A History of Iran: Empire of the Mind

Gostei bastante. O autor foi muito bem sucedido em escrever um livro didático e de leitura fácil em relação a um país que tem uma história extensa, cheia de personagens e informações. Também gostei de o enfoque não ser somente em reis e batalhas, há informações sobre sociedade, as várias religiões que se formaram na Pérsia e um capítulo somente sobre poesia persa. O enfoque dado aos diversos períodos históricos é equitativa, porém é um bom livro para se entender todo o complexo contexto do Irã atual (o texto da versão que eu comprei, capa comum, termina em meados de 2015) de uma forma resumida e concisa.

Before I read this book I basically knew three things about Iran: (1) There was an ancient Persian empire centred on the same basic geographic area as modern Iran, (2) modern Iran is the implacable adversary of the United States, the west in general, and Israel, and (3) Iranian culture and history is different from that of the surrounding Arab world. But how we got from the ancient empire of the Medes and Persians to the modern Islamic republic and its Ayatollahs, I had no idea. So I decided to fill this gap in my knowledge, looked up some books online, found this one highly recommended, and purchased it. I’m very glad I did. In this book, Michael Axworthy tells the story of Iran (Persia) from the Achaemenid Empire of sixth century B.C. to the present-day Islamic Republic. Obviously, when you are narrating a 2,600 year history in the space of 315 pages, there is going to be a lot of summarising, and I certainly got the sense, as I was reading this book, that there is a lot more than could be said! Nonetheless, for a person like me, who was almost entirely ignorant about the sweep of Iranian/Persian history, this book was the perfect place to start, and it has whetted my appetite to pursue the subject and learn more. Of course, the story of modern Iran is developing all the time. This book was originally published in 2007 and an epilogue was added in 2016. Now the story has moved on yet again, and five years from now it may well be completely different. But every book of history has to end somewhere, and the interested reader who wants to pursue the story will have no difficulty finding further sources. Without hesitation, I give this book five stars out of five.

A good book usefull to start knowing Iran history.

The book is well written but is quite hard to get into if you're not already familiar with Iran history. Maybe not the best choice for a first introduction.

This book can be considered a starting point for any newcomer to Iranian history. It is, without a doubt, a major contribution to the popular history genre. While Iran/Persia is one of the great empires, Axworthy implies that it is also an empire of the mind, a virtual empire that transcends the western concept of the geopolitical state. The book follows Iran's chronological history from pre-Achaemenid times to the present. It is well researched and has extensive footnotes and references allowing the reader to delve into details of any event or subject. Yet, it is eminently readable and has the tone of a lively and informative lecture rather than an erudite tome. The book binds all the varied elements of Iranian culture (a multi-lingual, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religion mélange of peoples) into a single story line. It provides a factual, but simplified, picture of a multiplicity of societies who consider themselves Iranian regardless of the proclivity of their present governments. The reader is forced to re-evaluate the common notions of Iran as a homogeneous entity and recognize it as a hodgepodge of different groups who are bound by a common belief in the uniqueness of their civilization, culture and history. Perhaps the greatest contribution of the book is the portrayal of Iranian minorities. It is no small feat to trace their histories in the Iranian context. Yet, as Axworthy implies, it is their historical contributions and continued existence that make Iranian culture unique. It would be a sad day if any government forced uniformity on such a great and diverse culture. The book does not cover everything (that would require an encyclopedia) but it misses some points. For instance, it discusses the Council of Guardians but does not cover another key element of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic - the Council of Experts. This is the Council that was responsible for appointing Ayatollah Khamenei as "supreme leader", a decision that involved considerable internal debate. Further, in theory, this Council can remove the supreme leader if it finds him unfit to rule. This is no small power considering the current turmoil Iran and is certainly worth mentioning. However, in spite of such minor omissions, the book is accurate, immensely readable and truly major contribution to Iranian history.