The Memoirs of Shah Tahmasp I: Safavid Ruler of Iran [Paperback]

A remarkable first-person narrative by a sixteenth-century Iranian ruler, theMemoirs of Shah Tahmasp I, Safavid Ruler of Iran(1514-1576), originally written in Persian, represent a vitally important primary source for the history of the Middle East in the period. In particular, theMemoirsshed light on the Safavid conflict with the Uzbeks and Ottomans, which played a decisive role in shaping the modern frontiers of the region. TheMemoirsalso represent an invaluable source for the internal political and religious life of the Safavid court, and the ways in which Shah Tahmasp, one of the most important rulers in Iranian history, wished to be remembered and viewed. This book represents the first English translation of this important text, and is furnished with an extensive introduction and notes that situate the work in its literary and historical context.

Shah Tahmasp I(1514-1576) was the second ruler of the Safavid dynasty of Iran (1501-1722).


A.C.S. Peacockis Bishop Wardlaw Professor of Islamic History, University of St Andrews, UK, and Fellow of the British Academy. He has published widely on Iranian and Ottoman history, includingThe Great Seljuk Empire(2015) and the edited volumeFrontiers of the Ottoman World(2009).

This meticulously annotated translation of Shah Tahmasp'sMemoirsreveals the core of the Ottoman-Safavid conflict through a key protagonist's perspective. Offering unique insights into the early modern Middle East, this work is a vital addition to scholarship, making an important historical ego document accessible to English readers for the first time. Philip Bockholt, Professor, University of M?nster, Germany

Though generally recognized as an important source for Safavid Iran, Shah Tahmasb's memoirs, hisTazkereh, have long languished in defective editions little used even by specialists in the field of Iranian Studies. Andrew Peacock has done an out