Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. The present article aims to explain the etymology of the Khorezmian "Lazgi" and examine the origins of the UNESCO-recognized dance repertoire and lyrical accompaniment. Notably, with nearly 60% of a version of the lyrics consisting of Persian phraseology and vocabulary which …
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Turko-Iranica: The Shifting Faces of Iranian Azerbaijan and its Idiom
Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. The present article aims to familiarize with the reader with the past and present of Iranian Azerbaijan, the Iranian "Old Azari" and Turkic Azeri languages. Salient features of modern Azerbaijani Turkic are outlined herein, particularly vis-à-vis Anatolian Turkish. The Persian "Blue …
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The Persian Vernacular of Samarkand and Bukhara: A Primer
Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. The goal of this article is to introduce the reader to the history, language and culture of the autochthonous Tajik Persian-speaking population of Uzbekistan. The anterior façade of Madrasa-i Mīr-i 'Arab (c. 1535 A.D.) from the vantage point of the portal to …
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On “Parskahayeren”, or the Language of Iranian Armenians
Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. Part of this narrative stems from the author's visits to Armenia and the Tehrani Armenian community between 2014-5. The goal of this article is to familiarize the reader with the Christian Armenian community of the Islamic Republic of Iran, with a focus …
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Peering at the Tocharians through Language: A Window to the Ancient Europoid Folk of Western China
Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. The goal of this article is to present the Tocharian narrative in a broad linguistic framework, with a focus on affinities to earlier Proto-Indo-European. Europoid-type "Tarim Mummies" discovered in Xinjiang, China, circa ~1800 BC. The Tocharians are described as having full beards, red or …
Longing for Circassia–A Land Without Her People
Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. The goal of this article is to familiarize the reader with the looks and feels of Circassia, its people and language in a historical and modern setting. Descendants of Circassian deportees in Istanbul, Turkey (2011) commemorate the banishment of their ancestors from their …
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Trdat’s Legacy: The Revival of 7th Century Church Forms in Medieval Armenia
Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. This article surveys medieval church forms in historical Armenia and examines the role of Trdat the Architect in appropriating vocabulary from Armenia's own remote past. The church of the Holy Cross (Sourb Khach Yekeghetsi) on Aghtamar Island, Lake Van, Turkey. Aghtamar …
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The Iranian Presence in Classical Arabic and Medieval Islamic Learning
Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. This article surveys the Iranian presence in pre-Islamic Arabia and the medieval Islamic world and addresses Classical Arabic loans in Modern Persian. It features an exclusive English-language appendix of 200 Middle Iranian loans into Classical Arabic and their etymologies, compiled by …
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Notes on a Journey through Lārestān, Iran
Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. This narrative stems from a brief trip to Larestan, Iran during the Persian New Year (late March-early April) of 2014. The author at Borj-e Nane-ye Nāder Shāh in Lār, Iran 2014. Roots in LarestanMy father is from Lārestān, a non-Persian-speaking, …
Vainakh — A Bridge to the Chechen people, their Language and Culture
Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. The goal of this article is to familiarize the reader with the looks and feels of Chechnya, its people and language in a historical and modern setting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEW8bDQTBBg Traditional Chechen dance among youth. Many Chechens in the Russian Federation live outside …
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