Acknowledgments
This text is a revised and expanded version of my PhD dissertation, which would not have been possible without the generous guidance and support received from many people over the years. I wish to offer my heartfelt thanks to the following individuals.
I would like to thank my thesis advisor, Prof. Dr Philip Kreyenbroek, for guiding and advising me through the research process. His strong support for my ideas and confidence in my abilities encouraged me to pursue research topics for which I am truly passionate.
Gratitude is also extended to Prof. Dr Michael Job, a talented teacher and passionate scientist. I am indebted and thankful for the help he offered. As a student, what I learned from him about linguistics and languages encouraged me to write this thesis.
Thankfulness is also extended to Prof. Dr Klaus Röhrborn for helping me read and understand documents in Old Uyghur. He also drew my attention to some works in Chinese. Several times, he generously lent me the books I needed from his personal library.
I would like to thank Prof. Dr Nicholas Sims-Williams for sending his publications, feedback, and suggestions. This dissertation could not have been written without his masterly and elaborate translation and commentaries on the Bactrian corpus. It would not have been possible to obtain permission from the owner of the document Uv for the book cover without his assistance.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Shervin Farridnejad, a former classmate and dear friend, for his unselfish assistance and accepting the publication of this work in the Ancient Iran Series. My thanks also go to the people who sent me their research papers, especially Jan Dušek (Praha), Andrew Gross (Washington), and Eleonora Cussini (Venice).
Thanks are due to the text editor, Dr Gregory Bilotto. He not only polished my English, making it clear and comprehensible, but also saved me from many mistakes in the text and offered invaluable suggestions for improving the content. I am thankful for the help of Maryam Ghanei who proofread and formatted my entire work. Her sharp eyes and care saved me from many errors and unclarities. However, I am the only person responsible for errors in this thesis. I’d also like to thank Abdurraouf Oueslati, Acquisitions Editor Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at Brill, and Pieter te Velde, for their perseverance in getting this book published as soon as possible.
Finally, I would like to give special thanks to my amazing family, particularly my sisters Fatemeh, Tahereh, Hamideh, and Leyla, for their love, support, and constant encouragement throughout my studies.