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Prof. Dr. Kianoosh Rezania is a Professor of West Asian Religious History and Director of the Käte Hamburger Kolleg Dynamics of Religious History at Ruhr University Bochum. His research focuses on Zoroastrianism, Iranian religions, and the history of religions, with a particular emphasis on ancient Iranian languages and interreligious dynamics. He holds a Ph.D. from Georg-August University Göttingen and has conducted extensive research on topics such as Zoroastrian cosmology, Sasanian-Zoroastrian interactions, and the transmission of religious texts. His work combines philological analysis with historical and cultural studies approaches. Rezania's academic career includes roles as a research associate at Göttingen University and his habilitation project on spatial concepts in early Zoroastrianism. He has directed major research initiatives like the Graduate School of Metaphor and Religion (GSMR) and the Käte Hamburger Kolleg. His publications span monographs, edited volumes, and peer-reviewed articles exploring themes such as religious economics, Middle Persian lexicography, and cross-cultural exchanges between the Safavid and Mughal empires. His current projects include the 'Zoroastrian Middle Persian: Digital Corpus and Dictionary' initiative and studies on Pahlavi literature's interreligious context. He collaborates internationally, leading interdisciplinary teams and contributing to digital humanities efforts in religious studies.

• Zoroastrian Studies
• History of Religions
• Iranian Religions
• +6 more

Prof. Dr. Ulrike Freitag is Director of the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (Berlin) and holds a special professorship in Islamic Studies at Freie Universität Berlin. Her research focuses on social and cultural history of the Arab world, urban history, and transregional connections in the Indian Ocean. She has directed major projects like 'An Oasis Facing Globalisation: Hegra’s History since the 19th Century' and authored seminal works such as A History of Jeddah . Education: Habilitation (Islamic Studies, 2002, Bonn), PhD (1991, Freiburg), MA (1987, Freiburg). Key research stays include Damascus (1984-85, 1987-90), Yemen, and Southeast Asia. Research Interests: Urban development, migration networks, Ottoman heritage, Saudi state formation, and transregional Islamic dynamics. Current projects explore Jeddah’s urban history and transregional entanglements in the Arabian Peninsula. Engagement: Editorial roles for Journal of Arabian Studies , ZMO Studien , and advisory boards for institutions like the Leibniz Institute of European History. Awarded fellowships from Käthe-Hamburger Kolleg and LUCIS. Supervised over 20 doctoral theses on topics ranging from Ottoman governance to Gulf intellectual history. Publications: Over 150 articles, 8 monographs, and 6 edited volumes. Her work blends archival research with transregional perspectives, emphasizing marginalized voices and material culture. Recent focus on pandemic impacts and Saudi-Iranian geopolitical dynamics.

• Middle Eastern History
• Urban History
• Indian Ocean Studies
• +4 more

Prof. Dr. Christoph U. Werner is the Chair of Iranian Studies at Otto-Friedrich-University Bamberg since 2019, following his 12-year professorship at Marburg University (2007-2019) and previous academic roles. He specializes in Iranian Studies with focus areas in social history , legal institutions , Shiite religious structures , and Persophone literary history . As a Research Dean of Humanities and Cultural Studies (2023-2025) Managing Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies (2021-2025) President of Societas Iranologica Europaea (2019-2023) , he leads major academic initiatives. His research spans Qajar-era legal contracts Waqf (endowment) systems Persian-Ottoman-Georgian historical interconnections Manuscript studies of Persian documents , often combining archival analysis with interdisciplinary approaches. Recent publications focus on 20th-century Persian cultural politics, early modern Persian-Ottoman interactions, and legal epigraphy. He collaborates extensively with institutions like the University of Oxford's Invisible East and DFG Priority Programme Transottomanica . His editorial work includes Orientalistische Literaturzeitung (2022-) Persimone blog (2022-) Bamberg University Press publications and multiple Iranian academic journals.

• Iranian Studies
• Islamic Studies
• Social History
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Zaur Gasimov is a Lecturer at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and currently serves as DAAD Departmental Coordinator and Co-Head at the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Turkish-German University. He holds a habilitation in Modern History and Eastern European History, with a focus on Eastern European History, political science, and sociology. Education : B.A. in International Relations from Baku State University; M.A. from Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt; Doctorate in Eastern European history Research : Concentrates on Russian-Turkish relations, nationalism in Eastern Europe, cultural transfer processes, and historical narratives. His habilitation thesis analyzed Polish-Turkish anti-Soviet alliances. Publications : Authored monographs on Prometheism, Azerbaijani historiography, and Russification policies. Collaborated on comparative studies of cultural transfer and Ottoman-Russian entanglements.

• Eastern European History
• Russian-Turkish Relations
• Nationalism and Transnationalism
• +3 more

Prof. Dr. Ulrike Freitag is a distinguished scholar in Islamic Studies and social history of the Arab world, holding a Professorship at Freie Universität Berlin and serving as Director of the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO) . Her work bridges urban history, transregional Islamic networks, and Arabian Peninsula studies within Indian Ocean and Red Sea contexts. Education : PhD in Islamic Studies (Freiburg, 1991), Habilitation (Bonn, 2002) Research : Focus on Ottoman urban violence, Saudi state formation, Hadhrami diaspora, and historical urbanism in Jeddah Her supervision of PhD projects spans topics from Moroccan Sufi sanctußen to Yemeni Jewish communities. Recent scientific awards include fellowships at Leiden University and Käthe-Hamburger Kolleg. She contributes to public discourse through Tagesspiegel op-eds and international conferences.

• Social and cultural history of the Arab world
• Urban history
• Arabian Peninsula
• +3 more

Alberto Cantera Glera is a Professor at the Institute of Iranian Studies within the Department of History and Cultural Studies at Freie Universität Berlin. His research focuses on Zoroastrian studies, Avestan language and literature, Iranian linguistics, and manuscript studies. He teaches courses on Young Avestan, Pahlavi, Zoroastrian rituals, and Iranian literature, with office hours held on Thursdays from 3-5 p.m. Professor Cantera Glera's research interests center on Zoroastrian religious practices, particularly the Long Liturgy, Avestan textual criticism, and the transmission of Zoroastrian texts through manuscript traditions. His work bridges linguistic analysis with religious studies, examining how ritual practices evolved from ancient to medieval Iran. He has made significant contributions to understanding the relationship between oral performance and written transmission in Zoroastrian traditions, as well as the linguistic features of Avestan and Middle Persian texts. His recent publications reveal a consistent focus on Zoroastrian ritual structures, particularly the Long Liturgy, with increasing attention to the relationship between textual manuscripts and ritual performance. The articles show progression from linguistic analysis of Avestan texts toward broader studies of ritual practice, sacred geography, and the historical development of Zoroastrian religious authority. His work demonstrates sophisticated integration of manuscript evidence with ritual theory and historical linguistics. PRIX ROMAN ET TANIA GHIRSHMAN 2021 Professor Cantera has supervised numerous PhD students including Nils Purwins, Stefan Härtel, Yusef Saadat, Jaime Porro, Soheil Delshad, and Xue Li. His research has been supported through various academic projects related to Zoroastrian manuscript studies and Avestan textual criticism, contributing significantly to the field of Iranian studies at Freie Universität Berlin.

• Zoroastrian Studies
• Avestan Language and Literature
• Iranian Linguistics
• +6 more

Dr. Seyed Hossein Zarhani is a Senior Research Associate, Lecturer, and Academic Advisor at the Department of Political Science, South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University (Centre for Asian and Transcultural Studies). He has been associated with the university since 2013 as a Lecturer and since 2016 as a Research Associate. Habilitation: Comparative political economy in Iran and India. Dissertation: Dynamics of Governance and Development in India, supervised by Prof. Subrata K. Mitra and Prof. Dietmar Rothermund. Teaching: Seminar courses since 2013 on topics like Governance and Development in South Asia, Party Politics, Islam and Politics in South Asia, Comparative Politics of South Asian States, Infrastructure Regulation in Asia, and Qualitative Research Methods. Editorial Roles: Editorial board member of Heidelberg Papers in South Asian and Comparative Politics (HPSACP) and Indian Politics and Policy journal. Research Focus: Governance, Indian and Iranian politics, political economy of development and democracy in South Asia, Islamic political history and thought in South Asia.

• Governance
• Indian Politics
• Political Economy
• +5 more

Prof. Dr. Lorenz Korn is a Professor of Islamic Art History and Archaeology at Otto-Friedrich University Bamberg since 2003. His academic journey includes studies at the University of Tübingen and Oxford, followed by postdoctoral research at Harvard University. He specializes in medieval Islamic architecture, focusing on Egypt, Syria, Iran, and Central Asia, with particular attention to religious symbolism, epigraphy, and material culture. His research spans projects funded by institutions such as the DFG and Gerda Henkel Foundation, including studies on Mongol migration routes in Iran, Seljuk mosque architecture, and the Rabʿ-i Rashidi in Tabriz. He has led archaeological expeditions in Iran, Oman, and Spain, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches combining art history with archaeology and scientific analysis. Key research interests include Islamic metalwork, stucco decoration techniques, and the role of inscriptions in architectural context. Korn has authored over 60 publications, including monographs on Ayyubid architecture and co-edited volumes on Islamic art and archaeology. His work bridges scholarly rigor with public engagement, evident in exhibitions and educational outreach. Recent projects include dendrochronological analysis of the Alhambra dome and field research in Spain’s Aljarafe region. He advises students in the Islamic Art History and Archaeology master’s program, fostering next-generation scholars through hands-on training in fieldwork and artifact analysis.

• Islamic Architecture
• Islamic Metalwork
• Religious Symbolism in Islam
• +3 more

Professor Shervin Farridnejad is a faculty member at the Asia-Africa Institute of the University of Hamburg, where he holds the Professorship of Iranian Studies since September 2022. He also serves as the Head of the MA program 'Manuscript Cultures' at the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC) within the Cluster of Excellence 'Understanding Written Artefacts'. PhD in Ancient and Middle Iranian Philology and Zoroastrian Studies (2014) - Georg-August University Göttingen MA in Ancient Iranian Studies (2007-2009) - Georg-August University Göttingen MA in Fine Arts and Art History (2003-2006) - Tarbiat Modares University Tehran BA in Fine Arts (Painting) (1998-2002) - Tehran University His research focuses on Zoroastrianism , particularly examining its cultural and religious history from antiquity to the early Islamic period. He investigates the dynamics between Zoroastrians and non-Zoroastrians, Zoroastrian art and iconography, and manuscript cultures. His work also extends to Judeo-Persian literature , Ancient Iranian philology , and Persian calligraphy . Recent publications highlight ritual practices in Zoroastrianism, including sacrificial food traditions and gift-exchange theology. The 2024 article on canine roles in Zoroastrian meat ethics and 2023 works on Safavid manuscript iconography demonstrate his interdisciplinary approach combining textual analysis with visual culture studies. 2022-2024: Editorial board member for Sasanian Studies series 2020-2023: Book Review Editor of the journal Iranian Studies 2016-2022: Co-editor of Ancient Iran Series 2015-2024: Contributor to Bibliographia Iranica and DABIR journals As an active academic leader, he serves as Sustainability Officer of the Asia-Africa Institute, member of the CSMC Steering Committee, and deputy member of the Faculty Council of Humanities at University of Hamburg. His teaching spans from introductory courses on Iranian history to specialized seminars on Zoroastrian rituals and Persian manuscript cultures.

• Iranian Cultural and Religious History
• Zoroastrianism
• Manuscript Cultures
• +4 more

Dr. Fatemeh Masdari is a Junior Research Fellow at the University of Münster’s Centre for Advanced Study “Access to Cultural Goods in Digital Change.” She holds a Master’s in Economics and Management of Art, Culture, and Entertainment from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Milan, 2012) and a PhD in Art Research from Al-Zahra University (Tehran, 2018). Her research focuses on Philosophy of Art, Aesthetics, and Digital Media, with expertise in 4E Cognition Theory and Cyberspace Studies. She taught undergraduate and graduate courses in Islamic Art, New Media, and Philosophy at Iranian universities post-2012. Key collaborations include work with the Iran National Science Foundation (2016) and UNESCO Chair in Tehran (2019, 2021). Her multilingual skills (Persian, Italian, English, Spanish, French) enhance cross-cultural research. Her publications analyze Instagram aesthetics, new media ontology, and cultural impacts of digital technologies. Research emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches to digital transformation in cultural goods and media representation.

• Philosophy of Art
• Aesthetics
• Philosophy of Technology
• +3 more

PD Dr. Lutz Rzehak is an academic staff member at the Institute for Asian and African Studies (IAAW) within the Faculty of Humanities at Humboldt University of Berlin, serving as a Teacher for special tasks specializing in Modern Iranian languages and the ethnography and cultural history of Afghanistan and Central Asia. His educational background includes: Oriental Studies/History from the State University of Leningrad (1985) Doctorate in Iranian Studies, Humboldt University of Berlin (1991) Habilitation in Central Asian Studies / Iranian Studies, Humboldt University of Berlin (2001) Dr. Rzehak's research spans Central Asian Studies , Iranian Studies , Ethnography , and Linguistics , with fieldwork focusing on Baloch, Pashtun, and Tajik communities. His work examines language evolution, social structures, and cultural practices through historical and contemporary lenses, particularly regarding Soviet influence and post-Taliban Afghanistan. Key contributions include grammatical analyses of Iranian languages and ethnographic studies of religious rituals and tribal systems. His recent publications (2016-2021) reveal consistent focus on Iranian language dynamics (especially Dari and Pashto), ethnic identity politics in Afghanistan, and cultural history of Central Asia. These works address language change mechanisms, ethnic consolidation strategies, and the interplay between tradition and modernity, often utilizing comparative linguistic and ethnographic methodologies. His scientific awards include: Heisenberg Fellow of the German Research Foundation Dr. Rzehak has held significant research positions including Research Associate in the Crossroads Asia Competence Network (2011-2016) and Heisenberg Fellow (2002-2011). While his CV does not list formal PhD advisees, his language lecturing and research supervision have mentored numerous students in Central Asian and Iranian studies through course instruction and fieldwork guidance. He has been actively involved in the Crossroads Asia Competence Network, a major interdisciplinary research initiative examining transregional connections and historical trajectories across Central, South, and West Asia.

• Central Asian Studies
• Iranian Studies
• Ethnography
• +3 more

Prof. Gerhard Jäger holds the Chair of General Linguistics at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Tübingen . He serves as a Principal Investigator (PI) in the Clusters of Excellence Human Origins and Machine Learning for Science , and leads projects like Phylomilia (funded by Volkswagen Foundation) and CrossLingference (ERC Advanced Grant). His career spans multiple institutions, including Bielefeld University (2004-2009) and Stanford University (visiting scholar, 2004). Habilitation (2002) at Humboldt University Berlin with thesis on Anaphora and Type Logical Grammar PhD (1996) at Humboldt University Berlin on Dynamic Semantics His research bridges computational linguistics , phylogenetic analysis , and game theory , focusing on Bayesian models , language evolution , and cross-linguistic typology . Recent work explores phylogenetic inference from acoustic speech data and geographic influences on language trees . Key contributions include 15+ recent publications on topics spanning phylogenetic typology , cognate detection , and Bayesian language modeling . These works employ machine learning , statistical inference , and evolutionary game theory to analyze language change , typological variation , and linguistic stability . Honors include ERC Advanced Grant , Volkswagen Foundation funding , and DFG-Humanities Centre for Advanced Studies participation. He has taught courses in Computational Historical Linguistics , Phylogenetic Methods , and Bayesian Data Analysis across institutions like Tübingen, Bielefeld, and Stanford. He actively contributes to academic communities through workshop organization (e.g., Quantitative Theoretical Linguistics , Game Theory in Pragmatics ) and serves on the faculty council at Tübingen. His team collaborates with institutions like Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology , University of Pennsylvania , and LMU Munich .

• Computational Linguistics
• Historical Linguistics
• Phylogenetic Linguistics
• +8 more

Dr. Oliver Hampe serves as Scientific Director of the Vertebrate Paleontology and Geology Collections at the Museum für Naturkunde (Museum of Natural History), Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Research in Berlin, Germany. He also holds the position of Head of the Paleontological Preparation Laboratory. His expertise spans extinct aquatic vertebrates, paleopathology, and geoarchaeology, with significant contributions to cetacean evolution research. Hampe completed his studies in Chemistry and Geology-Paleontology from 1981-1987 at universities in Düsseldorf and Mainz, earning his Diploma in 1987. He received his PhD from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in 1991 and completed his habilitation for Palaeobiology and Zoology at Humboldt University Berlin in 2003, qualifying him as a Privatdozent. His research focuses on cetacean evolution, particularly Miocene whale fossils from German sites like Groß Pampau, with significant work on periotic bone anatomy. Hampe integrates traditional morphological analysis with advanced imaging techniques including CT scanning to study fossil specimens non-destructively. His paleopathological research examines diseases in fossils, such as osteomyelitis in Tyrannosaurus rex and bone tumors in whale specimens. He also maintains scholarly interest in the history of paleontology, particularly Werner Janensch's work and German expeditions to Tendaguru, Tanzania. Analysis of Hampe's recent publications reveals consistent focus on cetacean evolution, especially baleen whales from the Miocene epoch. His methodological approach frequently combines detailed morphological analysis with geological context to understand evolutionary patterns. He has made significant taxonomic contributions through studies of whale ear bone anatomy and has extended his research to pathological conditions in diverse fossil vertebrates. His interdisciplinary work bridges paleontology with medical imaging techniques and historical studies. As Head of the Paleontological Preparation Laboratory, Hampe oversees the curation and preparation of vertebrate fossil collections. His current research projects include cetacean studies from Groß Pampau, pathology research on dinosaurs and mammals, and investigations into aquatic adaptation in Cetartiodactyla supervised with PhD student Apolline Alfsen. His collaborative approach is evident in numerous publications with international researchers across Europe.

• Paleontology
• Vertebrate Paleontology
• Cetacean Evolution
• +3 more

Ramin Shaghaghi is a Lecturer for Persian language and literature at the Asia-Africa Institute within the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Hamburg, holding this position since the summer semester of 2003. His academic background includes a Magister in Iranistics and Ethnology from Freie Universität Berlin, where he completed his thesis "Der Naqqāl als Träger des kulturellen Gedächtnisses in Iran" (The Naqqāl as Carrier of Cultural Memory in Iran). During his studies, he contributed to the DFG-funded "Digitalization of Turfan Manuscripts" project at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences. Shaghaghi's research spans critical domains of Iranian and Near Eastern studies, with primary focus on: Oral tradition of Iran Cultural memory and remembrance practices in Iran Persian classical and modern literary traditions Historical evolution of Persian grammar Ethnology of the Near East Gender Studies frameworks Broad Iran-related socio-cultural phenomena His scholarly work emphasizes the interplay between oral transmission mechanisms and cultural preservation in Iranian contexts, particularly examining narrative carriers like the Naqqāl tradition. This research intersects with literary analysis, historical linguistics, and ethnographic methodologies to explore identity formation and memory politics. Shaghaghi actively supervises Bachelor's and Master's theses on Persian language, literature, and Iranian cultural studies at the University of Hamburg, though specific student names are not publicly documented. The Asia-Africa Institute hosts his academic activities alongside major research initiatives including Social Contexts of Rebellion in the Early Islamic Period (SCORE), Persian Letters from the "second Iran" manuscript analysis, Evolution of Islamic Societies algorithmic project, InterSaME oral/written transmission study, COBHUNI, FGM-Egypt, Rifaiya-Iraq, and the RomanIslam Center for Comparative Empire Studies, providing collaborative frameworks for his research.

• Oral tradition of Iran
• Cultural memory and culture of remembrance in Iran
• Persian classical and modern literature
• +4 more

Dr. Sara Bazoobandi is a Research Fellow at the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies, part of the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), a Leibniz Institute based in Hamburg, Germany. She has been associated with GIGA since February 2020. Her research focuses on International Political Economy and Energy Economics, with a regional emphasis on Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Her academic background includes a PhD in Middle East Political Economy from the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter, an MSc in Economic Development in Emerging Markets from the University of Reading, and a BSc in Civil Engineering from Tehran, Iran. Prior to her current role, she served as a Senior Lecturer and Lecturer in International Political Economy at Regent's University London (2015–2018), and as a Research Fellow at the Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore (2012). Dr. Bazoobandi’s research centers on the political economy of the Middle East, particularly Iran’s economic resilience, diversification strategies, and digital transformation. She examines how Iran navigates international sanctions, develops its knowledge-based economy, and strengthens strategic alliances. Her work also explores the geopolitical implications of the Russo-Iranian nexus, focusing on military, economic, and ideological cooperation. More recently, she has been involved in the Digital Transformation Lab (DigiTraL), analyzing digitalization as a tool for international cooperation, particularly between Germany and the Global South. Her recent publications and policy studies highlight trends in AI governance, GCC digital transformation, and the weaponization of knowledge in authoritarian contexts. These works reflect a strong interdisciplinary approach, combining political science, economics, and security studies. She regularly contributes to media outlets such as Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , WirtschaftsWoche , and Deutsche Welle , offering expert commentary on Middle Eastern geopolitics, Iranian foreign policy, and regional conflicts. Dr. Bazoobandi has taught at the Department of Political Science, University of Hamburg (2024), offering a seminar on ideology, state ethos, and power projection in Iran. She has also been a lecturer and speaker at international forums including the Gulf Research Meeting at Cambridge University, the Istituto per gli studi di politica internazionale (ISPI), and the GIGA Forum, where she has addressed topics such as gender equality in the MENA region and the 2022 Iranian protests. She is also the Managing Director of Middle East Risk Consulting, a role she has held since May 2018, demonstrating her engagement with applied policy and risk analysis in the region.

• International Political Economy
• Energy Economics
• Iranian Politics
• +10 more