Ta'zieh[a] (Arabic: تعزية; Persian: تعزیه; Urdu: تعزیہ) means comfort, condolence, or expression of grief.

Sir Lewis Pelly began the preface of his book about Ta'ziyeh maintaining that "If the success of a drama is to be measured by the effects which it produces upon the people for whom it is composed, or upon the audiences before whom it is represented, no play has ever surpassed the tragedy known in the Mussulman world as that of Hasan and Husain.

"[1] Years later Peter Chelkowski, professor of Iranian and Islamic studies at New York University, chose the same words for the beginning of his book Ta`ziyeh, Ritual and Drama in Iran.

the word can signify different cultural meanings and practices: Ta'zieh, primarily known from the Iranian tradition, is a Shia Islam ritual that reenacts the death of Hussein (the Islamic prophet Muhammad's grandson) and his male children and companions in a brutal massacre on the plains of Karbala, Iraq in the year 680 AD.

It originates from some famous mythologies and rites such as Mithraism, Sug-e-Siavush (Mourning for Siavush) and Yadegar-e-Zariran or Memorial of Zarir.

"Some believe that Iman Hossein's tragedy as depicted in Taziah is the next recreation of the legend of Siavosh"[8] There are two branches of Islam; the Sunni and the Shi'i.

[12] In Iranian culture it refers to condolence theater and Naqqali which are traditional Persian theatrical genres in which the drama is conveyed wholly or predominantly through music and singing.

Abbas Kiarostami, the noted film maker, held a series of three live ta'zieh plays in Rome in 2002.

The analysis focuses on the Imam-Hossain and his brother Hazrat-e Abbas Ta'zieh, performed and filmed in rural northern Iran, particularly in Shavy-Laasht village in the Mazandaran province.

[18] The appearance of the characteristic dramatic form of Persia known as the ta'zïye Mu'izz ad-Dawla, the king of Buyid dynasty, in 963.

In particular, these satires concentrated on Umar, Uthman, and Abu Bakr, the three caliphs who, according to popular Shiite belief, were instrumental in preventing Ali from becoming the first caliph/Imam after the death of Muhammad.

In ta'ziyeh this word, combined with the aux-iliary verb zadan, acquired a very specific meaning: "to refer to the events of Kar-bala."

The device of guriz provided a valid pretext for producers to use stories other than the Shiite martyrdom tragedies to entertain people.

Almost all women in these rituals were played by young males, however on some occasions little girls under the age of nine were able to fulfill small roles.

[11] Generally the audience consisted of the more well-off families as they regarded Ta'zieh as entertainment, while the lower-class community members thought of it as an important religious ritual.

Originally, Ta'zieh dramas, like other Western passion plays, were performed in a public arena, allowing large audiences to convene.

The Tekyeh Dowlat was a permanent space built in 1868, but was torn down 79 years later in 1947 due to lack of use and replaced by a bank.

[3] Tekyehs were somewhat open-air, but almost always had awnings of sorts atop the building to shield the spectators and actors from sun and rain.

The stage is elevated between one and two feet from the ground and split into four areas: one for the protagonists, antagonists, smaller subplots, and props.

[25] This enabled spectators to feel like they were part of the action on stage and sometimes encouraged them to become physically active members of the performance; it was also not unusual for combat scenes to occur behind the audience.

Most men from the time they were young would train to be able to ride a horse because it was an honor in Persian culture to be part of the Ta'zieh, especially to play a character who rode horseback.

Shia Muslims organise a Ta'zieh (locally spelled as Ta'zīya, Tazia, Tabut or Taboot) procession on the day of Ashura in South Asia.

Notable regions outside of South Asia where such processions are performed include: In the Caribbean it is known as Tadjah and was brought by Shia Muslims who arrived there as indentured labourers from the Indian subcontinent.

[33][34] A group of believers celebrate the 10th day of Muharram and first month of the Islamic calendar in Plaine Verte within the capital city Port Louis Mauritius.

[35] Tabuik made from bamboo, rattan and paper is a local manifestation of the Remembrance of Muharram among the Minangkabau people in the coastal regions of West Sumatra, Indonesia, particularly in the city of Pariaman culminates with practice of throwing a tabuik into the sea has taken place every year in Pariaman on the 10th of Muharram since 1831 when it was introduced to the region by Shia Muslim sepoy troops from India who were stationed and later settled there during the British Raj.