All Topics  
Encyclopædia Iranica

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Encyclopædia Iranica
 
 
  Topics Encyclopædia Iranica Topic Home

Encyclopædia Iranica is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
 encyclopedia
Encyclopedia

An encyclopedia is a comprehensive written compendium that holds information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
 about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples
Iranian peoples

The Iranian peoples are an ethnic and linguistic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in Iranian plateau and beyond in central-, southern-, and southwestern Asia and southeastern Europe....
 from prehistory to modern times. It is a project of Columbia University
Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York , is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's main campus lies in the Morningside Heights, Manhattan neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City....
, started in 1973 at its Center for Iranian Studies, and is considered the standard encyclopaedia of the academic discipline of Iranistics.

The scope of the encyclopedia goes beyond Iran
Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persian Empire until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea....
 and encompasses other geographical areas where Iranian languages
Iranian languages

The Iranian languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages and its subfamily, Indo-Iranian languages. These languages are mainly spoken by the Iranian Peoples....
 dominated at certain times: Afghanistan
Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country that is located approximately in the center of Asia....
, Tajikistan
Tajikistan

Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and People's Republic of China to the east....
, Anatolia
Anatolia

Anatolia or Asia Minor is a region of Western Asia, comprising most of the modern Republic of Turkey. It is a geographic region bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Caucasus to the northeast, the Aegean Sea to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Iranian plateau to the east and southeast....
 and Kurdistan
Kurdistan

Kurdistan is an extensive plateau and mountainous area in the Middle East, inhabited mainly by Kurdish people. It covers parts of eastern Turkish Kurdistan, northern Iraqi Kurdistan, northwestern Iranian Kurdistan and smaller parts of northern Syria and Armenia....
, as well as some regions of the Caucasus
Caucasus

The Caucasus or Caucas is a geopolitical region located between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. It is home to Europe's highest mountain ....
, South Asia
South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries on the west and the east....
, Central Asia
Central Asia

Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east, and from southern Russia in the north to northern India in the south....
, and Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia is the area of the Tigris-Euphrates river system, along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, largely corresponding to modern Iraq, as well as some parts of northeastern Syria, some parts of southeastern Turkey, and some parts of the Khuzestan Province of southwestern Iran....
.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Encyclopædia Iranica'
Start a new discussion about 'Encyclopædia Iranica'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Encyclopædia Iranica is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
 encyclopedia
Encyclopedia

An encyclopedia is a comprehensive written compendium that holds information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
 about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples
Iranian peoples

The Iranian peoples are an ethnic and linguistic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in Iranian plateau and beyond in central-, southern-, and southwestern Asia and southeastern Europe....
 from prehistory to modern times. It is a project of Columbia University
Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York , is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's main campus lies in the Morningside Heights, Manhattan neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City....
, started in 1973 at its Center for Iranian Studies, and is considered the standard encyclopaedia of the academic discipline of Iranistics.

The scope of the encyclopedia goes beyond Iran
Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persian Empire until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea....
 and encompasses other geographical areas where Iranian languages
Iranian languages

The Iranian languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages and its subfamily, Indo-Iranian languages. These languages are mainly spoken by the Iranian Peoples....
 dominated at certain times: Afghanistan
Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country that is located approximately in the center of Asia....
, Tajikistan
Tajikistan

Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and People's Republic of China to the east....
, Anatolia
Anatolia

Anatolia or Asia Minor is a region of Western Asia, comprising most of the modern Republic of Turkey. It is a geographic region bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Caucasus to the northeast, the Aegean Sea to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Iranian plateau to the east and southeast....
 and Kurdistan
Kurdistan

Kurdistan is an extensive plateau and mountainous area in the Middle East, inhabited mainly by Kurdish people. It covers parts of eastern Turkish Kurdistan, northern Iraqi Kurdistan, northwestern Iranian Kurdistan and smaller parts of northern Syria and Armenia....
, as well as some regions of the Caucasus
Caucasus

The Caucasus or Caucas is a geopolitical region located between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. It is home to Europe's highest mountain ....
, South Asia
South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries on the west and the east....
, Central Asia
Central Asia

Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east, and from southern Russia in the north to northern India in the south....
, and Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia is the area of the Tigris-Euphrates river system, along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, largely corresponding to modern Iraq, as well as some parts of northeastern Syria, some parts of southeastern Turkey, and some parts of the Khuzestan Province of southwestern Iran....
. Relations of the Iranian world with other cultures (China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
, etc.) are also covered.

The project has published 12 volumes, and is planning on publishing a total of up to 30 volumes. The full text of entries is available free for online viewing. (PC
IBM PC compatible

IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM Personal Computer, IBM Personal Computer XT, and IBM Personal Computer/AT....
 and Mac
Macintosh

File:Imac alu.pngMacintosh, commonly shortened to Mac, is a brand name which covers several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc....
 users require a simple to display words showing their correct characters and accents, but this is not necessary for casual viewing.)

The editor-in-chief is Ehsan Yarshater
Ehsan Yarshater

Ehsan Yarshater is the director of The Center for Iranian Studies and Hagop Kevorkian Professor Emeritus of Iranian Studies at Columbia University....
 and managing editor is Ahmad Ashraf. The editorial board includes Nicholas Sims-Williams
Nicholas Sims-Williams

Nicholas Sims-Williams is a professor of the School of Oriental and African Studies , University of London, where he is Research Professor of Iranian and Central Asian Studies at the Department of the Languages and Cultures of Near and Middle East....
, Christopher J. Brunner, Mohsen Ashtiany, Manuchehr Kasheff, and over 40 Consulting Editors from major international institutions doing research in Iranian Studies. A growing number (over 1,200 in 2006) of scholars from academic institutions in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
, and Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
 have contributed articles to Encyclopædia Iranica.

Many foundations, organizations, and individuals have supported Encyclopædia Iranica. Since 1979, the encyclopedia has been sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities
National Endowment for the Humanities

The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities....
, which, has been covering one-third of the project's budget for a few years. The list of sponsors includes American Council of Learned Societies
American Council of Learned Societies

The American Council of Learned Societies, founded in 1919, is a private non-profit federation of sixty-eight scholarly organizations.ACLS is best known as a funder of humanities research through fellowships and grants awards....
, Union Académique Internationale
Union Académique Internationale

The Union Acad?mique Internationale is the oldest and largest federation of Academies having a national character and created for international cooperation.....
, Iran Heritage Foundation, and many other charitable foundations, philanthropic families and individuals.

Recent controversy

On March 25, 2007, the Associated Press
Associated Press

The Associated Press is an Media of the United States news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, Radio station and Television station stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staffers....
 released a news report about Encyclopædia Iranica introducing it to the greater public.This story was picked up by the news media, both print and online. For example, CNN International
CNN International

CNN International , usually known on-air as simply "CNN" to viewers outside the United States, is an English language television network that carries news, current affairs and business programming worldwide....
 published it (with modifications) on their website. The article was prepared without its writer contacting the Editorial office of the Encyclopædia Iranica and contained serious inaccuracies such as "the Iranian government bitterly opposes the Encyclopaedia" and also inaccurate biographical details of Prof. E. Yarshater. These inaccuracies prompted Encyclopædia Iranica to publish an .

See also

  • Iranology
  • Academy of Persian Language and Literature
    Academy of Persian Language and Literature

    Iran's Academy of Persian Language and Literature is a body controlled by the Iranian government presiding over the use of the Persian language in Iran and other Persian speaking countries....
  • List of online encyclopedias
    List of online encyclopedias

    This is a list of online encyclopedias, which are accessible on the World Wide Web....
  • Dastur al-Muluk
    Dastur al-Muluk

    One of only three surviving administrative handbooks from early 18th-century Safavid Iran and important research tool for scholars in Iranology. The Persian manuscript was edited during the 1960s by the Iranian scholar Mohammad-Taqi Daneshpazhuh....


External links

  • . Full-text access to the Encyclopædia as it currently exists.