections, among them the Ghiringhelli Collection in Italy. The catalog includes sixty items that include two bronze daggers from Luristan, one golden dagger from KalardaSt in northern Iran, a two-handed iron sword from Sassanian period, the golden and silver fittings of a P-shaped Sassanian sword, two P-shaped Sassanian swords with silver handle and scabbards, fifteen curved SamSir swords (nine from the Safavid period, three from the Zand period, and three from the Qajar period), one straight sword from the Qajar period, a Persian yatagan sword from the Qajar period, a zolfaqar sword from the Qajar period, a Persian military sword from the Qajar period, six kard knives (one from the Safavid period, three from the Zand period and two from the Qajar period), four piSqabz daggers (one from the Safavid period and three from the Zand period), six xanjar daggers (one from the Zand period and five from the Qajar period), four axes (two from the Safavid period, one from the AfSarid period and one from the Qajar period), two maces (one from the Safavid period and one from the Qajar period), one spear head from the Zand period, two helmets from the Qajar period, four shields from the Qajar period, one mail armor from the Qajar period, one bow from the Qajar period, one matchlock musket from the Safavid period, one flintlock musket from the AfSarid period and one percussion cap musket from the Zand and the Qajar periods. The reference list is based on 303 references that consist of 113 primary sources, 109 secondary Iranian sources and 81 international sources.