Introduction

Addresses questions like “why study medieval Herat?”; “why study Mongol rejuvenation endeavors at Herat?”; “why examine the history of a medieval Tajik dynasty?” It lays out the themes and structures of the book, which includes four tables, four maps, eleven figures, and four appendices. The appendices are: No. 1: “Genealogical and Dynastic Charts”; No. 2: “Land and Water Use”; No. 3: “Urban Development in the Kartid Period”; No. 4: “Settlements and Population.” Historical approaches are addressed next. Richard Bulliet’s theory on the study of Islam; and Charles Melville’s theory on the study of Iran, form the backbone of the methodology. A note on sources, especially Sayf al-Harawī’s Tarīkhnāmah-yi Harāt, is followed by the “Note on Terminology: People and Places.” This relates to the array of toponyms, hydronyms, hodonyms, ethnonyms (or exonyms), and cognomina used in medieval Persian sources.