Iran: An Old Civilization and a New Nation State

13 Pages·2012·0.25 MB·English

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 territorial and boundary
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 Greek, Roman, and Persian
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,
Kurdish, Luri, Mazandarani, 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 governing institutions with
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 Alexander the Great of
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 blatant anachronisms and
declaration is provided by Ferdowsi, a lawgiver but the defender of laws and misrepresentations. Babylonia was not
the famous 11th-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 government” and Cyrus'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). These sources relate that Arab
remain the same as it has always been economies. To uphold their settlement of southern Mesopotamia
since its beginning” (4). He kept the independence and to respect their increased after the advent of Islam in
existing political organization of space, religions, the king of kings did not lay the early 7th century CE. Finally, of
modified later by his successors. claim to any specific religion. course, the captive Jews in ancient
Alexander also proclaimed justice to be Consequently, the peoples of Babylonia have nothing to do with
the goal of his mission in Iran. ancient Iran's conquered territories Zionism, a 20th-century phenomenon.
Eminent researcher Nayer Nouri were free to keep their religions, laws, Moreover, war is an inherent part
quotes fellow expert Glover on the and traditions. Upon conquering of mankind's political behavior. Even
nature of ancient Persian civilization: Babylonia in 539 BCE, Cyrus the Great in this age of modernity when war is
found thousands of Jews in captivity detested as an act of immorality, there
The Persians (Iranians) set there. He freed them and sent them are moralists who defend the so-called
new ideas before mankind, ideas back to their place of worship. His “just war.” Babylonia was an Acadian
for the world's good government
respect for the captive Jews' religious civilization ruled by a tyrant, and,
with utmost of unity and cohesion
freedom guaranteed their good will therefore, Cyrus's war easily qualifies it
combined with the largest possible
towards the Iranians. He became their as such both in the Old and New
freedom for the development of
prophet, and they became voluntary Testaments as well as in the holy Koran.
race and individual within the
citizens of the Persian federation. On the other hand, our knowledge
larger organization. (5)
Cyrus commissioned the building of of ancient Persia and its role in the
their temple, and their reaction was to ancient world is largely shrouded in
Other writers, ancient and modern,
assess his work as fulfillment of the obscurity, and our information, all too
confirm that the “state” was central to
prophecy of Isaiah, where it says: scanty, is derived from foreign sources
Iran's governance from early times.
(11) that were at war with Iran most of
Greek historians/geographers
I am the lord…that saith of the time.
Herodotus and Xenophon (5th century
Cyrus, he is my shepherd, and
BCE) confirm that Iran's Achaemenid
shall perform my pleasure: even Justice as a Cornerstone of the Iranian
Dynasty (559-330 BCE) founded a saying to Jerusalem, thou shalt be State System
federal state, a vast commonwealth of built: and to the temple, thy
autonomous nations. This federation's foundation shall be laid. (8) Considering that justice was a
founder, Cyrus (Kurosh) the Great (559-
cornerstone of ancient Iranian political
529 BCE), together with his successors, Many have tried hard to detect a philosophy, it is reasonable to argue
substantially expanded their new “dark side” to this early example of a that Iranian spatial arrangements have
commonwealth, dividing it into many federative state and good government. contributed to the evolution of the
22 FOCUS on Geography Volume 49, Number 4
concept of democracy in the West. short intervals and caused a canal to be and the Turans to the east. The political
Some claim that when Cyrus the Great dug in Egypt to link the Red Sea to the organization of space in the Sassanid
founded the federative state of many Nile (17). federation (224-651 CE) was marked by
nations in what was to become known In matters of state politics, while the development of such concepts as
in the West as the Persian Empire (12), the Athenians were busy with their internal and external frontier-keeping
he did not invent tolerance, particular version of citizenship- states, buffer states, and boundary
righteousness, and happiness for the oriented democracy, Iran's pillars. There are even hints in ancient
people but was following a deep- Achaemenids were forging a state literature of a well-defined river
rooted, age-old tradition of how an system based on independence for boundary between Iran and Turan in
ideal king should behave. He may cultural groups or nationalities. It was Central Asia (20).
have inherited the tradition of good a federative system in which peoples of
government – based on justice, varying cultural backgrounds were Sassanid Use of Territory and
toleration of others and respect for given the right to govern their affairs Boundary
varying religious beliefs from the 7th- autonomously, with respect for their
century BCE Medes, whose king religious and cultural identities. It A look at the works of Persian
Deioces (Diaxus) first gathered all seems safe to say that equality and literature relevant to Iran's ancient
Iranians into a single empire (13). justice were important to governance in political geography, such as the poet
Nevertheless, Cyrus's decree of this federative system of statehood. Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, reveals that the
freedom and equality in 539 BCE is the The administration of justicreached its Sassanids helped develop the concept
earliest documented evidence that zenith nearly a millennium later in the of territory within the framework of
justice was basic to good government in Sassanid period during the rule of defined boundaries. The founding
the ancient Persian tradition of Anushirvan the Just (531-579 CE), Sassanid, Ardashir I, revived the
statehood. discussed in greater detail below. It is Achaeminids' political organization of
This tradition was observed by plausible to assume that these early the state, dividing it into 20
many who succeeded Cyrus in Iran Persian traditions of political autonomous countries. He initiated a
throughout its pre-Islamic history. philosophy have contributed to the government-style cabinet, assigning
According to the stales found at development of modern concepts of ministers of state including
Naghsh-e Rostam in western Iran, democracy in the West. Some suggest Bozorgmehr the physician-
Darius I (Dariush), known as Darius the (18) that the concept of empire is philosopher, and revived the ancient
Great (521-486 BCE), organized thirty perhaps a Roman adoption of the notion of the “four corners of the
satrapies, each under an autonomous Persian Shahanshahi system; and thus it realm,” (the Iranian federation), with
king assisted by a Satrap representing is plausible too that the Romans based four separate armies. He also created
the central authority of the king of their idea of a senate on the ancient an advisory board of the nobles by
kings. He appointed commanders of Persian Mehestan, the House of the dividing the political structure into
the army and secretaries of political Elders. seven classes. The ministers, the
affairs. He fixed the tributes of each priesthood, supreme judges, and four
satrapy, designating tribute-collectors Evolution of State and Boundary from generals commanded the four armies
and traveling inspectors, called the the Parthians to the Sassanids (21).
“eyes and ears” of the great king, to Most celebrated of the Sassanid
watch over the Satraps and army The Parthians, who succeeded the kings was Khosro I, Anushirvan the
commanders. He introduced Macedonians in Iran between 247 BCE Just (531 579 CE), whose
currencies of gold darics and silver and 224 CE, created two kinds of administration of justice has widely
siglus, thus facilitating trade exchange autonomies in the federation: internal been praised by Arabs and early
in the federation (14). Darius built the satrapies and peripheral dependent Islamic historian-geographers (22).
2,700 kilometer-long Royal Road from states, with 18 of the latter enjoying This wise ruler gave practical meaning
Susa, northwest of the Persian Gulf, to greater autonomy (19). to the Achaemanid concept of the four
Sardis on the Aegean Sea, with Around the dawn of the Christian corners of the realm by placing the 20
branches to Persepolis and other era, the concepts of state and territory countries of the Persian federation in
political and commercial centers (15). assumed greater sophistication as the four major Kusts or Pazgous. Each was
He ordered that the map of this road notion of frontier or boundary became ruled by a viceroy or regent called
and civilized countries along it be more important in Iran. This was Pazgousban or Padusban, and an
engraved on a plate of bronze (16), primarily the result of greater espahbad, or general, commanded the
perhaps the first detailed geographic centralization of power in the face of army of each Pazgous. In his epic
map in history. He established a postal new threats from powerful adversaries, Shahnameh, Ferdowsi describes the four
service with relays of men and horses at such as the Roman Empire to the west Pazgous as follows:
Spring 2007 FOCUS on Geography 23
Khorasan included the western periphery of the Iranian would form the boundary between the
territories of Qom and Isfahan; Plateau in Mesopotamia, which played two sides, Bahram
Azarabadegan or Azerbaijan the same role in the pre-Islamic era
included the territory of between the Persian and Roman constructed pillars of stone and
Armanestan (Armenia) and Empires. chalk (plaster); thereby ensuring
Ardebil; Pars included Persia, in Desert ecologist Mitrani's theory of that no one from Iran or Turk or
southern Iran, Ahvaz, and Khazar the “Middle Zone,” in his usage others would pass beyond unless
(most likely Khuzestan); and Iraq applied to Central Europe (27), can be permitted by the Shah who has
included the territory of Iraq and used here to help explain the status and also made Jeyhun (River Oxus) a
the Roman territories of Syria and geographical position of Iran within its median in the way. (29)
Anatolia (23).
regional setting. This geographical
situation has prevented other cultures Thus, it is Ferdowsi who asserted a
Development of the concept of from overwhelming the Iranian Plateau thousand years ago that boundary
territory in the Sassanid era went hand throughout history. pillars were erected six hundred years
in hand with the evolution of the On their eastern flank, the earlier and that Iranians, Eastern Turks,
concept of boundary. Governors Sassanids faced the Turans, who, like and third party nationals were
(Padusbans) were appointed for the the Romans to the west, engaged in prohibited from going beyond them
vassal states, and mayors (Shahrigs) numerous wars with the Iranians. In unless permitted by the king himself.
were appointed for the cities; frontier contrast to the imprecise buffer zone The king also defined the River Oxus as
zones were delineated to the west of the established with the Romans, the part of the boundary between the two
federation and boundary lines to its Iranians on at least one occasion created political entities. This is a good
east. precise boundaries with the Turans. example of the creation of a boundary
This difference – buffer zone versus line in ancient Persia, corresponding to
Buffers and Boundaries to the East and precise border – must have been the the modern understanding of the
West result of differing pressure exerted on concept. Similarly, the permission
the federation by these powers to their from the king for passing beyond the
In the west, the Sassanids east and west. Rivalries with the boundary might be considered as an
developed two kinds of frontier- Romans to the west were geopolitical, early form of a passport, in today's
protection states: the internal frontier evolving into a situation similar to the terms.
states within their four Kusts and the
Anglo-Russian “Great Game” of the 19th
external frontier states, the most Territories and Boundaries to the
century in Central Asia. Rivalries with
famous of which was Hirah or South
the Turans to the east were intensely
Manazerah in Mesopotamia (24), on the
strategic, culminating in many wars,
northwestern corner of the Persian Gulf There are indications that the
and requiring the demarcation of
at the meeting place of the Iranian and Parthians (250 BC - 224 CE) made
boundary lines to separate the two.
Roman Empires. This vassal kingdom substantial progress in seafaring, but
Not only did the Sassanids revive
was created in the 5th century by the there is no evidence to suggest how
the Achaemanid organization of the
Sassanids on the river Tigris not far they or the more ancient Achaemenids
state and territory, they also fashioned
from their capital Ctesiphon. This treated the issue of territoriality and
the term Iranshahr (the country of Iran),
frontier state was funded and protected boundary in coastal areas along the
arguably the first time that a state or a
by the Iranians, effectively forming a Persian Gulf. The Sassanids, by
nation had assumed an identity and/or
buffer state for Iran, defusing pressures contrast, organized the southern Gulf
a name independent of its ruling
emanating from the Romans (25). In a into two states or satrapies after they
dynasties (28).
similar move, the Romans created the gained control of this area during the 4th
Poet Ferdowsi provides glimpses
vassal kingdom of Ghassan in the region century CE. To the west, they created
of Iran's political geography in his
now known as Syria (26). the kingdom of Hagar, embracing
verses. Describing a debate between
By virtue of its struggle against ancient Aaval, covering an area that
the Persian king Bahram Gour (Bahram
Arab rule, Iran played the role of a today includes Bahrain, Qatar, and the
I, 421-438 CE) and a Roman emissary on
cultural barrier throughout the Islamic Hasa and Qatif provinces of Saudi
their differing styles of diplomacy and
era, guaranteeing its cultural survival Arabia. To the east they created the
statesmanship, Ferdowsi informs the
in subsequent periods. Islam found its vassal kingdom of Masun,
reader that, victorious in his campaign
way to Iran after 630 CE, supplanting encompassing an area that in our time
against eastern Turks, Bahram Gour
Zoroastrianism as the main religion, includes Oman and the United Arab
had boundary pillars built, between
but Arab culture was kept at bay. The Emirates.
Iran and its Turkish adversaries.
precise location of the line of this The original population of these
Deciding that the River Oxus (Jeyhun)
cultural barrier can be defined as the
24 FOCUS on Geography Volume 49, Number 4
areas was Iranian long before Arabs testimonies, the state organization had some intermediate steps.
found their way to the coastal south. created by the Achaemanid kings was Specifically, he points to the Arab
Arab immigration began in the 2nd based on culture groups and not Caliphate, which succeeded the Iranian
century CE. When the Kawadh (Qobads) territorial conquest. By developing Sassanid federation across the Middle
ruled Masun in the 6th century CE, they their own version of a federative state East in the Islamic era. Levy identifies
were faced with a rising tide of based on the notion of justice for all, the the Caliphate as an intermediate
immigrant Arabs. The Iranian rulers Iranians created a commonwealth of culture through which the Iranian-
treated the newcomers as citizens semi-independent nations (or a Persian tradition of statehood
(Shahrvandan in Persian, Ahlalbilad in federation of autonomous states) and influenced the modern Western world.
Arabic), giving them some autonomy arguably laid the foundation for the Quoting early Arab and Islamic
under their own tribal leadership (30). idea of state democracy or democratic records, he states that,
Thus, the ancient Iranian federation state.
was still at work a thousand years after This political structure of statehood the Fakhri, an early- fourteenth
its creation and in a distant, vassal was taking shape in Iran century manual of politics and
kingdom. However, the Sassanid era simultaneously with the advent of the history, relates how the caliph,
was coming to an end as the Arab influx Greek version of citizenship-centered Umar, when at his wits end to
became a flood fueled by Islam. The democracy. In 539 BCE, Iran's first know how to distribute the spoils
Arabs captured the Sassanid capital of Achaemenid leader, Cyrus the Great, of war which were pouring in,
Ctesiphon in the 630s, and the empire issued the charter in Babylonia sought the advice of a Persian who
had once been employed in a
collapsed by 650. (discussed above, the text is in the
government office (of the Sassanid
British Museum) declaring equality
time). His suggestion was that a
Summing Up: Impact of the Iranian and justice for individuals, as well as
divan, a register or bureau,
Tradition of Statehood on the West freedom for religious-cultural entities
should be instituted for
in the realm. These notions formed the
controlling income and this
There is no doubt that the political fabric of the Iranian-Persian
became the germ out of which
Athenians initially developed the state; Cyrus' successor, Darius the
grew the government machine
concept of democracy, specifically Great, also referred to justice in the
that served the caliphate some
direct democracy, in which citizens do stales he bequeathed to posterity. This
hundreds of years. (34)
not elect representatives to vote on suggests that, while the Athenians were
their behalf but vote in their own right. concerned about the rights of
Of the influence of the Persian
However, this practice applied only to individuals in society, the Iranian-
legacy of state and statesmanship on
the social strata of the Athenian city- Persians were anxious to promote the
the Arab Caliphate, an early Islamic
state, which became a democracy in 500 rights of communities within their state
historical account quotes Caliph Umar
BCE. A nationwide application of system.
as saying:
democracy had to wait until Alexander Few other sources discuss the

the Great conquered Persia in 331 BCE extent to which these ancient Iranian-
Verily have I learnt justice from
and adopted the Persian way of Persian traditions influenced the
Kesra (Khosro, Anushirvan the
organizing the political space – as a evolution of the Western concepts of
Just). (35)
quasi-federal state divided into state, boundary and democracy.
discrete territories. The Achaemenids Examples include Durant (31) and the
In his writings on the tradition of
no doubt developed the original philosopher Nietzsche, who may have
sacred kingship in Iran based on
concept of state, but the idea of a formed his view of the civilized
reliable Roman sources, Filippani-
vertically organized state with distinct Western man based on his readings of
Ronconi, states that:
and clearly demarcated boundaries the ancient Persian philosophy of life
matured under the Sassanids and (32). Nondemocratic traditions were
if we want to look into the
began to influence Western also passed on to the West: the scholar
successful diffusion in the
civilizations. Ghirshman (Iran, 1962) states that,
Western world of certain
When assessing the influence of “under Alexander, 'monarchy by
institutions connected with
ancient Iran on the concepts of state divine right' of the Iranians became an
kingship, in either the religious or
and boundary in medieval Europe, institution of Hellenism and later was the lay domain, we must go back to
Biblical references abound on the topic taken up by many European states” the Roman Empire, which was the
of Iranian statehood and its tradition of (33). first Western state to absorb a
respect for the rights of varying peoples The scholar Levy suggests that the great deal of such outside
(Isaiah 44; Esther 1:1; Ezra 1:1; and connection between the ancient influence, especially in its political
others). According to these Iranian-Persian tradition and the West and administrative institutions
Spring 2007 FOCUS on Geography 25
regarding the status of the eventual revival of the concepts of This process continued in 1923 in the
Emperor. (36). Iranian territoriality and statehood. south, where the main tribes, the
Eventually Iranian identity and Bakhtiari and Qashqai, were put down
Examples of the influence of the empire revived under the Safavid and Sheikh Khazal, the regional ruler of
Persian tradition of statehood on the Dynasty (1501-1722). Originating in the Arab tribes of Khuzestan, was
Western civilization are provided: northern Iran, the Safavids ousted.
The heritage handed down by reestablished a unified Iran, although Reza Khan was able to seize the
Iran to the West and still living in it was transmuted in many ways by government and legitimized his
its ideological conceptions and acceptance of Shia Islam as the official position and simultaneously
cultural institutions is manifold. religion. What they revived in terms of consolidated his (and the central
If its patterns are sometimes territorial organization of space was a government's) power through military
difficult to recognize and trace vague adaptation of the Arab Empire's means. In 1925, he sealed the unity of
back to their origin, that is due to
interpretation of the Sassanid system, the nation (40) by deposing the last of
the fact that this legacy has been
not the original version. This suggests the Qajar Dynasty, Ahmad Shah,
received through intermediate
that, during the centuries dominated crowning himself as “Reza Shah”
cultures and westernized
by the Arabs and Sunni Islam, Iran Pahlavi, head of the House of Pahlavi.
models… The leading elements of
departed from its own ancient The new king's carefully
what we could call the 'vertical
traditions of state and boundary. This constructed state and national frontiers
organization' of the state are part
was a powerful handicap that has were far from strong. The illusion of
of this age-old heritage. They were
manifested itself during the 20th centralization worked only for the
handed over to the modern world
century in the face of the conceptual innermost provinces. Iran's abilities to
through the late Roman imperial
and physical onslaught of modern confront challenges from the outside
structure and its medieval
European ideas about nationality and world were limited in spite of its
renaissance: through the
statehood. modern defense force. The new state
institutions of chivalry and
was successful in its first legal battles
knighthood that, obscurely
Emergence of the Nation-state in the with the British over control of the
transmitted to European society
20th Century Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in the
in a Celtic-Germanic garb, were
south, and it made some gains in a 1933
later Christianized … (36).
The Pahlavi Dynasty came into oil agreement (41).
Summing Up: Impact of the Iranian power in Iran in February 1921 out of a As World War II commenced, Iran
Tradition of Statehood on Iran in coup d'etat against the Qajar Dynasty. declared its neutrality, but this was
the Post-Islamic Era The founder of this new Dynasty jeopardized by political affairs in
gained a short breathing space, 16 years neighboring Iraq and growing British
What happened to these concepts of strong central control of the country, suspicions concerning the activities of
in Iran and in its neighbors following during which the idea of a modern German agents in Iran. The invasion of
the arrival of Islam? The Arab nation-state was imposed on Iran. This the USSR by German forces in June
Caliphate of Baghdad (Abbasid experience enabled the government to 1941 added to Iran's difficulties: with
Caliphate, 750 to 1258 AD) mimicked tie its formerly federated and varied its sensitive geographical location on
the Sassanid organization of territories provinces firmly to the central the one hand and the Anglo-Soviet
almost in its entirety (37). They too government. alliance on the other, the country was
created frontier states, one of which, the Beginning in 1921, Reza Khan exposed to simultaneous pressures
Khozeimeh Amirdom of Qaenat (in Pahlavi put down regional revolts by from the north and the south.
eastern Iran), lasted until the 1930s (38). the tribes of the Khamseh and others Increasingly perceived by the
In the post-Sassanid era, as Islam before beginning the process of Allies as a strategic supply corridor for
spread into Iran, the embrace of Shia reducing rebellion elsewhere in the transferring war material to aid
Islam over Sunni was essentially a west (39). He took advantage of the Russia's defense (42), Iran's oil also was
desire to revive the country's cultural Russian withdrawal from Iranian soil seen as a key commodity, to be denied
and national identity. The ancient in September of that year to put down the Axis powers (43). In 1941, an
Persian concept of justice gained new the Russian-backed revolt of Kuchak allegedly pro-German revolt by the
currency, transmuted into one of the Khan in the northern province of Gilan, Iraqi Prime Minister, Rashid Ali al-
five basic principles of Shia Islam. In marking the clear beginning of the Guilani, resulted in British and Russian
the following centuries, the expansion centralization process. In the following occupation of Iran on the 25th of August,
of Shia in Iran merged with other year, Reza Khan attacked rebel forces in bringing the Middle East directly into
notions of identity in the face of the Azerbaijan and Kurdistan and settled the Second World War. Reza Shah was
Arab Caliphate, paving the way for the the northeast province of Khorasan. deposed and sent into exile by a joint
26 FOCUS on Geography Volume 49, Number 4
Anglo-Soviet decision. agreement for exploration in the five during the events of the late 1970s and
occupied northern provinces– early 1980s, tested by both the Islamic
The Challenge of the Autonomous Asterabad, Azerbaijan, Gilan, Revolution of 1979 and the Iran-Iraq
Republics in the 1940s Mazandaran, and Khorasan – provided War (1979-1988). None of the
that Soviet forces were withdrawn and peripheral provinces broke away from
The overthrow of Reza Shah put subject to ratification of the concession the Iranian state during the period of
the country's internal structure and by the Majlis (parliament) when it was unrest in 1979-80 or during the Iraqi
international borders into question. reconvened. The matter was invasions of 1980. This was in part a
The Anglo-Soviet alliance opposed the complicated by a British military function of the internal cultural
accession of Reza Shah's son, the landing near Basra and the start of a cohesion of the country and in part a
second Pahlavi, to the throne. The major tribal rebellion in the south of result of prompt action by the central
Soviet Union's occupation in the north Iran supported by the British (46). government to put down secessionist
included their pursuit of additional In December of that year, the movements in their infancy. Also, the
territory, achieved by seizing parts of United States decided to support development of Iran as a nation-state
northern provinces. Qavam as-Saltaneh against the Soviet with a comparatively sophisticated
At the end of the War, Iran faced Union's attempt to rig the elections in economy between 1946 and 1978
the first challenge to its territorial Azerbaijan. This ensured that Iranian brought about considerable rural-
integrity. In December 1946, an government troops were able to enter urban migration and trans-province
autonomous republic of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan to supervise elections for movements to new work places.
was declared in Tabriz under Ja'far the Majlis on December 7th. The Together with a growth in national
Pishevari. This coup against the central eventual Soviet withdrawal and the consciousness, these changes largely
government in Tehran was backed by collapse of the Pishevari republic re- eroded traditional tribal and ethnic
the presence of the armed forces of the established Iranian sovereignty in the lines of separation.
USSR. It was feared that this might northwest, and permitted a return to Today, the only remaining
foreshadow the total loss of Azerbaijan the prewar boundaries with the USSR challenge to Iran's territorial cohesion
to them. Similar concerns applied to in that region. The Mahabad republic from its ethnic and linguistic minorities
the Kurdish People's Republic, set up in met the same fate at the same time. is in Kurdistan, tribal parts of
Mahabad in the west of Iran in the same From 1951-1953, Prime Minister Khuzistan, and more recently in parts
way and at the same time. Many in the Mossadeq's government, elected into of Azerbaijan. In the case of Iranian
West viewed the two new autonomous office in accordance with the laws of the Kurdistan, the creation of an
republics as designed to move Soviet Iranian constitution like those internationally sponsored Kurdish
frontiers southwards in accordance preceding it, succeeded in state in Iraq would be disruptive to the
with the will of Peter the Great and nationalizing the Anglo-Persian oil present balance. The majority of
according to the objectives of the USSR industry. However, this was a success Iranian Kurds see themselves
as laid out in the Four Power Secret Pact on paper only, as the subsequent oil ethnically as Kurds but also as citizens
of November 1940 between the Soviet agreement with the Anglo-American sharing Iranian heritage and values
Union, Germany, Japan, and Italy (44). Consortium held back actual with the rest of the Iranian populace.
The eventual survival of Iran's 1941 nationalization until the early 1970s. Since the start of the conflict in Iraq, the
frontier in the northwest was due to Then, with OPEC support, Iran governments of Iran, Turkey, and Syria
several combined factors: pro-Iranian regained independent control over its pledged to maintain Iraq's territorial
Azeri resilience, Iranian political oil industry, from production to integrity. The United States, France,
adroitness, and Western pressure on exports as well as pricing. and the United Kingdom have
the USSR (45). In January 1946, the Mossadeq was deposed in 1953 by reassured the United Nations Security
Soviet government refused to a combination of internal, U.S., and Council that Kurdistan will not be
withdraw its armed forces from Iran, British interests. From then until he hived off as a separate state. The
stating that its troops would remain in was deposed in 1979, Shah Mohammad prospects for an autonomous Kurdish
place until the originally agreed upon Reza Pahlavi ruled Iran with an iron fist nation seem therefore to be very small
deadline of March 2nd. The Iranian with the help of SAVAK, his notorious on current evidence (47).
government protested to the United intelligence and security service.
Nations Security Council against these The Islamic Revolution and Recovery
Soviet prevarications. However, help The 1979 Revolution and the since 1979
from the UN was feeble and slow in Restatement of Territorial Integrity
coming. It was left to Iran's Prime Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution gave
Minister Qavam as-Saltaneh to fight the The strength of the modern nation- the illusion of opportunity for ethnic
battle alone. He offered the USSR an oil state in Iran was seriously challenged groups to break away from central
Spring 2007 FOCUS on Geography 27
stopped. With the exception of
persistent, isolated unrest in Kurdistan,
Iran returned to its state of national
cohesion by 1981.
The Iranian Awakening
What is taking place in Iranian
domestic life at the start of the 21st
century, two decades after the Islamic
Revolution, appears to be a belated
realization of the goals set by the
country's constitutionalism a century
earlier. A constitutional revolution
awakened the Iranian elite at the
beginning of the 20th century, and the
Islamic Revolution, with its
tumultuous aftermath, appears to have
caused the universal awakening of all
Iranians at the start of the 21st (50).
T h a t i s t o s a y t h a t t h e
postrevolutionary euphoria, which has
Professor Pirouz Mojtahed-Zadeh (with hat in his hand) at number 10 Downing Street, further slackened the shaky rule of law,
London, with R.H. Tony Benn (former British energy secretary) and Professor Abbas as well as the consequences of the eight-
Edalat of London Imperial College and others delivering a petition to Prime Minister year war, together with the biting
Tony Blair against war on Iran. effects of the economic and strategic
siege of Iran by the United States, have
all led to the awakening of the people
government and to seek regional within Iran merits serious of Iran.
autonomy. During the unrest of 1979 consideration” (48). Such judgments The United States has, in recent
and 1980, marginal areas of the country were not uncommon in Western decades, implemented a careful plan of
were at times difficult to reach by the Europe, Japan, and North America, strategic encirclement of Iran, adding a
central government, which was unable indicating widespread concern about strong sense of insecurity to the
to send its representatives, gather taxes, the territorial unity of Iran during the country's deepening economic
or guarantee security in parts of period from February 1979 to hardship. Tehran has viewed this
Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Luristan, Fars, September 1980. strategic encirclement in the following
Khuzistan, and districts on the Persian This unstable position was way. The United States helped
Gulf. The most prolonged and temporary, and the subsequent Iraqi Pakistan, directly or otherwise, to
widespread insurrection occurred in invasion of Iran and outbreak of war create the Taliban in Afghanistan in
Kurdistan, with isolated armed clashes quickly united all Iranians (including order to destabilize Iran's eastern flank.
between the Iranian security forces and all ethnicities and opposition groups) in Washington extended direct and
Kurdish dissidents. defense of their country's territorial indirect support to the United Arab
Small-scale opposition, such as that integrity. This proof of the essential Emirates' claims to the Iranian islands
by the Turkmen minority, was crushed territorial stability of Iran bolsters the of Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu
early during 1979, though this was expert opinion of Professor McLachlan, Musa, a direct threat to Iran's territorial
more a political movement of the left- a highly respected Iranologist, who integrity in the Persian Gulf (51). The
wing Fedayin-e Khalq than an ethnic asserts, “Under conditions of U.S. then armed and encouraged Iraq
uprising. Arab separatist normality, Iran's border regions and to light the flame of war on Iran's
organizations in the oilfield province of ethnic minorities do not pose problems western flank (52), and supported
Khuzestan were set up by and to internal security” (49). The new Israeli-Turkish military cooperation,
supported with arms from Iraq. Under revolutionary authorities were quick to resulting in Israeli surveillance flights
these conditions of uncertainty in suppress pockets of lawlessness in the over Iran's western borderlands, thus
provincial areas, the British Foreign border regions with the help of the destabilizing the northwest. The U.S.
Office's off-the-record view was that majority once the initial impact of Iraqi support for strategic cooperation
“The question of territorial fission invasions on Iranian soil had been between Turkey, Israel, and Azerbaijan
28 FOCUS on Geography Volume 49, Number 4
Republic is viewed in Tehran as a society. In the four subsequent decades that general direction.
serious threat to the three Azerbaijan – from 1906 to 1940 – although the elite
provinces of Iran. was struggling for democracy, the The Mechanism of Political Supply
As seen from Tehran, this strategic, country was under foreign occupation, and Demand
long-term U.S. policy, coupled with the and foreign policies would not promote
prevention of Caspian Sea oil and gas or allow Iranian citizens to wake up and The comprehensive national
from being piped through Iran to the claim and exercise their own rights to awakening in Iran today has motivated
outside world and along with the democracy. demands for democracy throughout
deliberate isolation of Iran in the The years from 1940 to 1953, society. The elite, along with everyone
evolving strategic alignments in the though witness to free elections in else in Iran, speaks the same political
Caucasus, Caspian, and Central Asia, accordance with highly ambiguous language with the same purpose. They
has completed the strategic election laws, were not years of all demand the kind of reforms that are
encirclement of Iran on its northern democracy in Iran either. This period fundamental and far-reaching, the kind
flank. also began with foreign occupation and of reforms that could address the
A perhaps unanticipated the implementation of the policies of problems which prevent or at least
consequence has been to heighten the foreign powers. Following the end of delay the implementation of
perception of threat and territorial foreign occupation, clashes occurred democracy in Iran. The demand for
awareness among Iranians, thus among the elite on how to govern the democracy has gained ground in Iran
strengthening national unity country, harming prospects for at the grassroots level, and it is causing
throughout the country. No other democratization: differences in a growth of democracy from the basic
phenomenon in the past two hundred political views translated themselves foundations upwards through society.
years has worked as effectively as Iraq's into personal disputes between The tree of democracy in Iran now
invasion of Iran and the UAE territorial Mossadeq and his many political rivals, appears to be growing with its roots
claims against Iran to elevate national and personal vengeance among the firmly placed in the culture fed by the
unity and awareness of territorial elite replaced efforts for the values that form the Iranian identity.
integrity among Iranians. This implementation of democratic ideas.
encirclement by outsiders, together Thus, for the time being, the locomotive The Mechanism of A Clash of Views
with economic and political pressures, of democratic ideas was completely and the Start of Political Dialogue
has caused a political awakening of the derailed. The masses, still contending
kind needed for the democratization of with their rural economy and When the mechanism of political
Iranian society to be ignited. Four main traditional way of life, lacked the supply and demand begins to move
mechanisms working together have necessary awareness or motivation to towards democracy, this sets another
brought the country to this point. Each move towards improving their lot in a mechanism in motion that is essential
is discussed separately below. new and improved political system. for a balance of power – the clash of
They were unaware of the significance political views, which give birth to the
The Mobilization of the Mechanisms of voting and unfamiliar with their dialogue necessary among the forces
of Democratization right to participate in the management shaping political events. A society that
of the political affairs of their country. awakens to a variety of opinions
Iran's Constitutional Revolution, In 1953, the vacuum resulting from among political groups and factions
during which a national constitution the lack of effective national experiences conflicting views.
was issued in 1906 and amended in participation in politics made it Democracy is the result of a balance of
1909 and 1925, was not completely possible for a supposedly power in a society. This balance of
successful mainly because the kind of “democratically oriented” politician power emerges as the result of
democracy it promulgated was no like Mossadeq to close down even the opposing ideas and opinions among
more than an imported idea copied Majlis (Parliament), the most important political groups that require the rule of
from Europe, which could only impress symbol of democracy. What was law as their ultimate arbiter.
the westernized elite. A rural and happening at that time was not the Iranian society is presently
traditional society, with over 90% of its exercise of democracy but a popular experiencing this clash of views and
population illiterate and unaware of movement that later lead to the creation opinions among political forces and
modern world, could not digest this of the necessary capacity for has begun a far-reaching dialogue.
European idea in its original form. democracy. However plausible these Two main trends have emerged: the
In other words, there was neither efforts were, Iranian society at that time traditionalists and the reformists. This
the capacity for democracy nor was did not have the necessary mechanisms extensive discourse, with all its rough
there any demand for it outside of a for the realization of democracy. and smooth features that lead to sharp
small group at the top of Iranian Today the wheels have begun to turn in exchanges between political factions
Spring 2007 FOCUS on Geography 29