Chihil Guftār dar Farhang va Tārīkh va Adab-i Īrān Persian 2026

Forty Essays on the Culture, History, and Literature of Iran brings together a collection of studies that were written and translated over the course of nearly twenty years. Chronologically, the essays span the period from the Achaemenid era and earlier through the centuries following the advent of Islam. They explore a wide range of linguistic, grammatical, literary, historical, and religious topics that have long been central to the author's academic research and intellectual interests.

Among the subjects discussed are Iranian loanwords in other languages; the interactions of Iranians and the Magi with the Greeks and the Platonic tradition; reflections on the history of the Zoroastrian and Manichaean religions and Islamic Sufism; the translation of Greek, Syriac, and Middle Persian texts into Arabic; the cultural and literary relations between Iran and India; the historical development of the Persian language and selected lexical issues; and brief studies of prominent scholars and scholarly families during the Islamic period.