Bibliographia Iranica

A predominantly bibliographic blog for Iranian Studies

  • An unusual Khotanese terracotta head from the Sherabad oasis

    Stančo, Ladislav. 2015. An unusual Khotanese terracotta head from the Sherabad oasis. Studia Hercynia XIX(1). 218–226.

    This paper deals with a newly found terracotta head from the Sherabad District, southern Uzbekistan. Its probable origin in the eastern Turkestan region of Khotan as well as its iconographic peculiarities and their interpretation is discussed.

  • Sources of the Indo-Iranian Liturgies

    To the sources of the Indo-Iranian Liturgies

    June 9th and 10th 2016, University of Liege

    International conference to be held at the department of “Langues et religions du monde indo-iranien ancien” at the University of Liege. This conference is organized by Philippe Swennen, Céline Redard and Hamid Moein and will take place on June 9th and 10th.

    Programme:

    • J. Kellens: “Ahu, mainiiu, ratu“
    • A. Cantera: “The threefold structure of the Long Liturgy and its daily times of celebration”
    • J. Jurewicz: “Fire and the immortal self. The meaning of Vedic sacrifice”
    • N. Nishimura: “On the first mantra section of the Yajurveda-Saṁhitā”
    • Ph. Swennen: “Lecture de l’ājyaśastra“
    • K. Amano: “What is ‘knowledge’ justifying a ritual action? Uses of yá evám véda / yá ev vidván in the Maitrāyaṇī Samhitā”
    • C. Redard: “Les  āfrīnagāns”
    • A. Panaino: “Mysteries and dangers of the Mazdean Nocturnal Liturgy”
    • A. Hintze: “Rejected Ritual Practices”
    • M. Hale: “Interpreting the Indo-Iranian Tradition of the Gathas: the evidence of the Pahlavi and Sanskrit translations”
    • E. Doyama: “Reflections on YH 40,1 from the Perspective of Indo-Iranian Culture”
    • H. Moein: “Ritual Instructions in the Rivayats”
    • M.Á. Andrés-Toledo: “The Vedic and the Avestan Investitures with the Sacred Girdle”
    • G. König: “daēnā, xratu and the mystical view. Some considerations to Alberto Cantera’s essay ‘Talking with god’”
    • J. Ferrer: “La récitation de l’alphabet avestique dans les rituels : innovation ou archaïsme?”
    • J. Houben: “The Indo-Iranian tradition and ancient Indian ritual and conceptual innovations”
    • T. Goto: “Bergung des gesunkenen Sonnenlichts im Rigveda und Avesta”
    • É. Pirart: “L’idée d’hospitalité dans le sacrifice indo-iranien”

  • The concept of Iran: Transition and revival

    A panel discussion in Persian

    Panelists:
    Touraj Daryaee, University of California, Irvine
    Hossein Kamaly, Columbia University
    Ali Mousavi, University of California, Los Angeles
    Parvaneh Pourshariati, New York City College of Technology (CUNY) & New York University

    Moderator: Nayereh Tohidi, Professor and Director of Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies, CSUN

    Sunday, May 8, 2016
    4:00 PM

  • Iranian Studies: A volume in honour of Michael Morony

    Iranian Studies, Volume 49, Issue 2, 2016. Special issue: “Sasanian Iran and beyond: A special volume in honour of Michael G. Morony and his contributions to late antique history“. Guest Editors: Touraj Daryaee and Khodadad Rezakhani.

    Table of contents

  • The Achaemenids and the Imperial Signature

    The Achaemenids and the Imperial Signature: Persepolis – Arachosia – Bactria

    A lecture by Wouter Henkelman

     

  • Zoroastrianism: History, Themes and Current Trends

    Panaino 2016Panaino, Antonio. 2016. Zoroastrismo: storia, temi, attualità. Brescia: Morcelliana.
    Zoroastrianism is one of the oldest living religions, which can be traced back at least to the sixth century BC. In its thousand-year history, Zoroastrianism has experienced profound and sometimes radical changes, however its ethical characteristic nature has less changed. The contribution of Zoroastrianism to the religious history of humanity is fundamental: from the ethical dualism to the conception of the history of salvation, and the eschatology,  the resurrection of the body and the individual judgment etc. Based on a deep understanding of the sources of today’s scholarship on Zoroastrainism, of which the author is one of the most important and well-known characters, the book traces the history of Zoroastrisnism from the begining up to modern time. Furthermore the book presents a comprehensive account of Zoroastrian thought and rituals as well an uptodate discussion on the condition of contemporary Zoroastrianism, in particular among the Pārsis.
    Table of Contents (see the ToC here as PDF):
    • Lo Zoroastrismo nel suo sviluppo storico
    • Il pensiero zoroastriano e Ia sua espressione rituale
    • Lo Zoroastrismo dalIa caduta dell’Impero Sasanide alla sua condizione contemporanea
    • Bibliografia critica e Sitografia
    • Apparato iconogrfico
    • Luoghi da visitare
    • Breve raccolta antologica di fonti
    Antonio Panaino is professor of ancient Iranian philology and hitory of religion at the University of Bologna.

  • Dimensions of Yahwism in the Persian Period

    Granerod, Gard. 2016. Dimensions of Yahwism in the Persian Period: Studies in the Religion and Society of the Judaean Community at Elephantine . Walter De Gruyter.

    The book argues that the Aramaic documents from Elephantine dating to the Achaemenid period offer not only important glimpses of Judaean religion in the Persian period but that the religion of the Judaeans in Elephantine is among the best historically verifiable cases of Persian period Yahwism. The documents have the potential of functioning as an archive that can revise the canonised image of the Judaean religion in the Persian period.

  • Arabic and Persian Printing History and Culture

    Arabic and Persian Printing History and Culture

    A symposium organised by the Centre for Printing History & Culture

    Date: Monday, June 6, 2016
    Time: 9:00am to 5:00pm
    Venue: University of Birmingham

    For more information, see here. Visit this link to book tickets.

    This one-day symposium looks at the history of printing across both Arabic and Persian-speaking worlds from block printing in the fourteenth century to twenty-first century digital type design, and includes talks on calligraphy, type and typography, printing history, newspapers, books and printed ephemera and the cultural impact of the printed word.

    (more…)

  • Reconstructing the lost history of Ancient Afghanistan

    The Bactrian archives: Reconstructing the lost history of Ancient Afghanistan

    A lecture by Professor Nicholas Sims-Williams (SOAS)

    Date: May 12
    Time: 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
    Venue: Royal Asiatic Society
    14 Stephenson Way
    London, NW1 2HD

    For more information, see the event’s page on the RAS’s website.

  • Iran Nameh: A new series

     Iran Nameh: New Series, Vol 1, No 1, Spring 2016.

    Here is the preface of editor (Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi) for this new series:

    With the publication of this issue, Iran Nameh is re-launched as an independent Iranian Studies quarterly. Iran Nameh began publication in fall 1982 under the auspices of the Foundation for Iranian Studies. The Foundation generously supported Iran Nameh until Winter 2016, when funding for the journal was discontinued. Via the urging of our readership and contributors, and despite serious financial difficulties, the editorial office has decided to continue the publication of Iran Nameh as an
    independent, reader-supported quarterly of Iranian Studies. As of this issue, Iran Nameh is no longer affiliated with the Foundation for Iranian Studies. To continue publishing Iran Nameh as a leading scholarly journal, I urge our contributors and readers to assist us in expanding the subscription base of the journal, and to become a sustainer of Iran Nameh by their generous support.
    Since 1982, Iran Nameh has served as a vital venue for the dissemination of original scholarly research on Iran. This has been particularly important due to the hyperpoliticization and ideologization of publically-available knowledge on Iran. With
    the inauguration of the second series, Iran Nameh is redoubling its commitment to the publication of original and well-documented scholarship on all aspects of Iranian Studies both in Persian and English. To facilitate the timely distribution of
    such new scholarship, with the inaugural issue of the second series, Iran Nameh has adopted a new “article-based” publishing model. Based on this model, submissions that have been successfully peer-reviewed and copyedited will be made available online before the scheduled time of publication. In addition to this inaugural issue, the peer-reviewed and accepted articles for the forthcoming issues will be made available online immediately after the completion of the copy-editing and layout process. With article-based publishing, Iran Nameh intends to remain up to speed with the changing world of digital publishing. A great benefit of this challenge is the timely dissemination of new research and scholarship to the readers of Iran Nameh. To prosper under this changing print-scape, I urge our contributors to continue to send their very best scholarly research to Iran Nameh. I also call on our large digital readership to renew their subscription to Iran Nameh now. This is of vital importance. We need your support. Iran Nameh cannot continue without it. Your active support is vital during this crucial transition period for Iran Nameh into an
    independent reader-supported scholarly journal.

    See the table of contents Here.