Abolghasem Esmailpour

Abolghasem Esmailpour Motlagh was born on September 7, 1954, in the city of Babol, where he completed his primary and secondary education. He went on to study ancient Iranian culture and languages in Tehran and eventually became a professor in that field at Shahid Beheshti University.

Alongside his academic work in Iran, he has held visiting positions abroad — serving as a visiting professor at the Shanghai International Studies University from 2004 to 2006, and at Moscow State University from 2013 to 2015.

The central focus of Esmailpour's research is Iranian mythology, with particular attention to Manichaeism. Among his well-known works are Myth: Symbolic Expression — An Introduction to Mythology and Iranian Myths, The Creation Myth in Manichaeism: With a Discourse on Manichaean Mysticism, and Myth, Literature, and Art, which examine the connections between myth, literature, and art in Iranian culture. In works such as In the Land of the Sun, he has also analyzed myth-making in contemporary poetry and art, including in the work of poets such as Nima Yushij.

Alongside his research and writing, Esmailpour has also translated major reference works on world mythology, including a translation of a comprehensive guide to the myths and legends of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Iran, India, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. His body of work — spanning specialized studies of Manichaeism to comparative studies of myth in literature and art — has made him one of the principal reference points for mythology studies in the Persian language.