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ILEX Foundation

2 Girls

Holly

Ilex Foundation is a non-governmental organization promoting the study of Mediterranean and near Eastern civilizations, and beyond. One of the Foundation's main goals is to seek new directions in research and teaching through the application of information technology.

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New and upcoming publications

in the ILEX Series

ILEX Foundation Presents:

The Annual Festival for Films from Iran.

Dreaming Across Boundaries

Narratives of dreams abound in the literatures of the Near East and North Africa.

Narratives of dreams abound in the literatures of the Near East and North Africa. Such narratives, together with discussions of the significance and interpretation of dreams, feature in a wide variety of writings drawn from literary, historiographical, philosophical, religious, and medical disciplines. In a series of close studies of dream narratives, each carefully situated in its historical and literary context, this volume of twelve essays explores the diverse functions of dreams, including divination and prediction, personal reflection and resolution, and theological argument. Among the th...
Heroic Krsna

More information will be available soon about this upcoming publication in the Ilex Foundation Series, please check back.
History of Beyhaqi, Vol. II

(The History of Sultan Mas'ud of Ghazna, 1030-1041)

Abu'l-Fa?l Beyhaqi, a secretary at the court of a number of Ghaznavid rulers in eastern Iran and Afghanistan in the early Middle Ages, is a most perceptive, as well as intriguing, commentator on the history of the Islamic Near East. The surviving volumes of his massive project, dealing in depth with the years 1030-1041, combine astute criticism and wry humor with an unobtrusive display of mastery of the learned literature of the time, both in Arabic and Persian. Through a skillful manipulation of different styles, and timely introduction of the authorial voice as a framing device to bring a se...
Jaya

“With a background in Indology and the study of oral literature from Harvard, McGrath has taken the methodology of preliterate studies to the great Indic epic, the Mah?bh?rata. In this book, he shows how the four named poets of the epic have created a magnificent work of art. The book will certainly have a profound impact on and point out a new direction in the study of the Mah?bh?rata here at the beginning of the twenty-first century.” Prods Oktor Skaervo, Aga Khan Professor of Iranian Studies at Harvard University
On the Wonders of Land and Sea

Persianate Travel Writing

More information will be available soon about this upcoming publication in the Ilex Foundation Series, please check back.
Persian Literature and Judeo-Persian Culture

Dr. Sorour S. Soroudi (1938-2002) of the Department of Iranian Studies at the Hebrew University began her scholarly career as a specialist in the neglected field of modern Persian poetry. Her studies and translations did much to bring this poetry to the attention of critics and scholars. In later years, Dr. Soroudi turned her attention to Judeo-Persian literature and folk culture. Her continuing literary studies, combined with extensive fieldwork, produced major contributions to the study of the history and culture of Iranian Jewry. This volume, meticulously and sensitively edited by Houchang...
Poet and Hero in the Persian Book of Kings

A milestone in Persian Classical literature, Ferdowsi's Book of Kings evokes a long span of Iranian history and myths following a chronicle of its kings from the creation of the world to the conquest of Iran by the armies of the Moslem Arabs in the latter half of the seventh century. Drawing on comprehensive research in oral poetics and epic traditions, as well as on her own thoughtful reading of other monumental works of world literature which have been so influential in shaping our present day notions of national and cultural identity, Professor Davidson enhances our understanding of the rel...
Ruse and Wit, The Humorous in Arabic, Persian and Turkish Narrative

“This fascinating collection of articles…enriches our knowledge of classical and modern literature in the Near and Middle East, showing the importance of wit and entertainment in writing throughout history, and alerting us to the challenge of decoding the authors’ play with bawdy satire and delicate humor.”
STR?

This wonderful book introduces us to the great heroines of the Mahabharata, but it achieves much more. By moving between Sanskrit and English with the incisive grace of a poet, Kevin McGrath opens up the worlds of culture, language, and feminine power that shape India's greatest epic. This book is an intellectual delight for those who know Sanskrit, and for those who don't, and an insightful introduction to the words and worlds of India's most famous women, those epic women who live even today in the narratives of Hindu India.î Diana Eck, Harvard University, Professor of Comparative Religio...
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The History of Beyhaqi, Vol. I

(The History of Sultan Mas'ud of Ghazna, 1030–1041)

Abuíl-Fa?l Beyhaqi, a secretary at the court of a number of Ghaznavid rulers in Iran and Afghanistan, was an acute commentator on his age, the early medieval period. The surviving volumes of his massive historical project, covering the years 1030-41, display wry humor as well as erudition in the sciences and literature of the time. By a deft manipulation of different styles, and timely introduction of the authorial voice as a framing device to induce a sense of heightened drama, Beyhaqi describes the fall of the great notables at the court of a doomed king. Each episode retains its inner coh...
The History of Beyhaqi, Vol. III

(The History of Sultan Mas'ud of Ghazna, 1030–1041)

Abu'l-Fa?l Beyhaqi, a secretary at the court of a number of Ghaznavid rulers in eastern Iran and Afghanistan in the early Middle Ages, is a most perceptive, as well as intriguing, commentator on the history of the Islamic Near East. The surviving volumes of his massive project, dealing in depth with the years 1030-1041, combine astute criticism and wry humor with an unobtrusive display of mastery of the learned literature of the time, both in Arabic and Persian. Through a skillful manipulation of different styles, and timely introduction of the authorial voice as a framing device to bring a se...
The Last of the Rephaim: Conquest and Cataclysm in the Heroic Ages of Ancient Israel

The figure of the giant has haunted the literatures of the ancient Mediterranean world, from the Greek Gigantomachy and other Aegean epic literatures to the biblical contexts of the ancient Near East. In this volume, Brian Doak argues that the giants of the Hebrew Bible are a politically, theologically, and historiographically generative group, and through their oversized bodies readers gain insight into central aspects of Israelís symbolic universe. All that is overgrown or physically monstrous represents a connection to primeval chaos, and stands as a barrier to creation and right rule. Gian...
The Rhetoric of Biography

This volume presents articles on the topics of biography and autobiography in a range of sources produced within Iran and the larger Persianate world. In the context of a growing scholarly literature devoted to these subjects, especially in the Arabic literary tradition, the volume presents studies that explore still neglected areas, including biographies and autobiographies of women; biographies of specific occupational groups, such as poets; the relation of traditional ìlives of poetsî to the reception of their literary works; intertextuality across biographical and autobiographical writings...

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