Shahnama Project

Shahnama Project

Shahnama Project

At the core of the Shahnama Project is an online corpus of illustrated manuscripts of the Shahnama, the Persian epic poem composed by Firdausi of Tus in A.D. 1010. The epic became established as an expression of Persian culture and political ethics throughout the Middle Ages and remains so today, strongly associated with the concept of divinely sanctioned kingly rule, but also rich in stories of the tragedy of the human condition and the complex relations between ruler and subjects, fathers and sons, and would-be lovers. Manuscripts of the Shahnama can be found in libraries throughout southern and western Asia, and in public and private collections in Europe and the United States. Many of the hundreds of manuscripts are royal or princely commissions and contain superb examples of Persian miniature painting and the arts of the book. The project makes accessible information and images of manuscripts and their contents from across the world, emphasising the significance of the choice of subjects for illustration and the changing relationships between the images and the text.

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The idea of Iran-Turan

The idea of Iran-Turan

The idea of Iran-Turan

The idea of Iran–Turan in Iran and Central Asia has been the focus of attention of an international group of scholars since 2010, which enabled us to organise our first workshop “Cultural Encounters across Central Asia” in Leiden (28-29 September 2012). It was a joint effort of Leiden University (Asian Modernities and Traditions), Cambridge University, and the British Institute of Persian Studies (http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/nieuws-1/workshop-cultural-encounter.html). Since then regular seminars and workshops on the related subjects are organised under the auspices of the Centre.

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Cultural icons as means of national identity building in post-Soviet Central Asia and the Caucasus

Cultural icons as means of national identity building in post-Soviet Central Asia and the Caucasus

Cultural icons as means of national identity building in post-Soviet Central Asia and the Caucasus

The project ‘Cultural icons as means of national identity building in post-Soviet Central Asia and the Caucasus: Case of Tajikistan and Georgia’ is based on the materials related to the artistic genres, originating in Europe, like opera, ballet, cinema and 3D visual art, but which were brought to non-Russian countries that happened to be part of the Soviet Union during their Sovietisation and Russification. This process is characterised by the main mantra of Soviet identity building, coined by Stalin in 1931, based on the merging of two qualities: “national in shape, socialist in contents”. This was successfully achieved due to the scientifically identified cultural icons of national heritage, as reflected in traditional arts and their ‘recycling’ for the new ideology.

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Shahnameh Forever

Shahnameh Forever

Shahnameh Forever

Contemporary art exhibition series 

Ferdowsi’s cult poem Shahnameh, which can be translated as the ‘Book of Kings’ or ‘King of Books’, is a work of mythology, history, literature and propaganda: a living epic that became a cultural encyclopaedia and Iranian national symbol.

The aim of the exhibition series is to show that the universal ideas and rich imagery of the Persian ancient and classical literary heritage are not only alive but are a part of the contemporary Iranian identity not only in Iran but outside the country

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Other Projects

Illustrating cross-culturalism in Persian literature and art

Illustrating cross-culturalism in Persian literature and art

Literature, Art, Diplomacy and Empire: Khusrau Mirza’s Mission to St Petersburg in 1829

Literature, Art, Diplomacy and Empire: Khusrau Mirza’s Mission to St Petersburg in 1829

Shahnama Forever

Shahnama Forever

Browne Archive Project

Browne Archive Project