Houshang Pourshariati Iranian Studies Book Award
Beatrice Forbes Manz
Tufts University
2007 Winner
In this book Beatrice Manz introduces a broad range of primary material and offers new analysis of the relationship between government and society in medieval Iran. She demonstrates that while the government was not the only center of power it exerted authority and a degree of control over a diverse realm. Her analysis reveals how in the absence of a singular and unified power structure the society "remained stable over long periods."