Ann Katharine Swynford Lambton, (8 February 1912 – 19 July 2008), usually known as A.K.S. Lambton or "Nancy" Lambton, was a British historian and expert on medieval and early modern Persian history,

Persian language Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken a ...

, Islamic political theory, and Persian social organisation. She was an acknowledged authority on

land tenure In common law systems, land tenure, from the French verb "tenir" means "to hold", is the legal regime in which land owned by an individual is possessed by someone else who is said to "hold" the land, based on an agreement between both individual ...

and

reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

(including Saljuq,

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

, Safavid and

Qajar Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...

administration and institutions, and local and tribal histories).

Life

Lambton was born in 1912 in Newmarket, Suffolk. She was the elder daughter of the Hon.

George Lambton George Lambton (23 December 1860 – 23 July 1945) was a British thoroughbred racehorse trainer. He was British flat racing Champion Trainer in the 1906, 1911 and 1912 seasons. Early life The Honourable George Lambton was born in London on ...

, younger son of the 2nd Earl of Durham) and his wife Cicely Margaret Horner (1882–1972). Through the influence of

Edward Denison Ross Sir Edward Denison Ross (6 June 1871 – 20 September 1940) was an orientalist and linguist, specializing in languages of the Middle East, Central and East Asia. He was the first director of the University of London's School of Oriental Studies ( ...

, a family friend, she studied Persian at SOAS under Ross and Hamilton Gibb, and others ( Arthur Tritton,

Vladimir Minorsky Vladimir Fyodorovich Minorsky (russian: Владимир Фёдорович Минорский; – March 25, 1966) was a Russian Orientalist best known for his contributions to the study of Persian, Lurish and Kurdish history, geography, ...

, and

Hassan Taqizadeh Sayyed Hasan Taqizādeh ( fa, سید حسن تقی‌زاده; September 27, 1878 in Tabriz, Iran – January 28, 1970 in Tehran, Iran) was an influential Iranian politician and diplomat, of Azeri origin, during the Qajar dynasty under the r ...

). From 1939 to 1945, Lambton was Press

attaché In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accord ...

of the British Legation to

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

, and then Professor of Persian at SOAS from 1953 to 1979, succeeding Arthur Arberry as holder of that chair. In 1942, she was awarded the OBE and, later, honorary

DLitt Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

degrees from the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...

and the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

. She was also an honorary fellow of

New Hall, Cambridge New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

, SOAS and the University of London. She wrote several books on subjects ranging from Persian grammar and vocabulary to

land reform. Ann Lambton played a role in the overthrow of

Mohammed Mossadegh Mohammad Mosaddegh ( fa, محمد مصدق, ; 16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967) was an Iranian politician, author, and lawyer who served as the 35th Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, after appointment by the 16th Majlis. He was a member of ...

. After the decision to nationalize Iran's oil interests in 1951, she advised the British government to undermine the authority of Mossadegh's regime. She proposed that Oxford University professor R. C. Zaehner should go to Iran and begin covert operations. In 1953, with the help of the CIA, the regime of Mossadegh was overthrown and the Shah,

Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ( fa, محمدرضا پهلوی, ; 26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980), also known as Mohammad Reza Shah (), was the last ''Shah'' (King) of the Imperial State of Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow in the Irani ...

, was restored to the throne. As Professor Emeritus of the

Diocese of Newcastle The Diocese of Newcastle is a Church of England diocese based in Newcastle upon Tyne, covering the historic county of Northumberland (and therefore including the part of Tyne and Wear north of the River Tyne), as well as the area of Alston Moo ...

and Chairman of the Iran Diocesan Association, Lambton served on the Middle East Committee and advised Archbishops on inter-faith matters. She delivered Lent lectures biannually to clergy and laity for many years. She was later awarded the

Cross of St Augustine The Cross of St Augustine is an award of merit in the gift of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is awarded to members of the Anglican Communion who have made significant contributions to the life of the worldwide Communion, or to a particular auto ...

in 2004 by the Archbishop of Canterbury in acknowledgement of her work and commitment to Christianity and the Church of England. She was an honorary Life Member of the

Middle East Studies Association of North America Middle East Studies Association (often referred to as MESA) is a learned society, and according to its website, "a non-profit association that fosters the study of the Middle East, promotes high standards of scholarship and teaching, and encoura ...

. At the

, the Centre of Iranian Studies has instituted an annual Prof. A. K. S. Lambton honorary lectureship. Prof. Lambton delivered the inaugural lecture in this series in 2001. Lambton died at her home in

Wooler Wooler ( ) is a small town in Northumberland, England. It lies on the edge of the Northumberland National Park, near the Cheviot Hills. It is a popular base for walkers and is referred to as the "Gateway to the Cheviots". As well as many shops ...

, Northumberland, on 19 July 2008 at the age of 96 after a long illness.

References

Obituaries

* Arbuthnott, H.
''Professor Ann Lambton: Persian scholar''
Obituary, ''The Times'', 23 July 2008 . * McLachlan, K. S.

Obituary, ''Telegraph'', 8 August 2008. * Morgan, David
''Ann Lambton''
''The Guardian'', 15 August 2008, * Waghmar, Burzine K.

Obituary, ''The Independent'', 1 August 2008.

External links

''Funeral of SOAS Persian Scholar Professor Ann Lambton''
SOAS, 22 July 2008.

Payvand, 11 February 2008.

'' Dr Yarshater: Lambton predicted the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...

'', in Persian, Radio Zamaneh, 13 August 2008
Audio

Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi, "Scholarship in the Service of Empire: The Legacy of Ann K.S. Lambton in 20th Century Iran"
Ajam Media Collective, 6 March 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambton, Ann 1912 births 2008 deaths Iranologists Historians of Iran Fellows of the British Academy Academics of SOAS University of London Ann Officers of the Order of the British Empire British women academics British expatriates in Iran Alumni of SOAS University of London Recipients of the Cross of St Augustine 20th-century British historians British women historians People from Wooler Writers from Northumberland MI6 operatives in Iran