The Definitive Visual History of Iran (622-1722)

The second group of four volumes—Volumes Five through Eight—continues the story from the beginning of the Arab-Sasanian wars to the end of the Safavid dynasty, covering approximately eleven centuries of Iranian history.

Volume Five, The Resurrection of Iran, focuses on the first four centuries of the Islamic era, following the collapse of the Sasanian Empire and the arrival of Islam in Iran. Among its central themes are religious transformation and the resilience of the Persian language in the face of Arabic.

Volume Six, Seljuk Iran, examines the arrival of the Turks in Iran and the political and cultural developments associated with the Seljuk period.

Volume Seven, The Mongols in Iran, deals with the invasions of Genghis Khan and Timur, as well as the periods ruled by their successors. A central theme of this volume is the survival and continuity of Iranian culture during these exceptionally difficult centuries.

Finally, Volume Eight, Safavid Iran, explores the rise of the Safavid dynasty, its periods of expansion and decline, the achievements of Shah Abbas I, and ultimately the causes behind the fall of Isfahan.

Throughout the series, history, archaeology, art, and literature are presented together, each contributing to a fuller understanding of the period under study. The four volumes comprise 1,412 large-format pages (29 × 23.5 cm), approximately 1.05 million words, 3,282 images, and 120 maps.

The graphic reconstructions featured in the series are based on historical evidence and documented sources and are among the distinctive features of the project. They include reconstructions of 83 major historical figures and 19 significant historical moments.

This collection is intended for readers with a strong interest in understanding Iran’s national and historical identity.

Academic Board

• Saeid Amirhajloo — PhD in Archaeology, Tarbiat Modares University; Head of the Department of Archaeology, Tarbiat Modares University.
• Ali Bahranipour — Postdoctoral research in the history of the Silk Road, University of Göttingen; Faculty Member, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz.
• Ali Bahramian — Deputy for Research at the Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopaedia; Associate Member of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature.
• Rasoul Jafarian — Faculty Member, University of Tehran.
• Keyvan Joorabchi — PhD in Architecture; Faculty Member, Shahid Beheshti University.
• Khodadad Rezakhani — PhD in Late Antique History, University of California; Faculty Member, Leiden University.
• Jamshid Rousta — PhD in the History of Islamic Iran, Shiraz University; Head of the Department of History, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman.
• Touraj Daryaee — PhD in History, University of California; Director of the Dr. Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture, University of California; Editor-in-Chief of Encyclopaedia Iranica.
• Maghsoud Ali Sadeghi Gandmani — PhD in the History of Islamic Iran, University of Tabriz; Faculty Member, Tarbiat Modares University.
• Shervin Farridnejad — PhD in Ancient Iranian Culture, Religion and Languages and Zoroastrian Studies, University of Göttingen; Professor, University of Hamburg.
• Majid Montazerzohouri — PhD in Archaeology, University of Tehran; Head of the Department of Archaeology, University of Tehran.
• Haydeh Laleh — PhD in Archaeology, Sorbonne University; Faculty Member, University of Tehran.
• Seyed Saeed Mir-Mohammad Sadegh — PhD in the History of Islamic Iran, Islamic Azad University.
• Shahram Yousefi-Far — PhD in the History of Islamic Iran, Shahid Beheshti University; Faculty Member, University of Tehran.

Volume 5

The Iran's Revival

Author: Ehsan Rezaei

Contributors

• Dr. Mohammad Esmaeil Esmaeili Jelodar — Siraf.
• Dr. Saman Tofigh — The Ispahbads of Tabaristan; Espahbod Khorshid Cave.
• Dr. Shahram Jalilian — Gundeshapur.
• Dr. Khodadad Rezakhani — The Conquests and Wars of Khosrow II; Eastern Iran during the Age of the Conquests.
• Dr. Keyvan Joorabchi, Zahra Sadat Al-Ahmad, and Siavash Golmohammadi — Iranian Architecture in the First Two Centuries; Iranian Architecture in the Third and Fourth Centuries.
• Dr. Seyedeh Zahra Zarei — The Persian Gulf and the Expansion of the Persian Language.
• Dr. Sara Saghaei — Writing on Pottery.
• Dr. Hossein Sedighian — Wooden Artifacts of the Early Islamic Centuries; Nishapur Pottery.
• Maliheh Tahmasbi — Metalwork of the Early Islamic Centuries.
• Dr. Laya Alinia — Games in Iran after the Advent of Islam.
• Mahshid Farahani — Iranian Music in the Age of Transition.
• Dr. Haydeh Laleh and Dr. Zahra Larzadeh — The City of Nishapur.
• Dr. Majid Montazerzohouri — The Earliest Mosques of Iran.
• Dr. Ali Moloudi Arani — The Vigol Fire Temple at Haraskan.
• Seyed Hossein Morakkabi — The Earliest Qur'ans in Iran.
• Ali Ardam — Bukhara.
• Fahimeh Hatami — Cupping Horns.
• Sara Fereydouni — Ceramic Lamps; Amulet Boxes.

Advisors

• Academic Advisor: Ali Bahramian
• Indexing Consultant: Nader Matlabi Kashani
• Senior Advisors: Dr. Jebrael Nokandeh and Dr. Fereidoun Biglari
• Advisor on Islamic Art: Karam Mirzaei

Volume 6

Seljuk Iran

Authors

• Ali Ardam
• Ehsan Rezaei
• Dr. Shahram Yousefi-Far
• Dr. Jamshid Rousta

Contributors

• Dr. Shahram Yousefi-Far — The Bazaar.
• Dr. Jamshid Rousta — Medicine in the Seljuk Period; Seljuk Maritime Trade; the Seljuk Army; the Atabegs of Kerman; the Tomb of Khwaja Atabeg; the Malek Turanshah Mosque; Persian in the Realm of the Seljuks of Rum.
• Dr. Saeid Amirhajloo — The Jameh Mosque of Isfahan; Jiroft.
• Dr. Abbas Panahi — Gilan and Mazandaran in the Seljuk Period.
• Dr. Saman Tofigh — Isma'ili Fortresses.
• Dr. Keyvan Joorabchi, Zahra Sadat Al-Ahmad, and Siavash Golmohammadi — Iranian Architecture in the Seljuk Period.
• Dr. Mohsen Rahmati — The Atabegs of Lesser Luristan and the Atabegs of Yazd.
• Ehsan Rezaei — Literary Features and Special Features.
• Dr. Seyedeh Zahra Zarei — Shifting Centers of Trade in the Persian Gulf.
• Sepehr Sarlak — Seljuk Cuisine.
• Dr. Sara Saghaei — Designs on Pottery.
• Dr. Moslem Somali — The Atabegs of Greater Luristan.
• Dr. Babak Sheikh-Bigloo Eslam — Climate Change and the Turkic Invasions.
• Dr. Cihan Şimşek — The Turkish Language in Anatolia.
• Dr. Soheila Ghanian — Islamic Gravestones.
• Dr. Mahshid Farahani — Iranian Music in the Seljuk Period.
• Sara Fereydouni — Astrolabes; Combination-Lock Chests; Ceramic House Models.
• Dr. Sajjad Kazemi — The Ghaznavid Economy.
• Dr. Mohammad Mortezaei — The Historic City of Gorgan.
• Mehrdad Mousavi Khansari — Seljuk Isfahan.
• Dr. Shahram Yousefi-Far and Seyed Mohammad Hassan Mohammadi — Sectarian Conflicts in Rayy.

Advisors

• Academic Advisors: Dr. Shahram Yousefi-Far and Dr. Jamshid Rousta
• Indexing Consultant: Nader Matlabi Kashani
• Senior Advisors: Dr. Jebrael Nokandeh and Dr. Fereidoun Biglari
• Advisor on Islamic Art: Karam Mirzaei

Volume 7

The Mongols in Iran

Edited by: Dr. Ali Bahranipour

Contributors by Chapter

Listed alphabetically

Chapter 1: A Devastating Flood

• Dr. Qubialı Atik — The Migration of Elites to Anatolia.
• Dr. Ehsan Azadi — The Second Wave of the Mongol Invasion; Resistance and False Messiahs; the Mongols in Europe; the Rule of the Khatuns.
• Dr. Ali Bahranipour — Mongol Life; the Otrar Incident; the Third Wave of the Mongol Invasion under Hülegü.
• Dr. Bayarsaikhan Dashdondog — The Charisma of Chinggis Khan.
• Dr. Zainab Jasim al-Shahabi — The Fall of Baghdad.
• Dr. Moslem Somali — Khwarazmian Policies; Jalal al-Din Khwarazmshah.
• Ehsan Rezaei — Living by the Stars; Mongol Weaponry; Infographic on the Mongol Invasions; Iranian Migration to China; Aja'ib al-Makhluqat.
• Oktamali Roshnef — The Mongol Invasion of Transoxiana.
• Dr. Mahshid Farahani — Music on the Eve of the Mongol Invasions.
• Dr. Zhaleh Kamalizad — Underground Cities.

Chapter 2: The Great Ilkhans

• Dr. Ehsan Azadi — The Juvayni Family; Rival Ilkhans.
• Dr. Heydar Ostovi — Baghdad Khatun.
• Dr. Abbas Eqbal Mehran — Christianity in the Ilkhanid Period.
• Dr. Firat Umanç — The Conversion of the Ilkhans to Islam; Öljaitü.
• Mehran Besharat Ghazani — Shanb-e Ghazan; Khwaja Rashid al-Din Fazlullah.
• Dr. Rasoul Jafarian — The Ilkhans in Iran.
• Dr. Ali Bahranipour — Khwaja Nasir al-Din Tusi; Abaqa Khan; Tekuder and Arghun; Gaykhatu; Ghazan and the Ghazanid Reforms; Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan.
• Dr. Lorenzo Pubblici — Italians at the Ilkhanid Court.
• Dr. Keyvan Joorabchi, Zahra Sadat Al-Ahmad, and Siavash Golmohammadi — Architecture of Rab'-e Rashidi.
• Dr. Meysam Hosseinzadeh — Ilkhanid Remains at Takht-e Soleyman.
• Dr. Hassan Derakhshi — Ilkhanid Monuments in Maragheh.
• Ehsan Rezaei — The Celestial Globe; Shahnameh Tiles of Takht-e Soleyman; Attar; Rumi; Ilkhanid Numismatics; Chao Paper Money; the Church of Dzordzor.
• Dr. Seyedeh Zahra Zarei — Interactions between Trade and Sufism.
• Dr. Ahmad Fazlinejad — The Revival of the Name “Iran.”
• Dr. Zhaleh Kamalizad — Maragheh Observatory; the Dash Kasan Site in Zanjan.
• Dr. Ali Moloudi Arani — Ilkhanid Shahnamehs.
• Dr. Zahra Nasiri Shiraz — The Spread of Sufism.

Chapter 3: The Age of Local Dynasties

• Dr. Ridvan Uluşık — The Injuids.
• Dr. Ali Bahranipour — The Chobanids; Iran as Described by Ibn Battuta; Food Culture in the Mongol Period.
• Dr. Valentina Broccoli — Blue-and-White Ceramics in Pre-Safavid Iran.
• Dr. Abbas Panahi — The Mar'ashis; the Kiyas.
• Dr. Keyvan Joorabchi, Zahra Sadat Al-Ahmad, and Siavash Golmohammadi — Ilkhanid Architecture.
• Dr. Morteza Khanipour — Archaeological Evidence of the Massacre at Kan-Gohar Cave.
• Dr. Jamshid Rousta — The Qara Khitai of Kerman; the Muzaffarids.
• Ehsan Rezaei — Imitating the Shahnameh; the Transformation of the Simurgh; Sa'di; Hafez; Obeyd Zakani; Gilded Glass; the Mongol Tent; the “Gate of Paradise” Mihrab.
• Dr. Seyedeh Zahra Zarei — The Perfume Trade; the Tayyibi Rulers of Kish; the Rulers of Hormuz; Social Life in Hormuz according to Travel Accounts; the Arrival of the Portuguese in the Persian Gulf.
• Dr. Moslem Somali — The Maliks of Sistan.
• Dr. Hanadi Abdel Azim Safar Ali — The Jalayirids.
• Dr. Mahshid Farahani — Music in the Ilkhanid Period.
• Dr. Sajjad Kazemi — The Sarbadars.
• Dr. Ali Lajam Urak Moradi — Forms of Land Ownership in the Ilkhanid Period.
• Dr. Yasuhiro Yokkaichi — Celadon Ware.

Chapter 4: Timur and His Successors

• Ali Ardam — Samarkand.
• Dr. Mohammad Reza Abouei Mehrizi — Baysunghur; Molla Hossein Va'ez Kashefi.
• Dr. Ali Bahranipour — Shah Rukh and Gawhar Shad; the Herat School of Art.
• Dr. Keyvan Joorabchi, Zahra Sadat Al-Ahmad, and Siavash Golmohammadi — Timurid Architecture.
• Dr. Fatemeh Hajiabadi — Religion in the Timurid Period.
• Dr. Javad Khodadoust — Tombs of the Timurid Dynasty.
• Arash Dowlatabadi — The Application of Paleopathology in Historical Studies.
• Dr. Ali Rasouli — Sultan Husayn Bayqara; the Timurid Economy.
• Ehsan Rezaei — Shah Rukh's Mi'rajnameh; the Black Death; the Demons of Master Muhammad Siyah Qalam; Timurid Numismatics; Ghiyath al-Din Jamshid and Science in the Timurid Period; the Zij-i Iskandari; the Style of Master Kamal al-Din Behzad.
• Hassan Riahi — Weapons of the Timurid Army.
• Emad al-Din Sheikh al-Hokamaei — Documents of the Sheikh Safi Shrine.
• Dr. Mahshid Farahani — Music in the Timurid Period.
• Sara Fereydouni — Kashkul.
• Mohammad Ali Mobinov — Amir Timur.
• Dr. Mishal Mufreh Zahir — The Musha'sha'ids.
• Dr. Mostafa Namdari Monfared — Abu Sa'id Gurkan; the Qara Qoyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu.

Advisors

• Academic Advisor: Dr. Ali Bahranipour
• Indexing Consultant: Nader Matlabi Kashani
• Senior Advisors: Dr. Jebrael Nokandeh and Dr. Fereidoun Biglari
• Advisor on Islamic Art: Karam Mirzaei

Volume 8

Safavid Iran

Contributors

• Akram Karimzadeh Esfahani and Dr. Saeid Amirhajloo — Safavid Bathhouses.
• Dr. Keyvan Joorabchi, Zahra Sadat Al-Ahmad, and Siavash Golmohammadi — Safavid Urban Planning and Safavid Architecture.
• Leila Khamoushi — Chinese Porcelain at the Sheikh Safi Shrine; Officials' Seals on Historical Safavid Porcelain.
• Ehsan Rezaei — Art and Literature Features.
• Mohammad Reza Rokni — Caravanserais.
• Sepehr Sarlak — Safavid Cuisine.
• Dr. Ali Shojaei Esfahani — Excavations at the Jahan-Nama Palace.
• Mahshid Farahani — Music of the Safavid Period.
• Sara Fereydouni — Talismanic Shirts and Forty-Key Bowls.
• Dr. Zhaleh Kamalizad — Safavid Hunting Pavilions.
• Mehrdad Mousavi Khansari — Naqsh-e Jahan; Chahar Bagh; New Julfa; Chronology of the Siege of Isfahan.

Advisors

• Academic Advisors: Dr. Rasoul Jafarian, Dr. Maghsoud Ali Sadeghi Gandmani, and Dr. Seyed Saeed Mir-Mohammad Sadegh
• Indexing Consultant: Nader Matlabi Kashani
• Senior Advisors: Dr. Jebrael Nokandeh and Dr. Fereidoun Biglari
• Advisor on Islamic Art: Karam Mirzaei