Ferdowsi School of Persian Literature

10 Must-Know YouTube Channels for Iranian, Central Asian & Silk Road Studies

by Ruben S. Nikoghosyan

Whether we are commuting, traveling, or simply looking for something engaging to watch over the weekend, it is always helpful to have a readily available list of content at hand. I often find myself wishing I had a go-to selection of YouTube channels dedicated to Iranian, Central Asian, and Silk Road studies. To fill that gap, I have put together a collection of must-know channels for everyone interested (including myself).

Below you will find a number of very interesting and useful YouTube channels relevant to Iranian, Central Asian, and Silk Road studies, along with short descriptions and lists of interesting and engaging lectures by distinguished specialists in the field. This way, whenever you are in the mood to watch something, you will have a readily available list to turn to.

Here is a short-hand list of the channels:

  1. Histoire et archéologie – Collège de France
  2. Tang Center for Silk Road Studies, UC Berkeley
  3. Circle for Late Antique and Medieval Studies, CUNY
  4. EX-PATRIA
  5. Invisible East
  6. Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute
  7. International Dunhuang Programme
  8. Azhyar Foundation (in Persian and English)
  9. Ancient Languages and Texts (in Persian)
  10.  FEZANA

I begin with the channel title, which includes a clickable link that directs you straight to the channel page. Below that, I provide essential information about the affiliated institution, its website, and the general topics covered on the channel. Right beside that you can find a sample lecture from the channel.
Following this, I include a concise summary of the channel’s content, highlighting the range of courses, lectures, and topics covered. A selection of lectures/recordings is presented below the summary, accessible through the links provided. Simply click on the highlighted title to be directed to the full lecture on YouTube.

If you have any additions, don’t hesitate to write me here: nikoghosyanruben@gmail.com 

1. Histoire et archéologie - Collège de France

Institution/Project: Collège de France (Paris, France)

Main Website: https://www.college-de-france.fr/en 

Topics: History; Central Asia; Iran; Egypt; Ancient Greece; World History; Culture

Start (YT): 2021

Summary:

Histoire et archéologie – Collège de France is a very important YouTube channel belonging to the Collège de France in Paris. Their main website is mentioned above. The channel is dedicated to world history in general, with all kinds of lectures presented at the Collège, so if you’re interested in a diverse array of topics, you will definitely find something here that speaks to you.

Below, I have highlighted the courses specifically related to the history of Central Asia, its literatures, and its archaeology, mostly delivered by Franz Grenet. All of them are of immense importance and genuinely fascinating. They are delivered in French, but English subtitles are available, so they remain accessible.

I would genuinely recommend listening to all of the lectures listed below if this is your area of interest. In particular, the most recent series, Les littératures perdues d’Asie centrale sauvées par les arts figurés, is especially important, as it discusses what we know about pre-Islamic Central Asian literatures and how they have survived. But the rest of the lectures are also of great interest and absolutely worth exploring.

A small tip: The lectures are available on Apple Podcasts (Histoire et cultures de l’Asie centrale préislamique – Frantz Grenet), where you can find all the lectures together, and more importantly, you can find the transcript of the lectures (which can later be translated through various means).

Courses:

  1. Les littératures perdues d’Asie centrale sauvées par les arts figurés (1) – F. Grenet (2024-2025)
  2. Les temples non bouddhiques en Bactriane et en Sogdiane… (1) – Frantz Grenet (2023-2024)
  3. L’argenterie de prestige en Asie centrale… (1) – Frantz Grenet (2021-2022)
  4. Achaemenid Babylonia: Political History and Administration (1) – Pierre Briant (2011-2012)
  5. Splendeurs des oasis d’Ouzbékistan (1) – Frantz Grenet (2022-2023)
  6. Le livre dans le monde musulman. Histoire et techniques (1) – François Déroche (2024-2025)

Lectures: 

  1. Le Gandhara, terre de passage, d’échanges et de création – Gérard Fussman (2011)
  2. Les origines de la peste justinienne : de l’Asie centrale à la Méditerranée – Kyle Harper

2. Tang Center for Silk Road Studies, UC Berkeley

Institution/Project: Tang Center for Silk Road Studies (Institute of East Asian Studies, UC Berkeley)

Main Website: https://ieas.berkeley.edu/centers/tang-center-silk-road-studies-tcsrs 

Topics: Silk Road Studies; Central Asian Studies; Dunhuang; Religions on the Silk Road; Material Culture; Trade; Sogdians; Tang Dynasty

Start: 2017

The Tang Center for Silk Road Studies at UC Berkeley is another incredibly important and fascinating YouTube channel. Here, you will find a wealth of lectures on Central Asian and Silk Road studies. The lectures are delivered by distinguished scholars such as Franz Grenet, Adam Benkato, Judith Lerner, Xin Wen, Monica Zin, Peter Francopan, and others. You can explore a broad range of topics through these lectures, and there are also a number of conferences featuring engaging talks on various subjects.

I definitely recommend checking out their YouTube channel for a treasure trove of knowledge and insight.

Conferences:

  1. International Conference: Mithra, Buddha, and Mani Walk into a Desert… Indo-Iranian and Sino-Iranian Encounters in Central Asia
  2. International Conference: Reconstructing Sogdiana: Archaeological Discoveries and Historical Narratives: Panel 1; Panel 2; Panel 3; Panel 4
  3. Nexus of Knowledge: Science, Medicine, and Technology on the Silk Roads: Panel 1-3; Panel 4-6

Lectures:

  1. Zoroastrianism in Central Asia | Frantz Grenet
  2. First Step(pe): The Silk Road from a Steppe Perspective, Lecture: Ursula B Brosseder, Bonn University
  3. Spatial Dunhuang: Experiencing the Mogao Caves | Wu Hung Ph.D
  4. Traveling the Silk Road | Robert Spengler
  5. The King’s Road | Xin Wen
  6. The Tocharian Buddha and the Local Demons | Monika Zin
  7. The Book and the Silk Roads | Amanda Goodman
  8. Images and Knowledge of the Stars Along the Silk Road (5th-15th Centuries) | Sonja Brentjes
  9. Unscrambling the Political Situation in Central Asia | Frantz Grenet
  10. The Image of Alexander in Central Asia: A New Document: Frantz Grenet Ph.D, Collège de France
  11. Sogdian Mercantile Documents in Diaspora | Adam Benkato, UC Berkeley
  12. The Cemetery at Yihe-Nur, Inner Mongolia: Judith A. Lerner Ph.D , NYU

3. Circle for Late Antique and Medieval Studies, CUNY

Institution/Project: Circle for Late Antique and Medieval Studies (Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies at The Graduate Center, CUNY)

Main Website: https://lateantiquemedievalstudies.commons.gc.cuny.edu/ 

Topics: Late Antique and Medieval Iran; Near East; Central Asia; Material History; Religious History

Start: 2023 

Summary:

The Circle for Late Antiquity and Medieval Studies at CUNY, convened by Parvaneh Pourshariati, is dedicated to exploring the rich history of the Near East, the Mediterranean, Iran, Central Asia, and neighboring regions during the period from 300 to 1400 CE. Although the circle is relatively new and doesn’t yet have a vast number of lectures, it already offers a wealth of fascinating discussions.

The channel delves into topics such as the late antique Sasanian and Roman Empires, early Islamic material cultures, astronomical studies, Islamic maps, and more. Feel free to explore their channel and discover a curated list of intriguing lectures and discussions!

Discussions & Lectures:

  1. The Bactrians, the Kharajites & the Barmakids – Said Reza Huseini, Arezou Azad, and Teresa Bernheimer
  2. Orality and Textuality in Zoroastrianism – Almut Hintze, Martin Schwartz, Peter Jackson Rova
  3. Fiscal Regime & Social Conflict in Islamic Near East: Or, a New History of the Abbasid Revolution – Mehdy Shaddel
  4. East Roman and Sasanian Empires: Nature and Causes of Conflict – Ekaterina Nechaeva, Geoffrey Greatrex, Scott McDonough 
  5. Three Decades Working with Islamic Maps: An Overview – Karen Pinto
  6. KHUSRO I ANUSHIRWAN (531-79): The Life & Achievements of a Great Reforming Sasanian King – James Howard-Johnston
  7. Justinian East and West – Peter Vincent Sarris

4. EX-PATRIA

Institution/Project: The EX-PATRIA Project (University of Lille, France)

Main Website: https://ex-patria.univ-lille.fr/ 

Topics: Late Antiquity; Sasanian Iran; Sasano-Byzantine Relations; Armenia; Socio-Political History; Culture; Religions

Start: 2024

Summary:

EX-PATRIA is the YouTube channel for the EX-PATRIA Project, led by Ekaterina Nechaeva. This project investigates the religious, cultural, educational, and political interactions across the Roman (Byzantine) and Persian (Sasanian) borders during late antiquity. It also explores the migration of nobility and the formation of horizontal social networks.

 

The channel, though new, already features a range of fascinating lectures and distinguished guest speakers, including project members like Michael David Ethington, Daniel Alford, Anna Usacheva, and other renowned scholars such as Khodadad Rezakhani, Ani Honarchian, Giusto Traina. Be sure to follow the channel and the project for the latest updates and new lectures!

In addition, I am also putting two lectures from the related ETHT channel, which features two lectures by Pavel Lurje and Patryk Skupniewicz.

Lectures:

  1. Ekaterina Nechaeva, Religious Freedom, Diplomacy, and Cross Border Mobility
  2. Michael David Ethington, Merchants and Craftsmen, Bishops and Apostates
  3. Daniel Alford, Kings, Wives, and Put Upon Priests Exerting Sasanian royal control in the 5th c.
  4. Giusto Traina, The tractus Armeniae before and after 428 CE: a New Reading of Nov. Theod. V, 3
  5. Ani Honarchian, Bad Seeds and Sacred Fires. Religious Defiance and Imperial Contamination
  6. Khodadad Rezakhani, Ērān or Anērān? Sasanian Center and Its Peripheries
  7. Anna Usacheva, The Educational-Ecclesiastic Missions and Networking

 

Also you can check the Eran, Turan, Hrom Talk (ETHT) Series channel, also affiliated to the EX-PATRIA project. You will find a couple of really interesting lectures:

  1. Pavel Lurje – Ibn Khurdâdhbih’s Books on Roads and Kingdoms 17-18, and the Sasanian Book of Thrones
  2. Patryk Skupniewicz, Elephants in Central Asian and Iranian Art of Late Antiquity & Early Middle Ages

5. Invisible East

Institution/Project: Invisible East (Oxford, UK)

Main Website: https://invisibleeast.web.ox.ac.uk/home 

Topics: Afghanistan; Cultural and Economic History; Written Heritage Studies; Buddhism; Sogdians; Baktrian; 

Start: 2021

The Invisible East Project is an incredibly important initiative based at the University of Oxford, led by project director Arezou Azad. The project is dedicated to studying the rich written cultural heritage of Afghanistan, as well as Central Asia, Iran, and Xinjiang.

The YouTube channel of the Invisible East Project features a fascinating array of lectures and discussions that delve into the project’s key topics. These include daily life in Late Antique and Medieval Afghanistan, the Islamization of Eastern Iranian lands, the history of Afghanistan, the Buddhas of Bamiyan, the Sogdian epistolary tradition, and philological studies. All of these topics are incredibly engaging and insightful.

The channel currently hosts around 30 videos, many of which are well worth exploring. I definitely recommend subscribing to stay updated on new releases and interesting topics. In addition to lectures, the channel also features recordings of workshops and talks, as well as a MOOC dedicated to Afghanistan from Buddhism to Islam.

Workshops: 

 

1. Future Philology

 

2. Stories to Connect Session 1: 

Session Chair: Edmund Herzig

Enass Khansa (Beirut): Adaptations of Alf layla’s “Qiṣṣat Sayf al-Mulūk” in an Anonymous Escorial Manuscript

Julia Bray (Oxford): Hārūn and the Barmakids in Kitāb al-Aghānī and al-Faraj baʿd al shidda: the beginnings of a legend?

Arezou Azad (Oxford/Inalco-Paris): Persian stories on the Barmakids in Bodleian manuscript Ouseley 217: the Barmakids as models for Islamicate adminisitration?

 

Stories to Connect Session 2

Session Chair: Arezou Azad

Simon Berger (Paris, CNRS): Tales of the Mongol Conquests. Jūzjānī’s Anecdotes about the Mongols in his Ṭabaqāt-i Nāṣirī

Hugh Kennedy (SOAS-London): Narratives of condemnation: Miskawayh’s biography of ʿIzz al-Dawla Bakhtiyār

 

Stories to Connect Session 3

Session Chair: Umberto Bongianino

Robert Hillenbrand (Oxford): Creating spirituality in Islamic painting: the Muhammad cycle in the Edinburgh World History of Rashid al-Din

Michael Shenkar (Hebrew University): Narrative Paintings and Epic Stories in Sogdian Art

 

Stories to Connect Session 4

Session Chair: Hugh Kennedy

Guy Ron-Gilboa (Bar-Ilan): Turning the Tables on the Captors: Wonder and Moral Critique in Kitāb ʿAjāʾib al-Hind

Isabel Toral-Niehoff (FU Berlin): “Tell me a parable about kings and their assistants”. Political Allegories and Statecraft in Kalila wa Dimna

 

Lectures:

  1. IMaT 2021 1: The Sogdian epistolary tradition in the early 8th century by Adam Benkato
  2. Islamisation, a closer look – with Majid Montazer Mahdi
  3. Rural Life in Medieval Bamiyan – Arezou Azad
  4. Connecting Worlds: The Shansabanis of Afghanistan – Alka Patel
  5. The Buddhas of Bamiyan – Llewelyn Morgan
  6. A Day in Late Antique Bactria (In Persian) – Reza Huseini
  7. IMaT 2021 4: Letters from the Bahmani Sultanate (ca. 1450-1480) by Meia Walravens
  8. The Barmakids: A Bridge Between Islamic and Indic Worlds. A lecture by William Dalrymple (2024 Reza Hosseini Memorial Lecture)

6. Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute

Institution/Project: The Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies (University of Toronto, Canada)

Main Website: https://iranianstudies.utoronto.ca/ 

Topics: Iranian Studies; Zoroastrianism; Ancient, Medieval & Modern Iranian History; Classical & Modern Persian Literature; Documents; Soci0-Political History; Gender; Persian Language Pedagogy; Iranian Art

Start: 2021

Summary:

The Elahé Omidyar Mir-Jalali Institute is the YouTube channel of the Elahé Omidyar Mir-Jalali Institute of Iranian Studies at the University of Toronto in Canada. The channel is very active and features numerous lectures, discussions, and videos on a wide range of topics related to Iran, including Iranian art, diaspora studies, the history of printing, gender history, cinema, female poets, culture, Zoroastrian studies, and much more. It’s extremely helpful for anyone interested in Iranian Studies, as you can always find something of interest in the list.

Below, you can find the lecture series categorized according to topic, with some selected lectures listed under each category. Of course, there are many more lectures available, and if you’re interested in a particular series, you can simply click on its title and explore further on their website.

I highly recommend checking this wonderful YouTube channel, which presents a very well-organized collection of lectures by a number of distinguished scholars. In total, it has around 335 videos, so I definitely recommend taking a look at the page.

Lecture Series: 

 

Zoroastrian Studies

  1. Two Mental Dimension of Evil in Zoroastrianism by Prof. Antonio Panaino
  2. Travellers’ Accounts on the Destiny of the Soul by Dr. Céline Redard
  3. Mazdak: The Holy Man of Late Antique Ērānšahr by Prof Touraj Daryaee
  4. From Zoroastrian Cosmos to Abbasid Baghdad by Dr. Kianoosh Rezania
  5. The Hidden Everlasting Queen of the Sassanian Empire by Dr. Claudine Gauthier
  6. A Hermeneutics of Zoroastrian Commentary by Dr. Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina
  7. Eschatology and Apocalyptic Literature by Dr. Carlo G. Cereti
  8. Zoroastrian Religion and Natural Disasters by Dr. Samra E. Azarnouche
  9. On the Transmission of Zoroastrian Texts by Prof. Almut Hintze

Rethinking History

  1. Traditional Forms and Modern Contents:The Hijri-Shamsi Calendar by Dr. Delbar Khakzad
  2. Zooming In: Architectural Inscriptions from 10th–13th-Century Afghanistan by Dr. Viola Allegranzi
  3. Private Sins, Public Crimes: Policing, Punishment, and Authority in Iran by Farzin Vejdani
  4. Uncovered Untold Histories by Prof. Touraj Atabaki
  5. The Village and the Archive: Documents in Iranian Languages by Arezou Azad
  6. The Arabic Documents from Early Islamic Khurasan by Geoffrey Khan
  7. Slavery in Eastern Iranian Regions: The Case of Late Antique Bactria by Said Reza Huseini
  8. Bilingual Texts from India: Combining Arabic and Persian with Indic Languages by Eva Orthmann
  9. Bactrian Documents and Archives by Nicholas Sims Williams
  10. Gulistan Harem Histories: Gender in the Qajar Archives by Leila Pourtavaf
  11. Persian and Persianate Documents from al-Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem by Zahir Bhalloo

Women Poets

  1. Networks of Writerly Kinship in Early Qajar Iran by Dominic Parviz Brookshaw
  2. Anthologies of Persian(ate) poetry by women by Sunil Sharma
  3. Shame, stigma and sin: From Tahirih, to Forugh, to Us by Sholeh Wolpe
  4. Feminine interventions: Early Qajar women poets by Dominic Brookshaw
  5. The Unsung Poetry of Kurdish Women by Farangis Ghaderi
  6. A History of Iranian Women’s Poetry by Ruhangiz Karachi 
  7. Forugh Farrokhzad, Modernity and Madness by Leila Rahimi Bahmany
  8. Daughters of Rabi’ah: Afghan Women Poets in the Digital Age by Zuzanna Olszewska
  9. On Feminine Voice in Classical Persian Poetry: Invisible, Impossible, or Immaterial? by Ahoo Najafian

Literature in Persian Language Pedagogy

  1. Teaching Classical Persian through the Works of Sa’di by Dr. Cross and Dr. Miller
  2. Selecting Linguistically Appropriate Literary Texts in Teaching Persian Language by Mahbod Ghaffari
  3. Lyrical Language Learning by Dr. Behzad Borhan

7. International Dunhuang Programme

Institution/Project: The International Dunhuang Programme (IDP) (Main Institution: British Library)

Main Website: https://idp.bl.uk/ 

Topics: Silk Road Studies; Dunhuang; Life Along the Silk Road; Ancient Documents; Material Culture; Religious History

Start: 2009

Summary:

The International Dunhuang Programme is a renowned global initiative dedicated to the study and preservation of the rich cultural heritage along the Silk Road. It focuses on a vast array of artifacts, including manuscripts, paintings, textiles, and other material objects, with a particular emphasis on Dunhuang and other Eastern Silk Road archaeological sites.

The program’s YouTube channel is an invaluable resource, offering a wealth of lectures and discussions that delve into the material and cultural history of the Silk Road. Over the past few years, the channel has featured a diverse selection of topics, ranging from Buddhist manuscripts discovered in Dunhuang to the history of medicine along the Silk Road, the evolution of musical instruments, and various historical documents from the region.

These lectures are presented by distinguished scholars such as Michelle C. Wang, Xin Wen, and Xiaotze Xie, among others, making the channel a treasure trove for anyone interested in the Silk Road’s multifaceted heritage.

Lectures:

  1. Researching, Reconstructing, and Reimagining the Dunhuang Library Cave, by Professor Xiaoze Xie
  2. Analyses of Tocharian Paper Documents Stored at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, by Dr Emilie Arnaud-Nguyễn
  3. Everyday and Everydayness in Dunhuang, by Professor Puay Peng Ho
  4. Medicine on the Silk Roads, by Professor Vivienne Lo
  5. The Dunhuang Manuscripts as a Stepping Stone toward Mass Digitisation of China’s Literary Heritage, by Colin Brisson
  6. Using Sound to Explore Ancient Languages of Xinjiang, by Colin Siyuan Chinnery
  7. Letters of Legacy: The Sogdian Influence on Old Uyghur, Mongolian and Manchu Writing, by Nan Ni
  8. Dunhuang Geographical Documents: Knowledge Production and Local History During the Tang, by Dr Alexis Lycas
  9. The Inheritance and Innovation of Dunhuang Costumes, by Dr Chu Yan
  10. A Traveler’s History of the Silk Road: Revelations from Dunhuang Materials, by Xin Wen
  11. Buddhist Slave Trade on the Silk Road? by Dr Cuilan Liu
  12. Plurality & Transformation: The Music of Dunhuang, by Dr Xiaoshi Wei
  13. The Thousand Buddhas: Sensing Religion at Dunhuang, by Professor Michelle C. Wang.

8. Azhyar Foundation (in Persian)

Institution/Project: Azhyar Foundation for Ancient Iranian Studies

Main Website: –

Topics: Iranian Studies; Pahlavi Papyri; Ancient Iranian History; Digital Iranian Studies.

Start: 2023

Summary:

The Azhyar Foundation is the YouTube channel of the Azhyar Foundation for Ancient Iranian Studies. The foundation itself is a private initiative led by Nima Asefi, based in Leiden, and it functions as a digital platform dedicated to expanding and supporting activities related to Iranian Studies. It regularly organizes webinars and lectures by various specialists in the field, and all of these online events are uploaded to their YouTube channel.

The channel is, in this sense, a wonderful repository of talks. Most of them are in Persian, though you will also find some lectures in English. The range of topics is quite broad: from manuscript studies and textual work in Middle Persian, including Middle Persian papyri, to the history of the Sasanian world and the broader Iranian world, and further to classical Persian literature and other related subjects. You will also find lectures dealing with Iranian Studies more generally, including digital humanities and similar fields.

Overall, the channel is an excellent resource, especially if you understand Persian, and I definitely recommend checking it out.

Lectures, Talks & Conversations:

 

  1. Zabān o adab-e Fārsī; goftogū-ye doktor Shervīn Farrīdnežād bā ostād-e gerānmāye doktor Jalāl-e Khāleqī Moṭlaq (Persian language and literature; a conversation between Dr. Shervin Farridnejad and the esteemed professor Dr. Jalal Khaleghi-Motlagh).
  2. What was the ‘Office of the Magi (mgwh)? – Alberto Bernard (in English)
  3. Nešast-e naqd o barrasī-ye ketāb-e Nāmehā-ye Manūčehr (A session for critique and review of the book Letters of Manuchehr).
  4. Nakhostīn webinār-e Īrānšenāsī-ye anjoman-e Āžyār; sokhanrānī-ye doktor Khodādād Rezākhānī (The first Iranian Studies webinar of the Azhyar Association; a lecture by Dr. Khodadad Rezakhani)
  5. Now-soḵan az kohan rūzgār 15; sokhanrānī-ye Eḥsān Šavārebi (New Discourse on Ancient Times 15; a lecture by Ehsan Shavarebi)
  6. Sokhanrānī-ye doktor Esmāʿīlpur Moṭlaq dar čahāromīn webinār-e Āžyār (A lecture by Dr. Esmā‘ilpur Motlaq in the fourth Azhyar webinar).
  7. Maqām-e čašm o gūš-e šāh-e Aškānī — doktor Rezā Ordū (The Position of the Eyes and Ears of the Arsacid King — Dr. Reza Ordu)
  8. Mīrsālār Raẓavi, Ardavīrāf-nāme-ye manẓūm-e Zartošt Bahrām Paždū (Mirsalar Razavi, The versified Ardā Wīrāf-Nāmeh of Zartosht Bahrām Pazhdū)
  9. Behnām ‘Aṭāyī, Dars-goftār: āšenā’ī bā peykare-ye Avestā’ī-ye Berlin — Corpus Avesticum Berolinense (CAB) (Behnam Atayi, Lecture: Introduction to the Berlin Avestan Corpus — Corpus Avesticum Berolinense (CAB)).
  10. Ḥodūd-e zamin, marzhā-ye hovīyat: jedāl-e Zartoštīyān va Masīḥīyān bar sar-e mālekīyat-e zamin dar dowre-ye Sāsānī; doktor Nīmā Jamālī (The limits of land, the boundaries of identity: the struggle between Zoroastrians and Christians over land ownership in the Sasanian period; Dr. Nima Jamali).
  11. Īrānšenāsī dar Dānešgāh-e Dowlatī-ye Īravān, Goftogū bā doktor Vartān Voskāniān  (Iranian Studies at Yerevan State University, conversation with Dr. Vardan Voskanian)
  12. Goftogū-ye Instagramī-ye Āžyār; zabān-e kohan-e Āzarbāyjān (Azhyar Instagram conversation; the ancient language of Azerbaijan).
  13. From the Sasanians to the Abbasids: the Age of Transition in Central Iran, 642-750 – Khodadad Rezakhani (in English)

9. Ancient Languages and Texts (in Persian)

Institution/Project: Private: Prof. Hassan Rezai Baghbidi

Main Website: –

Topics: Old Iranian & Middle Iranian Philology; Numismatics; Achaemenid Inscriptions; Sanskrit; Parthian; Sogdian; Middle Persian, Old Persian, Avestan

Start: 2025

Summary:

The Ancient Languages and Texts channel, though a private initiative started and managed by Hassan Rezaei Baghbidi in Osaka, Japan, is a fantastic new resource for those interested in ancient Iranian studies, especially philological and numismatical fields. The channel offers a variety of courses and short lectures on different ancient and Middle Iranian languages, such as Old Persian, Avestan, Middle Persian, as well as Sogdian, Parthian, and even Sanskrit.

In addition to language studies, the channel features topical lecture series on the Achaemenid royal inscriptions and ancient and Islamic period coins. It’s a truly valuable resource for anyone delving into these subjects. Although the lectures are in Persian, they provide an excellent opportunity for Persian-speaking scholars and researchers to explore various aspects of ancient Iranian history.

Currently, the channel has 68 videos, and more content is continuously being added. This includes readings of Middle Persian texts, analyses of ancient inscriptions, and numismatical studies of coins. In sum, it’s an essential and enriching resource for anyone engaged in Iranian studies.

Ancient Language Courses:

 

  1. Middle Persian
  2. Old Persian
  3. Avestan 
  4. Sogdian
  5. Parthian
  6. Sanskrit

Topical Playlists:

 

  1. Achaemenid Royal Inscriptions
  2. Ancient Coins
  3. Islamic Period Coins

10. FEZANA

Institution/Project: The Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America

Main Website: https://fezana.org/ 

Topics: Zoroastrianism; Zoroastrian Diaspora; History of Zoroastrianism; Research on Zoroastrianism

Start (YB): 2014

Summary:

FEZANA is the YouTube channel of the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA), and it posts all sorts of content related to Zoroastrian community life in North America, as well as more popular and educational material on topics connected to Zoroastrian diasporas abroad, Zoroastrianism in general, and Zoroastrian prayers and ceremonies. At the same time, the channel also features a limited but very interesting selection of conversations, lectures, and talks that are quite relevant for Iranian Studies, and more specifically for the study of Zoroastrianism.

 

The Zoroastrian Conversations series, led by Professor Yuhan Vevaina, is particularly noteworthy. It brings together a number of scholars working in Zoroastrian or Avestan studies, among whom are Miguel Ángel Andrés-Toledo, Carlo Cereti, Céline Redard, Mariano Errichiello, and Almut Hintze. It is a very engaging and genuinely informative series, and I definitely recommend giving it a listen if you are interested.

 

There are also several other lectures and talks available on the channel, the list of which you can find below. In general, I definitely recommend checking their page to see if anything catches your interest.

Zoroastrian Conversations (with Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina): 

  1. Prof. Miguel Ángel Andrés-Toledo with with Prof Vevaina
  2. Professor Carlo G. Cereti with Prof. Yuhan Vevaina
  3. Dr. Céline Redard In Conversation with Prof. Yuhan Vevaina
  4. Mariano Errichiello In Conversation with Prof. Vevaina
  5. Prof. Almut Hintze In Conversation with Prof. Vevaina

 

Lectures & Talks:

  1. Testimonies of Tradition: An Introduction to Zoroastrian Manuscripts by Dr. Daniel Sheffield
  2. Rastin Mehri: History of Pahlavi/Middle Persian Language and Literature
  3. Zoroastrianism in India and Iran: Persians, Parsis and the Flowering of Political Identity (Alexandra Buhler in conversation with Dinyar Patel)
  4. Courts and Estates of Achaemenid Royal Women: A Talk by Wouter F.M. Henkelman
  5. Ferdowsi’s Faith and Beliefs: A Talk by Afshin Sepehri

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Ruben S. Nikoghosyan (Yerevan, Armenia)

Email: nikoghosyanruben@gmail.com