Iran Heritage Foundation

The IHF Modern Iran Series is a new Open Access, peer-reviewed academic book series published by Bloomsbury Academic. The Iran Heritage Foundation is proud to be supporting successful applicants by covering their Open Access publication costs.

The deadline for the third round of submissions is 31st August 2026.

To submit your proposal, please complete the form and forward it to Hassan Hakimian (Series Editor) and Rory Gormley (Senior Commissioning Editor at Bloomsbury Academic). The form and submission guidelines are available via this link: https://ihf.org.uk/call-for-book-proposals-ihf-modern-iran-series-june-2026/

The series publishes innovative Open Access books on modern and contemporary Iran. Covering the period from the late nineteenth century to the present day, it welcomes original scholarship across a broad range of subjects, including culture, society, politics, and economics.

We look forward to the publication of the forthcoming volumes and the fresh insights they will bring to the study of modern and contemporary Iran, further advancing our mission to promote and preserve Iran's rich cultural heritage.



The Iran Heritage Foundation promotes and protects the cultural heritage of Iran, ancient, medieval and modern.

Amordadgan is an ancient Iranian festival celebrating immortality, life and nature.

Rooted in Zoroastrian tradition, this day is observed on the seventh of Mordad (July 29th) and is dedicated to the spirit Amordad. As the guardian of trees, plants and vegetation, Amordad embodies the forces of immortality and longevity. This duality is woven into her very name: while ‘Mordad’ signifies death, the prefixed ‘a’ transforms it into the opposite - eternal life.

A vibrant tribute to life, this festival honours nature's bounty - from water and plants to health and long life - through dance, feasting and outdoor revelry.

The Iran Heritage Foundation wishes you a joyful Amordadgan 🌱

Images via Tehran Times, Mahsa Safari, Phillip Maiwald, A.Davey, © The Trustees of the British Museum.



The Iran Heritage Foundation promotes and protects the cultural heritage of Iran, ancient, medieval and modern.

Inscription and Relief of Darius I at Bisotun
📍Zagros Mountains, Kermanshah Province
⛏️c.520 BC, the Achaemenids

More than 2,500 years old, this UNESCO-protected relief and inscription offer an essential insight into the rise to power of Darius I (522-486 BC).

Bisotun (literally "place of gods") features archaeological layers from prehistory to the Median, Sassanian, and Ilkhanid periods; however, the site is most renowned for its 15-metre-high and 25-metre-wide Achaemenid (550-330 BC) relief and monumental inscriptions.

Carved 60 metres high into the face of Mount Bisotun in the Zagros range, the relief portrays Darius holding a bow - a symbol of kingship - and planting his foot on the chest of a figure who lies on his back before him. According to legend, the figure represents Gaumata, the Median Magus and pretender to the throne whose assassination led to Darius's rise to power.

Surrounding the relief are approximately 1,200 lines of inscriptions chronicling Darius's wars against the governors who tried to tear apart the Achaemenid Empire (521-520 BC). Written in three cuneiform scripts - Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian - this trilingual text was deciphered in the 19th century. Like the Rosetta Stone, it provided the key to deciphering these ancient languages.

The inscription is arranged in three stages. The oldest portion, in Elamite, recounts the legends surrounding the king and the rebellions. This is followed by a Babylonian version of the same narratives. The final phase, however, is the most significant: here, in Old Persian, Darius first presents his personal account - the only known monumental text of the Achaemenids to document these events.

Standing at the heart of the Achaemenid period, this monument both inaugurates the era's distinctive art and unlocks Iran's ancient languages, bringing the past to light.

Images via Persian Dutch Network, Safa.daneshvar, Korosh.091, Elmju, KendallKDown, Encyclopaedia Iranica.



The Iran Heritage Foundation promotes and protects the cultural heritage of Iran, ancient, medieval and modern.

Today marks International Chess Day - a celebration of a game as deep in history as in strategy. Originating in India 1,500 years ago, chess was refined in Iran and went on to conquer the world.

Chess began as ‘chaturanga’ in 6th‑century India, reached Sasanian Iran (224-651 AD) where it became ‘chatrang’ and subsequently ‘shatranj’ after the Islamic conquest. From there it spread to Iberia, Portugal and Greece via Arabic - but across much of Europe, it was the Persian ‘Shah’ (‘king’) that left its mark, giving us check, chess and checkmate (from 'shah mat', usually understood as 'the king is defeated' or 'the king is helpless', though often popularly translated as 'the king is dead').

Ferdowsi's ‘Shahnameh’ (977-1010 AD) presents chess as an Indian diplomatic challenge - a test sent by a Raja to King Khosrow I. The Persians not only solved the game but devised ‘nard’ (backgammon) in return. When India failed to decipher it, they claimed victory. Legendary or not, this remains the first Iranian record of chess, and both games would endure as pillars of princely cultivation.

The poet Rumi (1207-1273) used chess imagery in his ‘Masnavi’ (1258-1273), with God as the ‘Chess Master’ of the world and human beings as the pieces. The first image above depicts Shams‑i Tabrizi playing chess in a manuscript of one of these poems (c.1500).

Among the images are the oldest known chess pieces - ivory from Samarkand (c.700 AD) and a glazed fritware set from Nishapur (12th century AD). These examples reveal the importance of chess in antiquity and its enduring status today as perhaps the world's most famous game. Millennia pass, but humanity endures.

Images via LAS30a and The MET.



The Iran Heritage Foundation promotes and protects the cultural heritage of Iran, ancient, medieval and modern.

The Iran Heritage Foundation is proud to announce its support for the Fifteenth Biennial Iranian Studies Conference, taking place at Utrecht University from August 5th to 8th.

For over 35 years, we have championed the richness of Iranian culture, safeguarding its historical depth and celebrating its enduring global influence.
This conference represents a vital convergence of scholarly minds, and we are honoured to facilitate the continued exploration of the Persianate world, from antiquity to the present day.

Through our Institutional Partnership Programme, we actively invest in the future of Iranian studies by funding fellowships and curatorships, publishing groundbreaking research, organising exhibitions and supporting both the performing and visual arts.

We look forward to the insights this gathering will create and remain steadfast in our mission to deepen global understanding of Iran’s extraordinary heritage.



The Iran Heritage Foundation promotes and protects the cultural heritage of Iran, ancient, medieval and modern.

Tirgan is an ancient Iranian midsummer festival that honours water, rain and the enduring legend of Arash Kamangir.

Rooted in Zoroastrian tradition, Tirgan falls on the 13th day of the month of Tir (4th July) and is dedicated to Tir, the divine spirit who descends from the heavens to summon thunder and lightning, bringing life-giving rain to the parched summer earth.

The story of Arash Kamangir, or Arash the Archer, is at the heart of the festival. This legendary Iranian hero was chosen to settle a border dispute between Iran and Turan. On the 13th day of Tir, he fired a single arrow from a mountaintop at the cost of his own life. The arrow flew for days and landed hundreds of miles away on the far bank of the Oxus River, marking the new border. Afterward, rain fell on both lands, ending Turan's drought and bringing peace between the kingdoms.

This folkloric tale is attested by the Khwarezmian scholar Al-Biruni (c. 973–1050 AD), who records that "by the order of God, the wind bore the arrow away from the mountains of Amol and brought it to the utmost frontier of Khorasan, between Fergana and Tapuria." A similar description is given by the historian Gardizi (11th century AD), though he notes that "the arrow of Arash fell in the area between Fargana and Bactria."

Today, Tirgan is celebrated with joyful Abpashi (water-splashing), dancing, poetry recitals and traditional dishes like sholezard (saffron rice pudding).

We weave colourful bracelets from seven threads of different colours, symbolising Arash's bow. Nine days later, on 'Wind Day' at the close of Tirgan (22nd of Tir), we ceremonially cast them into the wind and make a wish, releasing them as a tribute to Arash Kamangir.

The Iran Heritage Foundation wishes you a Tirgan full of peace🌿

Images via Rehyan, Safa.daneshvar, The Caspian Chef, © The Trustees of the British Museum, Tehran Times, Queensland Art Gallery.



The Iran Heritage Foundation promotes and protects the cultural heritage of Iran, ancient, medieval and modern.

Susa
📍Shush, Khuzestan Province
⛏️4395-4200 BC

One of the region's oldest-known settlements, Susa has been continuously inhabited for more than 6,000 years:

- Susa I (4200-3800 BC): Nearly 2,000 geometrically decorated pots and 40 copper axes discovered at the site, reflect societal advancement.
- Susa II (3800-3100 BC): Expansion from small settlement to planned commercial hub; emergence of accounting tokens and seals.
- Susa III, or ‘Proto-Elamite’ (3100-2700 BC): Becomes a major Elamite urban centre; earliest Proto-Elamite tablets and seals reflect artistic and social development.
- Old Elamite (c.2700-1500 BC): Political and cultural capital of Elam; frequent conflict with Mesopotamia; use of Mesopotamian script.
- Indus-Susa trade (c.2400-2100 BC): Evidence of trade with the Indus Valley Civilisation shown by seals and carnelian beads.
- Middle Elamite (c.1500-1100 BC): Golden age; Susa becomes political and cultural heart of the Elamite Empire.
- Neo-Elamite (c.1100-540 BC): Political resurgence, conflict and eventual destruction of Susa.

Susa's ethnocultural shift came with Achaemenid rule (550-330 BC). The Palace of Darius (c.521-515 BC) cemented its status as winter capital. See the IHF publication The Palace of Darius at Susa: The Great Royal Residence of Achaemenid Persia
https://amzn.eu/d/05gnTpJQ

A UNESCO site since 2015, Susa's ruins lie in modern Shush, bearing witness to Iran's enduring heritage and continuing to yield rich insights into the ancient past.

Images via Siren-Com, Rama, ALFGRN, Jastrow, Following Hadrian, Marco Prins,
© Musée du Louvre,



The Iran Heritage Foundation promotes and protects the cultural heritage of Iran, ancient, medieval and modern.

Ghalamkari | قلمکاری

Ghalamkari is the traditional Iranian block-printing technique which uses carved wooden stamps and natural pigments to produce intricate textile designs.

Etymologically, the word derives from the Persian ghalam ("pen") and kari ("craftsmanship"), reflecting its early phase in the Sasanian period (224–651 AD), when artisans hand-painted the motifs with a brush.

The craft peaked in Safavid Esfahan (1501–1736), thriving under royal favour and to keep pace with the demand from courtiers and kings, artisans introduced hand-carved wooden stamps (blocks) to speed up production. To this day, Esfahan remains at the heart of the craft.

Ghalamkari is defined by meticulous precision and natural materials:
- Fabric: High-quality cotton is the traditional base; linen and silk are rarer alternatives.
- Stamps: Pear wood blocks are hand-carved with intricate patterns such as paisleys, florals and geometric motifs. Each colour requires its own distinct stamp.
- Dyes: All colours are derived from plants and minerals. Red comes from flowers, yellow from pomegranate peels. The core palette consists of black, blue, red, green and yellow.
- Process: Stamps are pressed repeatedly onto the fabric to create patterns. The fabric is then washed and steamed to fix the dyes, before being laid out in the sun to dry.

Today, these textiles are woven into the fabric of everyday Iranian life as tablecloths, bedspreads and clothing. Each piece is a testament to a craft which has endured for generations.

Images via Iran Culture, Press TV Français,



The Iran Heritage Foundation promotes and protects the cultural heritage of Iran, ancient, medieval and modern.

A landmark celebration of Iranian cinema.
This September, Radiance Films releases Treasures from the Golestan Film Studio, featuring the newly restored 4K edition of Ebrahim Golestan's Secrets of the Jinn Valley Treasure (1974), restored through a collaboration between the Iran Heritage Foundation and the Cineteca di Bologna.

The collection also includes The House Is Black and other essential works from Golestan Film Studio, accompanied by new video introductions and visual essays exploring their lasting impact on Iranian and world cinema.

A rare opportunity to rediscover one of the defining legacies of modern Iranian film. The box set is available to purchase via this link:
https://www.radiancefilms.co.uk/products/treasures-from-the-golestan-film-studio-le



The Iran Heritage Foundation promotes and protects the cultural heritage of Iran, ancient, medieval and modern.

Sa’dabad Palace Complex | مجموعه سعداباد
📍Tehran
⛏️19th century, the Qajars

Sa'dabad Palace Complex is a crowning jewel of modern Iranian history, showcasing the very best of Qajar (1789-1925) and Pahlavi artistry (1925-1979).

First constructed in the late 1800s under Ahmad Shah Qajar (1909–1925) as a cool mountain retreat from Tehran's heat, the site now spans 300 hectares of gardens, forests, qanats and over 18 palaces. The Pahlavi monarchs vastly expanded it - Reza Shah (1925–1941) took up residence in the 1920s, and his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1941–1979) followed in the 1970s. Today, it stands as a museum complex, inviting visitors to explore Iran's history, art, and culture.

Among the complex's most significant structures is the Green Palace (also Shahvand Palace, 1922–1928). Renowned for its seamless fusion of Iranian and European artistic traditions, the palace takes its name from the rare moss-green marble from Zanjan and Khorasan which adorns the exterior. Inside, visitors are greeted by the famed Mirror Hall, alongside delicate stucco work and intricate wall paintings.

At 7,000 square metres, the White Palace (also Mellat Palace, 1931–1936) is the largest building in the complex. Its 54 rooms include ten grand Ceremonial Halls, one of which houses a 143-square-metre carpet, among the largest ever woven in Iran. The palace is architecturally understated, with a simple but striking white exterior.

Recent military actions in Tehran have left the complex extensively damaged. This treasured national landmark is now undergoing conservation work to preserve and protect its legacy for future generations.

Images via Bernard Gagnon, Fabienday, Darafsh Kaviani, Ninara, Wojciech Kocot, Ali Salaghi, Ali.Alirezaei666, Mehr News Agency, Tasnim News Agency, Nasser Sadeghi, Tehran Times.



The Iran Heritage Foundation promotes and protects the cultural heritage of Iran, ancient, medieval and modern.