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The course studies the views on cosmogony and cosmology of the Zoroastrian religion. It focuses on the Zoroastrian doctrines on the origin and history of the cosmos in Zoroastrian sources (the Avesta …
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This seminar is concerned with Persian historical writing and documentary sources for the study of the history and culture of greater Iran during the medieval Islamic period. Selected excerpts from …
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The political, religious, and cultural history of greater Iran from pre-Islamic times to the early modern era. Following an overview of the history of the Sasanian empire, the course traces the …
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The course focuses on the Persian treatises (rasa’il), or “visionary tales,” of Shihab al-Din Yahya Suhravardi (d. 1191), known as Shaikh al-Ishraq. It examines the philosophical and cosmological …
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An introduction to medieval Persian codicology, including the technical terminology used in the study of manuscripts; paleographical issues, such as script styles and dating; textual criticism and …
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Critical reading and analysis of selected passages from the Masnavi-i ma‘navi of Jalal al-Din Rumi (d. 1273), arguably the greatest Islamic mystical poet, whose masterwork achieved near-canonical …