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Persian local histories: views from the wings

The history of Iran is still told very much in terms of events on center stage. A common enough lament: the intrigues at court, the deeds-edifying or otherwise-of the ruler and his entourage, the marching of armies and squashing of revolts, the rise and fall of dynasties, these seem to be the main stuff of history. When recognized for what it is, the tossing of waves, we blame the sources for the fact that we can't see below the stormy surface. There is some truth in this, of course; the main narrative histories are notoriously palacecentered or, later, camp-followers. The regions of Iran tend to come into focus only when they are, in fact, briefly transformed into centers. An example of this is Sistan, one of the few provinces to be the subject of detailed modern studies.' Even then, it tends to be the same sort of story, writ small. It is possible to write a different type of history, though it is seldom 2 attempted: R.W. Bulliet's The Patricians of Nishapur is one such work. In their way, the books by Bosworth and Bulliet can stand as contemporary Westem counterparts to the two main types of Persian local historiography discussed below, the dynastic and the biographical. In either case, local histories are underused reservoirs, seldom fed into the mainstream political narrative (by medieval or modern authors), nor sufficiently valued for the different perspectives they permit. Just as their use is neglected, so is their study as a distinct form of literary expression. This issue of Iranian Studies aims to help redress this neglect. It is pertinent to examine briefly exactly what we mean by local histories, a form by no means peculiar to the Middle East nor exceptional to Iran. What is the scope and significance of such works? Few people would expect to have much difficulty in distinguishing a local history from a work of a more general kind. Even if the title of the book did not immediately identify it, its true nature would soon be clear from a glance at its contents. In the European context, a modern work on the subject announced itself as: