International Meeting “The Medes: 25 Years Afterwards,” Accademia Galileiana di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti in Padova, 29 September–2 October 2026.

The international meeting “The Medes: 25 Years Afterwards” will take place at the Accademia Galileiana di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti in Padova, Italy, from 29 September to 2 October 2026. The meeting brings together recent research on the Medes from archaeological, historical, historical-geographical, linguistic, Classical and Near Eastern sources, art-historical, and Iranian historiographical perspectives.

The meeting opens on 29 September with welcome addresses and an introduction by Robert Rollinger, followed by three days of lectures and keynote presentations.

Wednesday, 30 September

The morning programme includes presentations on Hagmatāna and the material culture of the Median period, the archaeology of Mannea, the historical geography of Media, the Dinka settlement complex and the problem of the Medes, as well as Media and Babylonia at the turn of the sixth century BCE.

The afternoon sessions address the Medes in Aramaic and Classical sources, the linguistic origins and spread of Median loanwords, and related questions. The keynote lecture, “Iranian, Median, Zagrosian: Linguistic Variety in Northwest Iran during the First Millennium BCE,” will be delivered by Adriano Rossi.

Thursday, 1 October

The second day will examine the Medes in a global perspective, Medo-Babylonian campaigns against the Assyrian west, the collapse of the Assyrian Empire, and the royal hostage tradition associated with Cyrus at the Median court.

The afternoon programme includes Herodotus, Greek genealogies, and the succession of empires, the location of the Seven Walls of Ecbatana between myth and archaeology, the image of the Medes in early Armenian historiography, and tribes among ancient and modern Kurds.

Friday, 2 October

The final day focuses on the Medes in Urartian history, the construction of Median art and archaeology, Media in the antiquities market and in twentieth-century historiographical and political narratives, echoes of the Medes in the Western imagination, Kerkeneš Dağ and the Median western frontier, and the Medes and native Iranian historical traditions.

The meeting will conclude with a Conclusion and Final Discussion, with Josef Wiesehöfer and M. Rahim Shayegan.

Among the participating scholars are Robert Rollinger, Julian Degen, Touraj Daryaee, Yazdan Safaee, M. Rahim Shayegan, Matthew Canepa, Holger Gzella, Adriano Rossi, John MacGinnis, and Simonetta Ponchia, together with scholars from universities and research institutions in Europe, Iran, Armenia, and the United States.

Scientific Organisation:
Giovanni B. Lanfranchi, Robert Rollinger, Salvatore Gaspa, Simonetta Ponchia, and Luigi Turri

Venue:
Accademia Galileiana di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti in Padova, Padua, Italy

Dates:
29 September–2 October 2026