Testimonial by Gad Barnea
PhD Candidate, Department of Biblical Studies, University of Haifa, Israel
I took the Old Persian intensive course in May 2021, following the curriculum designed by ASPIRANTUM. This course was a pleasure and a joy to go through.
This intensive course covered all the aspects of grammar and syntax as one would expect from this type of course, as well as the Old Persian cuneiform script. All of this was guided by Nshan Kesecker of the Department of Iranian Studies at Yerevan State University who provided important and fascinating insights into the historical and linguistic contexts of these inscriptions as well as that of other Iranian languages.
However, the best part was that we were able to read through all of the main Old Persian inscriptions. This was the main portion of every lesson - actually reading out loud the famous (and not so famous) Achaemenid inscriptions and discussing them in class. At the end of the course, I was able to sight-read the inscriptions and parse and analyze the text confidently. This is totally a testament to the high quality of this course and the quality and efficacy of instruction provided by Nshan, who guided us through it.
This class exceeded my expectations by a wide margin! I already plan on taking more classes at ASPIRANTUM, and I highly recommend these classes to others.
Interested? Check Upcoming Persian Language Courses!
Our Persian language courses are open to anyone with upper elementary or intermediate knowledge of the Persian language. The lectures are organized with the academic interests of our participants in mind. Students as well as researchers working in Iranian Studies and relevant fields will benefit the most from our courses.
Check Upcoming CoursesOther Testimonials.
Jake Pawlush
Former Undergraduate Student at the State University of New York at Buffalo, USA
“ASPIRANTUM’s Old Persian online course exceeded all my expectations. I am incredibly thankful for ASPIRANTUM for creating this course and I would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in ancient history, linguistics, or languages in general!”Read Testimonial
Sydney Ward
Undergraduate Student, McGill University, Canada
“I left the course not only with a working grasp of Old Persian but also with a heightened awareness of aspects such as the royal ideology, religious, and geopolitical context around the time of the writing of these inscriptions in the Achaemenid Empire.”Read Testimonial
Yang Han
Classics Student, Oberlin College, USA
“I would recommend anyone interested in the world of Achaemenid Persia to take an Old Persian class with Nshan. He was knowledgeable as an instructor and friendly as a colleague/friend. He also has many good stories to share, so the redundant "thatiy Darayavahush xshayathiya xshayathiyanam" would not be too unbearable:).”Read Testimonial