Richard W. Bulliet

Columbia University

2010 Honorable Mention

Expanding on his earlier work on historical dimensions of camel breeding in Iran, Dr. Bulliet in his latest book introduces a new dimension to the historiography of Abbasid Iran by examining the consequences of climatic changes in the region from the ninth to the eleventh centuries. He daringly correlates periods of warming and cooling temperatures in Iran with such far-reaching developments as a boom-and-bust cycle of cotton in central Iran, the movements of Turkish tribes, camel breeding, the spread of Islam, irrigation and land ownership, and fashions in clothes. Convincingly documented and engagingly written, this original essay concentrates on the interplay of culture and environmental conditions and thus demonstrates a new way of looking at Iranian history.

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