Reference
Persian Calendar Glossary
Short, clear definitions of Persian calendar terms and festivals.
Terms
- Shahanshahi calendarگاهشماری شاهنشاهی
- The Shahanshahi (Imperial) calendar is Iran's solar calendar counted from the coronation of Cyrus the Great in 559 BC. Its days and months are identical to the Solar Hijri (Shamsi) calendar; only the year number is larger, by exactly 1180.
- Solar Hijri (Jalali) calendarگاهشماری شمسی (جلالی)
- The current official calendar of Iran and Afghanistan — a highly accurate solar calendar whose year begins at the spring equinox (Nowruz). The Shahanshahi year equals the Shamsi year + 1180.
- Lunar Hijri calendarگاهشماری هجری قمری
- The Islamic lunar calendar, whose year is about 11 days shorter than a solar year, so its months drift through the seasons. Fundamentally different from the solar Shamsi and Shahanshahi calendars.
- Gregorian calendarگاهشماری میلادی
- The solar calendar used worldwide. From Nowruz (~21 March) to 31 December, the Shahanshahi year equals the Gregorian year + 559.
- Nowruzنوروز
- The Persian New Year, beginning at the precise moment of the spring equinox (~21 March) — the oldest Iranian festival and the first day of Farvardin.
- Equinox moment (sāl-tahvil)سال تحویل
- The exact astronomical instant the new year begins, when the sun crosses the celestial equator; Nowruz starts at that moment, not at midnight.
- Leap year (kabiseh)کبیسه
- A year in which Esfand has 30 days instead of 29, keeping the calendar aligned with the solar year. The Jalali leap rule is astronomical and highly precise.
- Cyrus the Great Dayروز کوروش بزرگ
- 7 Aban, honoring the founder of the Achaemenid Empire and author of the Cyrus Cylinder — whose 559 BC coronation is the epoch of the Shahanshahi calendar.
- Mehreganمهرگان
- The festival of Mithra — divinity of covenant and light — and the autumn harvest feast; in ancient Iran second only to Nowruz.
- Yalda Nightشب یلدا
- The longest night of the year (Shab-e Chelleh), the last night of autumn; a celebration of light over darkness, kept with pomegranates, watermelon and Hafez readings.
- Sadehجشن سده
- The festival of fire's discovery, fifty days and fifty nights before Nowruz, marked by great communal bonfires.
- Tirganتیرگان
- The water festival on 13 Tir, honoring the rain divinity Tishtrya and the archer Arash.
- Chaharshanbe Suriچهارشنبهسوری
- The fire festival on the eve of the year's last Wednesday, when people leap over bonfires to enter the new year cleansed.
- Achaemenidsهخامنشیان
- The first Persian Empire (559–330 BC), founded by Cyrus the Great and extending from the Indus to the Mediterranean.