Intellectual Networks in Timurid Iran
Sharaf al-D?n ‘Al? Yazd? and the Islamicate Republic of Letters

Discusses the importance of intellectual networks and the formation of the republic of letters in Islamic history.

?lker Evrim Binbas? (Author)

9781107054240, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 May 2016

362 pages, 19 b/w illus. 1 map
23.8 x 15.4 x 2.5 cm, 0.62 kg

'The book is a splendid introduction to one of the key periods in Iranian history. Written with a smooth pen, it studies Yazd?'s life with many original and profound analyses. We should be thankful to Binba? who has painstakingly analyzed the life, the transregional network, and the works of Sharaf al-D?n 'Al? Yazd?. I warmly recommend the book to everyone who is interested in the Timurid era.' Ali-Asghar Seyed-Gohrab, Renaissance Quarterly

By focusing on the works and intellectual network of the Timurid historian Sharaf al D?n 'Al? Yazd? (d.1454), this book presents a holistic view of intellectual life in fifteenth century Iran. ?lker Evrim Binbas? argues that the intellectuals in this period formed informal networks which transcended political and linguistic boundaries, and spanned an area from the western fringes of the Ottoman State to bustling late medieval metropolises such as Cairo, Shiraz, and Samarkand. The network included an Ottoman revolutionary, a Mamluk prophet, and a Timurid occultist, as well as physicians, astronomers, devotees of the secret sciences, and those political figures who believed that the network was a force to be taken seriously. Also discussing the formation of an early modern Islamicate republic of letters, this book offers fresh insights on the study of intellectual history beyond the limitations imposed by nationalist methodologies, established genres, and recognized literary traditions.

1. Introduction
2. The making of a Timurid intellectual
3. Informal intellectual networks in Timurid Iran
4. The prophet of Cairo and the master of Isfahan
5. The articulation of a princely political discourse
6. Writing the past
7. The king's two lineages: the evolution of a politico-theological idea
8. Epilogue.

Subject Areas: History of ideas [JFCX], Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], Middle Eastern history [HBJF1]