The Monetary History of Iran

Rudi Matthee is Professor of History at University of Delaware. He is the author of Persia in Crisis: Safavid Decline and the Fall of Isfahan (I.B.Tauris) and The Pursuit of Pleasure: Drugs and Stimulants in Iranian History, 1500-1900. Willem Floor is an independent scholar specialising in the history of Iran in the Safavid and modern ages. His publications include A Social History of Sexual Relations in Iran; Iran and the World in the Safavid Age (with Edmund Herzig, eds, I.B.Tauris); Labor and Industry in Iran, 1850-1941 and The Persian Gulf: A Political and Economic History of Five Port Cities 1500-1730. Patrick Clawson is Deputy Director of Research at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and senior editor of Middle East Quarterly.

Introduction

Chapter One: The Monetary System during the Safavid Period: Money, Metals and
Minting
Introduction
II. Limits on the Use of Money and the Scarcity of Current Coin
Scarcity of Current Coin
Minting Coins
i Mints
ii Technical Process
iii Gold
iv copper
v Silver
vi Local Currency Systems

VI. Arbitrage

Chapter Two: The Trade in Bullion in Safavid Times
I. Introduction
II. Government Policy until 1669
III. Restrictive Measures in the Period 1669-1684
IV. Developments after 1684

Chapter Three: The Politics of Minting
Introduction
Weight Reductions
Monetary Matters under Shah Sulayman
The Monetary Crisis of 1684-85
Developments after 1685

Chapter Four: The Monetary System under the Afsharids and Zands, 1732-1794.
The Age of Copper
Introduction
Ghilzay Afghan Period (1722-1729)
Last Safavids (1722-1736)
Afsharid period (1736-1750)
Afsharid Successors (1747-1750)
Zand Period (1759-1794)

Chapter Five. The Monetary System under the Qajars, 1779-1925
I. Minting Coins
A. Traditional Mints
i. Running the mints
ii. The production process
B. Reducing the Metal Content of Coins
C. A Modern National Mint
II. Fragmented Currency System
i. Overview: Measuring Value in a Three-Metal System
ii. Local Currencies Other than the National Standard
iii. Copper Coins
iv. Silver Coins
v. Gold Coins
vi. Limited Use of Money in Trade
III. Supply of Bullion and Specie
i. Local Production of Bullion
ii. Importing Bullion
IV. Silver’s Loss of Value
i. Adjusting Ratios among Coins
ii. Switching to a Gold Standard?
V. Paper Currency
i. IBP’s Practices
ii. Limits to Acceptance of Paper Currency
VI. Money at the End of the Qajar Dynasty

Afterword
Bibliography
Index