Converting Persia: Religion and Power in the Safavid Empire (International Library of Iranian Studies): 1 - Hardcover

Abisaab, Rula

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 186064970X ISBN 13: 9781860649707

Publisher: I.B. Tauris, 2004

Synopsis

'Converting Persia' explains how Iran was to acquire one of its defining characteristics: its Shi'ism. Under the Safavids (1501-1736 CE), Persia adopted Shi'ism as its official religion. Rula Abisaab explains how and why this specific brand of Shi'ism - urban and legally-based - was brought to the region by leading Arab 'Ulama from Ottoman Syria, and changed the face of the region till this day. These emigre scholars furnished distinct sources of legitimacy for the Safavid monarchs, and an ideological defense against the Ottomans. Just as important at the time was a conscious and vivid process of Persianization both at the state level and in society. Converting Persia is vital reading for anthropologists, historians and scholars of religion, and any interested in Safavid Persia, in Shi'ism, and in the wider history of the Middle East."Rula Abisaab has provided us with a remarkable study of Safavid Iran. Her work throws new light on the interplay of religion and society and will be a crucial work for all interested in the making of modern Iran." -Abbas Amanat, Professor of History, Yale University.

About this title

Review

.".".a remarkable study of Safavid Iran. Her work throws new light on the interplay of religion and society...."" --Abbas Amanat, Professor of History, Yale University, and author of Imagining the End (I.B.Tauris)

About the Author

Rula Jurdi Abisaab is a professor of Islamic/Middle Eastern History at the University of Akron, Ohio.

Edition details

• Publisher: I.B. Tauris
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 186064970X
• ISBN 13: 9781860649707
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 256