This blog connects the reader with the rich past and present of Eurasia. The aim is to promote interest in and discussion of history, philology, archaeology and anthropology without forcing the subject to be viewed through the prevalent prisms of Orientalism, Hellenocentrism, and Islamocentrism
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 …
Continue reading 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 brief survey of Muslim Baghdadi Arabic is intended for intermediate and advanced students of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) who seek a linguistic introduction to the Baghdadi dialect by comparison to MSA and Mashriqī dialects. Arabic dialect families. Dark green …
Continue reading Arabic Dialectics Series: Muslim Baghdadi Arabic