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Homa Katouzian
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The Persians: Ancient, Mediaeval and Modern Iran Paperback – Illustrated, 30 Nov. 2010

by Homa Katouzian (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 103 ratings
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In recent years, Iran has gained attention mostly for negative reasons - for its authoritarian religious government, disputed nuclear programme, and controversial role in the Middle East - but there is much more to the story of this ancient land than can be gleaned from the news. This authoritative and comprehensive history of Iran, written by Homa Katouzian, an acclaimed expert, covers the entire history of the area from the foundation of the ancient Persian empire to todays Iranian state. Writing from an Iranian rather than a European perspective, Katouzian integrates the significant cultural and literary history of Iran with its political and social history. Some of the greatest poets of human history wrote in Persian - among them Rumi, Omar Khayyam, and Saadi - and Katouzian discusses and occasionally quotes their work. In his thoughtful analysis of Iranian society, Katouzian argues that the absolute and arbitrary power traditionally enjoyed by Persian/Iranian rulers has resulted in an unstable society where fear and short-term thinking dominate. A magisterial history, this book also serves as an excellent background to the role of Iran in the contemporary world.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0300169329
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0300169324
  3. Edition
    Illustrated
  4. Publisher
    Yale University Press
  5. Publication date
    30 Nov. 2010
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    15.88 x 3.81 x 23.5 cm
  8. Print length
    448 pages
  9. See all details
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Review

Maybe the broadest and best overview available in English of a country which we need urgently to understand better. It should be required holiday reading in the Foreign Office, and maybe the White House too. --Stephen Howe, The Independent

Katouzian is a convincing analyst of Iranian history. --Robert Carver, The Tablet

About the Author

Homa Katouzian teaches Iranian history and Persian literature at St Antonys College and the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford. Iranian by birth, he is the editor of the journal Iranian Studies.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Yale University Press; Illustrated edition (30 Nov. 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0300169329
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0300169324
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.88 x 3.81 x 23.5 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 103 ratings

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Homa Katouzian

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4.5 out of 5 stars
103 global ratings

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Customers find the book well-researched and insightful, providing a comprehensive introduction to the subject. They describe it as an excellent all-around introduction.

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4 customers mention ‘Readability’4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable and insightful. They say it's well-researched.

"Such an insightful and well researched book! Recommend to anyone who’s interested in Iranian history" Read more

"...Great book." Read more

"...Well worth reading. Exceptional." Read more

"Fantastic book. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it." Read more

3 customers mention ‘Information quality’3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book provides a wide range of information on Zoroastrianism. They say it's well-researched and an excellent introduction to the subject.

"Such an insightful and well researched book! Recommend to anyone who’s interested in Iranian history" Read more

"Excellently researched and hefty book with a large amount of info ranging from Zoroastrianism to modern politics. Great book." Read more

"An excellent all-round introduction to the subject." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • A B
    5.0 out of 5 stars Recommend 100%
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 October 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Such an insightful and well researched book! Recommend to anyone who’s interested in Iranian history
    One person found this helpful
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  • Begin Anew.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 October 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Excellently researched and hefty book with a large amount of info ranging from Zoroastrianism to modern politics. Great book.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • I.J. Manayath
    4.0 out of 5 stars A comprehensive and insightful overview of the Iranian history. ...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 June 2015
    A comprehensive and insightful overview of the Iranian history...! It was the major text for my course on Iran at the London School of Economics.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Cambridge Mike
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant read for anyone interested in how Iran came about.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 June 2016
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    Brilliant book about the Persians/Iranians and how their country and culture developed over so many years. Well worth reading. Exceptional.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Mr. H. Jones
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 July 2016
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    An excellent all-round introduction to the subject.
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  • Mandana
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 March 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Fantastic book. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Nick Gurnhill
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 December 2016
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    great service great book
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  • Philip
    2.0 out of 5 stars Difficult to read...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 May 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I'm used to reading academic texts as I have a level 7 education (MA). I've also been a translator of semi-specialised documents.
    Nowadays I'm a 69 yr old pensioner who likes reading historical novels and general historical works.
    I found this author fell between stools writing wise. Too academic (dry, not at all engaging) and too detailed for casual reading...while not engaging enough to make the detail 'flow'. I want an engaging narrative not an academic thesis.
    I found his introduction ...well... confusing. I really didn't get what he was trying to say about Iran. Or about his book. He has a very peculiar writing style that tries to be detailed academic while … explanatory and almost apologetic... and fails in the last two. So remains dry and unengaging.
    His intro to the myths (shahnameh etc.) was OK, but still hard to get through. Through I appreciated him giving the reader the Persian originals of Hellenised Persian names (Dariush instead of Darius).
    Overall I give it a miss as a narrative work, though possibly useful as a general reference.
    As a reference work it's probably worth 4 stars, maybe even 5 if I were generous.
    But as an engaging narrative work it fails completely... hence 2 stars.
    I just wanted a nice, easy-to-read overview of Persian history from Cyrus the Great to Khomeini. This I did not get from this author. However, I would recommend Lloyd Llewellyn -Jones, Prof Ancient History at Cardiff Uni, and Director of the Ancient Iran Programme for the British Institute of Persian studies. His book 'Persians: The Age of the Great Kings' is to be recommended as exactly the kind of engaging narrative work that 'The Persians: Ancient, Mediaeval and Modern Iran' is not...
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  • Nomen
    5.0 out of 5 stars Bueno
    Reviewed in Spain on 14 April 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Es un libro que escribió un iraní. No le he leído entero pero me gustan los detalles que describe el autor
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  • Ferdinando Galassi
    5.0 out of 5 stars sorvolo panoramico sulla storia della Persia...
    Reviewed in Italy on 6 March 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Vengono presentate le fasi di continuità e di rottura nella storia della Persia/Iran. Non cade nella semplificazione eccessiva e la curiosità del lettore più appassionato può essere appagata da un'ottima bibliografia selezionata.
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  • Amateur Reader
    4.0 out of 5 stars Vast and detailed information, but poorly presented
    Reviewed in Germany on 6 February 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Finding a good book on Iran and its history is difficult. The Persians by Katouzian goes a long way to fill a significant gap in the field of history books on Iran. It includes massive amounts of detailed information from the very start of the Iranian civilization to the rise of Ahmadinejad. If you are doing research on Iran it is an excellent beginning or even a prime source of material. Additionally, the author does a good job in trying to explain the Iranian psyche which acts as a driving force in Iran's society and politics.

    It is however a book with significant flaws. The pre-modern material on Iran is very poorly structured with the author choosing to briefly mention significant events in one section and then analyzing them in detail a few pages afterwards. I have found almost an entire page being repeated twice verbatim in two sections of a chapter just to make a point half a page long. Therefore, the book feels somehwat erratic and disjointed rather than a beautifully flowing telling of the history of the country like for example Harold Tanner's books on China. Additionally, the book becomes increasingly dry especially in the modern era where concurrently the reader is swamped with uneccessary detail.

    Finally, his analysis on the deterioration of US-Iranian relations falls short. I would strongly recommend buying this book in combination with Understanding Iran by Polk which is much thinner on pre-modern Iranian history but much better at explaining US-Iranian relations in the modern era.

    So to sum it up; if you are looking for a detailed book on Iranian History this is it but keep in mind its poor structure and its dry writing.
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  • John Travers
    3.0 out of 5 stars Great first chapter, but war, conflict, more war and more shahs from there on
    Reviewed in Australia on 16 February 2019
    Verified Purchase
    I loved the first chapter because it set out a fascinating scene regarding the Iranian history to succession and rule of law. It has been a tale of periods of stability under a strong shah then a brutal fight to determine the next one, and so on. For a new reader to the story from then on it was difficult to get a sense of the country over the centuries. One conflict, war and betrayal after another. The modern story was more detailed and comprehensible.
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  • M. H. Farzin
    5.0 out of 5 stars This book is the best summary-type Iranian history book of the past 2
    Reviewed in the United States on 19 November 2014
    Verified Purchase
    I had read the Farsi translation of this book (printed in Iran) before I bought it. The Farsi translation is done extremely well, but due to restrictions imposed on what could or could not be printed in Iran (due to the "gangster" nature of government in Iran,) the last two chapters of the book (which contained history of the current "government" over the past 36-years) were missing in Farsi version.

    This book is the best summary-type Iranian history book of the past 2,500 to 3,000 years that I have seen and read. I recommend this book to everyone, specially all Iranian-Americans, and to their families-- the best book to familiarize young generation with Iranian history. I also highly recommend the Farsi version (translation)-- all unfamiliar Farsi and Arabic names (in English language) can be easily read and understood in Farsi Translation. Otherwise, readers who do not have Farsi language background, would have problems to follow-up the history in the English version, alone.

    This book is the best Iranian summary-type history book that (I believe) has been researched and prepared by a very qualified person, and printed, over the past 100 years. I also believe that the funding for such a First Class work must have come from U.S. government-- perhaps from the U.S. National Security apparatus.

    Thank you, Professor Katouzian.
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