Pivot of the universe

Description

When he was assassinated in 1896, Nasir al-Din Shah had sat on the Peacock Throne for nearly half a century. In this book, the first in English about Nasir al-Din Shah, Abbas Amanat gives us both a biography of the man and an analysis of the institution of monarchy in modern Iran. Amanat poses a fundamental question: how did monarchy, the center-piece of an ancient political order, withstand and adjust to the challenges of modern times, both at home and abroad? Nasir al-Din Shah's life and career, his upbringing and personality, and his political conduct provide remarkable material for answering this question. By examining the way Nasir al-Din Shah was transformed from an insecure crown prince and later an erratic boy-king in the 1840s and 50s into a ruler with substantial control over his government and foreign policy in the 1860s and beyond, Amanat explores a pattern in the consolidation of traditional monarchies as they accommodated themselves to the forces of modernity.

Subjects

Other Editions

• Pivot of the universe: Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar and the Iranian Monarchy, 1831-1896University of California Press1997-01-01
• Pivot of the UniverseUniversity of California Press1997-01-01
• Pivot Of The UniversehardcoverI.B. Tauris1997-12-31
• Pivot of the UniverseHardcoverMage Publishers1998-12-01
• The Pivot of the UniversePaperbackI. B. Tauris2007-03-20
• Pivot of the universeI.B. Tauris2008-01-01