The relationship between the Jewish people and the Persians is among the oldest continuous interactions between two civilizations in world history. Unlike many imperial powers of the ancient Near East, the Persian Achaemenid Empire is remembered in Jewish historical memory not primarily as a conqueror but as a liberator and protector. This relationship began in the sixth century BCE with the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus the Great and continued, in various forms, through the Achaemenid, Parthian, Sasanian, and Islamic Persian periods, extending into the modern era.

This edition explores Improving Software Quality, with articles covering CHERI-based debugging, modern Java on FreeBSD, software bills of materials (SBOMs), and more.

If you're interested in software quality, security, and the technologies shaping the future of FreeBSD, this issue is well worth the read.

Read it here:
https://buff.ly/auSp82O

Moscow — Russian ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz are not required to pay any transit fees, Russian envoy Mikhail Ulyanov said, noting that Iranian authorities do not impose such charges on Russian vessels.

Ulyanov’s remarks came in response to questions about maritime passage through the strategic waterway, which links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and serves as a vital route for global energy shipments.

Also known as the Great Wall of Gorgan (Persian: Divār-e Bozorg-e Gorgān), is one of the most remarkable military engineering achievements of ancient Iran and one of the longest defensive walls ever built. Located in the northeastern region of present-day Iran, near the ancient land of Gorgan in Golestan Province, it stretches for approximately 195–200 kilometers from the Caspian Sea in the west toward the mountains of the east.

A remnant of the Sasanian era, stands in the historic garden-city of Natanz in Isfahan Province as a precious memento of one of the most glorious periods of Iranian history. This religious structure was registered on Iran’s National Heritage List on 9 July 1932 (18 Tir 1311 in the Iranian calendar). Today marks the ninety-fourth anniversary of that historic registration.

Sometimes, in the stillness of the night, in the midst of an unexplained anxiety, or within a pattern that refuses to leave us, we sense that something greater than our present life is stirring inside us. It feels as though an ancient shadow, an old wound, or an unfinished story from our family's past is still breathing within us. Many people call this ancestral karma—a poetic and mysterious expression suggesting that:
"Some of the burdens we carry are not ours alone; their roots reach back to years before we were born."
Perhaps there is truth in this.

Born in 1811 in the Kingdom of Hungary, Franz Liszt became one of the first true international “superstars” of classical music. Before pop stars existed, there was Liszt: audiences fainting at concerts, newspapers obsessing over his appearance, and fans treating his recitals like religious experiences. The term “Lisztomania” was literally coined to describe the frenzy surrounding him in the 1840s.

Few places on Earth have a history as deep and continuous as Susa, one of the world's oldest inhabited cities. Long before the rise of Rome, Athens, or even Babylon's greatest days, Susa stood as a thriving center of civilization in the fertile plains of southwestern Iran. For thousands of years, it served as a crossroads where cultures, empires, religions, and trade routes converged.

Nestled against the towering limestone cliffs of the Zagros Mountains in western Iran, Bisotun (also spelled Behistun or Bisitun) is one of the Middle East's most extraordinary archaeological landscapes. More than a single monument, Bisotun is an ancient cultural complex where imperial history, mythology, commerce, and religion intersect. For thousands of years, travelers, merchants, soldiers, and kings passed through this strategic gateway, leaving behind inscriptions, sculptures, temples, and memories carved into stone.

For centuries, the ancient city of Istakhr (also spelled Estakhr, Stakhr, or Istakhar) stood as one of the most influential political, religious, and cultural centers of Persia. Although overshadowed today by the nearby ruins of Persepolis, Istakhr played a remarkable role in preserving Persian identity during some of the most turbulent periods of Persian history.