Dutch-Persian Encounters
Dutch-Persian Encounters
Merchants, Diplomats, Engineers, and Cultural Brokers, 1850-1920
Dutch-Persian Encounters tells the remarkable story of a small group of Dutch and Iranian travelers, merchants, diplomats, engineers, physicians, and cultural brokers who forged unexpected connections between their two countries during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Though few in number, these men and women left an outsized legacy. Johannes Lodewijk Schlimmer helped create the foundations of modern Persian medical terminology and medical education. Charles R. Keun advanced Dutch commercial interests in the Persian Gulf. Albert Hotz became one of the most influential foreign entrepreneurs in Iran, helping to develop trade, transportation, banking, and retail commerce. Dutch engineers proposed ambitious irrigation schemes that sought to transform the plains of Khuzestan, while diplomats, scholars, and collectors introduced Dutch audiences to the richness of Iranian history, art, and culture.
Meanwhile, Persian shahs, diplomats, and consuls brought Iran to the Netherlands, fostering a growing fascination with Persia that culminated in the extraordinary ceremonial entry of Shah Abbas the Great into Delft during the celebrated student festivities of 1913.
Drawing on archives, newspapers, memoirs, and unpublished sources in both countries, Willem Floor and Forough Sajadi illuminate a fascinating but little-known chapter in the history of Dutch-Iranian relations. Rich in vivid personalities and surprising encounters, this book reveals how a handful of determined individuals helped shape the relationship between two nations far apart in distance, yet connected by commerce, curiosity, and cultural exchange.
Willem Floor studied development economics and non-western sociology, as well as Persian, Arabic and Islamology from 1963-67 at the University of Utrecht (the Netherlands). He received his doctoral degree from the University of Leiden in 1971. Since 1983, Dr. Floor was employed by the World Bank as an energy specialist. Throughout this time, he has published extensively on the socio-economic history of Iran. His books include: Public Health in Qajar Iran, Agriculture in Qajar Iran, and The History of Theater in Iran, as well as, The Persian Gulf: A Political and Economic History of 5 Port Cities, 1500-1730, its second volume, Persian Gulf: The Rise of the Gulf Arabs, 1747-1792, third volume, The Rise and Fall of Bandar-e Lengeh, the fourth volume, Bandar Abbas: The Natural Gateway of Southeast Iran, and the fifth volume, The Persian Gulf: Links with the Hinterland Bushehr, Borazjan, Kazerun, Banu Ka'b, & Bandar Abbas. He has also published, Travels Through Northern Persia, 1770-1774, Titles and Emoluments in Safavid Iran, and A Social History of Sexual Relations in Iran; Labor and Industry in Iran, 1850-1941; Guilds, Merchants and Ulama in 19th Century Iran; The Rise and Fall of Nader Shah; Games Persians Play. His translations include: Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin’s Travels Through Northern Persia 1770–1774 , and with Hasan Javadi, Abbas Qoli Aqa Bakikhanov’s The Heavenly Rose-Garden: A History of Shirvan & Daghestan; and Evliya Chelebi’s Travels in Iran and the Caucasus, 1647 and 1654. His most recent book, which he translated and annotated, is Astrakhan: Anno 1770, Its History, Geography, Population, Trade, Flora, Fauna and Fisheries by Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin.
,Forough Sajadi is an art historian specializing in Islamic art and, in particular Persian paintings. She earned her doctoral degree in Art History from the University of Warsaw. Since 2021 her research has focused on Persian miniatures in Dutch collections. She is currently working as a Scaliger Fellow in the Special Collections Department of Leiden University Libraries.
- ISBN-13
- 9781971900025
- Publisher
- Mage Publishers
- Imprint
- Mage Publishers
- Format
- Hardback
- Pages
- 392
- Dimensions
- 235 x 155 mm
- Language
- English