The Lion and the Sun

"This book explores this critical transitional period in Eurasian history from an environmental perspective. It argues that severe ecological challenges dating to the late 17th century, and deepening over the post-Safavid crisis of the 18th century, drove a severe decline in the demography and resource base on the Iranian plateau. This in turn gave rise to the perennially troubled Qajar period in the 19th century"--