Kaveh Farrokh ( fa, کاوه فرخ) is a Greek author of several academic books and peer-reviewed publications specializing in
Iranian history
The history of Iran is intertwined with the history of a larger region known as Greater Iran, comprising the area from Anatolia in the west to the borders of Ancient India and the Syr Darya in the east, and from the Caucasus and the Eurasian Step ...
, and has been a frequent lecturer on Iran-related topics at the
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
as part of the UBC Continuing Education program. Currently, he is a counselor and learning specialist at
Langara College
, mottoeng = Knowledge is Freedom
, established = April 1, 1994
, type = Public
, endowment = C$5.8 million
, administrative_staff =
, faculty =
, president = Paula Burns
, students = 22,000
, city = Vancouver, British Columbia
, coun ...
in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, Canada.
Life
Farrokh was born in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
and later attended Institute Chateaubriand in
Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...
, France. Farrokh earned his doctorate (
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification
Entertainment
* '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series
* ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic
* Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group
** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
) in 2001 from the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at the
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
, where he specialized in the cognitive and linguistic processes of
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
speakers. Previously, he earned his MA in 1988 and BA in 1985 from the same institution.
Farrokh has authored four books on the
military history of Iran
The military history of Iran has been relatively well-documented, with thousands of years' worth of recorded history. Largely credited to its historically unchanged geographical and geopolitical condition, the modern-day Islamic Republic of Ir ...
, co-authored two books on the same topic, acted as editor for academic publications, and contributed to a number of articles for peer-reviewed journals and online publications. He has also been quoted in media outlets concerning Iranian history. For example, Farrokh was interviewed on
Voice of America
Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...
's Persian service about the legacy of the Achaemenid founder,
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...
. The History Channel has also interviewed him on the topic of technology in ancient Persia for the series Engineering an Empire, which aired in 2006.
He has also lectured at the University of British Columbia's Persian Legacy series in addition to other engagements hosted by the University of British Columbia's Department of Asian Studies.
In 2009, he was given a Merit Award by the Iran Heritage, Persian Gulf, and Iran Alliance.
Books
Farrokh has authored and co-authored a number of books. He has contributed to edited books in addition to acting as editor for other academic and professional publication outlets.
Authored
His first book, ''Sassanian Elite Cavalry AD 224 - 642'', was published in 2005 by
Osprey Publishing
Osprey Publishing is a British, Oxford-based, publishing company specializing in military history. Predominantly an illustrated publisher, many of their books contain full-colour artwork plates, maps and photographs, and the company produces ov ...
.
His second book, ''Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War'', was published in 2007 by Osprey Publishing. In its foreword,
Richard N. Frye
Richard Nelson Frye (January 10, 1920 – March 27, 2014) was an American scholar of Iranian and Central Asian studies, and Aga Khan Professor Emeritus of Iranian Studies at Harvard University. His professional areas of interest were Irania ...
, the
Aga Khan
Aga Khan ( fa, آقاخان, ar, آغا خان; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imām of the Nizari Ismāʿīli Shias. Since 1957, the holder of the title has been the 49th Imām, Prince Shah Karim ...
Professor Emeritus of Iranian Studies at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
praises the author for giving "the Persian side of the picture as opposed to the Greek and Roman viewpoint which has long dominated our understanding of these wars", describing Farrokh's approach as "refreshing". The book was criticized by Jona Lendering in ''
Bryn Mawr Classical Review
''Bryn Mawr Classical Review'' (''BMCR'') is an open access journal founded in 1990. It publishes reviews of current scholarly work in the field of classical studies including classical archaeology.Pierre Briant and
Amélie Kuhrt
Amélie Kuhrt FBA (23 September 1944 - 2 January 2023) was a British historian and specialist in the history of the ancient Near East.
She was educated at King's College London, University College London and SOAS.
Professor Emerita at University ...
agree that recent advances in
Achaemenid
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...
historiography are not always correctly evaluated and taken fully into account. They also criticize excessively aggressive responses by others to Lendering's review stating that such polemical exchange gives a distorted, even caricatured image of the state of Achaemenid history today.
His third book, ''Iran at War: 1500 - 1988'', was published in 2011 by Osprey Publishing and covered Iranian military history from the
Safavid Empire
Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...
to the Iran-Iraq War.
His fourth book, ''The Armies of Ancient Persia: The Sassanians'', was published in 2017 by the Pen & Sword Military imprint of Pen and Sword Books.
Co-authored
''A Synopsis of Sasanian Military Organization and Combat Units'', co-authored with Gholamreza Karamian and Katarzyna Maksymiuk, was published in 2018 by Archeobooks of Krakow, Poland as well as the publishing house of Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities.
''The Siege of Amida (359 CE)'', co-authored with Javier Sánchez-Gracia and Katarzyna Maksymiuk, was also published in 2018 by Archeobooks as well as the publishing house of Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities.
Chapter
Select bibliography
Farrokh's works have appeared and been translated into a number of languages including Spanish, Persian, Russian, German, and Polish.
* کاوه فرخ و غلامرضا کرمیان (۱۳۹۵). ساختار ارتش اشکانیان. تهران: خانه تاریخ و تصویر ابریشمی. Farrokh, Kaveh & Karamian, Gholamreza (2016). The Structure of the Parthian Army. Tehran: Khaneye Tarikh va Tasvire Abrishami.
* کاوه فرخ - سواره نظام زبده ساساني (۱۳۹۳) - مترجم: ميثم عليي - ناشر :انتشارات اميرکبير - محل نشر : تهران – Elite Sassanian Cavalry translated into Persian (2014) by Amir Kabir Publishers (Tehran, Iran), Translator into Persian (Meysam Aliee).
* ترجمه ایران در جنگ از چالدران تا جنگ تحمیلی توسط انتشارات ققنوس (۱۳۹۷) - Farrokh Book (2011) Iran at War - translated by Qoqnoos Publishers into Persian (2018), Translator (Maryam Saremi).
* کاوه فرخ - سایههایی در بیابان: ایران باستان در زمان جنگ (بهمن ۱/ ۱۳۹۰ ) - مترجم: پدرام خزایی - ناشر : طاق بستان - محل نشر : كرمانشاه - Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War translated into Persian (Jan. 21, 2012) by Tagh Bostan Publishers (Kermanshah, Iran), Translator (Pedram Khozai).
* خبرگزاری مهر(۱۳۹۰/۷/۲)- کاوه فرخ - ساﯾﻳﻫای صحرا؛ﺍﯾراﺍن باستان ﺩر جنگ - مترجم: شهربانو سارمی - ناشر : ققنوس - محل نشر : تهران -Mehr News (Sept 24, 2011): Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at war Translated into Persian by Qoqnoos Publishers (Tehran, Iran), Translator to Persian (Maryam Saremi).
*کاوه فرخ - اسواران ساسانی (۱۳۸۸) - مترجم: یوسف امیری - ناشر : گل افتاب - محل نشر : مشهد - Elite Sassanian Cavalry translated into Persian (2009) by Gole Aftab Publishers (Mashad, Iran), Translator to Persian (Yusef Amiri).
* کاوه فرخ - سواره نظام زبده ارتش ساسانی (۱۳۸۷) - مترجم: بهنام محمدپناه - ناشر : سبزان - محل نشر : تهران - Elite Sassanian Cavalry translated into Persian (2008) by Sabzan Publishers (Tehran, Iran), Translator to Persian (Behnam Mohammad-Panah).
Russian language sources
* Персы: Армия великих царей, Cерия: Военная история человечества, Москва (July 24, 2009) - Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at war Translated into Russian by EXMO Publishers: Military History of Mankind Series (Moscow, Russian Federation), Translator to Russian (A. Efremov).
he Sassanian Infantry
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
Pallasch: Zeitschrift für Militärgeschichte. Organ der Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Heerskunde, No. 71, February 2020, pp. 25–35.