Abstract Western perceptions of the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran tend to be dominated by considerations of the many belligerent statements from Iranian leaders. Such a picture ignores Iran’s foreign policy toward the Islamic nations of Central Asia. Iran’s leaders, while basing some of their foreign policy on their self-identification as the vanguard of a global revolutionary movement, pursue a more pragmatic course with the nations of Central Asia. Issues of trade, finance, resources, and other non-ideological national interests have dominated the Islamic Republic of Iran’s relations with Central Asia.

Abstract Today, oral tradition continues within written culture and electronic media in transformed form. This evolution has been influenced by urbanization and technological developments. Media organizations and digital platforms have increased their influence, leading to transformations in social and cultural domains. Media organizations play an instrumental role in shaping oral heritage through the creation, utilization, and consumption of these traditions. In this new age—characterized by Ong as secondary oral culture and McLuhan as the global village—oral tradition persists within a contemporary framework. This research examines the utilitarian and performance-oriented dimensions of Turkish, Kurdish, and Armenian oral traditions in the Anatolian and Caucasian regions through concrete examples. Cultural components such as poetry, mâni (short, rhymed quatrains), folk melodies, narratives, and allegories are sustained in response to necessities and transformation processes. They are transmitted through digital platforms within a framework that includes bards, dengbêjs (traditional Kurdish minstrels), and gusan / ašuł (bards). These cultural elements become consumable commodities through mass distribution, reinforcing the influence of the cultural industries on radio, television, and cinema.

Abstract One of the most investigated aspects of prehistory in the Ancient Near East is undoubtedly the Neolithic period. The scientific community has often drawn attention to attempts to reconstruct the complex processes of Neolithization undergone by hunter-gatherer communities. Over the last few years, much has been done to reconstruct Neolithization processes on the Iranian plateau with particular attention to the Zagros Mountain region, probably rightly considered one of the points from which Neolithic cultures spread in the upper Mesopotamia area. This contribution aims to provide a comprehensive reassessment of the available data, with discussion of several crucial aspects of the Neolithic phases of north-western Iran. These critical issues are mostly connected to the absence of systematic investigations of Neolithic sites, and to a series of problems regarding the interpretation of the scarce information available. The paper therefore provides an overview of the current state of knowledge and proposals, together with and some new suggestions concerning these issues.

Abstract This article examines the impact of Sasanian hegemony in Georgia (Kartli/Iberia) on the monuments of early Christian Georgia’s material culture. It explores how Sasanian political power and influence were conveyed through visual imagery, depicting Kartli as an adaptive yet creatively distinct realm that incorporated many elements of Sasanian art and culture into early Christian iconography. The article focuses on some iconographic motifs representing the Sasanian concept of royalty and their adaptation to Georgian culture, analyzed through both Iranian and Georgian visual sources, as well as Georgian textual data.

Abstract This article examines the history, current state and prospects of Oriental and African Studies (OAS) in modern Russia. It explains why there are several educational models of OAS at bachelor’s and master’s degree in Russia and describes the current situation where 22 Russian universities offering OAS programmes produce graduates with mostly only two majors, i.e., historians and philologists. The article addresses the position of OAS among modern Russian scientific disciplines. Another aim is to trace the historical logic of the development of Oriental Studies and related African Studies in Russia, placing the discourse in the context of the Eastern Question, or the political fate of the Ottoman Empire. Finally, it identifies and justifies some current alternative trends in the development of OAS in Russian education and science.

Abstract This article examines the development of the judicial and legal systems in the First Republic of Armenia (1918–1920), highlighting key reforms and challenges. It explores the establishment of various courts, including conciliation, district, and appellate courts, as well as the introduction of a jury court and notarial activities. Despite progressive reforms aimed at democratizing the legal system, such as the creation of jury courts and the regulation of investigatory bodies, widespread malfeasance plagued state administration. Efforts to combat corruption through the establishment of the Extraordinary Investigative Commission and Extraordinary Court proved ineffective, leading to their abolition in 1920. The article also discusses the failure to adopt a constitution, largely due to the republic’s short-lived existence and unresolved political crises. This research draws on primary sources including materials from the National Archives of the Republic of Armenia, parliamentary and government session minutes from 1918–1920, official records, statistical data, periodicals, and contemporary writings.

Abstract The present paper investigates the role of children as mediators between the world of humans and the divine, as reflected in Zoroastrian Middle Persian texts. Taking the curious portrayal of the main protagonist of the Pahlavi “Story of Jōišt ī Friyān” as a starting point, it examines how the author of the tale accentuates his own educational message by attributing it to an underage boy. In this context the article attempts to contribute to the discussion on the place of visions in traditional Zoroastrian society and literature.

Abstract This paper is an overview of two archeological finds of spearheads from Ani (in the form of a trident with a central straight prong and two side curved hooks) and Dvin (long and heavy spearhead, oval in form, flat in section with round socket). Well-known Byzantine, Georgian, Kyivan Rus’, and Muslim Near East archeological, pictorial, and figurative sources will be compared to elucidate the purpose, dating, and origin of the above-mentioned spearheads.

Abstract Documents newly found in the Historical Archives of Azerbaijan Republic reveal that as early as 1912 Ottoman agents were engaged in attempts to entice the Transcaucasian Muslims against Russia and prepare them for the war, which would break out a year-and-a-half later, namely the First World War. Ottomans encouraged the smuggling of Russian weapons and ammunition to regions bordering the Southern Caucasus, especially Northwestern Iran, counting on the sympathy of the Turkophones therein against the Russians, or on their antagonism towards the presence of Russian forces in their own territories. The heightened smuggling of Russian weapons and ammunition alarmed the Russian authorities who began looking into the cases of smugglings in an attempt to prevent or minimize them. Their findings, as expressed in their correspondences, pointed towards an extensive smuggling network headed by an Iranian émigré named Karbalāʾī who ran it with members of his own family and in collaboration with a number of Russian officials.