Safavid Iran : rebirth of a Persian empire / Andrew J. Newman.

Includes bibliographical references in notes (pages 145-264) and index.

Laying the foundations : Ismail I (1488-1524) -- Reconfiguration and consolidation : the reign of Tahmasp (1524-1576) -- The second civil war : Ismail II (1576-1577) and Khudabanda (1578-1587) -- Monumental challenges and monumental responses : the reign of Abbas I (1587-1629) -- Shifts at the centre and a peace dividend : Shah Safi (1629-1642) -- The peace dividend consolidated : Shah Abbas II (1642-1666) -- Meeting the challenges : Shah Sulayman (1666/68-1694) -- Denouement or defeat : the reign of Shah Sultan Husayn (1694-1722) -- Epilogue : poetry and politics--the multiplicity of Safavid discourse.

"Andrew Newman offers a complete re-evaluation of the dynasty's place in history as it presided over these extraordinary developments and the wondrous flowering of Iranian culture. Safavid longevity, in Newman's analysis, derived from the success of court efforts both to give voice to the interests and 'agendas' of its many different groups of subjects and to portray the shah as the simultaneous spokesman for, and transcendent ruler over, the entire nation. Twelver Shi'ism emerges as a contested arena in this process but less intolerant than is often supposed." "Throughout, Newman questions the continued reliance on frequently contradictory and unevenly informed contemporary European accounts and on Persian language sources often written well after the events in question. Based on meticulous scholarship, he shows the extraordinary development and achievement of the period and offers a valuable new interpretation of the eventual demise of the Safavids in the eighteenth century."--Jacket.