The Academy of Persian Language and Persianate Culture
Persian through Central Asian texts
Instructor: Peyman Eshaghi
This course is a linguistic and historical journey through Transoxiana (Ma Wara' al-Nahr). It focuses on the "Persianate" world of Central Asia, where the language served as the primary vehicle for administration, poetry, and philosophy from the Sassanian period until the rise of the Soviet Socialist Republics that purged Farsi from regions determined by the Kremlin to be only Turkic cultured. The curriculum transitions from the Classical Samanid style to the Chaghatai-influenced Persian of the Timurids, ending with the modern Tajik and Uzbek-Persian synthesis.
Course Content:
Week 1
Hudud al-'Alam, Anonymous
حدود العالم، مؤلف ناشناخته
Week 2
Zayn al-Akhbar, Abu Sa'id Gardizi
زینالاخبار، ابوسعید گردیزی
Week 3
Chahar Maqala, Nizami Aruzi
چهار مقاله، نظامی عروضی سمرقندی
Week 4
Tarikh-i Jahangushay, Ata-Malik Juvayni
تاریخ جهانگشای، عطاملک جوینی
Week 5
Safarnameh-ye Khatay, Ghiyath al-Din Naqqash
سفرنامه خطای، غیاثالدین نقاش
Week 6
Badayi' al-Waqayi, Zayn al-Din Wasifi
بدایعالوقایع، زینالدین واصفی
Week 7
Anis al-Talibin, Salah bin Mubarak Bukhari
انیسالطالبین، صلاح بن مبارک بخاری
Week 8
Tuhfat al-Khani, Mohammad Wafa Karminagi
تحفه خانی، محمدوفا کرمینگی
Week 9
Mir'at al-Islam, Sayyid Ahmad Vasli
مرآتالاسلام، سید احمد وصلی
Week 10
Dukhtar-i Atash, Jalal Ikrami
دختر آتش، جلال اکرامی
Week 11
Az Ganjina-ye Yad-ha, Khalilullah Khalili
از گنجینه یادها، خلیلالله خلیلی
Week 12
Kamon-e Rostam, Sattor Tursun
کمان رستم، ستار تورسون
Course Details:
Schedule: Tuesdays, 23 June - 8 September, 2026
Time: 10:30 - 11:30 AM (US Pacific), 12:00–13:00 (US Eastern), 06:00–07:00 PM (Central European)
Format: 12 online sessions
Tuition: $300 (payable in installments)
Class days and times may be adjusted in accordance with the request of enrollees.
Registered participants will receive full access to recorded session videos and all course materials.