The Ehsan Yarshater Lecture Series presentations at UCLA, which has a counterpart at the Collège de France, are delivered by a distinguished scholar whose work has impacted the study of the Iranian Civilization. Each biennial lecture series consists of four to five lectures on a single theme that is elaborated and amplified into a monograph. ...
You Are Invited: Pourdavoud Center Fall 2020 Welcome Event Friday, October 23, 2020 at 11:00am PST via Zoom Registration Required Please join us for a digital fall reception to celebrate the continued success of the Pourdavoud Center for the Study of the Iranian World. In the company of Dr. Anahita Naficy Lovelace and Mr. Jim Lovelace,...
Achaemenid Egypt: The Archaeology of a Colonial Encounter Traditionally, Egyptologists have regarded the period of Achaemenid Persian rule (the 27th Dynasty, c. 526-404 BCE) as an unmitigated disaster for the Egyptians. This view, however, is based primarily on the perception that there is a scarcity of material from this period; in turn this scarcity is...
The Puzzling Papyrus: New Perspectives on Papyrus Amherst 63 In this workshop, two of the world’s leading experts on Papyrus Amherst 63, Professors Tawny Holm and Karel van der Toorn, will reflect on recent scholarship on the Aramaic texts of this papyrus written in Demotic Egyptian script during the Persian Period. Since the decipherment of...
Sasanian Iran: A Personal View This talk will focus on topics included in Dr. Bonner's new book, The Last Empire of Iran, a narrative history of Sasanian Persia. Throughout this lecture, Dr. Bonner will share with the audience the impetus for writing this book. The principle motivation was to portray the Sasanian state as the...
The Parsi Community of India and the Making of Modern Iran This book talk will provide an overview of Exile and the Nation: The Parsi Community of India and the Making of Modern Iran (University of Texas Press, 2020). In the aftermath of the 7th century Islamic conquest of Iran, large numbers of Zoroastrians departed...
Book Talk: Rome, Parthia, and the Politics of Peace This volume offers an informed survey of the problematic relationship between the ancient empires of Rome and Parthia from c. 96/95 BCE to 224 CE. Schlude explores the rhythms of this relationship and invites its readers to reconsider the past and our relationship with it. Some...
Book Launch: Domenico Ingenito’s Beholding Beauty: Saʿdi of Shiraz and the Aesthetics of Desire in Medieval Persian Poetry (Brill, 2020) A conversation with Paul Losensky (Indiana University) and Jane Mikkelson (University of Virginia) Wednesday, January 27, 2021 10:00 AM (Pacific Time) To RSVP, please click here. Beholding Beauty: Saʿdi of Shiraz and the Aesthetics...
Reconsidering the Emergence of the Parthian State: The Crisis of the 240s-230s BCE in the Hellenistic Middle East Nikolaus Overtoom's study of the rise of the Parthian Empire, Reign of Arrows: The Rise of the Parthian Empire in the Hellenistic Middle East, brings a new perspective to this important development in the history of the...
Narseh’s Diadem: Religion, Royalty, and Power under the Early Sasanians This talk focuses on the Sasanian king Narseh (293-302 CE), who celebrated his accession to the throne through the bilingual inscription (Middle Persian and Parthian) and commemorative monument built in Paikuli, the site currently studied by the archaeological mission of Sapienza-University of Rome: The Italian...
