The African and Middle Eastern Division at the Library of Congress (AMED), in cooperation with the Iranian-American Alumni of the Alborz High School, presented “From Oxus to Euphrates: The Sasanian Empire,” a day-long symposium open to the public, on June 7, 2017. The event was part of an annual series of symposia on the ancient civilizations of the Near East organized by AMED at the Library of Congress. The video of the entire symposium is now available on the Library’s webcast page and on YouTube.
The Sasanians ruled a large empire in Central and Western Asia, stretching from the Oxus River to the Euphrates and from the Hindukush to Eastern Arabia, for over 400 years (224-651 CE). Known as Iranshahr (the Domain of Iran), it was a powerful empire that engendered much of what came to be known as the Iranian culture in the medieval and modern periods.
The Symposium featured three panels of experts and scholars in the fields of ancient and classical history, Persian studies, and Central Asian and Near Eastern religious and confessional traditions. Hirad Dinavari, Library of Congress Iranic world reference specialist, moderated one of the three panels along with Mary-Jane Deeb, chief of AMED and Professor Fatemeh Keshavarz, Roshan Institute Chair and Director of Roshan Institute for Persian Studies, at the University of Maryland School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures.
Panel One focused on the history of Iranshahr, with presentations by Roshan Institute Fellow, Dr. Touraj Daryaee, University of California, Irvine; Dr. Stephen H. Rapp Jr., Sam Houston State University; and Dr. Khodadad Rezakhani, Princeton University. Panel Two was on Peoples and Religions of the Sasanian Realm, and included presentations by Dr. Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina, University of Toronto; Dr. Scott McDonough, William Paterson University; and Dr. Simcha Gross, University of California, Irvine. Panel Three focused on the art and culture in the Sasanian period and beyond, with presentations by Dr. Samra Elodie Azarnouche, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes; Dr. Judith A. Lerner, Institute for the Study of the Ancient World; and Roshan Institute Fellow, Dr. Ida Meftahi, Roshan Institute for Persian Studies, University of Maryland.
View the video of the Symposium on the Library of Congress webcast page