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The Encyclopædia Iranica is a comprehensive research tool dedicated to the study of Iranian civilization in the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.

Featured Articles

KUH-E ḴᵛĀJA

KUH-E ḴᵛĀJA

KUH-E ḴᵛĀJA, a well preserved archeological site of chiefly Sasanian…
48 min
NAḴL

NAḴL

NAḴL, one of the principal objects related to the mourning…
13 min
BĀDGĪR

BĀDGĪR

BĀDGĪR (wind-tower), literally “wind catcher,” a traditional structure used for…
3 min
PHILATELY i. The Postage Stamps of Iran

PHILATELY i. The Postage Stamps of Iran

PHILATELY i. The Postage Stamps of Iran. Both a utensil…
23 min
KAKRAK

KAKRAK

KAKRAK, a Buddhist site comprised of a group of caves,…
5 min
MĀRLIK

MĀRLIK

MĀRLIK, an elite burial ground of the late 2nd-early 1st…
14 min
NALÎ

NALÎ

NALÎ (Pers. Nāli), the pen-name of Mela Khidrî Ehmedî Šaweysî…
5 min
ZIGGURAT

ZIGGURAT

ZIGGURAT (Akkadian ziqqurratu  “temple-tower”), a tower consisting of several stages,…
14 min
HATARIA, MANEKJI LIMJI

HATARIA, MANEKJI LIMJI

HATARIA, MANEKJI LIMJI (مانکجی لیمجی هاتریا), emissary of the Parsis of…
42 min
RHYTON

RHYTON

RHYTON in ancient Iran. The word rhyton is the Greek…
38 min
KAMĀL-AL-MOLK, MOḤAMMAD ḠAFFĀRI

KAMĀL-AL-MOLK, MOḤAMMAD ḠAFFĀRI

KAMĀL-AL-MOLK, MOḤAMMAD ḠAFFĀRI (b. Tehran, , widely acclaimed Iranian painter…
46 min
ḴUR

ḴUR

ḴUR, oasis on the southern border of the Great Desert…
15 min

News & Events

International Symposium on Mani, the Prophet of Light
International Symposium on Mani, the Prophet of LightEvents

International Symposium on Mani, the Prophet of Light

International Symposium on Mani, the Prophet of Light Nastaran Akhavan Simposium on Iranian Religions UCI Jordan Center for Persian Studies…
May 30, 2025
Shiraz Art Festival
Shiraz Art FestivalEvents

Shiraz Art Festival

Mahasti Afshar, Shiraz Arts Festival 1967-1977, Mage Publishers, 2024. The book details the Shiraz Arts Festival, 1967-1977. Known as Jashn-e Honar-e…
March 11, 2025

In collaboration with University of Toronto

Research Compendiums

Women Poets Iranica

Women Poets Iranica is an integrative encyclopedia of postclassical, modern, and contemporary women poets.

Cinema Iranica

Cinema Iranica provides historical articles on movies, genres, film movements, filmographies, directors, composers, stars.

This monument of scholarship in Iranian Studies is a mine of detailed information, with bibliographical references, on every aspect of Iranian history, thought, languages, and civilization.

Dr. Farhad DaftaryInstitute of Ismaili Studies, in Journal of the American Oriental Society

La premiere fois qu'une encyclopédie pluridisciplinaire sur lʼIran est mise en chantier.

Prof. Jean CalmardUniversity of Paris, in Abstracta Iranica

A real tour de force. There is no project in the entire Middle Eastern field more worthy of support than the Encyclopaedia Iranica.

Prof. Richard N. FryeHarvard University, In Journal of the American Oriental Society

The Encyclopaedia Iranica volumes are the most extensive and important contributions to the study of Islamic and pre-Islamic Iranian history and culture that have been made in this century.

Dr. Prudence HarperCurator Emerita of Ancient Near Eastern Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Encyclopaedia Iranica will be judged as the most significant contribution of our century to the advancement of Iranian studies as a scholarly enterprise.

Prof. Ali BanuaziziBoston College, in International Journal of Middle East Studies

Une grande entreprise.

Prof. Gilbert LazardMembre de l'Institut, in Journal Asiatique

The foremost reference work on Iran ever produced and one of the premier reference works in the humanities published in our time.

Prof. Roy MottahedehHarvard University, in Middle East Journal

The Encyclopaedia Iranica is not just a necessity for Iranists; it is of inestimable value for everyone concerned with the history and culture of the Middle East.

Prof. Richard BullietColumbia University, in International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies

Encyclopaedia Iranica is indispensable for any scholarly work of specialists in the fields of Iranian and Islamic Studies. [It] deserves the highest praise and full support.

Prof. Werner EndeAlbert-Ludwigs-Universitat, in ZDMG