We were delighted to host Home, Elsewhere: Objects That Carry Us at SOAS, an evocative theatre performance emerging from the Cosmos, Memory, Scale residency. Through intimate storytelling and carefully crafted staging, the piece explored how everyday objects and domestic ritual spaces carry memory, identity, and belonging across generations and migrations.
Bringing together artistic practice and research, the performance offered a moving reflection on Zoroastrian lived experience and the meanings embedded in material culture. The evening concluded with a thoughtful discussion and reception, extending the conversations sparked on stage.
Our thanks to the artists, collaborators, and all who joined us for this memorable event.
Please join for the next on 30 June at the Zoroastrian Centre in London. Details to follow.
Birds, wings and diadems:
Zoroastrian symbols in Parthian and Sasanian art
The next Kutar Memorial Lecture will take place on 30 April2026 at 6:00 pm, in KLT at SOAS. Dr Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis will deliver the key address, and though registration is not mandatory, we encourage attendees to sign up to capacity plan. To read the abstract and register, click the link here
Click on the image above to view the trailer for Mobed: The Parsi Priest!
The premiere of the documentary will take place
at 4.30 pm on 10 May at the Zoroastrian Centre, Harrow.
You can register by emailing malcolm_deboo@yahoo.co.uk
and further information can be found here.
Manashni, Gavashni, Kunashni: a musical journey into Zoroastrian identityon the 29 May is now sold out. Hosted by Nina Wadia OBE, the concert will feature newly commissioned works and familiar classics, offering audiences a musical journey through the sounds, histories and cultural resonances of Zoroastrianism. Performers will include baritone Frazan Kotwal, violinist Fra Rustumji, pianist Firoze Madon, Amir Massoumian, the Ava Choir and composers Kahan Taraporevala and Raiomond Mirza. You can add your name to the waiting list using thislink.
Professor Almut Hintze will speak at the Consciousness Perspectives Forum on Monday, 13 July 7.30pm. Titled “The concepts of Good and Evil in Zoroastrianism” this lecture will be streamed through Zoom. Against the backdrop of Zoroastrian cosmology, it discusses questions about the radically different nature of Good and Evil, the Zoroastrian concept of creation and the role and responsibility of human beings in the world. Register here.
Save the date!
On 8 October, 2026 the Institute will host the book launch of the Zoroastrian World. The editors and contributors will deliver a short presentation, followed by Q&A and reception. Details to follow.
The recording of “Creating sustainable data resources: Digital Data Training Workshop” is available to view on YouTube!
Events
University of Bergen, in collaboration with University of Strasbourg and La Sapienza University of Rome, organises a summer school in the last week of August in Rome, focused on Avestan texts, Mithras and Mithraism. Further details here.The Fifteenth Biennial Iranian Studies Conference will be held at Utretch University from 5- 8 August 2026. For further details, head to the AIS website.
Opportunities
The British Institute of Persian Studies invites applications for Travel Grants, and for Research and Research Assistant Grants. Awards of up to £1,200 will be considered for Student Travel Awards. Grants of up to £5,000 for Research Awards and Research Assistant Awards are invited, from PIs associated with a UK based HEI. The deadline is 18 May 2026, 5:00 pm GMT. For more information and to download the application form, visit BIPS Grants page.
The TISS ParZorOnline Certificate Program on Culture & Civilisation: A Zoroastrian Perspective is taking place this term.This learning experience on Zoroastrianism is guided by voices that shape how culture and heritage are understood, preserved and lived. There is rolling admission for this course. For more details, contact- +918007999490 / email tiss.parzor@gmail.com.
Publications
Sovereignty in Iran
Challenges to Eurocentrism from Ancient Iran to the Islamic Republic
edited by Shabnam J. Holliday
This book is a collaborative project examining sovereignties as a plural concept through the case of Iran. In so doing it challenges Eurocentric assumptions in the Humanities and Social Sciences and covers sovereignty from ancient Iran to the Islamic Republic. Read more.
Indo-Aryans in the Bronze Age
By Stanislav Grigoriev
This book challenges the steppe-origin theory of Indo-Aryans, arguing their homeland was in NW Iran. Using linguistic, genetic, and archaeological data, it traces migrations from Iran to Central Asia, India, and beyond during the 3rd millennium BC, shaping Indo-Aryan dialects. Read more.
About Us
If you would like to give a gift to the Institute via the Centres and Institutes – regular gift | SOAS service, we would be grateful for your donation. Patrons can now donate regularly or as a one-off payment. These funds will ensure the continued running of the Institute and an expansion of our activities. We remain incredibly grateful for the support of all our stakeholders, donors and community members.
The SOAS Shapoorji Pallonji Institute of Zoroastrian Studies was launched in June 2018 thanks to the generous donation from a Parsi benefactor, Mr Shapoor Pallonji Mistry, in the name of his father, Mr Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry.
The Institute’s Annual Report for the academic year 2024-25 is available to view on our website. It covers all of the activities fof the Institute, including events, research and teaching. Find out more.
Visit our website to find out more about the Institute.
