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Sahrestaniha I Eransahr: A Middle Persian Text on Late Antique Geography, Epic, and History : With English and Persian Translations and Commentary (Bibliotheca Iranica: Intellectual Traditions Series)

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In 90 printed pages of a monograph titled "Sahrestaniha i Eransahr", Dr. Touraj Daryaee has provided an ideal model worthy of emulation, by all future authors of works on Iranology and linguistic studies. His style of presentation outlined in the table of contents is worth following by scholars engaged in as near a complete elucidation of a difficult linguistic or historical text. He begins with Acknowledgement, followed by a brief Introduction, followed by a Romanized Transcript of the text, followed by an English translation, then a Persian translation, then followed by Commentary, followed by the Middle Persian text in the original Pahlavi characters, then followed by a Map, then a Glossary explaining all the words of the text, ending with an exhaustive Bibliography of works referenced in the text.

The Sahrestaniha-i Eranshahr is probably the only surving Middle Persian (Pahlavi or Pehlevi) text on geography written in the late Sassanian period of Iranian history and finally redacted in the eight century CE. In general the text lists the various towns and cities of the then Iran and Asia, and the various rulers and kings responsible for their construction and establishment, many historical and some mythical. It sheds brief insights into the ancient Persian geographical world view defining the concept of Eranshahr. What is most unique about this text is that it provides some unusual pieces of information and names of the Peshdadian and Kayanian dynasties of pre-Achaemenid Iran, not generally found in other Middle Persian texts. Every Zarathushtrian, Parsee, and those interested in Ancient Persian lore will benefit from giving this little monograph their undivided attention. Congratulations to Mazda Publishers for an excellent printing of this rare and unusual piece of ancient Iranian history.