The three-volume ‘Great Events in Religion: An Encyclopedia of Pivotal Events in Religious History’ has been recently published in English by ABC-CLIO, a publishing company headquartered in California.
In 1,047 pages, the encyclopedia presents readers with information about the key events in religious developments that help better understand world history and seek to promote greater respect for culturally diverse religious traditions.
Editors of the encyclopedia are Florin Curta, professor of medieval history and archaeology at the University of Florida in Gainesville, and Andrew Holt, associate professor of history at Florida State College at Jacksonville, ISNA reported.
Research and compilation of the present work took many years. In 2015, Iranian researcher in history of art Ramin Hajian Fard contributed to the work.
Hajian Fard’s contributions include those on the religious influence of Safavid Dynasty (1501-1722); establishment of first Shi’ite state; building of Delhi’s Jama Masjid, originally named Masjid-I Jahan-Numa by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan between 1644 and 1656; Ayodhya dispute concerning activism of Hindu groups in rebuilding the ‘birth spot of Rama’ (the central figure of the epic ‘Ramayana’) in Ayodhya, an ancient city in India by demolishing the Barbi Masjid; and the consequent Bombay riots (1992-1993) in reaction to the mosque demolition, in which 900 people died.
Hajian Fard’s main area of research is on Mughal miniature painting, with a secondary emphasis on interfaith dialogue during the Mughal Empire of India.
His master’s degree dissertation was on peace painting, resulting in the articles ‘Iranian painters for peace’ and ‘Peace Review: A Journal of Social Justice.’
He has also written five articles for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia whose center is in Tehran.
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