Coffeehouse-Communism to Dārā

Readers normally assume that encyclopedias will be, well, encyclopedic, but they probably do not usually expect that a particular encyclopedia will function as a forum for advancing the state of knowledge in a field. Those who are familiar with Volumes I-V of the Encyclopaedia Iranica already know that its editor, Professor Ehsan Yarshater, has not only insisted that this encyclopedia would be exceptionally comprehensive, but that he has also encouraged many of his contributors to submit essays that represent innovative and original scholarship in Iranian studies. In fascicles 1-6 of Volume VI Professor Yarshater and his distinguished board of editors have maintained the exceptionally high standards of the first five volumes. Occasionally—but just occasionally—they have commissioned articles that seem to have marginal importance for the field, but ultimately scholars will appreciate and even delight in such entries which, in a sense, are a distinguishing trait of the editors’ ambitions and success

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