This course is a biweekly seminar, examining historiography and cultural history of the Persian world from the Sasanian period up to the end of the Qajar dynasty. The purpose of this course is to analyze the nature and purpose of history and to study decisive phases in the history of Iranian peoples and their environment. The issues to be addressed are among others the following: what did Persian historiographers conceive of history, what type of material did they use as their source material, and what kind of literary techniques did they apply to their texts. The importance of pre-Islamic history in the context of Islamic Persia will be examined. In this course both early histories and other genres closely related to historiography such as ‘mirrors for princes’ will be studied. With the advent of the Mongols in the Iranian plateau historiography became even more important than before as the Mongol rulers wished to establish their own position within the tradition of Iranian history. For the Shiite Safavids, history was closely connected to the propagation of religion. The course will be ended by analyzing the role of history during the Qajar dynasty.
For each seminar, students are required to read in advance selections from secondary literature and to analyze a limited number of passages from primary sources. Each session consists of two hours. In the first hour a general lecture is given and in the remaining hour, the students discuss several issues from the prepared reading material. Each student is expected to give two presentations on a specific topic from the overview below.
- Transitional period from Sasanian to Islamic era
- Ghaznavid history
- Saljuq history
- Local histories
- Mirror for princes as a historical text
- Mongol history and historiography
- Central Asian historiography
- Safavid history
- Qajar history
- The constitutional movement in history
Timetable
For the most recent update of the timetable click here
Method of Instruction
Bi-weekly seminar
Course objectives
Will be announced
Required reading
Both primary and secondary literature are available from the lecturer. Students are responsible for their own photocopies of the texts.
For a list of the required reading see ‘Overview’.
Examination
Will be announced
Information
Blackboard/webpage
Blackboard
www.persianstudies.nl
Overview
An overview of the literature assigned will be announced later.
Remarks
Registration via U-twist.