LAUSR

able information on a whole range of interesting topics. The difficulties of travel, at sea and on land, and how to overcome these, are a recurring theme. Silva y Figueroa also inserts into his narrative several noteworthy digressions: on the city of Goa and its hinterland, in all its fascinating diversity (160–243); on the “Regions of the Persian Empire” (508–630), which is unsurpassed as a contemporary view of Shāh ‘Abbās’s territories; and on his negotiations with the emperor—when he finally runs him to ground—highlighting especially the latter’s quixotic personality (677–707). Silva y Figueroa’s ethnographic approach has recently commended itself to scholars, and this primarily underpins the noted revival of interest in his writings. The introduction makes some very large claims indeed for the text’s importance, rather more than it will comfortably bear, and most readers will want to reach their own assessment of its value. It is also disappointingly silent on the author’s own intellectual world, on which the Commentaries offers numerous clues, while the account of Silva y Figueroa’s background in the Spanish nobility also has shortcomings. Nevertheless, the value of a reliable and comprehensive English text of this key work far eclipses any limitations in the editorial introduction.