Arash Zeini

Arash Zeini is a Bahari Research Fellow at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford, specializing in pre-Islamic Iranian cultures and languages with a focus on Zoroastrianism and late antique exegesis of the Avesta.

His research interests span:

• Zoroastrianism and its scholastic traditions
• Religious culture of the Sasanian era
• Middle Persian administrative documents and philology
• Digital humanities applications in Iranian studies
• Decipherment of documentary Middle Persian texts

Analysis of his 15 most recent publications reveals a cohesive scholarly trajectory centered on Zoroastrian exegesis (Zand), Sasanian-era religious thought, and textual analysis of Middle Persian documents. His work consistently bridges philology, religious studies, and historical linguistics, with increasing emphasis on digital methodologies and collaborative editorial projects.

Key scientific recognition includes:

• Election as Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (2025)
• AIS Book Prize for Ancient Iranian Studies (2022) for Zoroastrian Scholasticism in Late Antiquity

Zeini co-edits the open-access journal Berkeley Working Papers in Middle Iranian Philology and founded the bibliographic resource Bibliographia Iranica (2015). His editorial work includes Festschrift volumes honoring Dieter Weber (2024) and François de Blois (2021), demonstrating leadership in fostering scholarly collaboration within Iranian studies.