Search in 9,407 entries of Encyclopædia Iranica

The Encyclopædia Iranica is a comprehensive research tool dedicated to the study of Iranian civilization in the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.

Featured Articles

ḴORMĀLU

ḴORMĀLU

ḴORMĀLU (Diospyros kaki L.), English “persimmon,” of the Ebenaceae or…
3 min
MĀRLIK

MĀRLIK

MĀRLIK, an elite burial ground of the late 2nd-early 1st…
14 min
ŠĀPUR I: ROCK RELIEFS

ŠĀPUR I: ROCK RELIEFS

ŠĀPUR I  Rock Reliefs Seven rock reliefs from the time…
10 min
ḴOSROW IV

ḴOSROW IV

Ḵosrow IV is mentioned in some textual sources and also…
3 min
BĀDGĪR

BĀDGĪR

BĀDGĪR (wind-tower), literally “wind catcher,” a traditional structure used for…
3 min
KAKRAK

KAKRAK

KAKRAK, a Buddhist site comprised of a group of caves,…
5 min
FARROḴI

FARROḴI

FARROḴI (فرّخی), township on the southern edge of the Great Desert,…
7 min
ZIGGURAT

ZIGGURAT

ZIGGURAT (Akkadian ziqqurratu  “temple-tower”), a tower consisting of several stages,…
14 min
NEMRUD DAĞI

NEMRUD DAĞI

NEMRUD DAĞI, mountain (elev. 2,150 m) in the Anti-Taurus range,…
21 min
NALÎ

NALÎ

NALÎ (Pers. Nāli), the pen-name of Mela Khidrî Ehmedî Šaweysî…
5 min
KAMĀNČA

KAMĀNČA

KAMĀNČA (کمانچه, lit. “small bow”), the most common term throughout much…
9 min
KAMĀL-AL-MOLK, MOḤAMMAD ḠAFFĀRI

KAMĀL-AL-MOLK, MOḤAMMAD ḠAFFĀRI

KAMĀL-AL-MOLK, MOḤAMMAD ḠAFFĀRI (b. Tehran, , widely acclaimed Iranian painter…
46 min

News & Events

Institutionalizing Iranian StudiesEvents

Institutionalizing Iranian Studies

Saturday, September 13, 2025 Institutionalizing Iranian Studies: A Conference Dedicated to Dr.…
09/10/2025

In collaboration with the University of Toronto.

Research Compendia

Women Poets Iranica

Women Poets Iranica is an integrative encyclopedia of postclassical, modern, and contemporary women poets.

Women Poets Iranica

Cinema Iranica

Cinema Iranica provides historical articles on movies, genres, film movements, filmographies, directors, composers, stars.

Cinema Iranica

This monument of scholarship in Iranian Studies is a mine of detailed information, with bibliographical references, on every aspect of Iranian history, thought, languages, and civilization.

Dr. Farhad DaftaryInstitute of Ismaili Studies, in Journal of the American Oriental Society

La premiere fois qu'une encyclopédie pluridisciplinaire sur lʼIran est mise en chantier.

Prof. Jean CalmardUniversity of Paris, in Abstracta Iranica

A real tour de force. There is no project in the entire Middle Eastern field more worthy of support than the Encyclopaedia Iranica.

Prof. Richard N. FryeHarvard University, In Journal of the American Oriental Society

The Encyclopaedia Iranica volumes are the most extensive and important contributions to the study of Islamic and pre-Islamic Iranian history and culture that have been made in this century.

Dr. Prudence HarperCurator Emerita of Ancient Near Eastern Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Encyclopaedia Iranica will be judged as the most significant contribution of our century to the advancement of Iranian studies as a scholarly enterprise.

Prof. Ali BanuaziziBoston College, in International Journal of Middle East Studies

Une grande entreprise.

Prof. Gilbert LazardMembre de l'Institut, in Journal Asiatique

The foremost reference work on Iran ever produced and one of the premier reference works in the humanities published in our time.

Prof. Roy MottahedehHarvard University, in Middle East Journal

The Encyclopaedia Iranica is not just a necessity for Iranists; it is of inestimable value for everyone concerned with the history and culture of the Middle East.

Prof. Richard BullietColumbia University, in International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies

Encyclopaedia Iranica is indispensable for any scholarly work of specialists in the fields of Iranian and Islamic Studies. [It] deserves the highest praise and full support.

Prof. Werner EndeAlbert-Ludwigs-Universitat, in ZDMG