Touraj Daryaee
(1967– Present) Iranian-born historian and leading Iranologist; a specialist in the history, languages, and culture of ancient and medieval Iran, particularly the Sasanian Empire. He holds the Maseeh Chair in Persian Studies and Culture and directs the Dr. Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies at the University of California, Irvine, and is the author of Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire and Sasanian Iran (224–651 CE): Portrait of a Late Antique Empire.
- ḴOSROW IV
Ḵosrow IV is mentioned in some textual sources and also on coins as a challenger to the last Sasanian king…
- ḴOSROW III
Ḵosrow III appears to have come to power between the rule of Queen Azarmīgduxt (r. 630) and that of Yazdegerd…
- SCHMIDT, HANNS-PETER
SCHMIDT, HANNS-PETER (b. Berlin, 1930; d. Dana Point, Calif., 31 July 2017; Figure 1), a German Indo-Iranist who mainly worked…
- ŠĀPUR II
ŠĀPUR II (r. 309-79 CE), the longest reigning monarch of the Sasanian dynasty (224-651 CE). Legend has it that the…
- SŪR SAXWAN
SŪR SAXWAN (Banquet Speech), a Middle Persian text about a court banquet held in the Sasanian Empire (Cereti, p. 181;…
- ŠĀH-NĀMA i. The Šāh-nāma as a historical source
Broadly speaking, Persian histories may be divided into three groups: universal (e.g. Jāmeʿ al-tawāriḵ-e rašidi), dynastic (e.g., Tāriḵ-e Bayhaqi), and…
- YAZDEGERD II
YAZDEGERD II (r. 439-57 CE), Sasanian king, whose reign is marked by wars with Byzantium in the west and the…
- ZURWĀNDĀD
ZURWĀNDĀD, the eldest son of the grand vizier (wuzurg framādār) Mehr Narseh, who appointed him to the high religious office…
- ZĀDUYA
ZĀDUYA, a Persian noble in the 7th century CE who was instrumental in the crowning of Farroḵzād Ḵosrow as Sasanian…
- MEHR-NARSEH
MEHR-NARSEH, the grand vizier (Mid. Pers. wuzurg framādār) during the reigns of the Sasanian kings Yazdgerd I (r. 399-421 CE),…
- BĀBAK
BĀBAK (Mid. Pers.: Pābag), reformer of the Sasanian military and in charge of the department of the warriors (Diwān al-moqātela)…
- HEDAYAT, SADEQ iv. TRANSLATIONS OF PAHLAVI TEXTS
HEDAYAT, SADEQ iv. TRANSLATIONS OF PAHLAVI TEXTS Sadeq Hedayat traveled to India in 1936 and stayed for less than two…
- ŠAHRESTĀNĪHĀ Ī ĒRĀNŠAHR
ŠAHRESTĀNĪHĀ Ī ĒRĀNŠAHR (The Provincial Capitals of Iran), the only major surviving Middle Persian text on geography: it enumerates the…