No 2 (2009)

The huge territory of Central Asia between the Urals Mountain and the Yenisei till the Amudarya was populated by the tribes of Andronovskaya culture with no interruption during the Bronze Age. One of the major attributes, allowing establishing origin of ancient tribes and even cultures is the technology of potter's manufacture and decoration as they are specific at different ethnic groups. In conditions of house craft, traditions of manufacture are transferred and are steadily kept from generation to generation. This is true especially for the archaic culture, so this concerns all the peoples of the «steppe belt» of Eurasia and adjoining steppe and forest-steppe zones. This aspect is important for finding-out of an ethnic identification of Andronovskskiy population as it is the most numerous archaeological materials from settlements and from funeral monuments.

This article deals with a crucial period in the history of early mediaeval Iran, that of the reign of Ardashir I Papakan, the founder of the Sasanid state. The goal of the study consists in identifying social and political forces which suppoerted the new state, and examining their relationship. The work presents a comparative analysis of data coming from the Sasanid times and information preserved in later narrative sources.

The period of reform and 'enlightened despotism' in Spain of the XVIIIth century is studied in the article. This policy culminating in the rule of Charles III (1759-1788), focused on modernizing the Spanish government, infrastructure, and institutions. One of the aims was to establish «economic societies» - the most important of them was the Madrid Economic Society -dedicated to particular tasks required for a growing Spanish economy, mostly to encourage economic development and initiative and modernize Spain's education system. A number of important Spanish statesmen, social scientists and reformers participated in the activities of the Madrid Economic Society, which would not have been possible without the support of Spain's «enlightened despot» Charles III. In order to equip Spain for industrial development in the nineteenth century, subjects taught included chemistry, mineralogy, metallurgy, public architecture, agronomy, and political science. Experiments in agriculture, along with new crops and plant culture, helped increase the efficiency of Spanish agriculture.