The Ērān, Tūrān, Hrōm Talk Series (ETHS) has officially begun, with the aim of expanding research on Western and Central Asia during Late Antiquity and the first millennium CE. Positioned within a broader global and Afro-Eurasian framework, this series seeks to move beyond the conventional boundaries of Iranian Studies. The series is convened by Khodadad Rezakhani of Leiden University and Ekaterina Nechaeva of the University of Lille.

While the core focus of the series remains on Ērān—the heartland of the Sasanian Empire and the eastern territories of the later Islamic Caliphate—the organizers aim to explore these regions through interdisciplinary and transregional approaches. By situating Ērān within wider networks of exchange and interaction—economic, religious, cultural, and political—they seek to illuminate the broader dynamics of the premodern world.

The series launched with a talk by Dr. Pavel Lurje of the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg and the Paris Institute for Advanced Study.

The next event will take place on May 13, 2025, featuring Dr. Patryk Skupniewicz from the University of Natural Sciences and Humanities in Siedlce, Poland. The talk, titled “Elephants in Iranian and Central Asian Art of Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages,” will be held in person at the Pont-de-Bois, Building E. 51. at 18:00 CET.

Dr. Skupniewicz will explore the roles and representations of elephants in the historical and artistic traditions of Iran and Central Asia. Although there are late Achaemenid references, elephants entered Western Asian history primarily during the Hellenistic period. Their military use began under the Hellenistic dynasts and was later expanded by the Sasanians. Despite their practical roles in warfare and executions, elephants remained marginal in Iranian visual culture, with only rare depictions in seals and reliefs like those at Taq-e Bostan. In Central Asia, however, elephant imagery—ranging from naturalistic to highly stylized—was more widespread and heavily influenced by Kushan and Buddhist traditions. These motifs, associated with royal power and narrative art, traveled from Sogdiana to Tibet and China.

One of the main goals of the ETHS is to create a platform for dialogue among scholars working on various regions including China, South Asia, Africa, and the Mediterranean, especially those whose work intersects with Iran in Late Antiquity and the first millennium. Topics of interest include environmental history, technology transfer, material and literary exchanges, religious movements, and other transregional phenomena.

The ETHS particularly welcomes research that challenges conventional chronological and geographical boundaries and introduces fresh methodologies for exploring Afro-Eurasian historical connections. Scholars interested in contributing to the series are invited to reach out to the organizers.

Ultimately, the ETHS aims to foster a richer, more multifaceted understanding of the interconnected and dynamic histories of Ērān and beyond in the premodern world—a world shaped at the crossroads of multiple civilizations.

Link to the announcement: