Yarshater Center

It is with great sadness that the staff of the Yarshater Center learn of the passing of Prof. Wilferd Madelung, of Oxford University, a frequent contributor and former Consulting Editor of the Encyclopaedia Iranica. Known for his prolific scholarship in Islamic studies, his works include more than 60 entries for the Encyclopaedia Iranica, as well as numerous other notable writings, such as "Religious Trends in Early Islamic Iran" (1988) and "The Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate" (1997). We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.

Professor Wilferd Madelung FBA The College regrets to announce the death of Professor Wilferd Madelung FBA (1930–2023).

On Professor Ehsan Yarshater's birthday, we honor his memory and legacy at Columbia University. Prof. Yarshater saw the creation of the Yarshater Center as the fulfillment of his "deepest desire," and we would like to recall the words he wrote in January 2018 in one of his last letters:

"I have been blessed by Columbia University with the opportunity to be able to establish the Ehsan Yarshater Center for Iranian Studies at Columbia University. That prestigious opportunity is a great honor for me personally. I am very excited to have the opportunity to be able to have a Center named after me and it is my greatest hope that I will be able to personally attend the official establishment ceremony. While the cost for the establishment of the Center is substantial, in my mind it provides the best opportunity for the long term health and prosperity of the Encyclopedia Iranica."

A memorial event for Professor Amélie Kuhrt will be held at UCL, 19 June 2023. Prof. Kuhrt was a contributor to Encyclopaedia Iranica, including the recent entry on "Kingship ii. In the Achaemenid Empire" in fascicle 3 of Volume 17. We are saddened by her passing and extend our condolences to her family and friends:

Professor Amélie Kuhrt, FBA (23 September 1944– 2 January 2023) We at UCL History mourn the loss of our wonderful, inspiring and ground-breaking colleague Professor Amélie Kuhrt, who passed away after a sudden illness at the turn of the year.

Nowruz Mubarak! The Yarshater Center and the editors of Encyclopaedia Iranica wish a Happy Nowruz to all and a new year filled with health, happiness, and peace. Learn more about the holiday in the Encyclopaedia Iranica Online:

https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-iranica-online/nowruz-COM_10402

https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-iranica-online/mir-e-nowruzi-COM_11476

The Ehsan Yarshater Center for Iranian Studies & the University Seminar in American Studies at Columbia University will be presenting a talk on Mar. 22nd with Manijeh Moradian on her new book, "This Flame Within." For details and to RSVP: https://cfis.columbia.edu/events/flame-within-iranian-revolutionaries-united-states-book-talk-manijeh-moradian-barnard

The Ehsan Yarshater Center for Iranian Studies and the Center for the Ancient Mediterranean at Columbia University will be co-sponsoring the following lecture:

Matthew P. Canepa (University of California),
“Between the Hellenistic and Iranian Ecumenes: Seleucids, Arsacids and the Agonistic Cocreation of a New Iranian World”

Wednesday, March 22, 2023
6:00– 8:00 pm ET

For details: https://cfis.columbia.edu/events/between-hellenistic-and-iranian-ecumenes-seleucids-arsacids-and-agonistic-cocreation-new

The editors of the Yarshater Center are saddened to learn of the passing of Prof. J.T.P. (Hans) de Bruijn, a long-time consultant and contributor to its projects, including the Encyclopaedia Iranica, for which he authored 40 entries, and A History of Persian Literature, for which he served as the editor of its first volume and the Vice-Chairman of its Board: bit.ly/3HyGaqh

"A History of Persian Literature III: Persian Narrative Poetry in the Classical Era, 800-1500" edited by Mohsen Ashtiany, is now published by the Yarshater Center: https://cfis.columbia.edu/news/history-persian-literature-iii-persian-narrative-poetry-classical-era-published-january-2023

The third volume in this ground-breaking series, "Persian Narrative Poetry in the Classical Era, 800-1500: Romantic and Didactic Genres," introduces masterpieces of Persian literature from these seven centuries to an international audience. In the process, it underlines the remarkable tenacity of their malleable tradition: the perennial dialogue and the interconnectedness which binds together a vast and varied literature composed of many threads, romantic and didactic, in many lands, from Anatolia and Iran to India and Central Asia. In its companion volume, Persian Lyric in the Classical Era, 800-1500, the readers of the series will have already met in passing all the mythical and historical figures who appear with far more aplomb on the stage here, with their lives narrated in detail by poets of different caliber from different perspectives. The first two chapters of this volume recount the literary history of the entire period, focusing on didactic and romantic narratives. The central chapters take a closer look at the towering figure of the poet Nezâmi Ganjavi. The final chapter takes the reader to a wider landscape tracing the footsteps of Alexander across the globe, offering insights to the cultural preoccupations refracted in so many versions past and present.

Contents

Chapter 1: Secular Didactic Mathnavis / J. T. P. de Bruijn
Chapter 2. Romantic Mathnavis (Pre-Safavid Period)/ J. T. P. de Bruijn
Chapter 3. Nezami's Romantic Poems and their Cultural Afterlife: Reception and Responses / Paola Orsatti
Chapter 4. Khosrow and Shirin and the Poems of Love and Adventure /Paola Orsatti
Chapter 5. Leyli and Majnun / Paola Orsatti
Chapter 6. Nezami's Haft Peykar and its Tradition in Persian Literature / Paola Orsatti
Chapter 7. The Alexander Legend in Persian Literature / Mario Casari

Includes bibliographical references (pages 545-629) and index.

Sponsored by the Persian Heritage Foundation & The Ehsan Yarshater Center for Iranian Studies, Columbia University.

Our colleagues at the Center for the Ancient Mediterranean at Columbia University will host a lecture with Rachel Kousser (CUNY) on Friday, Dec. 2 at 11am:
“‘Living like a king': Integrating Persian and Macedonian Customs in the Feasts of Alexander the Great”.

For more info and to register: https://ancient-mediterranean.columbia.edu/events/lecture-rachel-kousser-city-university-of-new-york/

The biennial Ehsan and Latifeh Yarshater lectures, sponsored by the Persian Heritage Foundation, will be delivered by M. Rahim Shayegan (UCLA) at INALCO and Collège de France from 7-21 November, on: “Achéménides et Sassanides: Continuités et ruptures.” For details: https://cermi.cnrs.fr/evenements-periodiques-du-cermi/conferences-detudes-iraniennes-ehsan-et-latifeh-yarshater/

It is with great sadness that the Yarshater Center has learned of the passing of Franklin Lewis, a contributor to both the Encyclopaedia Iranica and the History of Persian Literature series. His work includes the following entries on Hafez: https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-iranica-online/hafez-COM_2596 -2604

We extend our condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.

https://humanities.uchicago.edu/articles/2022/09/franklin-d-lewis-prolific-and-dedicated-scholar-persian-literature-1961%E2%80%932022