A seminal history of Khuzestan, stretching from the fifteenth century to the first decades of the twentieth. It was among Ahmad Kasravi’s astoundingly inventive regional histories, which drew on rediscovered primary sources, modern geographical information and first-hand experience to describe specific Iranian regions in their full complexity. Most significantly, the work broke away from the national historiography of the period, which chiefly focused on pre-Islamic Iran.
As a historian, Kasravi (1890-1946) felt his main task was to “preserve and consolidate national unity, which he believed to be under threat from sectarian differences and the multiplicity of languages and dialects.” (Manafzadeh, Encyclopaedia Iranica). Illuminating the past of certain regions was part of that effort, as their official histories had often been distorted to reflect particular interests and prejudices. This was especially the case in Khuzestan —one of Iran’s most diverse provinces— where sectarian and ethnic tension had become commonplace.
Kasravi based his history on the roots of the long-established Arab population, splitting the book between two ruling tribes, the first part devoted to the Musha’sha’ and the second to their successors, the Banu Ka’b. The part on the Banu Ka’b is particularly remarkable, in its revival of manuscript sources (such as Tarikh-i Ka’b, by the tribal historian Sheikh Fat’h Allah Ka’bi) and detailed account of Sheikh Khaz’al’s reign as the ruler of Arabistan (Khuzestan). Kasravi was especially well-placed to comment on the latter, as he met Sheikh Khaz’al and was present for the termination of his rule by Reza Shah in 1925.
Alireza Manafzadeh stresses the importance of the work: “This book … gives for the first time the unexplored history of the region. It is through this type of study that Kasravi paved the way for scientific investigation of the various regions of the country. No subsequent history of Khuzestan can afford to ignore it.”
Uncommon. LibraryHub locates two copies in the UK, at Durham and Manchester. OCLC adds nine more, at the Royal Danish Library, National Library of Sweden, Bibliothek der Franckeschen Stiftungen (Halle), University of Göttingen, University of Marburg, Columbia, Library of Congress, Princeton and the National Library of Israel.
Reference: Alireza Manafzadeh, ‘Kasravi, Ahmad’ in Encyclopaedia Iranica, XVI/1, Fasc.1, 2012, pp.94-97.
