A History of Iran: Empire of the Mind

This book is an excellent introduction to the history of Iran, blending detailed historical facts with engaging storytelling. It covers key events, cultural developments, and political shifts in a way that’s easy to follow yet deeply insightful. Perfect for both casual readers and history enthusiasts looking to understand Iran’s rich and complex past. Highly recommend

This book has changed my perception about the history of Iran. The continuity and connections the author makes between the events and conveying the sense of each era is truly amazing. The only part which I believe lacks the a bit in terms of complete legibility is from the end of Pahlavi onwards. there are certain moments with too much detail and crucial movements without any. but besides that its a jewel for any collection.

I'm still amazed that this book manages to deliver so much information and yet still be such a pleasure to read. Highly recommended. The chapters are broken down into a combination of thematic and chronological sections which make it very easy to refer back to. It also means that there's enough of a thematic thread to keep the reader grounded as you're going though some of the early history of Iran (a complicated mix of kings murdering each other).

Well written, easy read. Speaking as someone from Iran, this is the first time that I've read a work by a non-Iranian and found that it rings true with regards to Iranian thinking.

What a fantastic book! So much information, so well written. A must for every one interested in Iran, its history and culture. A gripping read from start to finish.

still on my way reading the book, but good background Information for my visit to Iran

Michael Axworthy is very strong on detail but I often found it hard to see the wood for the trees. There are many pages that are litanies of successive shahs and their allies, enemies, campaigns, battles and so on, but without an adequate bird's eye view of each particular era. People's names and Persian terms sometimes appear without any explanation or are only explained on a subsequent page. Axworthy's strong opinions intrude from time to time with no mention of alternative perspectives (including an extraordinary rant against Manicheanism which left me feelng "the author doth protest too much"). This seems to be the best available short introduction to the history of Iran. However, lacking prior knowledge or phenomenal powers of concentration on unfamiliar detail, I found it a frustrating read.

To start with I found this book rather hard going. But this was because I knew virtually nothing about Iran before hand and had difficulty with Persian names. But I continued reading whilst travelling in Iran and it all came together brilliantly. So enjoyed this book and so enjoyed Iran! It is a must for anyone visiting this fascinating country.

This is an excellent exposition of Iranian history surveying the nation's history through the age of empire from the times of Cyrus the Great to the present government led by the Islamic Republic. One of the first things that will surprise you about this book is how extensive but yet quickly you will be able to move through the time periods of Persian history. The book starts by describing Persia from the first true Persian Dynasty, the Achaemenid dynasty, followed by the Seleucid, Parthian, Sassanid, Umayyad, Abassid, Saffavid, Qajar, and Phavali dynasties. The chapters are linked together by stories and important historical developments in each era and transistions smoothly by describing the fall and the rise of the subsequent powers. In addition, the author dedicated an extensive chapter to the acomplishment of Persian poets including works of Rumi, Saadi, Hafez, and Iraqi. It is most interesting to understand the role of poetry and its development in Persian history. The symbolism of the poetic works corresponds to subjects such as love, power, war, and life. However, I find the ones involving love most perxplexing and the usage of the term "wine" as the metaphor for love. The symbolic, which are mostly subliminal, of these poems are truly influential. So if you are someone who wants to thumb through a well composed survey of Iran's history, culture, and people this book is definitely the right one for you. It is always breathtaking to see how civilizations can influence each other in the most subtle manner and thus have profound effects just as how people may influence each other.

Ein absolutes muss für jeden der auch nur ein winziges, ja sogar fast verschwindendes Interesse an der Geschichte dieser grossen Nation hat. Sie/ er wird zweifellos begeistert und hingerissen sein.

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.