A History of Iran: Empire of the Mind

by Michael Axworthy

Overview

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, and 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 university student population. In A History of Iran, a leading expert on Iran chronicles the rich history of this complex nation from the Achaemenid Empire of sixth century B.C. to the present-day Islamic Republic. In accessible prose, Michael Axworthy explains the military, political, religious, and cultural forces that have shaped one of the oldest continuing civilizations in the world. Concluding with an assessment of the immense changes the nation has undergone since the revolution in 1979, A History of Iran offers general readers an essential point of entry into a troubled region.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780465098774
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	05/24/2016
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Michael Axworthy teaches at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter (UK). The author of The Sword of Persia and Revolutionary Iran, Axworthy publishes widely in the field of Iranian history.

Table of Contents

1. Origins: Zoroaster, the Achaemenids, and the Greeks
2. The Iranian Revival: Parthians and Sassanids
3. Islam and Invasions: The Arabs, Turks, and Mongols—The Iranian Reconquest of Islam, the Sufis, and the Poets
4. Shi‘ism and the Safavids
5. The Fall of the Safavids, Nader Shah, the Eighteenth-Century Interregnum, and the Early Years of the Qajar Dynasty
6. The Crisis of the Qajar Monarchy, the Revolution of 1905–1911, and the Accession of the Pahlavi Dynasty
7. The Pahlavis and the Revolution of 1979
8. Iran Since the Revolution: Islamic Revival, War, and Confrontation
9. From Khatami to Ahmadinejad, and the Iranian Predicament

Editorial Reviews

"Michael Axworthy’s deft untangling of the country’s history, from the advent of Zoroastrianism to the 1979 revolution, is a stunning achievement.”—Guardian

“A beautifully distilled retelling of Iranian history that flashes with insight on every page.”—Financial Times

“[An] excellent short history.”—Daily Telegraph (UK)

“Michael Axworthy’s deft untangling of the country’s history, from the advent of Zoroastrianism to the 1979 revolution, is a stunning achievement.”—Observer (UK)

“Axworthy does the job with balance and aplomb. Readers who fear that they may shrink in confusion will warm to his human-scale portrait of a self-renewing culture that, as with its world-beating cinema today, shows ‘enduring greatness’ and ‘creative power.’”—Independent (UK)

“The best available single-volume introduction to Iran’s history.”—New Statesman (UK)

“More gripping than a novel... Empire of the Mind’s account of Iran today and the challenges it faces is worth a thousand documentaries and newspaper briefing articles.”—Prospect (UK)

“Exceptionally lucid, intriguing and informative... Without rose-glasses or narrowed eyes, without being an apologist or a zealot opponent, Axworthy presents a history by turns thrilling, cautionary, inspiring and surprising.”—The Scotsman

“More than a history of Iran, Axworthy’s book is an argument against the use of force in solving the Iranian problem. When Western states take into consideration the facts and ideas he has marshaled in his history, they will bring a needed awareness of the tradition of Iranian reason and tolerance to future diplomacy.”—H-Net

“Sweeping, sensitive and evenhanded overview of the ancient nation, from the days of the prophet Zoroaster to those of the Islamic Republic.... Axworthy’s reasoned survey will be especially helpful to lay readers and students of Arab history.”—Kirkus

“An engrossing, powerfully argued, and elegantly written history of a country which finds itself again at the center of international affairs.”—Justin Marozzi, author of Tamerlane: Sword of Islam, Conqueror of the World

From the Publisher