The Golden Fleece: Myth, Euhemeristic Explanation and Archaeology

'The Golden Fleece' figures in Greek mythology as the principal objective of the expedition of the Argonauts. The question of the essence and real meaning of the Golden Fleece is widely discussed in the Classical world and modern specialist literature as well. It can be hypothesized that in Greek stories about the Argonauts the Golden Fleece was a symbol of a protector of royal power. The country where the Golden Fleece was preserved, i.e. Aea/Colchis, is identified with modern Western Georgia. The richness of Colchis in metal, mainly gold, became a basis for the euhemerizing, i.e. rationalist explanation, of the Golden Fleece.     

Muhammad Ghaffari: The Persian Painter of Modern Life

In the late nineteenth century, Qajar Iran, like its neighbor the Ottoman Empire, faced the dual challenges of colonialism and modernity. This paper considers the role of art education and art production in its response to these forces, focusing on the leading court painter of the late Qajar period, Mirza Muhammad Ghaffari, Kamal al-Mulk (1848–1941), whose career bridged the late Qajar period and the early twentieth century. Early in his career, Ghaffari was recognized as the leading exponent of academic painting, yet by the constitutional period his art had evolved into a style representing contemporary Persian life, a style which was informed by nationalistic discourses current in intellectual and political circles. This paper's consideration of the evolution of his style from a European modernism to an authentic Iranian modernism includes Ghaffari's training as a painter, the role of photography in the development of his style, his travel to Europe, and parallels with the art and career of the Ottoman painter Osman Hamdi.     

The Myth of Authority and the Authority of Myth

The view of local governors in the Russian Empire as all-powerful is overly simplistic and cannot in itself explain the Russian Revolution of 1917.     

Making Original Men: Elijah Muhammad,The Nation of Islam,and The Fruit of Islam

Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam converted thousands of African American men to Islam during the height of the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Power Movement. Muhammad's men neither protested for Civil Rights nor subscribed to the militancy of the Black Power Movement. Indeed, they construed both to be fundamentally flawed routes to justice, freedom, and equality. Nation men, or Fruit of Islam (FOI) as they are more commonly known, believed that through Islam, racial separation, and community building initiatives they could ultimately reclaim their freedom, self-respect, and manhood. The NOI provided men with a newfound sense of self and purpose and in doing so imbued them with a deep-rooted appreciation for Islam, as taught by Elijah Muhammad. Rank-and-file male members of the faith community remain largely overlooked in the extant scholarship on the NOI. This article seeks to recover the stories of rank-and-file FOI. It assesses the organisation's appeal to men, the varied means by which it challenged them and the burdens the community placed on FOI.     

Irano-Russian Trade and Travel: Haj Muhammad Hassan Amin al-Zarb and Others

Contacts between Russians and Persians have a long history going back to 1592 during the reign of the Safavid dynasty (1501–1736). However, the impact of Russia upon Persia was only felt as a result of military defeats in 1813 and 1828. In nineteenth century Persia there were many geographical obstacles which prevented foreigners including Russians from trading with Persia. This situation changed with the Treaty of Turkmanchai and its commercial protocol which gave Russian merchants special benefits and advantages. Consequently, by the 1860s Russian steamships started postal, passenger and cargo service from Baku to Persian Caspian ports and railheads advanced through the Caucasus to Tiflis. Persia traded with Russia on a much larger scale than with any other country. One of the Persian merchants who traded extensively with or through Russia to Europe was Haj Muhammad Hassan Amin al-Zarb (1834–98), the most prominent merchant of his time, and subsequently his son Haj Husayn Aqa Amin al-Zarb II. The article discusses Amin al-Zarb's trade and relations with Russia based upon unpublished material in the Amin al-Zarb archives in Tehran.