Education

  • Ph.D., Iranian Philology and Ancient History, Harvard University
  • Ph.D. Candidate, Iranian Philology, Seminar für Iranistik, Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen, Germany
  • M.A., Iranian Philology and Ancient History, Institut des Études Iraniennes, Université de la Sorbonne, Paris, France
  • B.A., Philosophy, Comparative Philology, History, Philosophisches Seminar, Albertus-Magnus-Universität zu Köln, Cologne, Germany

Research

  • Old and Middle Iranian philology
  • Iranian epigraphy
  • Achaemenid, Arsacid, Seleucid, and Sasanian history with special attention to interactions between Mesopotamia and Iran; as well as Greco-Roman and Iranian cultural and ideological exchanges
  • Ancient Iranian religions
  • Greek historiography; Hellenistic and Late Antique worlds
  • Persian Church; Syriac literature; history of Exilarchate
  • Epic and oral traditions
  • Early New Persian epic poetry and prose
  • Islamic historiography

Courses

  • History of the Achaemenid Empire (Iranian M110A)
  • History of the Arsacid (Parthian) Empire (Iranian M110B)
  • History of the Sasanian Empire (Iranian M110C)
  • Introduction to Western Middle Iranian Pahlavi; Manichaean Middle Persian (Iranian 161A)
  • Religions of Ancient Iran Zoroastrianism; Manichaeism; Mazdakism (Iranian 170)
  • Early New Persian Epic Poetry and Prose
Graduate
  • Old Persian Cuneiform (Iranian M230A, Iranian M230B)
  • Avestan Younger (Iranian M230A, Iranian M230B)
  • Advanced Western Middle Persian Pahlavi; Manichaean Middle Persian and Parthian; Sasanian Inscriptions (Iranian 231A, Iranian 231B)
  • Introduction to Eastern Middle Iranian Sogdian; Bactrian (Iranian 161A)
  • Elamite (Middle Elamite; Achaemenid)

Books

Articles

Edited Work

  • Persia Beyond Oxus. Bulletin of the Asia Institute 21. Bloomfield Hills, MI: Bulletin of the Asia Institute, 2007 [2012]. Guest Editor.

Articles, Essays and Book Chapters

  • “Prosopographical Notes: The Iranian Nobility during and after the Macedonian Conquest.” Bulletin of the Asia Institute 21, 2007 [2012]: 97–126.
  • “Bardiya and Gaumāta: An Achaemenid Enigma Reconsidered.” Bulletin of the Asia Institute 20, 2006 [2010]: 65–76.
  • “Nugae Epigraphicae.” In Festschrift for Prods Oktor Skjærvø. Edited by Nicholas and Ursula Sims-Williams. Bulletin of the Asia Institute 19. Bloomfield Hills, MI: Bulletin of the Asia Institute, 2005 [2009]: 169–179.
  • “On the Rationale behind the Roman Wars of Šābuhr II the Great.” Bulletin of the Asia Institute 18, 2004 [2008]: 111–133.
  • “On Demetrius II Nicator’s Arsacid Captivity and Second Rule.” Bulletin of the Asia Institute 17, 2003 [2007]: 83–103.
  • “On the Function of the (h)argbed in Sasanian Iran.” In Ahmad Tafazzoli: A Commemorative. Iran Nameh: A Persian Journal of Iranian Studies. Vol. 17:2. Bethesda, MD: Foundation for Iranian Studies, 1999, 287–290.
  • “The Evolution of the Concept of xwadāy in Middle Persian. Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 51, no. 1–2 (1998): 31–54.

Book Chapters

Encyclopaedia Entries

  • “Hormizd I.” Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. 12, no. 5 (2004): 462–464.
  • “Hazārbed.” Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. 12, no. 1 (2003): 93–95.
  • “Ḵosrow I Anōširavān.” Encyclopædia Iranica. In preparation.

Reviews

  • Macuch, Maria. Rechtskasuistik and Gerichtspraxis zu Beginn des siebenten Jahrhunderts in Iran: Die Rechtssammlung des Farroḫmard i Wahrāmān. Edited by Maria Macuch. Iranica, Band 1. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1993, xiv, 807 S. In Orientalische Literaturzeitung 93 (1998): 230–234.
  • Wiesehöfer, Josef. Ancient Persia. London: I. B. Tauris, 1996. In Iranian Studies 33, 1-2 (2000): 238–240.
  • Tafazzoli, Ahmad. Sasanian Society: I. Warriors; II. Scribes; III. Dehqāns. Ehsan Yarshater Distinguished Lectures in Iranian Studies, No. 1. New York: Bibliotheca Persica Press, 2000, 71. In Journal of the American Oriental Society 132:1 (2012): 124–125.
  • Cantera, Alberto. Studien zur Pahlavi Übersetzung des Avesta. Edited by Maria Macuch. Iranica, Band 7. In Journal of the American Oriental Society 131:3 (2011): 504–506.