The Iranian cleric Ayatollah Montazeri (1922-2009) played an integral role in the founding of the Islamic Republic in the wake of the Iranian Revolution of 1978/9. Yet at the time of his death, Montazeri was considered one of the Islamic Republic's fiercest critics. What made this man, who was once considered the leading advocate of the state doctrine of the 'Guardianship of the Jurist' (velayat-e faqih) and the designated successor to the supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini, change his views? How did his political theory incorporate issues such as civil rights, pluralism and popular participation? And what influence did his ideas have on others? Ulrich von Schwerin's book answers these questions by examining the evolution of Montazeri's political thought over the course of five decades, and studies his role in the discourse on religion and politics in Iran. In doing so, he sheds a new light on some of the most crucial events and vital protagonists of recent Iranian history.

Published in association with International Centre for Bengal Studies Over the last twenty-five years significant epistemological shifts and methodological innovations have enriched the historiography of colonial Bengal. The essays in Bengal: Rethinking History critically examine some of those trends and indicate possibilities of future research. In the first section of this book, Lakshmi Subramanian discusses the debates concerning the early fortunes of the English East India Company, Sanjukta Das Gupta deals with the complex literature on peasant and tribal movements, Arjan de Haan looks at the debates with regard to the industrial working classes and Brian Hatcher traces the changing trends in the interpretation of Bengal Renaissance. The essay by Bob Pokrant, Peter Reeves and John McGuire on the historical significance of fish, fisheries and the social life of Bengal fishermen is an example of the new areas of research that are being opened up in recent years. In the second section on social identities and politics, Asim Roy provides a comprehensive study of the enormous volume of literature on the Bengal Muslims quest for identity, Sekhar Bandyopadhyay discusses the literature on caste system and construction of identities among lower caste Hindus and Samita Sen takes a critical glance at recent researches on the history of women. Nationalism has been one of the most explored areas of Bengal history. In this volume Sugata Bose critically examines the existing views on Bengal nationalism, while Joya Chatterji investigates the problems of interpreting the troubled politics of the 1940s. This book does not propagate any particular view of history, as the essays represent a melange of opinions, sometimes at variance with each other. It looks critically at the existing historical discourses with a view to stoke new debates.

Chinese Buddhists have never remained stationary. They have always been on the move. In Monks in Motion, Jack Meng-Tat Chia explores why Buddhist monks migrated from China to Southeast Asia, and how they participated in transregional Buddhist networks across the South China Sea. This book tells the story of three prominent monks Chuk Mor (1913-2002), Yen Pei (1917-1996), and Ashin Jinarakkhita (1923-2002) and examines the connected history of Buddhist communities in China and maritime Southeast Asia in the twentieth century. Monks in Motion is the first book to offer a history of what Chia terms "South China Sea Buddhism," referring to a Buddhism that emerged from a swirl of correspondence networks, forced exiles, voluntary visits, evangelizing missions, institution-building campaigns, and the organizational efforts of countless Chinese and Chinese diasporic Buddhist monks. Drawing on multilingual research conducted in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, Chia challenges the conventional categories of "Chinese Buddhism" and "Southeast Asian Buddhism" by focusing on the lesser-known-yet no less significant-Chinese Buddhist communities of maritime Southeast Asia. By crossing the artificial spatial frontier between China and Southeast Asia, Monks in Motion breaks new ground, bringing Southeast Asia into the study of Chinese Buddhism and Chinese Buddhism into the study of Southeast Asia.

Did the 'seventeenth-century crisis' visit the Ottoman Empire? How can we situate the explosion of rural violence and the rebellions of the turn of the seventeenth century in the Anatolian countryside? The Collapse of Rural Order in Ottoman Anatolia provides the reader with a fresh and innovative perspective on the long scholarly debate over the question of 'decline' in early modern Ottoman history. It offers a new agenda, new type of source material, and a new methodology for the study of demographic crisis. Through a systematic examination of little-known detailed avariz registers, Oktay OEzel demonstrates in detail the mass desertion of rural settlements, the destruction of agricultural economy, and the resulting collapse of rural order in Ottoman Anatolia at the turn of the seventeenth century.

Insightful and well-researched, this book is the first-ever comprehensive account of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's activities in Europe. On 19 January 1941, Subhas Chandra Bose escaped in disguise from British surveillance in Calcutta to Kabul. There, he established contact with the German and Italian foreign ministries, thereby beginning a long period of collaboration with the Axis Powers to counter British rule in India. This led to the setting up of the Free India Centre, the radio station Azad Hind, and the Indian Legion - in which 4,500 Indian volunteers were trained by German experts to fight for the freedom of their nation. While his compatriots resisted colonial rule on native soil, Bose spearheaded the cause of freedom in Europe. Using Machiavellian tactics, he discreetly played the Axis leaders off against each other and courted considerable public favour through his transmissions on Radio Azad Hind. Netaji in Europe pieces together information from official records, diaries and military archives in Germany, Italy, Britain and India to give a comprehensive account of the daily negotiations between Bose, and foreign offices, diplomats and double agents, during the Second World War. These efforts resulted in a declaration of India's independence long before 1947, and the formation of the first Indian army. The first work to narrate the story of Netaji in Europe, this insightful book closes an important gap in research on Bose's biography.

Modern China and the New World focuses upon a few of the main topics associated with China's recent rise to global prominence. Dr. Randall Doyle discusses the impact that China will have on the geopolitical balance throughout the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the effect of China's new power on U.S.-China relations in the 21st century. Dr. Zhang Boshu addresses China's continuing struggles with Tibet and the Dalai Lama. He also discusses the existing political system within China today and the future possibility of democratic reforms occurring and transforming Chinese society itself. Modern China and the New World presents these important topics by incorporating not just traditional reading and research, but also integrating the personal experiences of the authors.

First published in 1906, this classic nine-volume history of the nation of India places it among the storied lands of antiquity, alongside Egypt, China, and Mesopotamia. Edited by American academic ABRAHAM VALENTINE WILLIAMS JACKSON (1862 1937), professor of Indo-Iranian languages at Columbia University, it offers a highly readable narrative of the Indian people and culture through to the time of its publication, when the nation was still part of the British Empire. Volume V, The Mohammedan Period as Described by Its Own Historians consisting of selections from the eight-volume History of India as Described by Its Own Historians by British historian SIR HENRY MIERS ELLIOT (1803-1853) features entertaining and enlightening treatments of: the Arab conquest of Sind the holy wars of Islam waged against Hindustan rise of the house of Ghor Raziya, the Mohammedan empress of India Ala-Ad-Din s conquests on the Deccan Timur s account of his invasion of India the memoirs of the emperor Babar and much more. This beautiful replica of the 1906 first edition includes all the original illustrations.

Worldwide newspaper headlines in recent years have covered political unrest in many East Asian nations. Citizens in these nations have become more vocal about their governments and the populace's role in those governments. Democracy is not the dominant form of government in many of these nations. However, as nations have evolved, social change and economic developments have brought increasingly pro-democratic forces to the forefront. Examining the forces of economic growth and social modernization and their impact on democratization provides the basis of this timely study. Using China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam as case studies, this book delves into these nations' Confucian cultural heritage and how that heritage allows for careful comparison of variables which affect societal values. Will East Asian nations embrace democracy? Will the nations already democratic become stronger? This book offers insightful responses to these critical questions. Democratization in East Asia is an important addition for collections in political science and Asian studies.

El autor es Carlo Emanuele Ruspoli. Roma, 1949. Es doctor arquitecto y autor de numerosos t tulos t cnicos y cat logos, as como de proyectos de edificaci n e industriales. Ensayista de art culos de ndole t cnica y cultural en varias revistas, asimismo colabora con la Real Academia Matritense de Her ldica y Genealog a. En mayo de 2011 edit con dicha Real Academia su primer libro de historia Retratos, an cdotas y secretos de los linajes Borja, T llez-Gir n, Marescotti y Ruspoli. Ha escrito adem?'s libros de historia, antropolog a, an cdotas de vida profesional y genealog a. Adem?'s ha publicado varias novelas hist ricas como: El Confaloniero, El Profeso, Asesinato en el Letr n, Muerte de Profesos, El Profeso en T bet y est preparando una nueva novela de la serie que se titular: El Profeso y el diablo. Su larga trayectoria profesional y su inquietud como viajador le ha permitido viajar a casi todos los lugares mencionados en este libro.

In 1583, five Jesuit brothers set out with the intention of founding a new church and mission in India. Their dream was almost immediately, and brutally, terminated by local opposition. When their massacre was announced in Rome, it was treated as martyrdom. Francesco Benci, professor of rhetoric at the Collegium Romanum, immediately set about celebrating their deaths in a new type of epic, distinct from, yet dependent upon, the classical tradition: Quinque martyres e Societate Iesu in India. This is the first critical edition and translation of this important text. The commentary highlights both the classical sources and the historical and religious context of the mission. The introduction outlines Benci's career and stresses his role as the founder of this vibrant new genre. This volume is the first one for a new subseries in the 'Jesuit Studies' series: 'Jesuit Neo-Latin Library'.

The presidency of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (2004-14) was a watershed in Indonesia's modern democratic history. Yudhoyono was not only the first Indonesian president to be directly elected, but also the first to be democratically re-elected. Coming to office after years of turbulent transition, he presided over a decade of remarkable political stability and steady economic growth. But other aspects of his rule have been the subject of controversy. While supporters view his presidency as a period of democratic consolidation and success, critics view it as a decade of stagnation and missed opportunities. This book is the first comprehensive attempt to evaluate both the achievements and the shortcomings of the Yudhoyono presidency. With contributions from leading experts on Indonesia's politics, economy and society, it assesses the Yudhoyono record in fields ranging from economic development and human rights, to foreign policy, the environment and the security sector.

Belonging across the Bay of Bengal discusses themes connecting the regions bordering the Bay of Bengal, mainly covering the period from the mid-19th through the mid-20th centuries - a crucial period of transition from colonialism to independence. Focusing on the notion of 'belonging', the chapters in this collection highlight themes of ethnicity, religion, culture and the emergence of nationalist politics and state policies as they relate to the movement of peoples in the region. While the Indian Ocean has been of interest to scholars for decades, there has been a notable tilt towards historicizing the Western half of that space, often prioritizing Islamic trade as the key connective glue prior to the rise of Western power and the later emergence of transnational Indian nationalism. Belonging across the Bay of Bengal enriches this story by drawing attention to Buddhist and migrant connectivities, introducing discussions of Lanka, Burma and the Straits Settlements to establish the historical context of the current refugee crises playing out in these regions. This is a timely and innovative volume that offers a fresh approach to Indian Ocean history, further enriching our understanding of the current debates over minority rights and refugee problems in the region. It will be of great significance to all students and scholars of Indian Ocean studies as well as historians of modern South and Southeast Asia.

In April of 1975, Lebanon, the tranquil Middle Eastern country called the Switzerland of the Orient, exploded into a violent conflict that lasted almost two decades. This book explores the convoluted politics and forces within Lebanon and the Near East that made the atmosphere in that tiny republic highly charged, thus inhibiting conflict resolution. This comprehensive study describes the strategies, battles, and conferences that kept Lebanon aflame, despite the best efforts of all concerned parties to terminate the bloodshed. Abraham looks at Lebanon from the inside-out, highlighting the conflicting politics of Lebanese leaders, the failure of the democratic left to take over the state, and the underlying problem of the PLO's presence in the country.

Reza Shah's authoritarian and modernising reign transformed Iran, but his rule and Iran's independence ended in ignominy in 1941. In this book, Shaul Bakhash tells the full story of the Anglo-Soviet invasion which led to his forced abdication, drawing upon previously unused sources to reveal for the first time that the British briefly, but seriously, toyed with the idea of doing away altogether with the ruling Pahlavis and considered reinstalling on the throne a little-regretted previous dynasty. Bakhash charts Reza Shah's final journey through Iran and into his unhappy exile; his life in exile, his reminiscences; his testy relationship with the British in Mauritius and Johannesburg; and the circumstances of his death. Additionally, it reveals the immense fortune Reza Shah amassed during his years in power, his finances in exile, and the drawn-out dispute over the settlement of his estate after his death. A significant contribution to the literature on Reza Shah and British imperialism as it played out in the case of one critical country during World War II, the book reveals the fraught relationship between a once powerful ruler in his final days and the British government at a critical moment in recent history.

The study focuses on the central function of the medieval Kashmir Shahmir sultanate in relation to surplus extarction and the perpetuation of its domination with its heavy dependence on both brahmanism and Islam. It seeks to situate the medieval state of kashmir in the cultural and social traditions of the region. The study is organized around 4 aspects: The historical roots of state formation in pre sultanate Kashmir, conversion to Islam, The Sayyids, Sultans and the state, a search for legitimacy and the incorporation of the sultanate in the mughla state.