Venue
The Brunei Gallery Auditorium, SOAS (Univ. of London), London.

Dates
Wednesday 4 September – Saturday 7 September 2002.

Conference Convenors
Willem Floor, Edmund Herzig, A.H. Morton and Richard Tapper.

Organised by
The Iran Heritage Foundation (IHF),
The Centre for Historical Research on the Middle East (CHROME) at the University of Manchester and
The Centre for Near and Middle Eastern Studies of the London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London.

Supported by
British Academy
British Council (Iran) and
and British Gas

Introduction
The Safavid age, from the start of the sixteenth to the first quarter of the eighteenth century, has long been recognized as a period of special interest in the history of Iran in the Islamic era. A period of rare dynastic continuity and stability, military might, artistic brilliance and economic prosperity, the two centuries of Safavid rule also in important respects laid the foundations for the subsequent emergence of the modern state of Iran. The establishment of Twelver Shi'ism as the country's dominant religion, the demarcation of borders approximating to those of modern Iran, and the beginnings of regular diplomatic and commercial relations with the emerging powers of Russia and Western Europe all took place in the Safavid age.

These crucial developments can be understood only in the context of the Safavids' external relations. Wars and treaties with Ottoman, Shaybani Uzbek and Mughal neighbours fixed frontiers. A distinct Iranian Twelver Shi'i tradition and identity was formed in large part through links with Shi'i communities in other parts of the Muslim world, and through the religious polemic carried on with the neighbouring Sunni empires. Simultaneously with this growing religious differentiation, Iran's commercial and artistic interaction with the rest of the Muslim world continued and even intensified, stimulating the circulation of fabrics and fashions, artists and artefacts from Isfahan to Istanbul, Delhi and beyond. The new contacts with Europeans excited mutual curiosity, and appraisal of unfamiliar arts, sciences and ideas. All of these developments make the relationship between Safavid Iran and the outside world a rich and rewarding subject for research and debate.

The conference will bring together more than 50 scholars from around the world to discuss various aspects of the foreign relations of the Safavid Empire, to explore Iranian perceptions of other countries and cultures, and to see how the Safavid Empire appeared to the diplomats, merchants and travellers who visited it, and how it figured in foreign cultures.

Publication
A selection of the papers presented at the conference will be published subsequently in a volume to be edited by Willem Floor, Edmund Herzig and A.H. Morton.

Accommodation
See the Accommodation Page  for accommodation in the vicinity of SOAS (approx. 40-110 Pounds/night). For accommodation in Dinwiddy House (SOAS university accommodation, approximately 27.00 Pounds/night) contact Roya Shahr-Yazdi (meconf@soas.ac.uk).

Registration Fee
50 Pounds, 40 Pounds CNMES affiliates and Academics, 25 Pounds concessions.