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Arash Zeini

@arashzeini.com
2.3K followers 1.4K following 731 posts

Researcher @mantrams.bsky.social, @ox.ac.uk; FRHistS; Iran, Zoroastrianism, late antiquity, philology; Founder of @biblioIranica.info; AIS inaugural Book Prize for Ancient Iranian Studies 2022. Personal account, my views. linktr.ee/arashzeini

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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 07/04/2026
Before playing Kamancheh, he says: 'Hello, I'm Mohammad-Reza Afarideh, the director of the ed. institute that has now been destroyed. I wanted the last sound coming from my institute not to be of missiles and war; (I want the) final sound to be of the instrument that I played in it. Thank you'.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 07/04/2026
Ali Ghamsari, a musician, on Monday in front of the Damavand power plant!
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 03/04/2026
In tomorrow's 'Fezana Talks' #31, @biryani4ever.bsky.social will talk to Veera Rustomji, an artist from Karachi, about 'Quiet Builders: Parsi Women in Early 20th-Century Karachi'. Follow the link for more information: fezana.org/quiet-builde... #Parsi #Zoroastrianism
Lower part of a poster with images of tomorrow's speakers with information about times and Zoom session as follows 

Saturday April 4, 2026

12 Noon Eastern | 9 AM Pacific | 9 PM Karachi | 9:30 PM Mumbai

Join On ZOOM: Meeting ID: 880 2784 0567 Passcode: FEZANA

Speaker Veera Rustomji
Moderator: Sharmeen Mehri
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 23/11/2025
1: On Friday, 28 November, I will be speaking about the 'Epistles of Manuščihr' (881 CE) and their early Islamic context at @indiairantrust.bsky.social: "Navigating Zoroastrian Communal Identity in the Early Islamic Era" mailchi.mp/869594076c33... Abstract: The Abbāsid Caliphate came to power
A photograph of Pir-e Nāraki, a Zoroastrian pilgrimage site near Yazd, Iran. In the foreground are two small Bādgir towers with more buildings visible in the background. © Arash Zeini
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 08/10/2025
Lovely piece by @timdowling.bsky.social! Don't try to guess the blue book though. Reminded me of Patrick Süskind's 1986 'observation', ‘Amnesie in litteris’, where the narrator also mostly remembers cover colours, but nothing else of the myriad books read. Published by @diogenesverlag.bsky.social
A photo of the front cover of Patrick Süskind's book 'Drei Geschichten und eine Betrachtung' published by Diogenes Verlag. The book is in German, and the cover features a painting of a grand piano with a cat sitting on top of it.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 07/10/2025
Took advantage of the @princetonupress.bsky.social's sales and purchased 2 books. One shall remain hidden until it has been referenced in my forthcoming book 🤲🏻 The visible one appears to serve well as a comfort read for the wounded and disillusioned soul of our times!!! #PhilSky #philosophy
The front cover of "The Failures of Philosophy: A Historical Essay" by Stephen Gaukroger, published in 2020 by the Princeton University Press. Underneath this book is hidden another book with a dark blue cover of which we only see the corners. Both books are on a wooden table.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 16/09/2025
to transcendence. It’s a set of interconnected essays with plenty of inspiring writing on life and philosophy, as the subtitle suggests. See the images for some examples. I might write more once I’ve finished reading the book. The Guardian review is here: www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...
A passage from 'Transcendence for Beginners' by Clare Carlisle. The text reads:

'II. LIFE WRITING

Biography is a humble literary genre, rooted in our natural curiosity about other people. This desire to know already carries the seed of a philosophical quest that arises, according to Plato, in the gap between appearances and reality. I meet someone, see how she presents her-self - and then I wonder, what's she really like? What is she not telling or showing me? But while Socrates went around Athens asking, 'What is a human being?', I want to know who this singular person is.'A passage from 'Transcendence for Beginners' by Clare Carlisle. The text reads:

'Above all, Eliot was interested in the moral power of ordinary lives, like Dorothea's, whose effects are 'not widely visible', though nevertheless 'diffuse'. Such lives can be rendered visible by art. Some feminist readers have criticized Eliot for depicting obscure wives and mothers, such as Dorothea, rather than allowing her heroines to have extraordinary lives like her own. I see this as a philosophical decision, rooted in a radical (and Spinozist) ethic of exemplarity and committed to exploring the disappointment and the hope this entails. Eliot was a poet of mediocrity, a gospel writer of hidden lives. Writing Dorothea's story rescues her from oblivion and bears witness to the fact that the world is better, more beautiful – more kalon – for this one rather unremarkable life having moved through it. Similarly, we are better for...'
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 16/09/2025
A review in @theguardian.com piqued my interest in 'Transcendence for Beginners' by Clare Carlisle. The preview on @fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social isn’t representative. There's much more to the book. I skimmed through a copy in a bookshop and was intrigued to read more. Don’t expect a systematic intro
Front cover of 'Transcendence for Beginners' a book by Clare Carlisle, published by Fitzcarraldo Editions.Back cover of 'Transcendence for Beginners' a book by Clare Carlisle, published by Fitzcarraldo Editions.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 28/08/2025
Ich weiß nicht worum es geht, aber Bluesky und der Zufall scheinen es zu wissen 🙃
Ein Screenshot einer Nachricht von Magda Birkmann, darunter zwei Posts zum selben Buch.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 15/08/2025
Enjoy them! They're wonderful!
Two bowls of fruit, one with figs and one with greengages.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 09/08/2025
Saw this book by @emilyherring.bsky.social yesterday, read a couple of pages in the shop, and had to take it home. ‘Electrifying’, as the back cover says, is spot on. Can’t wait to finish it. #philsky
A photo of the cover of the book 'Herald of a restless world' by Emily Herring.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 19/07/2025
Es ist schön, wenn man Bekannte trifft! Gebunden und als Taschenbuch in einem kleinen Buchladen. @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social @ronanhession.bsky.social
The German cover of "Leonard and Hungry Paul"
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 13/07/2025
The third session of Dr Khanizadeh's #workshop on #Zoroastrianism is today. See the photo below on how to join.
Photo of information on how to join the workshop on Zoroastrianism by Dr Mehrbod Khanizadeh.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 08/07/2025
Habe heute die neue Auflage dieser Bücher gesehen. Den Schrifttyp finde ich sehr schön, zum Umschlag habe ich keine Meinung. Die Buchhändlerin aber fand den nicht schön. Geschmackssache. Jetzt lese ich, dass die Abbildung KI-generiert ist. Nicht cool, @sfischerverlage.bsky.social, nicht cool!!!
Foto vom Umschlag der 2025er Auflage von Thomas Manns politischen Schriften mit dem Titel „Zur Verteidigung der Demokratie“. Es ist ein Fischer Taschenbuch.Foto von der Rückseite von Thomas Manns Buch „Zur Verteidigung der Demokratie“, ein Fischer Taschenbuch.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 07/07/2025
Ingenious photo in @theguardian.com to the headline: 'Minister won’t rule out support cuts for children with EHCPs amid Send overhaul – UK politics live – UK politics live' The photographer deserves a prize!
Photo of a man in a dark blue suit and tie, presumably a minister, with his reflection in the window behind him, which shows a dark, evil looking silhouette with two buttons of light in place of his eyes.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 22/06/2025
What a stupid comment to make at a time like this; while millions are worried about their loved ones and a looming conflict.
A screenshot of a post by Catherine Fletcher on Bluesky saying: "Cannot hear the words Massive Ordnance Penetrator without adding a mental 'oo er missus'".
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 04/06/2025
The second volume of this three volume set is out, continuing with Dasturji's own publications. Looking forward to the third which will contain newer material.
The cover of the book 'The Collected Scholarly Writings of Dastur Firoze M. Kotwal', volume II. Edited by Firoza P. Mistrer and Cashmirs V. Bengalli.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 26/05/2025
Some colleagues take AI very seriously. I explored it initially, but left it as not interested and results too catastrophic. Still, have been bombarded with messages and selected as a participant for a short time! Every email now gets an AI prompt. Scary how they're pushing it as a tool of learning.
Screenshot of a phone drop down notification reading: 'Google Gemini • 22h

Your Al assistant for learning

Ask complicated questions and get assignment feedback with Gemini

Try Gemini'
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 10/03/2025
As we mark a decade of @biblioiranica.info, bibliographic & scholarly updates, we extend our heartfelt thanks to our colleagues & readers. What began small, now reaches around 1000 readers per week. We relaunch the website with a logo by @ammoslehi.bsky.social www.biblioiranica.info/a-decade-of-...
An image of BiblioIranica's new logo designed by Amir Mahdi Moslehi. The website link is https://www.biblioiranica.info
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 06/03/2025
Hatty, @hattyrd.bsky.social, has recently joined this platform. I've seen her paintings up close and can confidently recommend following her 👇🏼 bsky.app/profile/rdpa...
A seascape with a calm surface where the waves break against the jagged rocks. Storm sky, low light. A large canvas, painted by Hatty Richmond Dakin, with a tempera and marble dust underpainting to form texture and sense of wild rock formations.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 05/03/2025
They are wonderful to watch and listen to. Thanks for making them. I often read Blake in my 2nd hand 1966 reprint of a handy selection. I wonder which edition you use in the video where you show the illustrated poem!
Image shows the cover of 'The Penguin Poets' selection of 'William Blake: Introduced and edited by J. Bronowski', D42.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 03/02/2025
Here, enjoy a photo of my dog at the start of a new week.
A beige/blonde dog looking at the camera while taking a nap under curtains.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 09/01/2025
FEZANA has an accessible, educational resource on 'The Gāthās and Yasna Haptaŋhāiti': fezana.org/education/ya...
An image of Zarathushtra, the founder of the ancient Iranian religion known as Zoroastrianism.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 13/11/2024
The deadline for submission of PhD applications to be considered for the Moghtader-Mojdehi Scholarship is 15 January 2025. www.lse.ac.uk/Internationa...
Image of the website giving information about the Moghtader-Mojdehi Scholarship and the deadline for applications, which is 15 January 2025.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 25/10/2024
In the past year, Peter Brown and Averil Cameron published their historiographical memoirs. Both historians' works and memoirs relate to Sasanian history, and the books also show the authors' relationship with modern Iran and the region in general. www.biblioiranica.info/two-memoirs/
An image of the cover of 'Transitions: A historian's memoir' by Averil Cameron.An image of the cover of 'Journeys of the mind: A life in history' by Peter Brown.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 16/10/2024
Have been looking forward to this. A celebration of Prof. Dame Averil Cameron's memoirs as a historian. The OCLA invites: Transitions: A Historian's Memoir with Peter Groves & John Haldon Levine Auditorium, Trinity College, @universityofoxford.bsky.social 12 Nov. @ 5pm & on Zoom
An 'Oxford Centre for Late Antiquity' poster announcing the launch of Prof. Averil Cameron's memoir as a historian.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 04/10/2024
Having no design skills, I ask ChatGPT for a logo for @biblioiranica.bsky.social. Some are better, some worse, but spelling is always wrong. When told to correct spelling, it changes design. When complaining about design change & spelling, it promises to correct both. Logos created in that process:
AI generated logo for @BiblioIranicaAI generated logo for @BiblioIranicaAI generated logo for @BiblioIranica
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 30/09/2024
When I season a shoulder or leg of lamb on a Sunday, I chop the remaining sage, thyme and rosemary and leave them out to dry. For the next couple of days, the house smells like the meadows and wild walks of my childhood.
A seasoned leg of lamb.Chopped thyme, sage and rosemary on a plate.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 27/09/2024
Finished Fosse's 'Aliss at the Fire', easily the slowest 74 pages I've ever read. And I didn’t enjoy it. Now reading J.A. Baker's 'The Peregrine'. The writing is stunning, and Baker an unlikely author. I’m not a birdwatcher, but this is a fantastic read, and highly recommended by Werner Herzog.
A photo of the cover of 'The Peregrine', a book by J. A. Baker.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 17/09/2024
Dammit! I deleted an earlier account for which I had received an invitation. That would have generated a much better number. This #6,079,744! is nothing. Reminds me of the days people (read: we) would post their (our) #Linux User number into e-mail signatures.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 14/09/2024
The 2nd Berkeley Workshop on Middle Persian Documents and Sealings 10–11 October 2024 Convened by Adam Benkato and Arash Zeini Poster designed by: A. Benkato
Image of poster announcing "The 2nd Berkeley Workshop on Middle Persian Documents and Sealings"; 10–11 October 2024; Convened by Adam Benkato and Arash Zeini
Poster designed by: A. Benkato
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 31/08/2024
Vol. 15, no. 2 of the open access journal Entangled Religions is a special issue dedicated to the question of 'Religious Conversion in a Religiously Plural World'. www.biblioiranica.info/religious-co...
The banner of the journal: Entangled Religions, an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed platinum open access journal that deals with inter- and intra-religious contact and transfer in past and present time.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 22/08/2024
Think what you will of George Orwell's 'Essays', the complete set published by Everyman's Library. I can't get over the AI-generated summary that the customers 'also say the author is well-read and well-informed' 🤷🏻‍♂️
Screenshot of AI-generated summary of reviews of George Orwell's 'Essays', the complete set published by Everyman's Library.Image of the cover of George Orwell's 'Essays', the complete set published by Everyman's Library.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 19/08/2024
The Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC) relaunches ‘Manuscript Cultures’, an #OpenAccess peer-reviewed journal hosted by Hamburg University Press: journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/hup4/mc/index The new issue is online & submissions of articles are welcome: doi.org/10.15460/mc....
A screenshot of the journal's web page with the new issue.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 18/08/2024
I'm currently reading and tremendously enjoying Werner Herzog's memoire. It also exists in English translation.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 16/08/2024
I've taken up painting but still struggling with basics of #Sasanian history: 'Here is the battle scene depicting Shapur I's victory over the Roman army, where he captures Emperor Valerian. The image captures the intensity of the conflict and the moment of triumph for the Sasanian king'.
AI generated image of a Sasanian battle.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 12/08/2024
My book, published by @edinburghup.bsky.social in March 2020, provides a fresh edition of the Pahlavi translation (Zand) of an Old Avestan text known as Yasna Haptaŋhāiti. It reframes the Zand and Zoroastrian Middle Persian texts as work of late antique exegesis. (1/7)
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