A boom in the production and export of cotton made Iran the richest region of the Islamic caliphate in the ninth and tenth centuries. Yet in the eleventh century, Iran's impressive agricultural economy entered a steep decline, bringing the country's primacy to an end. Richard W. Bulliet advances several provocative theses to explain these hitherto unrecognized historical ev A boom in the production and export of cotton made Iran the richest region of the Islamic caliphate in the ninth and tenth centuries. Yet in the eleventh century, Iran's impressive agricultural economy entered a steep decline, bringing the country's primacy to an end. Richard W. Bulliet advances several provocative theses to explain these hitherto unrecognized historical events. According to Bulliet, the boom in cotton production directly paralleled the spread of Islam, and Iran's agricultural decline stemmed from a significant cooling of the climate that lasted for over a century. The latter phenomenon also prompted Turkish nomadic tribes to enter Iran for the first time, establishing a political dominance that would last for centuries. Substantiating his argument with innovative quantitative research and recent scientific discoveries, Bulliet first establishes the relationship between Iran's cotton industry and Islam and then outlines the evidence for what he terms the "Big Chill." Turning to the story of the Turks, he focuses on the lucrative but temperature-sensitive industry of cross-breeding one-humped and two-humped camels. He concludes that this unusual concatenation of events had a profound and long-lasting impact not just on the history of Iran but on the development of world affairs in general.
Cotton, Climate, and Camels in Early Islamic Iran: A Moment in World History
A boom in the production and export of cotton made Iran the richest region of the Islamic caliphate in the ninth and tenth centuries. Yet in the eleventh century, Iran's impressive agricultural economy entered a steep decline, bringing the country's primacy to an end. Richard W. Bulliet advances several provocative theses to explain these hitherto unrecognized historical ev A boom in the production and export of cotton made Iran the richest region of the Islamic caliphate in the ninth and tenth centuries. Yet in the eleventh century, Iran's impressive agricultural economy entered a steep decline, bringing the country's primacy to an end. Richard W. Bulliet advances several provocative theses to explain these hitherto unrecognized historical events. According to Bulliet, the boom in cotton production directly paralleled the spread of Islam, and Iran's agricultural decline stemmed from a significant cooling of the climate that lasted for over a century. The latter phenomenon also prompted Turkish nomadic tribes to enter Iran for the first time, establishing a political dominance that would last for centuries. Substantiating his argument with innovative quantitative research and recent scientific discoveries, Bulliet first establishes the relationship between Iran's cotton industry and Islam and then outlines the evidence for what he terms the "Big Chill." Turning to the story of the Turks, he focuses on the lucrative but temperature-sensitive industry of cross-breeding one-humped and two-humped camels. He concludes that this unusual concatenation of events had a profound and long-lasting impact not just on the history of Iran but on the development of world affairs in general.
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Nazila –
Richard Bulliet is specialist in Iranian history during the Islamic period. In this book, he argues how the Economy impacts the Iranian conversion to Islam and how the Iranian bourgeois class took the power in first centuries after Arab Invasion.
עדית (Edith) –
Interesting ideas on how quantitative studies of history can be implemented for studying the pre-modern period where most sources are narrative sources.
Caracalla –
A fascinating read essentially for a complex series of economic, agricultural and climatic phenomena that governed the growth of an urbanized and wealthy Iran (in the Sassanid period, it was primarily the Iraqi part of the empire that was urbanized) and then its decline (prior to a second growth under the Safavids). Bulliet is aware a lot of his arguments are tendentious and not firmly founded in the sources and offers generally compelling arguments (I didn't realize how unusual the Khwarezmian A fascinating read essentially for a complex series of economic, agricultural and climatic phenomena that governed the growth of an urbanized and wealthy Iran (in the Sassanid period, it was primarily the Iraqi part of the empire that was urbanized) and then its decline (prior to a second growth under the Safavids). Bulliet is aware a lot of his arguments are tendentious and not firmly founded in the sources and offers generally compelling arguments (I didn't realize how unusual the Khwarezmian winters were which Ibn Fadlan wrote about and I guess that suggests I need to improve my knowledge of geography). There's a lot of interesting stuff on the origins of the Seljuqs and that's one area I'm keen to improve my knowledge (hopefully reading stuff by Findley and Golden in the near future).
Elizabeth –
Well-done survey of the role of economic and political forces in shaping early Islamic Iran. The author does a surprisingly good job of putting together statistical evidence for this period, as well as untangling cultural, political, and religious currents as revealed in narrative texts, and bringing together textual and archaeological evidence in a way that makes more sense than looking at either alone could have done.
Chloë –
I am reading this for Professor Bulliet's "History of Islamic Society" class, and enjoyed this book - the layout was very clear and the presentation of data made the read much smoother. Avoid if you aren't interested in camel breeding. I am reading this for Professor Bulliet's "History of Islamic Society" class, and enjoyed this book - the layout was very clear and the presentation of data made the read much smoother. Avoid if you aren't interested in camel breeding.
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