The ‘Comprehensive History of Iran’ written in 20 volumes, will be unveiled on June 16.
The project started 14 years ago with 170 academicians and professional researchers covering Iran’s history from ancient times to the Qajar dynasty.
The Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia said the first five volumes cover pre-Islamic era, volumes six to twelve, the Islamic era, and the last seven cover Iran’s cultural history, including the history of science and literature, Persian language, and the history of arts - architecture, handicrafts, music and ritual theater. The last volume is on Iran’s social history and includes history of religions and the legal system.
Seyyed Kazem Mousavi Bojnordi, center director, told IRNA that the idea was presented to the High Council of Science before senior consultants were appointed and editors assigned to execute the project.
Qualified authors, regardless of their country of residence, were identified and contracted for specific parts of the project. Supervising the authenticity of the sources was the center’s responsibility.
The volumes focus on three distinct areas of politics, culture and society, said Bojnordi.
“A scientific approach was taken in writing different historical eras and no specific period was prioritized.”
Due to the prominent role of Iranians in enriching knowledge and civilizations for thousands of years, the 20-volume work “is seen as one of the most important historical documents and of great value,” he said.
The collection is published in Persian. Due to insufficient funds the work will not be translated in English and Arabic. However, some institutes in England are willing to translate and publish the work in English.
Some of the authors, namely Iraj Afshar, Sharafoddin Khorasani, Enayatollah Reza, Clifford Edmund Bosworth, Yahya Shahidi, and Noushin Dokht Nafisi who cooperated in the project, are no more. They will be honored at the unveiling ceremony, Bojnordi said.
