Asāṭīr-e Īrān: Darsgoftārhā Persian 2025

This book does not pursue any ambitious goals. Like my other works in this field, it is the result of lecture series on Iranian mythology taught in different periods, and an attempt to fulfill the promise I made in the preface to Myths of the Middle East. The aim is to familiarize readers interested in Iranian myths with this unparalleled treasury of national memory, and I have tried to explain the principal narratives, characters, and the mythological worldview of ancient Iran in the simplest language possible.

Apart from this general purpose, two questions have occupied my mind over the years: first, the figure of Ahriman and his place in Iranian mythology; and second, the position of Zurvan and Zurvanism within the broader sphere of Iranian thought and their influence on Persian literature.

The present book has been structured with special emphasis on these two themes.