Book reviews

Reappraisal of a Road Project in Iran. By Herman G. Van Der Tak and Jan de Weille. (world Bank Staff Occasional Papers, No. 7). Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1969. 127 pp. $3.00.

The Economic History of the Middle East, 1800–1914: A Book of Readings. Edited by Charles Issawi. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1967. xv + 543 pp. $12.50     

When leadership traits meet historic success: Hassan Rouhani and the nuclear deal of 2015

This study aims to show how dispositional characters of political leaders are affected by situational developments during the time‐in‐office. Although newly emerging literature of leadership traits demonstrate that significant events alter leaders’ traits, they mainly focus on the measurement of shocking events on dispositional features, leaving the effect of achievements underexplored. The Iranian nuclear deal of 2015 is one of the most significant successes in the last decade of world politics. Gambling his political career on nuclear talks by promising the Iranian people to solve Iran's decades‐long isolation, President Hassan Rouhani played a momentous role in negotiating the deal. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was globally recognized as a success of Rouhani's leadership. Using the Leadership Trait Analysis (LTA), this article will show the role of Rouhani's personality in the realization of the historic nuclear deal and measure the effect of such a success on Rouhani's leadership traits.     

Metallurgical study on some Sasanian silver coins in Sistan Museum

Elemental analyses and microstructural studies of historical metal artifacts provide researchers with invaluable and priceless information about metal extraction technology and the procedure of creating artifacts. In addition, the information is helpful for knowing about the metallurgical processes of the artifacts. This study was conducted by a microscopic examination and elemental analyses of seven Sasanian silver coins preserved in the Sistan Anthropology Museum, Iran. For the purpose of this study, three methods were employed: first, the proton induced X-ray emission microanalysis (micro-PIXE), to determine the main and trace elements of the coins; second, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), to perform elemental analysis to identify impurities of the metal; and third, microstructural analysis of the coins which was carried out with an optical microscope (OM). The elemental analyses identified Ca, Cu, Ag, Au, and Pb in the coins. The high quantity of Ag in samples validated the application of advanced and accurate cupellation technology for refining silver and separating impurities from raw ore. The gold concentration in the coins indicated the use of non-galena ore for silver extraction. Additionally, the microstructural analyses of samples pointed to the application of thermo-mechanical processes on coins.