The history book “Iran under the Safavids” by Roger Mervin Savory, translated into Persian by Kambiz Azizi has reached its 18th print run. The book tries to explain the reasons for the rise and fall of Safavid dynasty.

IBNA: The publishers of history books published 89 titles in the fields of history and geography. 80 of the titles were researched books and 9 were translations. 48 of the books were on their first print run and 41 were reprinted. It should also be mentioned that 81 of the books were published by Tehrani publishers and 8 by provincial publishers.

“Latin Amrica according to an Iranian”, “Borazjan”, “Political police of the 20 year era”, “The history of Iran: Afshar, Zand and Qajar dynasties”, “The history of Sasanid Iran civilization”, “History writers and the schools of history writing”, “Achaemeniad history: Minor Asia and Egypt”, “Papers on civilization”, “The geography of Aran and Bidgol”, “40 moons in the land of gold”, “Ancient land: collection of works of the ancient Iran”, “Cyrus the great” and … are the titles of some books on history published last week.

A review of “Iran under the Safavids”

900 years after the collapse of Sasanid dynasty, Shah Esmaeel Safavi created the first coherent national government throughout Iran and made the political borders as vast as the Sasanid borders. More over, by making the 12 Imami Shiism the official religion of the country he created a new identity for Iran. His relation to Sufusm and the Sufis was very important in the creation of his historical movement.

His great grand father was Sheikh Safi Ardebili, a great Sufi of 14th century. Even though he was not Shiite and was actually a Shafei Sunni, his descendents later changed their religious preference and became the founders of a powerful Shiite government in Iran.

The Safavid dynasty is a turning point in the history of Iran after Islam. This dynasty changed Iran to a powerful and independent country that refuses to obey the Ottoman rule.

As its title suggests “Iran under the Safavids” discusses the situation of Iran from the beginning to the end of Safavid era.
The core idea of Savory about Safavids is that their reaching power was the result of years of “Patient ideological preparing”. Because of the vastness of the issues presented, Savory has not gone much into the details.

Savory, the professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic studies at the University of Toronto, has analyzed the political and military history of Safavid era and their internal and foreign relations based on their socio-economic structure and their cultural stand. This book was first translated into Persian in 1984.

Roger Savory was born in 27 January 1925, in Petersburg England. He received his B.A form Oxford University in Orientals in 1950. He taught Persian language from 1950 to 1960 in the center for Oriental and African studies in London University.

He received his PhD of Iranian Studies from London University in 1958. Savory has been the head of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies in the University of Toronto since 1976.

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