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Orders, Decorations, and Medals of the Empire of Iran - the Pahlavi Era

Author: Dr. James O. Younessi

ISBN 978-1-62137-917-1 (hardcover)

558 Pages


Museums, historians, auction houses, numismatists, collectors, and interest groups particularly in the hostile post-revolutionary milieu of the Islamic Republic were hampered by lack of solid information in this particular area of Iranian modern history.

Some thirty years of "collective memory decay" combined with a dearth of books, pamphlets, informative texts or journal articles had heretofore limited the study of modern Iranian heraldry.

Sourcing a new medal specimen, in itself an arduous task in the aftermath of the Islamic Revolution, was made quite a lot more complicated by the effort in deciphering its purpose, the heraldic elements in its construction, and other such attributes. Many orders are in multiple classes and it is not always possible to guess at the various grades of an award. Many times there are ribbon attachments missing or the medal badge has been placed on the wrong ribbon!

Examining literally thousands of photographs with the eye of a forensic assessor, the author was able to compare ribbon bars with specimen awards, consider timelines of images and at length compile the material in the present format.

Dr. Younessi has combined his passion for heraldry, numismatics, and photography with his command of the English and Persian languages as well as research skills gained in his career as a surgeon to bridge the gap in our knowledge of the orders and decorations of Iran.

 



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M
Mahnaz Farzaneh
An Excellent Survey of the History of a Glorious Empire

This book is nothing shy of perfect! I heard about it from a friend who knew the author. At first I thought my friend may be a little too generous in his praise and then I thought may be this, being a book about medals, may be more for men....But I was pleasantly surprised beyond what words could describe!
I learnt fascinating facts from heraldry to Greek and Roman mythology as compared to ancient and modern Iranian myths, to history, and those little treasures of wisdom only a well researched, thoughtfully illustrated, and well-written book could teach you.
I am an academic and have already changed some lectures based on the new facts I amassed from this book. I am going to make this compulsory reading for my students and bought a second copy for my father who as an ex Shah's man and a soldier will doubtless enjoy the book...Such was the utility of this magnifecent book. Congratulations to Dr Younessi and his publishers.
My only wish is that it was a little less expensive.... But then again quality speaks for itself.

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