Durham E-Theses Sayyed Ahmad Kasravi historian, language reformer and thinker Ramyar, Minoo How to cite: Ramyar, Minoo (1969) Sayyed Ahmad Kasravi historian, language reformer and thinker, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/10016/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk ABSTRACT Sayyed Ahmad Kasravi Historian, Language Reformer and Thinker. Sayyed Ahmad Kasravi was one of the greatest scholars and thinkers of 20th-century Iran, He had alreadywon an international reputation as a historian and as a linguist before he was murdered by a religious fanatic in 19^5* His ideas about language reform, literature, religion and politics challenged traditional Iranian ways of thinking. The purpose of this thesis is to outline the contents of Kasravi's writings, to quote comments by his admirers and critics, and to express our own views when possible. In Chapter I, Kasravi's background, education and career are outlined, and influences which helped to shape his thought are indicated. Chapter II contains summaries of the contents of Kasravi's historical works, and quotes Iranian and foreign appraisals of his achievements as a historian. Chapter III contains summaries of Kasravi's principal writings in the field of linguistics and language reform, together with assessments of his work. Chapter IV contains summaries of Kasravi's writings as a literrffary theorist, and discusses his hostility to mystic and panegyric poetry. Chapter V contains summaries of Kasravi's views on existing religions and of MB own. religious beliefs. Comments by his critics and some comments of our own are appended* Chapter Vi contains summaries of Kasravi's views on mysticism, materialism and other ideological matters* Chapter VII contains summaries of Kasravi*s views on political, economic and social problems* with comments* In the Conclusion an attempt is made to assess the importance and influence of Kasravl*s life and work as a whole* Various Iranian and foreign views of Kasravl's achievements are also quoted* In the three Appendices, further information is given on Kasravi*s life and personality and the sources of his ideas; and some comparisons are made between Kasravi's ideas on religion, politics, and language, and other contemporary ideas* SayyitPd Ahmad Kasravi Historian, Language Reformer and Thinker by Minoo Ramyar Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in the i' •. University of Durham for the degree of trto^TrS1 <f of kiF&SdJixjtfc. 4ltfLy 196^. School of Oriental Studies, Elvet Hill, Durham. I Table of Contents. Page. Transliteration IV Preface 1 Chapter One Kasravi's biography. Kasravi's private life. His family, birth place, and childhood. Kasravi's education and teachers. Kasravi's journeys and occupations. Kasravi's journeys to Tehran, M^zandarian, Zanjan, Khuzestian and DamaVand. College teaching. Kasravi's social and political activities. Kasravi's membership of the Democrat party. Kasravi's charitable activities. Kasravi's. disagreement with Khiabiani. The liztadegian party. Parcham newspaper and Paymian magazine. Kasravi's religious and sociological ideas. Kasravi's relationship with the mollis. Kasravi's scholarly achievements. The first attack. Kasravi's last days and his death. Chapter Two ... ... 32 Kasravi as a Historian. Shahriaran~e Q-omriam, main contents. Kasravi'a difficulties and aims. Plutarch's Lives. Sha.vkh Safi va Tahiar-aBh. Tarikh-e Mosha* sha' iian ya PansacL-sialeh-ye Khuzestan. Paydayesh-e America. Karnamak-e Ardashir-e II Page Babak&n. Tkrikh-e Mashruteh-ye Iran. T&rikh-e He.1d.ah- Baleh-ye Azarh^i.1an. The last phase of the Constitu• tional revolution. Some comments on Kasravi*s History of the Iranian Constitutional struggle. Kasravi*s articles on historical subjects. 1. The Afsh&rs of Khuzestart. 2. History of Tabarestan and Our Researches. 3» Cities and Rulers (Shahr-ha va>ShahriaVan)« 4. The Afshiar Tribe (II Afshar) 5. Shams al-Din Toghria'i. 6. Taymur Malek. 7. The Bayondoris. 8.. History and the Historian. Easravi's style of history writing. Chapter Three ... ... 107 Kasragi's. linguistic studies-and theories. Kasravi's studies of the Persian language. Chapter Four ... ... 234 Kasravi*s literary studies. Comments. Chapter Five; ... ... 234 Kasrav^s studies of religion. Section I. Kasravi's analyses of different religious beliefs. Ill Page Section II. Kasravi's own religious "beliefs. God and creation spirit. The other world. Reason. Religion and science. /Atfifii&'JBjd. Life. Prophet hood. The meaning of Pak-dini. Man's duties. International coexistence. Capital punishment. Land ownership. Importance of Agriculture. Social and governmental organization. Section III. Some comments on Kasravi's. religious ideas. Chapter Six ... ... 307 Kasravi's views on mysticism, philosophy and. materialism. Chapter Seven ... ... 328 Kasravi's political and sociological ideas. Comment. Conclusion ... ... 31h Bibliography ... ... IV TRANSLITERATION The transliteration in this thesis is phonetic, except that a few common words, such as Islam, Iran, Tehran, Iraq., are written in the usual English spellings. We have tried to reproduce the Persian words as they are pronounced in Iran today and in such a way that their Persian spellings can he identified; hut because of the difficulty of typing diacritical points, we have not distinguished between the different Arabo-Persian letters which are pronounced exactly alike (te and ta; he-ye hotti and he-ye hawaz; se, sin and sad; zjal, .ze, z&d and zja), except in the case of gha.yn and qiaf i which we have rendered as .gh and £, even though both are pronounced ,gh. We have marked initial *a.vn (e.g. in *Ali) even though it is not normally pronounced, and we have shown a moshaddad consonant by double letters (e.g. in bachcheh or tasawof) even though it is normally pronounced like an ordinary single consonant. We have represented the unpronounced viav after khe by w (e.g. in khwish). We have written h for both the pronounced and the unpronounced he-ye hawaz at the end of words; e.g. Ruzbeh-e Payman and Ruzn'ameh-ye Payman (pronounced Ruzname-ye Payman). V VOWELS a > ) o e la u a- m » i ow ay ai CONSONANTS b P t s j ch h kn d z > b z zh VI 8 if sh s z & t i> z t o gh f q. k g 1 .(J. m . c. n .3. V J (consonant) h y (consonant) 1 • Hamzeh in Arabic words: Hamzeh in Persian words: ye or i (e.g. so'alt Qor'an) (e.g. bachcheh-ye u; bachche'i) Hamzeh-.ve vasl in Arabic words: Elision in ^Persian words (e.g. Abu'l-Fazl) (e.g. m'al-e ma'st) 1 PREFACE Human beings, according to sociological research, are created with different physical and psychological charac• teristics. Among them we sometimes find people of genius, who are indeed rare and exceptional persons. It seems that God wishes to show His power when He creates such geniuses. Although during the centuries their numbers have been limited, their activities caused far-reaching political, scientific and social effects. No doubt Sayyed Ahmad Kasravi was one of the most brilliant geniuses in the Iranian world of learning. Few persons comparable with him have appeared in recent centuries in Iran. As will be mentioned later in 4 his biography/ Kasravi was born of an ordinary father and 2 an absolutely illiterate mother; only through his own personal ability and effort did he achieve a well deserved renown. On the other hand, history shows that most brilliant men and people of genius possessed only a limited range of ability, and acquired only sufficient knowledge for the particular subject of their interest. They concentrated their minds on the subject which attracted them, and some• times were so obsessed with it that they remained quite ignorant of other aspects of life. This is not true of 1. Kasravi, Zendegani-ye man. Tehran 1323/1944. 2. M. K. Azadeh, Chera Kasravi ra koshtand. Tehran 1325/1947, p.23. 2 Kasravi. The variety of his interests and writings in widely different fields was the most conspicious feature of his character. It is hard to "believe that a single individual could have "been so talented and have possessed such versatility of expression. He was a historian with an intense interest in all phases of history, a journalist in a very progressive way, a scholarly man of letters, and a proponent of sociological and political ideas for building a more advanced society. Undoubtedly a person with such extraordinary brain-power and energy deserves admiration. He was brought up in a very primitive household, where even the necessities of life were lacking, and his mind was developed and shaped in a very simple intellectual environ- ment. His teacher was a molla in the maktab (Qor'an school) of Hokmabad, a village on the outskirts of Tabriz, and the only available books for him were Sa'di's Golestan, a few chapters (surehs) of the Qor'an, and some religious tracts. No more needs to be said about Kasravi's genius.