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The Anatomy of Loyalty and Patterns of Patronage in the Religio-political Culture of Sixteenth Century Iran

306 Royce Hall 10745 Dickson Plaza, Los Angeles, CA

Dr. Khafipour discusses the spiritual dimensions of political loyalty that was instrumental in the formation of strong ties between the Safavid rulers and their chiefs at the epicenter of the order, where power was continually contested. Drawing on a wide variety of historical and literary sources, Islamic theology, and theories of power, he discusses the...

Whither the Study of Ancient Iran?

On April 19–20, the Pourdavoud Center for the Study of the Iranian World will be convening a number of workshops to assess the state of ancient Iranian studies, as well as reflect on the Center’s research agenda and priorities for the next 3–6 years, in consultation with invited affiliates. The main axes, along which the...

Greater Glory: Darius I and Divinity in Achaemenid Royal Ideology

306 Royce Hall 10745 Dickson Plaza, Los Angeles, CA

Matthew Waters (University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire) The close link between the king and the divine has deep roots in Near Eastern royal ideologies, and the Persian kings during the Achaemenid period (c. 550-330 BCE) followed this tradition. Exactly how close was the link? Recent studies suggest a blurred line between the two especially during at...

2017 Pourdavoud Center Fall Reception

306 Royce Hall 10745 Dickson Plaza, Los Angeles, CA

Please join us for a fall reception at Royce Hall to mark the work of the newly established Pourdavoud Center for the Study of the Iranian World, the latest addition to the research centers in the Humanities Division. In the company of Anahita and Jim Lovelace, the Center’s benefactors, David Schaberg, Dean of Humanities, M....

Rashīd al-Dīn in the Eye of the Beholder: Proposing a Holistic Approach to Reception History

10383 Bunche Hall 315 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA

Photo: Humboldt Foundation/Wolfgang Hemmann Central Asia in Transition Lecture by Judith Pfeiffer (University of Bonn) Recent scholarship has painted a rather dim picture of the Mongol-Ilkhanid vizier and historian Rashīd al-Dīn’s (d. 718/1318) historiographical impact in the Muslim world. This lecture proposes a holistic approach to Rashīd al-Dīn’s oeuvre that includes both his historiographical and...

How much of a Physician was Rashīd al-Dīn?

306 Royce Hall 10745 Dickson Plaza, Los Angeles, CA

Photo: Humboldt Foundation/Wolfgang Hemmann A lecture by Judith Pfeiffer (University of Bonn) Rashīd al-Dīn Faḍl Allāh Hamadānī (d. 718/1318) is often introduced as “ṭabīb,” or ‘physician,’ mostly to distinguish him from authors with similar names, notably the epistolographer Rashīd al-Dīn Waṭwāṭ (d. 578/1182). This paper discusses Rashīd al-Dīn’s scholarly persona as a physician. Starting from his epithet,...

The King of Kings’ Empire as a Garden in Ancient Iran

306 Royce Hall 10745 Dickson Plaza, Los Angeles, CA

Touraj Daryaee (UC Irvine) This lecture explores the idea of the Sasanian Empire (Iranshahr) as a garden. The theme of the Persian Empire as a paradise has been explored by a number of scholars, but the continuation of this idea in Late Antiquity is neglected. The speaker will discuss how the Sasanian king of kings...

The Achaemenid King and his Governors: Identity – Imitation – Identification

306 Royce Hall 10745 Dickson Plaza, Los Angeles, CA

Maria Brosius (University of Toronto) While we may have a rather clear idea about the relationship between the Achaemenid king and his satraps, the relationship between the king and local governors and city-rulers has received less scholarly attention. An exception to this omission is Mausolus of Caria who seems to stand out because Greek sources refer...

Great King / King of Kings. Survival and Transformation of a Persian Title in the Hellenistic Period, c. 330–30 BCE: From the Achaemenids to the Parthians

306 Royce Hall 10745 Dickson Plaza, Los Angeles, CA

Rolf Strootman (Utrecht University) The Old Persian imperial titles Great King and King of Kings (xšāyaθiya vazạrka and xšāyaθiya xšāyaθiyānām) disappeared after the Macedonian conquest of the Achaemenid Empire in 330 BCE. But already before the Parthians reestablished Iranian kingship in Iran, the title Great King had returned in a Greek version: basileus megas. That title...

Freed from Hostageship: Iranian Perspectives on the Arsacids of Rome

Jake Nabel (Getty Research Institute) Over the course of the Julio-Claudian period in Rome (c.30 BCE-68 CE), several Arsacid princes from the ruling family of the Parthian empire were sent to live in the court of the Roman emperor. Ancient Greco-Roman sources describe these figures as “hostages,” and modern scholars have largely followed suit. While...