Sir Arthur Evans's excavation at the Cretan site of Knossos from 1900 onwards uncovered a previously unknown civilization. His enthusiastic (though controversial) reconstructions of the site and its fresco decorations made it an attractive destination for travellers and tourists, and Evans thought a simple guidebook for visitors would be desirable alongside his own multi-volume work, The Palace…
This is a political biography of the French industrialist and political activist Jacques Lemaigre Dubreuil (1894-1955), president of the Taxpayers' Federation in the 1930s, entrepreneur in wartime France and Africa, organizer of the 'Group of Five' in Algiers which prepared for the Allied landings in North Africa (November 1942), 'inventor' of General Henri Giraud as a candidate for the leaders…
Poetry expressing criticism of social, political and cultural life is a vital integral part of Persian literary history. Its principal genres - invective, satire and burlesque - have been very popular with authors in every age. Despite the rich uninterrupted tradition, such texts have been little studied and rarely translated. Their irreverent tones range from subtle irony to crude direct insul…
The Large Farāmarznāme (Farāmarznāme-ye bozorg), a poem from the Persian epic cycle dated to the late eleventh century, is hereby published for the first time in an English translation, in prose. The story tells how Farāmarz, a son of the famous Shāhnāme hero Rostam, conquers several provinces of India, before setting off on an extensive voyage over sea and land, leading his troops throu…
During the Middle Ages, rulers from different regions aspired to an idea of imperial hegemony. On the other hand, there were rulers who deliberately refused to be «emperors», although their reign showed characteristics of imperial rule. The contributions in this volume ask for the reasons why some rulers such as Charlemagne strove for imperial titles, whereas others voluntarily shrank from th…
This rich dynastic study examines the political histories of Iran's last two monarchical dynasties, the Qajars and the Pahlavis. Tracing the rise and fall of both dynasties, Mehran Kamrava addresses essential questions about how and why they rose to power; what domestic and international forces impacted them; how they ruled; and how they met their end. Exploring over two hundred years of politi…
“In this clear, richly researched, and compelling book, Eugenio Lilli demonstrates that President Obama’s Middle Eastern policies reflect ‘Liberal Talk, Realist Thinking.’ In a wide-ranging study, which includes analysis of the recent Arab uprisings, Lilli argues that there was no re-setting of America’s relationship with the Middle east. On the contrary, US policy under Obama remaine…
Education and the Arab Spring: Resistance, Reform, and Democracy explores the current debate about education in the Middle East and North Africa post-Arab Spring. It draws from a variety of conceptual frameworks rooted in different disciplines and fields, such as education, religious and cultural studies, political science, and Arab studies. The book is, in part, a response to an increased dema…
This book examines Modern Iran through an interdisciplinary analysis of its cultural norms, history and institutional environment. The goal is to underline strengths and weaknesses of Iranian society as a whole, and to illustrate less prescriptive explanations for the way Iran is seen through a lens of persistent collective conduct rather than erratic historical occurrences. Throughout its hist…
This book carries out a comparative study of the US response to popular uprisings in the Middle East as an evaluation of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy commitments. In 2009, Obama publicly pledged “a new beginning in US-Muslim relations,” causing eager expectation of a clear shift in US foreign policy after the election of the 44th president of the United States. However, the ach…