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Photos: Historic Taq-e Bostan in Kermanshah
Taq-e Bostan is a series of large rock relief from the era of Sassanid Empire of Persia, the Iranian dynasty which ruled western Asia from 226 to 650 AD. This example of Sassanid art is located 5 km from the city center of Kermanshah in western Iran. -Mohammad Shahbazi - 2/9/12
Persepolis Tablets Threatened By Senate Sanctions Bill
New Iran sanctions are targeting Persian artifacts in U.S. museums and universities, making it easier for lawyers to seize and auction off priceless Persian antiquities. Send a letter below to tell your Senators to protect our cultural heritage! - 2/4/12
Susa, the eternal city of the East
Some six or seven thousand years ago a tribe, whose name is still unknown, speaking a language of which we have no definite record, and coming from a region which has not yet been identified, wandered through the mountains with women and children until they came to an extensive plain not far from the head of the Persian Gulf. -H. G. Spearing - 1/27/12
"Feast Your Eyes" on Ancient Iranian Luxury Metalwork at the Freer and Sackler Galleries
"Feast Your Eyes: A Taste for Luxury in Ancient Iran," on view at the Smithsonian's Freer and Sackler Galleries beginning Feb. 4, explores the beauty, role and function of luxury metalwork in ancient Iran. - 1/26/12
Gothic architecture and Persian origins
The thesis that Gothic architecture owes a good deal to Persian sources is too complex to be stated or tested by a composition of brief and scattered quotations from various reports made by various people -Prof. Arthur Upham Pope (June 1933) - 1/24/12
Russia and Iran: Uneasy Neighbors - Since the 16th Century
Countries without natural borders are like amoebas. Over centuries, they expand and contract, expand and contract. As the Western world wonders why Russia has such a nuanced policy toward Iran's nuclear program, it is important to skip back over four centuries of history. -James Brooke,VOA - 1/24/12
The Idea of Iran: the age of the great Saljuqs
The Centre for Iranian Studies, LMEI, SOAS and the Faculty of Oriental Studies, Oxford are pleased to announce the ninth annual Soudavar Memorial Foundation Symposium in London. The ninth programme in our The Idea of Iran series will take place on Saturday 4 February 2012 and will focus on the age of the Great Saljuqs (11th and 12th centuries CE). - 1/23/12
Innovation and Imagination in Persian Manuscripts from Sixteenth-Century Shiraz
Of the many artistic centres in Iran, perhaps none had a longer and more productive history than the city of Shiraz, capital of Fars province. Beginning at least in the early 14th century and continuing into the 17th, Shirazi calligraphers, illuminators, painters and binders produced vast quantities of deluxe manuscripts at a prodigious rate. - 1/19/12
Farhang Foundation's 2012 Nowruz Banner Design Unveiled
Navid Ghaem Maghami, a San Francisco-based graphic designer, has been selected as the winner of Farhang Foundation's 2012 Nowruz Banner Contest. His winning design, unveiled today for the first time, will be featured on light pole banners on various major streets across Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley - 1/14/12
"Feast Your Eyes" on Ancient Iranian Luxury Metalwork at the Freer and Sackler Galleries
"Feast Your Eyes: A Taste for Luxury in Ancient Iran," on view at the Smithsonian's Freer and Sackler Galleries beginning Feb. 4, explores the beauty, role and function of luxury metalwork in ancient Iran. The exhibition features more than 40 works fashioned in silver and gold between the founding of the Achaemenid Empire ca. 550 B.C.E. and the beginning of the Islamic period in the seventh century. - 1/12/12
Yazd, Bride of Desert
Yazd is the capital of Yazd Province in Iran, and a centre of Zoroastrian culture. The city is located 270 km southeast of Isfahan. Because of generations of adaptations to its desert surroundings, Yazd is an architecturally unique city. It is also known in Iran for the high quality of its handicrafts, especially silk weaving, and its sweet shops. -Firouzeh Mirrazavi - 1/4/12
Industrial park project threatening ancient city of Pasargadae
The Achaemenid city of Pasargadae, which is home to the tomb of Cyrus the Great and many other ancient sites, is being threatened by an industrial park project. - 12/30/11
Iran Heritage Foundation Visiting Fellowship Programme at SOAS, London
One Fellowship will be tenable from March 2012 for a maximum period of six months. Thereafter, two Fellowships per year will be offered starting from the beginning of the academic year 2012/13. Each Fellowship is available for a minimum of four and a maximum of six months. - 12/29/11
Photos: Gohar Tepe Historical Site
Gohar Tepe historical site, with a 50 hectare area, is one of the most important historical sites of Mazandaran province which carries the secret of an ancient civilization. It is believed that Gohar Tepe once enjoyed a complicated urbanization with a history that goes back to some 5000 years ago. -Mohsen Rezapour - 12/27/11
Iran: Earth cracks at ancient site of Naqsh-e Rustam
A large deep crack has appeared in the earth at the foot of the ancient site of Naqsh-e Rustam in Iran's southern province of Fars. The site includes a number of bas-reliefs and tombs of several Achaemenid kings, which had been created on rocks on Mount Hossein. - 12/21/11
Photos: Dome of Historic Chahar Bagh School in Isfahan Damaged
Tiles from a 1.5 square meter section of the dome of Chahar Bagh school, a 16-17th century cultural complex in Isfahan, Iran, have fallen. This is being blamed on the negligence of the authorities who are responsible for maintaining this historical building. - 12/18/11
Nowruz across Southern California
For the last three years, Farhang Foundation has celebrated Nowruz (Iranian New Year) at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). 2012 will be no different, with festivities taking place on Sunday March 18, 2012 and promising to be splendid, as always. - 12/15/11
Book: On The High Road: The History of Godin Tepe, Iran
The site of Godin Tepe is located in the southeastern corner of the Kangavar valley in central western Iran, at the western end of the Silk Road. "On the High Road" will provide the first major publication of the material remains from Godin. - 12/14/11
Photos: Sassanid Bas-Relief Vandalized in Southern Iran
Part of one of the significant bas-reliefs of the Sassanid era has been vandalized at Tang-e Chogan, a gorge near the town of Kazerun in Iran's southern province of Fars. - 12/12/11
Ruins Of Ancient City Plundered In Southwestern Iran
Iran's Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization (CHTHO) has forbidden archaeologists working at ancient Iranian sites from giving interviews to the Iranian press since 2009. The ban was imposed after the archaeologists published a great deal of information explaining about the destruction of ancient Iranian sites. - 12/12/11
THE MYSTERIES OF THE LABYRINTHS OF NIASSAR
The village of Niassar, located west of the city of Kashan on the edge of the Karkas Range, has quite a history. Sitting at the base of a promontory or a natural citadel, the village has been known for its annual wild roses harvest, which has been attracting tourists in greater numbers each spring to enjoy the scenery and the aroma, as well as to purchase rosewater and the highly prized rose essence. -Kam Zarrabi - 12/5/11
Celebrating an Ancient Persian Heritage of Tolerance
Iranian Americans and others from Iran's diaspora around the world have been celebrating the man many consider their nation's greatest ruler - even though he died 2,600 years ago. - 12/5/11
Two Iranian elements added to UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List
Naqqali, Iranian dramatic story-telling and the traditional skills of building and sailing Iranian Lenj boats in the Persian Gulf were inscribed on the list during the sixth session of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which opened in Bali, Indonesia, on November 22. - 11/25/11
Photos: The Historic House of Mulla Sadra in Kahak, Qom
Mulla Sadra (c. 1571-1641) was a Persian Shia Islamic philosopher, theologian who led the Iranian cultural renaissance in the 17th century. According to Oliver Leaman, Mulla Sadra is arguably the single most important and influential philosopher in the Muslim world in the last four hundred years. -Abolfazl Mahrokh - 11/15/11
Jiroft artifacts to be displayed in Tehran
Jiroft's artifacts, delivered to Iran's Embassy in London recently, will be unveiled during an exhibition in Tehran next week. The artifacts were delivered after Iran won an appeal in a London appellate court against the city's Barakat Gallery. - 11/15/11
Lecture at LACMA: Darius III, the last of the Achaemenids
Lecture by renowned scholar offers glimpse at the last king of the Achaemenid Empire. Pierre Briant, a Professor of History and Civilization of the Achaemenid World at the College de France, will speak about Darius III, the last king of the Achaemenid Empire, who confronted the Macedonian invasion. - 11/8/11
Photos: 5000-years-old Jiroft artifacts - Part II
Many artifacts associated with Jiroft were recovered from looters described as "destitute villagers" who had scavenged the area south of Jiroft before 2001, when a team led by Yousef Madjidzadeh began excavations. The team uncovered more than two square kilometers of remains from a city dating back to at least the late 3rd millennium BC. - 11/7/11
Photos: 5000-years-old Jiroft artifacts - Part I
"Jiroft culture" has been postulated as an early Bronze Age (late 3rd millennium BC) archaeological culture, located in what is now Iran's Sistan and Kerman Provinces. The hypothesis is based on a collection of artifacts that were confiscated in Iran and accepted by many to have derived from the Jiroft area in south central Iran, reported by online Iranian news services, beginning in 2001. - 11/6/11
Interview with Dr. Peyman Nojoumian
In June 2011, the University of Southern California Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences announced that Dr. Peyman Nojoumian had been named the Assistant Professor of Persian in the new Middle East Studies Program at the university. -Bita Milanian, PAAIA - 10/31/11
Bam Citadel may be removed from UNESCO list
The Bam Citadel in central Iran may be removed from the UNESCO list of Endangered Cultural Heritage Sites because of non-compliance with the standards related to its reconstruction. - 10/27/11
Exhibition and Lecture in London: Persian Postal History Across Two Centuries
A rare opportunity to view an award winning collection of Persia's Postal history during the Qajar period, followed by a lecture on the subject. - 10/18/11
37 Years And Halfway Through Encyclopaedia Iranica
In 1958, professor Ehsan Yarshater began teaching at Columbia University in New York. He was part of a generation of Iranian academics who sought training in the West. -NPR - 9/27/11
Mehregan Thanksgiving Festival: The Autumn Festival of Harvest
Mehregan is one of the two most ancient Iranian festivals known, dating back at least as far as the earliest Aryans (Iranians). The word "Mehr" (in Mehregan) in the Persian language means kindness. Mehr represents knowledge, love, light and friendship. -Firouzeh Mirrazavi, Iran Review - 9/26/11
Court Ruling Protects Persian Artifacts in Massachusetts
A ruling by a Massachusetts District Court yesterday will protect ancient Persian artifacts housed at Harvard University and Boston's Museum of Fine Arts from being seized as part of an attempt collect damages against the Iranian government. -NIAC - 9/24/11
Iran: Artifact confirmed as musical instrument at Gohar-Tappeh, dice discovered
Experts have proved that the artifact, which was unearthed at the Gohar-Tappeh prehistoric mound in Mazandaran Province in 2005, is a clarinet. In addition, a team of archaeologists has recently discovered dice for playing the game of craps at the site, team director Ali Mahforuzi told the Persian service of CHN last week. - 9/12/11
Isfahan: Call for protests to save Zayandeh Rud
There is a call for the people in Isfahan, central Iran, to join a silent protest by wearing black this Saturday in order to bring attention to the dire situation of Zayandeh Rud river and the condition of the historical sio-seh-pol bridge. - 9/10/11
Supreme Leader Demands Focus on Post-Islamic Iran
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei called on the Ahmadinejad administration to focus more on post-Islamic Iran and less on the pre-Islamic era of the country. - 8/30/11
Abbasi Hotel in Isfahan: The Glorious Architecture of Iran
The glorious architecture of Iran, like a piece of gem, has been constantly glittering among other architectural monuments of the world and has occupied a worthy place in the world of art. It was in the reign of the Safavids, that the city of Isfahan reached such a renown and elegance which was called "half of the world". -Compiled by Firouzeh Mirrazavi - 8/26/11
Photos: Last Moments Of A Historic Church In Kerman
A historic church in Kerman, which had been registered in Iran's national monuments list, is the latest victim of ruthless bulldozers! The church was flattened last week and perhaps this way its misery due to years of neglect came to an end! -Hamid Sadeghi - 8/25/11
"Iran: A Forgotten Glory" - A Young Artist's Legacy Lives On
A visually stunning portrait of Iran's pre-Islamic history in the region of Fars, located in south west of the country, "Iran: A Forgotten Glory" is the five-year effort of the young director Makan Karandish. Shot in more than sixty locations, this documentary is a rich source of information about Achaemenids and Sassanids, the two Great Persian Empires. -Parisa Saranj, NIAC - 8/22/11
Archaeologists excavating Arastu Tepe for signs of Kura-Aras culture
A team of Archaeologists is currently working on the Arastu Tepe in order to find signs of the Kura-Aras culture in the mound located near the town of Malard in the southwest of Tehran. - 8/18/11
Photos: The hottest place on earth, Gandom-e Beryan in Kerman-Iran
Gandom Beryan, part of Shahdad desert in Kerman, has often recorded land surface tempreture of 160 Fahrenheit. The intensity of heat in this area is so high that there are no life forms that can tolerate it. - 8/17/11
Photos: Chelcheli Mountain, the lost Paradise of Gorgan Iran
Chelcheli mountain is situated 18 miles to the southwest of Ali Abad in southeast of Gorgan. This mountain is 10,246 feet in height and It is the source of Chelcheli and Baqeshah rivers. - 8/16/11
Mehregan 2011, A Celebration of Love, Knowledge, and Commitment
The Mehregan Organizing Committee is pleased to announce that the 15th Annual Persian Festival of Autumn (Mehregan 2011) is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, October 1 - 2, 2011 at the Lakeside Lagoon Park in Irvine, California. - 8/15/11
Iranian Rudaki Symphony Orchestra Closed
The Rudaki Symphony Orchestra was shut down due to financial issues. No official comment has been made. - CHN - 8/13/11
A Lifetime Quest to Finish a Monumental Encyclopedia of Iran
Ralph Ellison wrote for 40 years without finishing his novel "Juneteenth." Antoni Gaudi labored 43 years on the Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona, but construction continues today. And in the annals of grand quixotica, Ehsan Yarshater also deserves a prominent chapter - NewYorkTimes - 8/13/11
Photos: Bam Citadel, 8 Years After Quake
On December 26, 2003, the Citadel was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake, along with much of the rest of Bam and its environs. A few days after the earthquake, the then Iranian President Mohammad Khatami announced that the Citadel would be rebuilt. However, this architecture jewel has been ignored and neglected. The pace of reconstruction has been very slow; almost eight years after the quake, much works remains to be done. -Hamid Sadeghi - 8/12/11
Achaemenid palace found in Iran
Archeologists have unearthed an ancient palace dating back to the Achaemenid dynasty in Dahaneh Gholaman located in Iran's southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan. - 8/1/11
Dowlatabad Garden: A Persian Architecture Jewels
The heat is blistering in the south, on the edge of the Great Desert. High chimneys acting as air-vents bring some comfort to these dwellings. Dowlatabad Garden located in Yazd, central Iran, is a Persian architecture jewel. The Garden is an authentic Iranian garden that annually attracts thousands of domestic and foreign tourists. -Firouzeh Mirrazavi - 7/28/11
Digitization Project Brings Ancient Near Eastern Inscriptions into 21st Century
The Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives announces a new 3-D digital resource that will enable scholars and the public to learn more about the ancient Near East through a unique group of pressed-paper molds called squeezes. This resource provides unparalleled access to the archives' collection of squeezes from ancient Near Eastern archaeological sites. - 7/27/11
Classical Iranian Music Gets a New Audience
Few in the West have heard its authentically Persian sound, but now the classical, Persian stringed instrument known as a kamancheh is being heard in an unlikely place - the mid-western U.S. state of Ohio. An Iranian-American musician is resurrecting the kamancheh's ancient sound - the hard way - and introducing it to a whole new audience. -Arash Arabasadi, Toledo, Ohio - 7/26/11
Iran: Rage Against Pre-Islamic Statues
It seems that even statues are not safe in Iran. Religious motives appear to be behind the recent theft of several bronze statues of Iranian national heroes from public places. In the northern city Sari, authorities ordered the destruction of 16 bronze statutes depicting the Iranian mythological hero and archer Arash Kamangir on chariots and with horses. -Global Voices - 7/20/11
Photos: The Historic Ganjali Square in Kerman
The Ganjali Khan Complex is a Safavid-era (1501-1722) complex, located in the old center of city of Kerman, Iran. The complex is composed of a school, a square, a caravanserai, a bathhouse, an Ab Anbar (water reservoir), a mint, a mosque and a bazaar. -Hamid Sadeqi - 7/19/11
Of Italians and Iranians: A Conversation With Professor Mahnaz Yousefzadeh
Go ahead, ask her. As an Iranian-American writing on Italian history, Mahnaz Yousefzadeh has been asked so many times, she has a smart answer ready: Why didn't she spend her scholarly life unpacking the intricacies of Iranian (or at least Middle Eastern) history? - Kia Makarechi - 7/16/11
Photos: An Old Tree in Yazd
Yazd is the land of old trees. As the most magnificent symbols of the past thousands of years, it is important that these trees be preserved. These photos show one of the oldest trees in Yazd which has been neglected and needs urgent attention and protection. - 7/12/11
Photos: Children Swimming in Kerman's Historic Ganjali Khan Square
The Ganjali Khan Complex is a Safavid-era complex, located in the old center of city of Kerman, Iran. The complex is composed of a school, a square, a caravanserai, a bathhouse, an Ab Anbar (water reservoir), a mint, a mosque and a bazaar. -Hamid Sadeghi - 7/11/11
Dictionary Of Ancient Akkadian Provides Glimpse Into Civilization's Cradle
The newly completed mammoth project retains the title its first researchers gave it -- "The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary" -- even as a later generation of scholars proved that Assyrian was a dialect of Akkadian. The language was spoken thousands of years ago in what is now Iraq, as well as in parts of Syria, Iran, and Turkey. It a distant relative of Arabic and Hebrew. -Richard Solash, RFE - 7/11/11
PARSA CF Awards $2.4M to Universities to Further Iranian Studies across North America
Over the past few months, PARSA Community Foundation has made a series of announcements detailing the results of its 2010 Mehrgan Grant Cycle, totaling over $3M in grants to causes, projects, and organizations of strategic importance to the Iranian-American community. - 7/5/11
Recruitment Of Iran Heritage Foundation Lectorship In Persian
As part of our Institutional Partnerships Programme, Iran Heritage Foundation is supporting University of Cambridge in recruiting a 3-year fixed term Lector in Persian language. - 7/5/11
Statue of Persian Commander "Aryo Barzan" Causes Controversy in Yasuj
Installation of the statue of a Persian historic figure in the city of Yasuj has stirred big controversy. The decision to remove the statue is being resisted by the some residents and the tensions have the potential to escalate further. - 7/4/11
Photos: An Architecture Jewel: Dowlatabad Garden in Yazd, Iran
Dowlatabad Garden, located in Yazd, central Iran, is a Persian architecture jewels. Dowlatabad is among the Persian gardens that has just been registered on UNESCO's World Heritage List as one of the masterpieces of traditional gardens. -Ali Golshan - 7/2/11
Photos: Shahzadeh Garden in Mahan, Kerman
The magnificent Shahzadeh garden, located in Kerman desert, and known as "a corner in heaven" has been registered on UNESCO's World Heritage List as one of the masterpieces of traditional gardens. -Hamid Sadeghi - 6/30/11
Persian Garden added to UNESCO's World Heritage List
The Persian garden was registered on UNESCO's World Heritage List on Monday. The decision to register the property on the list was made during the 35th session of the World Heritage Committee, which opened in Paris on June 19. The meeting comes to an end today. - 6/29/11
USC Names Dr. Peyman Nojoumian its New Assistant Professor of Persian
University of Southern California Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences has named Dr. Peyman Nojoumian as assistant professor of the teaching of Persian. The addition of Nojoumian to the new Middle East Studies Program at USC has been made possible through funds donated by Farhang Foundation as part of its Iranian Studies Initiative at USC. - 6/23/11
Louvre Museum to Create Elahe Mir-Djalali Omidyar Fund to Underwrite New Program
American Friends of the Louvre announced that it has received a $3 million grant through the generosity of Pierre Omidyar, a member of Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute's Board of Directors and the founder and Chairman of eBay Inc. The grant will be used to create an endowment fund that will support educational and scholarly programs on Persian art and culture. - 6/22/11
Book: Iran at War, by Kaveh Farrokh
Kaveh Farrokh is an expert on Persian languages and Iranian history whose new book, Iran at War: 1500-1988, provides a full examination of modern Iranian military history. Iran at War begins where Shadows in the Desert ended, with the Arab conquest of Persia and the rise of Islam in the mid-7th century. - 6/21/11
Conference and Workshop: Shahdad and The Bronze Age in Southwest Iran
Prehistoric Shahdad is a major Bronze Age centre that was discovered at the edge of Kavire-Lut in 1968. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the late Professor Ali Hakemi of Archaeological Institute of Iran, commenced investigation at Shahdad and supervised intensive excavations for seven consecutive seasons at the site. - 6/20/11
Dance Performance at LACMA: Shatrang va Takhta-i Nard
This narrative dance performance, presented by award-winning choreographer Jamal, will explore the origins of chess and backgammon as told in the Iranian national epic the Shahnama and featured in the exhibition, Gifts of the Sultan: The Arts of Giving at the Islamic Courts. - 6/15/11
Exhibition of Portraits of Iranian Women after Unveiling: Men Are Not Allowed
An exhibition of portraits of Iranian Women after removal of obligation of wearing chador under the reign of Pahlavi I, titled Before Your Eyes was held in May 2011 at No.6 Gallery in Tehran. The collection was compiled and reproduced by Parisa Mandan, photographer, researcher and teacher. -Tahereh Emami, Tavoos - 6/9/11
Salt Men of Iran
In the winter of 1993, miners came across a body with long red hair and a beard, and associated artefacts, in the Chehrabad salt mines located to the west of the city of Zanjan, Iran. -Past Horizons - 6/8/11
PARSA CF Awards $370,000 to Museums and Institutions for Preserving and Advancing Persian Arts
As a part of its Mehrgan 2010 Grant Cycle and its steadfast commitment to preserving and promoting Persian arts and culture, PARSA Community Foundation is pleased to announce four grants to major museums and institutions to further expand and grow their stellar programs. - 6/6/11
Iran Heritage Foundation: Making Connections
This film showcases some of IHF's programmes on Persian language, including the 2010 Shahnameh exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge and IHF's Institutional Partnership Programme, which supports Persian studies teaching and curatorial posts at universities and museums. - 6/6/11
PAAIA Chapters and Friends Take Nowruz to Local Schools Nationwide
Building on our successful efforts to pass the Nowruz Resolution through both Chambers of Congress in 2010, in mid-March 2011, PAAIA launched its Nowruz Project. The project aimed at providing parents of elementary school children with resources and information they could use to present on the joyous celebration of Nowruz at their children's schools. - 6/5/11
Iranian-German team monitoring Bisotun
A team of Iranian and German experts has recently been assigned to monitor the ancient site of Bisotun during an 18-month project. The project is aimed at improving the methods for restoring and protecting the Achaemenid site, which was registered on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2006, Bisotun Cultural Heritage Center announced in a press release on Tuesday. - 6/2/11
Ahmadinejad advisor denies allegations of financial fraud
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's executive deputy is denying allegations of financial wrongdoing. Hamid Baghai told IRNA: "I can tell you frankly this alleged 450 billion touman ($450 million) agreement in Kish Island is false, and such an agreement does not even exist." - 5/28/11
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