Persian Historiography across Empires
The Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals

The comparative study of Persian historiography of the early modern Islamic empires, the Ottomans, Safavids and Mughals.

Sholeh A. Quinn (Author)

9781108842211, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 17 December 2020

250 pages
16 x 23.5 x 2 cm, 0.53 kg

'A superb study of the 16th and 17th century histories produced across the Ottoman, Safavid, Shaybanid and Mughal realms. Quinn deftly shows the period's chroniclers, writing in Persian, the region's lingua franca, navigating between the Timurid 'historiographical inheritance', each other's contributions and local politico-cultural discourses. After Historical Writing, another stunning contribution!' Andrew J Newman, University of Edinburgh

Persian served as one of the primary languages of historical writing over the period of the early modern Islamic empires of the Ottomans, Safavids and Mughals. Historians writing under these empires read and cited each other's work, some moving from one empire to another, writing under different rival dynasties at various points in time. Emphasising the importance of looking beyond the confines of political boundaries in studying this phenomenon, Sholeh A. Quinn employs a variety of historiographical approaches to draw attention to the importance of placing these histories not only within their historical context, but also historiographical context. This comparative study of Persian historiography from the 16th-17th centuries presents in-depth case analyses alongside a wide array of primary sources written under the Ottomans, Safavids and Mughals to illustrate that Persian historiography during this era was part of an extensive universe of literary-historical writing.

1. Introduction
2. Continuity and Transformation: the Timurid Historiographical Legacy
3. Historiography and Historians on the Move: the Significance of the Number Twelve
4. The First King of the World: Kayumars in Universal Histories
5. Mirrors, Memorials and Blended Genres
6. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Middle Eastern history [HBJF1], Asian history [HBJF], Regional & national history [HBJ], General & world history [HBG], History [HB], Humanities [H]