Iran at War Book by Kaveh Farrokh
Iran at War begins where Shadows in the Desert ended, with the Arab conquest of Persia and the rise of Islam in the mid-7th century.
It describes the pivotal 16th century which saw the rise of a powerful family, the Safavids, which ruled Iran for 200 years. During the Safavid period, a strong, secular-minded central government fielded an army that was able to stare down threats from the Turks, Arabs, and Russians in the west and the Uzbeks and Afghans in the east.
Kaveh Farrokh is an expert on Persian languages and Iranian history whose new book, Iran at War: 1500-1988, provides a full examination of modern Iranian military history. Dr. Farrokh obtained his Ph.D. in 2001 from the University of British Columbia.
[ Also Read: Forum to Discuss Roots of Conflicts in Middle East ]His previous title Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War (Osprey, 2007) was named “Best History Book” by the World Academy of Arts Literature and Media in 2008, says Osprey Publishing.
According to Farrokh, the push south, east, and west from Iran’s hostile neighbors during this era foreshadowed security threats it has faced down to the current day and does much to explain why modern Iran is so eager to project its power.
[ Also Read: Bin Laden Death Improved President Obama’s Rating ]For readers interested in geopolitics, Iran at War provides much needed insight into “the state of mind” of the Iranian people. Farrokh analyzes the ethnic and religious hostilities, and which have often flared into open warfare over the past 400 years, that set the Iranians apart from their neighbors.
His analysis of the Iranian revolution in 1979 and the subsequent Iran-Iraq war provides important background information in Iran’s quest for the bomb. “Under the Shah, prior to the revolution, Iran had one of the best trained and best-equipped militaries in the world,” says Farrokh. “The revolutionary leaders, however, were fearful of the military’s power and sought to weaken it. Iran is still dealing with that weakness of conventional forces today.”
Kaveh Farrokh was born in Athens, Greece in 1962 and immigrated to Canada in 1983.
Osprey Publishing, a leading publisher of illustrated military history reference, announced about Iran at War on Tuesday, May 31.
