Elements of Indian culture and pre-Islamic Persia that survive in India shape modern Iranian culture, even today....
Iran Articles
COOKING FOR A CAUSE – Support the courageous women & people of Iran
Three amazing women from Atlanta, USA have a new initiative to show their support for what’s happening in Iran, and in...
The Iranian kings who thought the world revolved around them
While not as well-known as that of the Achaemenid dynasty (550–330 BC), the second Persian empire ruled by the Sasanian dynasty (AD 224–642) is a pivotal but often overlooked period of ancient...
Who are the Iranian People?
In a landmark study, a team of international researchers with unrestricted access to local populations and fossilized genetic material in Iran, led by scientists from the University of Cologne...
The Pompous Legacy of the Persian Language in India
From to 'Hind' and 'Hindostan' to 'Chashma' and 'Biryan', the words you know and the language and history you don't. Persian“The best memory is that which forgets nothing, but injuries. Write...
Zoroastrians: Iran’s forgotten minority
The decline of this ancient community is a tragedy not just for Iran, but for human civilization writ large It is disheartening, but the adherents of the world’s first monotheistic religion appear...
Art of Persia: Time to question Alexander’s Eurocentric history
Cyrus, a declared Zoroastrian and follower of the single god Ahura Mazda is mentioned in several instances in the Old Testament.Article by Farrukh Dhondy | Asian AgeOF CABBAGES AND KINGS“Rhyming is...
The Killing of a Zoroastrian Priest Highlights Religious Apartheid in Iran
The murder of a Zoroastrian cleric in Kerman province in late July has sparked fresh debate over the rights of religious minorities in the Islamic Republic. In Iran, non-Muslims are not entitled to...
US-based Zoroastrian priest killed in Iran, in apparent murder
Local prosecutor tells Iranian media that body of Arash Kasravi, who was visiting to deal with his father’s estate, found alongside those of two other men days after going missingA Zoroastrian...
The Art Of Being Persian
It is sunset and I am standing on the top of one of the Towers of Silence — a massive rock citadel where the Zoroastrians once laid out their dead for the vultures, to avoid contaminating the air...
Iranian Finance Minister thanks Parsis for helping Iran with COVID-19 supplies
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif thanked the Parsis of India for offering COVID-19 aid to his country in a tweet on Friday. The Parsis, as their name implies, migrated to India from Persia...
A reborn Persian Empire captured Rome’s lands—and its emperor
Inspired by their powerful ancestors, the Sassanian dynasty restored Persia to imperial glory, ruling lands that stretched from Turkey to Pakistan.By Miguel Ángel Andrés-Toledo | National...
Manekji Limji Hataria
Tomorrow 15th February is the baj of Manekji Limji Hataria, the Parsi missionary to Iran. A jashan will be performed at Wadiaji Atash Behram 1st floor hall in the morning at 10 a.m.Below is an...
From Persia with love: How an Empress transformed Iran with art
From Persia with love: How an Empress transformed Iran with artDubbed “the Jackie Kennedy of the Middle East”, Farah Pahlavi built a world-class collection of modern art before she and her husband...
A Parsi art historian rediscovers his heritage on a trip across Iran
What do you mean you’re from New Zealand?” a shopkeeper in Mozaafarieh named Omid exclaimed. We were in the carpet quarter of Tabriz’s Grand Bazaar, and I had just told him that I was a Kiwi Parsi....
Iran’s ancient engineering marvel
What on Earth are those? I thought to myself shortly before landing in the Iranian city of Esfahan one summer. From the aeroplane window, I could see what looked like a cross between freakishly...
Tehran Anjuman Welcomes FEZANA President Homi Gandhi at Farvardingan Prayers
FEZANA President Homi Gandhi was invited as a Guest of Honour by the Tehran Zoroastrian Anjuman to celebrate the Tehran Farvardingan ceremony. This year, the Farvardingan ceremony was held at the...
The Persian Crosses: Naqsh-E-Rustam
Naqsh-e Rustam is an impressive necropolis that stands as a reminder of the once famous and powerful Achaemenid Persian Empire, which thrived between 500 BC and 330 BC when it was defeated by...
Fire and State: Living With The Gods
Neil MacGregor continues his series on the expression of shared beliefs in communities around the world and across time. In this podcast he also speaks with our Vada Dasturji Khurshed Dastoor, the...
Zoroastrians Flock to Sacred Temple for Annual Pilgrimage
Each year from June 14–18, thousands of Zoroastrians from Iran, India and other countries flock to an ancient fire temple at Pir-e Sabz or Chak Chak village in central Iran. Article on Iran Front...
SOAS scholar to digitise interviews documenting lives of Zoroastrians since 1979
Malcolm Deboo, President of ZTFE informs us… You will delighted to learn that SOAS has received an award from 'The Patron's Fund' for the digitisation of recordings of the Zoroastrians of Iran...
The Religion that the Iranian Mullahs Fear Most
Over the past few decades, Iran has seen a revival in the native religion that predates Islam—something that the ayatollahs desperately want to suppress. Article by Zenobia Ravji | The Tower This...
Shahnameh, a Persian Masterpiece, Still Relevant Today
Long before HBO’s wildly popular Game of Thrones was created, Iranians turned to the national literary epic ‘Shahnameh” (The Book of Kings) for intriguing tales of knights, nobility and mystical...
Spotlight on the Yazidis and their plight in present day Iraq
Iraq's jihadis have vowed to wipe out the Yazidis. Who are they? The ancient religious group, concentrated in Iraq, have been targeted for extermination by the so-called 'Islamic State' that seized...
Iran’s Zoroastrians celebrate Persian roots
In this Saturday, June 14, 2014 photo, a Zoroastrian man prays in Setipir Shrine in Yazd about 405 miles (675 kilometers) southeast of the capital Tehran, Iran. Zoroastrianism is a monotheistic...
The Tradition of Indo-Persian Literature
The recent removal of Persian, Arabic and Pali from the list of subjects in UPSC exams has given rise to the question of the validity of these languages. Article by Rana Safvi | DNA India The reason...
Persepolis – The Lost Worlds
One of the impressive locations of the ancient world, Persepolis was burnt and destroyed by Alexander the Great in 330 BC and lay forgotten for over 2000 years. This film travels to Iran to bring...
Neil MacGregor on the Cyrus Cylinder: A great moment for the Middle East
A DECLARATION of human rights, written 2,600 years ago in Persian, is touring America. The director of The British Museum explains the many roles the cylinder has played through history .
The Cyrus Cylinder travels to the US
‘First declaration of human rights’ to tour five cities in the United States The British Museum today announces that one of its most iconic objects, the Cyrus Cylinder, will tour to five major...
Alexander the not so Great: History through Persian eyes
Alexander the Great is portrayed as a legendary conqueror and military leader in Greek-influenced Western history books but his legacy looks very different from a Persian perspective. By Prof Ali...
The Cyrus Cylinder And A Dream For The Middle East
Recently we pointed to the TED Talk about The Cyrus Cylinder. Today we come across Jacob L. Wright's commentary and reaction to that TED talk, and in a larger scenario: The Cyrus Cylinder And A...
Naqsh-E-Rustom: The Tombs of the Emperors of Persia
The world over, the name Persepolis evokes the might and grandeur of Persian architecture, and indeed of the Persian Empire. However just north of it lies Naqsh-E-Rustom, the incredible reliefs and...
How Iran persecutes its oldest religion
Zoroastrian worshipers pray near the central Iranian city of Yazd in 2004. By Jamsheed K. Choksy , Special to CNN Editor's note: Jamsheed K. Choksy is professor of Iranian studies, senior fellow of...
A Lifetime Quest to Finish a Monumental Encyclopedia of Iran
Ralph Ellison wrote for 40 years without finishing his novel “Juneteenth.” Antoni Gaudí labored 43 years on the Sagrada Família basilica in Barcelona, but construction continues today. And in the...
Iran’s New Currency May be named Parsi
Preliminary results show name of currency will change and four zeros will be removed from value On Saturday, the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran launched a website allowing the public...
Vidal Urges Obama To Meet With Parsi Leaders In Iran
Author, playwright and scholar GORE VIDAL has repeated his plea for PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA to meet with Parsi leaders in a Christmas letter to the U.S. leader. In the missive, released via movie...
Iran rediscovers value of Persian roots
Over the weekend, Iran hosted the presidents of Iraq, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan to celebrate Nowruz, the ancient Persian new year marking the first day of spring that is celebrated by...
Iranians celebrate spring equinox as their new year begins
Jamshid Goshtasbi got the call at 1:25 p.m. Saturday from his younger brother in Kerman, a city in southeastern Iran. By Tara Bahrampour /Washington Post Were he and his family ready? Was the...
Thousands gather to celebrate ancient Zoroastrian fire festival
CHAM, Iran - Thousands of Iranians gathered at dusk against a snowy mountain backdrop to light giant bonfires in an ancient midwinter festival dating back to Iran’s pre-Islamic past that is drawing...
Achaemenid K’aba of Zoroaster In Danger of Collapsing
The Achaemenid dynastic structure known as the Ka’aba of Zoroaster is on the verge of collapse due to escalating earth sinkage at the ancient site of Naqsh-e Rostam in Fars Province. Published by...
The Lost Persian Army: Compelling Evidence in the Sahara
The remains of a legendary 50,000-strong army which was swallowed up in a cataclysmic sandstorm in the Sahara Desert 2,500 years ago are believed to have been found. Italian archaeologists Angelo...
Prayers Offered at ancient Azargoshasb Fire Temple
From Amordad News. The sound of Avesta, on 27 Shahrivar (18 September) once again filled Azargoshasb Fire Temple. In Azargoshasb Fire Temple Zoroastrians recited the Avesta and prayed for a...
On the road in rural Iran
Rural Iran has startlingly beautiful landscapes that are largely unexplored by outsiders By Jini Reddy The Guardian, Saturday 12 September 2009 [Hat Tip: Jim Engineer via NextGenNow@Linkedin] I...
Zoroastrian Anthropology Museum in Kerman, Iran
The idea of establishing the museum goes back to the year 1983, when the library of the Kerman Association of Zoroastrians was established. Head of the association Parviz Vakhshuri and library...
Iranian Hospitality: Food and Social Customs
Iranian hospitality attack A survival guide for the non-Iranian traveler By Hamid Taghavi March 20, 1998 The Iranian Beware! Forget about all the xenophobic, anti-Iranian propaganda dominating the...
India, Iran to hold seminar on Iran and Zoroastrianism
The Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (ICRO) and India’s Cama Oriental Institute are to hold a seminar on Iran and Zoroastrianism on April 27. ICRO International Department Director Khalaj...
Iran: The Forgotten Glory: DVD
Iran: The Forgotten Glory is a two part DVD Movie about the Persia of yore. "Shot in over 60 locations in the province of FARS and 5 years in the making, “IRAN, The Forgotten Glory” is the first...
Navroze at Pasargade
Here are some pictures of Navroze being celebrated in Pasargade. However I do not have the year this was. Probably 2009 or 2008.
The Persepolis Celebrations of 1971
From Teheran to Persepolis: All the Glitter of the Empire This is the title of a fantastic website that has the entire event in photographs and text. A definite must read. Website Link
2500 Years: The Persepolis Celebrations of 1971
Aryanmehr, an Iranian blog has a long write up about the Persepolis celebrations of 1971. We are awake 2,500-year celebrations revisited By Cyrus Kadivar The sky was dark on that Christmas Day in...
President Obama’s Norouz Message to The People of Iran
This is a fantastic video that was aired all over the Middle East Television networks. President Barack Obama uses the new year to greet the people and the leaders of Iran.
Cambridge Univ to observe 1,000 years of Shahnamah
Cambridge University will observe 1,000 years of the Shahnama or book of kings by the Persian poet Firdausi in 2010. This epic verse was compiled in 1,010 AD which narrates the history of the...