Throughout history, iran has railed against external pressure while occasionally giving in, as in 1988 when ayatollah ruhollah khomeini. In spite of a rich trove of classical works mainly poems, modern iranian literature is less than a hundred years old. Yet to the average american the name iran probably conjures up an image of a remote and upstart country inhabited by a people whose religious fanaticism is matched only by the intensity of their disdain for the united states and its values, who speak an obscure tongue called farsi. Iran, with its long history of early cultures and empires, had suffered particularly hard during the late middle ages and the early modern period. Far from breaking my spirit, sadegh hedayats blind owl woke me up shadi gholizadeh.
The special exhibition in the book art gallery and the. The history of iran presented in her book is not exactly objective, but no matter. I second quora users opinion and highly recommend the cambridge history of iran series. The authors, all leaders in their fields, emphasize the largescale continuities of iranian history while also describing the important patterns of transformation that have characterized irans past. Buy iran in world history new oxford world history by foltz, richard isbn. Articles in historical order iran dynasties and monarchs of 8000 years ax susa is not elam. However, none of them have presented an inside look at this complex relationship from within the iranian culture, society, and most importantly, the iranian policymaking. The best books on iranian history five books expert. With almost three thousand years of history, iran is home to one of the worlds richest and most complex cultures. Many invasions of nomadic tribes, whose leaders became rulers in this country, affected it negatively. Iraniraq war, 198088, protracted military conflict between iran and iraq. A brief history of irans modern literature british council.
Syrias islamic movement and the 201112 uprising, a century of u. Axworthy explains how that outpouring of support for an end to tyranny in iran paused and then moved on to other areas in. They cost a lot though in both ebook and hardcopy formats. For a detailed description of the persian empire, see persia. This article discusses the history of iran from 640 ce to the present.
She has also been writing regular updates on the situation in iran for news desk. A history of iran, 17471779, university of chicago press, 1979. The author, a former british diplomat, takes the reader on a journey from the ancient era of the prophet zoroaster through to the 1979 islamic. List of books and articles about iranian history online. With iran again the focus of the worlds attention, a history of iran is an essential guide to understanding this volatile nation. Iran history, middle eastern history, books barnes. Early history to the zand dynasty iran has a long and rich history. The cambridge history of iran is an eightvolume survey of iranian history and culture, and its contribution to the civilisation of the world. A modern history by abbas amanat, paperback barnes.
Iran and america since 1900, building a new silk road. The earliest archaeological findings from persia date to the paleolithic era, 100,000 years ago. More recently, iran released 15 royal navy personnel after seizing them in the gulf. 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. Just wellwritten, wellresearched, informative and interesting books for historians, history students and history enthusiasts. Finally, the rivers of iran, racing swiftly through. This is an nice overview of the history of iran, from the time of cyrus the great to about 2009. Best history books nonfiction proper nonfiction history books, not historical fiction, about any period, event, area or topic you like. From the tenth to the fourteenth centuries a number of persian historians wrote in arabic, the common academic language of the time, including the persian historian abu jafar muhammad ibn jarir altabaris 839923, author of tarikh alrusul wa almuluk, more commonly known as tarikh altabari history of tabari. A history of iran eotm by michael axworthy was a comprehensive history of iran right from around 2000 bce to the present. All aspects of the religious, philosophical, political, economic, scientific and artistic elements in iranian civilisation are studied, with some emphasis on the geographical and ecological factors which have contributed to that civilisations special. Like any history that tries to pack so much time into so few pages, eotm suffers from being too brisk and therefore a little confusing at times. The heart of the persian empire of antiquity, iran has long played an important role in the region as an imperial power and as a factor in superpower rivalries.
What are the best books to read about the modern history. Choice outstanding academic title 2014 scores of books have been written by western experts, mainly american, looking at the root causes of the conflict between iran and the us. The medes unified iran as a nation and empire in 625 bc the islamic conquest of persia 633656 and the end of the sassanid empire was a turning point in iranian history. In the north and northwest of iran, nomadic groups from the western steppes of central asia, speaking an indoeuropean language ancestral to modern iran, have been moving into the region, and by now probably dominate the western mountains and central plateau.
Persepolis comics, lipstick jihad, all the shahs men, no god but god, reading lolita in tehran, shah of shahs, iran. Here is the best place for presenting rare, old, new and precious titles to buy them through the earth biggest persian online bookstore. Since the iranian revolution in 1979, the constitution of the islamic republic of iran states regarding freedom of expression. Look out for kens newest book, a column of fire, available now. By ervand abrahamian 2 for a more in depth and scholarly works, abrahamians iran between two revolutions is a classic. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. Online shopping for iran history books in the books store. List of books and articles about iraniraq war online. This handbook is a current, comprehensive singlevolume history of iranian civilization. The arab invasion of iran made a break with the past that affected not only iran but all of western asia and resulted in the assimilation of peoples who shaped and vitalized muslim culture. Five books that explain irans distrust of the west financial times. In revolutionary iran, michael axworthy guides us through recent iranian history from shortly before the 1979 islamic revolution through the summer of 2009, when iranians poured into the streets of tehran by the hundreds of thousands, demanding free, democratic government.
This week in the magazine, laura secor, who is a contributor and is working on a book about iran, wrote a comment about mirhossein moussavi and ayatollah ali khamenei. It offers a revealing look at how events, people, and institutions are shaped by currents that sometimes reach back hundreds of years. However, well stick with 10 because an article about 10 books just sounds so much more neat and tidy, in contrast to the subject they cover. History of iran simple english wikipedia, the free. The details have been explained, not in legislation of. The history of iran, which was commonly known until the mid20th century as persia in the western world, is intertwined with the history of a larger region, also to an extent known as greater iran, comprising the area from anatolia, the bosphorus, and egypt in the west to the borders of ancient india and the syr darya in the east, and from the caucasus and the eurasian steppe in the north to. If we consider the works of sadegh hedayat 19031951 in fiction and nima yushij 18951960 in poetry as the beginning of irans modern literature, then. Yes, abrahamian is one of the leading historians of modern iran. Your first book is khomeinism by ervand abrahamian. Book on ancient iran history republished in germany. Ken follett s the key to rebecca took readers and critics by storm when first published more than twenty years ago.
Capturing the past iranian history in contemporary photography. Iran, a mountainous, arid, and ethnically diverse country of southwestern asia. The books i read spanned over years of persian culture and included classics as well as popular fiction. Memoirs of a government servant in the 1960s and 70s houshang pirnazar. Iran is home to one of the worlds oldest continuous major civilizations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to 4000 bc. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. For the history of the region before the 7th century, see ancient iran. The history of iran presented in her book is not exactly objective but no matter, these books are funny and moving. I ranib ook is the first and best iranian online bookshop, supply, and great source of persian farsi books. The books the trump administration should read to understand iran.
This pioneering work advanced the tradition of historical writing about. The subtitle empire of the mind denotes some emphasis on cultural aspects of iran, as well as the history of the country and the various dynasties who have ruled the area that was once referred to as persia. The books below became my road map to a distant place. Each of the chapters focuses on a specific epoch of iranian history and surveys the general political. Central asia in the new world order, tradition vs charisma. A history of modern iran in a radical reappraisal of irans modern history, ervand abrahamian traces its traumatic journey across the twentieth century, through the discoveryofoil,imperialinterventions,theruleofthepahlavis,and,in 1979, revolution and the birth of the islamic republic. Here, she recommends six books essential for a deeper understanding of irans history, culture, and politics. From them also, thrust up in the wake of the volcanic activity of late pliocene times, came diorite and obsidian, both highly prized in antiquity. Today, it remains one of the best espionage novels ever written. Kamin mohammadis top 10 iranian books books the guardian. Some of the worlds most ancient settlements have been excavated in the caspian region and on the iranian plateau. By 5000 bce, persia hosted sophisticated agriculture and early cities. You could technically argue that these are 12 of the best history books out there since were featuring a threepart history of wwii as one entry.
A captivating guide to the barbarians of iranian origins and how these ancient tribes fought against the roman empire, goths, huns, and persians. Iran had been a monarchy ruled by a shah, or emperor, almost without interruption. Weigel in leipzig was the original publisher of the book. But that turned out to be a gesture not a new policy of friendship. So i took myself on a literary exploration of iran.
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