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Dibs Fall 2026

IRANIAN 35

Archaeology of Ancient Iranian Empires

Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. For around 1,200 years, three massive empires centered in Iran ruled over vast territories: Achaemenid Empire (550 to 330 BCE), Parthian Empire (247 BCE to 224 CE), and Sasanian Empire (224 to 651 CE). Often overlooked in studies of the ancient world, these empires were a critical force that shaped political and social life across Eurasia. Consideration of the figure of Cyrus the Great and the policies of his empire. Examination of how local communities in lands stretching from modern Turkey in the west to Afghanistan in the east lived under and alongside the sequence of empires. Consideration of how trade in precious metals and silks shaped Eurasian economies stretching from Rome to China under the Parthians. Examination of how the technologically complex cities of Sasanians grew into massive, multicultural, cosmopolitan hubs. Students learn how to examine and combine archaeological and textual evidence to develop a multi-dimensional picture of past societies. P/NP or letter grading.

Course statistics

Predicted GPA
3.68
n = 20 · 1 term · ± 0.095
A range
75%
of letter grades
Taken P/NP
13%
100% of those passed
D / F / W
5.0%
incl. withdrawals

Sections in Fall 2026

Sections offered, with live enrollment and predicted GPA
Section Status Enrolled Seat risk Meets Instructor Predicted GPA
Lec 1 Waitlist
66 of 66
100% full
 fills TR 12:30pm-1:45pm Fabian, L.
3.62n=20 · this instructor

Enrollment history

Final enrollment per term, averaged across that term's sections. Four years deep, summer excluded. Per-section live curves are on each section page.

  • 2325S
Enrolment by term: 25S 23
Peak 23 Most recent 23 in 25S 1 term on record

Grade distribution

  • A+ 2 · 8.7%
  • A 12 · 52.2%
  • A- 1 · 4.3%
  • B+ 2 · 8.7%
  • B 1 · 4.3%
  • C+ 1 · 4.3%
  • F 1 · 4.3%
  • P 3 · 13.0%

Grey bars are non-letter outcomes — P/NP, S/U, incompletes. They are excluded from the GPA entirely rather than scored, because counting a P as a 4.0 would be a fabrication.

By instructor

Instructor Predicted Raw n Terms A range
FABIAN, LARA 3.62 3.58 20 1 75%

“Predicted” is shrunk toward the course average, which is itself shrunk toward the department — so an instructor with a handful of students sits near the course mean rather than topping the list.

By term