Rūznāmah-i ʻIlmīyah-i Dawlat-i ʻAlīyah-i Īrān (Qājār)
Rūznāmah-i ʻIlmīyah-i Dawlat-i ʻAlīyah-i Īrān (Qājār)
روزنامه علمیه دولت علّیه ایران (قاجار)
| Digital Collection Type | Newspaper |
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| Periodicity |
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| Language | Persian |
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| First Year | 1280 H.Q. |
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| Last Year | 1287 H.Q. |
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| Permalink | https://www.opars.com/collection/ruznamah-i-%ca%bbilmiyah-i-dawlat-i-%ca%bbaliyah-i-iran/ |
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Sample Issue
Rūznāmah-‘i ‘Ilmīyah-‘i Dawlat-i ‘Alīyah-‘i Īrān was the first trilingual publication—in Persian, Arabic, and French—and Iran’s first scientific journal. Its inaugural issue was printed and distributed on Monday, 27 Dīmāh, corresponding to the year 785 of the incomplete Jalālī calendar, equivalent to the first of Sha’bān al-Mu’aẓẓam 1280 AH, at the government factory in Dār al-Khilāfah Tehran.
The first issue included an explanation about Nāṣir al-Dīn Shāh delegating the newspaper’s affairs to I’tiz̤ād al-Salṭanah, indicating that I’tiz̤ād al-Salṭanah was responsible for the newspaper’s management, whilst the late Mīrzā Muḥammad Ḥusayn Furūghī authored its content. The French-language sections were written by Monsieur Richard.
The name of the newspaper (‘Ilmīyah) suggests that its contents primarily focused on scientific topics and recent European discoveries, published by the Ministry of Science and Industry to enlighten Iranian minds. The first two issues discussed how sciences and industries have spread from one part of the world to another throughout history. The third issue covered the determination of historical origins and explanations of solar and lunar years. The fourth issue explored the light of stars, eclipses, and lunar risings and settings. The sixth issue discussed the twelve months known in Arab and Persian lands, which were known by different names in pre-Islamic times. The seventh issue dealt with planetary observations, including a table from Herschel’s calendar and an image of Marāghah Hill, where Khvājah Naṣīr al-Dīn Ṭūsī conducted observations. The eighth issue investigated the month, day, and blessed birth of the Seal of the Prophets. The twelfth issue, being the last of the first year, began with a discussion about the moon.
Notably, this publication included a list of works and authors in the field of alchemy up to that time, making it one of the earliest bibliographies in Iranian press. It’s worth mentioning that Rūznāmah-‘i ‘Ilmīyah-‘i Dawlat-i ‘Alīyah-‘i Īrān was the first Iranian publication to simultaneously use Jalālī, lunar Hijri, and Gregorian calendars.
After publishing seventeen issues, the newspaper was suspended for a year, with the eighteenth issue appearing in 1283 AH. Following the forty-second issue, it was suspended again, with the forty-third issue published on the first of Muḥarram al-Ḥarām 1286 AH. The final issue of Rūznāmah-‘i ‘Ilmīyah was the fifty-third, published on Saturday, 9 Dīmāh 892 Jalālī, corresponding to Saturday, the first of Shawwāl al-Mukarram 1287 AH, after which the newspaper ceased publication permanently.