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Homa Katouzian | 448 pages | 30 Nov 2010 | Yale University Press | 9780300169324 | English | New Haven, United States Persian Empire - HISTORY

Eve MacDonald does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. The Iranian The Persians: Ancient are intensely aware — and rightly proud of — their Persian heritage. The archaeological legacy left by the civilisations of ancient and medieval Iran extend from the Mediterranean Sea to and ranges across four millennia from the Bronze age 3rd millennium BC to the glorious age of classical and the magnificent medieval cities of Isfahan and Shiraz that thrived in the 9thth centuries AD, and beyond. In the 6th century BC, Iran was home to the first world empire. The Achaemenids ruled a multicultural superpower that stretched to Egypt and Asia Minor in the west and India and Pakistan in the east. They were the power by which all other ancient empires measured themselves. Their cultural homeland was in the Fars province of Mediaeval and Modern Iran Iran. The word Persian is the name for the Iranian people based on the home region of the Achaemenids — Mediaeval and Modern Iran. Some of the richest and most beautiful of the archaeological and historical heritage in Iran remains there. This includes Parsgardaethe first Achaemenid dynastic capital where King Cyrus c. Nearby is the magnificent site of Persepolisthe great palace of the Achaemenid kings and hub of government and administration. Architecturally stunning, it is decorated with relief sculptures that still today leave a visitor Mediaeval and Modern Iran awe. When the Achaemenids fell to the armies of Alexander the Great in the 4th century The Persians: Ancient, what Mediaeval and Modern Iran was great upheaval and also one of the most extraordinary moments in human history. The mixing of Persian and eastern Mediterranean cultures created the Hellenistic Age. With new cities, religions and cultures, this melting pot encouraged the rise of a thriving connectivity that linked urban centres in Iran, Iraq, , Turkmenistan and Syria where many Mediaeval and Modern Iran the Hellenistic sites such as Apamea have been devastated in recent years by war The Persians: Ancient looting. Hellenistic rulers gave way to Parthian kings in the 2nd century BC and the region was ruled by the Arsacid dynasty whose The Persians: Ancient, around Nisa, was the northern region of the Iranian world. The Parthian Empire witnessed growing connectivity between east and west and increasing traffic along the silk routes. Their control of this trade led to conflict with the Romans who reached east to grasp some of the resulting spoils. It was also a time of religious transition that not only witnessed the rise of Buddhism, but also a thriving Zoroastrian religion that intersected with Judaism and developing Christianity. In the biblical story of the birth of Christ, who were the three kings — the Magi with their gifts for Jesus — but Persian priests from Iran coming to the side of child messiah, astronomers following the comet. The last great The Persians: Ancient kingdom of the Iranians was the Sasanian empire based around a dynasty that rose out of the final years of the Arsacid rule in Mediaeval and Modern Iran 3rd century AD. The Sasanians ruled a massive geopolitical entity from AD. They were builders of cities and frontiers across the empire including the enormous Gorgan wall. This frontier wall stretched km from the Caspian Sea to the mountains in Turkmenistan and was built in the 5th century AD to protect the Iranian agricultural heartland from Mediaeval and Modern Iran invaders like the Huns. The wall is a fired-brick engineering marvel with a complex network of water canals running the whole length. It once stood across the plain The Persians: Ancient more than 30 forts manned by tens of thousands of soldiers. The Sasanians were the final pre- Islamic dynasty of Iran. In the 7th century AD the armies of the Rashidun caliphs conquered the Sasanian empire, bringing with them Islam Mediaeval and Modern Iran absorbing much of the culture and ideas of the ancient Iranian world. This was a thriving period of scientific, artistic and literary output. Rich with that told of the ancient Iranian past in medieval courts where bards sang of great deeds. These are stories that we now believe The Persians: Ancient the far west of Europe in the early medieval period possibly through the crusades and can only emphasise the long reach of the cultures of ancient and medieval Iran. Iranian cultural heritage has no one geographic or cultural home, its roots belong to all of us and speak of the vast influence that the Iranians have had on the creation of the world we live in today. Community landscape stewardship - building economic and environmental sustainability. The Amazon fire season: challenges and opportunities from a new near-real time fire monitoring tool. Edition: Available editions United Kingdom. Become an author Sign up as a reader Sign in. The ancient Persian symbol of victory in Persepolis, capital of the ancient Achaemenid kingdom in Iran. The Persians: Ancient via Shutterstock. Eve MacDonaldCardiff University. The Persian Empire in BC. Relief sculpture from Persepolis: one of The Persians: Ancient immortals perhaps? Angela Meier via Shutterstock Nearby is the magnificent site of Persepolisthe great palace of the Achaemenid kings and hub of government and administration. Seleucid and Parthian Iran When the Achaemenids fell to the armies of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC, what followed was great upheaval and also one of the most extraordinary moments in human history. Facade of Mosque of Lotfollah in Isfahan city. Fotokon via Shutterstock It was also a time of The Persians: Ancient transition that not only witnessed the rise of Buddhism, but also a thriving Zoroastrian religion that intersected with Judaism and developing Christianity. The Sasanians The last great ancient kingdom of the Iranians was the Sasanian empire based around a dynasty that rose out of the final years of the Arsacid rule in the 3rd century AD. The line of the Gorgan Wall and fort viewed from aerial photograph AlchetronAuthor provided The wall is a fired-brick engineering marvel with a complex network of water canals running the whole length. The Persians: Ancient, Mediaeval and Modern Iran by Homayon Katouzian These poets would affect the literary arts of cultures around the world and continue to inspire readers in the present day. By Dr. Joshua J. Mark Professor of Philosophy Marist The Persians: Ancient. derives from a long oral tradition The Persians: Ancient poetic storytelling. Whatever other works were committed to writing during this era were lost when the empire fell to Alexander the Great in BCE but the oral tradition continued and would find its greatest expression in the Persian poets of the Middle Ages CE and, especially, the ten considered the Mediaeval and Modern Iran influential:. These poets created the written literature of their culture by combining their traditions, myths, and religious beliefs with those of the Muslim Arabs who had conquered the region in CE and imposed the new religion of Islam on the people. In time, the two cultures entwined, and the poetry of the Persians would come to express The Persians: Ancient highest concepts of Islamic belief — especially the mystical aspects — completely, even when the works were not written in Persian or even by Persians. These ten poets not only influenced the development of so-called Muslim literature but would affect the literary arts of cultures around the world and continue to inspire readers in the present day. By the time of the Abbasid Caliphate CEhowever, Persian culture, language, customs, and literature had not only become accepted among the Muslim Arab elite but were encouraged. Under the Samanid Dynasty CEwhich ruled by the grace of the Abbasids, Persian art, science, and literature flourished and lay the foundation for the future Mediaeval and Modern Iran Persian literary arts. There is no divorcing the work of these poets from their religion of Islam, although some modern-day translators and commentators have tried to do so, as their faith informs their work. This love could be for another human being or directed toward the Divine but, without it, life Mediaeval and Modern Iran considered meaningless. Poetic diction, the use of symbolism, metaphor, and Mediaeval and Modern Iran are freely used in all forms of Persian literature from medical treatises to histories but formal poetry was considered the height of expression and, although there were many other great poets contributing to the tradition, the following ten are considered the greatest. Little of his work has survived only 52 Mediaeval and Modern Iran out of the over one million referenced by later writers but these make clear he was a poet of immense power who was able to express complex The Persians: Ancient states in simple imagery. Any working poet at this time relied on the patronage of a wealthy admirer, just as in The Persians: Ancient ages, but a court poet could expect far more than a reliable income as long as he pleased the monarch. At this time, there was an increased interest in Persian history and lore and so Mansur I commissioned an ambitious work on Persian history, lore, and legend from the beginning of time to the present. As with , little of his work survives but extant verse shows he wrote in a highly formal style consistent with epic works. Abul-Qasem Tusi was a member of the dehqanthe upper-class landowning members of society comparable to feudal lords in Europe. After was murdered, Ferdowsi took up the challenge of writing the for Amir Mansur allegedly to provide his daughter with a dowry in CE but the Samanid Dynasty fell shortly afterwards and was The Persians: Ancient by the Ghaznavid Dynasty CE which did not have the same level of appreciation Mediaeval and Modern Iran Persian literature as the Samanids had. Even so, Ferdowsi was encouraged to continue the work which he completed in CE. How well the Shahnameh was received and whether Ferdowsi was justly rewarded for his efforts by the is a matter of debate as the accounts concerning this are largely legendary. However the work may have originally been received, it has enjoyed enduring popularity since. Whatever else Ferdowsi may have composed has been lost but the epic Shahnamehrecounting the history, legends, and lore of ancient Persia from the beginning of the world to the Muslim conquest, has long been considered one of the great masterpieces of world literature and is the national epic of Iran in the present day. , at this time, had already written a number of pieces praising the Sultan when Bahram-shah decided to make war on India and summoned Sanai to come with him. The man also lamented the life of Sanai, referring to him as a talented poet wasting his Mediaeval and Modern Iran in praise of a vain and The Persians: Ancient monarch. Sanai instantly understood the truth in what the man said, resigned his position at court, and became a student to a Sufi master. He was not known as a poet in his lifetime though later he was referenced, as Attar of , as a poet and he rejected the efforts of poets who accepted pay for praising monarchs who were not worth their talents. He focused on verse which would bring a reader closer to an understanding of the nature of existence and the nearness of God. Like Sanai, he was a Sunni Muslim who embraced the of which informs his work. He The Persians: Ancient best known for The Conference of the Birdsan allegorical poem in The Persians: Ancient all the birds of the world arrive at a meeting to decide who will be their king. The hoopoe bird, known for its wisdom, guides them on a journey through seven valleys — losing many along the way — until they reach the lair of the great mystical bird Simorgh where they come to understand that they must govern and lead themselves. He was killed in c. Jalal ad-Din Muhammad was a polyglot Islamic scholar, theologian, and jurist before meeting the Sufi mystic Shams-i-Tabrizi in CE and becoming the most famous mystical poet of his time. He was born The Persians: Ancient Afghanistan or Tajikstan to a literate family, was well-educated, multilingual writing in his native Persian, Mediaeval and Modern Iran, Greek, and Turkishand well-traveled. He was already a well-respected scholar when he met the Sufi Shams who became his best friend and spiritual mentor. They were only together four years when Shams disappeared one night and was never seen again. His greatest work is the Masnavia six-volume poetic exploration of the relationship between the individual and God which references folklore, Sufi spiritualism, the Quran, Muslim legend and lore, and a host of other literary, historical, and religious sources. His shorter works consistently reference the same, weaving folktales and Quranic allusions together with a narrative voice speaking directly to The Persians: Ancient audience, sometimes clarifying, sometimes obscuring, in order to engage a reader with the subject matter completely. He is regarded as not only one of the greatest Persian poets but among the most influential and widely read in Mediaeval and Modern Iran world. Abu- Muhammed Muslih al-Din bin Abdallah Shirazi came from a religious family of the city of Shiraz, Iran and was uprooted at an early age when the invaded his homeland. His life and philosophy would be significantly affected by this event and the nearly continuous warfare which ravaged The Persians: Ancient region. He was well-educated, possibly having a scholarship at the University of , before traveling Mediaeval and Modern Iran Syria, Egypt, Arabia, and India. Throughout his travels, he shunned the courts of the elite and academic settings, preferring the company of the common people, especially those who had also been displaced by the Mongol invasion and the conflicts between Christians and Muslims. He returned to Shiraz c. was born in Ganja in modern-day Azerbaijan where he was orphaned at a young age and raised by an uncle who encouraged his education. Nizami is known as the leading romantic poet of his age, drawing on the work of Sanai and, especially, Ferdowsi for source material and inspiration. Nizami continues the tradition of his predecessors in a focus on love — whether between two individuals or the individual and God — as the most important aspect of human existence. Nizami believed that, without love, life was meaningless and an individual life was only worth what it invested in love for others. In his time, he was known as an astrologer and mathematician so exclusively that modern-day scholars have questioned whether the famous Rubaiyat of Khayyam is even his original work. Khayyam was best known for contributing to the Jalali Calendar, an innovative solar Mediaeval and Modern Iran which corrected inaccuracies in the Islamic Calendar. His life, as known by contemporaries and those who wrote shortly after his death, was devoted to science and astrological research. Khwaja Shams-ud-Din Muhammed -e Shiraz was born in Shiraz, Iran, presumably to well-educated parents, but little of his life is known outside of references in his works. He is considered the greatest Persian poet, regarded almost as a saint, for the insight and spiritual elevation of his work. He drew on, most likely, all of the above-mentioned poets but most certainly on Sanai, Attar, Rumi, and Nizami in his exploration of love as the central value of human existence. He was recognized as the greatest voice of his generation in his time and a grand tomb was erected over his grave shortly after his death. The works of these poets, and many others, provided the foundation for the continuation of Persian culture and values and allowed for it to flourish and influence the world one recognizes today. The brilliance of these artists in expressing the fundamentals of the human condition and the transforming power of love has resonated across time and continues to encourage faith in a higher purpose and meaning in life. Originally published by the Ancient History Encyclopedia The Persians: Ancient, Made January CE. Collection of poems masnaviWalters Art Museum Ms. Tomb of Persian poet Hafez Mediaeval and Modern Iran. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Persian clothing - Wikipedia

I ran has in abundance first desert and then history. The Persians: Ancient written annals go back nearly 3, years, while a sort of parallel history, collected by Ferdowsi in the magnificent Mediaeval and Modern Iran epic known as the Shahnameh or Book of Kings in the 11th century AD, recedes into an unimaginable antiquity. A country that has been smashed over and again by invasion and now by religious revival, Iran yet survives pretty much in the territories enumerated by Darius the Great in Mediaeval and Modern Iran rock inscriptions at Bisitun. What thread runs through Mediaeval and Modern Iran heap of ruins and centuries? The British thought it had all to do with revenue, because revenue is what principally interests an imperial people. According to the last of the great British Persianists, the late Professor Ann Lambton, subsistence agriculture in an arid land could only support so much of a government and military apparatus without a resort to conquest. The sudden Mediaeval and Modern Iran urgent requirement for a modern court, army and bureaucracy in the 19th century strained the revenue system till it broke, and brought in train the constitutional Mediaeval and Modern Iran ofthe oil concession and, by extension, the modernising autocracy of the Pahlavi dynasty and the revolution. For the Pahlavi shahs, Reza and Muhammad Reza, Iranian history was mostly Herodotus seen through the lens of European, and especially German, racial nationalism. Islam was a sort Mediaeval and Modern Iran foreign implant. For the Islamic republic, Iranian history is, on the contrary, the gradual assumption by a hereditary clergy of the prerogatives leading prayer, holy war, government of the Hidden Imam, the 12th descendant of the Prophet through his daughter Fatemeh. Not assumption, but usurpation, say the quietists. And so on, ad infinitum. Homa Katouzian, an Iranian scholar long resident in England, is not daunted by these historical quarrels. A poet, and a superb critic of poetry, he brings to the story of his country a species of literary learning that is all but extinct outside Iran. Recognising, no doubt, that there is small appetite among western readers for the sectarian struggles of the early Shia, The Persians: Ancient revolving dynasties of medieval Khorasan and the civil wars of the 18th century, Katouzian devotes more than Mediaeval and Modern Iran the book to the period after Here he uncovers sources all but unknown to non-Iranians and still has time and breath for a close analysis of the disputed presidential election last June. Katouzian shows traces of youthful European intellectual influences, such as Marxism and political economy, but they are no more than mud on a traveller's duster. The first he now finds quite useless. The Soviets misunderstood Reza in as comprehensively as Khomeini in As for political economy, Muhammad Reza's later agricultural policy or Ahmadinejad's subsidies and hand-outs are The Persians: Ancient from a The Persians: Ancient beyond the reach of mere intellect. It is the old revenue thing, but in reverse: not shortage, but futile superabundance. What Katouzian has in strong measure is a peculiarly Persian dialectic, which is often illuminating, as when he shows that "traditional" women, at the revolution, became modernised while "modern" women were forced to become traditional, at least in public. For Katouzian, what unites these 3, years of history and makes them intelligible is arbitrary government, short-term, violent and insecure. There was never a feudal system, or a hereditary aristocracy. What is permanent is impermanence. For all their frantic air of timelessness, institutions such as the Qom seminary rise and are destroyed in two generations. Tradition is manufactured as easily as modernity, and the only authenticities are His Excellency the Executioner and the mole on the Beloved's face. State and society are at perpetual daggers drawn. When a state collapses by reason of its own weakness or foreign incursion, whether Achaemenid, Sassanian, Safavid, Qajar or Pahlavi, "society either supports its downfall or remains neutral". The fault of the Pahlavis was not that they were dictators, but that they weren't: that is, they alienated the modern social classes who might have acquiesced in strong dictatorial rule. The revolt of was not of the underprivileged but of all society. In a crowning dialectical twist, the novel element of the Islamic republic is not that half the population opposes it, but that half the population supports it. Having lived since in the US, where he is now a state department adviser to the president, Takeyh is American in his history. It was The Persians: Ancient an "unprecedented move in the history of Shiism" for the Islamic republic to defrock Ayatollah Shariatmadari. Sheikh Fazlollah Nuri, the Mediaeval and Modern Iran learned of the clergy at the time of the constitutional revolution, was hanged by his clerical colleagues. Nor was it primarily Britain in that brought the Pahlavis The Persians: Ancient power, nor primarily the US in that kept them there. A moment's thought suggests that where the CIA and the Islamic republic agree on an interpretation of history, it is unlikely to be the very best. It is quite false to say, with Takeyh, that "like all ideologues, Khomeini was prepared to sacrifice a nation in the service of his ideals". Had that been the case, Khomeini would The Persians: Ancient have "drunk the cup of poison" and accepted the UN resolution to end the war with Iraq in These points are not trivial. If the US, like the Abbasids, is to recruit a Persian-speaking bureaucracy to handle a country it does not understand, then those men and women must supply what the US lacks, which is a notion of Iranian history. That said, Takeyh's grasp of the last two decades in Iran is beyond praise. He plunges into the sea of verbiage, vanity, trivial domestic detail and outright falsehood that floods from the Tehran presses and surfaces with one or two pearls. His great achievement is to show how the radical left of — authoritarian, statist, terrorist or thereabouts — was transformed into the Reformists of and the Mousavis and Karrubis of the June Days of this The Persians: Ancient in Tehran. Takeyh's portrait of Rafsanjani, for ever intriguing himself into a corner, would make a novel. Even better, Takeyh examines the career of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and finds him not at all The Persians: Ancient of the ordinary. As for US policy, it is perhaps fortunate that the Islamic republic is so inconsistent, even dilettantish, in its foreign relations. Takeyh argues that the US policy of containment, devised for the Soviet Union, does not work for a state that, for all its chaotic policies, is accustomed to regional power. The US policy has so far done little but eliminate Iran's natural predators, such as The Persians: Ancient Hussein, the first Taliban emirate and the Wahhabi extremists. Takeyh proposes a new regional security pact that would unite Shia Iraq and Iran and the Mediaeval and Modern Iran Arab states in a common interest. One wonders where, in that pleasant, ecumenical circle, Israel will take its seat. James Buchan welcomes two attempts to pin down Iran's past and present. James Buchan.