Download or read book Nadir Shah s Quest for Legitimacy in Post Safavid Iran written by Ernest S. Tucker and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ascending from obscurity and without dynastic credentials, Nadir Shah tried and failed to establish his right to rule the people of Iran from the 1720s until 1747. This biography of Nadir tells how Nadir Shah's novel strategies influenced successive rulers of Iran in their own defense of power.
Download or read book The Contest for Rule in Eighteenth Century Iran written by Charles Melville and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2022-07-14 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume explores the troubled eighteenth century in Iran, between the collapse of the Safavids and the establishment of the new Qajar dynasty in the early decades of the nineteenth century. Despite the striking military successes of Nader Shah, to defeat the Afghan invaders, drive back the Ottomans in the west, and launch campaigns into India and Central Asia, Iran steadily lost territory in the Caucasus and the east, where Persian arms failed to recover lands lost to the Afghans and the Ozbeks. The chapters of this book cover the continuity and change over this transitional period from a range of perspectives including political history, historiography, art and material culture. They illuminate the changes in Iran's internal conditions, including the legitimising legacy of the Safavid period in court chronicles, the rise of Nader Shah and his influence on the idea of Iran, as well as the art of successive dynasties competing for power and prestige. The volume also addresses Iran's changed international situation by examining relations with Russia, Britain and India, the result of which would contribute to its re-emergence with a curtailed presence in the new world order of European dominance.
Download or read book Studies on Iran and The Caucasus written by Uwe Bläsing and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2015-07-14 with total page 710 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This unique collection of essays by leading international scholars gives a profound introduction into the great diversity and richness of facets forming the study of one of earth’s most exciting areas, the Iranian and Caucasian lands. Each of the 37 contributions sheds light on a very special topic, the range of which comprises historical, cultural, ethnographical, religious, political and last but not least literary and linguistic issues, beginning from the late antiquity up to current times. Especially during the last decennia these two regions gained greater interest worldwide due to several developments in politics and culture. This fact grants the book, intended as a festschrift for Prof. Garnik Asatrian, a special relevance. Contributors: Victoria Arakelova; Marco Bais; Uwe Bläsing; Vahe S. Boyajian; Claudia A. Ciancaglini; Johnny Cheung; Viacheslav A. Chirikba; Matteo Compareti; Caspar ten Dam; Desmond Durkin-Meisterernst; Kaveh Farrokh; Aldo Ferrari; Ela Filippone; Khachik Gevorgian; Jost Gippert; Nagihan Haliloğlu; Elif Kanca; Pascal Kluge; Anna Krasnowolska; Vladimir Livshits; Hirotake Maeda; Irina Morozova; Irène Natchkebia; Peter Nicolaus; Antonio Panaino; Mikhail Pelevin; Adriano V. Rossi; James R. Russell; Dan Shapira; Wolfgang Schulze; Martin Schwarz; Roman Smbatian; Donald Stilo; Çakır Ceyhan Suvari; Giusto Traina; Garry Trompf; Matthias Weinreich; Eberhardt Werner and Boghos Zekiyan
Download or read book A History of the Ottoman Empire written by Douglas A. Howard and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-01-09 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covering the full history of the Ottoman Empire, from its genesis in post-Mongol Eurasia to its dissolution after the Great War in Europe, this textbook takes a holistic approach, considering the Ottoman worldview - what it was, how it came together, and how it fell apart. Douglas A. Howard stresses the crucial role of the Ottoman sultans and their extended household, discusses the evolution of the empire's fiscal model, and analyzes favorite works of Ottoman literature, emphasizing spirituality, the awareness of space and time, and emotions, migration, violence, disease, and disaster. Following how people spent their time, their attitudes towards authority, how they made their money, and their sense of humor and sense of beauty, this illustrated textbook is an essential resource for graduate and advanced undergraduate, courses on the history of the Ottoman Empire, the Middle East, Islamic history, and the history of Eastern Europe. The book includes over eighty illustrations, maps and textboxes.
Download or read book From Slaves to Prisoners of War written by Will Smiley and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-08-22 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Ottoman-Russian wars of the eighteenth century reshaped the map of Eurasia and the Middle East, but they also birthed a novel concept - the prisoner of war. For centuries, hundreds of thousands of captives, civilians and soldiers alike, crossed the legal and social boundaries of these empires, destined for either ransom or enslavement. But in the eighteenth century, the Ottoman state and its Russian rival, through conflict and diplomacy, worked out a new system of regional international law. Ransom was abolished; soldiers became prisoners of war; and some slaves gained new paths to release, while others were left entirely unprotected. These rules delineated sovereignty, redefined individuals' relationships to states, and prioritized political identity over economic value. In the process, the Ottomans marked out a parallel, non-Western path toward elements of modern international law. Yet this was not a story of European imposition or imitation-the Ottomans acted for their own reasons, maintaining their commitment to Islamic law. For a time even European empires played by these rules, until they were subsumed into the codified global law of war in the late nineteenth century. This story offers new perspectives on the histories of the Ottoman and Russian Empires, of slavery, and of international law.
Download or read book Sugar and the Indian Ocean World written by Norifumi Daito and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2024-07-11 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tracing the history of the sugar trade and its consumption in the Persian Gulf during the 18th century, this book explores the interplay of social, economic and political interests created by this popular commodity. The study of sugar has, until now, focused mainly on its significant growth in European markets from the mid-17th century and, more recently, parallel developments in East Asia. In this book, Daito shows how the sugar trade also developed in, and became important to, the Indian Ocean World. Studying how the consumption of sugar wavered after the brutal overthrow of the Safavid dynasty in 1722, this book shows how the Dutch East India Company and the trading network responded to political upheavals in the region and, consequently, the changing trading conditions. Arguing that sugar continued to be imported and consumed despite these political disturbances, Sugar and the Indian Ocean World proves this was not a period of economic stagnation for the region, and shows how sugar became an important intersection between socio-cultural practices and the Indian Ocean economy.
Download or read book Middle East 101 written by Youssef Aboul-Enein and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2019-05-15 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work answers 101 essential questions on the Middle East, Islam, the Arab Spring, al-Qa’ida, and ISIS. It is for those wanting to begin an intellectual immersion into the complexities of the region from pre-biblical times to the post-Arab Spring. The authors have carefully focused on what the deploying soldier, sailor, Marine, coast guardsman or airman needs to know before arriving in the Middle East, including the nuances inherent in a region that is the crossroads of three continents (Europe, Asia, and Africa) and how previous global powers interacted and left their mark. While developed and written for Americans about to deploy to combat zones and areas of operation, it is also of use to a wider audience of Americans serious about the challenges of the region.
Download or read book Colour of Paradise written by Kris E. Lane and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2010-03-30 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Among the magnificent gems and jewels left behind by the great Islamic empires, emeralds stand out for their size and prominence. For the Mughals, Ottomans, and Safavids green was—as it remains for all Muslims—the color of Paradise, reserved for the Prophet Muhammad and his descendants. Tapping a wide range of sources, Kris Lane traces the complex web of global trading networks that funneled emeralds from backland South America to populous Asian capitals between the sixteenth and the eighteenth centuries. Lane reveals the bloody conquest wars and forced labor regimes that accompanied their production. It is a story of trade, but also of transformations—how members of profoundly different societies at opposite ends of the globe assigned value to a few thousand pounds of imperfectly shiny green rocks.
Download or read book A History of Iran written by Michael Axworthy and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2016-05-24 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The definitive history of Iran, from the ancient Persian empires to today Iran is a land of contradictions. It is an Islamic republic, but one in which only 1.4 percent of the population attend Friday prayers. Iran's religious culture encompasses the most censorious and dogmatic Shi'a Muslim clerics in the world, yet its poetry insistently dwells on the joys of life: wine, beauty, sex. Iranian women are subject to one of the most restrictive dress codes in the Islamic world, but make up nearly 60 percent of the student population of the nation's universities. In A History of Iran, acclaimed historian Michael Axworthy chronicles the rich history of this complex nation from the Achaemenid Empire of sixth century BC to the revolution of 1979 to today, including a close look at Iran's ongoing attempts to become a nuclear power. A History of Iran offers general readers an essential guide to understanding this volatile nation, which is once again at the center of the world's attention.
Download or read book The Chief Eunuch of the Ottoman Harem written by Jane Hathaway and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-08-30 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A study of the chief of the African eunuchs who guarded the sultan's harem in Istanbul under the Ottoman Empire.
Download or read book Unfabling the East written by Jürgen Osterhammel and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2019-11-19 with total page 692 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the long eighteenth century, Europe's travelers, scholars, and intellectuals looked to Asia in a spirit of puzzlement, irony, and openness. In this panoramic and colorful book, Jürgen Osterhammel tells the story of the European Enlightenment's nuanced encounter with the great civilizations of the East, from the Ottoman Empire and India to China and Japan. Here is the acclaimed book that challenges the notion that Europe's formative engagement with the non-European world was invariably marred by an imperial gaze and presumptions of Western superiority. Osterhammel shows how major figures such as Leibniz, Voltaire, Gibbon, and Hegel took a keen interest in Asian culture and history, and introduces lesser-known scientific travelers, colonial administrators, Jesuit missionaries, and adventurers who returned home from Asia bearing manuscripts in many exotic languages, huge collections of ethnographic data, and stories that sometimes defied belief. Osterhammel brings the sights and sounds of this tumultuous age vividly to life, from the salons of Paris and the lecture halls of Edinburgh to the deserts of Arabia, the steppes of Siberia, and the sumptuous courts of Asian princes. He demonstrates how Europe discovered its own identity anew by measuring itself against its more senior continent, and how it was only toward the end of this period that cruder forms of Eurocentrism--and condescension toward Asia--prevailed.
Download or read book India and the Islamic Heartlands written by Gagan D. S. Sood and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2016-03-29 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on the chance survival of a remarkable cache of documents, India and the Islamic Heartlands recaptures a vanished and forgotten world from the eighteenth century spanning much of today's Middle East and South Asia. Gagan D. S. Sood focuses on ordinary people - traders, pilgrims, bankers, clerics, brokers, and scribes, among others - who were engaged in activities marked by large distances and long silences. By elucidating their everyday lives in a range of settings, from the family household to the polity at large, Sood pieces together the connective tissue of a world that lay beyond the sovereign purview. Recapturing this obscured and neglected world helps us better understand the region during a pivotal moment in its history, and offers new answers to old questions concerning early modern Eurasia and its transition to colonialism.
Download or read book Political Quietism in Islam written by Saud al-Sarhan and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2019-12-26 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent years, Islam – whether via the derivatives of 'Political Islam' or 'Islamism' – has come to be seen as an 'activist' force in social and political spheres worldwide. What such representations have neglected is the strong countervailing tradition of political quietism. Political quietism in Islam holds that it is not for Muslims to question or oppose their leaders. Rather, the faithful should concentrate on their piety, prayer, religious rituals and personal quest for virtue. This book is the first to analyze the history and meaning of political quietism in Islamic societies. It takes an innovative cross-sectarian approach, investigating the phenomenon and practice across both Sunni and Shi'i communities. Contributors deconstruct and introduce the various forms of political quietisms from the time of the prophetic revelations through to the contemporary era. Chapters cover issues ranging from the politics of public piety among the women preachers in Saudi Arabia, through to the legal discourses in the Caucasus, the different Shi'i communities in Iran, Lebanon, Iraq and Pakistan, and the Gülen movement in Azerbaijan. The authors describe a wide range of political quietisms and assess the continuing significance of the tradition, both to the study of Islam and to the modern world today.
Download or read book Crisis Collapse Militarism and Civil War written by Michael Axworthy and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-06-11 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The eighteenth century was a crucial era in modern Iranian history, but up to now it has been little studied outside Iran. In Crisis, Collapse, Militarism and Civil War, Michael Axworthy has gathered leading experts on this period from around the world to provide a multifaceted account of this fascinating, dramatic, and turbulent era. The volume covers economics, intellectual history, military developments, politics, and the visual arts. In the 1720s, after the collapse of Safavid rule in 1722, it seemed that Iran might disappear altogether, partitioned between her neighbors. Within a few years the country surged back to make a bid for regional dominance under Nader Shah, but lapsed again into civil war after his untimely death in 1747. The civil wars lasted almost until the end of the century, albeit with an interlude of relative calm and good governance under Karim Khan Zand, who ruled from the mid-1750s until his death in 1779. In 1796, after more civil wars, Agha Mohammad Shah had himself crowned as the first monarch of the Qajar dynasty, which lasted until 1925. This formative period is vital for understanding modern and contemporary Iran, and it is a fascinating drama of events and personalities in its own right. It was a period of crisis and turmoil, but also a period of possibility and creativity in ways that have for the most part been forgotten. Until now, scholarship on the significance of the eighteenth century in Iran has been scant and often obscure. This volume will not only change that, but it will also reshape our understanding of the history of one of the most important and influential states in the Middle East.
Download or read book The Caliph and the Imam written by Toby Matthiesen and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2023-03-09 with total page 961 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The authoritative account of the sectarian division that for centuries has shaped events in the Middle East and the Islamic world. In 632, soon after the prophet Muhammad died, a struggle broke out among his followers as to who would succeed him. The majority argued that the new leader of Islam should be elected by the community's elite. Others believed only members of Muhammad's family could lead. This dispute over whoshould guide Muslims, the appointed Caliph or the bloodline Imam, marks the origin of the Sunni-Shii split in Islam. Toby Matthiesen explores this hugely significant division from its origins to thepresent day. Moving chronologically, his book sheds light on the many ways that it has shaped the Islamic world, outlining how over the centuries Sunnism and Shiism became Islams two main branches, particularly after the Muslim Empires embraced sectarian identity. It reveals how colonial rule institutionalised divisions between Sunnism and Shiism both on the Indian subcontinent and in the greater Middle East, giving rise to pan-Islamic resistance and Sunni and Shii revivalism. It then focuseson the fall-out from the 1979 revolution in Iran and the US-led military intervention in Iraq. As Matthiesen shows, however, though Sunnism and Shiism have had a long and antagonistic history, mostMuslims have led lives characterised by confessional ambiguity and peaceful co-existence. Tensions arise when sectarian identity becomes linked to politics. Based on a synthesis of decades of scholarship in numerous languages, The Caliph and the Imam will become the standard text for readers looking for a deeper understanding of contemporary sectarian conflict and its historical roots.
Download or read book Other Pasts Different Presents Alternative Futures written by Jeremy Black and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2015-08-03 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The most robust defense of historical counterfactuals to date . . . For those interested in this fascinating subject, Black’s book is indispensable.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) What if there had been no World War I or no Russian Revolution? What if Napoleon had won at Waterloo in 1815, or if Martin Luther had not nailed his complaints to the church door at Wittenberg in 1517, or if the South had won the American Civil War? The questioning of apparent certainties or “known knowns” can be fascinating and, indeed, “What if?” books are very popular. However, this speculative approach, known as counterfactualism, has had limited impact in academic histories, historiography, and the teaching of historical methods. In this book, Jeremy Black offers a short guide to the subject, one that is designed to argue its value as a tool for public and academia alike. He “demonstrates that, in skillful hands, counterfactual history is more than just fun; as one ingredient among many, it can be an extremely fertile source of explanation” (History Today). “[Black’s] illustrative examples of ‘what if' ‘how,’ and ‘why’ will make readers sit back and wonder.”—Kirkus Reviews “With a unique methodology, Black performs a what-if analysis of history to show how little it takes to change the world’s fate . . . This book provokes thought and speculation while also entertaining.”—Foreword Reviews “A sparkling defense of the legitimacy and utility of counterfactual history―of what ifs―and the best single work on its subject available.”—Weekly Standard
Download or read book Political Conservatism and Religious Reformation in Iran 1905 1979 written by Amir Yahya Ayatollahi and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-03-19 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a theoretical inquiry on the relation of the body politic with the religious movements in the time between the Constitutional Revolution and the Islamic Revolution in Iran; it illustrates speculative and historical analyses on the relationship of state, religion, and socio-political status in the late Qajar dynasty (1905-1925) and the whole Pahlavi monarchy. Particularly, it examines the applicability of “liberal conservatism” to the era of the last Shah of Iran. The thesis defines the term political conservatism in accord with Edmund Burke’s philosophy. It deals next with the definition of religious reformation, the peculiar characteristics of Islam, the Shi'ite political theology, and the contradictory usages of “Islamic reformation” in the literature. The text gives an overview of the two antagonist sides of nationalism. It provides also an analysis of the Islamic Republic as a new political phenomenon in Iranian history and the transformation of all concepts after 1979. Ayatollahi aims to assess the Iranian conservatism, the possibility of conciliation between politics and religion before the collapse of the Pahlavi, and “the conditions of possibility” for any restoration of the monarchy.
