Studies on Iran and the Caucasus : Presented to Prof. Garnik S. Asatrian on the Occasion of his 60th Birthday

This unique collection of essays by leading international scholars gives a profound introduction into the great diversity and richness of facets forming the study of one of earth’s most exciting areas, the Iranian and Caucasian lands. Each of the 37 contributions sheds light on a very special topic, the range of which comprises historical, cultural, ethnographical, religious, political and last but not least literary and linguistic issues, beginning from the late antiquity up to current times. Especially during the last decennia these two regions gained greater interest worldwide due to several developments in politics and culture. This fact grants the book, intended as a festschrift for Prof. Garnik Asatrian, a special relevance.

Contributors: Victoria Arakelova; Marco Bais; Uwe Bläsing; Vahe S. Boyajian; Claudia A. Ciancaglini; Johnny Cheung; Viacheslav A. Chirikba; Matteo Compareti; Caspar ten Dam; Desmond Durkin-Meisterernst; Kaveh Farrokh; Aldo Ferrari; Ela Filippone; Khachik Gevorgian; Jost Gippert; Nagihan Haliloğlu; Elif Kanca; Pascal Kluge; Anna Krasnowolska; Vladimir Livshits; Hirotake Maeda; Irina Morozova; Irène Natchkebia; Peter Nicolaus; Antonio Panaino; Mikhail Pelevin; Adriano V. Rossi; James R. Russell; Dan Shapira; Wolfgang Schulze; Martin Schwarz; Roman Smbatian; Donald Stilo; Çakır Ceyhan Suvari; Giusto Traina; Garry Trompf; Matthias Weinreich; Eberhardt Werner and Boghos Zekiyan

Uwe Bläsing – Senior Lecturer at Leiden University (The Netherlands) and Professor at Arya International University (Armenia), retired. Author of publications in the field of Turkology and Altaic Studies, with a special focus on language interaction (etymology): Armenisch – Türkisch, Etymologische Betrachtungen ausgehend von Materialien aus dem Hemşingebiet nebst einigen Anmerkungen zum Armenischen, insbesondere dem Hemşindialekt (Dutch Studies in Armenian Language and Literature 4), Amsterdam & Atlanta 1995.

Victoria Arakelova – Associate Professor, Department of Iranian Studies, Yerevan State University; Associate Editor, Iran and the Caucasus, Brill. Author of publications in the field of non-dogmatic Middle Eastern milieu and ethno-religious groups, with a special focus on the Yezidis. Co-author with Garnik Asatrian of The Religion of the Peacock Angel: The Yezidis and their Spirit World, ACUMEN Publishers, London, 2014.

Matthias Weinreich – Independent Researcher in Iranian Studies and Dardic Languages with special focus on Afghanistan and Northern Pakistan. Author of publications on Middle Persian, Domaaki as well as on contemporary Pashtun society: We Are Here to Stay. Pashtun Migrants in the Northern Areas of Pakistan (Islamkundliche Untersuchungen 285), Berlin 2009.