Chapter Ii (2)
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CHAPTER II (2) MuCti-etfinicity or ^tfinic (Diversity and MuCticuCturaCism in Iran-A Perspective 48 Chapter II (2) Multi-ethnicity or Ethnic Diversity and Multiculturalism in Iran- A Perspective During its history Iran has always been a multi-ethnic and multicultural country and now is an ethnically diverse state, with Persians forming the majority of the population.The aim in this chapter, explore, briefly, in ancient Iran's situation geographically and politically and introduce the ancient Iranian ethnicities, then explain ethnic and religious diversity in multicultural contemporary Iran. I. Greater Iran and Ancient Ethnicities in Iran's History I.I. Greater Iran The terms "Iran" as the designation for the civilization and "Iranian" as the name for the inhabitants occupying the large plateau located between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf have been in continual use for more than twenty-five hundred years. Modern Iran is apart of "Greater Iran" that was consisting areas from Euphrates in the west to Indus River and Jaxartes- Syrdarya - in the east and from Caucasus, Caspian sea and Aral Sea in the north to Persian gulf and Gulf of Oman in the south which includes the modern nations Iran and some other modem nations in the region.'The modem nations of Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, eastem part of Turkey and Iraq are a part of greater Iran, surrounding regions which is one of the world's oldest continuous major civilizations. In Persian, Greater Iran -or Iran-e Bozorg- is called "Iranzamin", which means "The Land of Iran". "Iranzamin" was in the mythical times 49 opposed to the "Turanzamin" the Land of "Turan", which was located in the upper part of Central Asia. In other words, Greater Iran refers to the regions that roughly correspond to the regions that the two Persian Empires, i.e. Achaemenid and Sassanid Empires ruled in ancient times.^ Richard Nelson Frye, defines Greater Iran as including "much of the Caucasus, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia, with cultural influences extending to China, western India, and the Semitic speaking world". According to Frye, "Iran means all lands and peoples where Iranian languages were and are spoken, and where in the past, multi-faceted Iranian cultures existed"."* The Cambridge History of Iran refers to the "historical and cultural" entity of "Greater Iran" as "areas of Iran, parts of Afghanistan, and Chinese and Soviet Central Asia".^ The greater Iran has one of the world's oldest continuous major civilizations, covering thousands of years, from the ancient civilization on the Iranian plateau. Later many changes occurred in the boundaries and areas where Iranians lived but the languages and culture remained the dominant medium in many parts of the Greater Iran. Traditionally, and until recent times, ethnicity has never been a defining separating criteria in these regions.This region until now, has significant Iranian cultural influence. Eveiy above mentioned area was a part of gi^eater Iran in which the ancient Iranian ethnicities were lived. With the separation of the lands whole or a branches of those ethnicities separated from grater Iran. For instance two Iranian ancient ethnicities Baluch and Kurds, divided between the new nation-states in the region. Four external events or elements plus internal elements broke down the greater Iran and separated much area from the country. First important external event was Muslim Arab invasion in seventh century that ends the great Sasanid Empire. Second was expansion policy of "Tsarist Russia" to the south and "Persian Gulf and third was appearance of great "Ottoman Empire", neighboring Iran, and the forth was "Britain"'s interferences in Iran's affair. 50 After Arabs Muslim invasion, Iran, with much troubles could in periods of time restore its past great territories and government. With Imperial Russia continuously advancing south in the course of two wars against Iran , and the treaties of "Gulistan"^ and 'Turkmenchay"^ in the western frontiers, plus weakness of "Qajar kings" in Iran, many Central Asian "khanates" began losing hope for any support from Persia against the "Tsarist" armies.^ The Russian armies from 1849-1973 occupied the "Aral" coast ,"Tashkent" ,"Bukhara", "Samarkand", "Khiva" and "Amudarya" and wrested from Tehran's control what is today "Armenia", "Republic of Azerbaijan", and "Georgia". Then Shah lost much of his claim to western Afghanistan following the "Anglo-Iranian war" of 1856-1857. Also by the Treaty of Gulistan, Iran had to cede all the Khanates of the South Caucasus, which included Baku khanate, Shirvan Khanate, Karabakh khanate, Ganja khanate, Shaki Khanate, Quba Khanate, and parts of the Talysh Khanate. Derbent (Darband) was also lost to Russia. These Khanates comprise what is today the Republic of Azerbaijan. By the treaty of Turkmanchay, Iran was forced to cede Nakhichevan khanate and the Mughan regions to Russia, as well as Erivan Khanate. These territories roughly constitute the modem-day Republic of Azerbaijan and Republic of Armenia. With appearance of Ottomans Empire, and it's continous clashes with Iran, the governments in Iran not only couldn't restore their power in Iraq, but also, lose a part of Kurdistan and some part in the north west and south west borders and with Britain's interferences, Iran lost Afghanistan, a part of "Balochistan" and "Bahrain" and some other Islands of Persian gulf. The last territory that separated from Iran was the Island of Bahrain, in the Persian Gulf in 1971, during the rule of Mohammad Reza Shah, Pahlavi, and after that no changes happened to Iranian borders. However, in this great land and important part of the world, during its history, Iranian ethnicities and people have lived. Migrations and wars bring others to this land, from other parts of the world, but, all assimilated to Iranian 51 nation and culture. Some parts of the land separated, but many its people kept some characteristic and criteria of Iranian nation and culture, although some assimilated to other cultures and nations. Some Iranians migrated to other countries, like "Zoroastrians" migrations to India, but now are living by Iranian ancient culture in all over the world. I.II. Ancient Ethnicities in Iran Discussing Iranian ancient ethnicities is very difficult due to some factors. First the great extent of Ancient Iran, second changing the borders of the country during its history, and third wars ,migrations and other elements of changing the population of the areas. Meanwhile, with focus on Iranian plateau, mentioning the ancient ethnicities that existed in this area is possible. Pre-Islamic Persia was a multinational empire with Zoroastrianism as the dominant religion. The Arab invasion in the seventh century AD resulted in the spread of Islam. In the preceding centuries peoples of various Turkic and Mongol backgrounds settled in the area. The written history of the area begins in about 3200 BC with early ''Elamite civilization" and The early people who lived in Iran were "Elaimids" , who established "Elam Empire" ,situated in the southwestern corner of the Persian plateau, adjacent to "Mesopotamia", in the area of the 'Tlam" and "Khuzestan" provinces of present Iran.^ The Eilamid, later were absorbed into Migrant "Aryans" of Iran. "^ It is believed that Aryans were first migrant people who came to Iran, from the north of the land. According to this idea About 6,500 years ago, successive waves of people were migrating into a land which is now called "Iran" and northern Iraq. The word "Aryan" has roots in world that Iranians called themselves by "Ayria", meaning free, noble and steady. The word Iran is derived from this very root, Iran is meaning the land of the Aryans. Some believes that Aryans did not come from north, but they were native Iranians, and the migration of Aryans to Iran is created by European 52 Historian."However the arrival of the Aryan people on the Iranian plateau marked the beginning of the Iranian civilization. Aryans in Iran were divided in three separated ethnicities, included: "Persians", "Medes" and "Parthian". Persians settled in the south of Iran, especially the present "Pars province" ,and Medes in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran, and roughly the areas of present day "Kurdistan", "Hamedan", then Tehran, "Azerbaijan", and "Isfahan", and Parthian located in the East especially "Khurasan" provinces.'"^ The Medes are credited with the foundation of Iran as a nation and empire, and established the first Iranian empire, 728-550 BC , the largest of its day until Cyrus the Great established a unified empire of the Medes and Persians leading to the Achaemenian Empire 648-330 BC. Westerners referred to the state as Persia until ,March 1935, when Iranian government, formally asked the international community to call the country by its native name, Iran, which means Land of the Aryans. Persia or Iran has been overrun frequently and has had its territory altered throughout the centuries. Invaded and occupied by "Arabs", "Turks", "Mongols", and others, and in modem times by "Russians", and "Britain". Some invaders settled in Iran and were absorbed in Iranian people and culture and some like Russians separated a part of the country. In the rule of the last Sassanid Emperor Iran was conquest by Islamic Arab (650-1037).The Islamic conquest changed life in Iran. Iran was annexed into the Arab Caliphate, Arabic became the new lingua franca, Islam eventually replaced Zoroastrianism, and a new language, religion, and culture were added to the Iranian cultural milieu. In addition of those one another new ethnicity was added to the previous ethnicities in Iran.'^ After Arab entrance to Iran, then, came shift to "Turkic tribes" entrances. The Turks slanted from the north and central Asia to the Iranian plateau and settled in Iran by the establishment of their Turkic Dynasties, the "Ghaznavids" (962-1186), "Seljuks" (1029-1194), and "Khwarezmids" (1096- 1230).