Institute for Iranian Studies

02/09/2026

Talk next Wednesday! Yoichi Isahaya will talk about Irinjin, pro-Christian father in law of Ilkhan Öljeitü (r. 1304–16), and how in his time governing Anatolia famine and climatic crisis were drawn into discourses of legitimacy and political stability.

Find out more and register for online access:
https://www.oeaw.ac.at/ifi/veranstaltungen/event-details/divine-wrath-irinjin-d-1319-a-pro-christian-mongol-amid-climate-instability-in-anatolia

31/08/2026

We have a new blogpost on our Tigris to Talas blog! Lola Dodkhudoeva writes about the Manāqib al-Khulafāʾ (Virtues of the Caliphs), a Tajik-Persian manuscript arguing about politics, faith, and religious order through celebrating the four Rashidun caliphs.

You can read the post here:

by Lola Dodkhudoeva

21/08/2026

Our own Sara Mihramadi recently talked to BBC Persian about the effects of the Mongol invasions - what was the level of Mongol destruction, and how reliably do written texts at the time reflect the realities of the situation?

You can watch it here (in Persian) -

حمله‌ مغول به ایران چه بجا گذاشت؟ ویرانی و قتل‌ عامی که به چنگیزخان...

17/08/2026

Announcing a new initiative! Our new Material Histories@IFI group connects scholars of material culture and texts. We aim to bring archaeology, materiality, and rural and urban landscapes into conversation with epigraphy, numismatics and texts for new longue durée perspectives, focused on the long first millennium.

This collaborative platform will help exchange ideas and compare data across research projects. It will include internal and informal meetings, lab sessions, and occasional events with external collaborators and specialists invited to discuss different methods and explore potential synergies.

This forms part of a long-term strategy to develop innovative transdisciplinary research on material culture and history in Iran, Central Asia and Caucasia. By encouraging integrated and collaborative approaches, it will consolidate and expand our work with diverse research partners.

You can find out more here:

https://www.oeaw.ac.at/ifi/forschung/ag-kultur-und-sozialgeschichte-bis-zur-neuzeit-iran-und-persianate-worlds/material-histories

14/08/2026

Last week we had a range of contributions at the Fifteenth Biennial Iranian Studies Conference in Utrecht!

From the IFI, Robert Steele talked about Revisionism in the historiography of Pahlavi Iran and the revolution, arguing for the importance of pluralism of ideas in interpreting these past events: he also participated in a roundtable in honour of historian Houchang Chehabi. Ariane Sadjed talked about Judeo-Persian texts written by women, looking at memoirs and letters from early 20th century Iran, and Eirik Kvindesland discussed the choice of using Hebrew in the memoirs of Rafael Haim Hacohen, an Iranian Jew in 1890s Ottoman Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, in medieval studies, Stefan Kamola discussed views of Chinggis Khan seen through Ilkhanate astrological texts, and Sara Mirahmadi talked about how Vaṣṣāf’s 14th century work Bahārnāma uses a poetic voice to produce political and moral critiques through the genre of spring poetry.

Thanks to all who came along to our sessions and talks!

03/08/2026

Just over a week ago we were at the International Armenological Congress in Yerevan! Dr. James Baillie and Dr. Polina Ivanova presented on the ways that our work includes Armenology and Caucasus Studies, showcasing a range of forthcoming projects.

Thanks to our hosts at the Matenadaran for an exciting Congress that showed so much of the bright future of Armenian studies internationally, including some great discussions of the ways we can build better scholarship on wider regional contexts!

30/07/2026

Our Caucasus research group are organising another meetup for interested researchers and research-adjacent colleagues! Do come and join us if you're in Vienna on 8th August: we'll meet at Donaustadtbrucke at 15:30.

Enquiries welcome: do forward to anyone you know who might be interested.

18/07/2026

Last week many of us had a great time sharing research at the International Medieval Congress in Leeds - including Bruno de Nicola speaking on a Medieval Persian Mineralology treatise, Stefan Kamola on Mongol Astrology and Divination, Sara Mirahmadi on a Munāẓara (disputation or debate) text by Vaṣṣāf, and James Baillie on periodisation's effect on modern understandings of medieval Georgia.

It was great to see so many friends and colleagues and we look forward to next year!

20/06/2026

Talk coming up this Monday at 5pm for those in Vienna: Carol Fan will be talking about perceptions of China in Khata’i’s 'Account of China' and discussing what this means for understanding Ottoman use and idealisations of China in political life. Hope to see some of you there!

03/06/2026

Event next Monday - join us for this talk by Jakub Havlik! The Kulal Tepa Archaeological Project focuses on one settlement in northern Uzbekistan to better understand the Late Antique economy of northern Bactria. Combining systematic surveys and other technological methods, the team have analysed land use in the valley, and found its use was primarily seasonal throughout history - but with a spike in intensive agriculture in the late Antique period.

Find out more at the talk, in person at the PSK Wien or online by registering here:
https://oeaw-ac-at.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_i4A1IbEYSiygXu68-syScA