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. The present article delves into historic commercial and religious contacts between West Asia and the Malay-Indonesian Archipelago from the 9th to the 18th centuries AD. While one might anticipate a significant presence of Arabic loanwords in Malay related to maritime activities …
Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. This article provides a brief history of the Zoroastrian (Mazdean) religion and the Ādur Gušnasp fire temple located at Taḵt-e Solaymān (Shīz), Iran, which served an important role in the religious and political framework of the Sasanian Persian Empire (1-5) …
Continue reading Eternal Fires of Ancient Iran–On the Sasanian-era Ādur Gušnasp Zoroastrian Temple
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 Iranian origins, history, and language of the Hui community of China. The author (right) and companion observe the Eid al-fitr proceedings at Ox Street Mosque (牛街礼拜寺 Niú jiē …
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 of Khorezm located in modern-day Uzbekistan, as well as its historic Iranian and modern Turkic vernaculars. The western gate (Ata-Darvaza) to the Ichan Qal'a complex, Khiva, Khorezm province, …
Continue reading Khwārazm: Examining the Past and Present of the “Lowlands” and its Idioms
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 …
Continue reading The Persian Vernacular of Samarkand and Bukhara: A Primer
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 …
Continue reading 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 examines the maqām in the Baghdadi tradition, first paying attention to the origin of the repertoire and then focusing on the role of Baghdadi Jews in its evolution and propagation. In doing so, the authors proposes that Iraqi Jewish …
Continue reading Al-Maqām al-‘Irāqi in the Baghdadi Jewish Tradition
Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. This is the story of the modern Assyrian-Chaldean-Syriac people, and the legacy of their ancient language and faith in the pre-modern world. Modern Assyrians celebrating ancient Akitu (New Years), al-Hasakah, Syria (2002) The Nestorian Creed The year is 431 A.D., and …