TEHRAN -- Lotfollah Honarfar, an expert of Isfahan history and the founder of modern academic local history writing of the city, died at the age of 87 in Isfahan on Friday.

Along with Mohammad-Ebrahim Bastani Parizi and Abbas Eqbal Ashtiani, he was one of the very first Iranians to earn a Ph.D. in history.

Honarfar was also the founder of the history department of the University of Isfahan and led many teams in archaeological projects and in the study of ancient inscriptions.

About 60 of Honarfar’s articles were published in Iranian and foreign magazines and his book “Treasury of Isfahan’s Monuments” was selected as Iran’s Book of the Year in 1971.

At the time of his death, Honarfar was still working on his six-volume book “Isfahan, the City of History” but it is not clear yet if the incomplete work will be published or if another scholar or scholars will complete it before publication.