Shervin Farridnejad

Iran and the Caucasus 30 (1) Volume 30, issue 1, of Iran and the Caucasus has now been published. As always, we are grateful to the staff at Yale Classics Library (@yaleclassicslib.bsky.social) for sharing this publication information with us.

Iran and the Caucasus 30 (1)

Volume 30, issue 1, of Iran and the Caucasus has now been published. As always, we are grateful to the staff at Yale Classics Library (@yaleclassicslib.bsky.social) for sharing this publication information with us.

Three Middle Persian documents from Fārs 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.

Three Middle Persian documents from Fārs

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…

Gold, Silver and Glass Simpson, St John (ed.). 2026. Gold, Silver and Glass: Power Networks, Cultural Identities, Technology Transfers and Agency across the Old World (7th Century BC - 1st Century AD). Bicester: Archaeopress. This volume explores how precious materials shaped power, identity and cultural exchange in the ancient world from the 7th century BC to early Roman times. Growing out of the British Museum special exhibition Luxury and Power: Persia to Greece, it brings together new perspectives on technology, value and artistic interaction from Greece to China.

Gold, Silver and Glass

Simpson, St John (ed.). 2026. Gold, Silver and Glass: Power Networks, Cultural Identities, Technology Transfers and Agency across the Old World (7th Century BC - 1st Century AD). Bicester: Archaeopress. This volume explores how precious materials shaped power, identity and…

In memory of Philippe Gignoux Gyselen, Rika (ed.). 2024. Administrations et préposés d’époque sassanide: Nouvelles données à la mémoire de Philippe Gignoux (Cahiers de Studia Iranica 66). Paris: Association pour l’avancement des études iraniennes. This volume brings together studies based on primary sources, often unpublished, which highlight important aspects of the administration of the Sasanian Empire. Some complete our knowledge on the territorial establishment of the various administrations and of the mints, others deal with the actors of these institutions such as the magi and the scribes. The sources used are mainly seals and seal impressions on clay bullae. Summary

In memory of Philippe Gignoux

Gyselen, Rika (ed.). 2024. Administrations et préposés d’époque sassanide: Nouvelles données à la mémoire de Philippe Gignoux (Cahiers de Studia Iranica 66). Paris: Association pour l’avancement des études iraniennes. This volume brings together studies based on…

Text, script and language in Bactria and Serindia Ching, Chao-jung & Michaël Peyrot (eds.). 2026. Text, script and language in Bactria and Serindia. Papers on cultural and linguistic interactions in pre-Islamic Central Asia. Beiträge zur Iranistik, vol. 55. Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag. This collective volume unites ten papers by international specialists in history, philology, linguistics, palaeography and archaeology, dealing with texts written in Bactrian, Khotanese, Tumshuqese, Tocharian, and Gāndhārī (Niya-Prakrit) from Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Northwest China, as well as with classical Chinese Buddhist scriptures and the newly discovered Almosi inscriptions of Tajikistan.

Text, script and language in Bactria and Serindia

Ching, Chao-jung & Michaël Peyrot (eds.). 2026. Text, script and language in Bactria and Serindia. Papers on cultural and linguistic interactions in pre-Islamic Central Asia. Beiträge zur Iranistik, vol. 55. Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag. This…

The diversification of Indo-Iranian and the position of the Nuristani languages Halfmann, Jakob. 2025. The diversification of Indo-Iranian and the position of the Nuristani languages (Beiträge Zur Iranistik 54). Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag. This book offers a new approach to the long-standing problem of the genealogical affiliation of the Nuristani languages, a small group of closely related languages spoken in the Eastern Hindu Kush, within the Indo-Iranian subgroup of Indo-European. This topic is approached via a step-by-step examination of the crucial isoglosses, while taking into account more sample data than was available to previous researchers.

The diversification of Indo-Iranian and the position of the Nuristani languages

Halfmann, Jakob. 2025. The diversification of Indo-Iranian and the position of the Nuristani languages (Beiträge Zur Iranistik 54). Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag. This book offers a new approach to the long-standing…

Gāthās of Zarathuštra Kellens, Jean. 2026. Les Gâthâs attribuées à Zarathuštra. Aux origines de l’Avesta et de la religion zoroastrienne. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. At the source of the Avesta, the collection of the oldest sacrificial recitations of the Zoroastrian religion, one finds a small corpus of poems, the Gāthās—“songs” composed in a particularly archaic language. These venerable chants are regarded by the faithful as the very work of the founding prophet, Zarathustra, and this act of faith is largely endorsed by many representatives of contemporary scholarship.

Gāthās of Zarathuštra

Kellens, Jean. 2026. Les Gâthâs attribuées à Zarathuštra. Aux origines de l’Avesta et de la religion zoroastrienne. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. At the source of the Avesta, the collection of the oldest sacrificial recitations of the Zoroastrian religion, one finds a small…

Herodotus on the Expedition of Datis and Artaphrenes

Degen, Julian. 2025. Herodotus on the Expedition of Datis and Artaphrenes: Athenian Imperialism Mirrored in the First Persian War. The Classical Quarterly (2025) 1–14. By accepting a later dating for the composition of the Histories, this…

Debating Cyrus

Johnson, David M., Gabriel Alexander Danzig and Rodrigo Illarraga (eds.). 2026. Debating Cyrus: Leadership in Xenophon’s ›Cyropaedia‹ (Xenophon Studies 2). Berlin: De Gruyter. Is Xenophon’s Cyrus the Great the model leader he seems to be, or does his apparent success actually…

Herodotus and Women Zaccarini, Matteo. 2025. Erodoto e le donne: La presenza femminile nelle Storie. Rome: Carocci. Elena partì da Sparta con i Troiani, ma, forse, fu una fuga volontaria più che un rapimento. La regina di Lidia, disonorata dal marito, congegnò una vendetta esemplare e teatrale. L’etera Rodopi, in origine una schiava, divenne una figura leggendaria grazie alla fama e a un monumento eccezionali.

Herodotus and Women

Zaccarini, Matteo. 2025. Erodoto e le donne: La presenza femminile nelle Storie. Rome: Carocci. Elena partì da Sparta con i Troiani, ma, forse, fu una fuga volontaria più che un rapimento. La regina di Lidia, disonorata dal marito, congegnò una vendetta esemplare e teatrale.…

Khotanese dīñ- “overthink” Hitch, Doug & Mehrdad Derafshi. 2025. Khotanese dīñ- “overthink” and Avestan daēnā- “view, vision.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 1–10. Two new folios from the Old Khotanese epic Buddhist poem the Book of Zambasta have recently come to light. One folio contains the word dīñu which is thrice attested elsewhere in both Old (dīñi, …

Khotanese dīñ- “overthink”

Hitch, Doug & Mehrdad Derafshi. 2025. Khotanese dīñ- “overthink” and Avestan daēnā- “view, vision.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 1–10. Two new folios from the Old Khotanese epic Buddhist poem the Book of Zambasta have recently come to light. One…

Kleines Gatha-Lesebuch Hoffmann, Karl. 2025. Kleines Gatha-Lesebuch: Aus dem Nachlass herausgegeben von Bernhard Forssman, unter Mitwirkung von Jürgen Habisreitinger. Mit einem Beitrag von Almut Hintze. (Ed.) Bernhard Forssman. Heidelberg: Heidelberg Asian Studies Publishing. This book is open access and can be downloaded here. Dieses Buch enthält Stücke aus den "Gathas": poetischen Texten, als deren Verfasser Zarathustra angesehen wird, der Stifter der Parsen-Religion.

Kleines Gatha-Lesebuch

Hoffmann, Karl. 2025. Kleines Gatha-Lesebuch: Aus dem Nachlass herausgegeben von Bernhard Forssman, unter Mitwirkung von Jürgen Habisreitinger. Mit einem Beitrag von Almut Hintze. (Ed.) Bernhard Forssman. Heidelberg: Heidelberg Asian Studies Publishing. This book is open…

Persian Language Summer School ASPIRANTUM’s 2026 Persian Language Summer School offers 6–10 weeks (120–200 hours) of intensive Modern Persian instruction in Yerevan, beginning on June 21, June 28, or July 5, 2026. Classes at beginner, elementary, and intermediate levels focus on all key skills - reading, writing, speaking, listening, grammar, and vocabulary - with small groups ensuring meaningful progress. Participants also take part in 

Persian Language Summer School

ASPIRANTUM’s 2026 Persian Language Summer School offers 6–10 weeks (120–200 hours) of intensive Modern Persian instruction in Yerevan, beginning on June 21, June 28, or July 5, 2026. Classes at beginner, elementary, and intermediate levels focus on all key skills -…

In Solidarity with the People of Iran We have been following the news of the protests in Iran with growing concern and deep distress. We acknowledge the profound suffering unfolding across the country and recognise the courage of our sisters and brothers who are fighting for their freedom. Like so many Iranians living outside Iran, we fear for our loved ones and for all those exposed to violence and brutality. We wish everyone strength, courage, and hope in this struggle, and we stand in solidarity with our people. پیروزی از آن شماست.

In Solidarity with the People of Iran

We have been following the news of the protests in Iran with growing concern and deep distress. We acknowledge the profound suffering unfolding across the country and recognise the courage of our sisters and brothers who are fighting for their freedom. Like so…

Achaemenid royal women in Egypt Kaczanowicz, Marta. 2025. Invisible figures: Achaemenid royal women in Egypt. Old World: Journal of Ancient Africa and Eurasia. Brill 5(2). 1–19. This contribution aims to reexamine the frequently stated assertion that Achaemenid royal women were not involved in Egypt and its affairs during the periods of Persian rule on the Nile. The evidence is considered against the Persian concept of queenship rather than focusing solely on the Egyptian perspective on the role of royal women within the ideology of power.

Achaemenid royal women in Egypt

Kaczanowicz, Marta. 2025. Invisible figures: Achaemenid royal women in Egypt. Old World: Journal of Ancient Africa and Eurasia. Brill 5(2). 1–19. This contribution aims to reexamine the frequently stated assertion that Achaemenid royal women were not involved in…

Memory, politics, and religion in the reign of Xusrō II Baca-Winters, Keenan. 2025. A most vicious game: Memory, politics, and religion in the reign of Xusrō II. Hunara: Journal of Ancient Iranian Arts and History 3(2). 25–53. This paper examines the complex relationship between Xusrō II and the Christians of Ērānšahr (the Sāsānian Kingdom). By the time he assumed power, Ērānšahr had a significant population of Christians who belonged to distinct churches.

Memory, politics, and religion in the reign of Xusrō II

Baca-Winters, Keenan. 2025. A most vicious game: Memory, politics, and religion in the reign of Xusrō II. Hunara: Journal of Ancient Iranian Arts and History 3(2). 25–53. This paper examines the complex relationship between Xusrō II and the…

Scent, Colour and Glitter in the Ancient World Soudavar Farmanfarmaian, Fatema. 2025. Scent, colour and glitter in the ancient world: A comparative history of aromatics, cosmetics and adornment, from the Mediterranean to the China Seas. London: I.B. Tauris. Aromatics, cosmetics and personal adornment have had a major role in the evolution of human society, particularly in the cradles of civilization between the Nile and the Indus. Far from being concerned with the frivolities of vain pursuits, their study touches on religion, cosmology, rituals and magic, life and the afterlife, sexuality and procreation, artistic expression, technology, craftsmanship, aesthetics, administrative structures, long­-distance trade and cross-cultural exchanges – in sum, all the essentials that underpin human civilization.

Scent, Colour and Glitter in the Ancient World

Soudavar Farmanfarmaian, Fatema. 2025. Scent, colour and glitter in the ancient world: A comparative history of aromatics, cosmetics and adornment, from the Mediterranean to the China Seas. London: I.B. Tauris. Aromatics, cosmetics and personal…

Le livre de Yōišta Friiāna Pirart, Éric. 2025. Le livre de Yōišta Friiāna. Introduction, édition, traduction et commentaire (Publications d’Études Indo-Iraniennes 5). Strasbourg: Université de Strasbourg. Yōišta Friiāna est un héros mythologique présent dans toutes les strates de la littérature zoroastrienne ancienne et médiévale, l'archaïque Uštauuaitī Gāθā, deux Yašt de l'Avesta récent, le Dēnkard et d'autres livres pehlevis. Sa confrontation avec un démon, contée dans le petit livre pehlevi qui porte son nom, rappelle fortement le mythe grec d'Œdipe et de la Sphinx. Résumé

Le livre de Yōišta Friiāna

Pirart, Éric. 2025. Le livre de Yōišta Friiāna. Introduction, édition, traduction et commentaire (Publications d’Études Indo-Iraniennes 5). Strasbourg: Université de Strasbourg. Yōišta Friiāna est un héros mythologique présent dans toutes les strates de la littérature…

The lives and legacies of Bōrān and Āzarmīgduxt Baca-Winters, Keenan. 2025. To walk in royal ways: The lives and legacies of Bōrān and Āzarmīgduxt. Old World: Journal of Ancient Africa and Eurasia. Brill 5(2). 1–33. Amid the political turmoil and external threats that marked the final years of Ērānšahr, also known as the Sāsānian Empire, two sisters, Bōrān and Āzarmīgduxt, ascended the throne. While previous scholars have briefly touched upon these women, this paper examines the entire zeitgeist of their reigns, shedding light on their personalities, decisions, and the challenges they faced in a politically crumbling empire.

The lives and legacies of Bōrān and Āzarmīgduxt

Baca-Winters, Keenan. 2025. To walk in royal ways: The lives and legacies of Bōrān and Āzarmīgduxt. Old World: Journal of Ancient Africa and Eurasia. Brill 5(2). 1–33. Amid the political turmoil and external threats that marked the final years of…

On the Teispid-Achaemenid Dynastic Divide

Zarghamee, Reza. 2025. A contribution to the discourse regarding a Teispid-Achaemenid dynastic divide. The Ancient History Bulletin 39(3/4). 86–124. Editorial remark: Unfortunately, we are unable link to the individual articles, published by the bulletin.…

Dabir (vol. 12) Volume 12 of Dabir (2025) is now available both online and in print, featuring two issues: Salman Aliyari Babolghani: The Imperfect with the t-Type Prefix in New Iranian and Its Connection to the Old Iranian Augmented Imperfect Optative Majid Daneshgar: Reading Ismāʿīlī Islam in Aceh: Shāh Shams Sabziwārī’s Poems Copied in the 15th-Century Indonesia Meysam Mohammadi: Middle Persian, Early New Persian and Fahlawī Quotations in Tārīx-e Qom…

Dabir (vol. 12)

Volume 12 of Dabir (2025) is now available both online and in print, featuring two issues: Salman Aliyari Babolghani: The Imperfect with the t-Type Prefix in New Iranian and Its Connection to the Old Iranian Augmented Imperfect Optative Majid Daneshgar: Reading Ismāʿīlī Islam in…

Anabasis, vols. 14-15 Volumes 14-15 (2023-2024) of Anabasis. Studia Classica et Orientalia, edited by Marek Jan Olbrycht, is out now. Several papers and reviews of the issue relate to ancient Iran: Michał Podrazik: Cyrus the Younger in Syria and Mesopotamia, Abrokomas, and the Great King’s Defensive Strategy (401 BC) Heckel: Alexander and the Amazon Queen Harry Falk: Zariaspa and the “Kunduz” Hoards…

Anabasis, vols. 14-15

Volumes 14-15 (2023-2024) of Anabasis. Studia Classica et Orientalia, edited by Marek Jan Olbrycht, is out now. Several papers and reviews of the issue relate to ancient Iran: Michał Podrazik: Cyrus the Younger in Syria and Mesopotamia, Abrokomas, and the Great King’s…

The Late Babylonian worship scene at Persepolis

Garrison, Mark B. 2025. The Late Babylonian worship scene at Persepolis. In: Benjamin Sass & Laura Battini (eds.), Mortals, Deities and Divine Symbols: Rethinking Ancient Images from the Levant to Mesopotamia. Studies Offered to Tallay Ornan…

Reaching the Persian Gulf from the Kur River Basin

Matin, Emad. 2025. Reaching the Persian Gulf from the Kur River Basin: Patterns of an Intermittent Connectivity. East and West 65 (1). The paper at hand explores the connectivity between Central Fars and the Persian Gulf over a long period of time…

Studies on Middle Babylonian texts from Haft-Tappe Nikkhah Bahrami, Gita. 2025. Untersuchungen zu mittelbabylonischen Texten aus Haft-Tappe (dubsar 27). Münster: Zaphon. G. Nikkhah Bahrami’s study offers a comprehensive edition and cultural-historical and economic-historical investigation of the texts in Middle-Babylonian Akkadian found at Haft-Tappe in the province Khuzestan in southwestern Iran. Following a brief introduction (I.), paleography, syllabary, orthography, and other philological questions concerning the texts are discussed (II.).

Studies on Middle Babylonian texts from Haft-Tappe

Nikkhah Bahrami, Gita. 2025. Untersuchungen zu mittelbabylonischen Texten aus Haft-Tappe (dubsar 27). Münster: Zaphon. G. Nikkhah Bahrami’s study offers a comprehensive edition and cultural-historical and economic-historical investigation of the…

Persia’s Greek Campaigns: Kingship, War, and Spectacle on the Achaemenid Frontier Hyland, John O. 2025. Persia’s Greek Campaigns: Kingship, War, and Spectacle on the Achaemenid Frontier. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Persia’s Greek Campaigns offers a bold reassessment of the wars between the Achaemenid Persian kings and the Greek city-states (c. 499–449 bce). These conflicts, and especially Xerxes’s invasion of Greece (480–479 bce), are remembered as foundational events in Greek history, but the “Persian version” remains neglected.

Persia’s Greek Campaigns: Kingship, War, and Spectacle on the Achaemenid Frontier

Hyland, John O. 2025. Persia’s Greek Campaigns: Kingship, War, and Spectacle on the Achaemenid Frontier. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Persia’s Greek Campaigns offers a bold reassessment of the wars between the…

Palmyra, the Roman Empire, and the Third Century Crisis Raja, Rubina & Eivind Heldaas Seland. eds. 2025. Palmyra, the Roman Empire, and the Third Century Crisis: Zooming in and Scaling up from the Evidence. Stuttgart: Steiner. The third century is often seen as a period of crisis in the Roman world, marked by political upheaval, violence, war, religious strife, hyperinflation, climatic instability, pandemics, and border incursions. These troubled times, however, coincided with the peak of Palmyra's prosperity.

Palmyra, the Roman Empire, and the Third Century Crisis

Raja, Rubina & Eivind Heldaas Seland. eds. 2025. Palmyra, the Roman Empire, and the Third Century Crisis: Zooming in and Scaling up from the Evidence. Stuttgart: Steiner. The third century is often seen as a period of crisis in the Roman…

Sasanian Law in its Social Context Macuch, Maria. 2025. Sasanian law in its social context (Iranica 34). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. Sasanian law has remained largely an unknown entity outside the specific field of Iranian Studies due to the immense difficulties involved in understanding the relevant legal sources. Sasanian Law in its Social Context by Maria Macuch is the first attempt to reconstruct the legal system of Sasanian Iran (224–651 CE), systematically and in detail, covering all areas of law as far as they can be reconstructed on the basis of the available material.

Sasanian Law in its Social Context

Macuch, Maria. 2025. Sasanian law in its social context (Iranica 34). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. Sasanian law has remained largely an unknown entity outside the specific field of Iranian Studies due to the immense difficulties involved in understanding the…

The Achaemenid-Zoroastrian Background of the Burning Bush Pericope

Barena, Gad. 2025. ʾAhyh ʾAšr ʾAhyh: The Achaemenid-Zoroastrian Background of the Burning Bush Pericope. Revista Pistis & Praxis 17(3), 384–402. Various types of impact, assimilation, and engagement of certain redactional layers…

Near Eastern Archaeology (vol. 88)

In the various issues of volume 88 of Near Eastern Archaeology, several articles address topics in Iranian archaeology. The following list compiles all Iran-related contributions: Morteza Khanipour and Masashi Abe: From Seasonal Hunting Base to Permanent…