Iraj Afshar (; 8 October 1925 – 9 March 2011) was a bibliographer, historian, scholar, professor, and an iconic figure in the field of Persian studies. Afshar was a professor emeritus of the University of Tehran. He was a consulting editor of Encyclopædia Iranica at Columbia University. Biography Iraj Afshar was born on 8 October 1925 in Tehran, Iran to parents Nosrat Barazandeh and . He attended Zoroastrian Shāpour Secondary School and Firouz-Bahrām High School in Tajrish, Tehran. In 1945, he married Shayesteh Afsharieh and together they had four sons. Iraj Afshar recorded the monuments of Yazd in his three-volume "yādegār-hāye Yazd (Monuments of Yazd)". He was known as, "the doyen of standard Persian language bibliographers". Afshar played a significant role in the development of the field of Iranology in Iran and throughout the world during the second half of the 20th century. He was the editor of Sokhan, a prolific Iranology journal, under the responsibility of Parviz Natel-Khanlari and also the editor of rāhnamāye ketāb (Bibliography Guide), Mehr, farhang-e Iranzamin (Culture of Iran) and Ayandeh. He was the chief bibliographer of Persian books at Harvard University. Afshar was associated with UNESCO and taught at the University of Bern and University of Tehran. He was on the advisory council for the Iranian Studies Journal. Biographical timeline 1925: Birth in Tehran, Iran (Father: Dr. Mahmoud Afshar, Mother: Nosrat Barazandeh) 1933–1945: Attended Zoroastrian Shāpour Secondary School and Firouz-Bahrām High School in Tajrish, Tehran 1944–1946: Manager of Ayandeh Journal 1945: Received Diploma in Literature 1945: Marriage to Shayesteh Afsharieh 1945–1949: Attended University of Tehran majoring in Law, thesis: Minorities in Iran 1946–1955: Collaboration with jahān-e now (New World) Journal (Editor in Chief: Hossein Hejazi) 1950: Employed by Ministry of Culture and Education as educator at Sharif High School and Gharib High School 1951–1960: Librarian – Law Library of University of Tehran – with encouragement from Dr. Mohsen Sabah and Mohammad-Taqi Danesh-Pajouh 1952–1953: Editor-in-Chief of Mehr Journal (licensee: Majeed Movaqqar) 1952-2011: Founder and Managing Editor of farhang-e Irānzamin Journal (in association with Mohammad-Taqi Danesh-Pajouh, Manoucher Sotoudeh, Mostafa Mogharrabi, Abbas Zaryab Khoyee) 1963–1966: Publication of ketābhāy-e Iran (Books of Iran) (Annual bibliography) 1954–1956: Editor-in-Chief of Sokhan Journal (licensee: Dr. Parviz Natel-Khanlari) 1955–1961: Director ketābhāy-e māh (Books of the Month) Journal (Publication of Society of Publishers with cooperation of Franklin Publishing Corporation) 1956–1963: Acting Managing Director bongāh-e tarjomeh o nasher-e ketāb (Institute for Translation and Publishing