| Bazoo-band | Armlet. An armlet given to the Pahlavan of the nation by the Shah on the first day of the Iranian new year (March 21st) as a recognition of his Pahlavani championship. |
| Ferdowsi | The greatest Iranian mythical poet/historian and the author of the epic work Shah-nameh, the Book of Kings. |
| Gol Rizan | In English it literally means "Flower Throwing." In Pahlavani tradition it means a gathering upon which all Pahlavans and veterans join together in a Zoorkhaneh in order to do fundraising for the Zoorkhaneh or another worthy cause. Additionally, there will be a Pahlavani practices and exhibitions. From time to time, there will also be a wrestling amongst Pahlavans. |
| Jahan Pahlavan | A rank of Pahlavani in the Iranian army before the Islamic Era. A title given to Rostam, the legendary Pahlavan of Ferdowsi's Shah-nameh. The contemporary Gholamreza Takhti is another Pahlavan who is given this title. |
| Khorasan | The largest province of Iran with national borders with Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. It is the birthplace of local brand of wrestling named Koshti Choukheh. |
| Koshti | Wrestling |
| Mazandaran | One of Northern provinces of Iran bordering the Caspian Sea. According to Ferdowsi's Book of Kings, many of Rostam's epic stories occurred in Mazandaran. It is also the birthplace of a local brand of wrestling named Koshti Loocho |
| Meels | One of the apparatus used in Pahlavani exercises. It is a pair of wooden clubs that evolved from ancient mace. |
| Mithraism | A religion that appeared in Iran during the Parthian Empire rivaling Christianity. Varzesh-e Pahlavani takes many of its rituals from Mithraism. |
| Morshed | A person inside Zoorkhaneh who chants historic stories specially from Shahnameh (The Book of Kings). Morshed literally means one who guides. In Zoorkhaneh, he plays the drum and conducts the rhythmic music. All Pahlavani exercises are synchronized with Morshed's drum, both individually and in group exercises where group coordination is needed. |
| Pahlavan |
Heroes of Varzesh-e Pahlavani. There are several types of Phalavans:
In the Indian literature, it is written as Pahalwan, and it refers to strong men and wrestlers. |
| Pahlavan-e Bozorg | A rank of Phalavani. It literally means Grand Pahlavan. The most equivalent title in the oriental martial arts could be the Grand Master. It is only given to two or three Pahlavans such as Pouriyay-e Vali and Seyyed Hassan Razaz, also known as Pahlavan-e Bozorg Shoja-at. |
| Parthia | The vast territory under the control of the Parthian Empire (247 BC - 226 AD) including today's Iran. |
| Qum | A holy city 160 Km. south of Tehran. One of the cradles of Varzesh-e Pahlavani. |
| Shahzadeh | Related to a shah of Qajar family. It literally means a Prince, a son or daughter of the king. |
| Shi'ah | A branch of Islam. It recognizes Ali, Prophet Mohammad's cousin, as the only true and legitimate successor (Imam) to Prophet Mohammad. The followers are called Shiites. The vast majority of the Iranians are Muslims of the Shiite sect. |
| Sufi | A devout follower of School of Sufism. Sufism is a mystical and spiritual sect of Islam. |
| Tehran | Capital of Persia and later Iran since early nineteen century. |
| Varzesh-e Bastani | It literally means the Ancient Sport. It mistakenly refers to Varzesh-e Pahlavani. |
| Varzesh-e Pahlavani | Traditional Iranian Martial Arts |
| Vatan | Homeland, nation. |
| Yazd | A pre-Islamic city and region located in Central Iran next to Dasht-e Kavir (Kavir Desert). It is also the city with the largest number of Zoroasterians. |
| Zoorkhaneh | The place where rituals of Varzesh-e Pahlavani are practiced. |
E-mail: info@Pahlavani.com