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.
Kristof Szitar
PhD candidate, Université de Lausanne
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.
Natasha Parnian
PhD Candidate, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University, Australia
If you are struggling with reading Classical Persian or Persian paleography, Ferdowsi School is the go-to place! Ruben is very knowledgeable, patient, and encouraging. While the texts were daunting initially, Ruben always encouraged us to think by connecting what we had learned from the previous sessions, so we both refreshed our memories and also applied what I have learned to the new text. In the “Classical Persian through Historical Texts” class, we worked on major Persian historiographical texts by not only translating but also discussing historical background and scholarly discussions on the texts. Ruben also discussed with us the grammatical, phonetical, and etymological aspects of the texts and the conventional use of certain words and expressions particularly in Classical Persian which differs from modern Persian. In “Classical Persian through Living Books,” we worked on deciphering handwritten Classical Persian texts in Naskh and Nastaliq scripts. By the end of the class, I felt much more confident in dealing with the sources I use for my dissertation research.
Di Wang
PhD Student, Department of History, The Ohio State University
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!
Jae Hee Han
Assistant Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Brown University, USA
Ruben’s Persian reading class was an enriching and eye-opening experience. Ruben is incredibly patient, resourceful, and knowledgeable, guiding us through the nuances of Persian texts and manuscripts with clarity and enthusiasm. Beyond the reading exercises, Ruben provided invaluable recommendations for Persian language resources, encouraging us to expand our studies and helping out with the primary sources of my research on Central Asian history. Enjoyed so much reading Persian prose with Ruben and learning about histories!
Yue Xie
PhD student, Department of History of Art & Architecture, Harvard, USA
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.
Ali Hassan
Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley, USA
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.
So Jeong Lee
MA Student in Art History, Seoul National University, South Korea
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.
Somok Roy
Doctoral student, University of Bonn, Germany
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.
Christina Kouna
MA Orthodox Christian theology and Religious Pluralism, Hellenic Open University, Greece
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 :)
Piotr Szustakiewicz
PhD Student, University of Warsaw, Poland
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.
Alberto Bernard
PhD, École Pratique des Hautes Études, PSL, France
I participated in the 'Classical Persian Through Living Books' course, which took place over 2 weeks, in order to start learning the paleographic skills required to read Persian manuscripts. We covered both the naskh styles of medieval manuscripts and the nast'aliq style often found in early modern texts. The two-hour lessons, with a short break in between the hours, were very manageable and allowed me to stay focused and really engage with the calligraphy of the manuscripts. I feel that my eye is now beginning to get used to both old naskh and nast'aliq, and I feel confident enough to look at the texts independently, whereas before I was too daunted to even try. Reading the Shahnama, Kalila wa Dimna and other works with Ruben is always enjoyable, and I found it improved my general reading alongside my paleographic skills.
Martin Dixon
DPhil Student, Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Oxford, UK
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.
Zubair Khalid
Jawaharlal Nehru University, India
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.
Piotr Szustakiewicz
PhD Student, University of Warsaw, Poland