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The steppe world and the rise of the Huns

de la Vaissière, Etienne. 2014. The steppe world and the rise of the Huns. In Michael Maas (ed.), The Cambridge companion to the age of Attila, 175–192.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

This book examines the age of Attila, roughly the fifth century CE, an era in which western Eurasia experienced significant geopolitical and cultural changes. The Roman Empire collapsed in western Europe, replaced by new ‘barbarian’ kingdoms, but it continued in Christian Byzantine guise in the eastern Mediterranean. New states and peoples changed the face of northern Europe, while in Iran, the Sasanian Empire developed new theories of power and government. At the same time, the great Eurasian steppe became a permanent presence in the European world. This book treats Attila, the notorious king of the Huns, as both an agent of change and a symbol of the wreck of the old world order.

For more information on the book, see the publisher’s website.

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Iran in World History

Foltz, Richard. 2016. Iran in world history. (New Oxford World History). New York: Oxford University Press.
One of the world’s most ancient and enduring civilizations, Iran has long played a central role in human events and continues to do so today. This book traces the spread of Iranian culture among diverse populations ranging from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, and along the Silk Roads as far as China, from prehistoric times up to the present day. From paradise gardens and Persian carpets to the mystical poetry of Rumi and Hafez, Iran’s contributions have earned it a place among history’s greatest and most influential civilizations. Encompassing the fields of religion, literature and the arts, politics, and higher learning, this book provides a holistic history of this important culture.
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Paintings of afrāsyāb

Details of a copy of mural called The Ambassordors’ Painting, found in the hall of the ruin of an aristocratic house in Afrasiab, commissioned by the king of Samarkand, Varkhuman (ca. 650)

Compareti, Matteo. 2015. Samarkand the center of the world: proposals for the indentification of the afrasyab paintings. Costa Mesa: Mazda Publishers.

 In antiquity Samarkand was the capital of the Persian province of Sogdiana. Its language, culture, and “Zoroastrian” religion closely approximated those of the Persians. Following its conquest by Alexander, its strategic position and fertile soil made Sogdiana a coveted prize for Late Antique invaders of Central Asia. Around 660 CE — at the dawn of Arab invasion — local king Varkhuman promoted the execution of a unique painted program in one of his private rooms. Each wall was dedicated to a specific population: the north wall, the Chinese; the west, the Sogdians themselves; the east, the Indians and possibly the Turks. The south wall is probably the continuation of the scene on the west wall. In Chinese written sources, some support for this concept of the “division of the world” can be found. Accidentally discovered during Soviet times, the room was named “Hall of the Ambassadors” due to the representations of different peoples. However, many aspects of its painted program remain obscure. This study offers new ideas for better identifications of the rituals celebrated by the people on the different walls during precise moments of the year.
About the Author:
Matteo Compareti (PhD 2005) is adjunct assistant professor in Department of Near Eastern Studies, University of California-Berkeley.
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The Religions of Ancient Iran

The Religions of Ancient IranMazdapour, Katayoun et al. 2015. The Religions of Ancient Iran. Tehran: SAMT Publication.
This book is an introduction to Ancient Iranian Religions. Each chapter of this book deals with one of the major religions or trends in the history of ancient Iranian religions or those religions which were influenced by ancient Iranian beliefs and views.
Table of Contents:
  • Zaraθuštra (Zoroaster) and the Zoroastrianism
  • Mithraism
  • Mani and Manichaeism
  • Zurvanism
  • Mazdakism
Mazdāpur, katāyun va digarān. 1394š/2015. adyān-o maẕāheb dar īrān-e bāstān. tehrān: entešārāt-e samt.
In original:

مزداپور، کتایون و دیگران. ۱۳۹۴. ادیان و مذاهب در ایران باستان. تهران: سمت

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Ancient Iranian and Zoroastrian Astral Mythology, Astronomy and Astrology

Panaino, Antonio. 2014. Sidera Viva. Studi Iranici di Storia della Mitologia Astrale, dell’Astronomia e dell’Astrologia Antica. (Ed.) Andrea Gariboldi, Paolo Ognibene & Velizar Sadovski. . 2 vols. Milano: Mimesis.
This comprehensive two-volume set is a collection of the wide range of articles and short writings written by Antonio Panaino during last decades. The articles are already appeared in academic journals and collected volumes, often not easily accessible to a wider audience. These studies are all dedicated to the different areas of research developed by the author, in particular on the history of ancient Iranian as well as Zoroastrian astral mythology, astronomy and astrology, from the earliest period of Indo-Iranian and Iranian history through the late antiquity up to the High Middle Ages as well as early Islamic era.
About the Author:
Antonio Panaino is professor of ancient Iranian philology and hitory of religion at the University of Bologna.
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The Mount Mugh Documents and Sogdian Epigraphy

Livshits 2015Livshits, Vladimir A. 2015. Sogdian epigraphy of Central Asia and Semirech’e. (Ed.) Nicholas Sims-Williams. (Trans.) Tom Stableford. (Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum. Part II Inscriptions of the Seleucid and Parthian Periods and of Eastern Iran and Central Asia Vol. III. Sogdian). London: School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).
This volume presents the Emglish translations of some very important and major works of  Vladimir Aronovich Livshits on the Sogdian language, culture and sources. The volume is arranged in two parts. The first part is a translation of Sogdian documents from Mount Mug (kuh-e moḡ), site of the 7th-8th-century refuge of the rulers of Penjikent in Sogdiana, located in the upper reaches of the Zeravshan in northern Tajikistan, where an important archive of documents written in Sogdian was discovered by A. A. Freiman’s 1933 expedition. Livshits has taken part  first and foremost, in the deciphering of the Mnt. Mug archive of Sogdian documents from Mount Mug.
The second part of the volume, dedicated to the English translations of some ten important articles of Livshits, concerning the Sogdian epigraphy, in which he examines “not only the purely philological problems but also questions of the history and culture of Sogd, aided by his frequent participation in archaeological excavations and journeys to the lands of historical Sogdiana in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kirgizia”.
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Along the Sasanian Tradition

Gyselen, Rika (ed.). 2014. Documents, argenterie et monnaies de tradition sassanide. (Res Orientales 22). Bures-sur-Yvette: Groupe pour l’Étude de la Civilisation du Moyen-Orient.
 This volume consists of four articles, studying most notably some objects, many of which can be defined as being part of the Sasanian “tradition”; that is to say they share the elements and spirit of Sasanian objects, without having made directly during the Sassanid era.
ToC:
  • Maryse Blet-Lemarquand; Rika Gyselen; Florian Duval: “Sur la composition élémentaire de quelques monnaies de cuivre arabo-sassanides”
  • Philippe Gignoux: “Une archive post-sassanide du Tabaristān (II)”
  • Rika Gyselen: “Inscriptions en moyen-perse sur la vaisselle d’argent sassanide: quelques nouvelles données”
  • Dieter Weber: “Arabic Activities Reflected in the Documents of the ‘Pahlavi Archive’ (late 7th and early 8th centuries)”
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Iran through German Eyes

Gheiby, Bijan. 2012. Persien oder Iran? Die Deutschen entdecken das Land Zarathustras. Philipp von Zabern.
Although the book “Persia or Iran? The Germans discovering the land of Zarathustra” is not directly engaged with answering this question, the reader can acquire here the necessary background knowledge regarding the discovering of Ancient Iran by Germans, which enables him to make an informed opinion. “Persia or Iran” deals with the reception of the Iranian culture within the German-speaking world from its beginning in the 15th century to the present. In various chapters, it is presented, how the Germans came into contact with the Iranian culture and how they grappled with this culture. This book is both a reference work in which, both the German (forgotten) historical figures and their works are re-discovered and completely described. Thus, this volume aimes to address the interests of not only the general readership, but also the historians, Germanists, religious scholars, Orientalists and Iranists.
About the Author:
Bijan Gheiby was born in Teheran in 1954. He studied media in Tehran and in Long Beach as well as Iranian Studies in Hamburg and Göttingen, where he received his doctorate. He is an independent researcher of Zoroastrianism and ancient Iranian Studies.
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Parthian History

Die Parther - die vergessene GroßmachtEllerbrock, Uwe & Sylvia Winkelmann. 2015. Die Parther: Die vergessene Großmacht. 2 rev. ed. Darmstadt: Verlag Philipp von Zabern.
Uwe Ellerbrock and Sylvia Winkelmann convey in this book a comprehensive overview of the historical and cultural development of the Parthian Empire. Very detailed and comprehensive is the presentation of the entire culture of the Parthians, particularly the different aspects of the Parthian kingship as well as arts and religions of the empire which provides the reader an extensive understanding of life of the Parthians and their embedding within the ancient world.
About the Autors:
Uwe Ellerbrock is a specialist in anesthesia. For over 15 years he is a collector of Parthian coins and deals intensively with the history of the Parthian Empire.
Sylvia Winkelmann received her doctorate in Oriental Archeology at the University of Halle, specializing in Central Asia.
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Books

A Cultural History of Zoroastrianism

Gheiby, Bijan. 2014. Zarathustras Feuer: Eine Kulturgeschichte des Zoroastrismus. Darmstadt: Philipp von Zabern.
This volume amis to present a culture-historical introduction to Zoroastrianism. The author dicusses the emergence, the development, the decline and the current status of this religion. It also deals with the neo–Zoroastrian movement(s), that is formed in response to the Islamization of Iran, and according to the author, assessed the chances of a revival of Zoroastrianism in the future. The book is divided into ten chapters. The first three chapters deal more with historical aspects of the faith, among others, the history of the Persian empire and the life of Zaraθuštra. In the fourth and fifth chapters, the contents and principles of religion are explained. The sixth section is dealing with the siruation of Zoroastrianism under the Sassanian. The chapters seven and eight deal with the Zoroastrian scriptures, literature and cults. The ninth chapter deals with the decline of religion and the final chapter dicusses the phenomenon of neo-Zoroastrianism.
About the Author:
Bijan Gheiby was born in Teheran in 1954. He studied media in Tehran and in Long Beach as well as Iranian Studies in Hamburg and Göttingen, where he received his doctorate. He is an independent researcher of Zoroastrianism and ancient Iranian Studies.