1st Edition
New Perspectives on Safavid Iran Empire and Society
Dedicated to the renowned Safavid historian Roger Savory, this book brings together a collection of studies on the Safavid state of Iran (1501-1722) from the perspectives of political, social, literary, and artistic history.
Savory, a doyen of Safavid studies in the 1960s and 1970s, was responsible for expanding and popularizing the study of Iran in the 16th and 17th century. To celebrate this legacy, well-established scholars of medieval and early modern Iran have contributed specific studies reflecting an array of research interests and specializations, which include critical re-examinations of issues of gender, literature, art and architecture, cultural and linguistic currents, illustrated historical chronicles, and courtly and administrative practices under the Safavid dynasty.
This unique compilation is indicative of a growing interest in Iran and Iranian studies in both the academic and public spheres, and as such contains a number of new perspectives which will serve to supplement and re-interpret the existing corpus of Safavid scholarly literature to date. It will be an important text for scholars of world history and Middle East studies, as well as to historians in general.
1. Bibliography of Roger Savory Eleazar Birnbaum 2. Introduction Colin P. Mitchell Part 1: Safavid Courtly Narrative and Politico-Cultural Practice 3. The Blinding Pledge (mochalga): A Chinggisid Practice in Safavid Iran Maria Subtelny 4. The Form, Appearance, and Decoration in the Letters of the Safavid Kings Iraj Afshar 5. Am I My Brother’s Keeper? Negotiating Corporate Sovereignty and Divine Absolutism in 16th-century Turco-Iranian Politics Colin P. Mitchell 6. Complex Goals of the Ottomans, Persians and Muscovites in the Caucasus, 1578-1639 Max Kortepeter 7. Cultural Currents in the Turco-Persian World of Safavid and Post-Safavid Times John Perry 8. From the Battlefield to the Harem: Did Women’s Seclusion Increase from Early to Late Safavid Times? Rudi Matthee Part 2: Safavid Aesthetics 9. A Safavid Bottle with Matchlock Hunt in the Royal Ontario Museum Lisa Golombek 10. Reminiscences of the Maidan-i Shah Ali Asghar Bakhtiar 11. The Illustration of History in Safavid Manuscript Painting Charles Melville
Biography
Colin P. Mitchell teaches and researches medieval and early modern Islamic history at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. He is primarily a researcher of the Safavid dynasty of Iran (1501-1722), but has also researched and published material dealing with Euro-Islamic contacts and relations in the early modern period.
"Undoubtedly, this Festschrift edited by Colin Mitchell and dedicated to Roger M. Savory makes a valuable and welcome contribution to the study of Safavid Iran... The book is aimed at a specialisted readership and clearly makes a significant contribution to Iranian studies." - Cleo Cantone, London, UK; Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies, Winter 2012 Vol. V No. 1
