درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

The Iranian Plateau is, in the late 4th millennium B.C., with Mesopotamia and Egypt the birthplace of writing in the World. We propose here to consider the Proto-Elamite (Early Proto-Iranian) and Linear Elamite (Late Proto-Iranian) scripts, not as two different writing systems, but as the same system at two different chronological stages of evolution. Between 3500 and 1850 B.C., the continuous history of writing in Iran may be consequently understood according to 6 distinct phases (I: 3500-3300 B.C.; II: 3300-3000/2900 B.C.; III: 3000/2900-2300 B.C.; IV: 2300-2000 B.C.; V: 2000-1850 B.C.; VI: after 1850 B.C.).

This article introduces six examples out of a larger corpus of evidence for early administration and writing that has been recovered from the site of Tepe Sofalin, which lies on the Rey Plain of the north-central Iranian Plateau. These documents illustrate the transition from tokens and Bullae to numero-ideographic and ultimately early Proto Elamite tablets. The form and content of the corpus of evidence material that has so far been excavated at Tepe Sofalin is entirely consistent with that of late Uruk related/Susa II and early Proto Elamite administrative documents and tablets that have been found in different parts of Iran and are known to date from c. 3500 to 3000 B.C. Here, the site of Tepe Sofalin is introduced, one Bullae, four numerical tablets, and one early Proto-Elamite tablet are described, the chronology of the site is discussed and the broader import of these findings is outlined.

From 224 to 651 AD, the Sasanian dynasty created one of the most powerful empires in the pre-Islamic Middle East. The dynasty ruled from the Euphrates to the Indus, holding a position of supremacy for more than four centuries and exerting a direct influence from Egypt to China via the Silk Road and maritime trade routes.  Seals and seals impressions are the most abundant class of cultural artifacts surviving from the Sassanian era. They are commonly found from West to Central Asia and even beyond, from Europe to Southeast Asia. The importance of their study is from two aspects, on one hand, they are as historical documents and on the other hand, they are valuable works of art and a way to understand the culture and civilization.  This study conducted in a descriptive-analytical method using written sources, tries to read four samples of the Sassanian’s seals of the National Museum of ancient Iran, which are part of the confiscated items collection. The purpose of this research is to read inscriptions and examine the roles of these seals.

Iranian Azarbaijan and the southern Caucasus have relatively good environmental conditions for the formation of ancient settlements. These include the Lake of Urmia and the coasts of Aras in northwestern Iran and the basins of the Kora River, Mill-Moghan (mountainous areas) in the South Caucasus. The archaeological evidences and recent researches in the two geographical areas provide commonalities and cultural similarities of the period. The main purpose of this article is to introduce traditions of pottery and sites and determine the chronological sequence in the study areas. In order to achieve cultural interactions in the studied geographical area in the Chalcolithic period, the following questions are proposed: What is the status of chronological sequence in the two cultural domains? The main hypothesis in this regard is the existence of chronology is almost identical in the two geographical areas. How do the settlement layers and the sequence of habitation from the Neolithic to the Chalcolithic period in ancient sites show the issue of cultural continuity and transmission? The present writing is done by descriptive-analytical method. As a final result, it can be said that similarities and differences of archaeological data, including the features of pottery, architectural structure, burial etc. point out that by studying areas such as Dalma Tepe, Jolfa’s Kul Tepe, Khoy’s Dava Göz, etc. in Northwestern Iran and Leila Tepesi, Qalayeri, Poylu Tepe, etc in the South Caucasus region have been obtained and in terms of chronology, the millennium BC includes 5000 BC to 3700-3600 BC.