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A History Of Iran: Empire Of The Mind (2008)

by Michael Axworthy(Favorite Author)

3.85 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0465008887 (ISBN13: 9780465008889)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Basic Books

review 1: As many have said, this is the best 300 page introduction to Iranian history you could hope for; an excellent broad-sweep, spanning two and a half millennia. I didn't care much for the periodic detours discussing contemporary Persian poetry, and I thought Axworthy devoted too many pages to the topic, but hey-ho, I suppose it was refreshing to take a break from high politics every now and then. Also, I don't think the author fully explained his 'empire of the mind' theory very well - if what he was referring to was merely the enduring idea of Iran, he wasn't saying anything particularly new (read the ethnographer Anthony D. Smith for a better exposition of ancient enduring national identities). Despite these little niggles, this book was very well researched and written, an... mored has inspired me to read more about this interesting country soon.
review 2: Empire of the Mind: A History of Iran (EotM) by Michael Axworthy was a comprehensive history of Iran right from around 2000 BCE to the present.Like any history that tries to pack so much time into so few pages, EotM suffers from being too brisk and therefore a little confusing at times. Axworthy is no trained historian but rather a British diplomat who has served in both Iran and many parts of the Middle East. This gives EotM a unique perspective and makes for an excellent, easy to read introduction to the complicated history of Iran.Starting with the Achameanids and Herodotus, Axworthy quickly trots through the ancient Persian history to the Parthians and their clash with Rome to the Sassanians and their tussle with Constantinople. Themes such as the clash between more nomadic dynasties from the mountainous east of Persia with the more settled western and urban part dominate this part of the book.Unfortunately Axworthy is limited to English and translated material here, and although he's tried to be as sympathetic as possible, his non-historian background is a hindrance.Then we quickly skip centuries and the Persian Middle ages almost, with a detailed discussion of Persian poetry rather than politics. It's clear Axworthy really loves Persian poetry, but well, it's alright and I don't think the translations probably do it full justice.To explain Iranian fixation with Shi'ism, we backtrack a few centuries to start with the Sunni-Shia split, and then the coming of Shi'ism in Iran thanks to the Safavids. The next few chapters are pretty chronologically linear covering the Nadir Shah years (who as an Indian I only knew as another of those looters of Delhi, but Axworthy paints a sympathetic portrait as a military genius who was a little ahead of his time and later may have succumbed to dementia and/or paranoia), the Qajar dynasty that followed and the Great Game of the 19th century between imperialist Britain and Russian. This is one of the best bits of the book, and since the sources are more varied and detailed, Axworthy I think accurately portrays Asian disenchantment and colonialism, also explaining how Persia was never formally colonised but was more or less carved up. The USA as a rising superpower is also visible here, and it was surprising to see that Iranians of this time (like many Asians) hoped the Americans would be a "Prince Charming" in their struggles.EoTM quickly mops up the remaining bits spending a decent amount of time on the Revolution and the years that preceded and followed it. Iran's tussle with Saddam's Iraq, which I was shocked to learn lasted almost a decade, is featured prominently. A short biography of Khomeini is also discussed and I was surprised to learn Khomeini's family traced its descent from India. Although, Khomeini himself never made a big deal of this since his enemies used his descent to try to paint him as a traitor.A major theme across these last few chapters is the general Iranian perception that the West meddled ruthlessly in Iranian internal affairs. Whether it is the alleged CIA engineered coup to topple Mossadegh, the West's backing of Saddam, or even their earlier support to the Shah against popular Iranian opinion to further Cold War ambitions. Axworthy doesn't openly criticise the West, but is clearly pro-Iranian and says even if the West didn't do all those things, the common perception remains and the West hasn't come clean. He is however unflinchingly critical of the older British and Russian policies of the late 19th century which he calls as nothing but folly. This book was written just before the change of government in Iran, so the chapter on Ahmedjinad looks already like a footnote the world will hopefully forget. Therefore, what looks like the recent rapprochement is completely absent, and EotM ends on a hopeful note for the future.Overall this book was a great overview into Iranian history, and it helped me put some major Iranian cultural aspects such as Zoroastrianism, Shi'ism, poetry, a sense of leadership among the Islamic world, its troubled relations with the West all into some kind of focus. It remains an excellent introduction, but nothing more than that. less

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