Little is known about the Great Famine of 1869–1873, possibly the greatest calamity in the history of Iran. Using a variety of primary sources, including American missionary reports, this book d
Persian cities are part of a corridor of civilisation with settlements straddling thousands of years. Taking Maibud as a case study, Eisa Esfanjary traces the evolution of ancient settlements chronolo
A masterfully researched and compelling history of Iran from 1501 to 2009 This history of modern Iran is not a survey in the conventional sense but an ambitious exploration of the story of a nation. I
For decades, political observers and pundits have characterized the Islamic Republic of Iran as an ideologically rigid state on the verge of collapse, exclusively connected to a narrow social base. In
For decades, political observers and pundits have characterized the Islamic Republic of Iran as an ideologically rigid state on the verge of collapse, exclusively connected to a narrow social base. In
The Armies of Ancient Persia is a translation of Marek Adam Wozniak's original Polish manuscript detailing the rise and fall of the Persian armies from Cyrus the Great to the fall of the Sasanid Empir
Bruno de Nicola investigates the development of women's status in the Mongol Empire from its original homeland in Mongolia up to the end of the Ilkhanate of Iran in 1335. Taking a thematic approach, t
The drama that shaped today’s Iran, from the Revolution to the present day. In 1979, seemingly overnight—moving at a clip some thirty years faster than the rest of the world—Iran became the first re
Since the beginning of recorded history, Iran/Persia has been one of the most important world civilizations. Iran remains a distinct civilization today despite its status as a major Islamic state wit
Decline and Fall of the Sasanians has already been praised as one of the most intellectually exciting books about ancient Persia to have been published for years. It proposes a convincing contemporary
Spurred by a Russian threat to India and the weakness of the Qajar dynasty (1796-1925), Britain established an extensive consular network to further its interests in southern Iran in the late nineteen
Are we on the cusp of detente with Iran? Conventional wisdom certainly seems to believe so. Since the start of diplomacy between the Islamic Republic and the P5+1 powers (the United States, France, En
The respective policies of the governments of Iran and Pakistan pose serious challenges to US interests in the Middle East, Asia and beyond. These two regional powers, with a combined population of ar
The Constitutional Revolution of 1906 opened the way for enormous change in Persia, heralding the modern era and creating a model for later political and cultural movements in the region. It saw a per
Intriguing dreams, improbable myths, fanciful genealogies, and suspect etymologies. These were all key elements of the historical texts composed by scholars and bureaucrats on the peripheries of Islamic empires between the tenth and fifteenth centuries. But how are historians to interpret such narratives? And what can these more literary histories tell us about the people who wrote them and the times in which they lived? In this book, Mimi Hanaoka offers an innovative, interdisciplinary method of approaching these sorts of local histories from the Persianate world. By paying attention to the purpose and intention behind a text's creation, her book highlights the preoccupation with authority to rule and legitimacy within disparate regional, provincial, ethnic, sectarian, ideological and professional communities. By reading these texts in such a way, Hanaoka transforms the literary patterns of these fantastic histories into rich sources of information about identity, rhetoric, authority,
An immersive, gripping account of the rise and fall of Iran's glamorous Pahlavi dynasty, written with the cooperation of the late Shah's widow, Empress FarahIn this remarkably human portrait of one of
A history of the cosmopolitan forces that made contemporary Iran“No ruling regime,” writes Hamid Dabashi, “could ever have a total claim over the idea of Iran as a nation, a people.” For decades, the
