Pivot of the Universe

Nasir al-Din Shah and the Iranian Monarchy, 1831-1896

De: Abbas Amanat

Narrado por: Derek Perkins

When he was assassinated in 1896, Nasir al-Din Shah had sat on the Peacock throne for nearly half a century. A colorful, complex figure, he is frequently portrayed as indolent and self-indulgent. Yet he was in many ways an effective ruler who displayed exceptional resilience in the face of dilemmas and vulnerabilities shared by most monarchs of the Islamic world in the 19th century.

In this book-the first in English about Nasir al-Din Shah, Abbas Amanat gives us both a biography of the man and an analysis of the institution of monarchy in modern Iran. Nasir al-Din Shah developed from an insecure crown prince and later an erratic boy-king in the 1840s and '50s into a ruler with substantial control over his government and foreign policy in the 1860s and beyond. Amanat examines this transformation and explores how traditional monarchies drew strength as they accommodated themselves to the forces of modernity.

Based on extensive archival research in both public and private collections, Pivot of the Universe offers a fresh interpretation of the evolution of monarchy in modern times as it interacted with the institutions of government, the society at large, and Western powers.

©1997 The Regents of the University of California (P)2021 Tantor

History

Excellent ,very informative and balanced book. The reader was great.
Thank you for such a great book.

fascinating history

it explains so much about a time that not a lot of people know about but it is a great unbiased look at history and how the power politics relate to today.
loved reading this after his other history on iran

A superb historical account

Amanat’s western style depiction invariably distancing from personal judgement is just superb.
Also near perfect narration of such complex Persian names and words of the Ghajar era (as well as French) sets the narrator apart from others. I highly recommend this book to those keen on Iranian history of Victorian era.

Exceptional

An extraordinary book about one of the least understood and consequential eras (and personalities) of Persian history.

A Better Understanding

Interesting to hear a somewhat detailed history of Iran. I wish the narration had been a bit louder.

Historic figure

The trouble with listening to this well researched book was that the versed narrator wasn’t a native speaker. Hence, I had difficulty to understand the names, titles and functions of the different characters and everywhere else when a Persian word was used. It was hard to follow and comprehend who were the players at a given time. Please bring out this title with a narrator who knows both languages. It was unbearable to listen to this one!