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A Workshop on the Dēnkard

‘A Spark of the Glimmer of the Original Light’: A Workshop on the Dēnkard as Literature, Theology, and Scholasticism
17-18 Oct, Wolfson College
University of Oxford

Professor Samra Azarnouche (L’École Pratique des Hautes Études – Paris Sciences & Lettres) and Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina will be co-convening a workshop on the Dēnkard. Co-sponsored by EPHE, Paris and AMES, University of Oxford, this two-day Workshop on literature, theology, and scholasticism of the Zoroastrian community in the 9th century CE, is to be held on Thursday and Friday, 17–18 October 2024 in the Buttery at Wolfson College.

The Dēnkard, the towering achievement of Zoroastrian scholasticism in Late Antiquity and compiled in the 9th century CE, serves as a comprehensive compendium of Zoroastrian beliefs, practices, and doctrines. In its nine books, the Dēnkard, at 169,000 words, covers a staggering range of topics, including cosmology, ethics, rituals, jurisprudence, and the history of Zoroastrianism and its textual transmission. The work addresses various theological questions, offering explanations for the nature of good and evil, the existence of the spiritual world, and the role of humanity in the cosmic struggle between Ohrmazd, the god of light and order, and Ahrimen, the principle of darkness and chaos. Through its challenging rhetorical structures and hermeneutical interpretations, the Dēnkard provides unique insight into the dualistic Zoroastrian world-view and its influence on ancient and medieval Iranian society. As a crucial source of Zoroastrian thought and tradition, the Dēnkard not only informs contemporary practitioners but also scholars and researchers interested in the history of religion, Iranian studies, and comparative theology. Its significance lies in its preservation of Zoroastrian theology and its role in shaping the religious and cultural landscape of the pre-Islamic Iranian world.

The Workshop will be conducted based on pre-circulated papers which will explore the nature and character of a particular book of the Dēnkard, structural and intertextual connections between different books, and the broader questions of transmission and historical context. The workshop will feature a variety of distinguished scholars from the UK, continental Europe, and North America working on Zoroastrianism in Late Antiquity and the early Islamic period.

The Announcement
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Topographies of Rhetoric

Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina, University of Oxford, will deliver four public lectures at the École Pratique des Hautes Études:

Topographies of Rhetoric and Moral Reasoning in Sasanian and Post-Sasanian Zoroastrianism

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The 9th Ratanbai Katrak Lectures

Prof. Dr. Alberto Cantera (Freie Universität Berlin) will deliver the final three Ratanbai Katrak Lectures this autumn in Oxford.

These lectures are convened by Prof. Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina for the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.

The talks will also be on Zoom.

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Zoroastrian Conversations

Prof. Yuhan Vevaina will be hosting the 3rd ‘Zoroastrian Conversations’ with Dr. Céline Redard, Lecturer for the Institute of History of Religions at the University of Strasbourg, France.

Saturday, 07 October 2023; 12 Noon Eastern time; 9 AM Pacific time; and 5pm UK time.

Zoom Info: https://fezana.org/conversations/

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The 9th Ratanbai Katrak Lectures

Prof. Dr. Alberto Cantera (Freie Universität Berlin) will deliver the 9th Ratanbai Katrak Lectures 101 years after the inauguration of the Ratanbai Katrak Lecturership at the University of Oxford.

Convened by Prof. Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina for the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.

‘With which Yasna shall I worship you (kana θβąm yasna yazāne)?
Zoroastrian Rituals in the Antique and Late Antique Iranian world’

Please use this link to attend the lectures on Zoom.

Lecture 1: Manuscripts and Rituals: The Written Transmission of the Zoroastrian Rituals
11 May 2023, 5:30pm – 7:00pm; Wolfson College, Linton Road, Oxford OX2 6UD

Lecture 2: The Questioned Antiquity of the Zoroastrian Rituals: Their Reception in Western Academia
18 May 2023, 5:30pm – 7:00pm; Wolfson College, Linton Road, Oxford OX2 6UD

Lecture 3: The Ritual System: Modularity and Productivity
25 May 2023, 5:30pm – 7:00pm; Ertegun House, 37A St. Giles’, Oxford OX1 3LD

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Orality and Textuality in Zoroastrianism

The Circle for Late Antique and Medieval Studies presents a discussion with Professors Almut Hintze, Martin Schwartz and Peter Jackson Rova on the oral traditions in Zoroastrianism. The panel discussion is online and open to the public. The website is here.

Wednesday, April 26, 2023; 12:00 pm — 1:30 pm

You can register via Zoom.

How should we conceive of Prophet Zoroaster? What was the context in which he lived and composed the Gathas of Zoroaster? Do they provide a unique window into oral composition and transmission of tradition(s)? Can the early poetry attributed to Zoroaster teach us something about the cryptic techniques of Indo-European poetry and the beginnings of Greek philosophy? How did orality sustain the Zoroastrian community through millennia?

From the website
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Zoroastrianism: History, Religion and Belief

This year, we missed to announce the ‘Zoroastrianism Summer Course‘, which is offered by the ‘Shapoorji Pallonji Institute of Zoroastrian Studies‘ and takes place at the Norwegian Institute in Rome.

But we would like to take this opportunity to mention ‘Zoroastrianism: History, Religion and Belief‘, which has been designed by Dr Sarah Stewart and Dr Céline Redard and is offered as a free online course (MOOC).

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The birth of the abestāg

Lecture by Arash Zeini: The birth of the abestāg from the spirit of philology. Please register online for Zoom participation.

زایش «اَبِستاگ» از روح فقه اللغة. سخنران: آرش زینی. برای شرکت در زوم لطفا آنلاین ثبت نام کنید.

Date: 11 January 2023; Time: 11:00 am – 1:00 pm Pacific time.

تاریخ و زمان: ۱۱ ژانویه ۲۰۲۳، ساعت ۲۲:۳۰ به وقت ایران

Pourdavoud Center Lecture Series

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2022 Society of Scholars of Zoroastrianism Conference

This is an online event (3 hours): The History of Zoroastrian Priesthood, The bond between the Avesta and Persian Literature & The Forgotten Sources of Medieval Zoroastrianism

Sat, November 19, 2022, 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM CST

Morning Session – Scholarly Symposium

9:30 – Opening Address: – Prof. Dan Sheffield introduced by Zal Taleyarkhan

10:00 – Dr. Kerman Daruwalla The History of Training Zoroastrian Priests in India

10:45 – Dr. Benedikt PeschlZoroastrian Middle Persian Literature and its Relation to the

Avesta: current research perspectives

11:30 – Prof. Dan SheffieldThe Pahlavi Book of Religious Decrees: a Forgotten Source for the

History of Medieval Zoroastrianism

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The Columbia University Seminar on Religion and Writing

The Columbia University Seminar on Religion and Writing holds their regular meetings as hybrid events, so that the sessions will be accessible to ZOOM participants. The meetings are open, but a RSVP is required.