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Gusans
Gusans ( hy, գուսան; Parthian for poet-musician or minstrel) were creative and performing artists - singers, instrumentalists, dancers, storytellers, and professional folk actors in public theaters of Parthia and ancient and medieval Armenia. In Armenia, the term gusan is often used as a synonym for ashugh, a singer-poet and bard. Etymology The word ''gusan'' is first mentioned in early Armenian texts of V c., e.g. Faustus of Byzantium, Moses of Chorene, etc. In Parsian language the earliest known evidence is from ''Vis o Rāmin'' by Fakhruddin As'ad Gurgani in the eleventh century. It was originally thought to have been a personal name. However in the 19th century Kerovbe Patkanian identified it as a common word possibly meaning "musician" and suggested that it was an obsolete Persian term, currently found in a form of a loanword in Armenian. In 1934 Harold Walter Bailey linked to origin of the word to the Parthian language. In Hrachia Acharian's opinion the word ...
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Gusans Statue In Gyumri
Gusans ( hy, գուսան; Parthian for poet-musician or minstrel) were creative and performing artists - singers, instrumentalists, dancers, storytellers, and professional folk actors in public theaters of Parthia and ancient and medieval Armenia. In Armenia, the term gusan is often used as a synonym for ashugh, a singer-poet and bard. Etymology The word ''gusan'' is first mentioned in early Armenian texts of V c., e.g. Faustus of Byzantium, Moses of Chorene, etc. In Parsian language the earliest known evidence is from ''Vis o Rāmin'' by Fakhruddin As'ad Gurgani in the eleventh century. It was originally thought to have been a personal name. However in the 19th century Kerovbe Patkanian identified it as a common word possibly meaning "musician" and suggested that it was an obsolete Persian term, currently found in a form of a loanword in Armenian. In 1934 Harold Walter Bailey linked to origin of the word to the Parthian language. In Hrachia Acharian's opinion the word was ...
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Ashik
An ashik ( az, aşıq, ; tr, âşık; fa, عاشیق) or ashugh ( hy, աշուղ; ka, აშუღი) is traditionally a singer-poet and bard who accompanies his song—be it a dastan (traditional epic story, also known as '' hikaye'') or a shorter original composition—with a long-necked lute (usually a bağlama or ''saz'') in Turkic (primarily Turkish and Azerbaijani cultures, including Iranian Azerbaijanis) and non-Turkic cultures of South Caucasus (primarily Armenian and Georgian). In Azerbaijan, the modern ashik is a professional musician who usually serves an apprenticeship, masters playing the bağlama, and builds up a varied but individual repertoire of Turkic folk songs.Colin P. Mitchell (Editor), New Perspectives on Safavid Iran: Empire and Society, 2011, Routledge, 90–92 The word ''ashiq'' ( ar, عاشق, meaning "in love" or "lovelorn") is the nominative form of a noun derived from the word ''ishq'' ( ar, عشق, "love"), which in turn may b ...
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Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmenistan to the north, by Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east, and by the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf to the south. It covers an area of , making it the 17th-largest country. Iran has a population of 86 million, making it the 17th-most populous country in the world, and the second-largest in the Middle East. Its largest cities, in descending order, are the capital Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, Karaj, Shiraz, and Tabriz. The country is home to one of the world's oldest civilizations, beginning with the formation of the Elamite kingdoms in the fourth millennium BC. It was first unified by the Medes, an ancient Iranian people, in the seventh century BC, and reached its territorial height in the sixth century BC, when Cyrus the Great fo ...
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Female Troubadour With Saz, M6288, Horomos, 1211
Female ( symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and males are results of the anisogamous reproduction system, wherein gametes are of different sizes, unlike isogamy where they are the same size. The exact mechanism of female gamete evolution remains unknown. In species that have males and females, sex-determination may be based on either sex chromosomes, or environmental conditions. Most female mammals, including female humans, have two X chromosomes. Female characteristics vary between different species with some species having pronounced secondary female sex characteristics, such as the presence of pronounced mammary glands in mammals. In humans, the word ''female'' can also be used to refer to gender in the social sense of gender role or gender identity. Etymology and usage T ...
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Sasanian Empire
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named after the Sasanian dynasty, House of Sasan, it endured for over four centuries, from 224 to 651 AD, making it the longest-lived List of monarchs of Persia, Persian imperial dynasty. The Sasanian Empire succeeded the Parthian Empire, and re-established the Persians as a major power in late antiquity alongside its neighbouring arch-rival, the Roman Empire (after 395 the Byzantine Empire).Norman A. Stillman ''The Jews of Arab Lands'' pp 22 Jewish Publication Society, 1979 International Congress of Byzantine Studies ''Proceedings of the 21st International Congress of Byzantine Studies, London, 21–26 August 2006, Volumes 1–3'' pp 29. Ashgate Pub Co, 2006 The empire was founded by Ardashir I, an Iranian ruler who rose to po ...
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Barbad
Barbad or Bārbad ( fa, باربد; various other names; ) was a Persian poet-musician, lutenist, music theorist and composer of Sasanian music who served as chief minstrel-poet under Shahanshah Khosrow II (). A '' barbat'' player, he is among the major figures in the history of Iranian/Persian music and was the most distinguished Persian musician of his time. He appears frequently in later Persian literature, most famously in Ferdowsi's ''Shahnameh''. The content and abundance of such references demonstrate his unique influence on the music and culture of his time, with some sources declaring him the "founder of Persian music". Despite scarce biographical information, Barbad's historicity is generally secure. Purportedly born in Merv or Jahrom, Barbad served most of his career under Khosrow, who held him in high regard. He interacted closely and rivaled with other musicians of his time, such as Sarkash. After Khosrow's assassination, sources vary as to whether Barbad was murd ...
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Armenian Culture
The culture of Armenia encompasses many elements that are based on the geography, literature, architecture, dance, and music of the people. Creative arts Literature Literature began in Armenia around 401 A.D. The majority of the literary arts were created by Moses of Khorene, in the 5th century. Through the years the elements of literature have changed as the stories and myths were passed on through generations. In the late 17th century, Alexander Tertzakian was a renowned Armenian writer who created several works considered to be among Armenia's classics. During the 19th century, writer Mikael Nalbandian worked to create a new Armenian literary identity. Nalbandian's poem "Song of the Italian Girl" may have been the inspiration for the Armenian national anthem, Mer Hayrenik. Mesrop Mashtots is considered to be the creator of the Armenian alphabet. This event which took place in the 5th century is considered to be one of the most important turning points of Armenian Liter ...
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Mary Boyce
Nora Elisabeth Mary Boyce (2 August 1920 – 4 April 2006) was a British scholar of Iranian languages, and an authority on Zoroastrianism. She was Professor of Iranian Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of the University of London. The Royal Asiatic Society's annual Boyce Prize for outstanding contributions to the study of religion is named after her. Early years She was born in Darjeeling where her parents were vacationing to escape the heat of the plains during the summer. Her father, William H. Boyce, was a Judge at the Calcutta high-court, then an institution of the British imperial government. Her mother Nora (née Gardiner) was a granddaughter of the historian Samuel Rawson Gardiner.John R. Hinnells, ‘Boyce, (Nora Elisabeth) Mary (1920–2006)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Jan 2010; online edn, Sept 201accessed 8 Jan 2017/ref> Boyce was educated at Wimbledon High School and then Cheltenham Ladies' C ...
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Encyclopædia Iranica
''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times. Scope The ''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is dedicated to the study of Iranian civilization in the wider Middle East, the Caucasus, Southeastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. The academic reference work will eventually cover all aspects of Iranian history and culture as well as all Iranian languages and literatures, facilitating the whole range of Iranian studies research from archeology to political sciences. It is a project founded by Ehsan Yarshater in 1973 and currently carried out at Columbia University's Center for Iranian Studies. It is considered the standard encyclopedia of the academic discipline of Iranistics. The scope of the encyclopedia goes beyond modern Iran (also known as "Persia") and encompasses the entire Iranian cultural ...
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Barbad Playing For Khosrau II
Barbad or Bārbad ( fa, باربد; various other names; ) was a Persian poet-musician, lutenist, music theorist and composer of Sasanian music who served as chief minstrel-poet under Shahanshah Khosrow II (). A '' barbat'' player, he is among the major figures in the history of Iranian/Persian music and was the most distinguished Persian musician of his time. He appears frequently in later Persian literature, most famously in Ferdowsi's ''Shahnameh''. The content and abundance of such references demonstrate his unique influence on the music and culture of his time, with some sources declaring him the "founder of Persian music". Despite scarce biographical information, Barbad's historicity is generally secure. Purportedly born in Merv or Jahrom, Barbad served most of his career under Khosrow, who held him in high regard. He interacted closely and rivaled with other musicians of his time, such as Sarkash. After Khosrow's assassination, sources vary as to whether Barbad was m ...
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Music Of Armenia
The music of Armenia ( hy, հայկական երաժշտություն ''haykakan yerazhshtut’yun'') has its origins in the Armenian highlands, dating back to the 3rd millennium BCE, and is a long-standing musical tradition that encompasses diverse secular and religious, or sacred, music (such as the ''sharakan'' Armenian chant and '' taghs'', along with the indigenous '' khaz'' musical notation). Folk music was notably collected and transcribed by Komitas Vardapet, a prominent composer and musicologist, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, who is also considered the founder of the modern Armenian national school of music. Armenian music has been presented internationally by numerous artists, such as composers Aram Khachaturian, Alexander Arutiunian, Arno Babajanian, Haig Gudenian, and Karen Kavaleryan as well as by traditional performers such as duduk player Djivan Gasparyan. Melodic basis Traditional Armenian folk music as well as Armenian church mu ...
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Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and transitioned into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages. Population decline, counterurbanisation, the collapse of centralized authority, invasions, and mass migrations of tribes, which had begun in late antiquity, continued into the Early Middle Ages. The large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the 7th century, North Africa and the Middle East—most recently part of the Eastern Ro ...
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