Patterns of Wisdom in Safavid Iran

Our friend and colleague Janis Esots (1966–2021) sadly passed away last summer and left the manuscript which has now been published posthumously. There is a sense that one further examination and a final set of corrections would have been preferable and Janis’ own rather meticulous approach to the history of philosophy might have smoothed some of the outstanding issues. I should also declare an interest – Janis was a dear friend. I was his doctoral opponent, and while we discussed an earlier draft of the book, we did not unfortunately have the opportunity to have that final chat and argument about it which I deeply regret. We do all miss him. Still, Patterns of Wisdom is an important contribution in English to Safavid philosophy and a worthy testament to Janis’ scholarship and mastery of texts.