Asefi, Nima & Shervin Farridnejad. 2026. Three Middle Persian documents from Fārs dating to the reigns of Xusrō II and Ohrmazd IV. Berkeley Working Papers in Middle Iranian Philology 4(6). 1–24.
In 2024, images of three previously unknown Middle Persian documents on leather became available, reportedly originating from an undisclosed location in Fārs province, Iran. All three documents are formal letters. In this article, we propose that the documents originate from the same site, Tang-e Bolāġī, as seven other documents which became known beginning in 2023. Based on an analysis of the opening sections of these three new documents, we argue that two date to the reign of Xusrō II (r. 590–628 CE), while the third is attributable to the reign of his father, Ohrmazd IV (r. 579–590 CE). We furthermore consider the evidence for the titulature of the Sasanian kings at the end of the 6th and beginning of the 7th centuries CE.
Abstract