Introduction: the making of a literary humanism
The making of an Iranian world in an Islamic universe: the rise of Persian language and literature (632-750)
The Persian presence in the Abbasid empire: resisting Arabic literary imperialism (750-1258)
The prose and poetry of the world: the rise of literary humanism in the Seljuqid empire (1038-1194)
The triumph of the word: the perils and promises of the Mongol empire (1256-1353)
The lure and lyrics of a literature: the center and periphery of the Timurid empire (1314-1508)
The making of a literary cosmopolitanism: treading over multiple empires (1501-1732)
The dawn of new empires: literary humanism in search of itself (1736-1924)
The final frontiers: new Persian literary humanism (1906-present)
Conclusion.