Farrokh was born in Athens, Greece and later attended Institute Chateaubriand in Cannes, France. Farrokh earned his doctorate in 2001 from the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at the University of British Columbia, where he specialized in the cognitive and linguistic processes of Persian speakers. Previously, he earned his MA in 1988 and BA in 1985 from the same institution. Farrokh has authored four books on the military history of Iran, co-authored two books on the same topic, acted as editor for academic publications, and contributed to a number of articles for peer-reviewed journals and online publications. He has also been quoted in media outlets concerning Iranian history. For example, Farrokh was interviewed on Voice of America's Persian service about the legacy of the Achaemenid founder, Cyrus the Great. The History Channel has also interviewed him on the topic of technology in ancient Persia for the series Engineering an Empire which aired in 2006. He has also lectured at the University of British Columbia's Persian Legacy series in addition to other engagements hosted by the University of British Columbia's Department of Asian Studies. In 2009 he was given a Merit Award by the Iran Heritage, Persian Gulf, and Iran Alliance.
Books
Farrokh has authored and co-authored a number of books. He has contributed to edited books in addition to acting as editor for other academic and professional publication outlets.
Books (Authored)
His first book, Sassanian Elite Cavalry AD 224 - 642, was published in 2005 by Osprey Publishing. His second book, Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War, was published in 2007 by Osprey Publishing. In its foreword, Richard N. Frye, the Aga KhanProfessor Emeritus of Iranian Studies at Harvard University praises the author for giving "the Persian side of the picture as opposed to the Greek and Roman viewpoint which has long dominated our understanding of these wars", describing Farrokh's approach as "refreshing". The book was criticized by Jona Lendering in Bryn Mawr Classical Review, who has written that it contained factual errors and ignored recent scholarship. Lendering's review was disputed in a later issue of Bryn Mawr Classical Review. Citing Lendering, Pierre Briant and Amélie Kuhrt agree that recent advances in Achaemenid historiography are not always correctly evaluated and taken fully into account. They also criticize excessively aggressive responses by others to Lendering's review stating that such polemical exchange gives a distorted, even caricatured image of the state of Achaemenid history today. His third book, Iran at War: 1500 - 1988, was published in 2011 by Osprey Publishing and covered Iranian military history from the Safavid Empire to the Iran-Iraq War. His fourth book, The Armies of Ancient Persia: The Sassanians, was published in 2017 by the Pen & Sword Military imprint of Pen and Sword Books.
