Introduction to the second edition
The land and peoples of Persia
Persia in the early Islamic centuries
Turkish rule in Persia: the great Saljiiq Sultanate at its height (431-485/1040-1092)
Institutions of Saljiiq government: steppe and sedentary traditions
The later Saljiiq period and its aftermath: Isma'i:lis, Qara-khitais and Khwarazm-shahs (485-617/1092-1220)
The Mongols and their coming to Persia
The early Mongol rulers: Persia under Infidel government (663-694/1265-1295)
The Barbarians civilized? Ghazan and his successors (694-736/1295-1335)
The Empire of Tamerlane
Persia in the fifteenth century: the Timurids
Persia in the fifteenth century: the Tiirkmen Dynasties and the rise of the Safawids
Shah Isma'll I and the establishment of Shi'ism
Crisis, recovery and crisis (930-995/1524-1587)
The apogee of the Safawid Empire: the reign of Shah 'Abbas i (995-1038/1587-1629)
The second century of Safawid rule
Persia in the eighteenth century: the career of Nadir Shah
Epilogue.