This thesis deals with Iran as a tourist destination. As is implied in the title, the definite aim of the thesis is to evaluate the potential of tourism in this country and its attractiveness for Czech tourists. Initially, there is a general characterization of Iran of the population and the land from geographical, economic and other facets. The general characterization is followed by an analysis of tourism in Iran -- the current situation and the anticipated development. The very important part of this thesis is represented by the analysis of the tour offers provided by Czech tour operators to this destination and evaluation of the questionnaire research, which was aimed to find out how Iran is perceived by the Czech public and also to examine the interest in travelling to this country among Czech tourists.

Following diploma thesis is focused on decorative motifs of Achaemenid small-scale art. Borders of the Achaemenid Empire stretched from the river Indus to Bulgaria and from Egypt to the Black sea. It was associated with dynasty of Persian kings, who ruled over the empire between 559 - 331 BC. During its existence a characteristic art with its own style and iconography was formed. The main aim of the thesis is to present iconographical analysis of decorative motives appearing in Achaemenid small-scale art. Due to the vast range of decorative motives thesis is focused only on motives of animals. The analysis is conducted on diverse spectrum of objects included in studied collection. It consists of 397 objects namely jewellery, plaques, bracteates, toreutics, coins, stamp and cylinder seals and their impressions, horse-harness strap dividers, weapons, scabbards and scabbard tips and small scale sculpture. These objects are decorated with total of 822 animal motives, which are sorted into six chapters. The introduction is followed by second chapter, in which beasts of prey are described. Here belongs lion, dog, fox, leopard and other beasts of prey without more specific interpretation. Next chapter includes motives of wild animals where ibexes, gazelles, deer and wild boars. In the following chapter...

The thesis focuses on the Islamic Revolution of Iran by a comparative analysis of the monarchy regimes before and after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Although there is little doubt that the transformation of Imperial Iran to the Islamic Republic has played a vital catalyst in redrawing the "greater" Middle Eastern geopolitics ever since this thesis aims to compare the historical development of Iran during the monarchy and the effect of the revolutionary institutions brought on the Iranian society. Despite the extensive amount of resources used in this thesis being both from Iran and abroad, the author has made every effort to reduce the effects of the influences whether from the overzealous defenders of monarchy or the die-hard revolutionaries to a bare minimum and allow the facts on their own to project the picture through an objective lens. The goal of the thesis is for the objective research and comparison to try and provide a factual answer to the million-dollar question, whether the revolution was for better or for worse.

Des rois grecs ont régné sur l'Asie centrale et l'ouest de l'Inde antique du IIIème siècle av. J.C. jusqu'au début de l'ère chrétienne. Ils laissent une image belliqueuse, car le fondement de leur pouvoir fut d'abord militaire. Des indices permettent d'envisager qu'à l'instar des autres souverains hellénistiques ils diffusèrent leurs portraits, mirent en place un culte royal, associèrent parfois leur fils au pouvoir, vécurent entourés d'une cour royale itinérante. Leur gestion économique fut suffisamment efficace pour que la région ne souffrît pas des guerres fréquentes ; les voies de communication furent préservées, le commerce et l'irrigation se développèrent, le système fiscal et administratif semble comparable en efficacité à celui des Perses ou des Séleucides. L'originalité de ces souverains réside dans leur adaptation aux milieux linguistiques et religieux : s'ils défendirent la langue et la culture grecque, pour des raisons identitaires et politiques, ils usèrent parfois du bilinguisme dans les monnaies et y firent graver des dieux compatibles avec les croyances ou les habitudes picturales locales. On peut envisager qu'au tournant de l'ère chrétienne les Grecs aient été lentement absorbés dans le monde asiatique. / Greek kings' domination in Central Asia and Western Antique India was effective from the IIIth Century BC till the beginning of Christian Era. The Greek kings of Central Asia image appears warlike, because their power was at the beginning and mainly a military one. We may suppose that, according to the example of the other Hellenistic sovereigns, these kings spread their sculptured portraits, organized a royal cult, and sometimes ruled with their son ; a royal itinerant court escorted them. The economic management of Greek Central Asia was so effective that the area prospered in spite of wars : the roads were protected, trade and irrigation developed, their fiscal and administrative system is similar to the Persian or Seleucid efficiency. These kings were remarkable because they adapted to the linguistic and religious environments : they defended the Greek language and culture, for political reasons and to preserve their identity ; the coins they engraved were sometimes bilingual, and we identify on it the image of Gods who are compatible with local faiths or pictorial habits. We may suppose that, circa Christian era, after defeat or disappearance of their kings, Greeks were slowly absorbed into the Asian world.

This thesis is a study of the pre-Islamic passages of Abū Ḥanīfa Aḥmad ibn Dāwūd ibn Wanand Dīnawarī's Kitāb al-Aḫbār al-Ṭiwāl. This is to say that it stops at the beginning of the Arab conquest of Iran. It is intended for scholars of Late Antiquity. Special emphasis is placed on Dīnawarī's exposition of the rule of the Sasanian dynasty and questions relating to the mysterious Ḫudāynāma tradition which are intimately connected with it. Beginning with a discussion of Dīnawarī and his work, the thesis moves into a discussion of indigenous Iranian historiography. Speculation on the sources of Kitāb al-Aḫbār al-Ṭiwāl follows, and the historiographical investigation of the most substantial portion of Kitāb al-Aḫbār al-Ṭiwāl's notices on the Sasanian dynasty comes next. The conclusion summarises the findings of the thesis. The final section (an appendix) is a translation of the relevant part of Kitāb al-Aḫbār al-Ṭiwāl running from the beginning of that text to the reign of Šīrūya. This thesis was written with one main question in mind: what does Dīnawarī's Kitāb al-Aḫbār al-Ṭiwāl have to say about pre-Islamic Iranian history? A host of other questions arose immediately: who was Dīnawarī; when did he live; what did he do; how was his work perceived by others; where did Dīnawarī get his information and how did he present it; is Dīnawarī's information reliable? These questions are addressed one by one in my thesis.

Le présent travail porte sur les peintures de fleurs produites en Iran et en Inde entre le XVIe et le XVIIIe siècles et destinées à être montées dans des albums alliant peintures et calligraphies. Cette étude s'organise autour de trois axes de recherche. En premier lieu, l'étude de l'évolution des pratiques picturales au sein des ateliers de peinture, ainsi que la mise en évidence des différences formelles entre les centres de production. La taxonomie des peintures de fleurs a permis de mettre en évidence certains régionalismes, mais également des modes de représentation partagés entre l'Iran safavide (1501-1722), afshar (1736-1749) et zānd (1750-1794) d'un côté, et l'Inde moghole (1526-1857) et les cours provinciales de l'autre. Le second axe de recherche est consacré aux échanges entre l'Orient et l'Occident. Plusieurs peintures de fleurs persanes et indiennes sont issues d'herbiers et florilèges, imprimés en Europe à partir du XVe siècle. L'étude de l'apport européen dans ces productions de peintures permet de mettre en évidence les pratiques d'assimilation des formes exogènes par les artistes. Enfin, le troisième axe interroge le rôle tenu par les peintures de fleurs au sein des albums, ou muraqqaʻ. La compilation d'albums est attestée en Iran dès le XVe siècle, et passe vraisemblablement en Inde durant la première moitié du XVIe siècle. Les fleurs s'y déploient progressivement jusqu'à devenir omniprésentes, autant au centre des pages que dans les marges et sur les reliures. Les représentations florales revêtent des symboliques diverses qui sont à mettre en relation avec un abondant corpus poétique, mais également avec les patrons persans, indiens ou européens qui commandent ces précieux volumes. Parmi les conclusions, notons les attributions de dessins anonymes au peintre persan Shafīʻ ʻAbbāsī et une discussion sur les notions de copie et d'interprétation. / This dissertation focuses on flower paintings produced in Persia and India between the 16th and the 18th centuries to be mounted in albums, also called muraqqa'. This study is centered on three research axis. First, pictorial practices are analyzed, as well as the general evolution of floral forms on album pages. The taxonomic approach on flower paintings led to highlight regionalisms, but also depiction modes shared between Safavid (1501-1722), Afsharid (1736-1749) and Zand (1750-1794) Persia on one hand, and Mughal India (1526-1857) and Indian provincial courts on the other. The second line of research focuses on cultural and artistic exchanges between the East and the West. Many Persian and Indian flower paintings are copied from European printed herbaria and florilegia from the 15th century. The study of European input on these productions highlights assimilation practices of foreign forms. The third axis questions the role held by flower paintings in albums, or muraqqa'. From the 15th century, flowers gradually spread to become omnipresent in the center of the pages, in the margins and on the bindings. Floral representations take various symbolic values linked to an abundant poetic corpus, but also to Persian, Indian or European patrons who order these precious volumes. Among the conclusions, this thesis suggests new attributions of anonymous drawings to the Persian painter Shafīʻ ʻAbbāsī, and holds a discussion about concepts of copy and assimilation.

L’image de la Perse et des Perses occupe une place importante dans l’œuvre d’Ammien Marcellin, un Syrien hellénisé du IVe siècle, auteur d’un ouvrage historique écrit en latin. La présente recherche, qui replace le sujet dans le reste de la tradition romaine et la tradition arabo-persane, s’articule en trois parties : « Ammien, une source majeure ? », « L’image de la Perse chez Ammien : l’art de la description », et enfin « Les Perses dans le récit du conflit romano-perse de 354 à 378 : l’art du portrait et de la narration ». Il en ressort qu’Ammien a adopté un point de vue romain, tout en se distinguant de la tradition historiographique romaine antérieure. Il se démarque également de la tradition arabo-persane. Ammien, auteur atypique de par ses origines et du sujet qu’il traite, l’est aussi par son écriture. / The image of Persia and Persians occupies an important place in the work of Ammianus Marcellinus, a hellenized Syrian of the 4th century, author of a historical written in latin. The present research, which replaces the subject in the rest of the roman tradition and the arabo-persian tradition, is articulated in three parts : « Ammianus, a major source ? », « The image of Persia at Ammianus : the art of description », and finally, « The Persians on the account of the Romano-Persia conflict from 354 to 378 : the art of the portrait and the narration ». This reveals that Ammianus adopted a roman point of view, while being distinguished from the former roman historiographical tradition. He also dissociates arabo-persian tradition. Ammianus, author atypical from his origins and the subject which it treats, is also by its wrinting.

La vie et l’œuvre de Jane Dieulafoy offrent un témoignage original de la complexité des rapports socio-sexués à la fin du XIXe siècle. Par ses voyages, son travestissement occasionnel, puis permanent, son apport au savoir architectural et archéologique ou encore son rapport à l’écriture, cette femme a remis en cause la frontière sociale entre les sphères privée et publique, sans tenir pour autant un discours subversif ou même féministe. L’étude de La Perse, La Chaldée et la Susiane tente de suivre au plus près les oscillations d’un être à la recherche d’une libération du corps, du mouvement et de l’écriture, mais encore souvent respectueux des contraintes et représentations léguées par l’éducation, la culture et la société. Les transgressions nécessaires à l’accomplissement du but fixé n’en sont pas moins réfléchies et demeurent à l’intérieur du cadre social de l’époque. Il est cependant possible de comprendre les contradictions apparentes de Jane Dieulafoy – et notamment l’union de qualités masculines et féminines - comme une recherche de totalité, rappelant par certains côtés le mythe de l’androgyne. / The life and work of Jane Dieulafoy provide original evidence of the complexity of the gender role relationships at the end of the nineteenth century. Through her journeys, her occasional, then permanent cross-dressing, her contribution to the architectural and archaeological knowledge or her writing style, this woman has challenged the social boundaries between the private and public spheres without resorting to a subversive or even feminist speech. Studying La Perse, la Chaldée et la Susiane allows to closely follow the oscillations of a being in search of the liberation of the body, of freedom of movement and writing, but still often respectful of the constraints and representations inherited from her education, culture and society. The transgressions necessary for her to accomplish this goal are nonetheless well thought-out and remain within the social context of the time. However, it is possible to understand the apparent contradictions of Jane Dieulafoy - particularly the union of masculine and feminine features - as a search for wholeness, recalling in some ways the myth of the androgyne.

The main question that this dissertation seeks to answer is, “If the character of Vashti on the one hand and that of Esther on the other are re-read from a gender-sensitive perspective which possibilities can the reading offer for the liberation and reconstruction of affirming identities for the Mongo women in the DRC today?” The study undertaken here challenges the fact that Mongo women of the DRC remain attached to their roles as wives and mothers which is viewed as a hindrance to their self-definition. The two characters Esther and Vashti from the book of Esther are examined in light of the experiences of Mongo women using the bosadi (womanhood) approach to deconstruct and problematize oppressive ideologies in the biblical text as well as in the Mongo context. It is argued that Vashti and Esther are not opposite characters but should be viewed in the light of each other as complementary characters. Despite the positive examples that the two women offer, both characters also offer oppressive possibilities for modern DR Congolese women. Therefore, they do not fully represent ideal role models for Mongo women in their efforts to affirm their identities. / Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies / D.Th. (Old Testament)

The chief aims of this study are to determine what, if any, accounting processes were employed during the first millennium BC (1000-332 BC) in Palestine, to determine whether these were the result of the socio-economic requirements of the various centralised polities operative in Palestine during this period, how these processes developed over the course of the first millennium and whether they conform to the definition of accounting provided in Chapter One. I have adopted an archaeological, epigraphic and qualitative approach taking into consideration the historical and socio-economic backgrounds of the different political administrations in control during the period under discussion. The evidence demonstrates that the adopted processes can be regarded as accounting processes since they conform to at least three of the four components of the definition of accounting and that these processes developed over the course of time depending on the particular requirements of the ruling authority. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / M.A. (Biblical Archaeology)