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Sasanian Persia (ca. 224–651 C.E.)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Touraj Daryaee*
Affiliation:
California State University, Fullerton

Extract

The Study of Sasanian History and Society has Received a Good share of attention in the past century. Hundreds of articles and several important books and monographs have contributed to our knowledge of the period. The most important monograph on the history of Iran from the third to the seventh century is that of Arthur Christensen. The book was written in the first half of the twentieth century, and although we have come to understand its shortcomings through advancing textual criticism and changing methodological strategies, it still remains the source referred to by all the scholars in this field. Shorter monographs, such as that of Klaus Schippmann, have added important information and a different approach, giving more attention to primary sources and material culture. Since Christensen's magnum opus, the most complete work on Sasanian Iran is The Cambridge History of Iran, which covers many aspects of Sasanian history, language, and culture.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Association For Iranian Studies, Inc 1998

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66. One can cite such journals as Chista, which has dealt mainly with ancient Iran. While some of the articles are less scholarly, others are quite important, especially in regard to the Sasanians and Middle Persian literature. Also Majalle-ye bar-rasī-hā-ye tārīkhī, KELK, Majalle-ye dāneshkade-ye adabiyāt, and recently Farhang, where there is an excellent article by Mazdapur, K.Garmābe-ye bāstāni-ye Iran (Ancient Bathhouses of Iran),Farhang, vol. 9, no. 3 (1996): 207-23.Google Scholar These journals contain articles by such scholars as S. Nafisi, S. Kiya, A. Tafazzoli, Z. Amuzgar, H. Mahamedi and others. As for books, one needs only to mention the work of the late M. J. Mashkur, whose 1551-page book on Sasanian political history is rich in information and references: Tārīkh-e Sīyāsī Sasaniān (Tehran: Donya-ye Ketab, 1366/1987).Google Scholar Other important books include the very good work of Sh. Bayani on the very beginning of Sasanian history, Shāmgāh-e Ashkāniyān wa Bāmdīd-e Sasaniān, (Tehran: University of Tehran, 2535)Google Scholar; see also Nafisi, S. Tārīkh-e tamaddun-e Īrān-e Sāsānī, (Tehran: University of Tehran, 1331/1952).Google Scholar