How Zoroaster's Persian Became Iran

Sheila T. Harty

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How Zoroaster's Persian Became Iran

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• Arts

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• Publié par: ifydesut
• Nombre de lectures: 71
• Langue: Français

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a theological essay by Sheila T. Harty ecently, I asked a Middle Eastern man his nationality. He said Persian. I smiled at his side step rather than claim Iranian. Both terms are accurate, so one gets to choose. His choice of selfidentity 1 reflects political realities and historical pride. The country's original name was Iran, meaning land of the Aryans, a Sanskrit term for the IndoEuropean language group originating 5,000 years ago. “Persis” is Greek for Iran, so Greeks called these people Persian. Persian Empire th rd he Persian Empire, strictly speaking, refers to successive dynasties from 6 to 3 century BCE . Then T Alexander the Great conquered Persia, but the Persian Empire regained autonomy two centuries th later. So the Persian Empire, loosely speaking, refers to all successive states from 6 century BCE up to 1935 CE ,changed back to Iran. At its peak, the Persian Empire was three times larger thanwhen its name Iran is today. Its territory included the lands of Iran, Iraq, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Yemen, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates, and most of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Egypt, and Turkey, and parts of Kazakhstan, Russia, India, Libya, Tunisia, and Greece. Immense!  Most Americans know that Iran is Islamic and of the Shiite sect. Yet the Persian Empire existed for th fifteen centuries before Arabs conquered it for Islam in the 7 century CE . Another nine centuries passed—into the 1500s—before Persian Muslims became Shiite. Yet, a profile of Iran as merely Shiite Islam fails to acknowledge its ancient Persian culture—noted once as the world's first religiously tolerant 2 empire. So here’s 2,600 years of political and religious history for you. th 3 yrus the Great, King of Iran in 6 century BCE the standard of the ideal ruler—generous and, set C compassionate. When Cyrus captured Babylon, he released the Jews, captive there for two 4 generations since the destruction of the Jerusalem temple by Assyrians, and assisted them in migrating back to their homeland, though only a quarter of them did. Hebrew Scripture records Cyrus' benevolence 5 inChronicles IIand in the prophetsEzraandIsaiah.Cyrus' own account is considered the first charter of 6 human rights, predating theMagna Cartaby 2,000 years. It is inscribed on a clay cylinder and has been th imprisoned in the British Museum since its rediscovery in the 19 century and only recently allowed 7 home on “loan.” It reads: I am Cyrus, king of the world, great king, mighty king... When I... entered Babylon... My numerous troops moved about undisturbed ... I did not allow any to terrorize the land... I kept in view the needs of Babylon and all its sanctuaries to promote their wellbeing. ... I put an end to their misfortunes... Empire at Its Peak 8 9 arius the Great, King of Persia, is also recorded in Hebrew scripture, since Cyrus' decree to rebuild D the Jerusalem temple took almost fifty years and into Darius' reign. An inscription on Darius’ tomb

1  The ancient version is "Aryanam." 2  In summarizing 2,600 years of history, I relied on three major sources: (1)From Ancient Persia to Contemporary Iranby Reza Ladjevardian (Waldorf MD: Mage Publications, 2005); (2)The History of Iranby Khodadad Rezakhani (Iranologie.com, 2007); and (3)The Struggle for Iranby Christopher de Bellaigue (New York NY: New York Review of Books, 2007). A bibliography of additional sources is appended with attention to a series of articles on Iran by Seymour M. Hersh inThe New Yorker, 20062008, and aNational Geographicprofile, August 2008. 3  557530 BCE . 4  586 BCE . 5 II Chronicles36:22,Ezra1:17, andIsaiah45:1. 6  Marguerite del Giudice, “Persia: Ancient Soul of Iran,”National Geographic,August 2008, pg. 49 7 “Cyrus Cylinder Loaned to Iran by British Museum,”BBS News Online, September 10, 2010. 8  522486 BCE . 9 Ezra4:5, 5:6.