By focusing on the works and intellectual network of the Timurid historian Sharaf al Dīn 'Alī Yazdī (d.1454), this book presents a holistic view of intellectual life in fifteenth century Iran. İlker Evrim Binbaş argues that the intellectuals in this period formed informal networks which transcended political and linguistic boundaries, and spanned an area from the western fringes of the Ottoman State to bustling late medieval metropolises such as Cairo, Shiraz, and Samarkand. The network included an Ottoman revolutionary, a Mamluk prophet, and a Timurid occultist, as well as physicians, astronomers, devotees of the secret sciences, and those political figures who believed that the network was a force to be taken seriously. Also discussing the formation of an early modern Islamicate republic of letters, this book offers fresh insights on the study of intellectual history beyond the limitations imposed by nationalist methodologies, established genres, and recognized literary traditions.

Co-Winner, 2017 British-Kuwait Friendship Society Book Prize in Middle Eastern Studies

'… it is really two books - one on a smallish network of Muslim intellectuals with occult leanings, and the other on Persian historical writing under the Timurid dynasty - with Yazdi serving as the connecting link. Moreover, the author breaks so much new ground on both scores that he sometimes feels compelled to provide with minute, and even inconsequential, details that impede the flow of his argument. … it provides a window on a circle of über-sophisticated Muslim intellectuals in a part of the world that, sadly, is associated in contemporary minds with anything but intellectual activity.'

Maria Subtelny Source: The Times Literary Supplement

'The book is a splendid introduction to one of the key periods in Iranian history. Written with a smooth pen, it studies Yazdī’s life with many original and profound analyses. We should be thankful to Binbaş who has painstakingly analyzed the life, the transregional network, and the works of Sharaf al-Dīn ‘Alī Yazdī. I warmly recommend the book to everyone who is interested in the Timurid era.'

Ali-Asghar Seyed-Gohrab Source: Renaissance Quarterly