This first systematic study of a wide range of Persian and European archival and primary sources, analyzes how the Muharram rituals changed from being an orginally devotional practice to public events of political significance, setting the stage for the emergence of the early modern Iranian public sphere in the Safavid period.

Babak Rahimi, Ph.D. (2004) in cultural and historical sociology, European University Institute, is assistant Professor of Iranian and Islamic Studies at the University of California, San Diego. He has published cultural and historical studies on early modern and contemporary Iran.