E. G. Browne and the Making of Iranian Studies
E. G. Browne and the Making of Iranian Studies
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10 - 11 April 2026
Pembroke College and the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Cambridge are organising a conference to mark the centenary of the passing of Edward Granville Browne (1862–1926), who as a fellow of Pembroke and eventually as Sir Thomas Adams’s Professor of Arabic at Cambridge, dedicated his entire academic career to the study of Persian literature, history, and culture.
Browne’s interests ranged widely and encompassed topics such as contemporary society and politics. While he may be most famous today for his four-volume A Literary History of Persia, his history of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution, or for his studies of the Babi and Baha’i faiths, his bibliography – as compiled by his colleague and successor R.A. Nicholson – comprises some fifty-five major works. These can be divided roughly into three categories: 1) religion, 2) history and literature, and 3) politics and journalism.
Browne’s role in the making of Iranian Studies is difficult to overstate. Subsequent scholars pronounced him to be among the 'finest specialists' of Persian ever, and his body of work has been described as 'epoch-making'. The aim of the conference is to situate Browne in the emergence and development of Iranian Studies and to assess his legacy and impact upon the development of the academic field.
To register for the conference, please complete the form here.
Organised by
Assef Ashraf (University of Cambridge and Pembroke College)
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