Testimonial by Kristof Szitar
PhD in Islam in India, Université de Lausanne, Switzerland
In spite of its rich cultural and religious literature, Middle Persian is a language rarely offered by language schools.
During this intensive course we have finished reading two entire Middle Persian books, and also managed to translate and discuss massive chunks from two additional works.
Students interested in linguistics, religious studies and history will greatly benefit from translating and interpreting Middle Persian works under Ruben’s hands-on supervision.
In addition to this, his constructive and insightful remarks facilitate the cultural contextualisation of the readings, and broaden your vocabulary of Middle and Classical Persian.
The additional readings provided by the instructor bring your attention to a diverse range of topics including Zoroastrianism, Sasanian history and Armenian-Parthian interactions.
The fact that Armenian has retained a staggering number of Middle Iranian loan words, and Ruben’s ability to masterfully cast light on such historical linguistics contacts, makes ASPIRANTUM the ideal place for studying Middle Persian.
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.
Christopher "Carson" Conlon
MPhil, Islamic Studies and History, University of Oxford, UK
“The Shāhnāma course was a great way to learn Persian by sparing with a classical Persian text. Students left with a better understanding of Firdawsī’s magnum opus (shāhkār) and will never envision the Shāhnāma the same way again.”Read Testimonial
Christopher Conlon
MPhil, Islamic Studies and History, University of Oxford, UK
“This course left a lasting impression on all participants. We are grateful to the ASPIRANTUM team for quickly adopting to the online format this summer. We are also grateful to Professor Voskanian for his encouragement, support, and friendship.”Read Testimonial
Max Bledstein
PhD Candidate, University of New South Wales, Australia
“I would highly recommend this course to anyone looking to develop their knowledge of Persian language and culture. Thank you very much for the amazing experience!”Read Testimonial