Hello my Persian friends. I am doing pictorial history of Pakistan. Some of it might interest you om particular Persian influenced architecture. It starts from 5,000 years BCE and then moves forward. I am going to do military forts next. As our land was on margins of South/Central Asia we kept getting waves of invaders and forts are everywhere. Some are probably largest in the world.
Pictorial History - Cultural, Artistic, Natural Heritage of PakistanPlease
@rmi5 On the subject of history how reliable is Encyclopedia Iranica for lay person like me on Persian history?
@Serpentine @2800
Unfortunately, that encyclopedia covers very limited subjects. It's chief editor, Ehsan Yarshater, is definitely one of most knowledgable scholars, but of course, not every single article is written by him, and there is a variation in quality of their different articles. All in all, It's a source that I strongly recommend to read, but you need to read other sources as well.
Farrokh's tone is quite nationalist but i found his first book to be a good general read on pre-Islamic military history. I found his second book 'Iran at War' problematic in many ways so i agree with you to some extent. Although i think his tone is the major problem. What do you think is wrong with Daryaee?
Ali Ansari is well respected in academic circles so i dont know why you call him not knowledgeable. His works are usually citied in Iranian studies curriculums in universities and he is regularly invited to speak on Iranian history at Iran history symposiums. He also heads the Iranian studies at St. Andrews.
You live in America right? Thats perhaps why you think Milani is more well known than Ansari, who is based in Scotland.
I guess you got my point about Farrokh. About Daryaee, he makes up some fairy tales as I mentioned before. At least that's what I understood from his works on Sassanids. I have not read all of his works though.
Ali Ansari is not well known. As an example, if you search his name in YT, you can find 2-3 videos at most, which are interviews with PressTV, ... Also, he is a relative of Farah Pahlavi with personal problems with Reza Pahlavi II. Abbas Milani, is a Stanford professor who always gets invited for talks in international conferences. They are not in the same league. To remove any doubts, I am not a fan of Milani, at all.
Both are credible but of course we as Iranians always accuse others of having biases and agendas even while we hold our own biases too.
Not every single Iranian has a hidden agenda! Also, two wrongs, does not make a right.
This is a negative trait in the culture we need to rid ourselves of. Even if these people have biases, you can cross-reference their works against each others. Thats part of what academia is about, you read the same topic from different authors, so long as those authors are peer reviewed and able to demonstrate their own research so that you know they arent plagiarizing others or making things up. How far you accept their tone and the way they interpret and frame their narratives is upto you. Mind you, history is not about plain facts and figures, its about narratives, interpretation and reconstruction, supported by evidence (and 'facts' where possible).
Dear, that's why I already said that one needs to read different sources and compare them. Although, I believe some sources don't even worth the time to read them.
