Encyclopaedia Iranica Online

Preparation of the 'Encyclopædia Iranica,' a multi-disciplinary reference work and research tool on Iranian history and civilization from prehistory to the present. The project would add up to 600 new entries to the online database, update earlier entries, and improve user interaction through social media. Encyclopaedia Iranica is a major interdisciplinary research tool in the humanities for scholars and students in Middle Eastern, Central Asian, Afghanistan, and the Indian subcontinent. Non-specialists too would find the material interesting and lucidly written. It is a vehicle for the publication of original research or synthesis of current scholarship. All of the articles are written with careful documentation and extensive bibliography by leading scholars from many different countries. This NEH application for the two-year period of July 2013 through June 2015 concerns only the EIr's digital edition. The project seeks funding to accomplish two interrelated goals during the grant period: (1) add 400-600 new entries to the online database to fill in its coverage in the letters K-Z; (2) build visitor traffic to EIr through timely communication and improved interaction with the help of social media. .