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Habilitationsschrift--Leipzig. / Includes bibliographical foot-notes.

This work is an attempt to study the turbulent and dark period of late 18th century Persia. We begin with the death in 1193 A.H./1179 A.D. of the Vakil, Karim Khan Zand, after nearly twenty years of rule. Immediately thereafter the conflicts and contradictions inherent in a semi-feudal monarchy came to the surface, giving rise to the most violent and chaotic anarchy. The Vakil's own tribe, the Zands, failed to grasp their only chance of survival which was to remain unified against their rivals. Instead, one after another Zand prince usurped supreme power and killed his own kinsmen. In this process the country was destroyed and eventually witnessed the final downfall of the Zands in 1209/1794. From the death of the Vakil, the Zand 's most formidable rival, .Ag.a Mohammad Khan Qajar, was consolidating his power in the northern provinces of the kingdom. By careful planning and patience, he contributed to the weakening and eventual tqtal annihilation of ·the Zand dynasty. In this thesis we also attempt to clarify the underlying currents behind these events. The dynamics of the society and social and economic forces are studied in detail. This period of history is of particular importance as it marks the end of a semi-feudal regime based on tribal military support. Before the advent of the 19th century, which witnessed the sedentarization of nomadic tribes and the formation of a regular and disciplined army under the Qaj ars. In this study of an important, but little known, period of transition, particular emphasis is laid on socio-economic aspects such as trade, religious life and the structure of late 18th century Persian society.

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This thesis examines the physical evidence for ancient bridges and roads in the three most eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. Its focus is the two and a half centuries before the Arab invasions when population reached a peak. It uses satellite photographs from Google Earth to place the roads in a geographical context and contains many maps. The thesis describes twenty-four stone bridges in the provinces concerned which are thought to date from the Roman period and contains photographs of these where possible. Field research has included a large number of visits to SE Turkey and two visits to Syria. On the basis of the material evidence and the ancient sources, in particular the Peutinger Table (which are discussed in a specific chapter), the thesis examines the course of the roads and their users; it also addresses the reasons for construction of the roads, together with associated issues such as the disappearance of wheeled vehicles. The thesis describes the ancient cities, the settlement pattern and the fortifications of this region, which lay on a much troubled frontier with frequent warfare between Rome and Persia. It discusses how warfare and the construction of fortifications modified the nature of the region in the sixth century AD and then examines issues arising from the existence of the road network such as defence of the frontier, trade and the impact that commercial and social links, as well as the road network itself, had on relations between the two great empires of Late Antiquity. Annexes short reviews of archaeological work in the area and of medieval and modern travellers who have passed through it. A gazetteer of cities and fortresses mentioned in the text is attached at the end.

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Strategic intelligence - that is, information about the activities and affairs of potential enemies relevant to a state's strategic concerns - is an important factor in the foreign relations of any state. This thesis investigates the role of strategic intelligence throughout Roman relations with Sasanian Persia (early 3rd to early 7th century A.D.) and in the empire's relations with northern peoples beyond the Danube, Rhine, and Hadrian's Wall while these remained imperial frontiers during the same period. Two broad questions are addressed. The first concerns the extent to which strategic intelligence moved between the empire and these neighbouring peoples, and its consequent role in their relations. The second concerns the means by which this information moved. Chapters 1 and 4 consider the first question for relations with Persia and with northern peoples respectively. The first chapter argues that strategic intelligence moved between the Roman and Persian empires with a high degree of regularity: neither could mount a major invasion without the other having some foreknowledge, and both frequently undertook aggressive action so as to exploit knowledge of the other's disadvantages. It is therefore argued that strategic intelligence had an important role in determining the pattern of aggression in Roman-Persian relations, but also in limiting the overall level of warfare between them across four centuries. Chapter 4 concludes that while strategic intelligence also traversed the northern frontier, it did so with less regularity than in the east, with the result that relations in the north were less stable. Chapters 2 and 3 consider how strategic intelligence moved between the Roman and Persian empires. Attention is given to the use of embassies and spies in the gathering of intelligence about military preparations and other indicators, but it is argued that such information also made its way informally between the empires as part of the intensive cross-frontier interchange which characterised northern Mesopotamia. Chapter 5 argues that such interchange was less frequent across the northern frontier, and that the more limited degree of state formation among northern peoples (compared with Persia) meant that information gathering through spies and embassies was also less effective. The Conclusion draws together the results of this comparison of east and north, and reflects on the implications of the argument for the debate about continuity of the empire in the east and its demise in the west.

Informe de Seminario para optar al grado de Licenciado en Historia

Vigorous debates have taken place in many European countries, and between the EU and the USA, about regulatory policy regimes covering the assessment and approval of GM crops. In such countries the debates have, to a large extent, taken place in public arenas and with the active participation of broadcast and print media. In Iran, a very vigorous and hotly-contested policy debate concerning legislation covering GM crops took place between 2004 and 2009, but it was almost entirely confined within the Government with no public debate and minimal media coverage. From early 2006 to late 2008 a protracted dispute occurred between different parts of the Iranian regime, which was characterised by an apparent stalemate. In 2008-2009, conspicuous policy shifts occurred, which culminated in the passage of a Biosafety Law by the Iranian Parliament (or Majlis). This thesis describes, analyses and explains the policy-making process from 2006 to 2009. It explains firstly how and why a stalemate arose in the disputes between ministries and departments. It then explains how that impasse was overcome, and how a particular policy regime came to be adopted. The chosen analytical framework draws mainly on two bodies of literature, namely the regulation of technological risk, and the analysis of public policymaking. A task-specific analytical framework is developed which uses the concept of the ‘framing assumptions', which underpin the particular positions taken by the diverse protagonists in the debate, to analyse the characteristics of the seemingly irresolvable dispute. The differences between those framing assumptions are used to provide an explanation of why the stalemate arose and remained unresolved for several years. The explanation of the eventual policy outcome takes account of those framing assumptions, but on their own they are not sufficient to explain the eventual policy decisions. To provide that explanation, considerations of the unequal division of political power between parts of the Iranian regime are required. The Iranian case study, despite some of its unique characteristics, can support several general conclusions about the dynamics of risk policy making, the conditions under which disputes can arise and those under which they may be resolved.