PUBLICITY | T. Schumacher, Chief Editor of Hephaistos Magazine, www.metal-aktiv.de

September 2007

The Roots of Wootz 

The title of this monumental work authored in English – “Arms and Armour from Iran: The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period“ – is first of all a game of hide-and-seek: Not all central Europeans, even if they know their art history, are familiar with the dynasties of the Persian empire. Only those who envision that the contemplations of Manouchehr Moshtagh Khorasani encompass a period from the Bronze Age to the year 1925 can begin to comprehend the wealth of information the author has compiled on 780 pages.

Manouchehr Moshtagh Khorasani is a renowned specialist for the weapons and armour of the Middle East. His research focuses on the former Persian empire. He is currently assisting in a doctorate being completed at the University of Isfahan by student Zuahra Karamad, who is investigating and restoring blades made of Wootz steel. A second student, Rahil Alipour, is writing a bachelor thesis on miniatures on Persian swords at the chair for cultural heritage at the University of Teheran under Khorasani’s guidance. Khorasani himself has recently published several articles in his native country and on the internet (www.arms-and-armor-from-iran.de).

The author has translated over 800 Persian original and secondary sources into English for the first time, thereby tapping into previously unpublished information from original Persian documents with explanations of forging techniques and Wootz steel classifications. Over 500 artefacts from ten Iranian museums – most of which come from the royal collection where they were tucked away in vaults and had never been accessible to the public, and some from private collections – are presented in the book for the very first time; it includes 625 black and white and over 2800 colour illustrations. For example, the photos of Parthian swords, most of which where thought to have been lost, are of special interest to experts and connoisseurs. The book, which should become a standard work for anyone involved with Damascus steel, shows a wide variety of historic weapons and armour made of bronze, iron, and steel: Swords, knives, lances and daggers, axes, maces, bows, arrows, suits of armour, chain mail, helmets, chest, arm, and leg armour, and much more. A surprisingly large proportion is made of Wootz steel.

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