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The Pursuit of Pleasure : Drugs and Stimulants in Iranian History, 1500-1900 / Rudi Matthee.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2021]Copyright date: ©2005Description: 1 online resource (368 p.) : 20 halftones. 6 tables. 1 mapContent type:
Media type:
Carrier type:
ISBN:
  • 9781400832606
Subject(s): Other classification:
  • online - DeGruyter
Online resources:
Contents:
Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Note on Transliteration -- Preface -- Abbreviations -- INTRODUCTION -- PART I. Safavid Period -- CHAPTER 1. General Overview: Iran between 1500 and 1900 -- CHAPTER 2. Wine in Safavid Iran I: Between Excess and Abstention -- CHAPTER 3. Wine in Safavid Iran II: Ambivalence and Prohibition -- CHAPTER 4. Opium in the Safavid Iran: The Assimilated Drug -- CHAPTER 5. Tobacco in Safavid Iran: Pleasure and Proscription -- CHAPTER 6. Coffee in Safavid Iran: Commerce and Consumption -- PART II. Qajar Period -- CHAPTER 7. Wine in Qajar Iran: From Flouting the Religious Law to Flaunting Unbelief -- CHAPTER 8. Opium and Tobacco in Qajar Iran: From Pleasure to Crash Crop and Emblem of the Nation -- CHAPTER 9. From Coffee to Tea: Shifting Patterns of Consumption in Qajar Iran -- CHAPTER 10. Drinking Tea in the Qahvah-khanah: The Politics of Consumption in Qajar Iran -- CONCLUSION -- Bibliography -- Index
Summary: From ancient times to the present day, Iranian social, political, and economic life has been dramatically influenced by psychoactive agents. This book looks at the stimulants that, as put by a longtime resident of seventeenth-century Iran, Raphaël du Mans, provided Iranians with damagh, gave them a "kick," got them into a good mood. By tracing their historical trajectory and the role they played in early modern Iranian society (1500-1900), Rudi Matthee takes a major step in extending contemporary debates on the role of drugs and stimulants in shaping the modern West.At once panoramic and richly detailed, The Pursuit of Pleasure examines both the intoxicants known since ancient times--wine and opiates--and the stimulants introduced later--tobacco, coffee, and tea--from multiple angles. It brings together production, commerce, and consumption to reveal the forces behind the spread and popularity of these consumables, showing how Iranians adapted them to their own needs and tastes and integrated them into their everyday lives.Matthee further employs psychoactive substances as a portal for a set of broader issues in Iranian history--most notably, the tension between religious and secular leadership. Faced with reality, Iran's Shi`i ulama turned a blind eye to drug use as long as it stayed indoors and did not threaten the social order. Much of this flexibility remains visible underneath the uncompromising exterior of the current Islamic Republic.

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Note on Transliteration -- Preface -- Abbreviations -- INTRODUCTION -- PART I. Safavid Period -- CHAPTER 1. General Overview: Iran between 1500 and 1900 -- CHAPTER 2. Wine in Safavid Iran I: Between Excess and Abstention -- CHAPTER 3. Wine in Safavid Iran II: Ambivalence and Prohibition -- CHAPTER 4. Opium in the Safavid Iran: The Assimilated Drug -- CHAPTER 5. Tobacco in Safavid Iran: Pleasure and Proscription -- CHAPTER 6. Coffee in Safavid Iran: Commerce and Consumption -- PART II. Qajar Period -- CHAPTER 7. Wine in Qajar Iran: From Flouting the Religious Law to Flaunting Unbelief -- CHAPTER 8. Opium and Tobacco in Qajar Iran: From Pleasure to Crash Crop and Emblem of the Nation -- CHAPTER 9. From Coffee to Tea: Shifting Patterns of Consumption in Qajar Iran -- CHAPTER 10. Drinking Tea in the Qahvah-khanah: The Politics of Consumption in Qajar Iran -- CONCLUSION -- Bibliography -- Index

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From ancient times to the present day, Iranian social, political, and economic life has been dramatically influenced by psychoactive agents. This book looks at the stimulants that, as put by a longtime resident of seventeenth-century Iran, Raphaël du Mans, provided Iranians with damagh, gave them a "kick," got them into a good mood. By tracing their historical trajectory and the role they played in early modern Iranian society (1500-1900), Rudi Matthee takes a major step in extending contemporary debates on the role of drugs and stimulants in shaping the modern West.At once panoramic and richly detailed, The Pursuit of Pleasure examines both the intoxicants known since ancient times--wine and opiates--and the stimulants introduced later--tobacco, coffee, and tea--from multiple angles. It brings together production, commerce, and consumption to reveal the forces behind the spread and popularity of these consumables, showing how Iranians adapted them to their own needs and tastes and integrated them into their everyday lives.Matthee further employs psychoactive substances as a portal for a set of broader issues in Iranian history--most notably, the tension between religious and secular leadership. Faced with reality, Iran's Shi`i ulama turned a blind eye to drug use as long as it stayed indoors and did not threaten the social order. Much of this flexibility remains visible underneath the uncompromising exterior of the current Islamic Republic.

Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.

In English.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 27. Jan 2023)