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  • Byzantium within a Medieval Eurafricasian Literary Polysystem, lecture by Panagiotis Agapitos

    Pourdavoud & Iranian Studies Co-Sponsored Lecture: Panagiotis Agapitos

    Royce 306

    Byzantium Within a Medieval Eurafricasian Literary Polysystem: Historiography, Fictional Tales, and the Practices of Narrative Representation   Byzantium and its literature has been excluded from the national canons of European literatures. While there are some obvious reasons for this exclusion in the 18th–19th century, it is woth noting that also Byzantinists supported this exclusion by...

  • Pourdavoud Lecture Series: Carlo Cereti

    Royce 306

    The Rise of Persian: Understanding the Evolution of Writing in the Sasanian and Early Islamic Periods This talk explores the evolution of writing during the Sasanian and early Islamic periods, shedding light on the long-term process that led to Persian becoming the lingua franca in Western and Central Asia from Iran to the borders of...

  • Pourdavoud Lecture Series: Wu Xin

    Royce 306

    Imperial Foundations of the Silk Road: Persian Roads and Han Walls While the Silk Road is often celebrated as a pivotal example of early globalization, scholarship has primarily focused on the consequences of its connectivity, neglecting the crucial question of its formation and operational logistics. This lecture re-examines the origins and mechanisms of this trans-Eurasian...

  • Pourdavoud Lecture Series: Gunvor Lindström

    Royce 306

    The Denavar Satyrs as Time Travelers: From Ancient Persia to Greece, Rome, and 20th Century Collections The influence of Greco-Roman artistic traditions on the Parthian Empire (c. 250 BCE–225 CE) remains a subject of debate, with little direct evidence attesting to their presence. One long-overlooked artifact that challenges this assumption is the recently reconstructed Denavar...

  • Pourdavoud Institute and Yarshater Center 2025 Fall Welcome

    Royce Hall Room 306 10745 Dickson Plaza, Los Angeles, CA (CALIFORNIA)

    Pourdavoud Institute and Yarshater Center 2025 Fall Welcome Reception Wednesday, October 8, 2025 4:00 – 6:00 pm Royce Hall 306 Registration Requested The Pourdavoud Institute for the Study of the Iranian World and the Yarshater Center for the Study of Iranian Literary Traditions invites you to join us for a fall reception. In the company...

  • Pourdavoud Lecture Series: Lucinda Dirven: Zoroastrianism in the Religious Context of the Arsacid Empire

    Royce 306

    November 5, 2025 Royce Hall 306, 4:00pm Download Event Flyer Here Zoom link for online attendance: https://ucla.zoom.us/j/94920554065 RSVP link: https://forms.gle/2BmZz73crt582bJJ8 Zoroastrianism in the Religious Context of the Arsacid Empire Unlike the tendency to emphasize the multifaceted and diverse aspects of religious life in the Parthian Empire, this talk aims to identify shared characteristics by focusing...

  • Antigoni Zournatzi: Greek-Persian Encounters c. 550–c. 330 BCE

    Pourdavoud Lecture Series: Antigoni Zournatzi: Greek-Persian Encounters c. 550–c. 330 BCE

    Royce 306

    Wednesday, December 3, 2025 Royce Hall 306, 4:00pm Download Event Flyer Here Zoom link for online attendance: https://ucla.zoom.us/j/91230760258 RSVP link Greek-Persian Encounters c. 550 – c. 330 BCE: Looking Beyond Stereotypes Ancient Greek—and particularly Athenian—bias against the Achaemenid empire has contributed significantly to the modern perception of historical relations between the Greeks and the Persians...

  • Pourdavoud Lecture Series: Verena Lepper

    Royce 306

    Elephantine Goes Global: Island of the Millennia Wednesday, February 25, 2026 4:00pm Royce Hall 306   Alternate Live Stream on Zoom: https://ucla.zoom.us/j/94774888079 RSVP Link: https://forms.gle/uhWcmWsk8DDH1Rdv9   Over a period of ten years a research project funded by the European Research Council (ERC) was conducted at the National Museums in Berlin entitled “Localizing 4000 years of...

  • Pourdavoud Lecture Series: Jake Nabel

    Royce 306

    Misunderstanding in Ancient Interstate Relations The Arsacid Princes of the Roman Empire Jake Nabel (Pennsylvania State University) Wednesday, April 22, 2026 at 4:00 pm Pacific Time Royce Hall 306 and Via Zoom   Registration Link: https://forms.gle/ZFb7yBFBeEs2VfMt6 Zoom: https://ucla.zoom.us/j/92060104969 In the first century CE, several Arsacid princes from the Iranian empire of Parthia were sent to...

  • Pourdavoud Lecture Series: Sören Stark

    Royce 306

    Next to Turquoise Domes: Excavating the City of Bukhara   Friday, May 8, 2026 4:00pm Royce Hall 306 and via Zoom RSVP Here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeae-G4tZTbwP58Uoqkg0uMyf4O7j_k9CihsdQn4Wj5AnL86Q/viewform The city of Bukhara was once a key node along the fabled “Silk Roads.” Yet compared to other Central Asian cities of comparable importance, the systematic archaeological investigation of Bukhara lacks...

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