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Iran: an Old Civilization and a New Nation State

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Iran: An Old Civilization and a New Nation State by Pirouz Mojtahed-Zadeh This is the first part of a two-part article. Part I, “The Iranian Tradition of Statehood,” discusses the ramifications for present-day Iran of political relations in association with the political organization of space in the ancient world. Part II, “Iran's Geopolitical Regions in the 21st Century,” will be published in a future issue of FOCUS on Geography. Part I. The Iranian Tradition of Statehood Introduction: An Ancient State and geopolitics that started in late 18th north; by Afghanistan and Pakistan to Its Many Neighbors century and ended in World Wars I and the east; by Turkey and Iraq to the west; II in the 20th century. and by the Persian Gulf, Strait of Iran has functioned for at least 5000 During World War II, the country Hormuz and Gulf of Oman (including years as a civilization and as fertile was occupied by Anglo-Russian forces the countries of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, ground for the emergence of the on the unsubstantiated allegation that Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and the United world's first state in the modern sense Iran had joined with Nazi Germany; in Arab Emirates [U.A.E.]), and the of the word. The administration of Iran fact, Tehran had officially declared its northwest corner of the Indian Ocean has historically been plagued with impartiality in the war and adequately to the south (see map on pages 18-19). difficulties of exerting authority defended that impartiality. The Allies With such a large number of neighbors, outside the main areas of population had to invade and occupy Iran in order Iran has had to derive a set of highly and, therefore, in fixing its national to turn it into a land bridge for logistic complicated border arrangements, frontiers. supply between Britain and the Soviet resulting in substantial impacts to The word Iran means “the land of Union, and they termed it the “bridge relations with all these entities. the Aryans.” Politically, Iran is a of victory” at the end of the war. This Iran is a vast and diverse country, country situated in southwest Asia in article examines the political with only a tenth of its area under the part of the globe generally known as geography of Iran's position from settled forms of economic use. The rest the Middle East. With a land area of ancient to modern times using ancient is desert, steppe, and high mountains. 1,648,195 square kilometers, Iran is ideas to illuminate Iran's present-day Until the early 20th century, the country bounded by no less than 15 countries complex position on the global stage. was comprised of a set of diverse ethnic and autonomous regions, making it the and linguistic groups unified under a country with the largest number of Brief Geographical Background federal-style system of government neighbors. Most of them at one time or and sharing a common literature, social another in history have been part of the Iran is a country in the Middle East, ethos and culture, and a distinct famous Persian Empire (a term used by which is bounded by the Caspian Sea civilization. Apart from the central many Western historians), which and the republics of Azerbaijan, province, the largest single provincial disintegrated during and as a result of Armenia, the Russian Federation, region by population size is the Anglo-Russian “Great Game” of Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan to the Azerbaijan, where there is a 20 FOCUS on Geography Volume 49, Number 4 The author, Professor Pirouz Mojtahed- Zadeh, on a television discussion program. Kaaledj, the author's birth place, a village on the mountain tops of the Elborz Range (Nour), Mazandaran concentration of Azeri speakers of the Perso-Turkic group of languages. ethnicity. There are two exceptions. There are indications that ancient Other coherent areas with a regional The first is a few Arabic-speaking tribes civilizations were familiar with the consciousness include Kurdistan in the of Mesopotamian origin (Mesopotamia notion of the state in connection with west, the Arab zone of the Khuzistan was part of the Persian federative t e r r i t o r i a l a n d b o u n d a r y lowlands in the southwest, the system for over 2,000 years), who form characteristics, similar to modern Turkmen steppe of the northeast, and a small minority in the province of states. References in ancient Persian the Baluch area of the southeast (1). Khuzestan and defend their Arab literature discuss states, territories, and Geographically, the term “Iran” identity within their Iranian nationality boundaries in a strikingly modern way, covers an area much greater than the (as they did in the face of the Iraqi which probably influenced ancient state of Iran. It includes the entire invasion of Iran during Saddam Greek and Roman governance. A Iranian plateau, a highland region Hussein's rule). The second is a small combination of traits from the ancient located between the Himalayas on the number of Turkmen tribes who live in G r e e k , R o m a n , a n d P e r s i a n east and Anatolia on the west. the Gorgan plain of Golestan Province, civilizations is said to have been a Culturally, the term includes all who also fiercely defend their identity major source of contributions to what peoples speaking Iranian languages, a as being part of Iran. culturally constitutes the West in our subdivision of the Indo-European time. Considering the extent to which family of languages: those who speak The Iranian Tradition of Statehood Greek and Roman civilizations Persian, Dari (Afghani), Dari (Tajik), interacted with that of ancient Persia, K u r d i s h , L u r i , M a z a n d a r a n i , There are unmistakable indications little doubt remains about the validity Khorasani, Guilak, Baluchi, and Azeri in the historical record that Iran was the of French geographer Jean Gottmann's Turkish (a Turkish local dialect of first civilization to fashion the concept assertion in his letter to this writer Azerbaijan that is more Persian in of “state,” here used to mean a set of (1987) that: words and characters than the g o v e r n i n g i n s t i t u t i o n s w i t h Mongolian and/or Anatolian Turkish). sovereignty over a defined territory. Iran must have belonged to Iran as a nation today is composed Although there is little doubt that the the 'Western' part of mankind, of several ethnic groups, including the modern concepts of state and territory and I suspect that this was what Kurds, Baluchis, Mazandaranis, were developed in modern Europe, it is A l e x a n d e r t h e G r e a t o f Guilaks, Azerbaijanis, Khorasanis, and hard to overlook the fact that they are Macedonia, a pupil of Aristotle, Persians, all of whom are from the Indo- rooted in periods older than their 15th- therefore, in the great Western Iranian branch of Indo-European century emergence in Europe. philosophical tradition, found in Spring 2007 FOCUS on Geography 21 Iran and that attracted him so satrapies (up to forty). Each was The best that certain political interests much that he wanted to establish a governed by a local Satrap, a of our time – such as the former Baath harmonious, multi-national Khashthrapavan or vassal king. This Party in Iraq – could come up with was cooperation between the Iranians was a commonwealth of global to equate Cyrus with a warmongering and Greeks within the large empire proportions, including the lands of king supporting Zionists (the Jews in he was building. (2) Trans-Oxania, Sind, and Trans- captivity in Babylonia). Those of this Caucasus, which stretch from today's political viewpoint blame Cyrus for Verification can be found in Romania east across the Middle East waging wars on several nations, historical events as when, upon and North Africa. implying that the vast commonwealth conquering Persia in 333 CE, the Greek It was also a political system of of the Achaemanid state came about leader, Alexander the Great, claimed in universal aspirations ruled by a solely through force and that Arabs Persepolis that he was a true successor Shahanshah (king of kings), hence were among Cyrus's victims. to the Iranian leader, Achaeminid referred to as the Shahanshahi system. These criticisms are based on Darius III. The significance of this The king of kings in this system was not b l a t a n t a n a c h r o n i s m s a n d declaration is provided by Ferdowsi, a lawgiver but the defender of laws and misrepresentations. Babylonia was not th the famous 11 -century Persian poet, in religions for all in the federation (6). an Arab state but an Acadian Shahnameh, Book of the Kings (3). Having Glover notes the Achaemenids' “good civilization. Arabs only reached conquered Iran, Alexander wrote to the g o v e r n m e n t ” a n d C y r u s ' s Mesopotamia much later, first nobles of the country apologizing for proclamation in Babylonia (7) stated appearing in the southern Iraq city of having done away with their king, that all were “equal in his realm.” Al-Hirah by the 5th century CE Darius III. In Ferdowsi's poetic Ethnic and cultural groups enjoyed a according to Arab historian/ retelling, Alexander assured them “if measure of independence in the geographers Masudi (9) and Maqdasi Dara is no more, I am here and Iran will practice of their language, religion, and (10).
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