Testimonials

Thanks to his vast and deep familiarity with several religious, historical and literary texts written in Middle and Classical Persian, Ruben’s well-structured courses have always been intellectually stimulating and inspiring. In addition to his knowledge of secondary literature in Russian, French, German, Armenian, Persian and English, Ruben often draws on riches of the Persian literary canon to explain linguistic features. As an experienced language teacher and researcher in Iranian studies, his teaching style is an amalgam of historical linguistics and detailed philological analysis. Thanks to his helpfulness, modesty, flexibility and characteristic humor, his lessons are always engaging and entertaining. Over the years, we’ve worked together on several texts, and his intellectual impact on my own research has been truly transformative.

I truly cannot recommend studying with Ruben Nikoghosyan enough to anyone interested in Persian languages and literature. He is a passionate scholar with a wealth of knowledge and critical insights into the literary traditions of Middle and classical Persian texts. I have taken Ruben’s Middle Persian and Shahnameh courses and have thoroughly enjoyed and developed my understanding of these texts. What I enjoy most from Ruben’s teaching style is ability to always answer questions in depth and provide students with up-to-date literature. No question is too small or too large! The Middle Persian course that I studied with Ruben provided me with a working grasp of Middle Persian, especially the ability to translate key texts of the Sasanian period and understand them in context. Ruben is extremely knowledgeable in both Middle and Classical Persian and positioned each text in its appropriate linguistic and cultural context, making it both more enjoyable and easier to comprehend. I personally found the linguistic links to Modern Persian, Parthian and Armenian very enjoyable. Similarly, the Shahnameh course is a wonderful introduction to the magic of Ferdowsi. I highly recommend it to any lover of Persian literature. Each section of the text is contextualised in class and the focus is on developing not just our reading, but understanding the linguistic and cultural framework of classical Persian.

I highly recommend the courses with Ruben. He is a truly passionate teacher and scholar with a deeply knowledge and understanding of Middle and Classical Persian texts. His lessons are very well organized and structured. What I like most about his courses is the introduction with the historical, linguistic and geographical context. He is always willing to help you with questions that may arise and he provide articles for personal studying. Through his classes you can understand his love for Iranian studies and he transmits that to you. I have taken Pahlavi lessons and Omar Khayyam poetry and really enjoyed and have a better understanding of these texts. Also I learned how to approach, translate and travel through these texts into the amazing world of Persian culture. Ruben is a contagious teacher, anyone interested in Persian language am nd culture should definitely have online lessons with him. One of the best teachers that I ever had.

Learning Persian literature with Ruben was a fantastic experience. I started learning Persian out of necessity, but thanks to Ruben, I began to understand the beauty of its language and literature, and now I am enjoying learning Persian. I took the Classical Persian course and Shahnameh course, which allowed me to understand the necessary grammar and sentence structures to read classical Persian literature. Most of all, Ruben did his best to enhance my reading ability by letting me read and translate each line of Persian text by myself. I first thought my Persian skills were not good enough to read those texts and stumbled a lot when I read them, but Ruben always waited until I made enough effort to think about the text and then gave a practical guideline based on my level. I think learning Persian literature with Ruben also helped my overall Persian skills, as he introduced a lot of words and expressions (both classical and modern) and made me listen to colloquial and literary Persian. Learning Persian literature can be one of the best ways to understand the Iranian and Persianate culture's profound historical heritage, about which Ruben offers insightful explanations and perspectives.

This was the second course that I have taken with Ruben and I cannot recommend studying with him highly enough! He is an incredibly engaging teacher who really makes the course material come to life. I have studied Persian for many years but my courses with Ruben have been on a whole other level. I love his method of using classical texts to teach Persian. It is so rewarding to complete a course feeling both the satisfaction of having learned to better understand the language and also the pleasure of having read another major classic of Persian literature. Not only did I learn a lot during these two courses, I also had a lot of fun! Ruben was always available to clarify questions about grammar and vocabulary and was very responsive to questions that I sent him between classes. I especially appreciated how he used his deep knowledge of Middle Persian to explain questions that came up about the numerous peculiarities of early classical Persian. After taking these two courses with Ruben, I've noticed a significant improvement in my ability to grasp the subtleties of classical Persian texts, nuances that previously eluded me. I sincerely appreciate his exceptional courses; they have renewed my love for classical Persian literature.

I absolutely loved Ruben's course on Tarikh-i Baihaqi. Although designed as a brief course, Ruben's meticulous analysis of terms and concepts offers a comprehensive tour of the entire world of classical Persian literature. Ruben's in-depth knowledge of the Persian language and its literary traditions and his ability to connect words and phrases to their historical and cultural contexts is something that opens up the world of classical Persian. His style of teaching is very engaging and every single student gets to actively participate in reading and discussions. This is my second course with Ruben and I recommend his courses to anyone interested in exploring Persian language and culture.

I have took courses with Ruben twice, firstly studying Shahname and then Baihaqi’s History. Both times it was an absolute intellectual pleasure. Both courses were well structured, packed with interesting topics, fruitful conversations and interesting anecdotes. Ruben is a truly passionate and experienced teacher. He’s not only teaching language, but rather provides students with deep understanding of history, culture and literature of Ancient and Medieval Iran. During classes I especially enjoyed his insights on history and etymology of Persian words and also on Iranian court customs. I will certainly go back for more classes with Ruben in the future.

I had the pleasure of attending two online Persian language courses taught by Ruben, one on the Tarix-e Beyhaqi and the other on the Shahnameh. What impressed me most was his meticulous attention to detail and his deep expertise in both historical linguistics and the literary content of the texts. His approach allowed us to explore their rich cultural and historical significance in a meaningful way, while also absorbing key notions of grammar and vocabulary. I highly recommend Ruben's classes to anyone seeking to deepen their understanding of Persian literature and language, guided by a knowledgeable, passionate, and patient teacher.

I took part in the Pahlavi Summer School course. During the three week span of the course we not only learned the basis of Middle Persian Grammar and inscriptional Pahlavi script, but also delved into various texts. We have read passagesd from famous religious scripture of Bundahišn and Arda-Wiraz Namak, famed Karnamag but also more obsure texts, such as Wizārišn ī čatrang. One of my favorite parts of the course was the ability to learn Pahlavi script and using it to decipher ancient inscriptions. Thanks to this I have learned what was Šābuhr ī Sagānšāh doing in Persepolis 1713 years ago :)

This course greatly developed my confidence in Middle Persian, which I had tried to learn sporadically in years past, without much success. Our regular reading of Middle Persian texts helped us get into the habit of recognizing patterns in syntax, grammar, and vocabulary, and helped develop a fluency in reading and translating. We read different texts in different genres, and became familiar with the process of transliterating and transcribing inscriptions written in Middle Persian, which is very important for my future projects. Ruben's course will serve as the basis for all my future studies into Middle Persian!

Reading Bayhaqī's history of Masʿūd with Ruben was a delightful experience. I have attended guided readings of classical Persian texts prior to this course, but what makes Ruben a particularly well-equipped teacher is his knowledge of Middle Persian. Besides the philological approach that drew me to the course in the first place, I enjoyed the wide ranging discussions on orthography, scribal cultures, and the editorial history of the text. Ruben deployed a method of close reading, which allowed us to work around meanings at different levels and appreciate the occasional ambiguities in a work. This is an invaluable training for anyone interested in texts, irrespective of the language and culture. I wholeheartedly recommend Ruben's courses to anyone interested in the literary cultures of the Persianate societies, not the least for the passion with which he takes you through a literary work. It is not easy to enter a text and he gently facilitates that difficult entry.

Ferdowsi School of Persian Literature

Testimonials

FOLLOW US

Instagram

Facebook

CONTACT

Ruben S. Nikoghosyan (Yerevan, Armenia)

Number: +37498513969 (WhatsApp)

Email: nikoghosyanruben@gmail.com