The Iran Society, founded in 1935

Latest Past Events

14th December 2023 – Professor Sussan Babaie: The Illustration of Food in Safavid painting

St Columba’s Church Hall, Pont Street

Sussan Babaie is Professor of the Arts of Iran and Islam at the Courtauld Institute. She is best known for her work on Persian and Islamic Art of the early modern period. She has written extensively on the art and architecture of the Safavid dynasty. Her talk will be held in St Columba's Church Hall, […]

Sebastian Rose: The Indo-European Telegraph Department in Iran: Radical technology of change?

Army & Navy Club 36-39 Pall Mall, London

From 1865, the Indo-European Telegraph Department (IETD) and its network formed a vital link between London and India. Initially constructed for imperial security, the IETD network played a transformative role in connecting empires, cultures and peoples across the British empire and beyond. But what was the telegraph network’s impact on Iran? And how was it […]

Professor Edmund Herzig: The ‘Isfahan factor’ in the success of the Julfa Armenian merchants

Army & Navy Club 36-39 Pall Mall, London

The Armenian merchants of New Julfa were recognised by contemporaries as being among the most successful international merchants of the 17th and 18th centuries, with a trade network that extended East-West from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and North-South from the White Sea to the Indian Ocean. This lecture discusses the causes of this extraordinary […]