David Durand-Guédy is a researcher at the University of Hamburg's Asien-Afrika-Institut, Department of History and Culture of the Near East. A historian specializing in 11th- to 13th-century Iran and the Persianate world, he leads a DFG-funded project (2023-2025) on a 13th-century Persian inshāʾ manuscript from Anatolia (MS Marʿashī 11136). His academic journey included studies at École Normale Supérieure (Fontenay-Saint-Cloud), Sorbonne, INALCO (Paris) and extensive work in Tehran.

PhD in History, Aix-en-Provence (2004)
Former affiliations: SFB 586 (Halle), Centre for Manuscript Cultures (Hamburg), Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations (Istanbul)

His research focuses on the transformation of Iranian society during the Saljuq period, with particular interest in nomadic integration, Ismaili networks, urban dynamics, and manuscript-based historiography. He pioneered the study of the unicum manuscript of ʿImād al-Dīn Iṣfahānī’s chronicle and co-edited the 2023 volume Personal Manuscripts: Copying, Drafting, Taking Notes.

Recent publications analyze Ilkhanid private documents, Saljuq rulers' literary practices, and Mongol-era Persianate manuscript cultures. His work reveals patterns in Turco-Iranian identity formation, chancery evolution, and manuscript-based social history.

Scientific recognition includes:

Saidi Sirjani Book Award (2012) for Iranian Elites and Turkish Rulers
Ketab-e Sāl Institute Award (2011)

He contributes to manuscript digitization initiatives and comparative studies of nomadic governance, with a focus on the 'RomanIslam' transcultural research framework.

David Durand-GuédyView profile