Ehsan Yarshater facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ehsan Yarshater
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| احسان يارشاطر | |
Portrait photograph, January 1950
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| Born |
Ehsanollah Yarshater
April 3, 1920 Hamadan, Sublime State of Iran
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| Died | September 2, 2018 (aged 98) Fresno, California, U.S.
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| Nationality | Iranian |
| Alma mater | University of Tehran School of Oriental and African Studies University of London |
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| Years active | 1953–2018 |
| Known for | Director of the Center for Iranian Studies at Columbia University |
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Notable work
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Encyclopædia Iranica |
| Spouse(s) | Latifeh Alvieh (died 1999) |
| Parent(s) | Hashem Yarshater (father) Rohaniyeh Misaghie (mother) |
| Awards | Bita Award (2015) |
Ehsan Yarshater (Persian: احسان يارشاطر, April 3, 1920 – September 1, 2018) was an Iranian historian and linguist. He was an expert in Iranology, which is the study of Iranian cultures and languages. He started and led the Center for Iranian Studies at Columbia University. He was also a professor there.
He was the first full-time Persian professor at a U.S. university after World War II.
Ehsan Yarshater was one of the main editors of the Encyclopædia Iranica. This huge project included articles from 300 writers. He also edited a part of the Cambridge History of Iran. This volume covered the history of the Seleucids, the Parthians, and the Sassanians. He also worked on a book called Persian Literature and a sixteen-volume series about the History of Persian Literature. He won several international awards for his work, including a UNESCO award in 1959.
Life and Career
Ehsan Yarshater was born in Hamadan, Iran. He studied Persian language and literature at the University of Tehran. Later, he studied old and middle Iranian languages at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London.
His first big research project was about Persian poetry during the Timurid period. His later work focused on different Tati dialects spoken in Iran. He also wrote many articles about modern western Iranian dialects. These included Tati and Taleshi. He also studied the Jewish dialects of Persian. Another area he explored was Persian mythology.
