Iran

It seems I wanted to make a lot of notes about Avicenna, probably because I keep mixing him up with someone like Averroes or Paracelsus.

Questions

With its distinctive interior, in which city and namesake north-western province can you find the Sheikh Safi al-Din Khanegah and Shrine Ensemble? Persian carpets named for this place can be found in the Victoria & Albert Museum and Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

ARDABIL

A historical hydraulic system used for irrigation can be found in which island city in Khuzestan province, this being included in list of Iran’s World Heritage Sites?

SHUSHTAR

The first part of its name meaning ‘throne’, which World Heritage listed archaeological site in the Iranian province of West Azerbaijan had a temple housing one of the three ‘Great Fires’ of the Sassanians?

TAKHT-E SOLEYMAN

Avicenna died in which city that also gives its name to an Iranian province? The Medes capital of Ecbatana was situated within its current borders.

HAMADAN / HAMEDAN

Completed in the Iranian city of Hamadan, what is the name of Avicenna’s five-book encyclopedia of medical knowledge in the contemporary Islamic world?

CANON OF MEDICINE

Sometimes called the Later Western Liao, which double-barreled Khitan dynasty that ruled over Kirman in Iran from 1222 to 1306 was for a time a vassal state of the larger Ilkhanate? It is seen as a successor to the Qara Khitai after they were driven west thanks to 13th century Mongol expansion.

QUTLUGH-KHANID

The first and last sultans of the Seljuk Empire both shared what regnal name that was suggestive of a raptor like a goshawk? A mythological bird that is a national symbol of Hungary has a slightly different spelling.

TUGHRIL (The Hungarian bird being the Turul)

Although considered a father of modern medicine, Avicenna wrote a book called “Kitab al-Shifa” that is not about curing disease but improving their soul. By what English title is this philosophical and scientific encyclopedia known?

THE BOOK OF HEALING

Ben Kingsley played famous Persian medical man Avicenna in which 2013 film that was a success in his native Germany for director Philipp Stölzl?

THE PHYSICIAN

Awarded for ethics in science, which world agency hands out the Avicenna prize, its limited list of recipients including Renzong Qiu and Zabta Khan Shinwari?

UNESCO

Iran

I had a complete run through of Iranian World Heritage Sites, not that the names are sticking. Learning some basic Arabic might help smooth the path.

Questions

Not to be confused with the earlier founder of the Pontus Empire, Mithridates I of Parthia was the one who gained the title of ‘the Great’. His 2nd century reign was sandwiched between two kings that went by what name, the first being his brother and second his son, neither of them having particularly lengthy spells at the top?

PHRAATES

Having a name meaning ‘image of the world’, what is the World Heritage listed main square of Isfahan called?

NAQSH-E JAHAN

When Shapur the Great’s reign finally ended in 379 AD he was succeeded by a king with what regnal name, the second in his line to carry it with the first having been the Sassanian Empire’s founder?

ARDASHIR

Including one of the few remaining ziggurats outside of Mesopotamia, which ancient Elamite complex in Khuzestan province in south-west Iran was one of the first sites to be added to the World Heritage list? It literally means ‘basket mound’ and was excavated from 1951 to 1961 by Kharkiv-born archaeologist Roman Ghirshman.

CHOGHA ZANBIL

Persepolis is situated in the plains of which city that is encircled by the southern Zagros mountains? The second part of its name means ‘plain’.

MARVDASHT

Situated in East Azerbaijan province, which Armenian monastery on Iran’s Unesco list is situated in a deep canyon along the Araxes on the Iranian side of the border with Nakchivan? It is also known in Armenia as Maghardavank.

SAINT STEPANOS MONASTERY

Which repetitive sounding chapel in West Azerbaijan province is included in Iran’s Armenian churches Unesco entry alongside Saint Thaddeus Monastery and Saint Stepanos Monastery? It had its heyday in the 14th century before being abandoned and destroyed in the 17th century when Abbas I decided to displace the Armenians.

CHAPEL OF DZORDZOR

In charge when the Bam citadel was destroyed in an earthquake, who was the fifth president of Iran from 1997 to 2005?

MOHAMMAD KHATAMI

Which ancient village in Kerman province was inhabited 12,000 years ago and is characterised by hand-dug residences in the rocks? In a 2006 census, 673 people still lived there!

MEYMAND

Mother to Darius III, who was taken prisoner following the Battle of Issus in 333 BC after her son retreated without her? Spared from execution, she became fond of the Macedonian king and apparently starved herself to death only a few days after he died.

SISYGAMBIS

Situated in the heart of the Zagros Mountains in the provinces of Kurdistan and Kermanshah, which cultural landscape has been inhabited by Kurds since about 3,000 BC? It features houses that have been built steeply against the side of a mountain.

HAWRAMAN

Looking a bit like a giant crayon, which World Heritage listed tower in Golestan province marks the grave of an 11th Century Ziyarid ruler?

GONBAD E-QABUS

Part of a World Heritage Site, the Qajar Golestan Palace of Tehran is also known by what botanical name?

ROSE GARDEN PALACE

There also being a mosque by this name in Yazd, what is the Persian name for the Friday Mosque in Isfahan?

(MASJED-E) JAMEH OR JAMÉ

Meaning ‘the burnt city’, which Stone age urban settlement associated with the Helmand culture located in Sistan & Baluchistan province has the reasons for its unexpected rise and fall still shrouded in mystery? Finds here include the earliest known artificial eyeball.

SHAHR-E SUKHTEH