"Caught in a Whirlwind describes the short decade of relative peace following the Treaty of Constantinople in 1590 between the warring Safavid Persians, led by Abbas the Great, and the Sunni Muslim Ottoman Empire, led by Sultan Ahmed I. Located in the disputed Mesopotamian and Southern Caucasus territory, Baghdad became the site of bitter conflict. Melis Taner observes some of the manuscripts created during this short decade of intense creativity. Like an academic detective, she considers what individual manuscripts reveal about the two empires’ heated rivalry, the creativity of individual artists, and the visual culture and patronage at the time. Taner’s mastery of her subject as well as the detail and artistry of the illuminations provide tremendous insight into a rare period of creativity under pressure."

Sophie Kazan in: Aramco World, March-April 2021.

"As a result of the method Taner chose, rather than focusing on each manuscript, she focuses on the context within which it was produced. Thus, her examination of the Manuscripts is based on key questions like the conditions that led to the flourishing of art in Baghdad, situating in the context of empire-wide social and urban transformations. She investigates issues like the types of works chosen for illustration as well as the question of whom they were meant to be. She insists upon making a point on the relations between provincial cultural capitals and the center of the Empire. More specifically, she sets the question of what distinguishes Baghdad from other frontier provinces while in each chapter, an exemplar Manuscript serves as a showcase. All these make Taner’s book a valuable tool for students of the sociology of art."

Stavros Nikolaidis in: Journal of Oriental and African Studies, Vol. 30 (2021).