Bibliographia Iranica

A predominantly bibliographic blog for Iranian Studies

Tag: Sasanian

  • Sasanian Studies 3

    Sasanian Studies 3

    Farridnejad, Shervin & Touraj Daryaee (eds.). 2024. Sasanian Studies: Late antique Iranian world | Sasanidische Studien: Spätantike iranische Welt. Vol. 3. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.

    Sasanian Studies: Late Antique Iranian World is a refereed journal that publishes papers on any aspect of the Sasanian Empire and ist neighboring late antiquity civilizations. The journal welcomes essays on archaeology, art history, epigraphy, history, numismatics, religion and any other disciplines which focuse on the Sasanian world. This annual publication focuses especially on recent discoveries in the field, historiographical studies, as well as editions and translations of texts and inscriptions. We aim to facilitate dialogue and contact among scholars of Sasanian Studies around the world. The journal will publish papers mainly in English, but also in German, French, Italian and may also consider Persian and Arabic.

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  • WZO’s Annual Seminar 2025

    Three lectures as part of the World Zoroastrian Organisation’s annual seminar.

    • Alexandra Buhler: Relations between Zoroastrians in India & Iran during the late Qajar period
    • Khodadad Rezakhani: The Heart of the Empire: Ctesiphon & DilĒrānšahr in the Sasanian World
    • Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis: Royal Splendour: the art of the Sasanian kings
    WZO Seminar 2025Download
  • Iranica Antiqua

    Iranica Antiqua

    Volume 59 of Iranica Antiqua has been published:

    • 1 – 24 – Against Cuneiform: The Dawn of Writing in Iran
      DANESHMAND, Parsa
      abstract details
    • 25 – 33 – Cylinder Seals in the National Museum of Iran
      BAGHBIDI, Bahar Rezai, MIRGHADERI, Mohammad Amin, D’ORAZIO, Claudia
      abstract details
    • 35 – 62 – Petrographic and XRF Analysis of the Ceramics of the Achaemenid Period in the Ramhormoz Plain, Southwestern Iran
      AFSHARI, Leila, AKARSU, Rabia
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    • 63 – 82 – In Search of the Plains of Gaugamela
      SZYPUŁA, Bartłomiej, GŁOGOWSKI, Piotr, MARCIAK, Michał
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    • 83 – 108 – The Statue of the ‘Prince’ of Shami: Parthian Nobleman, Local Ruler or Arsacid King of Kings?
      SINISI, Fabrizio
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    • 109 – 128 – Why the Title rāmšahr for Yazdgerd I?
      JALILIAN, Shahram
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    • 129 – 151 – Between Dome and Eyvān: Building Techniques, Function, and Symbolism of the Kushk-e Ardashir in Bozpar (Bushehr, Iran)
      LABISI, Guiseppe
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    • 153 – 193 – The Dynamics of Anthropogenic Landscape Evolution in the Bozpar Valley (South Iran). A Case Study for Small-Scale Hydraulic Engineering in Antiquity
      RASHIDIAN, Elnaz
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    • 195 – 218 – Passing through the Northwestern Heights of the Alvand Mountains: Restoring the Caravan Routes between Asadabad and Hamadan in Different Historical Periods
      REZAEI, Iraj
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  • Representation of Aphrodite and Eros

    Representation of Aphrodite and Eros

    Moradi, Yousef & Almut Hintze. 2025. Representation of Aphrodite and Eros on Sasanian clay bullae: Evidence from the fire temple of Ādur Gušnasp at Takht-e Solaymān. Iranian Studies 1–31.

    This article examines five Sasanian bullae from the fire temple of Ādur Gušnasp with seal impressions depicting Aphrodite and Eros, and Aphrodite Anadyomene. It is argued that the original seal with Aphrodite and Eros likely dates from the late 1st century BCE to the early 1st century CE, reused between the 5th–7th centuries CE, while the Aphrodite Anadyomene seal is from the 2nd or 3rd century CE. Contextualizing these findings within Graeco-Roman and Iranian cultures, this article explores reinterpretations of Graeco-Roman iconography for both Zoroastrian and non-Zoroastrian audiences, as well as highlights that bullae with concave impressions of cylindrically curved objects on the reverse had once been attached to vessels, not just documents. Additionally, this article also discusses other sealings on the new bullae, some with Middle Persian inscriptions, identifying a mgw (priest) and an astrologer, providing the first attestation of the word axtar (constellation) on a Sasanian seal.

    Abstract
  • The Significance of the Wreath in the Late Antique Orient

    The Significance of the Wreath in the Late Antique Orient

    Corfù, Nicolas Assur. 2025. Die Bedeutung des Kranzes im spätantiken Orient: zu Thronbesteigung, Kranzübergabe und Religionen im Sasanidenreich. Basel: Schwabe Verlag.

    The wreath first appears in funerary culture in the West and in Egypt. Later, it increasingly came to represent victory as well, deriving from the oriental nose-rope with ring, which was adopted and adapted into the West during Greece’s ‘Orientalizing Period’. In Sasanian iconography, the wreath was re-imported from the West: it now symbolizes victory, honor, or a funerary aspect.

    This book examines the wreath in East and West from its first appearance up to Late Antiquity. The author develops a new interpretation of the inscription ANRm-b and offers a novel reading of rock reliefs depicting wreath-giving, using a group-theoretical approach from mathematics: as an act of honoring a deceased predecessor of the commissioning Sasanian ruler.

  • The ‘Two Eyes’ Rivalry of Byzantium and Sasanian Persia

    The ‘Two Eyes’ Rivalry of Byzantium and Sasanian Persia

    Blachford, Kevin. 2024. World order in Late Antiquity: The ‘Two Eyes’ rivalry of Byzantium and Sasanian Persia. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    The East Romans of Byzantium and the Sasanian Persians competed as geopolitical rivals for over four centuries between 224 and 628 ad. Through a series of intractable conflicts, these two great empires would develop a dual hierarchy that sought to divide the known world between them. Despite competing claims to universal rule, mutual spheres of interest arose as both empires sought to create rules, norms, and standard practices of diplomatic behaviour to regulate their inter-imperial rivalry. Defined by contemporaries as the ‘Two Eyes’ of the Earth, this suzerain order aimed to hierarchically organize those considered ‘barbarians’. This period of late antiquity is rarely considered within the discipline of international relations. Through an English School approach, this work examines the diverse suzerain order of late antiquity as ‘barbarous’ nomadic tribes challenged the hierarchical ambitions of two rival empires who both claimed a unique role in the maintenance of world order.

  • Sasanian Coin Legends

    Sasanian Coin Legends

    Matloubkari, Esmaeil. 2024. Sasanian Coin Legends: A Linguistic Approach to Historical Analysis. Tehran: Negah-e Moaser.

    Epigraphic sources and historical texts indicate that the political ideology of the Sasanians underwent significant transformations over time. If we consider Sasanian coins as the most important—and sometimes the only—expressions of Sasanian kingship ideology, then the linguistic study of coin legends becomes a key method for understanding the socio-political significance of these titles.

    The titles inscribed on Sasanian coins during the 3rd and 4th centuries AD appear to have been rooted in native traditions, either imitated and reconstructed by the Sasanians or influenced by external traditions transmitted through the Parthians, Hellenistic states, and Kushans. The formalization of Zoroastrianism as the state religion in the 4th century AD led to Middle Persian becoming the sole official language, resulting in the gradual removal of non-native titles from Sasanian coinage. Nevertheless, such titles continued to exist in a localized form within the political sphere and the propaganda of the Sasanian government.
    Lexical analysis suggests that most of the titles and honorifics found on Sasanian coins originated from religious contexts, often adapted—with modifications—from Old or Middle Iranian texts. From the 5th to the 7th century, these titles increasingly reflected Zoroastrian religious traditions while also showing traces of the ancient Iranian bureaucratic system. The titulature found on Sasanian coins and inscriptions was a crucial instrument for legitimizing Sasanian kingship, and changes in these titles provide valuable insights into the evolution of political thought during the Sasanian era.
    Given the scarcity of contemporary Sasanian texts, coin legends remain among the few available sources that reference the “King of Kings,” the court, and the state. By examining the etymology of these terms in Old and Middle Iranian texts, historians can gain a deeper understanding of their meanings, thereby shedding light on the socio-political structures of the Sasanian period.

  • Kushano-Sasanian copper coins

    Schindel, Nikolaus. 2025. Schatzfunde kushano-sasanidischer Kupfermünzen und ihr Beitrag zur Kenntnis von Prägesystem und Geldumlauf im kushano-sasanidischen Herrschaftsbereich. In Kooperation mit Shakir Pidaev. Wien: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften.

    Der vorliegende Band dokumentiert acht Schatzfunde spätkushanischer und kushano-sasanidischer Kupfermünzen aus unterschiedlichen Quellen. Neben der Vorstellung des Materials werden unterschiedliche Themen wie Prägeherren, Münzstätten, Metrologie und Beizeichen im Detail besprochen. Vor allem aber wird zum ersten Mal seit Robert Göbls Studien aus den Jahren 1984 und 1993 der Versuch unternommen, auf der Grundlage einer umfassenden Rekonstruktion des Prägesystems die kushano-sasanidischen AE-Münzen in den historischen Kontext der spätantiken Geschichte Ostirans einzuordnen, wobei auch die immer noch umstrittene Frage nach der Datierung des Jahres Eins des Kushankönigs Kanishka I. behandelt wird. Dies ist der zweite Band der Reihe „Fundmünzen aus Usbekistan“.

  • Narseh, King of Kings

    Weber, Ursula. 2024. Narseh, König der Könige des Sāsānidenreiches (293-302 n. Chr.): eine prosopographisch-historische Studie (Acta Iranica 63). Leuven: Peeters.

    The present study on the Iranian Sasanian ruler Narseh (293–302) addresses a research gap. Its aim is to present the biography of the king, his concept of rulership, and his political legacy against the backdrop of Persian-Roman relations in the 3rd century AD. While the Roman Empire in the West recovered from a phase of internal instability through profound political transformation, a new political power emerged beyond the Euphrates following the fall of the Parthian Empire—the Sasanian Empire under Ardashir I (224–651), the grandfather of King Narseh. The study of King Narseh’s era is based on a diverse range of literary, epigraphic, numismatic, and archaeological sources of varying origins and reliability. Of particular significance is Narseh’s extensive Middle Persian-Parthian bilingual inscription from the tower of Paikuli. This subjective account of the circumstances of his accession to the throne served both as a report of justification and a legitimizing inscription against suspicions of usurpation.

  • Representations of Kingship in Pre-Islamic Central Asia

    Representations of Kingship in Pre-Islamic Central Asia

    Shenkar, Michael. 2025. Kings of cities and rulers of the steppes: Representations of kingship in pre-Islamic Central Asia (Schriften zur vorderasiatischen Archäologie 22). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.

    Kings of Cities and Rulers of the Steppes examines the iconography of Central Asian rulers from the Bronze Age to the Early Islamic period, focusing on the cultural, religious, and ideological messages conveyed through royal imagery. With over 650 illustrations (including 300 original drawings), Michael Shenkar traces the evolution of kingship and its iconography over time, highlighting Central Asia’s role as a meeting point for Iranian, Greek, Chinese, Indian, and Turkic cultures. Often referred to as a “crossroads of civilizations,” Central Asia provides a rich context in which these cultures interacted and influenced one another. By examining royal imagery as a historical and cultural source, this book uncovers the cultural complexities behind the kings who ruled the region’s rich cities and vast steppes. It uses these visual representations as a lens to explore the cultural, political, and religious dynamics that defined Central Asia’s heritage.
    A major theme of the book is the unparalleled diversity of ancient Central Asian royal imagery, which reflects both the political fragmentation of the region and the interactions between nomadic and sedentary populations. Shenkar also highlights the distinct feature of collective sovereignty found in many Central Asian and Iranian states. Post-nomadic royal clans such of the Scythians, Yuezhi, Huns, and Turks often utilized an ‘appanage system’, allowing rulers to express their identities by combining traditional symbols of power with unique elements that differentiated them from others. This book provides an ambitious, multi-century exploration of Central Asian kingship, offering new insights into the political and cultural significance of the region’s royal imagery