Welcome to Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation
The Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation was established in 1990 with the mission to guarantee the Encyclopædia Iranica's intellectual independence and ensure its ongoing publication both in digital and print versions. Learn More
-
Cinema Iranica
Cinema Iranica provides historical articles on movies, genres, film movements, filmographies, directors, composers, stars, cinematographers ...
start exploring -
Women Poets Iranica
Women Poets Iranica is an integrative encyclopedia of postclassical, modern, and contemporary women poets.
start exploring
Encyclopædia Iranica
The Encyclopædia Iranica is a comprehensive research tool dedicated to the study of Iranian civilization in the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.
Featured Articles
-
ĀSĪĀ (or āsīāb, Mill)
or āsīāb, "mill." Before World War II most grain ground to produce flour for the staple in the Iranian diet, bread, was processed by traditionally powered mills, principally watermills. Except in remote areas they have been replaced by diesel or electrically-driven mills, and old machinery has fallen derelict.
-
COAL
Ordinary Persians claimed that, as they could not burn coal in their water pipes, they had no need of it. Only Europeans living in Tehran and Tabrīz used coal for heating; they collected it from the surface in baskets.