Oriental Studies

Will There Be a Continuation?

2022-09-29T13:41:02+04:00

A Georgian translation of Fariba Vafi’s novel “After the End” has recently been published („Intelekti“, 2021, translated by Mzia Burjanadze). Currently, Fariba Vafi is considered one of the most popular and outstanding writers in Iran. Her novels and collections of stories have been awarded numerous prizes. In 2017, the German translation of Vafi’s novel “Tarlan” was awarded “Liberatur” prize in Frankfurt. Up to this day, Fariba Vafi has published seven novels and five collections of short stories. “After the End”, which was published in 2013 in Iran, has been translated only into Georgian so far. The novel is a contemporary version of ancient genres of travel and conversation, which used to be extremely popular and organic to old Persian literature.

The dialogues and monologues, situational images, the so-called “flashbacks~ – serve concrete purposes. The narration, which is simple at a glance, introduces acute social problems by means of flashbacks: the issue of gender and stages of its evolution, tragic events of the period of Islamic Revolution, destruction of human lives, physical and psychological pressure, the hardship of emigration and related spiritual pain, the abyss between the emigrants and those who have stayed in the country; the sense of slavery, which has been fixed solidly in the mentality and turned into a permanent complex, despite the change in legislation and granted freedom...

Manzar, who has arrived on a brief visit to Iran, and her hostess Roya, travel from Tehran to Tabriz. During the several days of their journey, we observe two positions, two viewpoints, two attitudes to the world, people and problems.

The writer addresses different topics, but her focus is always on love and its diverse forms: the love between mother and child, husband and wife, sisters, sister and brother, friends, lovers, the love of motherland, nature, beauty and kindness... In this regard, Vafi’s works constantly seek the sense of life, the function of a human being in the endless universe. According to the writer, the source of human life and its driving force is love. She contemplates on the question: what has created love and what has made love as it is? Why has love disappeared and why human soul has become so harsh? And, what is most important, what is the role and responsibility of a human being in this process?

Together with the protagonists, the reader comes across the structures and institutions that destroy human relationships: patriarchal traditions, deeply rooted customs and traditions, local or global cataclysms, violence, psychological barriers and numerous other obstacles.

The novel embraces several key issues. One of the main characters, Manzar, internally opposes the end of these issues, because all of them are connected with love. In my opinion, the title of the novel is interesting in this respect, because it reflects the author’s “concept of love“.

Manzar thinks that “everything will end with her”. While a person is alive and has the faculty of love, there is no end. It is quite possible that there will be a continuation after the end.

The novel is open-ended. We do not know how the relationships will continue in the future which, thanks to the efforts of people like Manzar, may follow any end!

Fariba Vafi never says anything categorically. For her, life, individual human beings and their relationships are complicated phenomena. Thus, she never tries to be categorical about anything or anyone. The writer always grants the freedom of choice to her characters as well as the reader.

Postmodernist Elements in Elif Shafak's Novel "The Forty Rules of Love"

2022-09-29T13:45:57+04:00

Attitude of the human of postmodernist epoch to the world is epistemological. He/she attempts to clarify, how to “deal~ with this world, what kind of attitude to it should be developed/ Postmodernist literature describes very closely the spiritual crisis of the individuals of postmodernist epoch. And this spiritual crisis is so intense that he/she seeks the “way of salvation” in the best experiences of the past days, past views and beliefs and philosophy. And the most prominent example of our words is the art of the contemporary woman author, Elif Shafak. Elif Shafak appeared in the world of literature in 1980. With respect of the themes and creative-expressive techniques, her art is a very interesting subject of research. The writer’s novels comprise some kind of history, created through unifying of the real and unreal worlds. The issues of the past, modernization, estrangement, identity, philosophy are of great significance in the writer’s art. Elif Shafak’s biography is as interesting, as her art. Analysis with regard of postmodernist trends. In this respect, this novel provides very vast
material for analysis. On the basis of such analysis it was found that the postmodernist trends are mostly provided through dual coding, intertextuality
and parody techniques. Let us focus on the characters of the novel. In our opinion, the dual coding technique is applied in relation to them. In addition, as
the novel is of apparently Sufi nature. In our analysis we rely on Sufi these of human perfection, spiritual training and supremacy of love. With respect of its
structure, the novel fully corresponds to the style of postmodern novel. There are several main characters there, time is anachronistic and there can be clearly seen such postmodern trends, as:

Intertextuality
Dual coding
Plagiary
Speaking names

Medieval characters are determined in the images of the characters of 21st century, the time boundaries between them are effaced, they communicate with
one another at the conscience level. Cleary Sufi nature of the novel makes it much more monolithic. And this monolith nature can be seen in uninterrupted fable. One story is logical continuation of the other, though these two stories intermingle.

Fairy-Tale Land of Women in Literary and Folk Oral Narratives

2022-09-29T13:49:43+04:00

The myth of the land of warrior women is mainly known from Ancient Greek tradition. The myth is based on a polarization of the two sexes. This theme
is also well-known in narrative traditions of Near Eastern and Europe, both in literary and oral forms. Important literary sources for the legend about places
where the warrior women live are histories by Herodotus, Egyptian story of Prince Pedikhons and Queen Serpot, Persian romance of Queen Zarina, Chinese
folk songs on Hua Mulan as well as folk oral narratives. In the article, there are discussed the fragments from the Thousand and One Nights: the tales of King Umar ibn al-Numan and Hasan from Basra. Theses tales show motif parallels with some Georgian folktales. According to the Motif-Index of Folk-Literature by Stith Thompson, in these Georgian folktales following international motifs are included: J2411.1: Imitation of magic rejuvenation unsuccessful; F112: Journey to Land of Women, island of women, land of maidens, country of the Amazons,"maidenland"; F565: Women warriors or hunters; F565.1. Amazons; D1610: Magic speaking objects.

The themes of warrior woman in Arabian Nights and in Georgian folktales, examined in this article, follow a stereotypical pattern. In most cases a warrior woman has to be vanquished in a wrestling duel before she will accept a suitor as
her husband.

About some Arabisms in the Common Georgian-Armenian Vocabulary

2022-09-29T13:52:12+04:00

The article is a continuation of our work, aim of which is to show and analyze lexical items of Arabic origin in common Georgian-Armenian words. The material discussed is taken from dictionaries of all three languages.

As expected, the lexemes that we study, were not revealed in the old Georgian language. Some of them are not found in the dictionary by SulkhanSaba Orbeliani, however, they are recorded in the dictionaries by Niko or Davit Chubinashvili.

aynuni – comes from Arabic عين/ عيون’ –ayn/‘uyūn, meaning “eye”. In the Georgian language, the word is found in fixed expressions followed by a finite
verb. ainunshic ar mosdis — somebody does not pay attention, to ignore somebody. In the Armenian language it is found as այնում [aynum], Arabic ‘ayn,
Persian eyn „eye“ in the expression “the light of my eye”. According to the definition in the modern Armenian language, that is a component of a fixed expression – [այնում] meaning "not paying attention, ignoring, not giving importance”.

amali < Arabic. عمال’ /ammāl – „worker, always working”; عامل’ /āmil – „worker“. This Arabic borrowing [hamal] is recorded in modern Armenian dictionaries meaning „loader”.

The word Parcel (amanati) comes fromArabic امانة/ʾamānat (امن) verb) meaning: 1. Reliability, loyalty, honesty. 2. Item given for storage, deposit. امانات / ʾamānāt — „given for storage. The borrowed word (parcel) amanati maintained all consonants in Georgian.

In the modern Armenian language, this word is synonymous with the word "guarantee, pledge, mortgage, deposit". The Arabic word amānat „guarantee,
pledge which is borrowed from Turkish comes from the word amnwhich means “trust, security”.

araki – in Arabic اراك/arāk it means a species of a tree that has a reddishpurple fruit. This word is found in the modern Armenian language Արաք and արագ meaning “an unknown species of a tree that is useful for intraoral pain disorders and is used as toothpick. Theword comes from Arabic arāk meaning “a kind of thorny tree which is a favorite food for the camel; the tree is also used to make toothpicks”. Europeans call it arack, however scientifically it is called “salvadora persica”. According to the explanatory dictionary of the Old Georgian language, the word has two meanings: 1. araki – pea and 2. araki- kind of building material.

araqati – the word is associated with Arabic حركة/haraqat meaning “movement, action“. haraqat was also introduced into Georgian as a descriptive name for an abstract concept — "force, strength, effort". There are 2 definitions of the word in Grishashvili's "Urban Dictionary: 1. arakati — is an Arabic word and the
name of the mountain and valley located on the east side of Mecca. According to the custom, the worshipers take a break and recite the Koran aloud on their way to Mecca. 2) the second meaning of the word is effort, strength, hovsila.

The lexeme we have just looked atհարաքաթ[harakat] is found also in the Armenian language with meanings: 1. movement. 2. strength, ability, opportunity." In the modern explanatory dictionaries հարաքյաթ[harakat] is found as a dialect form meaning "strength, power, ability".

arshia (lace) – without any reference to origin, the word has three meanings in the Explanatory Dictionary of the Georgian Language — 1. stripe on the edges of the fabric, different in color or material; 2. is the same as the ribbon; 3. an edge left unwritten in a book or notebook. The origin of the word given in Georgian is Arabic.حاشية/ḥāšiyat (<plural حواشي/ḥawāshi – „margin, page, edge. marking the margin”... There is no word (arshia) in the Middle Armenian
language, which indicates its late borrowing. However, it is found in dialects հաշիա [hashia] meaning: “a soft openwork ribbon, a sheet that is sewn to linen or the edges of clothes”. In modern Armenian explanatory dictionaries the word „hashia“ is defined as a synonym of an Armenian word ժապավեն[zhapaven], meaning “ribbon, tie, strap, tie-string, chenille”. The Armenian form indicates its indisputable borrowing, because the ia sequence, which is not characteristics for the phonetic structure of the Armenian language, and is recorded only in borrowed words, must have turned into ya diphthong.

In Georgian dictionaries the word attlas (satin) is defined as woven, brocade silk. It comes from Arabic اطلس/ʾaṭlas „fabric, material“. It entered the Georgian language with the same pronunciation as transcription, presumably in writing. In the Middle Armenian the word is found as աթլաս [atlas ], ադլաս [adlas], ատլաս [atlas]. Etymology of the word is Arabic (aṭlas). It is defined as “a soft cloth of silk, a piece; clothes.” In the Modern Armenian explanatory dictionaries the word ատլաս[atlas] is found as a synonym of the word կերպաս [kerpas] meaning: 1.cotton or silk fabric; 2. silk woven; 3. silk.

According to the Explanatory Dictionary of the Georgian Language, the word mayhem (akal-makali) is defined as an Arabic borrowing with the meaning
„quarrel, bustle, row, turmoil, commotion”. There is another variation (kalmakali) of the same word in Georgian. Arabic expression والقيل القال /al-qÁl walq×l “talking a lot of rubbish, rumor, gossip “was transformed into Georgian as „quarrel, bustle, row, turmoil, commotion”. There is no equivalent borrowing in
the Middle Armenian. However, there are borrowings in the Modern Armenian language and in dilects used as synonyms of Armenian words: 1.ղալմաղալ [ghalmaghal]defined as աղմուկ [aghmuk] meaning „noise, bustle, loud call, uproar” and 2. վեճ [vech] „argument, dispute". qalmaqāl — „word and speech,
rumor“ is an Arabic borrowing that entrenched in Armenian through the Turkish language.

According to the Explanatory Dictionary of the Georgian Language, the word dalali is defined as 1. mediator, middleman trader (archaic); 2.the same as matchmaker; 3. Street trader. In Arabic, the word دالل] dallāl] means „1. Broadcaster, 2. Broker, mediator 3. auctioneer“. The word comes from Arabic verb دل [dalla]: „ ... send somebody/something to right direction.

The word դալալ [dalal] is found in the Middle Armenian language dating back to the XIV century. The reference of the word dāllal indicates its Arabic/Persian origin and means mediator, commission agent (in trade and other activities). According to the Modern Explanatory Dictionaries of the Armenian Language, the above mentioned lexeme is defined as dialect.

According to Armenian opinion, dialect forms դալլալ[dallal] and դալալ [dalal] are of Arabic origin with the meanings: — „1.herald, a person who shouts the news in the street; 2.packman (archaic), hawker, pedlar”.

Thus, the lexical items presented in the article are Arabic borrowings, which are the lexemes of the modern Georgian and Armenian lexical fund.

On the Specifics of the Plural Forms in Arabic

2022-09-29T13:58:10+04:00

Towards the Etymology of Avtandil and ispri in "The Knight in the Panther's Skin"

2022-09-29T14:02:40+04:00

1. The paper deals with the etymology of Avtandil (the name one of the protagonists of “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin”). On the basis of critical
analysis of already existing etymological research in Rustvelology Studies proposes a new version of etymology of the name, namely, Avtandil is composed of two constituents: Avtan < Arabic أفضل]ʼafḍal] “the best, outstanding", and dil < دل]dil] of the Turkish origin meaning “language, tongue”. The meaning of
دل أفضل]ʼafḍal dil] > Avtandil (after dissimilation l > n in the first constituent) can be interpreted as following: "the eloquent, a great orator." Avtandil as the personal name, must be composed by Shota Rustaveli similar to the Arabic laqab and highlights the main personal features of its possessor (and eloquence of Avtandil in the poem is beyond doubt).

2. In “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin” the collocation isprita ghebulni ("colored by ispri") occurs when Shota Rustaveli uses it to express the emotional
state of the "Palace folk" of Melik Surkhav Palace after Nestan-Darejan made her escape. Traditionally, isfri is interpreted as Georgian iisperi wich means “violet”, as it is implied that this color was considered as color of mourning. In the paper supposition is presented that phonetic expression and contextual use of ispri allows to presume that it is originated from Arabic أصفر‘]aṣfar] – "yellow". The color yellow is usually perceived as negative color of physiological and psychological illness, in the Arabic-speaking community: اصفر]iṣfarra] ("to become yellow") express the meaning “to become pale”; similar perception of this color was familiar for Georgian society as well (cf. Georgian zapranis peri daedo – lit. "he was covered with tagetes (tagetes is yellow flower) color", i.e. turned pale, grow pale. Numerous examples of this connotation of yellow is confirmed in the literary works of middle ages. Consequently, Rustaveli's isprita ghebulni may be understood as "colored in yellow", i.e. turned pale.

Morphosyntax and Syntax Style of Safavid (Medieval) Era’s Persian Language: Data to Diachronic Typological Dynamics of Historical Grammar

2022-09-29T14:05:33+04:00

On the Issues Concerning the Transliteration of Arabic Personal Names into Georgian

2022-09-29T14:11:02+04:00

Recently, certain extra-linguistic realities, namely, increased migration flow from Arab countries, intensification of diplomatic relations, enhancement of
cooperation in economic and tourism-related fields between Georgia and the Arab world, have raised the issue of translating Arabic official documents and,
accordingly, the practical need for the elaboration of rules of transliteration of the Arabic personal names into Georgian. The situation is complicated by the fact that interpreters rely not on the source language (Arabic), but the intermediary language (often – English).

The paper deals with the problems arising during the transliteration of personal name prefixed by the definite article al-; issues regarding transliteration
of the Arabic vowels and some specific Arabic consonants; Transliteration of the geminated consonants in the Arabic personal names; transliteration of the socalled Kunya and Nasab.

Transliteration of Arabic personal names into Georgian is complex for many reasons. The absence of a unified system of transliteration is one of the
vital concerns. For instance, names prefixed by the definite article al- take different forms when transliterated into Georgian. First problem is the form of
the article – whether to use al- or its allomorph el-, or whether to distinguish between the so called solar and lunar letters or not. Arabic documents translated into Georgian depict the usage of all enumerated forms. Another problem is the absence of a unified rule of transliterating al- and its following word, whether to mix them or divide by the hyphen. In addition, no unified rule exists for treating compound names consisting of the definite article. To standardize the transliteration of such names, we assume that it is better to use the form al- and to leave al- and the following name divided by the hyphen.

As for the issues concerning transliteration of Arabic vowels, they appear in different forms which lead to variation in transliteration of vowels. To make the rules unified, it is better to depend on the rules of Classical Arabic and to use three fixed vowels rather than their variants.

Concerning some specific Arabic consonants, like (خ، ط، ك، ق (it worth mentioning that interpreters often depend on an English version of a document,
which leads to mistransliteration of these consonants within the framework of Arabic and Georgian language phonetic systems.

Transliteration of the geminated consonants in the Arabic personal names is also problematic. Geminated consonants are sometimes transliterated with one or a double consonant. To standardize the methods of transliteration of such names, it is necessary to consider that Arabic personal names, on their turn, are meaningful words; thus, it is better to transliterate geminated consonants with a double consonant into Georgian.

As for the transliteration of the so-called Nasab, the issue of transliteration of ابن/بن element is problematic. Wide-spread versions are: ben, bin, ibn and bnu. It is recommended to choose bin for names depicted in modern official documents. As for ibn and bnu, it should remain unchanged in traditionally established forms of historical names.

The purpose of the paper is to highlight the problem on the basis of description and analysis of errors commonly confirmed in this field. Presented ways about the solution of the problems can only be regarded as the author's modest suppositions.

Russian Borrowings Integration in Tsalkian Urum

2022-09-29T14:16:58+04:00

Dāstānhā-ye Gorji. Gerdāvarandeh: ārchil khāntādze, tarjome-ye zahrā pāzokizādeh, māndānā tisheyār, rasht, nashr-e “farhang-e ilia”, 1400 (2021), 170 safheh

2022-09-29T14:51:16+04:00

Zaza Aleksidze, “Acts of Iovane Zedazneli” and “Martyrdom of Abibos Nekreseli” – Sinaitic Redaction” (Tbilisi, 2019, 288 pp.)

2022-09-29T14:55:34+04:00

Huda Fakhreddin, Nawal

2022-09-29T14:43:49+04:00

Ana Kalandadze, “Are you Arabic? ; Otar Tchiladze, “We Are Parting…"

2022-09-29T14:45:51+04:00

When the Weather God is Thundering

2022-09-29T14:47:54+04:00

Aişe kulin, Aylin (fragment)

2022-09-29T14:49:27+04:00

Al-Hira, the Capital of the Lakhmids

2022-09-29T14:20:46+04:00

Before the beginning of the IV-VII centuries, Al-Hira was the capital of the Lakhmid state and one of the large central settlements of the Arabs. Its dynamic
development was facilitated by its geographical location, climate and outgoing trade. The caravan routes connecting the east and west of the Arabian Peninsula, the proximity to the Iranian capital Ctesiphon, which at the time was one of the largest cities in the world, all contributed to the fact that al-Hira residents were well acquainted with Iranian culture. At the same time, it remained an Arab city, maintaining a traditional Arab community, and had close ties to the Arab tribes of the eastern, western, and central Arabian Peninsula. A large part of its population was Christian, called Ibad ̶ a Nestorian community that united different tribes of Arabs. He had a close relationship with Hijaz.

Between Iran and Byzantium, the Lakhmids sided with the Iran and tried to gain control of the Hijaz, but in this case its main rival was Mecca, which in turn sought to establish ties with the Arab tribes living independently of the Lakhmids.

The article focuses on the Christian community of al-Hira, which made up a significant part of the city’s population and left a large mark on its development.

Iranian Influence on the Arabic Culture of the Abbasid Period

2022-09-29T14:30:17+04:00

For the Interpretation of the Mesopotamian Ritual of Gaining the Abundant Harvest of Wheat

2022-09-29T14:37:14+04:00

Some Issues of Economic, Political and Cultural Relationship with Dynasty of Shadadians of Tbilisi Emirate Based on Numismatic Material

2022-09-29T14:40:52+04:00

Our goal is to examine the historical relations between the Tbilisi Emirate and the Emirates of Shadadians according to numismatic materials. Numismatic
material is one of the most important sources in the study of the period of X-XI cc. In the article we will review three main Emirates of Shadadian dynasty: The Emirates of cities Ganja, Ani and Dvin.

The study of monetary circulation is a unique method of restoring data about historical and economic relations between countries. Each discovered coin or
treasure of coins can provide scholars invaluable historical material, which in the future will become the basis for a number of articles, books, or monographs. Some of the numismatic aspects mentioned in the article, indicate the close relations that existed between the countries in Region.

The article presents our reading of the inscriptions of the recently discovered coins. In some cases the inscriptions are completely decrypted, while in some cases, due to the defect of the inscriptions, only a partial reconstruction of them is given.

The Administration Division of Syria in the Period of Ottoman Rule (16th-18th centuries)

2022-09-29T13:37:01+04:00