The Pourdavoud Institute is a multidisciplinary research center exploring the traditional domains of Old Iranian studies—that is, the languages, literary traditions, history, and religions of the Iranian world from antiquity to the early medieval period and beyond—as well as the interactions of ancient Iran with other cultures of antiquity.
Through sponsorship of events and workshops jointly organized with UCLA faculty and external associates, the Pourdavoud Institute is well positioned to impact the research agenda on ancient Iran by firmly integrating it into the intellectual horizon of the study of the ancient world. Additionally, the Pourdavoud Institute disseminates innovative scholarship, in the form of monographs and conference proceedings as part of a dedicated series.
This project is a free-access, web-based encyclopedia of archaeological sites, places, and monuments in the greater Iranian World. The Pourdavoud Institute envisions the Gazetteer to become a major vehicle for archaeological research on ancient Iran, as well as a digital resource for scholars and students worldwide.
Achaemenid Workshops (AchWorks), strives to revisit, reassess, and reformulate (the state of) Achaemenid scholarship through a series of a dozen workshops.
The Sasanian Workshop will be the first of a number of future conferences to be organized by the Pourdavoud Institute and its partners on the state of Sasanian Studies.
The Biennial Ehsan Yarshater Lectures are delivered by an outstanding scholar whose work has distinctively impacted the study of the Iranian Civilization. Each biennial lecture series consists of four to five lectures on a single theme that is subsequently elaborated and amplified into a monograph. The lectures represent original research and synthesis in all aspects of Iranian Studies, including archaeology and art history, as well as history, literature, the study of religions, and philosophy.
