Pivot of the universe
Subtitle: Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar and the Iranian Monarchy, 1831-1896
By: Abbas Amanat.
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: 1997
Place of publication: Berkeley
Language: eng
Number of pages: 536
Subjects: Nāṣir al-Dīn Shāh, Shah of Iran, 1831-1896.; Monarchy -- Iran -- History -- 19th century.; Iran -- Kings and rulers -- Biography.
Description: When he was assassinated in 1896, Nasir al-Din Shah had sat on the Peacock Throne for nearly half a 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. Amanat poses a fundamental question: how did monarchy, the center-piece of an ancient political order, withstand and adjust to the challenges of modern times, both at home and abroad? Nasir al-Din Shah's life and career, his upbringing and personality, and his political conduct provide remarkable material for answering this question.

By examining the way Nasir al-Din Shah was transformed 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 explores a pattern in the consolidation of traditional monarchies as they accommodated themselves to the forces of modernity.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 505-518) and index.