Culture of Iran

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Iran Portal

Safavid era painting kept at The Grand Shah Abbas Caravanserai Hotel in Isfahan.

To best understand Iran and her people, one must first attempt to acquire an understanding of its ancient culture. It is in the study of this area where the Iranian identity optimally expresses itself. Hence the first sentence of prominent Iranologist Richard Nelson Frye's latest book on Iran reads:

"Iran's glory has always been its culture."^[1]

Iranians were not only open to other cultures, but freely adopted all they found useful for them. Thus an eclectic cultural elasticity has been said to be one of the key defining characteristics of the Persian spirit and a clue to its historic longevity.^[2]

Furthermore, Iran's culture has manifested itself in several facets throughout the history of Iran, as well as that of many Central Asian and west South Asian states like Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The article uses the words Persian and Iranian interchangeably, sometimes referring to the language and its speakers, and other times referring to the name of pre-20th century Iran, a nomenclature which survives from wester explorers and orientalists. Both are not the same however, and the cultures of the people of Greater Iran is the focus of this article.


Persian Arts
Visual Arts
Painting
Miniatures
Decorative Arts
Jewellery
Embroidery	Motifs
Tileworks	Handicrafts
Pottery
Literature
Literature	Mythology
Folklore
Other
Architecture	Cuisine
Carpets	Gardens
Performance Arts
Dance	Music
Cinema

Main article: Iranian art

Iranian art has gone through numerous phases of evolution. The unique aesthetics of Iran is evident from the Achaemenid reliefs in Persepolis to the mosaic paintings of Bishapur. The Islamic era drastically brought changes to the styles and practice of the arts, each dynasty with its own particular foci. The Qajarid era was the last stage of classical Persian art, before modernism was imported and suffused into elements of traditionalist schools of aesthetics.

Iranian cinema continues to produce acclaimed, often controversial works

Main articles: Persian language and Persian literature

The Persian language has been in continuous use for over 2500 years. Yet it is a subset of the superset of Iranian languages.

Persian literature inspired Goethe, Ralph Waldo Emerson and many others, and it has been often dubbed as a most worthy language to serve as a conduit for poetry. Dialects of Persian are widely spoken throughout the region sporadically from China to Syria and mainly in Iranian Plateau. Two important dialects of Persian serving as lanugages are Tajiki and Dari respectively spoken in Tajikistan and Afghanistan as official languages.

Main article: Cinema of Iran

With 300 international awards in the past 25 years, films from Iran continue to be celebrated worldwide. Perhaps the best known director is Abbas Kiarostami.

Main articles: Music of Iran, List of Iranian musicians and singers, and Persian music

The music of Persia goes back to before the days of Barbod in the royal Sassanid courts. This is where many music cultures trace back their distant origins to.^[3]

Painting of Iranian female musicians from Hasht-Behesht Palace ("Palace of the 8 heavens"), Isfahan, Iran, dated 1669.

Main article: Iranian Architecture

There are nearly countless numbers of traditional teahouses (chai khaneh) throughout Iran, and each province features its own unique cultural presentation of this ancient tradition. However, there are certain traits which are common to all teahouses, especially the most visible aspects, strong chai (tea) and the ever-present ghaluyn. Almost all teahouses serve baqleh, steam boiled fava beans (in the pod), served with salt and vinegar, as well as a variety of desserts and pastries. Many teahouses also serve full meals, typically a variety of kababs as well as regional specialities.

Main article: Persian Gardens

The Persian Garden was designed as a reflection of paradise on earth; the word "garden" itself coming from Persian roots. The special place of the garden in the Iranian heart can be seen in their architecture, in the ruins of Iran, and in their paintings.

Main article: Iranian cuisine

In Persian mythology, Persian food is so delicious and tempting that Ahriman (the devil) uses it to corrupt the King of the land, causing two serpents to sprout from the King's shoulders, turning him into an evil tyrant; Zahhāk The Dragon King.

Main article: Persian dance

Kurdish wedding dance in Sanandaj, Iran.

Main article: Islam in Iran

Iran has been the birthplace of many of the world's most influential religions and religion in Iran has always had a direct impact on its culture. Zoroastrianism, Mithraism, Manichaeism, Mazdakism, Yazdanism, Bábí Faith and the Bahá'í Faith are some of the religions that originated there.

Today, the Shia version of Islam continues to have an immediate bearing on Iranian culture and identity.

Main article: Sport in Iran

The game of Polo originated with Iranian tribes in ancient times and was regularly seen throughout the country until the revolution of 1979 where it became associated with the monarchy. It continues to be played, but only in rural areas and discreetly. Recently, as of 2005, it has been acquiring an increasingly higher profile. In March 2006, there was a highly publicised tournament and all significant matches are now televised.
The Iranian Zoor Khaneh

Main article: Iranian women

In the tales of the 1001 Nights, it is a woman, Scheherazade, who is the protagonist and heroine of the frame tale.

Main article: Iranian festivals

Iranians celeberate the following days based on a Solar calendar, in addition to important religious days of Islamic and Shia calendars, which are based on a lunar calendar.

Norouz (Iranian/Persian New Year)
Sizdah be dar (Nature Day)
Jashn-e-Tirgan (Water Festival)
Jashn-e-Sadeh (Fire Festival)
Jashn-e-Mehregan (Autumn Festival)
Shab-e-Yalda (Winter Feast)
Charshanbeh Suri

Prince Muhammad-Beik of Georgia, 1620. Artist is Reza Abbasi. Painting is located at Berlin's Museum Für Islamische Kunst.

Like the Persian Rug that exhibits numerous colors and forms in a dazzling display of warmth and creativity, Persian culture is the glue that bonds the peoples of western and central Asia. The Caucasus and Central Asia "occupy an important place in the historical geography of Persian civilization. Much of the region was included in the Pre-Islamic Persian empires, and many of its ancient peoples either belonged to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European peoples (e.g. Medes and Soghdians), or were in close cultural contact with them (e.g. the Armenians).^[4] In the words of Iranologist Richard Nelson Frye:

"Many times I have emphasized that the present peoples of central Asia, whether Iranian or Turkic speaking, have one culture, one religion, one set of social values and traditions with only language separating them."

The Culture of Persia has thus developed over several thousand years. But historically, the peoples of Islamic Republic of Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Azerbaijan, and Kyrgyzstan originate from the same or similar stock, and are related to one another as part of the larger group of peoples of Greater Iran. Armenia, Georgia,^[5] and Daghestan were also well within the sphere of influence of Persian culture as well, as can be seen from the many remaining relics, ruins, and works of literature from that region.(e.g. 1) (e.g. 2)

In particular, Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan have been able to almost fully retain their Persian identity, while the other aforementioned entities still exhibit considerable traces of their Iranian past.

From the humble brick, to the windmill, Persians have mixed creativity with art and offered the world numerous contributions.^[6]^[7] What follows is a list of just a few examples of the cultural contributions of Iran.

(10,000 BC) - Earliest known domestication of the goat.^[8]
(6000 BC) - The modern brick.^[9] Some of the oldest bricks found to date are Persian, from ca. 6000 BC.
(~5000 BC) - Invention of Wine. Discovery made by University of Pennsylvania excavations at Hajji Firuz Tepe in northwestern Iran.^[10]
(5000 BC) - Invention of Tar (lute), that led to the development of the guitar.^[11]
(3000 BC) - The ziggurat. The Sialk ziggurat, according to the Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran, predates that of Ur or any other of Mesopotamia's 34 ziggurats.
(2000 BC) - Peaches are a fruit of Iranian origin, as indicated by their Latin scientific name, Prunus persica, from which (by way of the French) we have the English word "peach."^[12]
Tulips were first cultivated in ancient Persia.^[13]
(1700 BC) - The windmill.^[14]
(1400 BC) - The game of Backgammon appears in the east of Iran.
(1400 BC to 600 BC) - Zoroastrianism: where the first prophet of a monotheistic faith arose according to some scholars,^[15] claiming Zoroastrianism as being "the oldest of the revealed credal religions, which has probably had more influence on mankind directly or indirectly, more than any other faith".^[16]^[17]
(576 BC to 529 BC) - Under the rule of Cyrus II the Great, the Cyrus Cylinder was issued. This is considered to be the first universal declaration of human rights,^[18] predating the Magna Carta by one millennium^[19] It was discovered in 1879 in Babylon and today is kept in the British Museum.
(576 BC to 529 BC) - Under the rule of Cyrus II the Great, Cyrus frees the Jews from Babylonian captivity. See Cyrus in the Judeo-Christian tradition.
(521 BC) - The game Polo.^[20]
(500 BC) World's oldest Staple (fastener).
(500 BC) The first Taxation system (under the Achaemenid Empire).
(500 BC) The first courier post. Also called the "Royal Road".^[21]
(500 BC) - Source for introduction of the domesticated chicken into Europe.
(500 BC) - First cultivation of spinach

An ancient ice house, called a yakhchal, built in ancient times for storing ice during summers.

Iranian chess (shatranj) set, glazed fritware, 12th century. New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Figurines playing the ancestor of the Guitar. Excavated in Susa, Iran. Dated 2000-1500 B.C. National Museum of Iran.

(400 BC) - Yakhchals , ancient refrigerators. (See picture above)
(400 BC) - Ice Cream.^[22]
(250 BC) - According to archaeological digs, the Parthians created the world's first batteries. Their original use is still uncertain, though it is suspected that they were used for electroplating.
(250 BC) Original excavation of a Suez Canal.^[23]
(271 AD) - The teaching hospital
(700 AD) - The Cookie.
(762 AD) - Designing Baghdad: The original city was based on Persian precedents such as Firouzabad in Persia. The two designers who were hired by the caliph al-Mansur to plan the city were Nowbakht, a former Persian Zoroastrian, and Mashallah, a former Jew from Khorasan.^[24]
(864 AD-930 AD) - First systematic use of alcohol in Medicine: Rhazes.^[25]
(1000 AD) - Introduction of paper to the west.^[26]
(935 - 1020) - Ferdowsi writes the Shahnama (Book of Kings) that resulted in the revival of Iranian culture and the expansion of the Iranian cultural sphere.
(980 - 1037) - Avicenna, a physician, writes The Canon of Medicine one of the foundational manuals in the history of modern medicine.
(1207 AD - 1273 AD) - Rumi writes poetry and in 1997, the translations were best-sellers in the United States.^[27]
Algebra and Trigonometry: Numerous Iranians were directly responsible for the establishment of Algebra, the advancement of Medicine and Chemistry, and the discovery of Trigonometry.^[28]
Qanat , subterranean aqueducts.
Wind Catchers , ancient air residential conditioning.
"Virtually all European scholars claim Arabic music has Persian origins".^[29]

University of Chicago's Persian Cultural Heritage crisis

^ Greater Iran, Mazda Publishers, 2005. ISBN 1568591772 xi
^ Milani, A. Lost Wisdom. 2004.ISBN 0934211906 p.15
^ See article on Iranian.com located at: http://www.iranian.com/Music/2002/November/Guitar
^ Edmund Herzing, Iran and the former Soviet South, The Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1995, ISBN 1899658041 p.48
^ http://www.iranica.com/articles/v10f5/v10f504a.html
^ Iran's contribution to the world civilization. A.H. Nayer-Nouri. 1969. Tehran, General Dept. of Publications, Ministry of Culture and Arts. OCLC number: 29858074 Perry-Castañeda Library Reprinted in 1996 under the title: سهم ارزشمند ایران در فرهنگ جهان
^ "The effect of Iran's culture and civilization on the world" (Taʼ̲sīr-i farhang va tamaddun-i Īrān dar jahān). Abbās Qadiyānī (عباس قدياني). Tehran. 2005. Intishārāt-i Farhang-i Maktūb. ISBN 9649422447 OCLC 70237532
^ Link: http://web.utk.edu/~persian/goat.htm
^ Arthur Upham Pope, Persian Architecture, 1965, New York, p.15
^ Link: University of Pennsylvania http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/research/Exp_Rese_Disc/NearEast/wine.shtml
^ Link: Iranian.com http://www.iranian.com/Music/2002/November/Guitar/index.html
^ Link: http://www.birdnature.com/nov1899/peach.html
^ Links:
- http://www.flowermonthclub.com/newsletters/vol3no4.htm
- http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/tulips2.html
^ Links:
- http://www.catpress.com/bplanet9/eeolica.htm
- http://web.utk.edu/~persian/windmill.htm
^ Abbas Milani. Lost Wisdom. 2004. Mage Publishers. p.12. ISBN 0934211906
^ Mary Boyce, "Zoroastrians", London, 1979, 1.
^ Notes:
- Zoroastrianism had an important impact on Judaism, and thus indirectly, on Christianity and Islam.
- Zoroaster himself was not an ethnic Persian, but (possibly) an ethnic Bactrian who were closely related to Persians.
^ Links:
- http://www.farsinet.com/iranbibl/cyrus_human_rights_cylinder.html
- http://www.iranchamber.com/history/cyrus/cyrus_charter.php
^ Abbas Milani. Lost Wisdom. 2004. Mage Publishers. p.12. ISBN 0934211906
^ Link: BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4272210.stm
^ Links:
- http://web.utk.edu/~persian/benevolent.htm
- http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0839873.html
^ Links:
- http://www.krysstal.com/inventions_06.html
- http://www.mmdtkw.org/VAncientInventions.html
^ Links:
- http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1257.htm
- http://web.utk.edu/~persian/benevolent.htm
^ Hill, Donald. Islamic Science and Engineering. May 1994. Edinburgh University Press. p.10.
^ Link: http://www.free-definition.com/Abu-Bakr-Mohammad-Ibn-Zakariya-al-Razi.html
^ Link: http://web.utk.edu/~persian/paper.htm
^ Refer to article by the Christian Science Monitor - http://www.csmonitor.com/1997/1125/112597.us.us.3.html.
^ See:
- Hill, Donald. Islamic Science and Engineering. May 1994. Edinburgh University Press. p.10
- Sardar, Ziauddin. Introducing Mathematics. Totem Books. 1999.
^ The Golden Age of the Moor. By Ivan Van Sertima. 1992. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 1560005815. p.17

Love and motherhood are integral to Iranian culture (by Shabahang)

Persian history and culture as depicted by Japanese Anime. An illustration from "The Heroic Legend of Arsalān".

Iran is filled with tombs of poets and musicians, such as this one belonging to Rahi Mo'ayeri. An illustration of Iran's deep artistic heritage.

Craftsmanship in Iranian Architecture. An excellent animation depicting the intricate details of the traditional interior design: (click).

Michael C. Hillman. Iranian Culture. 1990. University Press of America. ISBN 081917694X
George Ghevarghese Joseph.The Crest of the Peacock: The Non-European Roots of Mathematics. July 2000. Princeton U Press.