Farhang-e Eṣfahān, Rūznāme (newspaper)

Farhang (Isfahan),a news periodical published during the reign of Nāṣer al-Dīn Shah (r. 1848–1896/1264–1313).

Farhang [Culture], directed by Mīrzā Taqī Anṣārī Kāshānī, known as Ḥakīm-bāshī—the private physician of Ẓell al-Sulṭān*—was issued in Isfahan from 1879–1890/1296–1308.

Ḥakīm-bāshī was a graduate of the medical faculty of the Dār al-funūn, and in addition to practicing medicine, he was also engaged in journalism. He had earlier published the newspaper Fars (al-munṭaba‛a fī al-Fārs) in Shiraz in 1872/1289,¹ which was the first periodical in the Fars region.² This newspaper was suspended after a short time.³ After accompanying Ẓell al-Sulṭān to Isfahan, Ḥakīm-bāshī founded Farhang at his request and managed it for seven years. Farhang was the first regularly printed Persian-language periodical published in Isfahan.⁴ For his services—such as establishing the “Society of Physicians of Isfahan*” and publishing Farhang—Ḥakīm-bāshī was granted Ẓell al-Sulṭān’s “favors” and received a ceremonial terme robe of honor. Because of Ẓell al-Sulṭān’s patronage, Ḥakīm-bāshī expressed admiration for him; although Ẓell al-Sulṭān forbade personal praise in the newspaper, Ḥakīm-bāshī considered him worthy of commendation.⁵

Ḥakīm-bāshī passed away on April 16^th, 1886/ Rajab 13^th 1303.⁶ In addition to his journalistic activities, he was the author of works such as ganj-e shāygān (Travelogue of Khūzestān) and jānevar-nāme (Book of Animals). After his death, the management of the newspaper was entrusted to Maḥmūd Afshār*. Afshār had been involved with the periodical from its inception, and several of his articles had already been published in it. Ḥakīm-bāshī referred to him as “the chronicler of the military camp and translator of the English language.”⁷ Afshār’s directorship continued for five years, until the publication of the newspaper’s final issue in 1890/1308.

The newspaper was scripted by Mīrzā ‛Abd al-Raḥīm Eṣfahānī*, known as Afsar, one of the renowned calligraphers of Isfahan, and his name appeared on the last page of the paper. Beginning in October 1886/Shawwāl 1303, he and his son Mīrzā Fatḥullāh Khan Jalālī* alternated in preparing the manuscript for publication. The newspaper’s headlines were written in naskh script, while the news and articles were composed in nasta‛līq.⁸ In the nameplate of the newspaper, the title Farhang appeared within an oval frame adorned with blossoming branches and three angels—one holding a trumpet and the other two a balance—above which the word Isfahan was inscribed. On the right side appeared the name of the printing house and the date of publication, given in Hejrī lunar, Gregorian, Jalālī, and Rūmī (Ottoman) calendars; on the left was the subscription price in Isfahan, originally two tūmāns per year, later reduced to twelve qerāns from issue no. 40 onward. Below, the rate for advertisements and notices was set at one thousand dīnār per line, followed by the statement: “Useful writings not inconsistent with the preservation of the interests of the State and the Nation will be accepted free of charge.” At the beginning of the second year, starting with issue no. 40, the nameplate was redesigned in a simpler form: the word Farhang appeared plainly at the top, with Isfahan placed beneath it. The placement of the publication date, printing house name, and price was rearranged. Two framed panels under Isfahan contained the phrases “Rules of Administration, Printing, and Composition of Farhang” and “Conditions for Subscription.” Between the newspaper’s nameplate and its main content appeared the statement: “In this gazette, matters are written concerning civic policy, governmental reforms, sciences and industries, moral counsels, commerce, and agriculture.” Farhang was issued in four pages, once a week, on Thursdays. Later it became a biweekly publication (Mondays and Thursdays), and its circulation increased from two thousand to six thousand copies per month. However, from issue no. 659 (April 5^th, 1889/ Ramaḍān 1^st 1306), due to the contraction of Ẓell al-Sulṭān’s domain and the decline in the newspaper’s quality, publication was reduced again to once a week, only on Thursdays.⁹ During its run, the printing house changed location three times. At first, the Dār al-ṭebā‛a was situated near the Dārvāze Dawlat. In July 1885/Shawwāl 1302, it was moved to the Jahān-namā building*, and from August 1887/Dhū al-Ḥajja 1304 until the end, it was located in the Naqsh-e Jahān square*. Farhang also had representatives both inside and outside Iran, who distributed the paper to subscribers. Their names were listed for readers’ information, including agents in Iraq, Arabia, Egypt, the Ottoman territories, England, France, and the Caucasus region.¹⁰

The first issue of the newspaper was published on 13^th April 1879/2^nd Jumādī al-Awwal 1296. In the opening article, Ḥakīm-bāshī, after referring to his previous experience in journalism and the publication of the newspaper Fars, and defining the term rūznāme (“newspaper”), outlined the framework and vision of the paper: in addition to reporting news related “to the province of Isfahan and its dependencies, and Yazd, Burūjerd, Kh^wansār, and Gulpāygān—which constitute the special duty of this newspaper”—the last page would be “adorned with scholarly topics, rare and novel issues, and the sciences and crafts of the more recent European sages and learned men.”¹¹

            Farhang was regarded as an unofficial publication; consequently, Hussein-Ali Khan Garūsī (Amīr-Neẓām Garūsī), the Minister of Public Works, advised that “the more news and events are included in it, the more beneficial it will be.”¹² Accordingly, news coverage held priority in Farhang. The newspaper’s reports were divided into two sections: domestic and foreign. It opened with “Internal News,” initially devoted to the city of Isfahan, and the lead item was most often concerned with Ẓell al-Sulṭān—his audiences and journeys, the decorations and titles he conferred, and the decrees he issued. Domestic reports were at times distinguished as official or unofficial; the official ones, rarely published, were quoted from the newspaper Iran. The editor of Farhang criticized those periodicals that failed to cite their sources and considered attribution “a proper method for published content.”¹³ City news also covered incidents, matters relating to civic institutions, governmental and health organizations, military developments, and even the restoration of historical monuments. Subsequent sections reported on the towns within Ẓell al-Sulṭān’s dominion, and gradually extended to Tehran and other cities. Foreign news was mainly drawn from telegrams and from periodicals printed in Istanbul, India, London, Berlin, and St. Petersburg. A column titled farhang, serving as an editorial, appeared in the middle pages and contained the editor’s reflections along with information on cultural and social issues. Announcements were usually printed on the last page. From its very first issue, the newspaper featured serialized supplements printed on pages two to four; these continued until the final issue. Among them were such works as fuṣūl-e arba‛a [a scientific treatise on the proof of the earth’s motion], nabātāt va ma‛āden va ṣanāye‛-e mukhtaṣṣe-ye mamlekat-e Isfahan [plants, mines, and industries specific to the region of Isfahan], qānūn-e ḥefẓ-e ṣeḥḥat va tanẓīf-e belād [the law on maintaining health and cleaning the country]—all authored by Ḥakīm-bāshī—together with resāle-ye neycherīyye [A treatise on the Refutation of the Materialists] by Sayyed Jamāl al-Dīn Asadābādī/Afghānī, and translated works such as tārīkh-e jang-e mashreq-zamin dar sana-ye 1877 [the History of War in Eastern land in 1877] by Mīrzā Kāẓem, a teacher at the Dār al-funūn, and tārīkh-e dawlat-e qavī-shawkat-e rūs (“History of the Mighty Russian State,” a history of Russia from ancient times) by Sergey Mikhaylovich Solovyov.¹⁴

Beginning with issue no. 355 (Vol. 9, 17 April 1886/17 Rajab 1303), the management of the newspaper passed to Maḥmūd Afshār. During Afshār’s five-year tenure as editor, the paper was at first published twice a week, later reduced to once a week. Since he served as “the chronicler of the military camp,” he showed a strong inclination towards publishing military news. The reports covered the construction of barracks and artillery units, the establishment of hospitals and pharmacies for the cavalry, army drills and maneuvers, military councils, the introduction of Iranian and foreign officers, and the publication of their correspondence.

Nevertheless, several factors impaired the quality of the newspaper. The dismissal of Ẓell al-Sulṭān and the detachment of the provinces formerly under his authority restricted Farhang’s news coverage to the city of Isfahan alone. Moreover, various constraints—and, in the words of the editor, the lack of “freedom and independence” in writing—deprived him of the liberty to express himself, which in turn led Farhang to refrain from covering domestic news. With the publication of issue no. 764 (31 May 1891/21 Ramadan 1308), Farhang was permanently discontinued, without any notice or explanation appearing in its final issue.¹⁵ Muḥīt Ṭabāṭabāʾī* later described it as “the very eye and light of Iran’s press in the final years of the Nāṣerī era.”¹⁶

In 1922/1341, Akbar Mas‛ūd, Ṣārem al-Dawle*, son of Ẓell al-Sulṭān, endowed all existing copies of Farhang—seven bound volumes—to the library of the Isfahan Secondary School (today known as Ṣāremīye* high school). Following the establishment of the Museum of Education* of Isfahan Province, this collection was transferred there.¹⁷In 2006/1385, the National Library and Archives Organization of Iran republished Farhang in four volumes, and in 2009/1388, the Parliamentary Library and Documentation Center released the Persian Press Disc of Iran, which also included the Farhang newspaper.

/Abdul Mahdi Rajaie and Parvin Qudsizad/

Bibliography

In addition to the complete run of the news periodical Farhang:

Rajaie Abdul Mahdi. tārīkh-e ejtemāʿī-ye Isfahan dar ‛aṣr-e Ẓell al-Sulṭān: az negāh-e rūznāme-ye farhang-e Isfahan. Isfahan: University of Isfahan, 2004/1383.

Ṣadr Hāshemī, Muhammad. tārīkh-e jarāyed va majallāt-e Iran. Isfahan: Kamāl, 1984–1985/1363–1364.

Ṭarab Eṣfahānī, Abū al-Qāsem b. Reḍāqulī. dīvān-e ṭarab, ed. and annotated by Jalāl al-Dīn Humāyī. Tehran: Ketābfurūshī-ye Furūghī, 1963–1964/1342–1343.

Qāsemī, Farīd. avvalīnhā-ye maṭbū‛āt-e Iran. Tehran: Ābī, 2004/1383.

Qāsemī, Farīd. sarguzasht-e maṭbū‛āt-e Iran, vols. 1–2: rūzgār-e Muḥammad-|Shah va Nāṣer al-Dīn-Shah. Tehran: Vezārat-e Farhang va Ershād-e Eslāmī, 2001/1380.

Muḥīṭ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Muhammad. tārīkh-e taḥlīlī-ye maṭbū‛āt-e Iran. Tehran: Be‛sat, 1987/1366.

1. Twenty issues of this news periodical were published in a book form under the title al-munṭaba‛a fī al-Fārs, edited and introduced by Farīd Qāsemī, in 2005/1384.[↩]
2. Qāsemī, 2001/1380, vol. 2, p. 1439.[↩]
3. Farhang, vol. 1, no. 9, August 6, 1879/11 Shaʿbān 1296, pp. 1–2.[↩]
4. Qāsemī, 2004/1383, p. 424.[↩]
5. Farhang, vol. 1, no. 8, July 30, 1879/4 Shaʿbān 1296, p. 1; year 3, no. 93, April 9, 1881/7 Jumādī al-Ūlā 1298, p. 2.[↩]
6. Farhang, vol. 9, no. 355, April 17, 1886/17 Rajab 1303, p. 1.[↩]
7. Farhang, vol. 6, no. 274, October 13, 1884/5 Dhū al-Ḥajja 1301, p. 1.[↩]
8. Ṭarab Eṣfahānī, vol. 1, pp. 85–86; Ṣadr Hāshemī, vol. 4, p. 73.[↩]
9. Farhang, vol. 11, no. 470, July 29, 1887/15 Shawwāl 1304, p. 1; Rajaie, introduction, p. j.[↩]
10. Farhang, vol. 3, no. 93, April 9, 1881/7 Jumādī al-Ūlā 1298, p. 4.[↩]
11. Farhang, vol. 1, no. 1, April 13, 1879/2 Jumādī al-Ūlā 1296, p. 3.[↩]
12. Farhang, vol. 1, no. 15, September 3, 1879/30 Ramaḍān 1296, pp. 2–3.[↩]
13. Farhang, vol. 2, no. 86, February 16, 1881/17 Rabīʿ al-Awwal 1298, p. 2; vol. 3, no. 117, September 2, 1881/27 Shawwāl 1298, p. 2.[↩]
14. The title of the article is given in the footnote as tārīkh-e dowlat-e qavī-showkat-e rūs (“History of the Mighty Russian State”) by Sergey Salav Yuva, but the original title of the work is tārīkh-e rūsīye az dowrān-e qadīm (“History of Russia from Ancient Times”) by Sergey Mikhaylovich Solovyov.[↩]
15. Farhang, vol. 2, no. 77, November 5, 1880/13 Muḥarram 1298, p. 1; vol. 15, no. 728, October 9, 1890/5 Muḥarram 1308, p. 2; Rajaie, introduction, pp. z–ṣ.[↩]
16. Muḥīṭ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, p. 45.[↩]
17. Rajaie, introduction, p. ṣ.[↩]