Safavid Iran: Rebirth of a Persian Empire

The Safavid period (1501-1722) is often viewed as the golden era in Iran’s history, following the demise of the Sasanian Empire a thousand years earlier. In fact it represented a vital break with past Iranian history. Based on the latest in-depth research and historiography, Safavid Iran shows the extraordinary achievements of the Safavid period–political, economic and cultural. Andrew Newman examines art and architecture, philosophy, science and religion of the age and places them in the context of ruthless statecraft and institution-building.