Charles Melville is Professor Emeritus of Persian History at the University of Cambridge, UK, President of the British Institute of Persian Studies and Director of the Shahnama Project, at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He is the author and editor of numerous books and articles on the history of Iran, including Every Inch a King, The Mongols' Middle Eastand Persian Historiography (I.B.Tauris).

• Introduction, Charles Melville1. The Body Politic and the Rise of the Safavids - Ali Anooshahr, University of California, Davis, USA2. The Qazvin Period and the Idea of the Safavids - Gregory Aldous, University of Pittsburgh, Greensburg, USA3. Man of the Pen, Pillar of the State: Hatem Beg Ordubadi and the Safavid Empire - Colin Mitchell, Dalhousie University, Canada4. The Idea of Iran in the Safavid Period: Dynastic Pre-eminence and Urban Pride - Rudi Matthee, University of Delaware, USA5. Safavid Town Planning - Sussan Babaie, The Courtauld Institute of Art, UK6. From Absolute Prince to Despot: The Political Representations of Safavid Iran in Seventeenth-Century France - Aurélie Salesse-Chabrier, Université de Lyon, France7. The Idea of Baqer al-Majlesi as 'The Idea of Iran: The Safavid Era' - Andrew J. Newman, University of Edinburgh, UK8. Practising Philosophy, Imagining Iran in the Safavid Period- Sajjad Rizvi, University of Exeter, UK9. Popular Religiosity and Vernacular Turkic: A Qezelbash Catechism from Safavid Iran - Ferenc Csirkés, Sabanci University, Turkey10. 'O Muhibbi! You've Lit Your Lamp with Khosrow's Burning Passion': Persian Poetry as Perceived by Sixteenth-Century Ottoman Authors - Benedek Péri, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary11. Commercial Relations between Safavid Persia and Western Europe Willem Floor, Independent scholar12. 'The World is an Oyster and Iran, the Pearl': Representations of Iran in Safavid Persian Travel Literature - Maryam Ala Amjadi, Independent scholar13. Local and Transregional Places in the Works of Safavid Men of Letters - Sunil Sharma, Boston University, USA14. Shi'i Rulers, Safavid Alliance and the Religio-Political Landscape of the Deccan - Roy S. Fischel15. Safavids and Ozbeks - Florian Schwarz, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria16. The Evolution of the Safavid Policy towards Eastern Georgia - George Sanikidze, Institute of Oriental Studies of the Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia17. Flora in Safavid Paintings from Shah Tahmasp's Shahnama and Later Works - Sheila R. Canby, Metropolitan Museum of Art, USA18. The Making of New Art: From the Khazana to its Audience at the Court of Shah Soleyman - Negar Habibi, Geneva

Charles Melville is Professor Emeritus of Persian History at the University of Cambridge, UK, President of the British Institute of Persian Studies and Director of the Shahnama Project, at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He is the author and editor of numerous books and articles on the history of Iran, including Every Inch a King, The Mongols' Middle Eastand Persian Historiography (I.B.Tauris).

• Introduction, Charles Melville1. The Body Politic and the Rise of the Safavids - Ali Anooshahr, University of California, Davis, USA2. The Qazvin Period and the Idea of the Safavids - Gregory Aldous, University of Pittsburgh, Greensburg, USA3. Man of the Pen, Pillar of the State: Hatem Beg Ordubadi and the Safavid Empire - Colin Mitchell, Dalhousie University, Canada4. The Idea of Iran in the Safavid Period: Dynastic Pre-eminence and Urban Pride - Rudi Matthee, University of Delaware, USA5. Safavid Town Planning - Sussan Babaie, The Courtauld Institute of Art, UK6. From Absolute Prince to Despot: The Political Representations of Safavid Iran in Seventeenth-Century France - Aurélie Salesse-Chabrier, Université de Lyon, France7. The Idea of Baqer al-Majlesi as 'The Idea of Iran: The Safavid Era' - Andrew J. Newman, University of Edinburgh, UK8. Practising Philosophy, Imagining Iran in the Safavid Period- Sajjad Rizvi, University of Exeter, UK9. Popular Religiosity and Vernacular Turkic: A Qezelbash Catechism from Safavid Iran - Ferenc Csirkés, Sabanci University, Turkey10. 'O Muhibbi! You've Lit Your Lamp with Khosrow's Burning Passion': Persian Poetry as Perceived by Sixteenth-Century Ottoman Authors - Benedek Péri, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary11. Commercial Relations between Safavid Persia and Western Europe Willem Floor, Independent scholar12. 'The World is an Oyster and Iran, the Pearl': Representations of Iran in Safavid Persian Travel Literature - Maryam Ala Amjadi, Independent scholar13. Local and Transregional Places in the Works of Safavid Men of Letters - Sunil Sharma, Boston University, USA14. Shi'i Rulers, Safavid Alliance and the Religio-Political Landscape of the Deccan - Roy S. Fischel15. Safavids and Ozbeks - Florian Schwarz, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria16. The Evolution of the Safavid Policy towards Eastern Georgia - George Sanikidze, Institute of Oriental Studies of the Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia17. Flora in Safavid Paintings from Shah Tahmasp's Shahnama and Later Works - Sheila R. Canby, Metropolitan Museum of Art, USA18. The Making of New Art: From the Khazana to its Audience at the Court of Shah Soleyman - Negar Habibi, Geneva