Bibliographia Iranica

A predominantly bibliographic blog for Iranian Studies

Tag: Iranian Studies

  • Workshop: Iran and Islam

    Iran and Islam: Early Encounters. Formation of Islam 
and Transformation of Iranian Religious Traditions

    12 March 2015 09:00–13 March 2015 18:00, Workshop Room: FNO 02/ 40-46

    Contact: Kianoosh Rezania

    For more information, see the workshop schedule

    Additional Information:
    There is no doubt that the contact of Islam with other religions in the very homeland of Islam as well as in the conquered lands played a significant role in its formation. In contrast, the evolving Islam must have challenged the existing religions, transformed them or stimulated them to do so. A great dynamic of renovation and repositioning of religious traditions can be expected in the first centuries of Islam. Therefore, a more in-depth study of this vibrant dynamic of mutual exchange between Islamic and especially Iranian religious traditions is a desideratum which our symposium intends to address.

    This workshop will be held in English.

  • Persian in Yuan China

    Haw, Stephen. 2014. The Persian language in Yuan-Dynasty China: A reappraisal. East Asian History 39. 5–32.

    It has often been claimed that Persian was an important lingua franca in the Yuan empire. A recent article by Professor David Morgan has discussed this premise at some length, setting out what seems to be impressive evidence in its favour.[1] For some time, however, I have entertained doubts about the validity of some of this evidence. Although I have no doubt that there were a significant number of Persian speakers in the Yuan empire, of whom a number may have held important official positions, I believe that the Persian language was never a genuine lingua franca in China and Mongolia.

  • Iranische Personennamen

    Hutter, Manfred. 2015. Iranische Personennamen in der Hebräischen Bibel (Iranisches Personennamenbuch Bd. 7 / Faszikel 2, Iranische Onomastik 14, Sitzungsberichte der Philosophisch-historischen Klasse 860). Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.

    Der Band verbucht insgesamt 54 Namen der Hebräischen Bibel (einschließlich der Abschnitte in Aramäisch), für die eine iranische Deutung sicher oder plausibel ist; ferner werden 17 Namen kritisch diskutiert, für die in der Forschung unterschiedliche iranische Herleitungen vorgeschlagen wurden, die jedoch abzulehnen sind. Mit dem Band liegt somit ein verlässliches Referenzwerk vor, durch das die Einträge dieser Namen in Ferdinand Justis „Iranischem Namenbuch“ (1895) und die Analyse von Isidor Scheftelowitz („Arisches im Alten Testament I“, Königsberg 1901), auf die in Studien zur Bibel im letzten Jahrhundert regelmäßig verwiesen wurde, überholt sind. Für alle 71 Namen werden – soweit eine Entsprechung vorliegt – für spätere Studien die Namensform der Septuaginta sowie die Belege nachgewiesen. Nach in der Regel kurzen Angaben zur Prosopographie liegt der Schwerpunkt des Textes in der Diskussion der etymologischen Deutungsmöglichkeit(en), wobei auch Herleitungen der Namen aus semitischem Sprachgut evaluiert werden. Ausführliche Register erschließen das onomastische Vergleichsmaterial. Neben dem Ertrag für die Iranistik ist der Band von besonderem Interesse für die Bibelwissenschaften.

  • Vers une édition de la liturgie longue zoroastrienne

    03_J2_YH35Cantera, Alberto. 2014. Vers une édition de la liturgie longue zoroastrienne: Pensées et travaux préliminaires (Cahiers de Studia Iranica 51). Peeters Publishers.

    The long liturgy is the most important ceremony in Zoroastrian priestly tradition. Most extant Avestan texts have been composed for their performance within this liturgy. It is highly likely that it acquired its current form, in which it is still celebrated, during the Achaemenid period or even earlier. Like any living ceremony with a long history, it has several synchronic and diachronic variations. Nevertheless, current editions of the Avestan text recited in the liturgy do not take into account its ritual nature, synchronic variations or its evolution over time, or even the changes in the way the text itself is recited. The aim of this book is to report on the recent discoveries that raise doubts over the methodology used in current editions, and propose certain alternatives in order to further the debate.

  • Farāmarz, the Sistāni hero

    van Zutphen, Marjolijn. 2014. Farāmarz, the Sistāni hero: Texts and traditions of the Farāmarznāme and the Persian epic cycle. Leiden/Boston: Brill.

    In Farāmarz, the Sistāni Hero Marjolijn van Zutphen discusses the manuscripts, storylines and main themes of the shorter and the longer Farāmarznāme (c. 1100), in relation to Ferdowsi’s Shāhnāme and several other later maṡnawis about the warriors from Sistān (the Persian Epic Cycle). Farāmarz, a secondary figure of the Shāhnāme, gained importance in later epic traditions and as the invincible protagonist of both Farāmarznāmes reached a status that equalled, if not surpassed, that of his famous father Rostam.

  • Eleventh Biennial Iranian Studies Conference

    University of Vienna

    Tuesday-Friday, 2–5 August 2016

    Conference Information

    The International Society for Iranian Studies (ISIS) is pleased to announce that the Eleventh Biennial Iranian Studies Conference will be held in Vienna, Austria from August 2-5, 2016 at the University of Vienna. Onsite registration begins on the 2nd and the program extends until the evening of the 5th.

    (more…)

  • Abraham and Nimrod

    Kiel, Yishai. 2015. Abraham and Nimrod in the shadow of Zarathustra. Journal of Religion 95(1). 35–50.

  • Iran and the Caucasus 18 (4)

    Iran and the Caucasus 18 (4)

    Volume 18, issue 4 of Iran and the Caucasus:

    Iran and the Caucasus 18(4).

    (more…)

  • Yarshater Lectures at SOAS

    ‘In the rays of light of imperial favour’: The visual arts of early fifteenth-century Timurid Herat.

    Four lectures by Professor David J. Roxburgh of the Department of History of Art and Architecture and Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Professor of Islamic Art History, Harvard University:

    • 15 January Timurid Herat: The City as a Setting for Art and Literature
    • 16 January The Timurid-Ming Embassy of 1419-22: Art after China
    • 19 January Modelling Artistic Process: The Kitābkhāna and ΄Arzadāsht
    • 20 January Baysunghur’s Books: Codifying Form and Aesthetic Value

    For more information, see the series’ SOAS webpage or the poster.

  • Textiles and elite tastes

    Canepa, Matthew. 2014. Textiles and elite tastes between the Mediterranean, Iran and Asia at the end of antiquity. In Marie-Louise Nosch, Zhao Feng & Lotika Varadarajan (eds.), Global textile encounters (Ancient Textiles Series 20), 1–14. Oxford and Havertown, PA: Oxbow Books.

    Read the article here.