Iran's quest for peace
The date - January 6, 5 B.C- As the kneeling servant put a final buff on his master's soft, leather boots, the master, a young man aged about 25, rose to his full height. Placing his tall, serrated felt cap on his head, the young man, Hormizdah (who is known to Western tradition as Caspar), gazed into the distance. -Tahereh Ghanaati, Press TV - 1/1/11
Iranian NGOs request Cyrus Cylinder show extension
A number of Iranian cultural NGOs have asked that the showcase of the Cyrus Cylinder be extended for about three months at the National Museum of Iran (NMI). The artifact was loaned by the British Museum on September 10, 2010 to the National Museum of Iran for a four-month show that ends on January 10. -MNA - 1/1/11
Participate in the Nowruz Commission Logo Contest
In 2010, the Nowruz Commission was established as a multi-cultural not-for-profit organization for the purpose of promoting Nowruz, a time-honored ancient Persian tradition celebrating the arrival of a new year. - 12/29/10
Natural factors added to threats to historical Shush Castle
Natural environmental factors have been added to the perils threatening the Shush Castle, a historical monument that is a storehouse of many ancient Iranian inscriptions and artifacts. - 12/27/10
Iranians To Celebrate Yalda, Longest Night Of The Year
Iranians throughout the world will celebrate the longest night of the Iranian calendar year, Yalda, in a tradition welcoming the birthday of the Goddess of Love, Mitra. Yalda is the last night of autumn and the beginning of winter. - 12/21/10
The Persian Gulf
Neither the allies of the US nor any world power has the authority under international law, custom or ethics to unilaterally impose itself on the US navy and change the name of the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Gulf. -Mehrangiz Kar - 12/15/10
Persepolis Fortification Archive Project Annual Report 2009-2010
The Persepolis Fortification Archive is a treasury of information about the languages, society, institutions, religion, and art of the Achaemenid Persian Empire at its zenith, around 500 bc. Its value depends on a combination of complexity (the archive contains detailed information of many different kinds) and integrity (the archive is an excavated artifact, a single, coherent cache of tens of thousands of documents from a single time and place). -Matthew W. Stolper - 12/14/10
Suggestion to register 'Shahnameh' in Guinness book
Secretary General of Iran's Ferdowsi Foundation Yasser Movahhedfar announced the news, adding that the Austrian academy offered the suggestion during a ceremony held in Vienna to commemorate Shahnameh's millennial anniversary. - 12/11/10
Take Action: US Navy Calling Persian Gulf "Arabian Gulf"
Take action today by sending a message to Defense Secretary Gates: The Persian Gulf is NOT the Arabian Gulf and the US should not adopt propaganda and provoke instability in the Middle East -NIAC - 12/4/10
Sasanian Persia wins the BRISMES Prize
I.B.Tauris is pleased to announce that Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire by Touraj Daryaee is one of three winners of this year's British-Kuwait Friendship Society Prize in Middle Eastern Studies. - 12/3/10
Winner of Farhang Foundation's 2011 Nowruz Banner Contest Selected
Farhang Foundation announced today that it has selected the winner of its 2011 Nowruz Banner Contest, which had called on the public to submit original design concepts for the Foundation's Third Annual Nowruz (Iranian New Year) Celebration at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) on March 13, 2011. - 12/2/10
Ferdowsi's Shahnameh at 1000
Many of you are well aware that the Shahnameh (Book of Kings) is the greatest work of Iranian literature and was completed by Hakim Abu'l Qasem Ferdowsi in March 1010. This epic poem encompasses myth, history and legend and runs to nearly 60,000 couplets, the longest poem ever composed by a single author. -Syma Sayyah & Paul Sanford - 12/1/10
Giving Iranica a Better Presence on the Web
Encyclopedias have been around for 2,000 years, but websites like the online Encyclopaedia Iranica are reinventing them. Instead of leafing at random through a bound volume of the encyclopedia for interesting articles, the reader can click on any of hundreds of featured entries that pop up randomly on the online version's home page... -Jeff Baron, America.gov - 11/26/10
Face of 5000 year old Iranian woman reconstructed
Rome's National Museum of Oriental Art has displayed the reconstructed face of a female skeleton which was found in Iran's Burnt City wearing an artificial eyeball. - 11/23/10
Photos: Saadabad Palace Complex in Tehran - Iran
The Saadabad Palace is a palace built by the Pahlavi dynasty of Iran in the Shemiran area of Tehran. The complex was first inhabited by Qajar monarchs and royal family in the 19th century. After an expansion of the compounds, Reza Shah lived there in the 1920s. And his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi moved there in the 1970s. - 11/22/10
Photos: Centuries-old Windmills of Nashtifan in Iran
These windmills were constructed during Safavid period in Khorasan, and took advantage of the famous Bad-e Sad-o Bist Ruz (Wind of 120 Days) which approaches 125 Miles per hour. - 11/21/10
The Name of the Caspian Sea
Recently the Center for Researches of the Majles in Iran has proposed to form a commission and find a Farsi name for the Caspian Sea. This reminded me that almost ten years ago, I proposed to the Iranian officials, through several articles and also speech in the Caspian Sea Conference in Babolsar of Iran 2000, to use the name of Mazandaran Sea as the Farsi equivalent of the Caspian Sea. -Bahman Aghai Diba - 11/17/10
Photos: Rostam and Esfandyar, tales from the Shahnameh at Tehran's City Theater Complex
The Esfandyar of legend is best known from the tragic story of a battle with Rostam, as described in Ferdowsi's epic Shahnameh, or Book of Kings. It is one of the longest episodes in the epic, and one of its literary highlights. - 11/15/10
For an Iranian Treasure's 1,000th Year, a Jewel of a Show
The Smithsonian Institution is celebrating the Shahnameh's 1,000 years with an exhibition of some of the greatest illustrations ever created for Iran's greatest epic poem. -Jeff Baron, America.gov - 11/3/10
"Cyrus" production needs $70 million: Producer
The producer of "Cyrus the Great" says that the production of the film may cost $70 million. "It is not a project that can be done easily," Ali Mo'allem told the Persian service of the Mehr News Agency on October 26. - 11/3/10
800 Iranian Artifacts Found in Europe
Iran's National Museum Curator Azadeh Ardakani says the museum has identified 800 Persian historical objects in two European galleries. - 10/28/10
Exhibition Of Famed Persian Epic Opens At Washington's Smithsonian Institution
A mixture of myth and history, the epic poem records the story of Persia from the beginning of time up until the 7th century Arab conquest in more than 100,000 rhymed lines. Later complemented with miniature paintings of sumptuous detail, it is regarded as among the greatest works of world literature and art. - 10/25/10
Report: Launching of Centre for Iranian Studies at SOAS, London
Last weekend, we were delighted to be present at the one day festivities and truly cultural events at the School of Oriental & Asian Studies London Middle Eastern Institute, where the long desired and needed Centre for Iranian Studies was being launched at SOAS, which is one of Europe's most distinguished places of study. -Syma Sayyah - 10/21/10
Ancient Khawja Nasir Observatory Unearthed in Iran
Archaeologists working at the Alamut Castle have recently discovered ruins of a structure which they say may be of an observatory that had been built by the Iranian polymath Khawja Nasir ad-Din Tusi at the castle during the 13th century. - 10/16/10
Centre for Iranian Studies Launch Event in London
Join us for the launch of the newly established Centre for Iranian Studies (CIS) at SOAS. The day will include mini-lectures on a wide range of topics by SOAS academics, a programme of documentary films and participatory activities for the whole family, book and craft stalls and an evening of comedy and music. - 10/14/10
One Iranian American wrestles with 'Xerxes' and '300Œ
If "Xerxes" is anything like ÌB" it will be a graphic tale that takes place during the 492 BC Greco-Persian Wars of Marathon and Artemisium. We're in the final naval battle of Salamis/Artemisium, in which Athenian politician and general Themistocles saves humanity and Western civilization from Iranian demons and demigods... -Farshad Farahat, LA Times - 10/10/10
The Persians: An Interview with Homa Katouzian
Dr. Homa Katouzian was born in Iran and teaches Iranian history and literature at St. Antony's College and the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford. He is the editor of the journal Iranian Studies and author most recently of The Persians: Ancient, Medieval and Modern Iran (2009). -PBS - 10/5/10
Queens, Warriors, and Lovers: Women in Iran's Book of Kings
Celebrate the 1,000-year anniversary of the Shahnama (Iran's Book of Kings) with art, storytelling, music, and dance. Laura Weinstein, curator of the exhibition "Romantic Interludes: Women in Firdawsi's Shahnama," discusses artistic traditions in the epic poem; scholar Olga Davidson explores stories about the poem's fascinating female characters; and Mesma Belsare performs a dance choreographed specifically for this event. October 17 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston - 9/25/10
Cyrus Cylinder warmly welcomed at home
About 48,000 people have visited the Cyrus Cylinder exhibit at the National Museum of Iran in a ten day period. - 9/25/10
Iran lays claim to British Museum's Cyrus Cylinder
"Isn't it correct that the Cyrus Cylinder belongs to Iran?" asked the Keyhan newspaper, mouthpiece of hardline conservatives. "Isn't it true that the British government stole this valuable and ancient object of ours? If the answer to these questions is positive, which it is, why should we return [it] … to the party which stole it." -Guardian - 9/16/10
Historic Cyrus Cylinder Called 'A Stranger In Its Own Home'
Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad on Sunday attended the unveiling in Tehran of the Cyrus Cylinder, which is on loan from the British Museum. The cylinder dates from the 6th Century BC and is thought by many to be the first charter of human rights. It will be on public display for four months. -Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE - 9/15/10
Exhibition -- Epic of the Persian Kings: The Art of Ferdowsi's Shahnameh
An exhibition of works from British collections dedicated to the Shahnameh: manuscripts and single detached folios, ceramics, metalwork and textiles. - 9/15/10
Photos: Unveiling Of The Cyrus Cylinder In Tehran
The dispute between Iran and the British Museum has been settled as the museum has finally loaned the Cyrus Cylinder to the National Museum of Iran for four months. The artifact arrived in Iran on Friday along with a BM delegation led by the Curator, BM Department of the Middle East, John Curtis, Iranian media announced on Friday. -MNA - 9/11/10
Homecoming: Cylinder of Cyrus the Great arrives in Tehran
Hamid Baghai, head of Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization of Iran, announced that the Cylinder of Cyrus the Great has finally arrived in Iran after 40 years. -Zamaneh - 9/10/10
Photos: Historical Khan School in Shiraz Grappling With Death
The magnificent Khan school structure, which is considered one of the last sites representing Shiraz style of architecture, is on the verge of destruction. Unfortunately the cultural authorities don't seem to appreciate the significance of this historical school where once Mulla Sadra engaged in teaching. -Mohammad Hadi Khosravi, MNA - 9/7/10
Photos: Shiraz's Historical Atiq Mosque On The Verge Of Destruction
The historical Atiq mosque, which is the oldest mosque of Shiraz, is on the verge of destruction. Unless the cultural authorities act soon and implement the badly needed repairs, there will be a grim future in store for this icon. -Mohammad Hadi Khosravi - 8/27/10
Wonders of Iran: Vank Cathedral
In 1604, when Shah Abbas I realized that the lands of Nakhchivan and its surrounding areas might fall into Ottoman hands, he decided to force the entire Muslim, Jewish and Armenian population of the city to leave their homes and move to Iran. -Tamara Ebrahimpour - 8/23/10
Iranian Cultural Heritage on Sale in Kish Under Pretense of Combating Smugglers
The publication of a report in Hamshahri Mah about plans by the Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization to organize a sale of the country's historical artifacts revealed another behind-the-scenes effort by Ahmadinejad's chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, to engage in activities outside the supervision of the Majlis and the State Audit Organization. -Hamid Ahadi, Rooz - 8/14/10
Wonders of Iran: The Burnt City (Shahr-e Sukhteh)
One of the largest and richest Bronze Age sites in Iran and the Middle East is located in the southwestern Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchestan. Located near the city of Zabol the Burnt City (Shahr-e Sukhteh) spans an area of more than 300,000 hectares. The ancient site has been attracting Iranian and international archeologists for nearly a century. -Press TV - 8/9/10
Ahmadinejad donates house in Isfahan to American Iranologist
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad donated a house in Isfahan to Professor Richard Nelson Frye, an American scholar of Iranian and Central Asian Studies. -MNA - 8/9/10
China's Cyrus Cylinder extracts spark debate in academia
An Iranian archaeologist believes that more studies are needed to prove the authenticity of alleged extracts from the Cyrus Cylinder carved on two bone fragments found in China. -MNA - 8/8/10
Photos: Tabriz traditional bazaar
The Tabriz Bazaar is one of the main trade centers on the Silk Road which is located in the city of Tabriz in East Azerbaijan Province, northwest Iran. During the 34th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Brasilia on Saturday, the bazaar was registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List. -Mahsa Jamali, MNA - 8/3/10
Photos: As Old as Water Itself - the Mandaeans of Iran, followers of John the Baptist
Ancient baptism ritual still performed in southwestern province. These pictures offer a rare glimpse into the lives and religious practices of the Mandaean community in Iran. - 7/31/10
Historical Iranian Church and Historical Scaffolds
St. Thaddeus Church, an Iranian site which was registered on the UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2008, has been marred by scaffolds and metal buttresses. The former Iranian government set up the scaffolds and buttresses over 30 years ago to restore the ceiling and the dome of the church - 7/28/10
Mehregan (Persian Festival of Autumn) 2010 Celebration: Irvine California, September 25-26
Mehregan 2010 is dedicated to the poet Ferdowsi, in celebration of the millennium anniversary of his masterpiece Shahnameh, The Epics of Kings. Ferdowsi revived the Persian language in this timeless patriotic tale of heroism that promotes human rights, freedom and liberty with a message of peace and harmony for all. - 7/22/10
From Naderi Cafe to Kafka's Soup
It is three decades now that an abandoned sculpture of a white angel is locked in the backyard of the Naderi Cafe which once upon a time overlooked the great contemporary literary figures of this country sitting next to its now decaying feet. Apparently, however, decay is not the fate of only this angel which has been isolated like the spirit of Iranian contemporary literature for years. - 7/21/10
Critiquing Recent Renovations of the Khaju Bridge in Esfahan, Iran
Built by the the Safavid Dynasty in the 1650s as a dam and a bridge, Mehrdad Parsipour asks how the Khaju (or Khajoo) Bridge in Iran can be restored more sustainably. -Green Prophet - 7/21/10
Tehran's Azadi Tower
Standing guard like a sentry at the gates of Tehran, Iran, is the impressive Azadi Tower (Freedom Tower), built in 1971 and comprised of eight thousand white marble blocks. A combination of both Islamic and Sassanid architectural styles, the fifty-foot high tower commemorates the formation of the Persian Empire and is an interesting combination of both modern and ancient cultures. - 7/20/10
Austrian Iranologist receives Iranian award in Vienna
Austrian Iranologist Bert Fragner received an award from the Dr. Mahmud Afshar Yazdi Foundation of Iran in his hometown of Vienna last week. -MNA - 7/15/10
Sassanid fire temple discovered in central Iran
Ruins of a fire temple dating back to the Sassanid era have recently been discovered during a series of archaeological excavations in the Vigol region near Kashan in central Iran. -MNA - 7/5/10
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