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 explores the history and etymology of the Sogdian term "Afšīn" as a derivative of Old East Iranian *xšaēwan in contrast to an untenable etymology that has been proposed from Avestan "Pisinah." (1) Wall painting of the Zoroastrian yazata, …
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. 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 …
Continue reading On “Parskahayeren”, or the Language of Iranian Armenians