Berkeley Working Papers in Middle Iranian Philology

Adam Benkato and I have finally launched our journal, Berkeley Working Papers in Middle Iranian Philology, where we intend to publish short and longer articles or research reports on the philology and epigraphy of the Middle Iranian languages (Middle Persian, Parthian, Bactrian, Sogdian, Chorasmian, Khotanese).

We start the Working Papers with issue 0, Towards a Manifesto for Middle Iranian Philology. As the title suggests, this issue of the journal serves as a manifesto where I show a possible direction for the journal by discussing Nietzsche’s views on philology.

We warmly invite our colleagues to contribute to the journal.

The Roar of silence

On 26 September, I presented François de Blois the Festschrift that Adam Benkato and I edited:

Benkato, Adam & Arash Zeini (eds.). 2021. The roar of silence: A Festschrift in honour of François de Blois. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 31(3).

The presentation took place at the Ancient India & Iran Trust in Cambridge a couple of days after François’s 73rd birthday. Here is my speech:

Abadan:Retold

Abadan:Retold is an innovative, multi-media social history project invented and managed by Rasmus Christian Elling, an Associate Professor of Iranian Studies at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

A crucial part of the project is an online portal (www.abadan.wiki) with multiple functions.

Closure of ‘small Humanities programmes’!

Stop the Cuts
Image source: http://3909.cupe.ca/files/2013/05/Stop-the-Cuts.jpg

At BiblioIranica, we usually do not comment on issues beyond our academic interests in ancient Iran. However, it would be wrong, if we did not express our disappointment after hearing the news of the closure of ‘small Humanities programmes’ at the University of Copenhagen. As the University Post reports, the “Faculty of Humanities at the University of Copenhagen will shut down five smaller study programmes permanently”. A full list of the threatened programmes, and the university’s plans are published here.

Masters of Persian calligraphy

Congratulations to Hamidreza Ghelichkhani, who curated and annotated this delightful anthology in collaboration with Kambiz GhaneaBassiri.

This anthology invites audiences to interact with select works of Iranian masters of calligraphy from the tenth to the twentieth century. These works were carefully chosen to represent the artistic canon that has shaped the world of calligraphy in contemporary Iran. Their influence has in many cases exceeded the national boundaries of modern Iran, and the earlier works helped spread Persianate culture throughout West Asia in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern era.

Source: Home – Masterpieces of Persian Calligraphy

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.

The epic of Farāmarz

The new issue, vol. 24, of the Bulletin of the Asia Institute (BAI) has been published. As of this post, the journal’s website has not been updated to reflect the content of vol. 24, and the issue contains too many articles and reviews of interest to individually list them here.

Michael Shenkar has made a PDF of his article available here:

Shenkar, Michael. 2014. The epic of Farāmarz in the Panjikent paintings. Bulletin of the Asia Institute 24. 67–84.

Update:

The following content list has been posted by Carol Bromberg:

Bulletin of the Asia Institute 24 (December 2014)

David Stronach, Solomon at Pasargadae: Some New Perspectives

 Domenico Agostini, Encountering a Beautiful Maiden: On the Zoroastrian dēn in Comparison with Dante’s Beatrice

 Yishai Kiel, Gazing through Transparent Objects in Pahlavi and Rabbinic Literature: A Comparative Analysis

 Dieter Weber, Villages and Estates in the Documents from the Pahlavi Archive: The Geographical Background

 Michael Shenkar, The Epic of Farāmarz in the Panjikent Paintings  (2 color plates)

 Étienne de la Vaissière, Silk, Buddhism and Early Khotanese Chronology: A Note on the Prophecy of the Li Country

 Harry Falk, Libation Trays from Gandhara

 Phyllis Granoff, Maitreya and the Yūpa: Some Gandharan Reliefs

 David Frendo, Sovereignty, Control, and Co-existence in Byzantine-Iranian Relations: An Overview

 Zsuzsanna Gulácsi, The Prophet’s Seal: A Contextualized Look at the Crystal Sealstone of Mani (216–276 c.e.) in the Bibliothèque nationale de France (2 color plates)

Reviews

Prods Oktor Skjærvø, Gnosis and Deliverance: Werner Sundermann’s “Speech of the Living Soul”

Azarnouche, ed. and trans. Husraw ī Kawādān-ē ud Rēdag-ē: Khosrow fils de Kawād et un page (Jenny Rose)

Agostini. Ayādgār ī Jāmāspīg: Un texte eschatologique zoroastrien (Daniel Sheffield)

Jullien, ed. Eastern Christianity: A Crossroads of Cultures (David Frendo)