TY  - BOOK
AU  - Durand-Guédy,David
TI  - Iranian elites and Turkish rulers: a history of Iṣfahān in the Saljūq period 
T2  - Routledge studies in the history of Iran and Turkey
SN  - 9780203864494
AV  - DS325.I7 D87 2010eb
U1  - 955.95 
PY  - 2010///
CY  - London, New York
PB  - Routledge
KW  - Elite (Social sciences)
KW  - Iran
KW  - Iṣfahān
KW  - History
KW  - To 1500
KW  - City and town life
KW  - Seljuks
KW  - Social change
KW  - Iṣfahān (Iran)
KW  - Social conditions
KW  - 640-1256
KW  - Politics and government
N1  - pt. 1. The disputed capital -- pt. 2. The reshaping of a local society -- pt. 3. Turkish emirs and Iranian elites face to face
N2  - The Saljuq period of the eleventh and twelfth centuries saw the arrival in Iran of Trkmen nomads from Central Asia and the beginning of Turkish rule. Through the example of the city of Isfahan, the book analyses the internal evolution of Iranian society in this period and the interaction of the Iranian elites and Turkish rulers. Drawing on an analysis of a wide range of sources, including poetic and epistolary material, this study fills an historiographical gap and casts new light on the two centuries prior to the Mongol invasion. This comprehensive analytical study provides a new contribution to the understanding of many crucial issues: the cultural divide between Western and Eastern Iran; the military potential of city-dwellers; the attitude of the Turkish rulers toward cities and city life; the action of the famous vizier Nizam al-Mulk; the meaning of the Ismaili uprising; and above all the structure of the local elite, organized into rival networks and largely autonomous vis--vis state powers. The study is enhanced by a variety of additional features, including extensive genealogical tables, Arabic script and maps. Providing a new understanding of the cultural identity of Iran, this book is an important contribution to the study of the history of Iran and the Medieval period
ER  -