When, after some twenty eight years of working, teaching and researching in another discipline, I decided to revert to my original field of Near-Eastern Studies, I had no difficulty in deciding on the general area in which I wanted to do research. As an undergraduate, my interest in the Mongol period in Iran had been stimulated by reading the Tärikh-i jahän-gushä and the Jämi' al-tavarikh, and the presence of an acknowledged expert in that field at Manchester University in the person of the late Professor John A. Boyle, made my decision to work in that field almost inevitable. After my acceptance by the University as a part-time Ph.D student in 1977, two meetings with Professor Doyle led us to agree that the research would be based on the Zafar-nämah of HamdAllah Mustaufi Qazvlni. Several factors indicated the desirability of building a research topic around that work. Firstly, very little work had been done on it by European scholars, since Browne had partially translated some of the third book, dealing with the Mongol period. Rieu had suggested that it might have historical value, and K. Jahn and J. Boyle both echoed that suggestion, expressing their opinion that the work should be edited and examined. Boyle's own preoccupation with the works of Mustaufi's - mentor, Rashid al-Din, made a parallel examination of the Zafar-namah all the more logical.

This thesis is based on the second volume of Afal al-Tavarikh, the 17th century Safavid court chronicle. It consists of a historiographical study of this source and an annotated translation of the section concerning the early years of Shah Tahmasp's reign (1524-1529). The author Fazl b. Zayn al-'Abidim b. Rub Allah alKhuzani al-Isfahani was writing his history in 1617-1639 during the reigns of Shah 'Abbas I (r. 1587-1629) and Shah Safi (r. 1629-1642) and devoted the second volume entirely to the reign of Shah Tahmasp (r. 1524-1576). Chapter one of the thesis deals with the author, his life and career as a provincial Vazir during the reign of Shah 'Abbas, and his emigration to India. It identifies the formative influences which shaped the author's distinctive view of history. One of Fazli's strengths as a historian is his use of histories that are no longer extant. The sources have therefore been examined in order to assess the influence of these "lost histories" on his presentation of Shah Tahmasp's early reign. Altal al-Taviifikh contains transcriptions of more official documents than are found in any other Safavid court chronicle. The first chapter therefore underlines the importance of this source as a depository of chancery documents. The historiographical evaluation of Aftal proposes that this history is essentially a product of the reign of Shah <Abbas. It should be viewed as part of Shah 'Abbas' propaganda campaign, which aimed at strengthening the Safavid Shah's claim to legitimacy. Chapter two is a critical evaluation of Altal al-Tavirfikh. This chapter examines some of the historiographical issues which were raised in chapter one, in greater depth. Three case studies have been presented in order to draw attention to the author's tendency to suppress inconvenient truths and to determine the ideological basis which underpins the author's historical interpretation. It also outlines how Fazli's ideological bias determined the structure of his narrative and his literary style. Chapter three consists of the partial translation of the text followed by a commentary. The translation deals with the narrative of the first six years of Shah Tahmasp's minority to the year 936/1529. Although the inter-tribal factionalism of the Qizilbash tribes continued to dominate the court politics, 936/1529 signified the first occasion when the young Shah Tahmasp succeeded in asserting greater personal political authority at court. This was made possible by the prestige he derived from his victory at the battle of Jam in 935/1528 against the Uzbeks. This allowed him to invite the Ustajlii uymaq back to court from exile in Gilan and thus destablise the hegemony hitherto exercised by their Qizilbash rivals- the Tekkeliis. This consideration has determined the logical break in the narrative and the translation. The commentary consists of further historiographical notes, prosopography, and notes on geography.

The period of this study is of outstanding significance in the recent history of Persia, and its far-reaching consequences are still perceptible. Russia fought for the completion of her domination in the Caucasus, - Britain struggled to secure her supremacy in the Persian Gulf, and Persia fought her last but losing battles to ensure her own interests. The twenties witnessed fundamental changes in the status of the Caucasus, the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf, which became respectively, a Russian province, a Russian lake and, the latter, de facto, a British mare clausum. Moreover, this period saw the last manifestation of Turco- Persian rivalry in a military conflict; and more significantly, the first attempt at removing the causes of former recurrent quarrels, thus opening a new phase in the relations between the two neighbours, based on a better understanding. Despite its vast importance, seldom have any scientific researches been made from the standpoint of diplomatic history on the scope of this study. Curiously enough, the Treaty of Shiraz, so significant in connection with the question of the Island of Bahrein, appears not to have been mentioned by any contemporary or secondary authors, notwithstanding that it was then that British diplomacy towards that Island was evolved, occasioning as it has, ever since,the persistence of Anglo-Persian controversies on the subject. An attempt is made in this work to study the diplomatic relations of Persia during the years in which Russian political, strategic and economic it edominance was eventually established in the north, and the ascendancy of the British in the south, and a promising start was made in the difficult task of bringing to an end the dissensions of long standing between Turkey and Persia.

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Mashhad is located in the north-east of Iran close to the Soviet and Afghan borders, and is the capital of the Ostan (province) of Khorasan. The city is situated at about 3,000 feet, at the eastern end of a fault-bounded tectonic depression filled with quarternary sediments and drained by the Atrek Rud2to the west (into the Caspian) and by the Kashaf Rud to the east. This corridor-like depression separates two branches of a fold mountain system, known as the Elburz. The southern branch of this mountain system named the Kuh-i-Aleh and Kuh-i-Binalud3, is composed of N, esozoic limestones and igneous rocks and rises to 10,000 feet, whilst the northern branch, the Kuh-i-Hesar Masjid built mainly of cretaceous limestones, slopes west-east from 10,000 feet to 6,000 feet. This latter range separates the Atrek- Kashaf corridor from the steppes of Central Asia to the north, and it is along its north-facing flanks that the Soviet border is aligned. To the south and west of the Kuh-i-Aleh, the Jajarm-Isfarain basin forms the other main lowland area of northern Khorasan. (Figs. 1 and 2) South of this fold mountain area stretches the central plateau of Iran over which are developed the deserts of the Kavir5 and the Southern Lut6 occupying over two-thirds of the province of Khorasano The eastern edge of this desert plateau is bounded by a low range of mountains running north-south, forming the boundary between Iran and Afghanistan.

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The main aim of this thesis is to examine and evaluate the role of the press in the process of modernization of Iran during the Qajar period in 19th century, which contributed to the triumph of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution in the early 20th century. Examining this process in its historical context reveals the many stages through which Iran passed and which brought about a range of positive and negative consequences. The significance of the consequences of what took place in the nineteenth century can be seen in the modern history of Iran. This century saw the consolidation of Western hegemony and the beginning of the classical age of imperialism. Many non-Western countries found themselves coming under the control of one or another of the European powers. At the same time, a great deal of the social, political, and economic transformation and modernization within these countries was taking place under the system of European colonialism. The specific effects and consequences of this transformation differed from one country to another. While direct contact with Western powers was facilitating the process of change in some countries, in others, such as Iran, this process was facilitated by different types of contact. Iran was not subjected to any direct Western military colonialism in its history, but rather it was, in many respects, under the influences of Western ideological and political hegemony. During this period the Iranian press played a crucial role in the introduction of Western ideas which contributed to the political development and modernization of Iran. The Constitutional Revolution was indeed affected by these ideologies. Without the introduction of modern ideologies by the Iranian press, published inside or outside the country, the modern political structure of Iran could not have developed during the early 20th century. Through a rigorous and detailed analysis of three influential newspapers, published at different times within this period, this research, firstly, reveals that the foundation of the Iranian press in 19th century was implicitly part of the very process of change itself and, secondly, identifies and evaluates the various forms of contribution that these newspapers make to the process of modernization and political development of Iran.

No description available.

No description available.

This thesis presents a detailed study of the seventeenth century diplomat Sir Anthony Sherley’s Relation of his Travels into Persia (1613). Sherley and his younger brother Robert travelled to Persia with a sizeable company of experienced English military officers who had originally been detailed to bolster the defences of Ferrara against an expected invasion by the Papal States in late 1597. Sherley remained in Persia for six months, which coincided with the Shah’s return from a military expedition that had effectively secured his eastern frontiers against invasion, and as he embarked on preparations for a war of reconquest against the Ottomans, which was seized on by Sherley and his brothers to produce a stream of books, assuming credit for the later outbreak of war between the Muslim powers. Anthony and Robert Sherley were celebrated for inciting the Persians to war against the Turks, and their reputation was cemented with the publication of John Day, William Rowley and George Wilkins’ play entitled Travails of the Three English Brothers (1607). Day, Rowley and Wilkins’ Travails, as well as the brothers’ persistent self-promotion through the medium of popular print, has led to the erroneous notion that they were responsible for the establishment of Anglo-Persian diplomatic relations. This thesis provides an account of Sir Anthony Sherley’s experiences prior to his journey to Persia, traces his shifting objectives as reflected in the clusters of texts published by and about the Sherley brothers, argues that his account was partly presented as an allegorical romance, and highlights the Machiavellian and Tacitean influences behind the Relation.