The Practice of Politics in Safavid Iran: Power, Religion and Rhetoric (British Institute of Persian Studies) - Softcover

'Colin Mitchell has shown how Safavid ideology evolved, both for internal and external consumption, from the formative reigns of Shahs Isma'il and Tahmasp to the later maturity of the dynasty. This is a great and timely contribution to the study of the Safavid period.' - Professor Charles Melville, Pembroke College, University of Cambridge; 'Mitchell's command of Persian is outstanding, and his analyses are truly insightful ... I cannot stress enough the unique and ground-breaking nature of this research.' - Professor Sholeh Quinn, Department of History, Ohio University

The Safavid dynasty originated as a fledgling apocalyptic mystical movement based in Iranian Azarbaijan, and grew into a large, cosmopolitan Irano-Islamic empire stretching from Baghdad to Herat. Here, Colin P. Mitchell examines how the Safavid state introduced and moulded a unique and vibrant political discourse, reflecting the social and religious heterogeneity of sixteenth-century Iran. Beginning with the millenarian-minded Shah Isma'il and concluding with the autocrat par excellence, Shah Abbas, Mitchell explores the phenomenon of state-sponsored rhetoric. A thorough investigation of the Safavid state and the significance of rhetoric, power and religion in its functioning, The Practice of Politics in Safavid Iran is indispensable for all those interested in Iranian history and politics and Middle East studies.