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British Persian Studies and the Celebrations of the 2500Th Anniversary of the Founding of the Persian Empire in 1971

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British Persian Studies and the Celebrations of the 2500Th Anniversary of the Founding of the Persian Empire in 1971 British Persian Studies and the Celebrations of the 2500th Anniversary of the Founding of the Persian Empire in 1971 A thesis submitted to The University of Manchester for the degree of Master of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities. 2014 Robert Steele School of Arts, Languages and Cultures Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................................ 4 Declaration .................................................................................................................................................................. 5 Copyright Statement ................................................................................................................................................ 5 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................................. 6 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Objectives and Structure ............................................................................................................................................. 8 Literature Review .......................................................................................................................................................... 9 Statement on Primary Sources................................................................................................................................ 13 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................................................. 14 National heritage and its Construction ............................................................................................................ 15 Theories of Celebration ....................................................................................................................................... 17 Methodology ................................................................................................................................................................ 23 Chapter 1: Nationalism, Academia and the 2500th Anniversary Celebrations ........................................... 25 Celebrating Babylon and Rome ............................................................................................................................. 25 Appreciating Ancient Persia ................................................................................................................................... 31 Preparing the Event .................................................................................................................................................... 35 The Event ...................................................................................................................................................................... 43 Criticism ........................................................................................................................................................................ 49 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................... 52 Chapter 2: The Glorification of Cyrus and the Cyrus Cylinder ........................................................................ 54 The Glorification of Cyrus Ceremony ................................................................................................................. 55 The Cyrus Cylinder .................................................................................................................................................... 61 The British Museum and the 2500th Anniversary Celebrations ................................................................... 65 The Loan of the Cyrus Cylinder........................................................................................................................ 67 The Legacy of the Cylinder ..................................................................................................................................... 73 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................... 75 Chapter 3: British Scholarship, Iran and the 2500th Anniversary Celebrations ........................................... 76 The Development of Persian Studies in Britain ................................................................................................ 77 Commemoration and Academic Engagement ................................................................................................... 85 Organisation and Participants ................................................................................................................................. 89 World Congress of Iranology (13-15 October, 1971) ................................................................................... 101 Scholarly Events in Britain .................................................................................................................................... 104 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................. 108 Chapter 4: Non-Academic British Involvement in the Celebrations ............................................................ 111 2 Britain and Iran: A brief background ................................................................................................................. 112 Official British Participation ................................................................................................................................. 117 The British Council .................................................................................................................................................. 120 Exhibitions: Henry Moore and British Contributions to Persian Studies .............................................. 122 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................. 126 Conclusion: The Academic Legacy of the Celebrations ................................................................................... 128 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................................... 133 Primary Sources: Including Publications for the 2500th Anniversary Celebrations ............................ 133 Official Celebration Programmes ................................................................................................................... 133 Publications Released in Conjunction with the 2500th Anniversary Celebrations .......................... 133 Newspaper and Magazine articles .................................................................................................................. 135 Oral History ........................................................................................................................................................... 137 Archives .................................................................................................................................................................. 137 Films ........................................................................................................................................................................ 138 Classical texts ........................................................................................................................................................ 138 Secondary Sources ................................................................................................................................................... 138 Iran............................................................................................................................................................................ 138 Theory, Celebrations and General .................................................................................................................. 150 Word Count: 54,538 3 Abstract The aim of this dissertation is to investigate British academia’s engagement with the Celebrations of the 2500th Anniversary of the Founding of the Persian Empire that took place in 1971. The Celebrations are commonly studied in the context of the excesses of the Shah’s regime, yet they have been subject to very little research in and of themselves. This dissertation breaks this trend and looks in detail at the cultural and academic aspects of the event, which it argues were at the very heart of the Celebrations. This is done by studying the involvement of British academics and institutions, exploring their historic engagement with Iran and the Pahlavi dynasty, before considering their role in the Celebrations. Thereby this dissertation will answer some fundamental questions as to the nature of the Celebrations, as well as the cultural relationship between Britain and Iran during the period in question. A wide range of primary sources were used to
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