The introduction examines the language and literature around race and enslavement in the Middle East and argues that the history of enslavement and race in Iran has not been adequately studied or taken seriously. The introduction examines archival practices around enslavement within and outside Iran, reads a photograph of a young Black enslaved girl, and introduces the concepts of “forced visibility” and “forced invisibility” that drive the book’s structure and narrative. Finally, the introduction ends with a summary of the book’s chapters.