Rhoxane is a woman’s name, and the Greek rendering of OIr. *Raṷxšnā-, f. (not *Raṷxšā̆nā-), that is the feminine counterpart…

AUTIYĀRA, name of a district (Old Persian dah-yāuš) of the satrapy Armina of the Achaemenid empire; this Old Persian form…

BĀGAYĀDIŠ (b-a-g-y-a-di-i-š, attested only in gen. °yādaiš/°y-a-d i-š), name of the seventh month (September-October) of the Old Persian calendar, mentioned…

BAGAZUŠTA, Old Iranian personal name. *Baga-zušta- “beloved of the god(s)” is the Median counterpart of Old Persian *baga-dušta-, which is…

BARTHOLOMAE, CHRISTIAN, German scholar of Iranian and Indo-European studies (1855-1925). 1. Life. Bartholomae was born the son of a forester…

DAURISES (Gk. Daurísēs, apparently reflecting the same Old Persian original as El. Da-a-ú/hu-ri-sa/ša, connected with Younger Av. daiŋ́hāuruuaēsa- “wandering up…

DRANGIANA (or Zarangiana), territory around Lake Hāmūn and the Helmand river in modern Sīstān. The name of the country and its…

ARMENIA and IRAN i. Armina, Achaemenid Province Armina is named as a province (satrapy) of the Achaemenid empire; the inhabitants are…

ARMENIA AND IRAN iv. Iranian Influences in Armenian i. General ARMENIAN, the language of the Armenians, which is attested in…

BISOTUN i. Introduction The original Old Persian form of the name Bīsotūn can be recovered from the Greek rendering Bagistanon…

BISOTUN iii. Darius’s Inscriptions The monumental relief of Darius I, King of Persia, representing the king’s victory over the usurper…

ARACHOSIA, province (satrapy) in the eastern part of the Achaemenid empire around modern Kandahār (southern Afghanistan), which was inhabited by…

ARDERIKKA, name of two ancient villages: (1) Arderikka in Assyria (Herodotus 1.185.2) was a kōmē (village) on the Euphrates above…

ARIA, name of a region in the eastern part of the Persian empire, several times confused with Ariane (see below)…

ARTAVASDES, Old Iranian male personal name, attested as Greek Artaouásdēs, Artabázēs, Artábazos, Artáozos, Latin Artavasdes, Artavazdes, Artabasdes, Artabazus, Elamite Ir-du-maš-da…

ARTAXERXES, throne name of several Persian kings of the Achaemenid dynasty. The Old Persian form Artaxšaçā (really Ṛtaxšaca, for the…

ARTAXERXES I, a son of Xerxes I and Amestris, whose name Flavius Josephus (Jewish Antiquities 11.6.1.) gives as Cyrus, Persian…

ARTAXERXES II, Achaemenid Great King whose personal name is given as Arsaces (Ctesias F 14 apud Photius 469.28 in Jacoby,…

ARTAXERXES III, throne name of Ochus (Gk. Ôchos, Babylonian Ú-ma-kuš, son of Artaxerxes II and Stateira), Achaemenid king (r. 359-58…

ARTYSTONE, Persian female personal name, attested only in the Greek form Artystōnē (Herodotus 3.88.2 bis; 7.69.2; 7.72.2) and the Elamite…

ARYANS. Definition of the term “Aryan.” The name “Aryan” (OInd. āˊrya-, Ir. *arya- [with short a-], in Old Pers. ariya-,…

ASTYAGES, the last Median king. The name is attested in Greek as Astuágēs (so Herodotus, etc.) and Astuígas or Astuigâs…

ATOSSA, Achaemenid queen. The Greek form of the name may reflect Old Pers. *Utauθa ( = Av. Hutaosā), possibly “well…

ĀÇIYĀDIYA (a-ç-i-y-a-di-i-y-), name of the ninth month (November-December) of the Old Persian calendar (see Kent, Old Persian, p. 161a), equivalent…

ĀKAUFAČIYĀ (a-k-u-f-č-i-y-a), name of a tribe resident in the southeastern part of the Achaemenid empire, attested only once (in nom….

AMESTRIS (Gr. Ámēstris, Ionic for Ámāstris), Greek form of an Old Persian female proper name. It may reflect Old Persian…

AMYTIS, Median and Persian female name, attested only in the Greek form Ámytis, which perhaps may reflect (with vowel metathesis)…

ANABASIS (Greek anábasis, “going up, way up, expedition up [from the coast]”), title of ancient campaign accounts stylistically influenced by…

ANĀMAKA (a-n-a-m-k-), name of the tenth month (December-January) of the Old Persian calendar (see Kent, Old Persian, p. 161a), equivalent…

ANAPHAS, Persian male name, attested only in the Greek forms Anaphās (Diodorus, 31.19.1-2), Ionic Anáphēs (Herodotus, 7.62.2, where we find…

APASIACAE, name of a nomadic tribe belonging to the Scythian Massagetae, not attested in Iranian sources; the Apasiacae lived between…

ADUKANAIŠA (a-du-u-k-n-i-š-), name of the first month (March-April) of the Old Persian calendar (see Kent, Old Persian, p. 161a), equivalent…

ACHAEMENID DYNASTY, from the Persian clan of the same name, ruled ca. 700 to 330 B.C. i. The clan and…

APADĀNA, Old Pers. term referring to audience halls, now specifically to the audience hall in Persepolis. i. Term. ii. Building….

MASSAGETAE (Gk. Massagétai), a mighty nomadic tribe reckoned to be Scythians already by Herodotus (1.201, 1.204.1; see also Stephanus Byzantius,…

KLAPROTH, HEINRICH JULIUS [von] (b. Berlin, 11 October 1783; d. Paris, 28 August 1835; Figure 1), German scholar of Oriental…

SCYTHIAN LANGUAGE. The language of the Scythians (q.v.), which is not attested by authentic continuous texts, but only in a…

HUMBACH, Helmut (b. Munich, 4 December 1921; d. Mainz, 3 April 2017; Figure 1), German scholar of comparative Indo-European linguistics…

MEDIAN LANGUAGE. Median was the language of the ancient Medes, who ruled over great parts of the Zagros mountains and…

KURYŁOWICZ, JERZY (WŁADYSŁAW) (b. Stani­slau [Galicia, Austria-Hungary, now Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine], 26 August 1895; d. Kraków, 28 January 1978; Figure 1),…

i. PRE-ISLAMIC NAMES: GENERAL The system of the formation of personal names (anthroponyms), as it is attested in the Iranian languages from ancient times, to a…

KAMBOJA, the name of a southeastern Iranian people (plur. OInd. Kambojāḥ) known by name only from Indo-Aryan epigraphic and literary sources…

MASSAGETAE (Gk. Massagétai), a mighty nomadic tribe reckoned to be Scythians already by Herodotus (1.201, 1.204.1; see also Stephanus Byzantius,…

TEDESCO, PAUL MAXIMILIAN (b. Vienna, 5 May 1898; d. New Haven, Conn., 17 December 1980), Austrian scholar of Indo-Iranian studies….

SCYTHIAN LANGUAGE. The language of the Scythians, which is not attested by authentic continuous texts, but only in a quite…

RHOXANE i. THE NAME Rhoxane is a woman’s name, and the Greek rendering of OIr. *Raṷxšnā-, f. (not *Raṷxšā̆nā-), that…

KENT, ROLAND GRUBB, American scholar of Indo-European studies, who specialized also in Old Persian studies (b. Wilmington, Del., 24 February…

Although some kind of poetic tradition seems to be attested among all human beings and thus in all probability is…

RHODOGUNE (Gk. Rhodogoúnē) in all probability is rendering OIran. *Vṛda-gaunā-, fem. “rose-colored” or “rosy-complexioned” (cf. Schmitt, 2011, pp. 312f., also…

XANTHUS THE LYDIAN, Greek historiographer, son of a certain Kandaules, probably born in Sardis, and a Hellenized Lydian. He lived sometime…

WESTERGAARD, NIELS LUDVIG, Danish orientalist scholar with special interest in Indology (b. Copenhagen, 27 October 1815; d. Copenhagen, 9 September…

SATASPES, Greek rendering of the name OIran. (non-Persian) *Satāspa- “having hundred (or better: hundreds of) horses,” as it is also…

WACKERNAGEL, JACOB, Swiss classicist and scholar of Indo-European and Indo-Iranian studies (b. Basel, Switzerland, 11 December 1853; d. Basel, 22…

Figure 1. Photograph of Josef Markwart taken during his period in Leiden, Netherlands (1900-12). This image is made available under…

OLSHAUSEN, JUSTUS, German theologian and Oriental scholar, one of the pioneers of Iranian studies in the German-speaking countries (b. Hohenfelde,…

MÜLLER, FRIEDRICH, Austrian scholar of linguistics and ethnography (b. Jemnik,  Bohemia, 5 March, 1834; d. Vienna, 25 May 1898; Figure…

MAYRHOFER, MANFRED, Austrian scholar of comparative Indo-European linguistics and Indo-Iranian studies (b. Linz, Austria, 26 September 1926; d. Vienna, 31…

Kent, Roland Grubb, American scholar of Indo-European studies, who specialized also in Old Persian studies (b. Wilmington, Del., 24 February…

LOMMEL, HERMAN, German scholar of Indo-European, chiefly Indo-Iranian studies, and also of religious studies (b. Erlangen, 7 July, 1885; d….

ZARINAIA (Gk. Zarinaíā), legendary Saka queen during the reign of the likewise legendary Median king Astibaras. The original Greek form…

RATHINES (Gk. Rathínēs), a general of Pharnabazos, the satrap of the Daskylitis (see DASCYLIUM) under Dareios II and Artaxerxes II…

PROTOTHYES (Gk. Protothýēs, not Prōto°, as it is often found in older editions, since this form is attested only in…

OTANES, Greek form (Otánēs) of the name OPers. Utāna(DB IV 83 u-t-a-n, rendered as Elam. Hu-ud-da-na, Bab. Ú-mi-it-ta-na-na-ʾ), which often…

MENOSTANES (Gk. Menostánēs, Bab. Manuštanu), Achaemenid prince, son of Artaxerxes I’s brother Artarios, who was satrap of Babylon; he was…

MASISTES, Greek rendering (Masístēs) of an Old Iranian name *Masišta- (reflected also in Bab. Ma-si-iš-tu4) based on the superlative YAv….

MEGABATES, Greek rendering of the well-known name OIran. *Baga-pāta- “protected by the gods” (which is attested in El. Ba-qa-ba-(ad-/ud-)da, Bab….

MARDONIUS, name of several Persians in Achaemenid times, as OPers. M-r-du-u-n-i-y- /Mr̥duniya-/ (DB 4.84) is rendered in Greek (Mardónios) and…

MANDANE (Gk. Mandánē), name of a daughter of the Median king Astyages (Herodotus 1.107.1; Xenophon, Cyropaedia 1.2.1); in all probability…

CYRUS vi. Cyrus the Younger This prince (ca. 423-01 b.c.e.) was the second of the four sons of Darius II…

NÖLDEKE, THEODOR ii. AS AN IRANIST As a pupil of Heinrich Ewald (1803-1875), Theodor Nöldeke (FIGURE 1) had the benefit…

EILERS, WILHELM (b. 27 September 1906 in Leipzig; d. 3 July 1989 in Würzburg), German scholar of oriental studies, particularly…

DURIS of Samos (Gk. Doûris), Greek historiographer of the early Hellenistic period (b. ca. 340 B.C.E., d. ca. 270 B.C.E….

DRYPETIS (Gk. Drýpĕtis [Arrian] or Drypêtis [Diodorus]), daughter of Darius III Codomannus (Arrian, 7.4.5) and younger sister of Stateira (Diodorus,…

DṚNABĀJIŠ, name of the fifth month (July-August) of the Old Persian calendar, equivalent to Akkadian Ābu and Elamite Zillatam (several…

DIONYSIUS (Gk. Dionýsios) of Miletus, Greek historiographer, who may have lived in the 5th century B.C.E. and is said to…

DIDYMA (Gk. tà Dídyma, probably of Carian origin), district ca. 20 km south of the Ionian Miletus and site of…

DEMOCEDES (Gk. Dēmokḗdēs), Greek physician attached to the court of Darius I (q.v.) and praised as “the most skillful physician…

DEMARATUS (Attic Dēmárātos, Ionic Dēmá-rētos, Laconian Dāmárātos, lit., “wished by the people”), king of Sparta (from at least as early…

DEIOCES (Gk. Dēïókēs), name of a Median king; this Greek form, like Assyrian Da-a-a-uk-ku (i.e., Daiukku) and Elamite Da-a-(hi-)(ú-)uk-ka, Da-a-ya-u(k)-ka,…

DATIS (Gk. Dâtis), Iranian personal name, reflecting Old Iranian *Dātiya- (cf. El. Da-ti-ya; see below), rather than *Dāti-, as previously…

DATAPHERNES (Gk. Dataphérnēs < Ir. *Dāta-farnah- "to whom farnah- [i.e. grace and glory] is given,” also reflected in Babylonian Da-da-pir-na-ʾ,...

* DĀTAMIΘRA (El. Da-da/tam5-mi-ut-ra, Aram. dtmtr), Iranian personal name resulting from an inversion of Miθra-dāta- “given by Mithra” and continued…

DATAMES (Gk. Datámēs), Iranian personal name, reflecting Old Iranian *Dātama- or *Dātāma-, either a two-stem shortened form *Dāta-m-a- from a…

DĀTA, Old Iranian term for “law” (originally the neuter verbal adjective dāta-m from the root dā- “to put, place,” thus…

DĀTABARA, title of a high official in the Achaemenid legal and juridical system. It is not attested in Old Persian…

DARIUS vii. PARTHIAN PRINCES Darius was the name of several petty princes in the Parthian period. In 64 B.C.E. while…

DARIUS vi. ACHAEMENID PRINCES Darius was the name of two Achaemenid princes in addition to the emperors who bore it….

DARIUS i. The Name Dārīus (or Dārēus) is the common Latin form of Greek Dareîos, itself a shortened rendering of…

DAMASPIA (Gk. Damáspiā or -píā), name of a Persian queen, wife of Artaxerxes I and mother of his legal heir, Xerxes…

CYRUS i. The Name Cyrus (Latin form of Gr. Kûros, later also Kóros < OPers. Kuruš [spelled ku-u-ru-u-š], reflected in...

CYRTIANS (Gk. Kýrtioi, Lat. Cyrtii), a tribe dwell­ing mainly in the mountains of Atropatenian Media together with the Cadusii, Amardi…

CUNEIFORM SCRIPT, the conventional name for a system of writing ultimately derived from the pictographic script developed by the Sumerians…

CTESIAS (Gk. Ktēsías), Greek physician at the Achaemenid court and author of Persiká, who be­longed to the Cnidian school of…

COSSAEANS (Lat. Cossaei, Gk. Kossaîoi or Kossaeans), a tribe of mountain people settled in western Iran; their land was called…

CONON OF ATHENS (b. Athens before 444 b.c.e., d. Cyprus after 392 b.c.e.), son of Timotheus (Pausanias, 3.9.2, 8.52.4), a…

CLEMEN, CARL CHRISTIAN (b. Sommerfeld, near Leipzig, 30 March 1865; d. Bonn, 8 July 1940), Ger­man Protestant theologian and historian…

CLEARCHUS OF SPARTA (b. Sparta ca. 450 b.c.e., d. Babylon 401 b.c.e.), son of Rhamphias, Greek general in the service…

CLEITARCHUS (Gk. Kleítarchos), Greek histo­rian of the 4th century b.c.e., son of the historian Dinon of Colophon and author of a…

CLEARCHUS (b. ca. 390 or 410 b.c.e., the latter date based on Memnon’s report of his age as fifty-eight years…

*ČIΘRAFARNAH (Elamite Zi-ut-ra-bar-na, Assyrian Ši-dir-pa-ar-na/ni, Gk. Tetraphérnēs), Iranian personal name meaning “with shining splendor” (Iran. farnah-), also attested in a…

ČIŠPIŠ (OPers. č-i-š-p-i-š, Elamite Zi-iš-pi-iš, Babylonian Ši-iš-pi-iš), Old Persian personal name. The incorrect reading Čaišpiš is still occasionally seen (e.g.,…

CISSIANS (Gk. Kíssioi), a name for the Susians, the Elamite inhabitants of Susiana (Strabo 15.3.2; Stephanus Byzantius, s.v. Soûsa); the…

ČIÇANTAXMA (OPers. č-i-ç-t-x-m, Elamite Zi-iš-ša-in/an-tak-ma, Babylonian Ši-it-ra-an-taḫ-ma, Šī-tir-an-taḫ-mu), an Iranian personal name signifying “brave in lineage” (originally from the phrase…

CHOASPES (or Coaspēs; Lat. form of Gk. Khoáspēs, rarely Khóaspis, probably from OIr. *hṷ-aspa- “pos­sessing good horses”; Late Av. huuaspa-…

CHOARA and CHOARENE (Latin forms of Gk. Khóara, Khoarēnḗ, possibly from Ir. *huṷăra- or *xṷăra-, for which numerous etymologies might…

CHOANA (attested only as Gk. Khóana; etymology in dispute), the name of two Iranian towns mentioned by Ptolemy. 1. Choana…

CHOAMANI, name of an eastern Iranian tribe (perhaps located in western Bactria), mentioned only by Pomponius Mela (1.13; ca. mid-1st…

CHARON OF LAMPSACUS (Gk. Khárōn ho Lampsakēnós), Greek historiographer, son of Pytho­cles (Suda, s.v.) or Pythes (Pausanias, 10.38.1). There is…

CHARES OF MITYLENE (or Mytilene, as in Athenaeus, 7.4; 10.49, and Pliny, Natural History 1.12), Greek historiographer, who participated in…

CHAARENE (Gk. Khaarēnḗ), in Achaemenid times one of the easternmost Iranian provinces and the one closest to India (Strabo, 15.2.11)….

CASPIANS (Gk. Káspioi), name of an ancient people dwelling along the southwestern shore of the Caspian Sea, whether north or…

CARMANIA, region east of Fārs province, approximately equivalent to modern Kermān. The Old Persian form (k-r-m-a-n = Kṛmāna- or Karmāna-,…

XERXES, name of two Achaemenid rulers and of some later princes. i. THE NAME Xerxes is the common Greek (Xérxēs)…

CANDYS (Gk. kándys), name probably of Iranian origin used by Greek authors for a Persian garment; the name may be…

CADUSII (Lat.; Gk. Kadoúsioi), an Iranian tribe settled between the Caspian and the Black seas according to Stephan of Byzantium…

BLACK SEA, an almost entirely landlocked sea situated between 46° 32’ and 40° 55’ north latitude and 27° 27’ and…

ARTEMISIA (Gk. Artemisíā, Ion. -íē), queen (Pausanias, 3.11.3: ebasíleuse) of Halicarnassus in Caria, who as an ally of Xerxes I…

JUSTI, FERDINAND (WILHELM JAKOB), German scholar of Oriental, particularly Iranian, studies, comparative philologist, and folklorist (b. 2 June 1837 in…

IŠKATA, in the Avesta the name of a mountain (Yt. 19.3; Y. 10.11) and in Yt. 10.14 that of the…

ISIDORUS OF CHARAX (Gk. Isídōros ho Charakēnós), Greek geographical author, about whose life and person no more is reliably known…

IMMORTALS (Gk. athánatoi), name of a corps of 10,000 Persian élite infantry soldiers in Herodotus (7.83.1, 211.1; 8.113.2). The later…

HYDARNES (Gk. Hydárnēs), a rendering of the Old Persian male name Vidṛna (spelled vi-i-d-r-n), which is reflected also in Elamite…

HÜSING, GEORG, versatile German scholar who among other fields (e.g., German studies, mythology) specialized in Old Iranian and Elamite studies…

HÜBSCHMANN, (JOHANN) HEINRICH, eminent German scholar of Iranian and Armenian studies (b. l July 1848 in Erfurt, d. 20 January…

HINZ, (A.) WALTHER German scholar of Persian and Elamite studies (b. 19 November 1906 in Stuttgart, d. 12 April 1992…

HESYCHIUS (Gk. Hēsýchios), Greek lexicographer from Alexandria, whose lexicon records a number of Iranian words (6th or possibly 5th century…

HESIOD (Gk. Hēsíodos), Greek epic poet, who lived about 700 B.C.E. and is the author of several didactic poems such…

HAUMAVARGĀ, a term distinguishing one of the three groups of Sakā tribes, Sakā haumavargā (like the Sakā tigraxaudā “with pointed…

HATRA (Ḥaṭrā; Ar. Ḥażr), a strongly fortified city in Upper Mesopotamia (today northern Iraq), situated at 35° 40′ N and…

GUBARU, Babylonian rendering of the Iranian name Gaub(a)ruva (q.v.), which is best known in the Greek form Gōbryas.    …

GRUNDRISS DER IRANISCHEN PHILOLOGIE (Encyclopaedia of Iranian Philology; Strassburg, 1895-1904, reprinted Berlin and New York, 1974), the first attempt to…

GROTEFEND, GEORG FRIEDRICH (b. 9 June 1775 in Hannoversch-Münden, d. 15 December 1853 in Hannover), German philologist and scholar of…

GREECE  xii. PERSIAN LOANWORDS AND NAMES IN GREEK The Greeks came into direct contact with speakers of Iranian languages when…

GREECE i. GRECO-PERSIAN POLITICAL RELATIONS First contacts. Immediately after subjugating the Medes, and thus taking the initial step in creating…

GOBRYAS, the most widely known (Greek) form of the Old Persian name Gaub(a)ruva (q.v.). Several bearers of this name, who…

This contribution aims at presenting an overview of the studies on all aspects of the culture of pre-Islamic Iran as…

GEIGER, BERNHARD, scholar of Indo-Iranian studies (b. 30 April 1881 in Bielitz, the present-day Bielsko-Biała in Poland; d. 5 July…

GAUB(A)RUVA, Old Persian personal name, spelled g-u-b-ru-u-v (DB IV 84 etc.) and reflected in Elamite Kam-bar-ma, Babylonian Gu-ba-ru(-ʾ) (DB etc.),…

GABAE (Gk. Gábai), the name of two places in Persia and Sogdiana. 1. A town in Persis with the name…

PERSONAL NAMES, IRANIAN v. SASANIAN PERIOD In the examination of the anthroponomastic situation of Sasanian times, priority treatment must be…

PERSONAL NAMES, IRANIAN vi. ARMENIAN NAMES OF IRANIAN ORIGIN For many centuries Armenian life and culture has been influenced in…

PERSONAL NAMES, IRANIAN iv. PARTHIAN PERIOD For the Parthian period there is no super-abundance of primary sources written in the…

PERSONAL NAMES, IRANIAN iii. ACHAEMENID PERIOD Evidence of personal names belonging to the Achaemenid period is considerable, but in authentic…

PERSONAL NAMES, IRANAN ii. AVESTAN NAMES In the Avesta at least 400 personal names are attested. The bulk of these names…

PERSONAL NAMES, IRANIAN i. Pre-Islamic names: general. ii. Avestan names. iii. The Achaemenid period. iv. The Parthian period. v. The…

KÁRDAKES, the name of a Persian military unit mentioned several times by Greek and Roman authors, nearly always in relation…

ZOROASTER i. THE NAME The Gathic form and its derivatives. The authentic form of Zoroaster’s name is that attested in…

SPIEGEL, FRIEDRICH (von) (b. 11 July 1820 in Kitzingen am Main, d. 15 December 1905 in Munich), German orientalist and…

REICHELT, HANS (b. 20 April, 1877 in Baden near Vienna, d. 12 May 1939 in Baden), Austrian scholar of Indo-European…

OXYATHRES, Persian masculine name, attested only in this Greek form Oxyáthrēs, which in all probability is transformed by popular etymology…

OXYARTES, Persian masculine name, attested only in this Greek form Oxyártēs, which in all probability is transformed by popular etymology…

OXATHRES, Persian masculine name, attested only in the Greek forms Oxáthras and Oxáthrēs (sometimes transformed by popular etymology as Oxyáthrēs…

ORONTES, Old Iranian masculine name, attested only in the Greek forms Oróntas, Oróntēs (Latin Orontes, Oronta), Orondēs, Aroandēs, Oro-, Aru-,…

NISĀYA (later MPers. Nisāy, NPers. Nesā, Ar. Nasā), the Old Iranian name of several Iranian regions and places, which cannot…

MEILLET, (PAUL JULES) ANTOINE, French linguist and scholar of Iranian and Armenian studies (b. 11 November 1866 in Moulins, Allier,…

GARMAPADA (g-r-m-p-d-, attested only in gen. Garmapadahya), name of the fourth month (June-July) of the Old Persian calendar, mentioned in…