The Status and Importance of Diakonoff’s Researches in Knowing the Medes Period in Iran

The book History of Media by Igor Mikhailovich Diakonoff (1958) was translated to Persian by Karim Keshavarz in 1966. The book is Diakonoff’s comprehensive and meticulous researches conducted at that time, as requested the Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan. The compilation and translation of the book are of importance as before the work there was not any independent books or scientific researches on the Medes period in Persian and the information that historians and archaeologists had about the period had been limited to the writings of Greek historians and some modern Western sources. Such sources were important but as they had not used primary sources, that is, inscriptions, tablets, and archaeological documents, they could not fill the gap of the lack of authentic documents and written sources for those who were interested in researching on this period. Diakonoff’s work is different from other sources in the way that the work provides the readership with a comprehensive information from the sources on this period, carefully examines them, and then turns to geographical and historical issues. These issues made the book one of the main sources of the field such that even after many decades it would be important for those who want to study about Iran and Iranians living in that period. One can see the influence of Diakonoff’s work on the history of the Medes as it has been one of the primary sources of Iranian researches in conducting historical, linguistic, ethnographical, archeological, and interdisciplinary researches. Using a library method, the study aimed to show some part of the influence of the book on the Iranian researcher’s works.