Welcome to Encyclopædia Iranica

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. Learn More Website Features

 

Featured Articles

  • HERACLES

    Heracles entered many other religions of the ancient world. He was adopted into the Roman pantheon in an early stage of its development and was identified—both as a “translation” and in the development of cultic practices—with the Phoenician god Melqart and the Babylonian god Nergal, as well as with Zoroastrian Verethraghna.

    0 COMMENTS UPDATED JAN.03.2014

  • ASHRAF, GHODSIEH

    Throughout her life, Ghodsieh Ashraf repeatedly observed, not without pride, that her material belongings could be packed into one suitcase. Though she may not have been an easy taskmaster, she was served by an unflagging joie de vivre and cut a figure distinct from the traditional models of her times.

    0 COMMENTS UPDATED DEC.22.2016

Volume XVI Now Available

Encyclopaedia Iranica Volume 16 

Encyclopædia Iranica Volume XVI
Edited by Ehsan Yarshater,
Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation:
New York, NY, 2020

This volume is dedicated to Dr. Ehsan Yarshater (1920-2018), an eminent scholar of Iranian Studies, and founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopædia Iranica.

The three fascicles contained in this volume are the last edited under the aegis and guidance of Dr. Yarshater, whose pioneering vision and unwavering commitment over four decades established the Encyclopædia Iranica as an unrivaled compilation of critical research in all facets of Iranian civilization.

Volume XVI of the Encyclopædia Iranica covers topics falling alphabetically between KA and KE, encompassing Kashan, Kerman, Kermanshah, and articles on regional geography, languages and dialects, architecture and historical monuments, mysticism and Persian Sufi poetry, religious communities, life and cultural rituals, and notable personalities.

This authoritative work of reference is testimony to the scholarship of its contributors, who have been ensuring that the Encyclopædia Iranica maintains its undisputed reputation for authoritative and comprehensive research.

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Encyclopædia Iranica

Published in English, Encyclopædia Iranica is a multi-volume, multi-disciplinary work designed to provide a detailed and accurate picture of an important world civilization over a span of several thousand years. It is the most extensive compendium ever conceived on the past and present culture of the Iranian peoples and their contribution to the broader history of human civilization.

The Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation, Inc. was established in 1990 as an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) public foundation registered in New York State. The Foundation’s main purpose is to promote the cause of Encyclopædia Iranica and to ensure its continuation as an independent scholarly databank.

The Foundation has established an endowment fund to support the Encyclopædia Iranica project, and funds the majority of its costs. The Foundation’s charter empowers it to carry out the Encyclopædia Iranica project independently.

Encyclopædia Iranica is a non-partisan, non-political, non-religious, non-ideological, and an entirely independent compilation of objective, documented, and reliable information that has drawn on the expertise of leading scholars world-wide at major universities and academies in North America, Europe and Asia.

Students, scholars, and all those eager to learn more about Iranian peoples and their culture will find the Encyclopædia Iranica an indispensable source of information. Those Iranians brought up abroad, interested in learning about their cultural heritage, will particularly benefit from this objective and unbiased resource.

News

Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation Announces Pathway Book Service As Its New Distribution Partner

Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation has partnered with Pathway Book Service to distribute its printed publications. (Continued)

University of Toronto and the Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation Announce Innovative Multiyear Partnership

Heralding a dynamic era for Iranian Studies, we are delighted to announce an innovative multiyear partnership between the University of Toronto and the Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation. (Continued)

Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation Update

On behalf of the Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation, the Board writes to provide an update on what is happening at the Foundation as it regards our commitment to advancing the study of Iranian civilization, culture and history. (Continued)

Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation Publishes Volume 16 of Encyclopædia Iranica

The Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation (EIF) today published Volume 16 of the Encyclopædia Iranica, the international, collaborative research project dedicated to the study of Iranian civilization. (Continued)

The Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation Asserts its Ownership of Encyclopædia Iranica

The Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation has filed a lawsuit against Columbia University; Dr. Elton Daniel, Director of the Ehsan Yarshater Center for Iranian Studies at Columbia University; and Brill, the global publishing firm. (Continued)