The implosion of the Soviet Union and inability of Soviets to forecast that upheaval undermined realistic theories and led to resurgence of cultural theories, so that, such theories were associated with security studies. The present book is, in fact, an effort to introduce its readers to fundaments and different functions of culture and security with special emphasis on strategic culture and influence of strategic culture on strategic behavior. Therefore, four chapters of the book will delineate cultural theories related to security, characteristics of strategic culture, its capabilities in shaping strategic behavior, and challenges facing strategic culture.

The collection of "Incredible Isfahan", which introduces the history city, illustrates Isfahan during the Sassanid, Great Seljuq and the glorious Safavid Empire. The book interestingly and individually recreates Isfahan's historical sites which are totally or partly ruined thus the book will be amusing for the readers who have frequently visited the city as the reconstructions can be fascinating for those who live in Isfahan as well.

The eyes of the world are on Iran, from nuclear issues to women's rights to Iran's perspective on Palestine. Yet a strictly political view does not allow for an accurate of complete outlook on this important and fascinating country. In Among the Iranians, Greek-born author Sofia A. Koutlaki shares the lessons she's learned firsthand as a foreigner living in Tehran. Through memorable anecdotes and in-depth explanations of Iranian customs, Koutlaki presents a side of Iran that foreigners rarely see. The author's insight challenges reader to dispel their previous notions and judgments to see Iran at its heart-- warm, inviting and rich with tradition. Among the Iranians is also an indispensable practical guide, offering insight about Iranian dress, etiquette and even food.

The global approach to situation of various ethical covenants and regulations and serious efforts made to establish and strengthen various civil and ethical organizations and institutions in recent years are all telltale signs of new trends to review role and functions of human ethics in dynamism of social relations and are indicative of a broad-based determination to generate a scientific and developing trend in ethical endeavors both at national and international levels.

This pioneering study examines a pivotal period in the history of Europe and the Near East. Spanning the ancient and medieval worlds, it investigates the shared ideal of sacred kingship that emerged in the late Roman and Persian empires. This shared ideal, while often generating conflict during the four centuries of the empires' coexistence (224-642), also drove exchange, especially the means and methods Roman and Persian sovereigns used to project their notions of universal rule: elaborate systems of ritual and their cultures' visual, architectural, and urban environments. Matthew Canepa explores the artistic, ritual, and ideological interactions between Rome and the Iranian world under the Sasanian dynasty, the last great Persian dynasty before Islam.

This richly illustrated book brings together an amazing array of treasures that were given to Iran’s shrines during Shah `Abbas’s reign. It traces the story of the Safavid dynasty (15011722), a period of dynamic religious and political development in Iran. Art and architecture flourished and achieved new heights of beauty and brilliance with the creation of the magnificent shrines at Ardabil, Mashhad and Qum. During this so-called Golden Age of Persian art, Shah `Abbas renovated these shrines and donated to them priceless works of art including sumptuous carpets, silks, porcelain and albums, many of which are illustrated here in glorious detail.

Assessing various components of countries’ power is a model used for such evaluation. The present book aims to compare economic, political, military, territorial, scientific, social, cultural, transnational, and spatial components of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s national power with other countries in Southwest Asia.

The Persian Empire, Lindsay Allen's beautifully illustrated companion volume to the exhibition, is also, in its own right, a triumph. One of the few accounts of its kind, Allen's comprehensive and accessible history deepens our understanding of this lost empire, providing general readers with a breadth of material that has been, until now, available primarily to scholars. In doing so, The Persian Empire broadens the perspective of those who have seen the exhibition and reveals a new world for those who haven't. Surveying written sources, art objects, warfare, politics, and archaeological sites, Allen supplements this illuminating history with descriptions of daily life in the world's first land-based dynastic kingdom, eventually conquered in 331 BCE by Alexander the Great.

Religions of the Silk Road looks behind the romantic notions of the colonial era and tells the story of how cultural traditions, especially in the form of religious ideas, accompanied merchants and their goods along the overland Asian trade routes in pre-modern times. As early as three thousand years ago Hebraic and Iranian religious ideas and practices traveled eastwards in this way, to be followed centuries later by the great missionary traditions of Buddhism, Christianity, Manichaeism, and Islam. But the Silk Road was more than just a conduit along which these religions hitched rides East; it was a formative and transformative rite of passage, and no religion emerged unchanged at the end of the journey.

This book shows the vast range and quality of carpets woven in Persia from about 1850 to 1980. In addition, there is a discussion of rugs woven in countries or areas adjacent to Persia itself, particularly those rugs that either fell or fall into the Persian geographical or cultural orbit, Caucasian weavings, Turkish and Hereke silk rugs and certain weavings that have strong Persian and Islamic influences.