This is the most comprehensive and analytical account of educational reform in 19th century Iran. This book locates educational reform within the broader context of the process of modernization in a non-Western society. It is based on a wide variety of sources and is the only history of the New schools and Anjoman-e Ma'aref. Topics include: the Nezam-e Jadid, the Dar al Fonun, the New schools, foreign, missionary and minority schools, students abroad, the Anjoman-e Ma'aref. It emphasizes the evolving attitudes of proponents and opponents of educational reform towards its benefits and dangers. The book describes modernizati at posed by educational reform to the ulama. It charts the dialectic between competing visions of Iranian polity, society and culture.