Tessera

Institute for Iranian Studies

@iranianstudies.bsky.social

Official account for the Institute for Iranian Studies (Iranistik) at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Website: https://www.oeaw.ac.at/en/ifi/

86 Posts218 Follower 175 Folgt

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 6d ago

Our Caucasus research group are organising a picnic for interested researchers and research-adjacent colleagues! Do join us if you're in Vienna on 8th August: we'll meet at Donaustadtbrucke at 15:30. Enquiries welcome, do forward to anyone you know who might be interested! #Caucasus #Wien

Poster for the Vienna Caucasiology Picnic 2026. It invites anyone interested in the study of the Caucasus region to come to a picnic on August 8th, 15:30-19:00, initially meeting at Donaustadbrucke U6 station. Contact to james.baillie@oeaw.ac.at with any enquiries.

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 2d ago

Just over a week ago we were at the International Armenological Congress in Yerevan! Dr. James Baillie and Dr. Polina Ivanova presented on the ways that our work includes Armenology and Caucasus Studies, showcasing a range of forthcoming projects. #IranianStudies #Armenia #Armenology #Yerevan

Dr. James Baillie standing on stage at a lectern, in front of a banner for the International Armenological Congress. The words "Armenology at the IFI - Projects in the frame of Caucasus and Iranian Studies" can be seen on an Austrian Academy of Sciences branded slide on his right.

The door to the International Armenological Congress, a modern round pillared building with a glass-fronted central area behind pillars, with IAC banners visible at the front.

Seven people seated on stage with a standing moderator at the International Armenological Congress, which has its logos and screen behind them. Dr. Polina Ivanova, third from the left, is speaking into a microphone.

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 6d ago

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 3w ago

Last week many of us had a great time sharing research at the @imc-leeds.bsky.social - including Bruno de Nicola of @nomaland.bsky.social on a Medieval Persian Mineralology treatise, Stefan Kamola on Mongol Astrology and Divination... #medieval #academia #IranianStudies #Persian

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Talk this Monday at 5 for those in Vienna: Carol Fan will be talking about perceptions of China in Khata’i’s 'Account of China' and discussing what this means for understanding Ottoman use and idealisations of China in political life. See you there! #Ottoman #China #History #IranianStudies

Poster for a talk on Ali Akbar Khata'i's Book of China and the use of Chinese Qanun as a model for Ottoman political reform, by Carol Fan. 22 June, 5pm, Austrian Academy of Sciences Room 6, 4th Floor, Georg Coch Platz 2.

This talk takes as its point of departure a new English translation of Khata’i’s Account of China (trans., ed. Kaveh Hemmat et al., forthcoming), a text that has long attracted scholarly attention but remains insufficiently understood in terms of its textual history and intellectual context. After briefly introducing the work, its author, and the trajectory of previous research, I interpret the text based on the new translation project, which allows for a more nuanced reading of its content and structure. It covers the following interpretive issues: 1) the text’s tendency to portray China in highly idealized terms with a striking emphasis on law, order, and governance. These features invite reconsideration of the purposes such a portrayal may have served. 2) evidence to support the author’s intentional idealization of “China’s way” upon establishing that an Ottoman Turkish translation of the text was Khatay’s own and analyzing its content that does not exist in other versions 3) By bringing together textual analysis, translation studies, and institutional and intellectual history, this paper argues for a more integrated approach to the study of Sino-Islamic connections.

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Event next Monday - join us for this talk by Jakub Havlik! You can join us in person at the PSK Wien or online, register here: oeaw-ac-at.zoom.us/webinar/regi... #CentralAsia #LateAntiquity #Farming #Archaeology #Uzbekistan

Poster for the talk "Kulal Tepa Archaeological Survey: A Story of One Valley in the Kugitang Foothills, Uzbekistan", but Jakub Havlik, Charles University Prague/Termez State University Uzbekistan. The poster includes a blurb, a picture of a desert with a single person standing on the left, the registration link, logos of sponsorting organisations, and the green-and-yellow colour band of the Austrian Academy of Sciences' Institute for Iranistik.

NoMansLand @nomaland.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Podcast sobre el libro "Mongoles en el Oeste" El imperio mongol desde la península ibérica. Con la presencia de los editores Antonio García Espada y Bruno De Nicola @ivoox.bsky.social @uneduniv.bsky.social @oeaw.bsky.social @fwf-at.bsky.social @iranianstudies.bsky.social go.ivoox.com/rf/173128931

Mongoles en el Oeste - Historias de Bolsillo - Podcast en iVoox

Escucha este episodio de Historias de Bolsillo gratis en iVoox. En el programa de hoy viajamos a la Edad Media para analizar el peso del imperio mongol en la península ibérica de los siglos XIII en ad...

go.ivoox.com

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Call for Participants for our Summer Academy, 17-30 August 2026, to be held in Khorog, Tajikistan! This year's focus will be cultural heritage in Central Asia. Please do share widely! Plaintext version at: oeawiranistik.at/plaintexts/S... #IranianStudies #CentralAsia #Tajikistan #CulturalHeritage

Page 1 of the CfP, including picture of Khorog and description and dates of the workshop (please see linked plaintext in main post for screen reader version).

Page 2 of the CfP, giving details of the programme, participant numbers (up to 15, of whom 7 must be from Central Asian institutions), and requirements (English language, travel organising to Dushanbe). Please see link in post for plaintext version.

Page 3 of the CfP, giving details that applications should give a CV and letter of motivation to iran.office@oeaw.ac.at by May 15 2026. It also gives a timeline of organisation, and contact emails for the organisers: jeanine.dagyeli@univie.ac.at, ariane.sadjed@oeaw.ac.at, and Florian.Schwarz@oeaw.ac.at. For full details see linked plaintext in main post.

NoMansLand @nomaland.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Call for Papers: International conference: “Chinggis Khan and the Mongol Transformation of Eurasia” 14–17 July 2027, Vienna (Austria) @iranianstudies.bsky.social @nomaland.bsky.social @fwf-at.bsky.social @coe-eurasia.bsky.social

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 4mo ago

In our 14-16 April workshop on Reza Shah's Iran, we have a program update: the keynote slot will now take the form of a roundtable, entitled "The Pahlavi Dynasty: A conversation on the history and legacy of a contested period in modern Iranian history"! Details at: www.oeaw.ac.at/ifi/veransta...

Reza Shah addresses the Iranian majlis (parliament) in 1925. Black and white photo.

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 4mo ago

We were happy to co-sponsor this event back in February, run by our medieval Caucasus specialist @jubalbarca.bsky.social: you can now watch various talks and panels on the ways that games and game development represent premodern/medieval worlds via the quoted thread:

Exilian@exilianofficial.bsky.social · 4mo ago

You can now watch all the videos from our Coding Medieval Worlds workshop back in February: we have three sets of panel intros and a keynote for you to watch all about the world of medievalist #GameDev: #medieval #medievalism #history #indiedev

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Upcoming event! On April 16th at 5pm, we will have a talk by Fatema Soudavar Farmanfarmaian about her book Scent, Colour and Glitter in the Ancient World. www.oeaw.ac.at/en/ifi/veran... #History #AncientHistory #IranianStudies #AncientWorld

Scent, Colour and Glitter in the Ancient World book cover by Fatema Soudavar Farmanfarmaian. It is subtitled "A Comparative History of Aromatics, Cosmetics and Adornment, from the Mediterranean to the China Seas", and the background is purple, red, and gold pebbles or rock shards on a black background.

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Next forthcoming event! We will be hosting the conference "Iran under Reza Shah: Politics, Culture and State Building in the Early Pahlavi Period (1925-1941)": www.oeaw.ac.at/ifi/veransta... #Iran #IranianStudies #History

Iran under Reza Shah: Politics, Culture and State Building in the Early Pahlavi Period (1925-1941)

International Workshop

oeaw.ac.at

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Congratulations to our director Prof. Florian Schwarz, who has been elected as a full member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences! Full ÖAW membership is one of Austria's highest academic distinctions: we are excited by this recognition of Florian's own work and his wider role in shaping our field

Prof. Florian Schwarz. He is looking sideways with his back half turned tot he camera, standing in a paved park with trees behind him and the sunlight bursting through the clouds. There is a ferris wheel visible behind his head. He is a medium height beardless white man with mid length grey-brown hair, wearing glasses and a blue shirt.

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 5mo ago

This Nowruz comes when many of us and our colleagues are living with great fear, uncertainty, and grief. We send best wishes at this time to friends in our shared endeavour of understanding the Iranian world, and all across the wider region, who are in danger, or afraid for friends and loved ones.

A Haft-sin table to mark the new year, full of things, especially seven central ones, that begin with the letter sin in Arabic.

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Mongols from the West, co-edited by our Dr. Bruno de Nicola, has now been published in Spanish as Mongoles en el Oeste! Mongoles en el Oeste explora el papel de los reinos ibéricos en la integración euroasiática impulsada por el Imperio mongol en los siglos XIII y XIV: brill.com/display/titl...

Book cover 'Mongoles en el Oeste' Editado por Antonio García Espada
y Bruno De Nicola.

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Upcoming book talk! Dr. Nilab Saeedi will present her work on Muṣliḥ al-Dīn Lārī, especially his universal chronicle, Mirʾātu’l-Advār wa Mirḳātu’l-Aḫbār (The Mirror of Epochs and the Staircase of Historical Reports). Find out more: www.oeaw.ac.at/en/ifi/veran... #Persian #Ottoman #Iran #History

Nilab Saeedi - Three Empires and Persian Historiography: The Thought of Muṣliḥ al-Dīn Lārī

Book talk

oeaw.ac.at

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 5mo ago

How did the Sasanian Empire really fall? Last month, the Sképsislamica podcast sat down with the IFI's @sasanianshah.bsky.social to find out, looking at the period's framing, Sasanian sources, religion, and how modern discourses shape scholarship on the Empire: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTuk...

How the Sasanian Empire REALLY Fell | A Conversation with Dr. Khodadad Rezakhani

YouTube video by Sképsislamica

youtube.com

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Upcoming conference! European imperial expansion has long been a focal point for historians, but only more recently that have scholars begun to systematically question colonial knowledge production and rethink bureaucracy as an instrument of governance: #History #Archives #Knowledge #Imperialism

Programme cover for "The Archival Impulse: Knowledge Production, Record Keeping, and Imperial Governance (15th-19th Centuries)", an event running from 18th-20th March 2026.

Program for the "Archival Impulse" conference, 18-20 March. Keynote on day 1 on concepts of archival completeness by Randolph C. Head: day 2 includes panels on appropriation & mobility, archives and fictions of governance, nad a second keynote on interdisciplinary perspectives. Day 3 has panels on documentation and archival legacies, and on documentary regimes and diplomatic impulses. Each panel has an associated open discussion. Case studies include re-circulation of Ottoman documents in Europe, the archives of Ivan the Terrible, Archival knowledge in 19th century Nepal, Mughal chancery records, and archival reconstructions of the 1718 Congress of Passarowitz.

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Coming up this evening!

Institute for Iranian Studies@iranianstudies.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Our Caucasus research group is having another meetup - Caucasus and Caucasus-adjacent scholars across all Vienna institutions are very welcome! Details below:

Vienna Winter Caucasiology Meetup

We’re having another meetup! This is the third meetup of Caucasiologists across Viennese academic and knowledge-sector institutions that we’ve run. It being winter, we’re once again going to have a cosy indoor meetup to discuss work and meet friends and colleagues over a coffee or drink. If you’re someone working on or from the Caucasus and you’re in Vienna on February 27th, we’d love to see you there!

When: Friday, February 27th, 2026: 17:30-20:30pm

Where: Café Merkur, in the 8th district.

Open to: All academics at any level, working on or from the broadly defined Caucasus region (including the North Caucasus, South Caucasus, and Subcaucasus).

Interested friends in adjacent non-academic work and academic fields who’d like to come along are also all very welcome!

Contact: james.baillie@oeaw.ac.at – there is no obligation to ‘register’ or similar but it’d be good to have an advance idea of numbers, and we’re happy to answer any queries.

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Lecture coming up TODAY in just under three hours! This is organised by the Persian Manuscripts Association, who from March will be joining with our NoMansLand Webinar Series to co-organise a series of online lectures for the rest of 2026. Register to join at: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Lecture poster for the PMA talk series lecture "Encircling Inscriptions in Early Persian Architecture: Thoughts on Moving, Reading, and Looking" by Prof. Marcus Milwright (University of York). 26 February 2026, 6 – 7.30 pm (CET). Zoom registration is available. The lecture poster shows a large round tower or dome with intricate detailing on the yellowish outer stonework.

Exilian @exilianofficial.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Starting very soon with our Friday evening workshop session! Looking forward to an exciting weekend with everyone :)

Exilian@exilianofficial.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Along the way, as well as lots of space for open-format discussion on key problems in medievalist game dev, we'll be hearing from @jubalbarca.bsky.social, @jfg.land, @gonzohistory.bsky.social, @robehoughton.bsky.social, and @vinicius-marino.bsky.social among other excellent speakers :)

Coding Medieval Worlds 6

A workshop for historians and game developers, 20-22 February 2026

Key Talks & Panels
Saturday 21st February
14:00 Coding Medieval Worlds
Keynote by CMW convenor James Baillie.

18:30 Mechanics & Medievalisms
Panel with Vinicius Marino Carvalho & Steven Anastasoff.
Chaired by Tess Watterson.

Sunday 22nd February
14:00 Research for Medieval Games
Panel with James Holloway, Rob Houghton & Maxime Durand.
Chaired by Kjelda Glimmerveen.

18:00 Communication and Information
Panel with Lu Yahuai, Brian Bucklew & Jason Grinblat.
Chaired by Mariana Lopez.

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 6mo ago

A recent interview with the IFI's Dr. Robert Steele regarding the protests in #Iran - do have a read (in German): www.oeaw.ac.at/news/protest... #IranProtests #IranianStudies

Proteste im Iran: Experte erwartet Fall des Regimes

Nach landesweiten Protesten steht der Iran im Fokus internationaler Aufmerksamkeit. ÖAW-Iranist Robert Steele erklärt, warum die Proteste diesmal besonders brisant sind und weshalb er das Regime langf...

oeaw.ac.at

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 6mo ago

On February 19, at CEU, our Dr. Polina Ivanova will be giving a talk on how we write the histories of the absences of destroyed heritage, looking at the Ottoman history of Amasya. It will be in hybrid format - do join us for it! events.ceu.edu/2026-02-19/w... #Armenia #Turkey #History #Ottoman

Writing the Void: On the Methods and Ethics of Constructing the Memory of Absent Armenian Heritage within Ottoman Architectural and Social Histories: The Case of Early Ottoman Amasya

events.ceu.edu

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 6mo ago

The IFI's @sasanianshah.bsky.social contributed to this segment on the recent Iran protests - have a listen and stay informed on the situation: oe1.orf.at/player/20260... (In German) #Iran #IranianStudies

ORF-Radio

Das digitale Radioangebot des ORF. Alle öffentlich rechtlichen Radiosender Österreichs auf einer Plattform. Live und 7 Tage lang im Stream on Demand.

oe1.orf.at

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Our Caucasus research group is having another meetup - Caucasus and Caucasus-adjacent scholars across all Vienna institutions are very welcome! Details below:

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Event tomorrow on Prepositional Compounds in Avestan and Old Persian - this is an in-person guest lecture, if you're in Vienna tomorrow morning then please do come and join us! www.oeaw.ac.at/ifi/veransta...

Prepositional Compounds in Avestan and Old Persian

IFI Guest lecture

oeaw.ac.at

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 7mo ago

New post on our blog! The term ságaris (σάγαρις) is used in classical sources for a specific weapon type attributed to the Scythians. But what was this weapon, and why this word? In the latest Tigris to Talas blogpost Hanna Vertiienko goes in search of answers: www.oeaw.ac.at/en/ifi/blog/...

The Scythian ságaris: single- or double-bladed axe?

by Hanna Vertiienko

oeaw.ac.at

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Forthcoming: a Chagatai Manuscript Reading Course! Jeanine Dagyeli is leading this effort along with Philip Bockholt from the University of Munster. It is aimed at building scholars up to an advanced level for reading Chagatai manuscripts. Details below: #CentralAsia #Chagatai #Manuscripts

Poster for the Chagatai Manuscript Reading Course, organised by Philip Bockholt and Jeanine Dagyeli. It is aimed at building up to an advanced level for reading Chagatai manuscripts.

The reading course will be at the University of Munster from 29 June to 3 July 2026. It is on-site only.

The lecturers will be Jeanine Dağyeli (Vienna), László Károly
(Uppsala), Benedek Péri (Budapest), Eric Schluessel (Oxford) and
Marc Toutant (Paris). Being renowned specialists in their respective fields, they will introduce participants to a variety of literary genres and texts, including poetry, historiography, craft treatises, and medicine.

Page two of the poster for the Chagatai Manuscript Reading Course, organised by Philip Bockholt and Jeanine Dagyeli.

Eligibility for the course will be to participants of any relevant discipline and career level with a focus on Central Asia, Afghanistan and Northwestern China. Participants are required to have intermediate level Chagatai and the ability to read Arabo-Persian script without relying on latinisation. The programme will be conducted in English with 20 places available.

To apply, send your application to translapt@uni-muenster.de in a single PDF file before 13.02.2026. The PDF file, titled with the applicant‘s surname, should consist of a letter of interest (max. one page) and a CV, including a statement on the applicant’s proficiency in Chagatai and on how the Summer Academy would support their academic development. Applicants will be informed by 02.03.2026. Pending funding decisions, a limited number of full or partial travel grants will be available upon justified request.

For further questions, please contact us at the email address translapt@uni-muenster.de.

Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Our next hybrid lecture is "Sufi Teaching in the Margins: Ritual, Pedagogy, and Intertextuality in a Kubrawi Manuscript from 15th C. Badakhshan" by Bruno de Nicola! The lecture is tomorrow, 17:00-18:30 Central European Time: more details at www.oeaw.ac.at/ifi/veransta...

Sufi Teaching in the Margins: Ritual, Pedagogy, and Intertextuality in a Kubrawi Manuscript from 15th C. Badakhshan

Webinar series "Pre-modern Islamic manuscripts"

oeaw.ac.at