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'Varzesh-e Pahlavani' (Persian ''varzeš-e pahlavānī'' ورزش پهلوانی) meaning the "Sport of the Heroes", also known as 'Varzesh-e Bastani' (Persian ''varzeš-e bāstnī'' ورزش باستانی), meaning the "Sport of the Ancients", is a traditional discipline of gymnastics and wrestling of Iran, which was originally an academy of physical training for military purposes.
Varzesh-e Pahlavani combines elements of the pre-Islamic Iranian culture with the spirituality of Sufism. Participants are expected to be pure, truthful, and good tempered and only then strong in body. The principles of unpretentiousness are exemplified by a verse recited at many meetings: "Learn modesty, if you desire knowledge. A highland would never be irrigated by river." (''Kanz ol-Haghayegh'')

Contents

History

The Zurkhaneh

Rituals and practice

Ranks and grades

See also

Bibliography

Further information

History

Varzesh-e Pahlavani is said^[1] to be traceable back to Arsacid Parthian times (132 BCE - 226 CE). Following the development of Sufi Islam in the 8th century CE, Varzesh-e Pahlavani absorbed philosophical and spiritual components from that religion.
Varzesh-e Pahlavani was particularly popular in the 19th century, during the reign of the Qajar king Nassar al-Din Shah (1848-1896). Performances inspired by Persian mythology were held at the Shah's court every 21 March (the Iranian new year[nowruz]). The sport declined following the rise of the Pahlavi dynasty in the 1920s and the subsequent modernisation campaigns of Reza Shah, who saw the sport as a relic of Qajarite ritual.
Reza Shah's son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi attempted to revive the tradition and practiced it himself, and during his reign, the last national competitions were held. Following the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the tradition has lost popularity.
In recent years, the sport appears^[2] to be gaining popularity in the countries adjacent to Iran, including Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, and Afghanistan.

The Zurkhaneh

The traditional gymnasium in which the Varzesh-e Pahlavani is practiced is known as the 'Zurkhaneh' or 'Zourkhaneh' (Persian: زورخانه), literally "house of strength". These 'houses of strength' are covered structures with a single opening in the ceiling, with a sunken octagonal or circular pit in the center (''gaud'').^[3] Around the ''gaud'' is a section for the audience, one for the musicians, and one for the athletes.

Rituals and practice

The Varzesh-e Pahlavani rituals mimic the rituals and traditions of Sufi orders, as evidenced by terminology like ''murshed'' "master" (beating the drum and reciting poetry), ''pish kesvat'' "leader", ''taj'' "crown" or ''faqr'' "poverty". The ethics involved are also similar to Sufi ideals, emphasizing purity of heart. Every session begins with pious praise of prophet and his family. In less religion-oriented Zurkhanehs, these elements are replaced by the recital of stories from Iranian mythology, such as those of the Shahnameh.
The main part of a Varzesh-e Pahlavani session is dedicated to gymnastics or calisthenics, notably using a pair of wooden clubs (''mil'') and metal shields (''sang''), and bow-shaped iron weights ('kaman''). The exercises also involve acrobatics like Sufi whirling and juggling. The sessions end with submission wrestling known as the ''Koshti Pahlavani''.^[4]

Ranks and grades

The lowest rank is that of ''nowcheh'' or novice, followed by the ''nowkhasteh'' or advanced student, and finally the ''pahlavan'' or champion. There are several champion grades:

★ ''Pahlavan-e Pahlavanan'', "Pahlavan of Pahlavans" which included court-sponsored sportsmen.

★ ''Pahlavan-e Zoorgar'', the master wrestlers or strong men.

★ ''Pahlavn-e Keshvar'', the acclaimed pahlavans including many of Iran's wrestlers at World and Olympic events (such as Gholamreza Takhti), but also winners of the pahlavani ''bazoo band'' armlet.

★ ''Pahlevan-e Bozorg'' or ''Bozorg Pahlavan'', literally "High-" or "Grand Pahlavan", approximately equivalent to the Grand Master in Far-East Asian martial arts. This title was only accorded to very few pahlavans, such as Pourya-ye Vali (''c.'' 1300) and Haj Seyyed Hasan Razaz (1853-1941, also known as ''Pahlavan Shoja'at'').

★ ''Jahan Pahlavan'', "World Pahlavan", the highest rank of Pahlavani in the Iranian army before the Arab invasion. A title given to Rostam, the legendary Pahlavan of Ferdowsi's Shahnameh. The contemporary Gholamreza Takhti is another Pahlavan who is given this title.


Renowned Pahlavans include:

★ Early Period (651-1450):

★
★ Abu Moslem-e Khorasani

★
★ Yaghub-e Layth

★
★ Babak khorramdin

★
★ Asad Kermani

★
★ Abdul Razagh Bashtini

★
★ Shirdel Kohneh Savar

★
★ Mahmood Kharazmi (Pahlavan-e Bozorg), was known as Pouriya-ye Vali

★
★ Mohammad Abol-seyyed Abolkheyr

★
★ Mahmood Malani

★
★ Darvish Mohammad Khorassani

★ Middle Period (1450-1795):

★
★ Mirza Beyk-e Kashani

★
★ Beyk-e Khorassani

★
★ Hossein-e Kord

★
★ Mir Baqer

★
★ Jalal Yazdi

★
★ Kabir-e Esfahani (Pahlavan-e Bozorg)

★
★ Kalb Ali Aqa Jar

★ Modern period (1795-):

★
★ Haj Seyyed Hasan Razaz (Pahlavan-e Bozorg), also known as Pahlavan Shoja'at.

★
★ Ali Asghar Yazdi

★
★ Haj Reza Qoli Tehrani

★
★ Mohammad Mazar Yazdi

★
★ Shaban Siyah Qomi

★
★ Yazdi Bozrog (Pahlavan-e Bozorg)

★
★ Akbar Khorassani

★
★ Abolqasem Qomi

★
★ Hossein Golzar-e Kermanshahi

★
★ Sadeq-e Qomi

★
★ Mirza Hashem Akbarian Tefaghi, Moblsaz Esfahani

★
★ Yazdi Kuchak (last official Pahlavan of Iran)
Iranian Olympic wrestling medalists include:

★ Gholamreza Takhti (silver 1952; gold, 1956; silver, 1960)

★ Nasser Givechi (silver, 1952)

★ Mohammed Ali Khojastepour (silver, 1956)

★ Emamali Habibi Goudarzi (gold, 1956)

★ Mehdi Yaghoubi (silver, 1956)

★ Abdollah Movahhed Ardabili (gold, 1968)

★ Mansour Barzegar (silver, 1976)

★ Askari Mohammadian (silver, 1988)

★ Amirreza Khadem Azghadi (bronze, 1992)

★ Rasoul Khadem (gold, 1996)

★ Abbas Jadidi (silver, 1996)

★ Alireza Dabir (gold, 2000)

★ Alireza Rezaei (silver, 2004)

See also

★ Pehlwani, Indian wrestling

★ Yağlı güreş, an Uzbek and Tatar sport

Bibliography

1. Nekoogar, Farzad (1996). ''Traditional Iranian Martial Arts (Varzesh-e Pahlavani)''. pahlvani.com: Menlo Park. Accessed: 2007-02-08
2. CHN News (November 25, 2005). ''Iran's Neighbours to Revive Iran's Varzesh-e Pahlevani''. Accessed: 2007-02-08
3. Bashiri, Iraj (2003). ''Zurkhaneh''. Accessed: 2007-02-08
4. Luijendijk, 2006, Zoor Khane, Ancient Martial Art of Iran, Boulder, US

Further information

★ Abassi, Mehdi (1984). ''Tarikh-e Koshtigari dar Iran'' (The History of Wrestling in Iran). Tehran

★ Beizai, Hossein Parto (1967). ''Tarikh-e Varzesh-e Bastani (Zoorkhaneh)''. Tehran

★ Documentary Video of Zurkhaneh Training

★ Google Video on "Zurkhaneh"

★ Luijendijk, D.H., 2006, Zoor Khane, Ancient Martial Art of Iran, Boulder, US