The History of Persia
From the Most Early Period to the Present Time

Informed by a lifetime of foreign service, this 1815 work remains one of the most influential histories of Persia.

John Malcolm (Author)

9781108028639, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 30 June 2011

704 pages, 10 b/w illus. 1 map
29.7 x 21 x 3.6 cm, 1.66 kg

The product of a lifetime spent in India and the Middle East, for over a century this two-volume work by Sir John Malcolm (1769–1833), first published in 1815, remained the most trusted chronicle of Persia. Translated into French, German and Persian, the detailed and diverse contents earned its diplomat author an honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Oxford. Although learned, Malcolm's narrative is informed by personal experiences acquired while serving as an envoy and secretary to the governor general, a position which clearly shaped his views on the country's political character. Volume 1 'commences in the fabulous ages', and covers the period from the ancient dynasties of Paishdadian and Kaianian, until the reign of Mahmood in the early eighteenth century.

Preface
1. Ancient boundaries
2. Mahabad, the first king
3. The Paishdadian dynasty
4. The Kaianian dynasty
5. Murder of Philip
6. The Sassanian dynasty
7. Remarks on the Dabistan
8. Character of eastern history
9. An account of the monarchs of Ghizni
10. Observations on the Tartar tribes
11. Rule of the Atta-begs
12. Conquest of Persia by the Moghuls
13. Birth of Timour
14. An account of the ancestors of Shah Ismail
15. Sam Meerza succeeds Shah Abbas.

Subject Areas: Middle Eastern history [HBJF1]