By Pirouz (@Pirouz)
Archeological and historical evidence support the current plateau of Iran–spanning from northern India to central Asia, through the Caucuses, southern Russia and Asia Minor, Mesopotamia and then stretching across down to the southern shores of the Persian Gulf–has since antiquity (back at least as far as 200,000 years ago) served as the African-Asian crossroad for the Homo sapiens and other Asiatic human species to propagate. It must be noted, however, that Neanderthals never crossed into Asia, but rather went straight to Europe from the horn of Africa, and were later mixed with Home sapiens that later emigrated westbound from the Iranian plateau, just to be extinct 10,000-25,000 years ago. That is why most today’s Europeans possess 4-7 % Neanderthal genes, whereas the rest of us still from the southwest Asiatic side, have none!
Our earliest ancestral Homo sapiens who settled on the greater plateau of Iran, were by as late as 1,500 years BCE, mixed with the new arrivals of Medians and Persians…moving southbound from east of the Caspian Sea. In fact, we do have archeological evidence such as human settlements and remains, artifacts, military hardware, potteries and figurines at London and Louvre Museums among other major collections, from as far back as 20,000 years ago. Through a politically arranged intermarriage between Mandana the daughter of Astiage the Medians King, and Cyrus the Persian King of the Achaemenes dynasty who inaugurated the first giant world empire, THER PERSIAN EMPIRE over 2,500 years ago, the modern first post Neolithic era civilization has commenced and continues ever since. Thence, such kings and dynasties emerged and disappeared into the oblivion bin of history; nonetheless, peoples, places, and their integrated psyches have perseverated and evolved (at times devolved) since…..
A form of organized central government in one form or the other, as ruled by over 30 dynasties and each comprised of a few to a dozen or so kings or queens, ruling from 43 major metropolis capitals, have governed IRAN since antiquity. Some kings were just but most were absolute monarchs, who declared themselves shadows to god (s). In fact, one cannot casually overlook the pivotal contributions of the indigenous and later arrived Iranians (Persians), during the past 10,000 years, for some of the most fundamental discoveries including the roots of most today’s Indo-European derived languages, writing scripts, mathematics and astronomy, literature, the arts and architecture, aesthetics, etc. as well as the concept of religiosity and faith, first through Persian Mithraism, Zoroastrianism, Mazdeism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and later as they metamorphosed into, and integrated with Judaism, Christianity and finally Islam. Very few surpassed the first just King in history, Cyrus the Great, who declared the first codes on Human Rights and dignity, and allowed the conquering lands and nations, today constituting over 30 sovereign countries, to preserve and practice their own identities, autonomies, religions and cultures, unlike the latter arrived Alexander of Macedonia who went on pillage and rampage and in futile struggle in the east of Hellenizing them all.
Fast forward, although the last 1,000 years of European dark ages and waves of bloody crusaders into the orient, was first awoken by Magna Karta of 1215, and later the Renaissance in the 14th through 17th century yielding enlightenment, the east including IRAN was inflicted with the introvert state of depression and dark ages that was only healed surreally, by isolated spiritual Sufism, mysticism, and melancholically music and poetry. For instance, after the first camera gifted to Nasser-eddin Shah Qajar in 1842, followed by the moving camera in in Iran circa 1875 (watch the attached video), most Iranians, less than 10 million at the time, were illiterate, serfs and poor due to heavy taxes levied on them, and forced to give up in droves their Jewish, Zoroastrian, Christian and Baha’i faiths and become Shiite Muslims. In retrospect, it was so ironic that the majority of Iranians Muslims, comprised of half the population of a couple of million in the 15th Century were Sunnis. Instigated by the Europeans colonialists especially the Vatican, who feared the re-occupation of Europe with the second Islamic wave driven by the new Ottomans, and through giving guns and cannons, training and persuading the newly converted Persian Sunni Safavid dynasty Kings, sheik Safi, Ismael and Abbas et al, Iranians were forced by swords to Shi’ism adopting many Catholic rituals, passion plays and processions, thereby opening up a lethal eastern front against the Ottomans so as to divert and deter them from the utter overrun of Europe, as it had occurred back in 7th century.
After the home return of the waves of Iranian doctoral students from Farang, i.e., France and Austria, and later Germany in the 19th century, the modernization and reforms in the context of the many good aspects of Iranian culture, led to the 1907 Constitution Revolution to replace absolute monarchy. The rest of the 20th century, witnessed rapid transformation of the modern nation, as narrated (watch).
Hence, the homegrown process of reformation, secularization, and modernization, fast approaching 200 years in the making, still continues today.
In closing, please watch the nostalgic video below, recorded in 1956 and presumably computer color enhanced. It captures the daily lives on a still famous Tehran downtown quarter, Lalehzar (the tulip prairies). I was born in Shemrian a few miles north, (off Niavaran Ave. on Haghighat alley behind the still standing Firehouse in Dezashib) and grew up in Evin (outside the tall impassable walls) along the Parkway before emigrating “to the promised land…” The rest is history.
The above notwithstanding, humanity is a universal phenomenon and as such has no boundaries. As in this illustration, it is true most if not us all physically resemble Darwin on the upper right corner next to the pink flamingo! However, the 64 quadrillion dollars question is that we must each decide in life where we truly fit on this stratified diagram in terms of our behavior, (mis-) conducts and psyche as to the evolutionary distribution of species.