The Development of Metaphysics in Persia

The Development of Metaphysics in Persia is the book form of the doctoral thesis in philosophy that Muhammad Iqbal submitted at LMU Munich in 1908, the same year it was published in London by Luzac & Company. Iqbal wrote it under the supervision of Fritz Hommel.

The work traces the development of metaphysics in Persia from the time of Zoroaster to the rise of the Baháʼí Faith, covering the period from Zoroaster to the era of Bahá'u'lláh. Iqbal notes in the text that his knowledge of Zoroaster is second hand, since he did not read Zend, while for the later periods he consulted original Persian and Arabic manuscripts as well as many printed works. He adopted the transliteration method recognised by the Royal Asiatic Society.

The book was reissued later, notably by Bazm-e-Iqbal in Lahore in 1954, and has been translated into several languages, including Persian, Urdu and Bosnian.