Speech by Dr. Shahrokh Ahkami at IAMA, May 2022
— Persian Heritage, #107, Winter 2022 —
Before starting my speech, I must pay tribute to the founder of the Iranian-American Medical Association, Dr. Amir Ganchi. Dr. Amir Ganchi founded IAMA (Iranian- American Medical Association), an organization that brought first, second and third generation Iranian-American physicians together. For his success in creating this organization, we thank him and admire his sacrifices.
Iran was commonly known until Mid-20th century (1935) as Persia in the Western world, is linked with the history of a larger region, known as greater Iran, from Anatolia in the west to the borders of India and the Syr Darya in the East, and from the Caucasus and the Eurasian steppe in the North to the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman in the South the Iranian Empire begins of the world’s coldest continuous major civilizations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to 7000BC (1) this period Ends with Mannueans C13 Dynasties. (Geory Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (2) calls the Persians the First Historical people.
Iran Age: following the influx of Iranian people the Iranian people gave rise to 17 Empires. The most important ones were Medes, the Achaemenid, Parthian Seleucid and Sassanian Empires of Classical Antiquity.
The Middle Ages:
The Muslim conquest of Persia from Rashidun Caliphs to Akkoyunlu was the most important: Abbasid Period and autonomous Iranian Dynasties. Islamic Golden Age, Shu’ubiyya movement and Persianization process Persianate states and Dynasties (977-1219) Samanids, Safavid dynasty, Seljuk Empire Khwarazmian Empire, Mongol Empire, Ilkhanate, Timurians (Timurid Empire).
Early modern period Safavid Empire (1501-1925) Nader Shah and his Successors (Afshariya Dynasty) Zandiye dynasty.
Late Modern Period: Qajar Dynasty 1796-1925 Pahlavi Era (1925-1979).
Contemporary Period: Revolution and the Islamic Republic (1979-2022) Present.
Alexander, who quickly conquered the Persian Empire under its Last Achaemenid dynasty, Darius III, died young in 323 BC leaving an expansive empire of partly Hellenized culture without an adult heir. The vast territories were divided among Alexander’s generals, Satraps the Seleucid Empire. It was founded by the Macedonian General Seleucus I Nicator following the division of the Macedonian Empire. Originally founded by Alexander (11-12-13-14) they ruled Iran 248 years and for 60 years they were absolute rulers, then a Parthian tribal chief overtly took the title of Kings of Persia, before becoming vassals to the newly formed Parthian Empire. Seleucids respected the cultural and religious sensibilities of their subjects but preferred to rely on Greek or Macedonian soldiers and administrators for the day-to-day business of governing. The latter part of the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, he saw a further disintegration of the Empire despite his best efforts the Parthians moved into the power and a vacuum took over the cold Persian lands. Efforts to deal with both the Parthians and the Jews as well as retain control of the provinces at the same time proved beyond the weakened Empire’s Power. Antiochus died during a military Expedition against the Parthians in 164 BC.
The Abbasid caliphate, was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. the Abbasid Caliphate first centered its government in Kufa, modern day Iraq, but in 762 the Caliph Al-Mansur founded the City of Baghdad. Baghdad became the center of science, culture and invention in what became known as the Golden Age of Islam. This in addition to housing several key academic institutions, including the House of Wisdom, as well as multiethnic and multi-religious environment, garnered it a worldwide reputation as a “center of learning”. The Abbasid Period was marked by dependence on Persian bureaucrats (such as the Barmakid family) for governing the territories as well as an increasing inclusion of non-Arab Muslims (Muslim Community) Persian customs were broadly adopted by the ruling elite, they began patronage of artists as Scholars. Despite this initial cooperation, the Abbasids of the late 8th Century had alienated both non-Arab mawali (elients) and Persian autocrats. They were forced to cede authority over all Andalus (current Spain and Portugal) to the Umayyads in 756, Morocco to the Idrisids in 788, Sicily to the Aghlabids in 800, Khorasan, Transoxiana to the Samanids, Persia to the Safavids in the 8705 and Egypt to the Isma’ili-Shia Caliphate of the Fatimids in 969.
The political power of the caliphs was limited with the rise of the Iranian Buyids and the Seljuq Turks, who captured Baghdad in 945 and 1055, respectively, the dynasty retained control of its Mesopotamian domain during the rule of caliph Al-Muqtafi and extended into Iran during the reign of caliph Al-Nasir the Abbasid age of cultural revival and fruition ended in 1258 with the attack of Baghdad by the Mongols under Hulagu Khan (I Ikhanate) and the execution of Al-Mustu’sim.
Ghaznavid Dynasty was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic mamluk origin ruling, at its greatest extent large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwest Indian continent from 977 to 1186. The dynasty was founded by Sabuktigin in Ghazna after the Death of his father-in-law Alptigin, who was an Ex-General of the Ssamanid empire from the Balkh in the greater Khorasan.
Sabuktigin’s son, Mahmud of Ghazni expanded the Ghaznavid empire. During Mahmud’s reign (997-1030) the Ghaznavids settled 4000 Turkmen families near Favana in Khorasan. Finally, the Turkmen were defeated and scattered to neighboring lands. In 1033, Ghaznavid Governor executed fifty Turkmen chiefs for raids into Khorasan Mahmud of Ghazni led incursions deep into India as far as Mathura, Kannauj and Sommath. In 1018 he laid waste to the city of Mathura, the wealth brought back from Mahmud’s Indian expeditions to Ghazni was enormous and contemporary historians (e.g., Abolfazl Beyhaghi and Ferdowsi) give glowing descriptions of the magnificence of the capital and the conqueror’s support of literature. Mahmud died in April 1030. Although the dynasty was of central Asian Turkey origin it was thoroughly Persianized in terms of language, culture, literature and habits and has been regarded as a “Persian Dynasty”.
The Ghaznavid sultans were ethnically Turkish, but the sources all in Arabic or Persian. The essential basis of the Ghaznavids military support always remained their Turkish soldiers. There are indications of some Turkish literary culture under the early Ghaznavids. (Kopruluzade, PP3657) the political power and administrative apparatus which gave it shape came very speedily to be within the Perso-Islamic the fact that personnel of the bureaucracy which directed the day to day running of the state, and which raised the revenue to support the Sultan’s life style and to finance the professional army were Persians who carried the administrative traditions of the Samanids, only strengthened this conception of secular power.
Persianization of the state apparatus was accompanied by the Persianization of high culture at the Ghaznavid court. Poets such as Abu’l-Faraj Runi Sana’I, Otman Mokhtari, Mus’ud-e-Sa’d e Salman, and Sayyed Hasan Ghaznavi the translator into Persian prose Ebn Moqaffa’s Kalil wa Demna, namely Abu’l-Maali Nasr-Allah, Mohammad Persian Literary culture enjoyed a renaissance under the Ghaznavids during the 11th century. The Ghaznavid Court was so renowned for its support of Persian Literature that the Poet Farrukhi traveled from his home province to work for them, the poet Unsur’s short collection of poetry was dedicated to Sultan Mahmud & his brothers Nasr and Yagub, Manuchehri wrote numerous poems about the merits of drinking wine. Sultan Mahmud, Modelling the Samanid Bukhara as a cultural center, Made Ghazni into the center of learning, inviting Ferdowsi and al-Biruni, he even attempted to persuade Avicenna, but was refused. The Ghaznavids continued to develop historical writing in Persian that had been initiated by their predecessors, the Samanid Empire, the historian Abu’l-Fadl Bayhaqi’s Tarikh-e-Bayhaqi written in the latter half of the 11th century Ghaznavids were Turkic and their military leaders were generally of the same stock. In terms of cultural championship and support of Persian poets, they were more Persian than their ethnically Iranian rivals, the Buyid Dynasty, whose support of Arabia letters in preference to Persian is well known.
The Seljuqs, who like the Ghaznavids were Persianate in nature and of Turkic origin, slowly conquered Iran over the course of the 11th century. The dynasty had its origins in the Turcoman tribal confederations of central Asia and marked the beginning of Turkic power in the Middle East. They established a Suni Muslim rule over parts of central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries. They set up the Great Seljuq Empire that stretched from Anatolia in the west to western Afghanistan in the east and western borders of (modern day) China. In the North East today they are regarded as a cultural ancestor of the Western Turks, the present-day inhabitants of Turkey and Turkmenistan and they are remembered as great patrons of Persian culture, art, literature and language.
During Malik Shah (107-1092) Iran enjoyed a cultural and scientific renaissance, largely attributed to his brilliant Iranian vizier, Nizam Almulk. These leaders established the observatory where Oman Khayyam did much of his experimentation for a new calendar and they built religious schools in all major towns. They brought Abu hamid Gazali one of the greatest Islamic theologians. Nezami Anvari, Khaqani, Sohravardi, Fakhr Razi Naser Khosrow, Bayhaqi, and many architects and artists were working for them.
Mongol Conquest rule (1219-1370)
Mongol invasion (1219-1221): The Khwarazmian dynasty only lasted for a few decades until the arrival of the Mongols. Genghis Khan had unified the Mongols, under him. The Mongol empire quickly expanded in several directions in 1218, it bordered Khwarezm. The Mongol invasion of Iran began in 1219, after two diplomatic missions to Khwarezm sent by Genghis Khan had been massacred. During 1220-21 Bukhara, Samarkand, Herat, Tus and Nishapur were razed and the populations were slaughtered. While Genghis Khan was conquering Transoxiana and Persian several Chinese individuals who were familiar with gunpowder were serving in Genghis’s army “whole regiments” entirely made out of Chinese Army were used by the Mongols to command bomb harling trebuchets during the invasion of Iran. Historians have suggested that the Mongol invasion had brought Chinese gunpowder weapons to Central Asia.
Before his death in 1227, Genghis had reached Western Azerbaijan, pillaging and burning many cities along the way after entering into Iran from its North East. The Mongol invasion was by and large disastrous to the Iranians. The Mongol invaders eventually converted to Islam and accepted the culture of Iran, the Mongol destruction in Iran and other regions inn Islamic heartland (particularly the historical Khorasan region, mainly in central Asia) marked a major change of direction for the region. Much of the six centuries of Islamic scholarship culture (Persian during Islamic Period) and infrastructure was destroyed as the invaders leveled cities, burned libraries and in some cases replaced mosques with Buddhist temples.
The Mongols killed many Iranian civilians. Destruction of qanat irrigation systems in the North East of Iran destroyed the pattern of relatively continuous settlements, producing many abandoned towns which were relatively quite good with irrigation and agriculture Ilkhanate (1256-1335) after Genghis death, Iran was ruled by several Mongol commanders. Genghis’ grandson, Hulagu Khan. by the time he ascended to power, the Mongol empire had already dissolved, dividing into different factions. Arriving with an army, he established himself in the region and founded the Ilkhanate, a breakaway state of the Mongol empire, which would rule Iran for the next eighty years and become Persian in the process. Hulagu Khan seized Baghdad in 1958 and put the last Abbasid Caliph to death. The rule of Hulagu’s great-grandson, Ghazan (1295-1304) Saw the establishment of Islam as the state religion of the Ilkhanate. Ghazan and his famous Iranian Vizier, Rahid al Din, brought Iran a partial and brief economic revival. The Mongols lowered taxes for Artisans encouraged agriculture, rebuilt and extended irrigation works and improved the safety of the trade routes. As a results commerce in creased dramatically. Items from India, China and Iran passed easily across the Asian steppes and these contacts culturally enriched Iran. Iranians developed a new style of painting based on a unique fusion of solid, two-dimensional Mesopotamian painting with the feathery, light brush strokes and other motifs characteristic of China.
Timurid Empire (1370-1507)
Iran remained divided until arrival of Timur, a Turco-Mongol belonging to the Timurid Dynasty – like its predecessors the Timurid empire was also part of the Persianate world. Timur invaded Iran in 1381. Timur’s campaigns were known for their brutality; many people were slaughtered and several cities were destroyed (103). His regime was characterized by tyranny and blood shed, but also by its inclusion of Iranians in administrative roles and its promotion of architecture and poetry. Sufi Poet Hafez’s popularity became firmly established in Timurid era that saw the compilation and widespread copying of his divan. Sufis were often persecuted by orthodox Muslims who considered their teaching blasphemous. Sufism developed a symbolic language rich with metaphors to obscure poetic references to provocative philosophical teachings. Hafez concealed his own Sufi faith. Even as he employed the secret language of Sufism in his own work. “he brought it to perfection” His work was imitated by Jami, whose own popularity grew to spread across the full Persianate world.
Iranian historians also moved from writing in Arabic to writing in their native Persian tongue. The rudiments of caulicle, entry accounting, were practiced in the Ilkhanati, Merdiban was then adopted by the Ottoman Empire.
These developments were independent from accounting practices used in Europe. Iran’s distinctive excellence in architecture. Finally, Ilkhan as a tribal title in 19th/20th century Iran, the title Ilkhan resurfaced among the Qashqai nomads of Southern Iran in the 19th century. Jan Mohammad Khan started using it from 1818/19 and this was continued by all the following Qashqai leaders. The last Ilkham was Nasir Khan who in 1954 was pushed into exile after his support of Mosaddeq. When he returned during the Islamic Revolution in 1979, he could not regain his previous position and died in 1984 as the last Ilkhan of the Qashqai.
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Sources : Wikipedia