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iranianstudies.bsky.social
Institute for Iranian Studies
@iranianstudies.bsky.social
180 followers 170 following 44 posts
Official account for the Institute for Iranian Studies (Iranistik) at the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Website: https://www.oeaw.ac.at/en/ifi/
Posts Replies Media Videos
iranianstudies.bsky.social
This Friday we will be having a talk by Fabian Sarga of the Fre University of Berlin, who will be talking about how qanat irrigation systems shaped the landscape - and how the landscape shaped them - in Iran!
November 26, 2025 at 9:00 AM
iranianstudies.bsky.social
Our @sasanianshah.bsky.social will be doing some invited lectures at the University of Lille in the coming weeks!

The topic is "The Orient’s East: Iran and Eurasia in the First Millennium CE" and three of the lectures will be available online with registration here: framaforms.org/the-orients-...
November 17, 2025 at 3:26 PM
iranianstudies.bsky.social
Our next @nomaland.bsky.social lecture will be tomorrow on the topic of Preaching, Books, and Community in Ottoman Hungary, by Prof. Tijana Krstić!

Details available here:
www.oeaw.ac.at/ifi/veransta...
Preaching, Books, and Community in Ottoman Hungary: Browsing Through the Library Collection of Süleyman Efendi, the Vaiz of the Grand Mosque of Buda (c. 1643-1655)
Webinar series "Pre-modern Islamic manuscripts"
www.oeaw.ac.at
November 11, 2025 at 1:33 PM
iranianstudies.bsky.social
Our Caucasus research group is organising an October meetup! If you're based around Vienna and working on Caucasus studies of some kind, we'd love to see you there :)
Vienna Autumn Caucasiology Meetup We’re having another meetup! After our successful picnic event in summer, we’re going to have a late October gathering in the 8th district, and we look forward to seeing you there. The meetup is again organised by the Caucasus research group at the Institute for Iranian Studies of the Academy of Sciences: with these meetings we aim to improve networking and communication among researchers in Vienna who are approaching the Caucasus region from a wide range of different fields and angles. This is a casual meetup, do turn up at any point during the times below and we’ll be very happy to see you. When: Saturday, October 25, 2025: 17:30-20:30pm Where: Café Merkur, in the 8th district. Open to: All academics at any level working on or from the broadly defined Caucasus region (including the North Caucasus, South Caucasus, and Subcaucasus). Interested friends in adjacent non-academic work and academic fields who’d like to come along are also all very welcome! Contact: james.baillie@oeaw.ac.at – there is no obligation to ‘register’ or similar but it’d be good to have an advance idea of numbers, and we’re happy to answer any queries.
October 9, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Reposted by Institute for Iranian Studies
nomaland.bsky.social
Lecture by Dr. Sacha Alsancakli on "The Ottoman reception of the Nuzhat al-Qulūb (c.1340)" at the @nomaland.bsky.social Webinar. Watch it here:
youtube.com/watch?v=MOqk...

@oeaw.bsky.social @fwf-at.bsky.social
@iranianstudies.bsky.social @translapt.bsky.social
@sachaalsancakli.bsky.social
October 8, 2025 at 7:39 AM
iranianstudies.bsky.social
New faces at the IFI for the new academic year!

Ilona Chmilevskia joins us as a pre-doctoral researcher working with Shamil Shikhaliev to study the transformation of Islamic juridical systems in the eastern Caucasus under the Russian Empire. Welcome to Ilona!
A young woman looking at the camera. She is white, with mouse-blonde hair, and her head is tilted towards the viewer with her right hand touching her chin: there is a bright window behind her.
September 23, 2025 at 12:05 PM
iranianstudies.bsky.social
We have an open position for a pre-doctoral researcher in Dr. Ariane Sadjed's "Persian Jews – History, Community, Memory" team, looking at the Jewish communities of central Asia.

See here for job profile and other details: applications must be in by October 1st.
www.oeaw.ac.at/jobs?jh=pp87...
Offene Stellen an der ÖAW
Aktuelle Stellenausschreibungen aus den Instituten und der zentralen Verwaltung der ÖAW
www.oeaw.ac.at
September 13, 2025 at 2:18 PM
iranianstudies.bsky.social
Event coming up in October!

Our next JESHO workshop, convened by Dr. Paolo Sartori and with a keynote by Prof. Cemal Kafadar, is "Was There an Ottoman Decline?"

Details here:
www.oeaw.ac.at/ifi/veransta...

#Turkey #Ottoman #History #Asia #Economics
Was There an Ottoman Decline?
A JESHO International Workshop
www.oeaw.ac.at
September 9, 2025 at 9:41 AM
iranianstudies.bsky.social
In August we were at the biannual Conference of the Association of Persianate Studies in Tashkent, Uzbekistan!

Thanks to the hosts and organisers: these vital spaces show the importance of having many and diverse disciplines and scholars building better research on the Persianate world together!
Members of the IFI at the Biannual Conference of the Association of Persianate Studies ASPS, Tashkent Uzbekistan. A group of five men and three women stand in a line, with a hotel wall and foliage behind them.
September 1, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Reposted by Institute for Iranian Studies
nomaland.bsky.social
Nuevas investigaciones sobre #Mongoles en el #Oeste enteramente en #espanol editado por Antonio García Espada (@uneduniv.bsky.social) y Bruno De Nicola (@oeaw.bsky.social‬). Disponible en noviembre 2025!
Más información:
brill.com/display/titl...
@iranianstudies.bsky.social @fwf-at.bsky.social
Mongoles en el Oeste
"Mongoles en el Oeste" published on 27 Nov 2025 by Brill.
brill.com
August 28, 2025 at 8:40 AM
iranianstudies.bsky.social
Iran is facing severe drought. With high temperatures due to climate change, and tensions around water use and river flow, there are a range of potential risks ahead.

An OEAW interview on the subject with our director, Prof. Florian Schwarz (in German):

www.oeaw.ac.at/news/hitzewe...
Hitzewelle und Wassermangel: Wie ist die aktuelle Lage in Iran?
Temperaturen über 50 Grad und ein akuter Wassermangel stellen die Einwohner:innen Irans vor große Herausforderungen. ÖAW-Iranist Florian Schwarz erklärt, was es bräuchte, um die Dürre langfristig in d...
www.oeaw.ac.at
August 12, 2025 at 11:21 AM
iranianstudies.bsky.social
In the recent Iran-Israel conflict, being informed on wider and long-term contexts can help with understanding the region.

The IFI's Robert Steele has been informing the public on the history of these tensions: read (in German) his interview in Der Standard here:
www.derstandard.at/story/300000...
Wie der Iran und Israel zu Feinden wurden
Der Konflikt zwischen Iran und Israel hat sich in den vergangenen Wochen dramatisch zugespitzt. Droht ein Krieg ohne Ende? Robert Steele vom Institut für Iranistik der ÖAW über historische Hintergründ...
www.oeaw.ac.at
July 22, 2025 at 10:31 AM
iranianstudies.bsky.social
Lots of great work on the wider Iranian world at last week's International Medieval Congress (@imc-leeds.bsky.social).

From the IFI, we had Stefan Kamola on astrology & legitimacy in Mongol contexts, and @jubalbarca.bsky.social on masculinities in the medieval Caucasus. An exciting week all round!
A man with short curly hair in glasses, a dark blazer, and a white shirt looks rightward from behind a desk while speaking. A red poster for the International Medieval Congress is behind him. A man with mousy hair, a green-brown waistcoat, and a white shirt looks down at a desk gesturing with his left hand while speaking. A red poster for the International Medieval Congress is behind him on the right.
July 14, 2025 at 6:56 PM
iranianstudies.bsky.social
New publication - a special issue of Medieval Worlds on knowledge transfer in Mongol Baghdad, with contributions from three of our researchers (Bruno De Nicola, Stefan Kamola, and Ghasem Gharib) is now out!

Find out more here:
doi.org/10.1553/medi...
Medieval Worlds
doi.org
July 6, 2025 at 10:38 PM
iranianstudies.bsky.social
Friends in Vienna, our Caucasus researchers are holding an interdisciplinary, cross-institution picnic for Caucasus and Caucasus-adjacent studies this coming weekend.

If you'd like to join, please do, and do forward this to anyone else based in the city doing research of any kind on the region!
We’re having a meetup! There are lots of people doing Caucasus studies across the different Vienna academic institutions and beyond, and it would be good if we were able to network more, so as the Caucasus Studies group of the Academy’s Institute for Iranian Studies we’re organising a first summer picnic to help foster connections and see what else we can build together. We look forward to seeing you there! When: Saturday, June 21, 2025: 15:00pm Where: Meet at Donaustadtbrucke U2 station at 15:00. If you’re likely to come later and don’t already know people who are going, please email in advance and we’ll give you a contact number to call on the day to find us in the nearby area. Open to: All academics at any level working on or from the broadly defined Caucasus region (including the North Caucasus, South Caucasus, and Subcaucasus). Interested friends in adjacent non-academic work and fields who’d like to come along are also all very welcome! What to bring: Bring your own food & drink or something to share, and a picnic rug if you have one – we’ll bring along some cups, plates, and other basics. Contact: james.baillie@oeaw.ac.at – there is no obligation to ‘register’ or similar but it would help to get an idea of numbers so contact in advance is welcome.
June 17, 2025 at 11:24 AM
iranianstudies.bsky.social
As part of this year's Middle Ages in Modern Games conference, a short analysis of some modern reception of the history of the Caucasus region and its roots from our own @jubalbarca.bsky.social:
midagesmodgames.bsky.social The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · Jun 4
Our session on Field of Glory: Kingdoms closes with ‘On Piety and Power: Faith in Field of Glory: Kingdoms’ and is delivered by @JubalBarca. It’s live: middleagesinmoderngames.net?p=649
June 4, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Reposted by Institute for Iranian Studies
nomaland.bsky.social
A short interview with ÖAW-Präsident Heinz Faßmann (@oeaw.bsky.social) and Dr. Bruno De Nicola (@nomaland.bsky.social) on the recently signed agreement between @iranianstudies.bsky.social and the Chinggis Khaan Museum in #Mongolia.

www.oeaw.ac.at/news/besuch-...
Besuch im Reich des Chinggis Khan
Bundespräsident Alexander Van der Bellen war in der Mongolei zu Gast. Heinz Faßmann war Teil der Delegation des Staatsbesuchs und verstärkte die wissenschaftliche Kooperation mit dem zentralasiatische...
www.oeaw.ac.at
June 2, 2025 at 9:35 AM
iranianstudies.bsky.social
We have two post-doctoral roles open in the PersCom team under Dr. Ariane Sadjed, looking at Jewish history in central Asia!

Job outlines and application links below:

www.oeaw.ac.at/jobs?jh=4xhd...

www.oeaw.ac.at/jobs?jh=bcr4...
Offene Stellen an der ÖAW
Aktuelle Stellenausschreibungen aus den Instituten und der zentralen Verwaltung der ÖAW
www.oeaw.ac.at
June 2, 2025 at 1:27 PM
iranianstudies.bsky.social
We're excited to announce a Memorandum of Understanding signed for us by ÖAW president Fassmann with the Director of the Chinggis Khaan National Museum of Mongolia!

Joint historical document expertise will build new research insights on Mongolia's critical role in central Asian history & culture.
President Khürelsükh of Mongolia and President van der Bellen of Austria seated behind a desk, with OEAW president Fassmann and Museum Director Sampildondov holding signed agreements in the foreground.
May 28, 2025 at 3:53 PM
iranianstudies.bsky.social
Upcoming @nomaland.bsky.social lecture TODAY at 5pm CET!

"The Ottoman reception of the Nuzhat al-Qulūb (c. 1340), a Persian encyclopaedic work by Ḥamdallāh Mustawfī Qazvīnī."

More info: www.oeaw.ac.at/ifi/veransta...

To participate online, register at oeaw-ac-at.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
The Ottoman reception of the Nuzhat al-Qulūb (c. 1340), a Persian encyclopaedic work by Ḥamdallāh Mustawfī Qazvīnī
Webinar series "Pre-modern Islamic manuscripts"
www.oeaw.ac.at
May 6, 2025 at 9:55 AM
iranianstudies.bsky.social
New project at the IFI! Dr. @jacopobrn.bsky.social's "A Tale of Pots and People" will use a data-driven approach to the ceramic finds of the Bukhara Oasis in Uzbekistan in order to look at everyday life and interactions with major events from the C3rd to C8th CE:

www.oeaw.ac.at/ifi/forschun...
A black and white line-drawn logo - a bisected circle with "A TALE OF POTS AND PEOPLE" written top to bottom through the right half, and a sketch of half a pot on the left.
April 29, 2025 at 12:49 PM
iranianstudies.bsky.social
Now available on our website is a write-up and summaries of "A Transdisciplinary Approach to Mughal Studies", a symposium and exhibition held in honour of Prof. Ebba Koch for her 80th birthday.

You can find all the talks and a summary of the event here:
www.oeaw.ac.at/en/ifi/ifidi...
Humayun’s Tomb, conservation during 2007-2013. It is a large red-stone building with a central white dome and several smaller surrounding domes, on a wide raised plinth. There are trees around it in the background, and upward pointing archways around the building.
April 24, 2025 at 1:40 PM
iranianstudies.bsky.social
We have a new publication in our Iranian Studies Monographs (Veröffentlichungen zur Iranistik) series! "Hybrid Judeo-Persian and Arabic Correspondence: Eight Documents from the Cairo Genizah" provides new editions of documents from around 1000AD.

Find out more at:
verlag.oeaw.ac.at/en/product/h...
Hybrid Judeo-Persian and Arabic Correspondence. Eight Documents from the Cairo Genizah | 978-3-7001-9322-7 | Verlag der ÖAW
Bestellen sie jetzt Hybrid Judeo-Persian and Arabic Correspondence in unserem Verlagswebshop.
verlag.oeaw.ac.at
April 22, 2025 at 1:38 PM
iranianstudies.bsky.social
Another researcher currently visiting the IFI for a six-month research stay is Ghasem Gharib, a lecturer in history at the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. He is part of our NoMansLand project, and his current work is focusing on a Sufi Saint, Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani.

Welcome to Ghasem!
A man with dark, relatively short hair and slightly tinted glasses looks at the camera. He is wearing a red striped jumper and shirt with a dark cord jacket. There are trees in the background.
April 14, 2025 at 9:59 AM