The latest issue of NABU (2026/3) includes several papers addressing various aspects of ancient Iranian studies:
Keetman, J., « Warum der Name Elam nicht die Erfindung sumerischer Schreiber ist », p. 163-165
Alibaigi, S., « Dance or Game? A Re-examination of the Motif Depicted on a Cylinder Seal from the Surkh Dum-i Luri Sanctuary, Luristan-Iran », p. 212-214
Enteshari Najafabadi, A., « The Term for “Milk” in PF 417: An Iranian Loanword? », p. 229-230
Rezaei, I., « In Search of the Land of Gold in the Heart of Distant Medes », p. 230-232
Alizadeh, K., « The Royal Cities of the King of Elam (I): Dīn-Sunki », p. 235-239
Since the first (European) exploration of texts regarded by the Parsis—the Zoroastrians of the Indian communities—as texts of the (Zand-)Avesta by Anquetil-Duperron in the 1760s, these texts have been presented as belonging to two major liturgical units: the long priestly liturgies and the short liturgies, some of which also formed part of the recitation programme of laypeople. In the nineteenth century, however, the latter were increasingly marginalised, primarily through editorial decisions but also through evaluative judgements, and excluded from historical and systematic reconstructions as well as from the interpretations based on them.
Following a critical account of this process, which continued into the late twentieth century, Götz König undertakes a redefinition of the field of the short liturgies. He does so, first, on the basis of a modular analysis of the texts that reveals the compositional unity underlying their structure; and second, through an analysis of the (very numerous) written representations of these liturgies—the manuscripts of the Xorde Avesta (“Short Avesta”)—according to manuscript groups and layers. Finally, a historical and systematic account describes the principal liturgical domains conceptualised in the Xorde Avesta, together with their interrelationships and functions. The Vorarbeiten thus provide readers with a fundamental reference work for understanding and using the liturgies of the Short Avesta in the comprehensive Berlin edition of the Avestan liturgies (Corpus Avesticum Berolinense), which has been under development since 2018.
The Final Frontier examines the language employed in Zoroastrian and Manichaean textual, ritual, and iconographic traditions to articulate eschatological notions. Bringing together twelve original contributions by leading scholars, the volume investigates how Iranian religious sources conceptualize death, the afterlife, and communication with the transcendent world, while also engaging in comparative dialogue with Christian traditions. A central focus of the volume is metaphorical language. By combining Conceptual Metaphor Theory with close philological analysis of Avestan and Middle Persian sources, the studies investigate how metaphors structured around notions such as journey, chariot race, kingship, light, darkness, fragrance, royal architecture, and spatial ascent function as primary cognitive frameworks through which the ineffable is rendered conceptually accessible. The integration of cognitive approaches, historical linguistics and the study of Iranian religions offers a new perspective on the analysis of the language of eschatology and the conceptual foundations of religious thought.
The Zoroastrians in British Columbia begins with a consideration of the formation of the Zoroastrian Society of British Columbia in 1968 within the context of provincial and national immigration policies. It then moves to examine various controversial attempts in the 1980s to found the first Zoroastrian house of worship in Vancouver. Rastin Mehri explores the ways in which members of this community defined themselves ethnically and spiritually before settling in the province, and how they have done so since, revealing the demands of navigating the incongruities between Parsi/Zartoshty discourses of exclusion and the Canadian conception of multiculturalism.
This unique study convincingly demonstrates that twenty-first-century experiences of exclusion and racialization have had a transformative impact on traditional patterns of belief and behaviour, including religious worship, personal relationships, and identity within the Zoroastrian community, particularly among its youth.
John of Epiphania, secretary to Gregory, Patriarch of Antioch, witnessed the end of the 572-591 Roman-Persian war, with the flight of the Sasanian King of Kings Khusro II in Syria and his subsequent restoration to the throne by Emperor Maurice. His Histories, later used by Theophylact Simocatta, have been lost. Only the first pages survive, preserved in a Vatican manuscript (Vat. gr. 1065).
This volume offers the first comprehensive study on John. Based on careful re-examination of the manuscript tradition, it presents a critical text that improves on C. B. Hase’s (1812). John’s chronology, biography, and ties with Gregory, are reassessed. Situating the Histories within the “classicizing” tradition, the study analyzes its method, perspective, and style, and traces its reception through the works of Evagrius, Theophylact, and Anna Comnena. Alongside exegetical and linguistic annotations, the commentary integrates evidence from a wide range of sources, offering critical insights into the diplomacy, prosopography, and military history of the war under Justin II and Tiberius.
2, 6, 10, 13 and 16 November 2026; 5–7 pm Auditorium Dumézil Inalco With Prof. Gabrielle van den Berg, Université de Leyde
One of the major so-called secondary or later epics, composed as a sequel to the ‘unfinished’ life of Suhrāb, so tragically cut short by his own father Rustam, is the story of Barzū or Burzū. Particularly from the 15th century onwards, stories about this formidable grandson of Rustam frequently appear as interpolations in Shāhnāma manuscripts. Barzū also features prominently in the oral traditions associated with the Shāhnāma, and these oral traditions found their way ‘back’ into the manuscript tradition in the form of tumārs or ‘scrolls’, representing the stories that were orally delivered and performed, and also in a few manuscripts, such as, for example, the voluminous manuscripts BnF Supplément persan 499 and 499a of the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. In this lecture, we will look specifically at one particular part of the Barzū cycle: the story of the witch Sūsan as featured in BnF Supplément persan 497, in relation to the wider topic of witchcraft and sorcery in the Shāhnāma.
The Achaemenid Persian Empire and its Western Borderlands: A Change of Paradigm
Departing from the emphasis on rivalry that dominated scholarly discussions of Aegean–Achaemenid-Persian relations for a long time, this workshop seeks to offer vistas onto the varied testimony (written, archaeological, numismatic) that is presently available for the study of the multifaceted encounters between the Aegean and Achaemenid-Persian worlds and to new approaches to its interpretation. The conference will highlight the importance of these encounters as a mirror to broader patterns of political, social, economic, and cultural phenomena promoted in the eastern Mediterranean region (and beyond) under Achaemenid-Persian imperial expansion and rule.
Organized by Robert Rollinger , Julian Degen and Erich Kistler (Innsbruck) in cooperation with Bernhard Palme and Florian Schwarz (Vienna)
In the fourth of five episodes to celebrate reaching the episode 500 mark by looking at things he skipped in earlier series, Peter talks to Ted Good about philosophy and the Persian religion of Zoroastrianism.
La conquête de l’Empire perse achéménide par Alexandre le Grand est le sujet de nombreuses publications mettant presque invariablement au centre la figure du roi macédonien. Cet ouvrage démontre que, loin d’être une aventure personnelle uniquement dictée par la recherche de la gloire et la prise de risques inconsidérés, l’entreprise macédonienne était fondée sur une connaissance approfondie de l’administration territoriale achéménide. Ces conclusions sont le fruit d’une relecture attentive des narrations hellénistico-romaines, menée en lien étroit avec l’exploitation de l’importante documentation proprement achéménide qui a été publiée au cours du dernier quart de siècle.
Après avoir exposé les limites de l’historiographie actuelle, l’auteur montre que, loin d’être menacés au cœur de leur pouvoir par des populations de « brigands » et de « pirates », les Grands rois maintenaient leur emprise sur les voies de communication. Il montre également qu’Alexandre ne fut victorieux qu’en raison de l’utilisation qu’il sut faire de l’organisation logistique sophistiquée achéménide, faite de greniers et de magasins disposés régulièrement, qui lui offrirent l’accès à des réserves de nourriture et d’autres produits, y compris sur les confins nord-orientaux de l’Empire.
La lecture de ce livre fait apparaître avec évidence qu’une histoire globale des conquêtes macédoniennes ne saurait être écrite sans intégrer pleinement le monde de Darius.
