Persian civilisation has had a continuous tradition of philosophical thought lasting more than two and a half millennia. The fifth and final volume of An Anthology of Philosophy in Persia examines the seven centuries between the Mongol invasion and the end of the Qajar period. The volume is divided into three parts: 'The School of Shiraz, ' whose importance for Ottoman Turkey and Muslim India is only now being recognized; 'The School of Isfahan, ' which marks the integration of some eight centuries of Islamic thought; and finally 'The School of Tehran, ' where traditional philosophy...

This volume gathers together the numerous essays by the Iranian metaphysician and ontologist, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, on Islamic philosophers and the intricate relationship between Persian culture and its philosophical schools. Brought together into a single volume for the first time, these essays span four decades of Nasr's prolific and learned scholarship on the development of Islamic philosophy, as well as the general history of Islam, and expound his belief that philosophy is not merely a rational but a sacred activity.