Iran in World History

International Society for Iranian 
Studies (ISIS)
www.iranian-studies.com
Official site for the US-based 
International Society for Iranian 
Studies, an organization of Iran 
scholars from all disciplines. 
Members can download articles 
from the association’s journal, 
Iranian Studies
, and find 
information about the biennial 
international conference.
Iran Chamber Society
www.iranchamber.com
A wide range of articles, many of 
them reprinted from other sources, on 
the history, art, and culture of Iran.
Iran Heritage Foundation (IHF)
www.iranheritage.org
The major international foundation 
supporting Iranian Studies as 
an academic field, IHF sponsors 
lectures, exhibitions, and cultural 
events, usually in the UK but 
sometimes internationally. Includes a 
searchable directory of Iran scholars 
worldwide.

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We b s i t e s
136
Payvand
http://payvand.com
An English-language site for all 
things Iranian, including news, 
features, events, and a tool for 
converting Persian calendar dates to 
Western ones.
Sasanika
www.sasanika.org
Articles, resources, news, and
events pertaining to Iran and its 
neighbors during the Sasanian
period.
Shahnameh Project
http://shahnama.caret.cam.ac.uk/new/
jnama/page
Worldwide database of manuscripts 
of the 
Book of Kings
, including 
an electronic corpus of miniature 
paintings. Based at Cambridge 
University in the UK.
Tajikam—A Worldwide 
Community of Tajiks
http://tajikam.com/index.php
Articles on Tajik history, language, 
and culture, as well as current events 
and discussion forums.

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Acknowledgments
A
s always, my thanks go first and foremost to my wife, Manya Saadi-nejad, who 
continues to motivate and inspire me to better understand her country and its 
history. She is my first and last resource for all things Iranian, and the recom-
pense for all my efforts.
I am also grateful to Reza, Semiramis, Arya, Bardia, and Pasha Saadi-nejad, 
Azzam Sadati, Ruth Foltz, Shahrzad and Bijan Foltz-Navab, Persia Shahdi, and 
Camilla, Edmund, Adam and Susannah Brandt, for their love and for providing me 
with the extended family network that defines who I am. My father, Dr. Rodger Foltz, 
who passed away in September 2013 as I was beginning this project, was a central and 
vital part of that network and is deeply missed.
I would like to express my gratitude to Bonnie Smith and Nancy Toff, with-
out whose encouragement this book might not have seen the light of day. Anand 
Yang, two anonymous reviewers, and two editors provided a wide range of helpful 
feedback—needless to say, I alone remain responsible for any errors of fact or inter-
pretation.
I have been fortunate to spend the past ten years as a member of the Department 
of Religion at Concordia University in Montréal, which has proven to be the most 
supportive work environment any scholar could wish for. Our past three department 
chairs, Norma Joseph, Lynda Clarke, and Lorenzo DiTommaso, have been especially 
helpful in enabling us to bring Iranian Studies—a vital field that has fallen into a tragic 
state of worldwide neglect—into the Concordia curriculum.
Among the many people who have helped and encouraged me during the course of 
our frequent visits to Iran I would first and foremost like to thank my friend, mentor, 
and translator, Askari Pasha’i. The opportunity to benefit from his wisdom and eru-
dition are always a highlight of my trips. I have had the pleasure of knowing many 
Iranians—family, friends, teachers, colleagues, students, and strangers—since I first 
began to enter their world nearly three decades ago, and most of them have contrib-
uted to my knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of their culture in some way 
or another. Any missteps or misperceptions stemming from these encounters are solely 
due to my shortcomings as a student of Iran’s extraordinarily rich and complex civili-
zation. 
Agar khub nashod, bebakhshid!

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