Bibliographia Iranica

A predominantly bibliographic blog for Iranian Studies

  • Another Look at the Word-Final Syllable in Old Persian

    Repanšek, Luka. 2026. Another Look at the Word-Final Syllable in Old Persian. Indo-Iranian Journal 69: 257-287.

    The article offers a long-overdue reconciliatory reassessment of the much-discussed Old Persian cuneiform sequences ⟨‑Ca-a⟩, ⟨‑Ca/i-i-ya⟩, and ⟨‑Ca/u-u-va⟩ in word-final position, and of their phonetic and phonographic interpretation. It argues that the view according to which ⟨‑Ca-a⟩ cannot represent final vowel lengthening rests on assumptions that cannot be independently substantiated from the orthographic evidence. Accordingly, ⟨‑Ca-a⟩ is best interpreted as reflecting final /ā/, the graphic marking of which may either continue the cuneiform principle of plene spelling or represent the use of a mater lectionis ⟨a⟩ modelled on the Aramaic practice of specifically marking final long (accented) a-vowels. The ⟨y⟩ and ⟨v⟩ in word-final sequences ‑iy and ‑uv, representing the two Old Persian high vowels, are argued to be more plausibly interpreted as matres lectionis than as phonetic representations of off-glides, although the difficulties inherent in this interpretation are also critically examined. At the same time, the systematic use of ⟨u-va⟩ to spell word-initial long /ū/ suggests that these spellings, like ⟨‑Ca-a⟩, are compatible with—and indeed point toward—general final vowel lengthening in Old Persian. The spelling of inherited diphthongs as ⟨‑Ca‑i-ya⟩ and ⟨‑Ca-u-va⟩, on the other hand, is interpreted as purely graphematic in motivation. In the excursus, the position is defended that forms such as akunavaša and abaraha ultimately demonstrate that the non-representation of word-final *h, *n and *d reflects their complete loss by the Old Persian period.


  • Psalm 45 and the Achaemenid View of the Ideal King

    Amar, Itzhak. 2026. Psalm 45 and the Achaemenid View of the Ideal King. Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society 38: 1-18.

  • Mobility and Archaeogenetics in Central Asia

    Mobility and Archaeogenetics in Central Asia

    Baumer, Christoph, Mirko Novák & Susanne Rutishauser (eds.). 2026. Mobility and Archaeogenetics in Central Asia. People – Goods – Ideas. 3rd International Conference on Central Asian Archaeology in Bern, 11th–13th January 2024 (Schriften zur vorderasiatischen Archäologie 24). Wiesbaden: Harrossowitz.

    Central Asia is a huge region characterized by a rich variety of ecologies, climates, geographical environments, social systems, languages and cultures. Within this region multiple cultural exchanges took place. At the same time, it engaged in bi-directional exchange with neighboring regions such as the Pontic Steppe, the Near East, the Indian subcontinent and East Asia. Mobility was a key precondition for these multifaceted contacts and exchanges, and it concerned people, goods and products as well as ideas, concepts and innovations. The papers presented at the 3rd International Conference on Central Asian Archaeology focus on how cultural transmission processes developed and what role mobility played in these processes. The time frame is from the Early Bronze Age to the end of the 14th century CE. Special attention will be paid to the added value that archaeogenetics brings to research. Archaeogenetics is an outstanding tool to detect and verify migrations and is rapidly growing in importance. Several papers demonstrate how archaeogenetic and isotopic studies contribute to the detection and understanding of mobility-induced cultural exchange.

  • Sasanian Silver Coins from Atbatan Necropolis Near Demirchi (Shamakhi District, Azerbaijan)

    Huseynov, Rustam N. & Akif A. Guliyev. 2026. Sasanian Silver Coins from Atbatan Necropolis Near Demirchi (Shamakhi District, Azerbaijan). Azerbaijan Journal of Archaeology and Anthropology 2 (1): 99-105.

    This article presents a small group of Sasanian silver drachms discovered during archaeological excavations at Atbatan necropolis near the village of Demirchi in the Shamakhi region of Azerbaijan. The coins were recovered from burial contexts in association with human skeletal remains and accompanying grave goods, providing important archaeological evidence for the circulation of late Sasanian silver coinage in the Shirvan area. The study focuses on the typological and chronological attribution of the coins based on iconography, mint signatures, regnal dates, and Pahlavi legends preserved on the specimens. The Demirchi finds contribute to the growing corpus of Sasanian numismatic material discovered in Azerbaijan and provide new data on Sasanian influence, trade networks, and population contacts in the Shirvan region during Late Antiquity – Early Middle Ages.

  • Pepper, Peach, Paradise

    Pepper, Peach, Paradise

    Paul, Ludwig. Pfeffer, Pfirsich, Paradies: Kleines Lexikon deutscher Wörter persischer Herkunft. München: C.H.Beck.

    Wie ist der Algorithmus aus dem Persischen ins Deutsche gelangt? Warum bezeichnet Diwan sowohl ein Sofa als auch eine Gedichtsammlung? Und was hat unser Schal mit einem indischen Sari zu tun oder die Tulpe mit dem Turban? Ludwig Paul erklärt in rund 140 kurzweiligen Artikeln, wie Wörter aus dem Persischen ins Deutsche gewandert sind. Sein glänzend geschriebenes Buch lädt zum Nachschlagen und Schmökern ein und lässt uns eine erstaunliche Dimension der deutschen Sprache neu entdecken.
    Die persische Sprache war einst von der Türkei bis Indien die Sprache der Gelehrten, Dichter und kultivierten Höfe. Sie hat Einflüsse aus indischen Sprachen und dem Arabischen aufgenommen und ihrerseits andere Sprachen bereichert. Das Lexikon beschreibt, auf welchen oft verschlungenen Wegen zahlreiche Wörter und Namen ins Deutsche gelangt sind. Doch es bietet viel mehr als reine Sprachgeschichte: Ludwig Paul versteht es meisterhaft, immer wieder aufschlussreiche Schlaglichter auf die Geschichte der Kulturen zwischen Indien und Europa zu werfen und zu zeigen, wie eng die Wanderung von Wörtern mit dem Transfer von Dingen – Gewürzen, Früchten, Artefakten – und Ideen zusammenhängt.

  • Recovering a Sasanian Royal Book in Early Islam

    Zubani, Alessia. 2026. Recovering a Sasanian Royal Book in Early Islam: The Kitāb Ṣuwar mulūk Banī Sāsān and Its Arabic Transmission. Essays in Long Late Antiquity 1 (1): 73-95.

    This paper explores the recovery and translation of a Sasanian royal book during the early Islamic period, focusing on the Umayyad and early Abbasid eras. It examines the missing Kitāb Ṣuwar mulūk Banī Sāsān (“Book of the Portraits of the Sasanian Kings”), a work that depicted portraits of all Sasanian rulers, their reigns, and deeds. Although it is lost, Arab and Persian historians who had access to Arabic translations commissioned by the Umayyad caliph Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik (r. 724–743) described it in detail.

    The history of this text, as preserved by these Arab and Persian historians, highlights the interest in Iranian political literary traditions during the Islamic period, while also providing valuable information about the work and its earliest observed Arabic manuscript copy. Analyzing this information with contemporary and slightly later manuscripts provides insights into the work’s history as part of a specific political literary tradition and as a material manuscript artifact.

  • Lowland Susiana in the Fourth Millennium BCE

    Lowland Susiana in the Fourth Millennium BCE

    Abbas Alizadeh, with contributions by Hossein Davoudi, Kevin Lidour, Marjan Mashkour, Valentin Radu, Mohammad Reza Rokni, Noshad Rokni, and Shiva Sheikhi. 2026. Lowland Susiana in the Fourth Millennium BCE: Excavations at KS-04, KS-59, and KS-108 (ISACP 2). Chicago: Chicago University Press.

    During two seasons in 2004–2006, the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures excavated three major prehistoric population centers in northern Susiana, in the modern-day province of Khuzestan, Iran: KS-04 (Chogha Do Sar), KS-59 (Abu Fanduweh), and KS-108 (Beladieh). The three sites were chosen because of their large size and the prominent role they have played in analyses of the pottery typology, chronology, and politics of fourth-millennium BCE Susiana.

    Most researchers consider the fourth millennium to be a pivotal period in the development of state-level organization in southwestern Iran. During this time, KS-04, KS-59, and KS-108, along with Chogha Mish and Susa, constituted the region’s major polities. Whereas much of the theoretical framework concerning the local origins of sociopolitical complexity has been based on excavated materials from Susa and Chogha Mish, interpretations of KS-04, KS-59, and KS-108 have largely been derived from surface surveys. ISAC’s stratified excavations at these three population centers have now provided important contextual evidence for the processes underlying sociopolitical and economic complexity in prehistoric lowland Susiana.

  • The Sasanians in Context: Art, History, and Archaeology

    The Sasanians in Context: Art, History, and Archaeology

    Catanzariti, Antonietta & Touraj Daryaee (eds.). 2026. The Sasanians in Context: Art, History, and Archaeology. Washington, D.C.: SmithsonianScholarly Press.

    Between the third and seventh centuries CE, the Sasanian Empire became one of the most dominant powers in the ancient world—extending geographically from West to Central Asia—and was the last major power in the region before the Arab conquest in the seventh century. In November 2022, in Washington, D.C., the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Asian Art convened “The Sasanians in Context: Art, History, and Archaeology,” a symposium of scholars discussing the latest research on the Sasanian Empire and its rich material culture—from impressive rock reliefs to elaborately designed metal vessels and finely carved seals—and exploring the empire’s legacy beyond its core regions. The symposium underscored how the field has evolved and revealed new areas for future research.

  • The Letters of Mani

    The Letters of Mani

    Gardner, Iain. 2026. The Letters of Mani. A Lost Scripture of the Late Antique World. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    • Includes new English translations of all the available texts concerning Mani’s Letters
    • Utilizes the latest research to recover all that can be known about one of the scriptures of Manichaeism
    • A holistic and interdisciplinary approach
    • Features much new or little-known material

  • A Palace Built into a Mountain

    Maghsoudlou, Arvin. 2025. A Palace Built into a Mountain: Exploring the Modes of Audience Interaction and Reception at the Great Ayvan of Taq-e Bustan in Late Antiquity. Ancient West & East 24: 43-67.

    This study revisits the structure, imagery and scale of the Great Ayvan of Taq-e Bustan, employing a phenomenological approach to explore how it interacted with its potential Late Antique audiences. It argues that the monument departed from traditional Sasanian rock reliefs by blending features of landscape reliefs and palatial architecture into a hybrid programme, effectively engaging a diverse audience. The paper analyses how viewer interaction varied with proximity to the ayvan, with a particular focus on the complex and multisensory experience afforded to those granted access inside.