The Baha Is Of Iran Transcaspia And The Caucasus Reports And Correspondence Of Russian Officials

Despite growing interest in the Baha’is of Iran, research on the history of this often-persecuted minority community has been limited by the accessibility of primary sources. ‘The Baha’is of Iran, Transcaspia and the Caucasus’ will help to fill this gap by assembling for the first time original material from Russian archives in Moscow and St. Petersburg. These sources provide crucial information concerning the rise of the early Baha’i community - and their precursors, the Babis - as well as their relations with local, national and foreign authorities. This comprehensive two-volume set showcases in Volume 1 letters from the Rozen collection from diplomats, army officers and scholars, describing developments concerning the Baha’is in Iran and Russia. Furthermore, in Volume 2 it draws together the reports and correspondence of Russian diplomats and officials, detailing the dramatic events of the persecutions of the Babis and Baha’is and the reactions of the Iranian and Russian states to these communities. Together these two volumes thus provide not only insights into the history of the Babis and Baha’is in Iran, Transcaspia and the Caucasus, but also the perspective of one of the players of the Great Game of diplomacy and power in the region. The authors present the complete texts in their original languages, providing both annotated translations and analytical introductions which supply background information on the Babi and Baha’i religions as well the personalities and events represented in the volumes and the significance of Babi and Baha’i studies within Russian Orientalism. Combining original sources with discerning analysis, this set is an invaluable resource for scholars, researchers and all readers interested in Babi and Baha’i history, the history of religion and minorities, Russo-Persian relations or Qajar Iran.

Despite growing interest in the Baha'is of Iran, research on the history of this often-persecuted minority community has been limited by the accessibility of primary sources. 'The Baha'is of Iran, Transcaspia and the Caucasus' will help to fill this gap by assembling for the first time original material from Russian archives in Moscow and St. Petersburg. These sources provide crucial information concerning the rise of the early Baha'i community - and their precursors, the Babis - as well as their relations with local, national and foreign authorities. This comprehensive two-volume set showcases in Volume 1 letters from the Rozen collection from diplomats, army officers and scholars, describing developments concerning the Baha'is in Iran and Russia. Furthermore, in Volume 2 it draws together the reports and correspondence of Russian diplomats and officials, detailing the dramatic events of the persecutions of the Babis and Baha'is and the reactions of the Iranian and Russian states to these communities. Together these two volumes thus provide not only insights into the history of the Babis and Baha'is in Iran, Transcaspia and the Caucasus, but also the perspective of one of the players of the Great Game of diplomacy and power in the region. The authors present the complete texts in their original languages, providing both annotated translations and analytical introductions which supply background information on the Babi and Baha'i religions as well the personalities and events represented in the volumes and the significance of Babi and Baha'i studies within Russian Orientalism. Combining original sources with discerning analysis, this set is an invaluable resource for scholars, researchers and all readers interested in Babi and Baha'i history, the history of religion and minorities, Russo-Persian relations or Qajar Iran.

I.B.Tauris in association with the Iran Heritage Foundation

Baron Rosen’s Babi/Baha’i archives presents private letters and diplomatic correspondence from the nineteenth century, preserved among the prominent Russian scholar Baron Victor Rosen’s materials in the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg branch. The materials cast light on the first studies of the Babi and Baha’i Faiths, new religious phenomena which, in Baron Rosen’s time, were emerging in Persia. Iran has always been a strategic concern of Russia’s geopolitical interests and the traditional importance which has been given to Persia has manifested itself in hundreds of documents and writings collected by the pre-revolutionary Russian diplomats and scholars. These documents, large parts of which have never been published before, reveal new information on the attitude of the Russian government towards religious and ethnic minorities as well as towards related issues within the Russian Empire and abroad. Bringing together materials in Russian, English, Persian, Arabic and French related to the Babi and Baha’i Faiths from Rosen’s archive in the original languages with an English translation, this book will be of great interest to students and researchers in the fields of Iranian Studies, Religion and Middle East Studies amongst others.

A masterfully researched and compelling history of Iran from 1501 to 2009 This history of modern Iran is not a survey in the conventional sense but an ambitious exploration of the story of a nation. It offers a revealing look at how events, people, and institutions are shaped by currents that sometimes reach back hundreds of years. The book covers the complex history of the diverse societies and economies of Iran against the background of dynastic changes, revolutions, civil wars, foreign occupation, and the rise of the Islamic Republic. Abbas Amanat combines chronological and thematic approaches, exploring events with lasting implications for modern Iran and the world. Drawing on diverse historical scholarship and emphasizing the twentieth century, he addresses debates about Iran’s culture and politics. Political history is the driving narrative force, given impetus by Amanat's decades of research and study. He layers the book with discussions of literature, music, and the arts; ideology and religion; economy and society; and cultural identity and heritage.

" ... The first general history of the modern Caucasus, stretching from the beginning of Russian imperial expansion up to rise of new countries after the Soviet Union's collapse."--Cover.