BRITISH INSTITUT OF PERSIAN STUDIES {Rebistered Cbarit%' No. 231161) {A compani. limi*d ￿. Guarantee and nix haling Share CapJts]) Reystered CompanTr' No. (Xi740817 INDEPEf4DENTLY EXAMINED FINANCIAL STATEMENrs FOR THE YEAR EM)ED 31 MARCH 2024 PAGE I THE BRITISH INST PERS COiYTE14TS Trusiees Repon Independeni Examiner s RetK)rt SLalemeni or Financial Aciiiilies s_c) Balance Sheet io-ii Noles ￿ the Accounts PACE 2 THE BRITI HIN TIT ITE F PERSIAN STISDIES TRUSTEES REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 The IrLksiees haie pleasure in preS￿lIA8 their rewrt and fIn￿CIal stalem￿ts for the l.ear ended 31 Marth 21124. The acco￿￿ hai"e been Prepared in accordance iiith the accounling policies set out io Note I to the accowlts and compl!. ii'ith the charit%. s Memorandun] and Articles of AssociatiotL applicable laTh" and the rquiiements of the Statetnent of Recotntnended Practice, '"Accounling and Reporting ￿. Charilies ' Financial Reporting Sthndard 1112. CILiRITABLE STATUS The charili. il.as incorpora*d on 14 Noi'emter 11)62 is goi'emeAI ￿. its Memorandum and Ariicles of A550ciaÈion. The ¢haTiii" s reg[s￿red oifjce TS 111 Carlion House Terrac& London. Eng'land, SWIY SAH. re5)isleT￿ number 231161. INI)EPENDEP4T EXAMINER J A Gn&&Js FCA Lei-icLs Chartered Accountants and Business Adi"ise 61 Lovtdon Road Maidstone Kenl ME16 XTX BANI￿Rs HSBC (>9 Pa]1 Mall London SWIY SEY COIF SengLLOT House X5 Queen ￿ icloria Slreei London EC4V 4ET OBJECTIVES The objeciiies of Ihe ¢harili. are ￿ promole and ￿courSg¢ the slud!. of Iran and the ilider Persianale world. Ihe hislon. cili11s￿lQn and cuiiure in ail periods. including the archa￿￿0￿. of Persian artefacts il'orldiNide. PAGE 3 THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF PERSIAN STUDJES TRUSTEES REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 TrLIRCH 2024 (continued) TRUSTEES The members of the Goserning Council are the fftLslees of the charil!. New me￿￿Ts or Goi."erning) Council ate either elected bl" the mernbers Jt the Annual GeneTal Meeting) or co- opted ￿. the Goi.'eming Councll. subject in ead] to restrictions as to nurllbers atld tetm of oftice &s descrilKIl in the thatits" s Articles of Associatio The trusiees who seTh'ed the chaTii!" during the i.ear were.. Professor AIT Ansari Dr W esth Sarkhosh c.urtis Mr Hossein Ham￿￿1 Professor Charles M¢liill¢ DT Cameion Petne Dr Sarah sieii.arl Dr Arezou Azad Professor Andr￿￿. N•iTnan Dr Lindsai Allen Dr Shabnam Holida5. Dr Roham Ali'andi Dr Saeedreza TalaJo￿. Mi Dai'id Gs"e (PrL¥idenl - Apwinled 27 Noi ember 21123) {Vice Presideni) (Hon T￿Urer) (Presidenl- Resigned 27 Noiember 21123) (Appointsj 27 Noi'erober 2023) (AppoinieAI 27 Noi'ember 2023) ACTIVITIES TO FURTHER CHAIUTABLE PURPOSES FOR PUBLIC BENEFrr The Wear 21123-24 withessed signific4nl changes io the adminislralion ofThe BriLish Insiilule or Persian Studies (BIPS) ￿.ith the appointmoit of a PresÈdeDt atLd a neH" Gelleral Mat]4ber. We are graleful lo Prof¢>sor c.harles M¢liille, i¥ho afler sil K'ears ofiirdess seriice ￿0k a ii'ell earned rest and handed oier the reins to Profe550r Ansari in parttletship iiith Dr S￿khO$h Curtis as Vice PTesident and Hon-Director. Sili'ia Ferreri: prei"iousl!" our OLrtre Assistant iTras appointed C*netal Mana¥)ei. Professoi MelTrille 0￿e￿all the Ckwits. Comtnissith's rn.1￿1. of BIPS Klu"cb gjaie our operaiions a clean bill of hedLh subjecl 10 refinements iihich iiere impleMen￿d iiith regard Poli￿. documents on a rangve of actiTritt"e5 ￿"hICh are no￿ rei"ieTh"a al￿￿all1.. PAGE 4 THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF PERSIAN STUDIES TRUSTEES REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 20241continued) BIPS spx)141P/o of its income on gran￿ 210/0 Ouireach and Publicaljons and 3110/0 on goi'emance and esthblishmenl oiethtxls. The Flagship proje£ts had launched in the prei'ious l.ew ii"'ere also formall!. aHwded aDd inau&iur&ed in the !"ear. BIPS rn&¥inises the impacl of the grants b%, pFoi"iding relaii¥.eli' small grants ￿ each applicanl lo help groi¥ the Persianate Studies cotnn]utiit)". The feedbacL from our brant￿ ii"ockshops is i'eTh' positÈi"e. It indicales that ￿hlIst BIPS, grants are the main source or [￿dIng in some cases: in manN" ittstances, BIPS, fvnth"n& is a iitat part of enabl￿￿1 aud facLlitalinsTr larg)er proJeLtS DalioDalli and ]obatl!". Furthermore these grants ate also essential for grO￿"ing the Iranian and PeT5ianate Studies communitie5 beG2use of the support proi.ided to EaTI!" Cateer Reseatcbers. Our digJjts"salion project corktinued Thith the di&ilisatioR Of the SlioDach and Hillenbrand arcbil'es and a more ambitsous di&>itisatioD pfobrarn￿ collalxjratson Trith the other BIIUS is one of the four central pi]lars of our nem" strate&ry. _ BIPS 2030 - Thlucb iiill be ag7reed IA. the end of 21124. An im￿rian1 aS￿l of our siraw" going f￿17rd is collaix)rats"(ms. and w'e ha¥'e aiTead!' agreed a parn)ership with Perstan ￿guage Online. We commissioned a consulianl lo help ￿ d¢¥.¢lop a fundraising $Wdl¢g￿. This h&8 provided a detailed landscape or [￿draising OPF¥)rtunili(z ii.hich i¥ill appli Io ITJ SLag¢s from 2112¥25. We iiill use the eNleTnJ fwjding ￿ deielop our digth] plaiforn) and posilion BIPS as Ihe prirnaTr' digithi r￿OurCe for PeTsian and Iranian sludies in the Uniled Kingdom. With rt¥peci th¢ facilili<% in Tehran. while we remain closed ￿ the public we are laking the opwnunili. or this time to begin the digital catsJo&puitig of our h'braLTr collects"on. The Acting Man￿)er and Assistant Mkulagiers. Sill￿ MobanDaL" a￿d DaDeh Kordn]akn': continue to do excellent IIOTL in mainiaining the facililies in aniicipalj.ng ora reopening of oui aciii'ilies. Ullrestricted fi￿dS decreased h. £3:734 (2023.. £4:73D to £240:288 (2023.. £244:022}. A Teslricied flmd ¢reaLed in the financjal N'ear ended 31 March 21112 in respecl of a don&io of £4:000 loiiards funding book publication JJants. Ths fi￿d bad a balance of ￿2.000 (2023. £2:IHIII) &$ al 31 March 21124. A reslric￿d fund ￿&5 cr&￿ed in 21113 for adi"anced language Iraining There ￿.￿$ a balatKe of £13.2(￿ on th'15 fi]nd at 31 Marcb 2024 (2023. £13:260). The Digilisalion [￿d a nthi. fund in 21122 iihich arose from a generous UK donatj.on for the cost ot dig?ilisation ot BIPS archii"e of hi5toricaL arCha￿loYcaI and research records. The balauce on the tutEd is £6:250 Lq at 31 Matth 2024 (2023. £6:250). PAGES THE BRITISH INSTITIITE OF PERSIAN STIIDIES TRUSTEES REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 (eontinued) The desi¥nated futKEs set &side h. the trustees for a Enotor i"ebicle and to facilitate traTr"el )rants tOT research students conlinued io be Ca￿1￿ fO￿.ard. The Bruce Wannell fund lias set up in 21122 lo fund an annua] public leclure in honouT of the Iranian Scholar Bruce Wannell. The lectures at]d ￿"eDts ThEre conducted at the Unii"et5il% of Yolk. Duritt&i the Feat: the balance of the fund 1%SLS Lransferred io the Uniiersils" of York aTKI going forni'iird Ihe e¥ents i¥ill conlinue w'ith BIPS named sponsor and parti¢ipanl. As a rtsuli the flmd decTeased lo £511 as aL 31 March 21124 (21123.. £25.6C)3). During the l.ear a [￿d crealed from a granl proNided ￿. Ihe Briiish Academ} Io C4)ntrib￿e loiiards ihe cosl of r￿ning and deielopmenl or Petsian Langua¥ e Online. This fund had a balance of £i11:IMKI ￿ 31 March 21124 (21123.. Nil). RISK MANAGEMENT The t￿￿teeS hai"e examiDed the rnaior stralwc. b￿sineSS and operational risks to M,"hicb the charih" is ￿pOSed and can confirm that s%'slenL% hai"e been established and are in pla￿ to enable the earlN ideniificalion ol issues so thaL the nect%sar¥ sleps can ￿ thken lo miiigale those risks. RESERVES POLICY li is Ihe polio" of ihe tr￿1￿$ lo nMinl8in Teseries * a lei el lo ensure obligations relating LO r<%Lricled funds cam be meL ￿ alloil" funds ￿ be sel &side foi r￿ure ini<%lmenl iv.hen the silualion eases in Iran: and lo mainlain free resen es al a leiel ll'hich equ&es lo approiimaiel betii.een three and sli months of the totsl ex￿ndltUIe of the cbatits.. The trustees be￿eTr"e that this PTOVLdes a 5ufficiellt lffl.el of fundill&i buffer to coTrer the expenditure arisi[￿> itL furtberance of Lhe charili's obJeciii"es. and in ils managen￿l alminisirnion. PAGE6 THE BRITI HIN TIT ITE FPER IAN IDIE TRUSTEES REPORT FOR THE YEAR EIYDED 31 MARCH 2024(tontinued) TRIISTEES. RESPONSONSIBLITIES The charil!- truslees (%¥,ho are also the direclor5 ofThe Brilish Insiiiule of PeTsian Siudies for the PUTrK)ses of companN. la1￿) are responsible for preparing a irusiees. annual rewprt and financi sialemenls in accordance ii'ith applicable laii. and Unl￿d Kingdom Accounlino Stsndards (Un7Led Kingdom G(*eraili A¢cepied Ac¢ounlTng Pracuce) Compa￿. la￿ requires the clwi"ts" trustees lo prepare fllwciai statements for each Fear iTrhich TrLI"e a true and tair i.'Aeii' of tbe state of ￿airS of the chatitable aTLd of the incoming rt%ources and applicalion of rdsour¢¢s, in¢lLkling the Tncome and ex￿dilUre. of the chan'iable compan!. for that ￿riod. tll preparinb, the financial Staten￿llts. tbe irustees are Tequir•l io.. selecl sul￿ble acco￿tIng policies and then appl!. them consisLenili"" obserie Ihe methods and principles in the c.h￿111¢$ SORP" make judgemen(s and eslima￿S thal are T￿Onable and prudenL state iihether applicable UK accouDliDgi standards bai"e been folloR"eiL subject to all material departur£s disclosed and e¥plained in the fUL￿CIal statetnents. prepare the financial statements on the concem b&4is unless it is wpropriate to PTe6ume thal the chatilv iiill continue in operatson. The trustees are responsible for Leepin& proFr accinllrtin&Tr r￿rdS disclose m.ith regsonable accuracfv ai ani lime the financia] wsilion of the chariii" and io ￿ab]e them lo enswe thaL the rinancia] sialem￿ts complN ￿1{h Ihe Compani<% Aci 211116. Thth" are also responsible for safeguardino the assets of charili. and hffice thking reasonable sfrps for the pre¥'enlion and detection of traud and other irreg'ularitt"es. The Imstees are responsible for the Jrkw]tet)ance and integnfv of the corporate and t￿ancia] infonnation it]cluded on the clLatitsble compaD*" S Tr"eb5ite. Legislatkon in the United Kir)sdoni )oi'erningb the preparation aDd dts5eminati￿ of fu)ancÈal statements differ from lebbislah.on in oiher jUTisdiclions. Signatories: Professor Ali Ansari Presidffll Di Vesta Sarkbosh Curtis Vice PresTdenl PAGE 7 THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF PERSIAN STUDIES INDEPENDEf4T EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRrrIsH INSTrrtrrE OF PERSIAN STUDIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 I report ￿ the Charity In￿te￿ OT) my examination of the accounts of the company for the year ended 31 March 2024. which are set out on pag&s 8 to 21. R￿po￿lbIl11les and bas￿ ofreport As the charity's trustees (and also its directors for the putFrf)ses of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in a¢¢ordan¢e with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act,). Haytng satisficd my5clf that the accounts of the company are not requir￿1 to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and ar¢ eligible for indep¢nd¢nt examinatioD. l report in resPCCt of my examiuatioD of your charity's accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the '2011 Ad,). In carrying out t))y examination I hav¢ followed the Directions given by the Charity ColllllliSSiOll Under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act. Independent examiner's report I have completed my examination. I confirni that no matters hav¢ Come to my att￿tion in connection with the examinatlOD giving me cause to believe: (l)accounting records were not kept in rest￿1 of the company ￿ required by section 386 of the 2(KJ6 Affj or (2)the accounts do not accord with th(tse accounting records" or (3) th¢ accounts do not Comply with the ac¢ountiDg requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'tnJe and fair, vi¢w which 1$ oot a D)att¢r wnsidered as part of an independent examination. or (4)the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the CharAti&8 SORP (FRS102). I bave DO concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order ￿ euable a proper uDdcr5tallding of the accounts to be reacbed. 61 London Road Maidstollc Kent ME16 8TX J A Griggs FCA LEVICKS Chartered Accountaats and B￿sInesS Advisers 23 October 2024 PAGE 8 THE BRITI HIN TIT ITE FPER IAN STA TEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (IIYCORPOIL4TiriG INCOME AIYD EXPENDITIIRE ACCOUiYT) FOR THE YEAR EiYDED 31 MARCH 2024 Unrtttrieted Restiieted funds runds Note5 2024 Total 2023 Total INCOME FROM: Dollation attd legacies Donatio Grants from gTroi".ernment and oiher public bodies Other grants 199 511 24() 221.IKIX 221.11118 11)6.7511 2.IXM (?.(XK) Charitable activiles Subscripitons Public&ion sales Hostel income X.7X() 7.644 8.78 7,(A4 6.IXM 3.683 4.21111 Investments Bank inL¢r￿1 Income from inieslmenls 1.356 5.IIX7 1.3)6 i.087 748 2.l)(12 Foreign eNch8noe gain 3(b) 2.75() 2.751) TOTAL INCOME 31.X34 223.115X 254.XC)2 224.1157 PAGE 9 THE BRITISH IIY TITIITE OF PERSIAN ST IDIE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (114CORPORATING INCOME AND EXPEiYDITIIRE ACCOUiYTI FOR THE YEAR EiNDED 31 MARCH 2024 Unrestricted Restiicted funds runds Notes 2024 Total 2023 Total Charitsble activities Grants and scholarships Workshops and lecture5 Book publiC￿lOn cosls Office costs Financial costs Journal expenses Oulreach cOnfer￿CeS EsLablishmenl and mainlenance 3(aKc) 3(a) 3(a) i.361 I l(Tr.i04 27.534 121.8(Tr5 27.534 6 IXIII .ij,(?92 118,(X)7 c￿0 5.IXIII 8.040 136 27,6)2 3(b) 3(a) 3(d) 3{a) 1.19.) 3 ()()% 5.54(1 41,519 5,5411 11,fv12 13.1)52 22.51)4 11).(A7 Other Compuler support Examinalion and accountan Mat]agiement Legal ¢%pens 3.3111 62)8 7.352 2,700 5.11)5 5,766 3(e) 6.25 7,352 TOTAL EXPENDITURE 39.(Y)9 238.7111 277.800 237,486 NET INCOMING/(OtrrGOtNG) RESOURCES BEFORE RECOGNISED GAINS (7.265) (li:(A)) (22.908) (13,429) TRANSFERS GAINSI(LOSSES) ON INVESTMENTS- UNREALISED 3.)31 (2.1136) NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS (3,734) (li:643) {19:377) {li:465) TOTAL FUNDS BROUGHT FORWARD 241,022 4X.468 291490 307.9$5 TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 2411.2XX 32.82) 273.113 292.490 PAGE 10 THE BRfllsH INSTITLryE OF PERSIAN STUDIES BALANC.E SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2024 Nt)tts 2024 2023 FIXED ASSETS Tan￿b]e assets.. Leasehold prop¢ni' Other tan&ible assets 47.533 47J33 47.533 CURRENf ASSETS Debiors Ini'eStn￿llts C￿h in hand and at banL" 48.414 223.402 44.88:, 221.718 273.8)4 299.627 CREDITORS: WITHIN I YEAR CTedito 48.274 NET CURRENT ASSETS 22?.i80 244.1)57 NET ASSETS 273.113 FtNANCED BY: Unrestrieted fimds: General fund Designawl lunds 12(aXb) 214.X5X 25.4311 213.231 Restricted funds: Conference fund BahaT7 foundation fund Adi ance4J language tyaining r￿d BtLSiC hmd Persian language online Bruce Wannell's fund Diytisation tijnd 12(aXc) 1.265 2_(XMI 13,26(1 1.265 2.(K)O I11.IXKI 511 6.2iO 25.693 6,2iO TOTAL FUNDS 273.113 292.490 PACE 11 BAL4NCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2024 Itortti*uedl The financial sialemu)ts haie been preparoj in accordance Mith Ihe special proi'isions or Part 15 of the c.ompanies Aci 2111)6 relaling 10 sn￿1 companies. In prepanng Ihe fIn￿CIal slaieTrthts'. a) The direc￿r5 are ofthe opinTon thal the comp4J!" is enliiled lo the exernpLion from audil confeTred ￿. Seciion 477 ofthe Cornpanics Aci 21Kkn" b}No n(rtice brnTrrd ag at 71 March 2023 l(b.791 311.791 2U.(122 L}d￿L¥ bwL¥hl l-oDilltd l Awd2V23 21.3231 31.A. 13.)_7.i%l 10.791 20.iXXJ 70,791 244.(122 rnc()Tne {5Jéil ! Net inc0Thellttq￿IL￿.I Ii.(xHI {53611 (i.-i611 17265! 3.)31 Ralaiice &mned forn'ard as at.71 Kitch 2Q24 214.8511 IV.791 14.6.lY 2i.43V 24(1288 f4¢L? NDTESTOTIIEAcfo￿YiS￿RT1ll¥E￿￿￿•￿D)I￿Alt￿I￿￿ J2 1>5 4i 4¥4tsB 4BA¢ ".oii 5-¢4AI PAGE21 THEB DI NOTES TO THE AC.COUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 13 TEHRAIY EXPENSES Funds are receii.ed and e¥peDded in Tehtan thtoubb a cuttellt bank accouni held and mainiaj.ned in Iran. As the Tehr￿ Ope￿lOn has been mothba]leiL there are no aciii ilies in Iran and the co5￿ included in the SL41¢m￿l of Financial Aci]iities rela1¢ lo the mwnlenance ofthe infraslTuclure. 2024 2013 Balance ￿ l April 21)23 Receipts Interest Hosiel maintenance Uliliiies o(rice exp￿$¢9 Bank d)ar¥Tres Leg'al Foreign eKchange th'rrerL4)ces 12.544 6.IIIMI 26.3 (15:X74) 5.31111 22.IMMI 457 (9.178) (L)116) {4.373) (5) {637) (7) (1.484) A.43X (839) Balance * 31 March 21124 6.312 12.)44 14 GENERAL INFOR￿TIoN The Charit%" is constituted bi its men￿[and￿[￿ and articles of association The registered office is 10 Carlton House Terrace. Londo￿ Enyand. SWIY SAH. The compam. s reg]sl¢red number 15 IM17411X13 and ihe chaFili' nurnlw is 231161_ IS TRANSFERS Year Ended 31 Ma￿h 2023 A transfer of £6 Tr"a5 made dunns, the l.ear from the unrestricted c￿e￿al fund to the r&siricled B&%ic FLmd ￿ coNer the small shor1r￿1 of grants r￿¢1}.￿ in the lear. # Persian flower motifs with animal centres, William De Morgan, late 19th century. Detail. E.1438-1917. ©Victoria & Albert Museum. ~~2~~ ## Table of contents |About the British Institute of Persian Studies|4| |---|---| |Governing Council and Offce Holders at 31 March 2024|6| |Letter from the President, Professor Ali Ansari|8| |Thank you note to the outgoing President, Professor Charles Melville|10| |Research|12| |Iran and Sovereignty project|12| |Research, Research Assistant and Travel Grants Programme|13| |About the BIPS Grant Programme|13| |2023-2024 BIPS Grant Awards|15| |BIPS Flagship Research Project|17| |Excavating the Archives: David Stronach’s feldwork at Yarim Tepe and the|| |Malayer Plain|18| |Outreach|22| |2023-2024 Events|24| |Conference_Sustainable Water Management: Learning from the_|| |_Past to Inform the Future._London, March 2024|26| |Tehran Institute: Annual Report 2023-2024|27| |Publications|28| |_IRAN_LXI.I and LXI.II (2023)|28| |Studies in the History and Culture of the Persianate World Series|30| |Archaeological Monograph Series|30| |Financial Report|32| ~~3~~ ## About the British Institute of Persian Studies The British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS) continues to be the UK’s foremost learned society dedicated to increasing public knowledge and supporting scholarship on Iran and the wider Persianate world, including South and Central Asia. The Persianate world includes territories historically associated with Persian and Iranian culture and language, these areas are, but not limited to Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia, Transcaucasia, Iraq, the Persian Gulf littoral and South Asia. BIPS is invested in supporting a range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, and subjects include Anthropology, Archaeology, Art, Classics, Cultural Studies, History, Language, Linguistics, Politics, Religious Studies and Sociology. BIPS is a UK charity and company limited by guarantee, with a self-governing membership organisation, whose members are elected on a three-yearly basis to serve on BIPS Governing Council as trustees of the charity and directors of the company. Most Governing Council members are academics in the field of Persianate studies, but some offer expertise in other areas, as do our co-opted members. BIPS is one of the British International Research Institutes (BIRI) – a group of research institutes with overseas centres in Europe, Southwest Asia, North and East Africa. The BIRI are financially supported by and headquartered in the British Academy. BIPS was founded in the UK in 1961 and in Iran in 1963; however the Institute in Tehran remains closed to the public. In the UK, BIPS plays a key role in sustaining the academic vitality and increasing the visibility of the field, by campaigning for greater provision for its study in higher education. BIPS’s activities include the biannual awarding of research and travel grants and an extensive programme of workshops, events, lectures, as well as recitals in the UK. BIPS has published its journal, IRAN, every year since 1963. It also publishes the Studies in the History and Culture of the Persianate World Series in conjunction with Bloomsbury/I.B. Tauris and the Archaeological Monograph Series with Oxbow Books. BIPS has approximately 270 members from around the world. Our membership year runs January to December, but we welcome new member applications at any time. Member benefits include receipt of our journal, _IRAN_ , twice yearly and ~~4~~ discounts on other publications and exclusive access to events, (both BIPS and other institutions). BIPS publishes its Annual Review in the Autumn of each year. This is the 2024 Annual Review (covering the financial year 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024). It is sent to all the Institute’s members in hard copy and is available to download from the BIPS website. ~~5~~ ## Governing Council and Office Holders at 31 March 2024 Professor Ali Ansari (President, Appointed November 2023) Dr Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis (Vice President) Dr Lindsay Allen Dr Roham Alvandi Dr Arezou Azad Mr David Gye (Appointed November 2023) Mr Hossein Hamedani (Honorary Treasurer) Dr Shabnam Holliday (Research Director) Professor Andrew J. Newman (Outreach and Development Director) Professor Cameron Petrie (Co-editor, IRAN and BIPS Archaeological Monograph Series) Dr Florian Schwartz (Co-opted) Dr Sarah Stewart (Honorary Secretary) Dr Saeedreza Talajooy (Appointed November 2023, Editor Studies in the History and Culture of the Persianate World Series) Professor Robert Hillenbrand (Honorary Vice President) Professor Paul Luft (Honorary Vice President) Members of Governing Council who left office through the year: Mrs Narguess Farzad (Honorary Secretary, until June 2023) Dr Richard McClary (until April 2023) Professor Charles Melville (President, until November 2023) ## Staff ## London Ms Imogen Edwards (Executive Officer, until November 2023) Ms Silvia Ferreri (General Manager, from December 2023) ## Tehran Ms Sima Mohannak (Acting Manager) ~~6~~ ## British Institute of Persian Studies UK Registered Charity No: 231161 | UK Registered Company No: 00740813 10-11 Carlton House Terrace 1623 Dr Shariati Avenue London, SW1Y 5AH Tehran, 19396-13661 +44(0)20 7969 5203 +98 (21) 2260 1045 bips@britac.ac.uk bips@pol.ir Residential Palace. Cuneiform inscription on stone anta. From the David Stronach Archive. ~~77~~ ## Letter from the President, Professor Ali Ansari Little did I imagine back in 2017 when I handed the reins of the Presidency to my colleague Professor Charles Melville, that I in turn would succeed him for a second stint at the helm in November 2023. I am very grateful to Charles for having steered BIPS through increasingly choppy waters in the years that followed, coping not only with the political difficulties in Iran but the realities of Covid at home. A key achievement has been to see us through an inspection by the Charity Commission, whose final report – sent to us early in 2024 – while recognising the difficulties of working in Iran, noted that, our activities were ‘wholly’ or ‘mainly compliant, placing us at the top end of the compliance requirements. It was a clear and emphatic endorsement of our work and operations. I take over with no little trepidation and excitement at the scale of the task in hand, as well as the opportunities ahead of us. A key part of my own work over 2024 has been the development of a new five-year strategy to take BIPS through to 2029. Working closely with the British Academy, the strategy is intended to stabilise and strengthen us as a proceed through a period of variable funding and continuing uncertainty with respect to Iran. The strategy has four pillars: the first is to maintain our facilities in Tehran and prepare ourselves for any opportunity that may arise to re-open operations with a view to establishing a working office with a resident Director in the long term. Although this may not appear feasible now, we believe our assets in Tehran are worth maintaining and that we should never lose sight of the possibility of re-activation. At the same time, we recognise that our work in Iran in the near to medium term will be limited. We intend to expand our reach and field of operations into the wider Persianate world, exploring collaborations and research opportunities in the Caucasus, Central Asia and above all India where a number of us already work on a range of projects from archaeology, through to history and linguistics. At the same, we intend to pivot more firmly to the United Kingdom where we will aim to establish ourselves as the principle professional body for Persianists, supporting ~~8~~ both established researchers but also dedicate ourselves to promoting early career researchers so that the next generation of scholars can secure a firm footing in the higher education sector. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the strategy is the fourth pillar: digitisation, and here we have signed an exciting partnership agreement with Persian Language Online (PLOL), an online education tool for learning Persian which has established itself as one of the premier Persian language teaching tools currently available online. Our aim with this partnership is to enhance and strengthen our online presence. We are in the process of placing our archives online for use by scholars and PLOL will help us extend our digital footprint so that ultimately BIPS will host the most comprehensive database of Persian language, literature, cultural and historical material, including important manuscripts that will be accessible to scholars worldwide. It is an ambitious vision, but we hope, through judicious fundraising and grant applications to make this a reality. Exciting times lie ahead of us. Professor Ali Ansari May 2024 ~~9~~ ## Thank you note to the outgoing President, Professor Charles Melville Professor Charles Melville ended his term as President on 27th November 2023 after six years in office. He succeeded Professor Ali Ansari on 27th November 2017. During this period, much happened both in Tehran as well as here, and although Charles was President during a difficult and turbulent period, he managed to steer BIPS in the right direction. In Tehran, we lost our caring and much-admired Manager, Houman Kordmahini, to a long illness in February 2020, but fortunately, his widow, Sima Mohannak has taken over as Assistant Manager. Problems with the Librarian and the outbreak of Covid meant that the Institute hostel and library in Tehran had to close, and there were tense negotiations with lawyers in Tehran about severance pay to the Librarian. At the same time, we were able to move the archaeological material conserved at BIPS since the 1960s and 1970s to the National Museum of Iran in Tehran. In July 2020, the eminent scholar and first Director of BIPS, Professor David Stronach, passed away in San Francisco. Charles was involved in negotiations with the Stronach family to preserve David’s legacy, and his archaeological papers and photographic archive were transferred to the care of Dr Ali Mousavi in UCLA. It is now being scanned and is gradually being handed over to the recently appointed Stronach Fellow in London, Dr Gareth Brereton. Charles was instrumental in establishing this Fellowship. In 2021, Hossein Hamedani was appointed Honorary Treasurer, and his financial and managerial expertise have been a great asset for BIPS. During this time Charles continued to serve BIPS with dedication and enthusiasm, and always remained optimistic. He actively pursued the development of BIPS activities in Central Asia and India, and he supported new initiatives and projects, such as the digitization of archival material. In the last year of his presidency, Charles and other officers complied with the requests of the Charity Commission to create working policies covering the various aspects of BIPS’s activities. The BIPS Council and members are greatly indebted to Charles for all his efforts during the last six years, which has resulted in BIPS going from strength to strength. Dr Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis BIPS Vice President and Honorary Director Page 11. Tiles. From the Bruce Wannell Archive. ~~10~~ ## Research The Research programme at BIPS is managed by the Research Committee chaired by Shabnam Holliday, Associate Professor in International Relations, University of Plymouth. Iran and Sovereignty project Drawing the BIPS Modern Research Project to a close, the _Iran and Sovereignty Project_ , led by Dr Shabnam Holliday, is a collaborative interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary project that brings together scholars from the UK, the EU, and the USA in the fields of Archaeology, Cultural Studies, Ancient, Medieval and Modern History, Politics, and International Relations. On th 6th and 7th of July 2023, the project hosted its second and final workshop at the University of Plymouth. Funded by BIPS, the workshop brought together several researchers who contributed stimulating discussions across the boundaries of disciplines and chronological periods. The contributors were Shabnam Holliday (University of Plymouth), Ali Ansari (University of St Andrews), Brieg Powel (University of Exeter), Lloyd Llewelyn-Jones (Cardiff University/Prifysgol Caerdydd), Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis (British Museum), Saeed Talajooy, (University of St Andrews), Andrew Newman (University of Edinburgh), Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet, (University of Pennsylvania), Rowena Abdul Razak (Queen Mary’s University London), Robert Steele (Austrian Academy of Sciences), Edward Wastnidge (The Open University), and Asma Abdi (University of Warwick). There are plans for the papers to be published in an edited volume. Dr Shabnam Holliday ~~**12**~~ Research, Research Assistant and Travel Grants Programme About the BIPS Grant Programme BIPS supports UK-based post-doctoral researchers and UK-based students to carry out humanities and social science research into Iran and the Persianate world, and invites grant applications two times a year, usually in March and July. BIPS has traditionally supported a broad range of research projects and funded travel for research and conference attendance. This year we have added a new category of grants, the Research Assistant Grants, which have proven to be very popular and opened up a new avenue for funding research. The Research Grants and Research Assistant Grants, generally up to a maximum of £5,000, can be awarded to applicants who have completed a PhD and hold a research-active position at a UK Higher Educational Institution (HEI). HEIs are usually universities but may also be museums or similar organisations. Research Grants are given for a range of purposes, including fieldwork, archival research and the organisation of conferences, with academic publications as the primary output. The Research Assistant Grants are designed to allow academics to hire assistants to help develop a research project, allow for the research of an established academic to be supported, with an income to be provided to an early-career scholar or postgraduate student who will conduct the majority of the research. To qualify for a Travel Grant, applicants must be currently enrolled as a student (undergraduate or postgraduate, including doctoral candidates) at a UK HEI. The awards are limited to £1,200 and are normally awarded to assist with the costs of travel to the Persianate world, in its widest sense, but we may make awards for travel to conferences or to other regions if a strong rational is made in the application. All grant applications are assessed by the BIPS Research Committee, and their recommendations are then reviewed and ratified by BIPS Council. At the time of taking their grant, successful applicants must be members of BIPS. ~~13~~ Award holders must provide a financial report, for internal use, and a short narrative report that will be uploaded to the BIPS website. A requirement for all grant holders is to present their research at a BIPS workshop. The first Grant Holders’ Workshop since Covid was held at the University of Plymouth on 8 July 2023. This was a fantastic opportunity for grant holders to share their research funded by BIPS and to meet others in the Iranian and Persianate Studies community. For more information on our current grant rounds see the BIPS website (bips.ac.uk). BIPS Grant Holders’ Workshop 2023 in Plymouth. ~~14~~ 2023-2024 BIPS Grant Awards During the financial year 2023-2024 BIPS has awarded a total of twelve Research, Research Assistant, and Student Travel grants, which have supported important research projects. These cover a broad chronological span and a variety of disciplines. In the financial year 2023-2024 the following grants were awarded: |Type of
Award|Awardee|UK HEI|Topic|Value| |---|---|---|---|---| |Research|Andrea Corsi|University of
York|Documenting
the
Stucco
Collection
and
Archives
from
Whitehouse’s
Siraf
Excavations (1966-1973) at
the British Museum|£4,000| |Research|Mariano
Errichiello|SOAS
University of
London|The Religious Persianate in
Africa:
Trading
Religions
Meeting in the Global South
(ZORAFRIKA)|£2,700| |Research|Claudia Glatz|University of
Glasgow|Archaeologies
of
a
Borderland: The Sirwan/
Upper Diyala Region during
the Parthian, Sasanian, and
Islamic Periods|£4,000| |Research|Charles Melville|University of
Cambridge|Round Table at the Biruni
Institute in Tashkent|£1,112| |Research|Adam Sammut|University of
York|Conference
panel:
“Half
the World Away: Cultural
Circulations between Isfahan
and
the
Early
Modern
Low Countries”. Historians
of
Netherlandish
Art
Conference (HNA), London
and Cambridge, 10-13 July
2024.|£1,000| ~~15~~ |Research|Rustam Shukurov|University of
St Andrews|Workshop:
‘Izz
al-Din
Kaykawus II and his time
(1240s–1280s)|£1,683| |---|---|---|---|---| |Research
Assistant|Roger Matthews|University of
Reading|Seeds of change: analysis of
archaeobotanical
remains
from prehistoric sites on the
Caspian shores of Iran|£4,995| |Student
Travel|Natalie Boyd|University of
Wales|The Hasanlu Ivories viewed
through a New Materialist
lens|£1,200| |Student
Travel|Marc
Czarnuszewicz|University of
St Andrews|The game of kings at the
Ghaznavid
court:
an
examination of the Shatranj-
nama MSS held at the Biruni
Institute, Tashkent|£700| |Student
Travel|Brady Hill|University of
Cambridge|The
Kani
Shaie
Archaeological
Project
(KSAP)|£900| |Student
Travel|Christos Nikolaou|University of
Cambridge|Rural life in a changing
world: new light on economic
development and inequality
in Central Asia under the
Kushan Empire|£800| |Student
Travel|Iqan
Shahidighamsari|University of
Cambridge|The notion of decline in the
writings of two prominent
Iranian intellectuals, namely
Fardid and Al-e Ahmad|£1,200| Dr Shabnam Holliday BIPS Research Director ~~16~~ ## BIPS Flagship Research Project _Persian Manuscripts between East and West: Britain, India and the Circulation of the Persianate Literary Heritage_ . The project, led by Prof Andrew Peacock at the University of St Andrews, explores British engagement with Persian manuscripts culture. The project was kick started with its first workshop held at the Ancient India and Iran Trust, Cambridge, on 3 November 2023, with 13 talks presenting new research about Persian manuscript collections in the UK. The full programme can be viewed online (www.bips.ac.uk/project/flagship-project-peacock). The event was open to the public, and attracted a full house, showing the considerable interest in the topic. This workshop was very useful in shaping the research agenda for the future. _Agricultural Sustainability of the Otrar Oasis_ . This project, led by Dr Katie Campbell (King’s College, University of Cambridge), investigates the reasons for population decline in Otrar Oasis in in southern Kazakhstan and its agricultural economy. In the first year of the project, a five-week long excavation and survey season was completed in September and October 2023. The team consisted of Dr Katie Campbell, Serik Akylbek (Archeoservice, Otrar State Archaeological Museum), Dr Davit Naskidashvili (Tbilisi State University), Dr Karl Smith (University of Oxford), Ali Seraliyev (L.N. Gumilyov, Eurasian National University, Astana), Shinaz Almazuly (Archaeoservice, Otrar State Archaeological Museum) and students Vova Kenkadze, Vazha Chitaia (TSU) and Dinara Akylbek (Shymkent University). The team was joined by James Thomas (University of Lincoln) who came to do soil salinity sampling at the site of Otrar and across the oasis. The focus of the work was Otrartobe, the main urban site in the oasis, and its extensive suburbs. The main areas excavated included a substantial kiln which was found to be producing unglazed pottery in approximately the 14th century. Extensive samples were taken from the lining and fill of the kiln to understand more about its use and date. Sites in the northern and eastern part of the suburbs were also investigated. A small trench was excavated in the northern suburb, which contained occupation evidence dating from approximately the 10th-12th century, including a drainage pipe made from reused pots. The trench in the eastern suburb contained buildings dating to a similar period, and we hope to excavate these further in 2024. ~~17~~ Excavating the Archives: David Stronach’s e and the Mala er Plain fieldwork at Yarim Tep y David Stronach OBE FSA (1931 - 2020) was a pioneering archaeologist and founding Director of the British Institute of Persian Studies. His extensive archives, which are currently being digitised and published by BIPS, contains a wealth of material accumulated throughout David’s long and varied career, particularly his early excavations in Iran. The purpose of the project is to make this archive available online and in print, starting with the publication of his excavations at the site of Yarim Tepe. In 1960, during his appointment as the British Academy’s Archaeological Attaché in Tehran, David directed excavations at the mound of Yarim Tepe, a site located on the fertile Gorgan Plain, which at the time was relatively unexplored by archaeologists. The mound itself is modest in size, rising some 20 meters above the surrounding plain, and is situated on the bank of the Kara Su River, which had cut into the south face of the mound. This cut effectively provided a natural section from the top of the mound down to virgin soil, which attracted David to the site. Over the course of just two field seasons in 1960 and 1962, David and his team could delineate an archaeological sequence that spanned the Late Neolithic through to the Iron Age. One of the main objectives of the project was to outline a pottery sequence for the site and collect C14 samples, all of which would help establish a regional chronology for the Gorgan Plain. Despite best intentions, however, the excavations at Yarim Tepe remain largely unpublished. Two concise summary reports were made available, the first of these being an article published in The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin by Vaughn Crawford, which was written for a general audience. The second publication was a short article written by David for the book Excavations in Iran. The British Contribution. Fortunately, the bulk of the excavation records were kept by David ~~18~~ in his home office, stored together in two file boxes and several drawing tubes. This material was audited, reorganised and catalogued before being digitised in preparation for the planned publication. Given the wealth of unpublished data for Yarim Tepe found in the archive it was decided that the material was best published as a final report in monograph form. Moreover, in light of new excavations by Iranian archaeologists working in the Gorgan Plain, the results of the excavations at Yarim Tepe could then be reevaluated against this new research. To date, a draft of the monograph text and accompanying illustrations, which includes hundreds of reworked site plans and pottery drawings, is now completed and will be prepared for publication. Once the Yarim Tepe monograph is submitted for review, work will then commence on publishing an archaeological survey of the Malayer Plain conducted in 1977 and 1978. This took place during David’s excavations at Nush-i Jan, and is an extension of an earlier survey of the surrounding region by David and T Cuyler Young in 1965. Nush-i Jan proved to be an important Median and Parthian period settlement, which was excavated over five field seasons between 1967 and 1977. This site is located some 60 kilometres south of Hamadan in the alluvial Malayer plain of the central Zagros range in western Iran. The mound itself, which rises to a maximum height of 36 meters above the surrounding plain, is natural, with various structures being built atop a high, rocky shale outcrop. Excavation of the site revealed a remarkable series of buildings and a perimeter wall dating to the Median period. The buildings Aerial photographs of Yarim Tepe showing south face cut by the Kara Su River and location of the excavation trenches. From the David Stronach Archive. ~~19~~ themselves were remarkably well preserved, with the remains of walls left standing many meters high with features such as doorways, windows and even ceilings left intact. This rare state of preservation resulted from the careful infilling of standing structures with stone and mudbrick before being deserted, perhaps marking the ritual abandonment of the site. Nush-i Jan was then resettled briefly when a Parthian village was established on the mound. The results of the excavations at Nush-i Jan are relatively well published, with three preliminary reports in the journal Iran and two significant monographs covering the architectural remains of the Median period as well as the excavated small finds. Additional planned volumes, however, included the 1977-78 survey of the surrounding Malayer plain. The archival material pertaining to this survey includes detailed maps, a catalogue of the sites identified, photographs of archaeological mounds and remains, and illustrations of the pottery collected. Together, this material documents the remains of hundreds of archaeological sites located on the Malayer plain that date between the Neolithic and Islamic periods. In collaboration with the original participants of the 1977-78 survey, work will now commence on this archive, the publication of which will reveal patterns of human settlement in the region over thousands of years. Dr Gareth Brereton Stronach Research Fellow The remains of the Fort at Nush-i Jan. From the David Stronach Archive. ~~20~~ Top: Bronze Age Pottery from Yarim Tepe. From the David Stronach Archive. Bottom: The Malayer plain as viewed from the mound of Nush-i Jan. ~~**21**~~ ## Outreach As the accompanying data shows, this past year BIPS’ social media footprint only continued its expansion. Both our YouTube and Instagram presence experienced especially notable growth; the former almost nearly doubled its followers’ numbers and the latter more than doubled its numbers. Ms Silvia Ferreri continued to lead this process. Our monthly webinars offered talks on such topics as Persian poetry and historiography, mission hospitals in Persia and British India, digitisation of historical archives, and modern Iranian films. Also with the assistance of Ms Ferreri, our Student Newsletter published 37 issues over the year. The Newsletter contains news of events, publications, job postings and other academic announcements. Past issues can be viewed in the Newsletter Archive page on the BIPS website. We partnered in organising events with the British Museum, the Iran Society, the University of York, Sissinghurst Castle, the British School at Athens and the British Institute at Ankara. The latter two are, as BIPS, among the eight British International Research Institutes (BIRI). In collaboration with the British Museum, BIPS organised a private visit of the exhibition _Luxury and Power: Persia to Greece_ for which BIPS also provided financial support leading to the creation of a series of traditional garments. More at this link: www.britishmuseum.org/blog/long-live-king-kings-accession-ritualancient-persia. This event was open to members only and it was complemented by a public lecture on Zoom given by Dr James Fraser, curator of the exhibition, and Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, who aided to its creation. BIPS’ partnership with the University of York continues with the organization of the annual Bruce Wannell Memorial Lecture that took place in June 2023, as part of the York Festival of Ideas. BIPS established a new partnership with Sissinghurst Castle (National Trust), cosponsoring with the Iran Society the exhibition _A Persian Paradise: Vita SackvilleWest and Harold Nicolson in Iran 1925-1927_ . The exhibition opened in October 2023 and it was originally schedule to close in March 2024, but it was extended until the end of May 2024. ~~22~~ This year, BIPS co-organised two conferences. The first in July 2023, with the British Institute at Ankara, on _Jalal al-Din Rumi and his Legacy: Religion, Literature and Culture between Medieval Anatolia and the Persianate World_ (www.bips. ac.uk/event/jalal-al-din-rumi-and-his-legacy/), the second in March 2024 in collaboration with all the BIRIs on Sustainable Water Management: Learning from the Past to Inform the Future (www. bips.ac.uk/event/sustainablewater-management/). A full list of all BIPS’ events over the period is included in the table at the end of this report and full information about the events can be found on the BIPS website. BIPS continues working on the digitisation of its archives, and work is underway for the creation of the online platform that will ultimately host the digitised material. More information on the digitisation of the Stronach Archive is given by Dr Gareth Brereton, BIPS Stronach Fellow, on pp. 18-21. In addition, BIPS is also involved in a larger BIRI-wide digitisation collaborative project that will lead to the creation of an online platform linking together the archives of the institutes involved. The project just entered its third year and activities kick-started with a workshop, in February 2024, organised in collaboration with the British School at Athens on the topic of digital storytelling and linked open-data. Professor Andrew Newman BIPS Outreach and Development Director ~~23~~ BIPS Events in 2023-2024 During the financial year 2023-2024 BIPS hosted and co-hosted a total of fifteen events, including a members only event at the British Museum and a conference co-organised with the British Institute at Ankara. ## In the financial year 2023-2024 the following events took place: |20 March 2024|Reformulation of the Ideals of
Heroism in Bahram Beyzaie’s
Dramatic Worlds|On-line (via Zoom) talk by
Saeed Talajooy; chaired by
Andrew Newman| |---|---|---| |15-16 March 2024|Sustainable Water
Management: Learning from
the Past to Inform the Future|[Conference co-organised by
the British International Research
Institutes]
In person event at the British
Academy,London| |7 February 2024|Persian Historiography across
Empires|On-line (via Zoom) talk by
Sholeh
Quinn;
chaired
by
Andrew Newman| |17 January 2024|Persian Poetry on the High
Seas: Migration and the
Making of an Early Moden
World Literature|On-line (via Zoom) talk by
James White; chaired by Andrew
Newman| |6 December 2023|Uncovering Dr Hans E. Wulff
Collection: A Life Contribution
to the Study of Iran and Iranian
Studies|On-line (via Zoom) talk by
Pedram Khosronejad; chaired
by Andrew Newman| |27 November 2023|Empire, Sultanate, and the
Boundaries of the Persianate
World in South Asia|[BIPS AGM Lecture 2023]
In person event at the British
Academy,
London.
Lecture
by Roy Fischel, introduced by
Charles Melville| |18 October 2023|The Reunifcation of Iran and
the Reign of Aqa Muhammad
Shah Qajar|On-line (via Zoom) talk by
Maziar Behrooz; chaired by
Andrew Newman| ~~24~~ |6 September 2023|Excavating
the
Archives:
David Stronach’s feldwork in
Iran with the British Institute for
Persian Studies|On-line (via Zoom) talk by
Gareth Brereton; chaired by
Andrew Newman| |---|---|---| |19 July 2023|Private tour of the exhibition
Luxury and Power: Persia to
Greece|[Members
only
event
co-
organised by BIPS and the British
School in Athens (BSA)]
In person event at the British
Museum, London, with James
Fraser and Lloyd Llewellen-Jones| |12 July 2023|Treasures
of
Herat:
Two
Timurid Khamsah of Nazami
Manuscripts|On-line (via Zoom) talk by
Barbara
Brend
chaired
by
Andrew Newman| |6 July 2023|Jalal al-Din Rumi and his
Legacy: Religion, Literature
and
Culture
between
Medieval Anatolia and the
Persianate
World,13th-14th
Centuries|[Conference co-organised by
BIPS and the British Institute at
Ankara (BIAA)]
In person event at the BIAA,
Ankara| |13 June 2023|Open Sesame: Ancient Persia
and the Greek Imagination|On-line (via Zoom) talk by James
Fraser and Lloyd Llewellen-Jones| |8 June 2023|Rumi and the Masnavi: Talk
and Recitation|[BIPS sponsored event]
In person event at the York
Festival of Ideas with Alan
Williams, Seyed Ali Jaber, and
the Hamdel Ensemble| |31 May 2023|Feeling Mission Hospitals in
Persia and British India|On-line (via Zoom) talk by Sara
Honarmand Ebrahimi; chaired
byAndrew Newman| |18 May 2023|“You’re Fired”: A Comparison
of Roman and Sassanian
Military Careers|[Organised by the Iran Society
and BIPS]
In person event at the Army &
NavyClub;talk bySean Strong| |19 April 2023|The Hunt as Erotic and Military
Training in Early New Persian
Poetry|On-line (via Zoom) talk by
Domenico Ingenito; chaired by
Andrew Newman| ~~25~~ Conference _Sustainable Water Management: Learning from the Past to Inform the Future_ . London, March 2024 The British International Research Institutes (BIRI), of which BIPS is part, co-organised a conference on the _Sustainable Water Management: Learning from the Past to Inform the Future._ The conference was held at the British Academy in London on 15 and 16 March 2024. The conference stems from the _Sustainable Water Management Initiative_ , a multi-disciplinary, interregional project that brings together specialists in disciplines ranging from archaeology to enviromental science, history, engineerig and social science, to work together to understand how climate change impacts water availability and to seek solutions to the scarsity of water based on local experiences and historical and traditional practices with a view to ensure sustainability, economic viability and knowledge transfer. BIPS Trustee, Prof Cameron Petrie, and Iqtedar Alam, delivered a paper on _Learnings from a Mughal waterscape: modelling and evaluating Shahjahanabad’s hydrological landscape_ . Dr Hassan Moradi of the National Museum of Iran presented a paper titled: _Harnessing Water Resources in Arid Landscapes: A Case Study of the Neyriz Plain, Fars Province, Iran_ . Dr Nahal Khorrami, Özyeğin University, presented a paper on _Water and urban tissues: The Qanat system and the formation process of Yazd, Iran_ . The programme of the event is available on the BIPS website (www.bips.ac.uk/ event/sustainable-water-management/). ~~26~~ ## Tehran Institute: Annual Report 2023-24 We are pleased to report that the BIPS building in Tehran is being kept in good repair and the hostel and the Library remain an important resource. In the BIPS compound in Tehran there was a series of building repair works including replacing paving stones all around the Institute and reinforcing the walls and fences on the north, west and south sides. This has been overseen by our Assistant Manager Mrs Sima Mohannak. A teacher from the adjacent French School stayed in the hostel renting a room throughout the period April 2023-March 2024. We have explored the possibility of reopening the Library and are contemplating updating the Library software and hiring a Librarian on a parttime basis to catalogue books that have arrived at BIPS but have not been catalogue since COVID and the departure of the Librarian. We have been negotiating with Pars Azarakhsh, a software company, to undertake this work. Our intention is to create an online catalogue available to everyone interested in Persian studies both in Iran and around the world. We are most grateful to Mrs Sima Mohannak, and also Daneh Kordmahini , for managing the building so conscientiously and effectively. Dr Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis BIPS Vice President and Honorary Director ~~**27**~~ ## Publications BIPS has continued to be busy with publications with three new volumes published in the Persian Studies Series and the Archaeological Monograph Series. Each year, a new volume of its journal IRAN is published (in two issues, one in the Spring and one in the Autumn). BIPS members receive a hard copy by post as a benefit of membership. An online version is available to members through BIPS’s website. ## _IRAN_ LXI.I and LXI.II (2023) In 2023-24, _IRAN_ was edited by Professor Cameron Petrie who is a Trustee of BIPS. The journal is peer reviewed with an international editorial board. It also receives assistance from BIPS Trustees and Honorary Vice Presidents in reviewing submitted articles. For 62 years _IRAN_ has maintained an international reputation for publishing significant academic articles on all aspects of Persianate study (except for modern politics). This year, paper topics spanned from the archaeology of the fifth millennium BC, through the Achaemenid period, and on up to the early 12th century. In addition to the two issues of the journal that are published in hard copy each year, articles are also available online. Submissions are made online and the guidelines are available on the BIPS’s website. IRAN has received over 60 submissions in 2024, and already has fifty articles accepted for publication that will appear online in the coming months. ## LXI.I |LXI.I|| |---|---| |Ali Khayani and Kamal Aldin Niknami,_More Early Bronze Age Seal_
_Impressions from Chogha Maran, Western Central Zagros_|p.1-14| |Yasmina Wicks,_Probing the Margins in Search of Elamite Children_|p.15-35| |Davide Salaris,_The Equestrian Relief of Hung-e Azhdar: A Historical_
_Memory for the Dynastic Lineages of Elymais_|p.36-58| |Esmaeil Sharahi, Hossein Sedighian and Meisam Nikzad,_Excavation_
_at Tayhaq - A Subterranean Rock-Cut Architecture Complex in_
_Khomein, Markazi Province, Iran_|p.59-74| |Saeed Amirhajloo and Hossein Sedighian,_Recent Archaeological_
_Research in South Iran: Excavation at the Old City of Sirjan (The Site of_
_Qal’eh Sang)_|p.75-93| ~~28~~ |Marc Czarnuszewicz,_Challenging Narratives of “Missionary”_
_Isma‘ilism in Buyid Iran: Reconsidering the Sira of al Mu’ayyad fī al-_
_Din al-Shirazi through Socio-economic Contextualisation_|p.94-114| |---|---| |Denis Hermann and Fabrizio Speziale,_Scientifc Knowledge and_
_Religious Milieu in Qajar Iran: Negotiating Muslim and European_
_Renaissance Medicine in the Subtleties of Healing_|p.115-129| |Kioumars Ghereghlou,_A Forgotten Money Heist: The 1746 Mission of_
_Nadir Shah’s Chief Merchant in Russian Revisited_|p.130-147| |LXII.II|| |Nasir Eskandari, François Desset, Mojgan Shafee, Meysam
Shahsavari, Salman Anjamrouz, Irene Caldana, Ali Daneshi, Ali
Shahdadi and Massimo Vidale,_Preliminary Report on Survey of_
_Hajjiabad-Varamin, a Site of the Konar Sandal Settlement Network_
_(Jiroft, Kerman, Iran)_|p.149-176| |Salah Salimi, Mostafa Dehpahlavan and John MacGinnis,_A Survey_
_of Parthian Pithos Cemeteries on the Western Bank of the Little Zab_
_River, Sardasht Region, Northwest Iran_|p.177-195| |Tobias Jones,_The Objects of Loyalty in the Early Modern Mongol_
_Empire(Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries)_|p.196-220| |Sara Mirahmadi,_Legitimising the Khan: Rashid al-Din’s Ideological_
_Project from a Literary Aspect_|p.221-234| |Ana Marija Grbanovic,_Lost and Found: The Ilkhanid Tiles of the Pir-i_
_Bakran Mausoleum(Linjan, Isfahan)_|p.235-254| |Michael Hope,_The Political Confguration of Late Ilkhanid Iran: A_
_Case Study of the Chubanid Amirate (738-758/1337-1357)_|p. 255-271| |Shafque N. Virani, An Old Man, a Garden, and an Assembly of
Assassins: Legends and Realities of the Nizari Ismaili Muslims|p. 272-284| |Philip Henning Grobien, Modernity, Borders and Maps: Iran’s Ability to
Advocate for tis Borders During the Reign of Naser al-Din Shah|p. 285-298| ~~29~~ ## Studies in the History and Culture of the Persianate World Series BIPS solidified its cooperation with Bloomsbury/IB Tauris for the publication of its book series ‘Studies in the History and Culture of the Persianate World’. In February 2024, Dr Saeedreza Talajooy, from the University of St Andrews, took over the role of editor of the series and put together a new editorial board. BIPS would like to thank the former editor, Prof Andrew Peacock, for his valuable work. The volume _Genealogical History in the Persianate World_ , edited by Jo-Ann Gross and Daniel Beben is due for publication in July 2025. Two other manuscripts are currently being reviewed for publication in this series. The latest publications in the series are Saeed Talajooy’s edited volume _The Plays and Films of Bahram Beyzaie: Origins, Forms and Functions_ (February 2024) and Nahid Assemi’s monograph _Piety and Politics in Qajar Iran: The Takkiyya Mu’avin al-Mulk in Kermanshah_ (July 2024). Archaeological Monograph Series The Archaeological Monograph Series was established in 2009 as a joint publishing venture between the BIPS and Oxbow Books to create a venue for the publication of archaeological research, particularly the results of large scale surveys and excavations. The series is edited by Prof. Cameron Petrie. The eighth volume, by Seth M. N. Priestman and Derek Kennet entitled _Sasanian and Islamic Settlement and Ceramics in Southern Iran (4th to 17th Century AD): The Williamson Collection Project_ was published in 2023, and presents the results of fieldwork, research and analysis that has been supported by BIPS since the 1970s. It is available for order from Oxbow Books. Editorial work is being completed on the ninth voume, edited by Cameron A. Petrie, Barbara Helwing and Helen Taylor, and entitled _A New Look at Old Routes in Western Asia: Rethinking Iran in the fifth millennium BC_ , which is planned to appear in 2025. ~~30~~ Abbas Javanmard as Pahlevān Akbar and Roqyeh Chehrazad as Mother (1965). ~~3131~~ ## Financial Report The year 2023-24 witnessed significant changes to the administration of The British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS) with the appointment of a new President and a new General Manager. We are grateful to Professor Charles Melville, who after six years of tireless service took a well earned rest and handed over the reins to Professor Ali Ansari in partnership with Dr Sarkhosh Curtis as Vice President and Honorary Director. Silvia Ferreri, who was previously our Outreach Assistant, was appointed as General Manager. Professor Melville oversaw the Charity Commission’s review of BIPS which gave our operations a clean bill of health subject to refinements which were implemented with regard to Policy documents on a range of activities which are now reviewed annually. BIPS spent 49% of its income on grants, 21% on Outreach and Publications and 30% on governance and establishment overheads. The Flagship projects that had been launched in the previous year were also formally awarded and inaugurated in the year. BIPS maximises the impact of the grants by providing relatively small grants to each applicant to help grow the Persianate Studies community. The feedback from our grantee workshops is very positive. It indicates that whilst BIPS’ grants are the main source of funding in some cases, in many instances, BIPS’ funding is a vital part of enabling and facilitating larger projects nationally and globally. Furthermore these grants are also essential for growing the Iranian and Persianate Studies communities because of the support provided to Early Career Researchers. Our digitisation project has continued with the digitisation of the Stronach and Hillenbrand archives and a more ambitious digitisation programme in collaboration with the other BIRIs is one of the four central pillars of our new strategy - BIPS 2030 - which will be agreed by the end of 2024. An important aspect of our strategy going forward is collaborations, and we have already agreed a partnership with Persian Language Online. We commissioned a consultant to help us develop a fundraising strategy. This has provided a detailed landscape of fundraising opportunities which we will apply ~~32~~ to in stages from 2024-25. We will use the external funding to develop our digital platform and position BIPS as the primary digital resource for Persian and Iranian studies in the United Kingdom. With respect to the facilities in Tehran, while we remain closed to the public we are taking the opportunity of this down time to begin the digital cataloguing of our library collection. The Acting Manager and Assistant Managers, Sima Mohannak and Daneh Kordmahini, continue to do excellent work in maintaining the facilities in anticipating of a reopening of our activities. ~~33~~ THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF PERSIAN STUDIES ## STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCORPORATING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 |Notes
INCOME FROM:
Donations and legacies
Donations
-
Grants from Government
and other public bodies
2
Other grants
Charitable activities
Subscriptions
Publication sales
Hostel income
Investments
Bank interest
Income from investments
Financial income
Foreign exchange gain
3(b)
TOTAL INCOME|Unrestricted
Restricted
2024
2023
Funds
Funds
Total
Total
Restated
£
£
£
£
199
50
249
421
-
221,008
221,008
196,750
-
2,000
2,000
6000
8,789
-
8,789
9,353
7,644
-
7,644
3,683
6,000
-
6,000
4,200
1,356
-
1,356
748
5,087
-
5,087
2,902
2,759
-
2,759
-| |---|---| ||31,834
223,058
254,892
254,057| ~~34~~ THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF PERSIAN STUDIES ## STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCORPORATING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 |Notes
EXPENDITURE ON:
Charitable activities
Grants and scholarships
3(a)/(c)
Workshops and lectures
3(a)
Book publication costs
3(a)
Offce costs
Financial costs
3(b)
Journal expenses
3(a)
Outreach
3(d)
Conferences
3(a)
Establishment and maintenance
Other
Computer support
Examination and accountancy
3(e)
Management
Legal expenses
TOTAL EXPENDITURE
NET INCOMING/
(OUTGOING) RESOURCES
BEFORE RECOGNISED
GAINS
TRANSFERS
GAINS/(LOSSES)
ON INVESTMENTS –
UNREALISED
NET MOVEMENTS IN
FUNDS|Unrestricted
Restricted
2024
2023
Funds
Funds
Total
Total
£
£
£
£
5,361
116,504
121,865
118,007
-
27,534
27,534
600
-
6,000
6,000
5,000
8,040
27,652
35,692
33,515
136
-
136
1,195
-
5,540
5,540
3,998
-
41,519
41,519
37,170
-
-
-
4,693
8,642
13,952
22,594
19,647
-
-
-
-
3,310
-
3,310
2,700
6,258
-
6,258
5,195
7,352
-
7,352
5,766| |---|---| ||39,099
238,701
277,800
237,486
(7,625)
(15,643)
(22,908)
(13,429)
-
-
-
-
3,531
-
3,531
(2,036)| ||(3,734)
(15,643)
(19,377)
(15,465)| ~~35~~ |TOTAL FUNDS BROUGHT
FORWARD
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED
FORWARD|244,022
48,468
292,490
307,955| |---|---| ||240,288
32,825
273,113
292,490| The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities. ~~36~~ THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF PERSIAN STUDIES ## BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2024 |Notes
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible Assets:
Leasehold Property
4
Other Tangible Assets
4
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors
5
Investments
7
Cash in hand and at bank
CREDITORS: within 1 year
Creditors
6
NET CURRENT ASSETS
NET ASSETS
FINANCED BY:
Unrestricted Funds:
12(a)(b)
General Fund
Designated Funds
Restricted Funds:
12(a)(c)
Conference Fund
Bahari Foundation Fund
Advanced Language Training Fund
Basic Grant
Persian Language Online
Bruce Wannell’s Fund
Digitisation Fund
TOTAL FUNDS|2024
£
£
-
47,533
47,533
2,038
44,414
223,402
273,854
48,274
225,580
273,113
214,858
25,430
1,265
2,000
13,260
-
10,000
50
6,250
273,113|2024
£
£
-
47,533
47,533
2,038
44,414
223,402
273,854
48,274
225,580
273,113
214,858
25,430
1,265
2,000
13,260
-
10,000
50
6,250
273,113|2023
£
£
-
47,533
47,533
33,026
44,883
221,718
299,627
54,670
244,957
292,490
213,231
30,791
1,265
2,000
13,260
-
-
25,693
6,250|2023
£
£
-
47,533
47,533
33,026
44,883
221,718
299,627
54,670
244,957
292,490
213,231
30,791
1,265
2,000
13,260
-
-
25,693
6,250| |---|---|---|---|---| |||47,533
225,580||47,533
244,957| ||273,854
48,274||299,627
54,670|| |||||| |||273,113||292,490| |||214,858
25,430
1,265
2,000
13,260
-
10,000
50
6,250||213,231
30,791
1,265
2,000
13,260
-
-
25,693
6,250| |||273,113||292,490| ~~37~~ Persian flower motifs with animal centres, William De Morgan, late 19th century. Detail. E.1438-1917. ©Victoria & Albert Museum. ~~38~~ ## MEMBERSHIP Membership of BIPS is open to all, and we welcome new members. BIPS organises an extensive programme of talks, conferences and workshops throughout the year in the UK and overseas. It publishes its journal _IRAN_ twice a year and occasional books in its Persian Studies Series or Archaeological Monograph Series. Becoming a member is your chance to support our work and contribute to our efforts to broaden appreciation of the cultural heritage of the Persianate world. Membership runs from January to December, but new members can apply any time of the year. We offer four types of membership: Student (£20 a year); Corresponding (£30 a year - for non-UK members); Full (£40 a year) and Fellow (£50 a year for academics). Membership renewals or applications can be made via our website: www.bips.ac.uk/join-us/ ## CONTACT DETAILS 10 Carlton House Terrace London, SW1Y 5AH +44(0)20 7969 5203 bips@britac.ac.uk 1623 Dr Shariati Avenue Tehran, 19396-13661 +98 (21) 2260 1045 bips@pol.ir