Iran entered the 20th century with a bull and wood plow, emerged from it with a steel mill, and a nuclear program that raised the fear of many. “Iran and Persia” are two names used to denote one country, but they are not quite synonymous. When the Aryan people migrated from their original homeland south of the Aral Sea to the high plateau below the Caspian Sea, they called the new home “Iran” meaning “home of the Aryans”. The history of ancient Iran can be divided into the following stages:
1.Prehistoric era: The first evidence of the existence of man on the Iranian plateau (about 100,000 years BC), which ended almost at the beginning of the first millennium BC.
2 – The era of primitive history: covering almost the first half of the first millennium BC.
3. The era of the ruling families (from the 6th to the 4th century BC): when Iran became the focus of the light of recorded history with the exception of the “Elam” civilization, which is located far from the Iranian plateau in the low Khuzestan region. The recorded history began there as early as in Mesopotamia (about 3000 BC).
4. The Achaemenid state.
5 – Alexander’s rule to the Parthian.
6- The Sasanian state.
7 – From the Islamic conquest to the Pahlavi state.
8. The Golden Age of Persian Civilization.
9- The reign of the Mongols.
10. The Safavid State.
11. The Kajar State.
12- Pahlavi State.
13. The Republic of Iran.
Historically, the ethnic composition of the Aryan people and the ancient inhabitants of the Iranian plateau pre-Aryans constituted an ancient people that for thousands of years had a culture and civilization that resulted in the emergence of the strains of great civilized empires affecting the world in ancient and modern times.
This people created a great country, inspired by the heritage of Babylonian, Assyrian, Assyrian and Babylonian civilizations. The height of the flourishing of this civilization dates back to the Eucharist era, in which the ancient world witnessed many governments and empires and in a large area.
This large and remarkable diversity of the various populations and entities that lived under the banner of the Achaemenid Empire led to the emergence of new ways of building relations, bureaucracy and economic transactions, and made one’s vision change towards culture, civilization, and religious and national beliefs. This was done by the Iranians for the first time by the order of the Achaemenid king Kuroch where a human rights charter was written 2,500 years ago. This indicates how they can be patient, dream, tolerant and flexible about every vision, belief and culture. The best proof of this is the existence of civil and judicial laws in that era in Iran .These laws, and in their practical application of the general policies and strategies of the Achaemenid rule, respected the individual, national and religious freedoms of all peoples and communities under the jurisdiction of the Akkadian Empire. According to studies and research carried out in this regard, the Roman law, which is a comprehensive basis for the new Western civilization, was quoted from the Iranian laws prevailing in the era of the Ayatollah.
The old age is over and a new era has begun in the history of Iran, which has been marked by the dawn of Islam in this country. The Islamic teachings have been mixed with Iranian culture and a new and strong civilization has emerged. In this modern era, the Iranians, based on the Islamic teachings, presented valuable treasures of science, knowledge, technology and art to the world, leaving wide echoes in the West that eventually led to the emergence of the signs of “scientific renaissance” and the beginning of the era of wisdom and the dynamics of culture and the vitality of civilization “.
Iran was one of the countries that had been fully opened in less than ten years. It is true that before the Islamic conquest, Iran was on the brink of social collapse and falling, but there is no one who does not believe that Iran had a prosperous civilization before. Iran has made progress in the fields of literature, science, architecture and government agencies. This means that Muslim conquerors did not come to a country which was far from science, culture and civilization, but they came to a country that recognizes all civilization and progress . After the entry of Muslim Arabs, the Iranians continued their cultural transformation. The return of political stability to Iran took place after the conquests and the Iranians knew about the Islamic teachings and learned the new language in about century and a half century. After this stage, the Iranians used their skills again and embarked on a new path to contribute to building a new civilization. A proof of what we are going to is that the most of the great scholars in various scientific branches are belonging to Iran, such as Ibn sina, Al-Farabi, Aburihan Al-Biruni, Omar Al-Khayyam, Sibuya, Al-Tabari, Abu Mubasher Al-Balkhi, Imam Al-Bukhari, Imam Musallam Al-Nishabouri, Imam Al-Nasa’i and many others. On the other hand, the emergence of these scientists can not be seen as a result of the Iranian atmosphere, because the basic peculiarity of their scientific effects was their Islamic identity.
The Islamic era in Iran is one of the most important chapters of history in the whole world. We see stars of preachers, poets, philosophers, wise men and great scientists who have produced a great deal of knowledge and culture in this age. The glory and greatness of this era is also reflected in the Islamic-Iranian architecture, where the Islamic art of Iran is reflected in the construction of domes and light beacons, inspired by fine lines, shapes and pictures in the decoration of mosques, and so on with Alqashani, bricks and plastering.
Persian is one of the oldest living languages in the world, rooted in the history of human civilization. The Persian language provided fertile ground for the flourishing of some of the oldest civilizations as well as for the diversity of its languages, following the brutal foreign invasion and cultural invasion of nations and peoples. If we look at history, we will see that many of the timeless literary creations were written in Persian and remain one of the most universal and comprehensive languages in the East for centuries. The spread of the Persian language extends from the heart of Europe to the Far East, and the best proof of this is the many fascinating Persian literary copies and manuscripts that have left their mark in the heart of Europe and up to the Far East.
The question arises in this context: Have you ever thought to look at Iranian culture away from politics ? Literature, music, poetry and the rest of the other branches of Iran’s civilization, which span centuries before the birth of Christ (peace upon him ). Did you know or hear Persian music? How influenced by the music of other civilizations and how influenced the Arabic music, and there were famous Musicians and music scientists in Arab countries such as al-farabi and Ibn Sina?
The history of Persian music dates back to thousands of years from the time of the Elam civilization to the other civilizations that passed from the land of Persia. The music became very visible and flourished during the Sassanid times because it was in the religious rituals of Zoroastrian worship. It is also rumored that Alexander the Great, after conquering the Levant, was fascinated by the music of the East. Some writers say that this position reflects what Greek music was suffering in comparison to the glorious music of the East.
Traditional Iranian music is intertwined with many of the tributaries of other cultures and civilizations. Indian music has the greatest influence on Persian music. Bahram, king of the Sassanids, asked the king of India to send 1,200 Indian musicians to enjoy the music of the Iranians. Abu Rayhan al-Biruni also pointed to this impact. The most prominent of these influences is that some of the Indian musical instruments are common in Iranian music such as Alqan and Daiere. On the other hand, Indian music is also influenced by Iranian music. The influence between them was reciprocal. There were Iranian musicians in the court of the Indian Sultan Akbar Shah including the musician and poet Amir Khusraw Dahlawi.
Traditional Persian music has some of its own instruments, for example the Iranian Oud differs from the Arab Oud, but these differences are not alone. There are some of the machines invented in Persia and have become part of the Iranian musical imagination:
(1) Kubouz (Machine of Adoration): It is said to be the mother machine for all musical instruments that are played in the Middle East 500 years ago, it has been known as the Love Machine, a very ancient machine and according to some archaeological documents dating back almost 6,000 years. It was famous among the Sumerian tribes.
(2) Chang: One of the ancient Persian musical string instruments, which was widely popular during the Sassanid rule. The machine appears in the ancient Persian frescoes, whose shape has been altered by the development of its industry about 4,000 years ago. This machine is mostly played by women, and attempts are now being made to revive it again with new music.
(3) Setar: one of the string instruments belonging to the Oud family. The word consists of two syllables (Se) means cord ,it is a three- string -machine , a fourth chord was added later , the word Tar means three . It originated in Persia before the spread of Islam and is widely used throughout Iran and Central Asia.
Many Iranian musicians and scientists of music are also known in Islamic history, and perhaps great musicians from the Arab world did not emerge as did the Persians. Perhaps before the influence of the Persian culture extended for many years BC, which music was one of the main tributaries of this culture, especially as it was used in the religious rituals of the Zoroastrian religion ,and with the conquest of full Persia and with the rise of the Umayyad Caliphate, the cultures were intertwined and mixed with each other. The Persian music of the Umayyad period began to take its place with the spread of singers and musicians in the palaces of caliphs, councils of ministers and the rich.
Historians mention that one of the Persian originals, “Saib Khathar” was belong to Abdullah bin Jaafar. Abdullah had heard one of the Persian singers (his name is Nash et al farsi ) singing and he admired him. Saib said to him: I can do like the singing of this Persian in Arabic. He was the first to make the oud in the city and sang it. It was the first voice to be sung in Islam by the fine Arabic singing of craftsmanship, according to Abu al-Faraj al-Asfahani in his most famous book: al-Aghani . So he was the first Arabic singer to have a fine workmanship influenced by Persian music. The Arabic music was influenced by Persian music, and perhaps the influence of Persian music was the strongest and most prominent in Arabic music, especially as the rise of Persian music increased with the arrival of the Abbasids in power who relied on Persians to establish and manage their state.
The culture of Iran has been able to consolidate its positions and to expand its circle of admirers through ancient, intermediate and modern history . Culture has its creative manifestations in the fields of science and literature, poetry and prose, and in the field of architecture, sculpture, The Iranian culture is characterized in most of its ages by a positive philosophical approach, which has always sought to enshrine the concepts of good, justice and love. However, its greatest turn in this direction has occurred with the entry of Islam, which support those constructive and humanitarian trends in the field of culture in general , and providing them with a new spirit derived from the spirit of faith, which is the most important characteristics of monotheism.
We can follow the successive pages of the development of Iranian culture since the emergence of the Persian state in the middle of the sixth century BC and until this date, passing through the Akhmani and Ashkanyans and Sassanids and Safavids and others, and Iran has interacted throughout its history with the peoples of neighboring nations, In the end, to come out of these long and complex experiments with art, has special features, but the most important Iranian art is the Islamic era.
Islamic photography, known as “miniatures”, has distinctive characteristics, including the technical, stylistic, and functional aspects that this image aspires to. This stems from a philosophy that deals with man, the universe and religion within a conscious framework.
Iranian artists played an important role in most of the art schools of the art ( miniatures). Their experiences in both the Abbasid school in Baghdad, and especially at the arrival of Al-Baramkeh to power. They brought many Iranian artists to Baghdad and participated to establish the school of miniatures in it, The Seljuk school was known to attempt to preserve the authenticity of the Iranian painting, its local features and its implications and to keep it away from the influences of Chinese art. However, by the Mongol takeover of Iran and the emergence of the Mogul school , the features of miniatures were changed and the Mongols established schools in Tabriz, Shiraz and Mero, which were associated with the Chinese style, and then the Haret or Timurian school in Samarkand, which is one of the most prominent Iranian painting schools ever. When the Safavid school was founded in the Safavid era, the Iranian art center was transferred “from” Herat “to” Tabriz “, and the paintings of Safavid school are a new page in the Iranian drawing.
And anyone who visits Iran, sees with his own eyes and in every part of its territory the pride of the Iranians of archaeological sites and fine arts and so on that reflects the legacy of civilization in it , the luxury buildings , fine arts , nature and scenic views are landmarks that historians , tourists and others have mentioned it in their memories and works . The UNESCO World Organization has listed 15 Iranian archeological monuments in the list of world monuments among the thousands of monuments in Iran including : Chegha Zanbeil, Takht Jamshid Group( Persepolis) ,wiston, the throne of Sulaiman the Sultan’s Tomb ,the historic fortress of Sultan , the Sultan’s mosqe , the Jahan engraving site, the waterworks in Shoshtar , theTabriz historical market , , the tomb of Sheikh Safi al- Din al—Ardabili cemetery , the Iranian gardens, the mosque in Isfahan and the dome of Qaboos..
The Iranians attribute themselves to both Shia Islam and their pre-Islamic history, especially the Sassani, the Eucharist, and the Parthenian era. The names chosen by the parents for their children are aliving proof of this: Shiites come from names such as Ali, Mahdi, Reza, Hussein, Hassan, Fatima, and from ancient Iran, through the Fardous poet and his Shahnameh epic “Book of Kings” names such as Esfandiar, Rustam, Soharab, Ardashir, Kawa, Bahram and Atosa. This 10-century epic is still widely read at present. Although national identity is a recent invention, Shahnameh epic refers to Iran by name more than a thousand times, and can be considered a mythical history of the Iranian nation. As in the case of some Middle Eastern peoples, the Iranians have shown a national consciousness much earlier than the modern age and of course, how to express this awareness and who developed it has not always been fixed.
Iranian Studies Unit
Rwabet Center for Research and Strategic Studies