Books published by Mage Publishers

Persians who travelled to the West during the Safavid and early Qajar period (early 17th-to-early 19th century) have received little attention. This book memorializes them in portraiture and pulls them back from historical obscurity. It brings together twenty-nine images-drawings, paintings, etchings, lithographs and even a silhouette-done in Boston, Geneva, London, Paris, Prague, Saratoga Springs, St. Petersburg, Vienna and Washington DC, between 1601 and 1842. In the days before photography, portraits commemorated their visits to distant capitals. Some of the subjects were members of Persia's élite, some from modest backgrounds, and all were on a mission of one sort or another. Today, the images offer us rare glimpses of the dress, accoutrements and regalia that so distinguished the travelers. Subjects of fascination for both contemporary artists and a public intrigued by all things Persian, the sitters in these works left an indelible mark in the consciousness of Western observers, only a few of whom ever journeyed themselves to the Land of the Lion and the Sun.

Until recent times, Iran regularly had to cope with local or national famines. The various governments, until the second decade of the twentieth century, had neither a policy nor institutional arrangements to deal with grain shortages, artificial or not, and the resulting famines. In severe cases of famine governments might have temporarily intervened in the market, but usually they left care for the hungry to private philanthropy. Invariably, this private effort was inadequate when compared to needs. Although there were earlier incidental efforts, it was only as of 1918 that a beginning was made for more permanent and structural pro-active measures to prevent rather than to combat famine. The creation of the Edareh-ye arzaq or Alimentation Service in Tehran and Tabriz to ensure food security saved thousands of lives in the years that followed. Despite this result, its work is almost totally ignored; there is not even an encyclopedia article about its activities. In this study, Willem Floor discusses the early efforts to combat famine as well as the beginning of a more targeted and structural approach developed by Lambert Molitor in Tabriz during 1917-18 as well as its application in Tehran as of 1918. Whereas in Tabriz, after 1918, the approach was reactive, in Tehran a pro-active program was developed, which as of 1922 became part of the tasks of the Millspaugh mission. During 1926-27 there was even a quasi-national food security program. After Millspaugh's departure in 1927 the food security of Tehran became an entirely Iranian affair, which as of 1935 was transferred from the Alimentation Service to a State company that had a national food security responsibility.

Georgia's Zviad Gamsakhurdia and Iran's Mohammad Mosaddegh were two of the most consequential national leaders of the twentieth century.

Iran's Mohammad Mosaddegh and Georgia's Zviad Gamsakhurdia were two of the most consequential national leaders of the twentieth century. Nicolas Gorjestani examines, in two separate volumes,

Shafi'i-Kadkani is a contemporary Iranian poet, literary critic, editor, author, and translator born in 1939. His nature poetry, which comprise most of the poems in this book, are harbingers of hope.

The hinterland of Bushehr on the Persian Gulf-Tangestan, Borazjan, Dashti, and other districts-was populated by a disparate and poor people, who were at constant war with each other. It was not only neighbors who fought and preyed on each other, but also close family members, and even fathers and sons. The traditional chiefs were heavily engaged in smuggling, in rustling cattle and sheep, in raiding villages and caravans, and in land grabs. They opposed any interference with their traditional authority and way of life, whether it was by the central or local government or a neighbor. They were not concerned that their peasants were oppressed, but rather that it was government officials who oppressed them, leaving fewer pickings for the chiefs. If they saw an advantage in collaborating with the government they did so, in particular when that was harmful to their neighbors, with whom they often had a blood feud. The rule of the game was that everything could and should be sacrificed for personal gain. The cost to others be damned.After a modernizing government was established in Iran in 1921, it wanted to impose law and order, and bring to heel chiefs, who had been unruly for centuries and only paid taxes under threat of arms. As of 1925, a disarmament campaign tried to collect arms during the winter months and impose the rule of law. Although in 1931 many chiefs were arrested and banished to other parts of Iran, the petty chiefs and rebel bandits resisted at every occasion. To counter the growing anarchy, in 1941 the military allowed all banished chiefs to return to their traditional districts and tried to use them to keep law and order. The returned chiefs then used the army to bolster their own position vis a vis their rivals and to weaken the measure of control that the central government had over their area. Despite the disarmament and pacification drives that the army engaged in, by mid-1940, the Tangestanis, Dashtis and Dashtestanis were still a source of trouble. Nevertheless, the military operations had left their mark on the area, for by 1950, the chiefs in the three regions, although not lacking in influence, were merely landowners.The Rebel Bandits of Tangestan is a deep dive into early-twentieth century history of an oft-neglected region of Iran and the Persian Gulf. It is a fascinating and well-researched account that reveals unknown details that will be rewarding to scholars and general readers alike.

This new paperback edition, now also available as an eBook, coincides with the release of the audio book read by the Iranian-American actress Kathreen Khavari. Abbas Amanat, who edited the book, and wrote its superb introduction and historical biographies, has written a new preface that adds details that have emerged since 1993 about Taj al-Sal

Aplace for the sick (bimarestan) had existed in Iran since the mid-sixth century, but such institutions never developed into real hospitals, except for a few instances during the tenth and eleventh centuries. Thereafter, until the twentieth century, their number was small and declining, and merely served as alms houses (dar al-shafa) for sick and poor pilgrims, which was why they were attached to mosques and religious schools (madrasehs). There was no major change in this situation until the mid-1880s. It was then that changes began to occur through the establishment of dispensaries, and later, hospitals. Four main groups were involved: the government of Iran, the government of (British) India and its affiliates, and American and British missionary organizations. Each had their own disparate policy objectives. Although the first Iranian government hospitals preceded the ones established by American and British missionaries, the services they offered were limited. They did not include surgery, which was the comparative advantage of the foreign hospitals. In addition, the latter offered better trained physicians, nurses, modern medical methods of treatment, and the use of medical instruments and devices. As a result, these Western hospitals had an important impact on the training of Iranian physicians and nurses. They also introduced modern methods of medical treatment, surgery techniques and medicines. Furthermore, they made it more acceptable for Iranian patients to seek treatment in a hospital, an institution not traditionally viewed as a place to heal but rather as a place to die. Despite their increasing role in providing medical care, the urban-based hospitals were too few in number, and not geared to address Irans public health issues. In particular, they could not meet the medical needs of the countrys mainly rural population. Nevertheless, the hard work and sacrifice of the staff of these modern hospitals laid the groundwork for Irans much needed and comprehensive public health infrastructure and health policies. These were further developed in the 1930s and grew in speed and size during the 1950s. This book, together with Willem Floors companion volume, The Beginnings of Modern Medicine in Iran, are essential histories for anyone interested in the inceptions of Irans modern health care system.

Not much has been written about the early beginnings of modern medicine in Iran. With this book, renowned scholar Willem Floor, who has written more than fifty books on Iran’s history and culture, corrects this lacuna. He details the development of the education of modern physicians starting in the 1850s. And highlights the important and influential role of American physicians in helping shape the culture of Iranian hospital care, including making it acceptable to Iranian patients. American missionary hospitals played a crucial role through the founding of the first medical school in 1885 in Urumiyeh. There were also two other medical training programs at American hospitals in Hamadan and Tehran. By 1930, most Iranian physicians trained in Western medicine had been educated either at the American University of Beirut, medical schools attached to American missionary hospitals, or in Europe. In 1915, American physicians also began the first school to train nurses. Later, in 1936, the government of Iran asked American missionary nurses to direct and run the five government schools for nurses. American and British physicians were the first to establish a rigorous ob-gyn program with pre- and post-natal care, including baby clinics to combat the high child mortality rate in Iran. This model was later adopted by all Iranian hospitals. American physicians also introduced the X-ray machine, the hospital laboratory, and other techniques to enhance medical diagnosis and treatment. All these were established through an environment of cooperation, collegiality, and professional cooperation with their Iranian colleagues through seminars, and the creation of medical societies in Mashhad and Tehran. The final chapter tells the history of leprosy in Iran, and the establishment and functioning of the first leprosarium in Mashhad by American missionary physicians in collaboration with the Imam Reza Shrine Foundation. This book will reward those interested in the development of modern medicine in Iran and the role of women in its health care system.

In the early-seventeenth century the European thirst for knowledge about other countries and cultures was growing, after all it was the Age of the Discovery. Iran was a little-known country at the time because commercial and diplomatic contacts had begun only a few decades earlier. Before 1633, when this book was written, area studies on Persia did not exist. There were some books, travelogues, or reports on wars, but none about the people, the country, the culture, or the government. To fill this gap, Joannes de Laet, a wealthy and erudite merchant and scholar, published this book in a series of country studies that included the Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Poland (Livonia, Latvia, Prussia), Turkey, Mogol India, Brasil, and the New World (West-Indies). Because de Laet had never been to Persia, he used classical Greek and Roman authors, medieval sources (including from Arab authors), and account by the most recent travelers. He also used information from Nicolaas Hem, an employee of the Dutch East-Indies Company, who had lived in Persia since 1623 and had just returned to the Netherlands. De Laet also had contacts with Jacob van Gool (Golius) the famous professor of Arabic and Hebrew at the University of Leiden, from whom he received data from as yet unpublished Arabic texts. The book offers in a nutshell what was known about Persia at that time from published sources and enriched by first-hand information from Hem and Golius. This book was not only the first systematic and encyclopedic summary of all available information about Persia at the time, but it was also a well-informed one, even if most of the information was second hand. It also provided the framework for many later works about Persia.

For this book, Willem Floor has selected and translated into English thirteen German sources reporting on events in Iran from 1580 to 1722. One of these sources has never been published before; four of them are complete books, while the others only have sections dealing with Iran. Most of these sources are unknown to scholars.

This new bilingual edition of The Mirror of My Heart - the poems in Persian and English on facing pages - is a unique and captivating collection introduced and translated by Dick Davis, an acclaimed scholar and translator of Persian literature as well as a gifted poet in his own right.

For its subtlety, inventiveness, and dramatic force, the verse of the twelfth-century Persian poet Nezami has been compared to that of Shakespeare, and in the same way that Romeo and Juliet has become the archetypal Western love story, so Layli and Majnun occupies an equally uncontested place as the iconic love story of the Middle East.

Heydar Radjavi's memories of the 1930s and 1940s, when he was growing up in Iran (a country he describes as one that has been "in ambivalent flirtation with modernity for the past hundred years"), are a delightful and moving evocation of a vanished past. His wise, witty, gentle, and eminently humane voice is one that is irresistibly attractive, and the anecdotes he recounts have a quiet, resonant charm that stays in the mind long after the book is closed. This little book is a gem, as a memoir and as a human document.

Kermanshah was one of the most important commercial gateways to Iran and an important transit station on the trade route between Iraq and Iran. It was also a gathering point for pilgrims going to and coming back from the holy shrines of Kerbela and Najaf. Despite all this, Kermanshah has been mostly ignored by historians.

The Layered Heart  Essays on Persian Poetry is published in celebration of the poet and scholar Dick Davis, dubbed "our pre-eminent translator from Persian" by The Washington Post. Edited by Ali-Asghar Seyed-Ghorab, Associate Professor of Persian at Leiden University.

This book discusses the political and economic history of the port of Bushehr, which by the end of the eighteenth century had become the gateway to southern Persia (Iran). It offers a detailed analysis of Bushehr''s demography, industry, health care, education, and standard of living; as well as its trade, and how politics impacted its well-being. Throughout this period Bushehr had to ward off the growing competition from other Persian Gulf ports such as Bandar Abbas. It did so successfully, enjoying growing trade and wealth, despite internal and external political problems. Because of its important commercial position Bushehr was also twice attacked and occupied by the British (1856, 1915-18). What brought the port city down finally, however, was not the British attacks and occupations, nor the occupation and looting of the city by Tangestani tribesmen (purported protectors of the constitution) in 1909; it was the expansion of the ports, roads, and railroads of the oil-rich province of Khuzestan. This caused economic decline for Bushehr, which resulted in a loss of trade and much of its population between 1920 and 1940. The World War II years did not bring much improvement to its situation either. The economic malaise contributed to a tribal uprising in Fars in 1946, in which Bushehr played an important role. However, the uprising failed, and as such was but a last spasm of a bygone era.

Hamideh Khanum Javanshir grew up in a traditional Azerbaijani society where women were relegated to playing a self-effacing and submissive role with no identity of their own and no function in society outside the home and family.

Little is known about the Arab migrants who settled on the Iranian coast between Bushehr and Lengeh in the late 1500s. They were a disparate group of small tribes of sailors, traders, fishermen, pearl divers, and cultivators. Although they were all referred to as the Bani Hula, they were not a uniform group. In fact, they were each other's fiercest competitors for access to the pearl banks. This frequently led to bloody and murderous encounters and feuds. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Arabs of Nakhilu had a fearsome reputation as pirates-which the Portuguese soon discovered to be warranted. The Bani Hula received much attention during the eighteenth century when they tried to fill the power vacuum in the Persian Gulf caused by the fall of the Safavid dynasty and the civil war in Oman. However, although they were a maritime force to be reckoned with, they had no common cause and dissipated their strength by fighting among themselves. Furthermore, they had no staying power as their political and economic base was too narrow. Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and down to the early twentieth century, one of the most active groups of Hulas were those of Kangan and Taheri. Their history, told here in some detail, is emblematic for the other Hula groups. Apart from showing the violence against each other, their story also highlights how their local lineages dominated political and socio-economic life for centuries in their area, often spanning more than one or two dynasties. It was these local families that guaranteed stability, continuity, and permanence even when, at the national and international level, there was turmoil, upheaval and profound change.

The power of poetry to map the human heart has been a hallmark of Persian culture for at least a thousand years, and Fatemeh Shams wields it unforgettably. As a member of the Iranian diaspora living in the West, her voice is often one of anguished separation, and many of her poems touch on politics, but as translator Dick Davis says in his introduction to this volume, her approach is "inward and personal rather than public and propagandistic." Frequently, her focus on the individual extends to erotic passion - "It was night, your hands were full of moonlight . . ." - or addresses its obverse, of loneliness: "I sleep in my own corpse''s arms . . ." Whether she is writing in free verse or in traditional literary forms, her remarkable technical abilities and the strength of her feelings always shine through. Shams''s verse makes real for us her vision of the world as only poetry can. Introduced and Translated by Dick Davis. Original Persian text faces the English translations of the poems.

The island of Khark was an important link in Persian Gulf navigation, supplying passing ships with water, victuals, and pilots for ships sailing to and from Basra. This was why the Arabs called Khark “the Mother of Skippers” (Umm al-Rubbaniyan). Through the ages, Khark has also been a place of pilgrimage: in Sasanian times, due to the presence of an early Christian church and monastery, and in Islamic times, because of the presence of the tomb of Mohammad al-Hanafiyya. In the eighteenth century, the Dutch made the island their center of trade in the Persian Gulf, and by the nineteenth century the island was dubbed “the most important strategic point in the Persian Gulf,” reason why the British occupied it twice. Although by 1900 the island had lost its strategic importance, it acquired it again after the 1950s, when the National Iranian Oil Company decided to make Khark its main terminal for the export of crude oil. Later, chemical factories were added to the island’s economic make-up. As a result, Khark’s name is now better known around the world than it was ever previously, but the history has remained untold. This book tells the whole story, from the early archeological evidence and the Islamic and Safavid periods, to the Dutch projects in the eighteenth century and the British in the nineteenth century. And in the end, how the traditional way of life ended and industrialization began.