he century after the conquests of Timur witnessed the division of eastern and western Iran between his Turko-Mongol successors, and a flowering of Persian culture in the great cities of Herat, Samarqand and Tabriz, among others. In this, the ninth volume in The Idea of Iran series, leading scholars analyse the ways that Timurid contemporaries viewed their traditions and their environment, asking questions such as: what was the view of outsiders, and how does modern scholarship define the distinctive aspects of the period? Essential reading for scholars, students, and all those interested in the history of Iran, the book considers the political, religious and cultural history of this rich and highly productive interval that was the springboard for the formation of new imperial Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal and Ozbek orders of succeeding centuries.

Charles Melville is Professor Emeritus of Persian History at the University of Cambridge. He is the President of the British Institute of Persian Studies and the Director of the Shahnama Project, at Pembroke College, Cambridge. His research focuses on the history and historiography of Iran in the Mongol to Safavid periods, as well as the illustration of Persian Manuscripts. He is also one of the editors of The Cambridge History of Iran.