Reviews
'Frontier Nomads is an impressive work of scholarship, demonstrating the breadth of Tapper's knowledge and his historical as well as ethnographic skills, and his ability to combine them to good effect … definitely required reading for anyone interested in the history and society of Iran and the relationship between tribe and state in general.' Bulletin of the School of Oriental & African Studies, 'This book is a study of considerable erudition and practical good sense, the result of extensive documentary research and intensive fieldwork ... much enriched by historical detail and pertinent comment ... it is remarkable how much this demanding but informative study conveys to the reader with great integrity, clarity and judgement.' Asian Affairs, 'Frontier Nomads is an impressive work of scholarship, demonstrating the breadth of Tapper's knowledge and his historical as well as ethnographic skills, and his ability to combine them to good effect ... definitely required reading for anyone interested in the history and society of Iran and the relationship between tribe and state in general.'Bulletin of the School of Oriental & African Studies, 'This book is a study of considerable erudition and practical good sense, the result of extensive documentary research and intensive fieldwork … much enriched by historical detail and pertinent comment … it is remarkable how much this demanding but informative study conveys to the reader with great integrity, clarity and judgement.' Asian Affairs, "...Tapper's Frontier Nomads of Iran is the most significant ethnological study of tribes in Persia to have been published during the past decade." Pierre Oberling, Journal of Anthropological Research, 'Frontier Nomads is an impressive work of scholarship, demonstrating the breadth of Tapper's knowledge and his historical as well as ethnographic skills, and his ability to combine them to good effect ... definitely required reading for anyone interested in the history and society of Iran and the relationship between tribe and state in general.' Bulletin of the School of Oriental & African Studies, "...the rigor with which he examines and uses his sources in the deconstruction and reconstruction of Shahsevan origins and identity is commendable." Philip S. Khoury, American Historical Review, "...a rich, ambitious and complicated book....Clearly, this book is a must for those who want to discuss tribalism in the Middle East in general and of its role in Iran's history in particular." Willem Floor, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 'This book is a study of considerable erudition and practical good sense, the result of extensive documentary research and intensive fieldwork ... much enriched by historical detail and pertinent comment ... it is remarkable how much this demanding but informative study conveys to the reader with great integrity, clarity and judgement.'Asian Affairs
Synopsis
Based on three decades of ethnographic fieldwork and documentary research, this book traces the political and social history of the Shahsevan, one of the major nomadic peoples of Iran. It is a dramatic story, recounting the mythical origins of the tribes, their unification as a confederacy and their eventual decline. In its synthesis of anthropology and history, the book will make a major contribution to the study of the Middle East and Central Asia, and also to current debates on tribe-state relations and the relationship between identity and history., Based on three decades of ethnographic fieldwork and documentary research, the book traces the political and social history of the Shahsevan, one of the major nomadic peoples of Iran.It is a dramatic story, recounting the mythical origins of the tribes, their unification as a confederacy and their eventual decline.In its synthesis of anthropology and history, the book will make a major contribution to the study of the Middle East and Central Asia, and also to current debates on tribe-state relations and the relationship between identity and history.
