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Iran-Pakistan. The past, now and future.

Touraj Daryaee is a good start for Sassanid history, and so is Kaveh Farrokh. But dont read Kaveh Farrokh's book on 'Iran at War' because he is a specialist on ancient history rather than other eras and that book was quite rushed before going to the publishers. I didnt like it. Michael Axworthy also is a good historian on Iran and has about 3 books worth reading.

Mary Boyce and Jenny Rose are worth reading for a general history on Zoroastrianism to start with. Homa Katouzian also has a book on general Iranian history although his speciality is more later history, not so much ancient history. Abbas Milani and Ali Ansari are good for modern Iran.

There is also a book on just the Achaemenids published by Cambridge University Press last year which will give you a general overview of their history, i forgot the authors name. Then there are a few more specialist books on ancient Iran, one by Josef Wiesehofer and one tome edited by John Curtis (its a collection of articles by different academics) followed by the specialist series on Iranian history edited by Sarah Stewart (these are also a collection of books with articles from many different academics).

Some good books have also been published on the Safavids in the past few years after a very long time of nothing being published about that era if you are interested in them too.

Thanks a ton. I will start with Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire by Touraj Daryaee.
Just bought on Kindle. I have bookmarked the other authors.

I will gradually go up in chronological order.
 
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Thanks a ton. I will start with Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire by Touraj Daryaee.
Just bought on Kindle. I have bookmarked the other authors.

I will gradually go up in chronological order.
Ok, but if you want chronological order it will go something like this:

Proto-Iranians/ Migration to Iran
Zoroastrianism
Achaemenids
Alexander's invasion
Greek colonies
Parthians
Sassanids
Arab invasion
Umayyads / Abbasids (Arab)
Break up of Iran and Turkic era
Mongol invasion and genocide
Il Khanate
Temur invasion and genocide
Aq Qoyunlu / Qara Qoyunlu (Turkomans in western Iran)
Safavids and reunifictation of Iran
Nader Shah
Zands
Qajars
Russia-Iran wars
British-Iran conflict
Britain-Russia Great Game
Consitutional Revolution
Reza Shah
World War 2
Mossadegh and British/American coup
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Iranian revolution
Iran-Iraq war / Islamic Republic

Thats the general gist of the chronological order for Iranian political history.
 
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Ok, but if you want chronological order it will go something like this:

Proto-Iranians/ Migration to Iran
Zoroastrianism
Achaemenids
Alexander's invasion
Greek colonies
Parthians
Sassanids
Arab invasion
Umayyads / Abbasids (Arab)
Break up of Iran and Turkic era
Mongol invasion and genocide
Il Khanate
Temur invasion and genocide
Aq Qoyunlu / Qara Qoyunlu (Turkomans in western Iran)
Safavids and reunifictation of Iran
Nader Shah
Zands
Qajars
Russia-Iran wars
British-Iran conflict
Britain-Russia Great Game
Consitutional Revolution
Reza Shah
World War 2
Mossadegh and British/American coup
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Iranian revolution
Iran-Iraq war / Islamic Republic

Thats the general gist of the chronological order for Iranian political history.

Thanks again. This will be of tremendous help!
It's great to make acquaintance of knowledgeable people like you.
 
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Not even Darius the Great would have imagined building a Pipeline from Persepolis to China :p:
 
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Touraj Daryaee is a good start for Sassanid history, and so is Kaveh Farrokh. But dont read Kaveh Farrokh's book on 'Iran at War' because he is a specialist on ancient history rather than other eras and that book was quite rushed before going to the publishers. I didnt like it. Michael Axworthy also is a good historian on Iran and has about 3 books worth reading.

Mary Boyce and Jenny Rose are worth reading for a general history on Zoroastrianism to start with. Homa Katouzian also has a book on general Iranian history although his speciality is more later history, not so much ancient history. Abbas Milani and Ali Ansari are good for modern Iran.

Touraj Daryaee and Kaveh Farrokh are no good sources. One of them is making fairy tales, and another one is heavily biased. Ali Ansari is part of Pahlavi family, and is not knowledgable/unbiased. Abbas Milani is far more well-known/reliable, but you need to know his background, before reading his books/articles. The best source to read about Zoroasteriansm, are the books written by Zoroasterian Moubeds in Iran. If you can read Persian language, I strongly recommend you to read their books.
 
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Touraj Daryaee and Kaveh Farrokh are no good sources. One of them is making fairy tales, and another one is heavily biased. Ali Ansari is part of Pahlavi family, and is not knowledgable/unbiased. Abbas Milani is far more well-known/reliable, but you need to know his background, before reading his books/articles. The best source to read about Zoroasteriansm, are the books written by Zoroasterian Moubeds in Iran. If you can read Persian language, I strongly recommend you to read their books.
Farrokh's tone is quite nationalist but i found his first book to be a good general read on pre-Islamic military history. I found his second book 'Iran at War' problematic in many ways so i agree with you to some extent. Although i think his tone is the major problem. What do you think is wrong with Daryaee?

Ali Ansari is well respected in academic circles so i dont know why you call him not knowledgeable. His works are usually citied in Iranian studies curriculums in universities and he is regularly invited to speak on Iranian history at Iran history symposiums. He also heads the Iranian studies at St. Andrews.

You live in America right? Thats perhaps why you think Milani is more well known than Ansari, who is based in Scotland. Both are credible but of course we as Iranians always accuse others of having biases and agendas even while we hold our own biases too. This is a negative trait in the culture we need to rid ourselves of. Even if these people have biases, you can cross-reference their works against each others. Thats part of what academia is about, you read the same topic from different authors, so long as those authors are peer reviewed and able to demonstrate their own research so that you know they arent plagiarizing others or making things up. How far you accept their tone and the way they interpret and frame their narratives is upto you. Mind you, history is not about plain facts and figures, its about narratives, interpretation and reconstruction, supported by evidence (and 'facts' where possible).
 
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Hello my Persian friends. I am doing pictorial history of Pakistan. Some of it might interest you om particular Persian influenced architecture. It starts from 5,000 years BCE and then moves forward. I am going to do military forts next. As our land was on margins of South/Central Asia we kept getting waves of invaders and forts are everywhere. Some are probably largest in the world.

Pictorial History - Cultural, Artistic, Natural Heritage of PakistanPlease

@rmi5 On the subject of history how reliable is Encyclopedia Iranica for lay person like me on Persian history?

@Serpentine @2800
 
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Hello my Persian friends. I am doing pictorial history of Pakistan. Some of it might interest you om particular Persian influenced architecture. It starts from 5,000 years BCE and then moves forward. I am going to do military forts next. As our land was on margins of South/Central Asia we kept getting waves of invaders and forts are everywhere. Some are probably largest in the world.

Pictorial History - Cultural, Artistic, Natural Heritage of PakistanPlease

@rmi5 On the subject of history how reliable is Encyclopedia Iranica for lay person like me on Persian history?

@Serpentine @2800
It's very good. I really like your article and historic researches. I'm waiting for them.

Meanwhile we are Iranians. Persians ruled Iran since 2928 years ago to 650 AD (except Seleucid empire). Now Iran is from Kurds, Persians, Lors, Arabs, Baluchis, Azeris, and Turkmens.
Almost all of these Iranian races have ruled Iran. To add on, Turkmens and Arabs are not Iranic people. Arabs have migrated to Iran from Najd in Safavid empire time.
 
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Hello my Persian friends. I am doing pictorial history of Pakistan. Some of it might interest you om particular Persian influenced architecture. It starts from 5,000 years BCE and then moves forward. I am going to do military forts next. As our land was on margins of South/Central Asia we kept getting waves of invaders and forts are everywhere. Some are probably largest in the world.

Pictorial History - Cultural, Artistic, Natural Heritage of PakistanPlease

@rmi5 On the subject of history how reliable is Encyclopedia Iranica for lay person like me on Persian history?

@Serpentine @2800

Unfortunately, that encyclopedia covers very limited subjects. It's chief editor, Ehsan Yarshater, is definitely one of most knowledgable scholars, but of course, not every single article is written by him, and there is a variation in quality of their different articles. All in all, It's a source that I strongly recommend to read, but you need to read other sources as well.

Farrokh's tone is quite nationalist but i found his first book to be a good general read on pre-Islamic military history. I found his second book 'Iran at War' problematic in many ways so i agree with you to some extent. Although i think his tone is the major problem. What do you think is wrong with Daryaee?

Ali Ansari is well respected in academic circles so i dont know why you call him not knowledgeable. His works are usually citied in Iranian studies curriculums in universities and he is regularly invited to speak on Iranian history at Iran history symposiums. He also heads the Iranian studies at St. Andrews.

You live in America right? Thats perhaps why you think Milani is more well known than Ansari, who is based in Scotland.
I guess you got my point about Farrokh. About Daryaee, he makes up some fairy tales as I mentioned before. At least that's what I understood from his works on Sassanids. I have not read all of his works though.
Ali Ansari is not well known. As an example, if you search his name in YT, you can find 2-3 videos at most, which are interviews with PressTV, ... Also, he is a relative of Farah Pahlavi with personal problems with Reza Pahlavi II. Abbas Milani, is a Stanford professor who always gets invited for talks in international conferences. They are not in the same league. To remove any doubts, I am not a fan of Milani, at all.
Both are credible but of course we as Iranians always accuse others of having biases and agendas even while we hold our own biases too.
Not every single Iranian has a hidden agenda! Also, two wrongs, does not make a right.
This is a negative trait in the culture we need to rid ourselves of. Even if these people have biases, you can cross-reference their works against each others. Thats part of what academia is about, you read the same topic from different authors, so long as those authors are peer reviewed and able to demonstrate their own research so that you know they arent plagiarizing others or making things up. How far you accept their tone and the way they interpret and frame their narratives is upto you. Mind you, history is not about plain facts and figures, its about narratives, interpretation and reconstruction, supported by evidence (and 'facts' where possible).

Dear, that's why I already said that one needs to read different sources and compare them. Although, I believe some sources don't even worth the time to read them.
 
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Unfortunately, that encyclopedia covers very limited subjects. It's chief editor, Ehsan Yarshater, is definitely one of most knowledgable scholars, but of course, not every single article is written by him, and there is a variation in quality of their different articles. All in all, It's a source that I strongly recommend to read, but you need to read other sources as well.

I am looking for something as a intro to get general idea. Of course I know like in any subject you need to consult variety of specialized sources in particular those that have recieved peer review. With history nothing is absolute. It not a objective science. who writes, the time they write, the political background they come from and the culture within which they did their work in all creates for a subjective rendering.

Anyway please take the time to go through this thread. I will be uploading time from time. In particular look at the Makli Hill ruins which remind me of some of the structures in Esfahan. Bear in mind these are ruins.

Pictorial History - Cultural, Artistic, Natural Heritage of Pakistan
 
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I am looking for something as a intro to get general idea. Of course I know like in any subject you need to consult variety of specialized sources in particular those that have recieved peer review. With history nothing is absolute. It not a objective science. who writes, the time they write, the political background they come from and the culture within which they did their work in all creates for a subjective rendering.

Anyway please take the time to go through this thread. I will be uploading time from time. In particular look at the Makli Hill ruins which remind me of some of the structures in Esfahan. Bear in mind these are ruins.

Pictorial History - Cultural, Artistic, Natural Heritage of Pakistan
Sure, I will look at the above thread ;)
 
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Hello my Persian friends. I am doing pictorial history of Pakistan. Some of it might interest you om particular Persian influenced architecture. It starts from 5,000 years BCE and then moves forward. I am going to do military forts next. As our land was on margins of South/Central Asia we kept getting waves of invaders and forts are everywhere. Some are probably largest in the world.

Pictorial History - Cultural, Artistic, Natural Heritage of PakistanPlease

@rmi5 On the subject of history how reliable is Encyclopedia Iranica for lay person like me on Persian history?

@Serpentine @2800

I think @rmi5 best described it. Ehsan Yarshater is perhaps the best and most knowledgeable Iranologist alive, he is a walking encyclopedia and he has used a very professional group for Iranica encyclopedia. Although it is not complete yet, but you can use its contents with confidence of their reliability.

He has promised that Iranica will be completed by by 2020, after nearly 50 years.
 
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Well dude if u believe in that why are u here in a Pakistani forum in the first place? Yr PC screen may be blown!!!!!!:rofl:

this is opinion of General Aslam Baig the Ex army chief General


Iran is not a friend but enemy of Pakistan Mirza Aslam Beg, Ex Pakistan Army chief

Well Iran's attitude towards Kashmir is to be blamed for that. Had iran not towed India's line his opinions would be different since was a service general at that time in 1994.

After the revolution! I had never heard that Iranians live Pakistan. :confused:
Really, then u have a poor knowledge. This is one example.

Google
 
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