Crisis, collapse, militarism and civil war : the history and historiography of 18th century Iran
Michael Axworthy (Editor, Author)
The eighteenth century was a crucial era in modern Iranian history, but the scholarship on the epoch is extremely limited. Among the reasons for this is the fact that it was largely a terrible period, plagued by war, economic collapse, governmental breakdown, and general misery. It has been estimated that the population of the country fell from around 9 million in 1700 to perhaps 6 million in 1899. Indeed, in the 1720s it seemed likely that Iran would disappear altogether, partitioned between her neighbors. Within a few years, the country surged back to regional pre-eminence under the rule of military genius Nader Shah, but lapsed again into civil war after his untimely death in 1747. The subsequent civil wars lasted almost until the end of the century except for a couple of brief interludes of relative calm. After decades of violence and economic dislocation, the end of the century saw the crowning of Agha Mohammad Shah, the first of the Qajar dynasty that lasted until 1925
eBook, English, 2018
Oxford University Press, New York, NY, 2018