Princeton-Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2005. 346 p.* Judging by the title of the paper, Rudolph Mattei, Doctor of Oriental History at the University of Delaware (USA), it may seem that it is far from a scientific study related to the history of Iran in the Safavid period. However, a careful introduction to * R. Mattei. In the pursuit of pleasure. Drugs and stimulants in Iranian history. 1500- 1900. Princeton-Oxford: Ed. Princeton University Press, 2005, 346 p. page 187 the book leads the reader to the conclusion that he has before him a serious work covering the economic and trade issues of the development of Iranian society and neighboring states in the XVI-XIX centuries. The author examines the facts of the first appearance of Chinese and Indian tea, African coffee, opium from India and South Asia in Iran, the spread and peculiarities of tobacco cultivation, examines various aspects of Iran's trade with Russia, the range and supply routes of goods, primarily tea, opium, coffee, wine, alcoholic beverages from Europe to Iran and other countries. go back. R. Mattei used archival documents from the national archives of the Netherlands, Austria, Iran, Belgium, the Cambridge Library, the British National Library, the French Foreign Affairs Archive, the Iranian Majlis Library, as well as notes of travelers and envoys published by V. Baker (1876), D. Barbosa (1918), J. Basset (1886), G. Bernardino (1953), M. Dubex (1841), Ed. Estwick (1864), J. Chardin (1810-1811) and a 10-volume edition under ed. Inna Bahdiyants (2002), G. Fowler (1841), Isabella Beard (1891), A. Conolly (1834), J. Tournefort (1717), J. B. Tavernier (1712), H. Vambery (1876), A. Bayao (1923) and others. From the works of Russian scientists, R. Mattei used the publications of F. Mattei. Bakulin (1877,1878), I. N. Berezin (1852), P. P. Bushev (1976, 1978, 1987), N. G. Kukanova (1977, 1987), F. Kotov (1958), F. Beneveni (1986), as well as studies by I. P. Petrushevsky and A.M. Petrov in English. The ... Read more