The once untold life story of Mahboob Qirvanian — a former African slave in Iran during the Ottoman Empire — is being heard around the world thanks to the work of Behnaz Mirzai, Professor of History at Brock University.

Mirzai translated and transcribed Qirvanian’s writings and wrote a comprehensive introduction to his story in her book The Life of an Enslaved African in the Ottoman Empire and Iran: The Autobiography of Mahboob Qirvanian, published last May by University of Toronto Press.

The book was recently selected as a finalist in the World History category for the 2026 PROSE Award by the Association of American Publishers, which honours professional and scholarly works published in 2025.

A trailblazing researcher in the study of slavery and African Diaspora in Iran, Mirzai said she is honoured to be recognized by the prestigious award for her work, which reflects her decades-long research into the complex history of the Middle East.

“Previous research projects as well as first-hand observations of Mahboob Qirvanian’s accounts of African social and artistic life have greatly influenced and inspired my next wave of research currently underway,” she said.

Delving further into history, identity and culture, she is working on a new book exploring cultural and artistic identity in cross-border societies of the Middle East, Mediterranean and Indian Ocean.

Mirzai is focused on cultural and artistic exchanges among diverse ethnic groups with particular attention to music, art and dance.

“My objective is to identify and interpret the cultural practices of diasporic African communities and examine their impact on identity formation and transformation within these interconnected geographies,” she said.