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I came across A Knight’s Tale, a really good movie set on jousting tournaments medieval England. This prestigious sport was very popular at the time and so much emotion and excitement usually went on the matches by the opponents and spectators. Interestingly the world’s first historical novel author, Sir Walter Scott has written his famous novel Ivanhoe on this setting.

Medieval knights’ jousting

A jmodern -era ousting match in a European tournament (Source: USA Today)

I immensely enjoyed watching A Knight’s Tale. This action-drama movie enjoyed a spectacular play by the late Heath Ledger. It also contained so many subtle jokes and funny scenes and when it combines with romance and action/adventure theme it engages the audience the most.

 Trailer for the motion picture “A Knight’s Take” starring the late Heath Ledger (1979-2008).

Many know about these brave and novel European medieval knights but how many of us know that the world’ first knights were Iranian Cataphracts also known as Asvaran?

How many know that the world’s first jousting battle happened in Iran (also known as Persia in West)?

If you are curius to know more on this, I suggest consulting Nabil Rastani’s article in Iranian.com and the book by Dr. Kaveh Farrokh: Elite Sassanian Cavalry (Osprey Publishing).

[Click to Enlarge]Farrokh’s first book Elite Sassanian Cavalry (2005) (LEFT) has also been translated into Persian (سواره نظام زبده ارتش ساسانی ) within Iran in 2011 by -بهنام محمدپناه -Behnam Mohammad-Panah (RIGHT). The 2011 project is independent of Yusef Amiri’s authorized (by Farrokh) 2009 project (اسواران ساسانی) (CENTER) in Canada. Farrokh’s most recent text is  “Iran at War: 1500-1988″ (2011). Note that yet another Persian translation of the book will appear by Iran’s academic and prestigious Amir Kabir Publications in 2012 (This project has been supervised by Dr. Farhang Khademi of Tarbiat Modarress University). 

Below are a series of images depicting the joust-battle at Hormuzgan (224 AD):

[Click to Enlarge] Metal plate depicting the Battle of Hormuzgan, the worlds’ first jousting battle between two Iranian dynasties: Ardeshir I of Persia vs. Ardavan V of Parthia (Source: Iran Archeology Facebook Group).

 [Click to Enlarge] Prince Shapur the son of Ardashir was present at the Hormozgan battle and struck Arodavan’s grand-vazir by lance in a jousting battle.

[Click to Enlarge] Earliest Sassanian Jousting scene:  rock relief depicting Ardashir’s victory over Ardavan V the last Parthian king (right). The seven Parthian clans were to remain as a powerful and influential force during the Sassanian dynasty.

I quote from Nabil Rastani:

The Parthians were overthrown by the Sassanians (224-651AD) in the 3rd century at the fierce jousting battle of Hormuzgan in 224AD it was here the first jousting battle in history occurred Ardashir I of Persia the founder of the Sassanians had a duel with Ardavan V of Parthia were he was slain, and the Sassanians were victorious .

The Sassanians inherited the cavalry warfare traditions already richly developed in the region by Parthia. Since the Sassanid Empire was by far superior organized and trained than the loosely-bound Parthian Empire, their army was by all means effective, and hence created a number of impressions on western sources.

Other Iranian jousting scenes:

[Click to Enlarge] Parthian jousting scene at Dura-Europos, Syria/ Source: هزاره های گمشده: اشکانیان (پارتها) نگارش: پرویز رجبی 

[Click to Enlarge] Parthian jousting scene at Tange Sarvak, Iran: هزاره های گمشده: اشکانیان (پارتها) نگارش: پرویز رجبی 

Naqsh-e Rostam: Double Equestrian victory relief of Sassanian King Hormizd I, jousting against an enemy, possibly King Papak of Armenia.

[Click to Enlarge] Naqsh-e Rostam: Double Equestrian victory relief of Sassanian King Bahram II, unseating an enemy in a jousting battle

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As noted by the Iran Chamber Society:

The ancient Persian and Greek cultures did not exist in isolation. There was cross-fertilization. The present article contains a description of Persia’s influence on Greece.

Introduction

The first part of this article is not to read, but to look at:

[Click Map below to Enlarge] Below is a map of the Achaemenid Empire drafted by Kaveh Farrokh on page 87 (2007) for the book Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War-Персы: Армия великих царей-سایه‌های صحرا-:

In front of us, we see the extensive Achaemenid empire (green), stretching from the Indus in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. Beyond the Aegean Sea, almost at the left edge of this map, we see a green area that consists of several islands and city-states, which have not yet decided whether they are one country or not. That is Greece.

Now it is remarkable that there have been more scholars who have studied the fuss and bustle on the northwestern border of the Achaemenid empire than researchers who have analyzed the world power itself. Of course, there are good reasons for this situation. Greece is relatively close to western Europe, where it had, since the age of the great art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717-1768), a more or less privileged status as the cradle of western civilization. Another reason is that the impressive Greek collection of literary, scientific and other texts has survived, whereas there is no such collection from Persia. (The collection of religious texts known as the Avesta dates from the fifth or sixth century CE.) Moreover, in their historical writings, the Greek authors make it clear that the Persians are a mere bunch of decadent, effeminate barbarians, natural slaves that could be ignored in the history of mankind. The Greeks themselves had the best culture and there was simply nothing that other civilizations could add. Western scholars have long accepted this judgment.

This almost hostile attitude has long existed in Europe, together with a fascination for all that was strange and unknown, such as the mysterious Orient. Because of this combination of fascination and suspicion, questions about the exact interaction between the two cultures are not only interesting, but also necessary. One must see further than the end of one’s nose.

When one studies the past, it is important to understand that no event, nation, or culture exists in isolation. Empires, ideas, and societies are formed by the empires, ideas, and societies surrounding them. It is the conviction of the author of this article that exchange always exists, albeit on different levels and with varying intensity. Even when those involved deny this influence. (Perhaps a strong denial even represents a strong influence. Otherwise, it would not be necessary to deny influence.)

Let’s return to the Greeks and Persians. Many scholars have researched Greek influence on the east, especially in the era after the conquests of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great (336-323 BCE). It is about time to to analyze the other direction of cross-cultural influence. That this remains an odd subject, is proven by the lack of literature on the subject; if the question about Persian influence is posed, it is usually in a footnote. It is, however, the main subject of the present article.

We shall discuss the question whether the Athenians, in the age after the Persian Wars (say after 479 BCE), have adapted Persian ideas on the fields of architecture and government. We shall discuss oriental influence on architecture, concentrating on the Odeon of Pericles, the Prytaneum, the Parthenon frieze, and the caryatids. After this, we will investigate whether there is similar influence on the management of the Athenian empire, the Delian League. But first, we will give a brief overview of the most important events during the period under consideration.

History

In 547 or 546 BCE, the Persian king Cyrus the Great conquered the region that is now called Turkey. His son Cambyses added those parts of the Levant that had not been conquered yet, and went on to add Egypt to the Achaemenid empire (525 BCE). Under his successor Darius I the Great (522-486 BCE), the Persians for the first time invaded Europe, where Thrace was subdued.

Since the days of Cyrus, the Greek towns in western Turkey -usually called the Ionian cities- belonged to the Achaemenid empire, but in 499 they decided to revolt against those that had been their rulers for almost half a century. The men who ruled the Ionian towns on behalf of the Persian kings were expelled, and the help of the mainland Greeks was invoked. Although Athens sent a considerable force to help the Ionians, the rebels were brought to heel.

According to the Greek researcher Herodotus of Halicarnassus (who may have been mistaken at this point; click here), the Ionian revolt caused king Darius to punish the Greeks who had supported the rebels. In 492 BCE, general Mardonius conquered Macedonia, and in 490 BCE, Datis and Artaphernes added the islands in the Aegean Sea. At the end of the summer, they led a punitive action against Athens, which ended in disaster in the battle of Marathon.

This battle meant a boost for the Athenian self-confidence, and the city became even stronger after the discovery of silver ore near Laurion. The new affluence was used to build a large navy.

In 480 BCE, the Persian king Xerxes (486-465 BCE) decided to avenge his father’s defeat at Marathon. With a huge army and a large navy he invaded the Greek mainland, and defeated his enemies at Thermopylae. Thessaly and Boeotia were added to the Persian possessions and Athens was captured. However, the Persian navy was badly damaged when it encountered the Greek navy in the Athenian harbor. Because at the same time the Babylonians revolted under Šamaš-eriba, Xerxes was forced to return. He left the war to general Mardonius, who sacked Athens but was defeated in the summer of 479 BCE near Plataea.

Two years later, the Athenian statesman Aristides organized the Greek towns of Ionia and the mainland that wished to continue the struggle in a new alliance, the Delian League. However, during the following decades, Athens, originally only the first among equal towns, started to regard the members of the League as its subjects. Because she was economically and military very strong, and became even more powerful because she now controlled an empire, Sparta, the leader of the other Greeks, became afraid.

In 461 BCE, war broke out. In the meantime, Athens was still at war with Persia. Sometimes, the Athenians were successful (e.g., at Eurymedon in 465 BCE), and sometimes the Persians were victorious (e.g., in Egypt in 456 BCE). For a dozen of years, the Athenians had to cope with two enemies at the same time, but in 449 BCE, the hostilities with the Persians were ended.. Three years later, Sparta and Athens concluded a treaty. This might have been the moment to dissolve the Delian League, but the Athenians refused to do so, and in spite of minor troubles, its members supported Athens in a second war with Sparta, which broke out in 431 and lasted until 421 BCE.

However, in 415 BCE, Athens attacked Sicily in the far west and supported Amorges, a rebel in the Achaemenid empire. The Sicilian expedition was a disaster, but Athens still might have survived; however, the intervention in the Persian sphere of influence led to an alliance between Sparta and king Darius II Nothus. Several member states of the Delian League now revolted, and Sparta received a powerful navy. In 404, Athens had to surrender and the League was dissolved.

Persia now regained the Ionian towns, but did not enjoy them uncontested. The Spartan king Agesilaus invaded Asia, where he remained successful until 394 BCE, when he was recalled by his government because Persia was now supporting Athens. For almost half a century, the Persians were able to retain their Asian possessions, simply by keeping the Greeks divided.

Architecture

The buildings we are about to discuss, were all built after the Persian general Mardonius had destroyed Athens in 479 BCE, and after the battles in the harbor of Athens, at Plataea and at Eurymedon, where the Greeks had defeated the Persians. The Athenians had obtained much wealth after these battles. Herodotus tells that after the battle of Plataea:

…the Greeks dispersed themselves about the Persian camp and found tents furnished with gold and silver, and beds overlaid with gold and overlaid with silver, and mixing-bowls of gold, and cups and drinking vessels [i.e., rhytons]. They found also sacks laid upon wagons, in which there proved to be caldrons both of gold and of silver; and from the dead bodies which lay there they stripped bracelets and collars, and also their swords if they were of gold, for as to embroidered raiment, there was no account made of it.  [Herodotus, Histories 9.80]

When a Persian king went to war, he not only took his army with him, but many courtiers as well. In this way, he could also live like a king when he was at the front, and was able to give fitting rewards to his brave warriors.

 [Click to Enlarge] [1-2] Persian Rhythons – many of these were captured after the defeat of Mardonius at Plataea (479 BC) (Herodotus, 9.80)and [3] an Athenian rhyton (Museo di archeologia ligure, Genova) (Pictures 1-2 used in Kaveh Farrokh’’s lectures at the University of British Columbia’s Continuing Studies Division and Stanford University’s WAIS 2006 Critical World Problems Conference Presentations on July 30-31, 2006; Picture 3 originally posted in Iran Chamber Society).

After the Greek victory, the booty was divided between the towns and cities that had shared in the fighting, and everybody received a fair share. So did Athens. As one of the leading powers, it must have been one of the first to choose, and as a consequence, much silver, gold, and other luxuries were brought to Athens. A simple but excellent example are the Persian rhytons (drinking vessels), which appear in Athens suddenly and in great quantities after the war. They were immediately imitated by Greek artists.

Except for precious metals, utensils and luxuries, weapons and tents were taken away from the battle field at Plataea. Especially the royal pavilion, in which Mardonius hadhad his lodgings, had the full attention of the Athenians.

Architecture: Odeon

It is certain that after Plataea, the pavilion of the great king was taken to Athens. But what happened next? It has been assumed that (a part of) it was already used in 472 BCE as decor [skênê] of the tragedy The Persians by Aeschylus. Another and more plausible suggestion -not necessarily contradicting the preceding one- is that the wooden construction was used as a music hall (odeon) and later rebuilt from stone. This can be concluded from the following words by the Greek author Plutarch of Chaeronea:

The Odeon, or music room, which in its interior was full of seats and ranges of pillars, and outside had its roof made to slope and descend from one single point at the top, was constructed, we are told, in imitation of the king of Persia’s pavilion [skênê]. This was done by Pericles’s order. [Plutarch, Life of Pericles 13.5-6]

It is not surprising that the pavilion was used as a piece of scenery or/and music room. After all, Athens had been sacked and emergency accommodation and temporary buildings are to be expected. Besides, the pavilion of Xerxes was not a family tent, but a portable palace.

When the Odeon of Pericles was excavated, it turned out to have almost the same dimensions as the so-called Hall of the Hundred Columns at Persepolis, the capital of the Achaemenid empire. The Odeon measured 68,50 x 62,40 meters and contained 9 x 10 columns; the room of the Persepolis palace had -surprise, surprise- 10 x 10 columns and measured 68,50 x 68,50 meters.

The similarity is too obvious to be coincidental. The pavilion must have been a copy of the Hall of the Hundred Columns, and the Odeon must have been a copy of this copy.

[Click to Enlarge] [1] Achaemenid Hall of 100 at Persepolis and with dimensions bearing 68,50 x 68,50 meters – 10 x 10 columns [2] Pericles’ Odeon with dimensions bearing 68,50 x 62,40 meters – 9 x 10 columns (Pictures 1-2 originally posted in Iran Chamber Society).

It should be noted, however, that this Persian example was not really followed in Greek and Roman architecture. The acoustics of the Odeon of Pericles must have been terrible. Later odeons, e.g. those of Agrippa, Domitian and Herodes Atticus, were little theaters and not square halls.

Architecture: Prytaneum

The prytaneum at the Athenian market (agora) was the building where the prytaneis, the executive committee of the Athenian democracy, gathered. It was built in 465 BCE. The building has the form of a circle and is very simple, without much ado. The Athenians called this building simply the tholos (’round building’) or skias (‘parasol’). It is therefore probable that the building looked like a parasol and had a round, pointed roof.

The Persian king and his satraps were often portrayed with a parasol. It has therefore been assumed that the Athenians used Persian left-behinds (e.g., a royal tent) and reconstructed it in a more durable material, retaining the original form. (The same happened when the Athenians built the Odeon of Pericles.) This assumption gains credit when we take into account that round buildings were extremely rare in the period before the Athenian prytaneum was built. There were, of course, round buildings, but they were always surrounded by stoas – something that is certainly not the case with the tholos.

Again, we may assume that the Athenians used the Persian spoils. And again, the influence of this model was not very great. Later prytanea were built differently.

Our next subject is completely different. The Parthenon frieze, just like the Pathenon itself and the Athenian owls, has become a symbol of the Greek world and its culture. They represent Athens at the top of its power and at its best. The fact that the way of representation may be un-Greek, makes the frieze no less important and certainly more important.

Architecture: Parthenon frieze

The construction of the Parthenon, one of the great building projects of the Athenian leader Pericles, started in 449 BCE. As temple of Athena, the protecting goddess of Athens, it was the place par excellence where the Athenians could show what they thought of themselves, their town, and their goddess – and they were proud. They had every reason to be so. Their fathers had defeated the Persians (480-479 BCE), and the city was rightly famous for this victory. Besides, the economy was functioning well, and Athens was the leader of the Delian League, a position that it used unhesitatingly to impose tribute.

[Click to Enlarge] The Parthenon (Picture used in Kaveh Farrokh’’s lectures at the University of British Columbia’s Continuing Studies Division and Stanford University’s WAIS 2006 Critical World Problems Conference Presentations on July 30-31, 2006).

Once, the Athenian leader Aristides had organized the League as a confederacy of equal states with equal rights (isonomia), but in the decades between 479 and 449 BCE, Athens had seized the initiative and had started to regard the other towns as subjects. Rebellions against the tribute and Athenian intervention in local affairs had mercilessly been repressed. Athens possessed the means to do this, because it had used the tribute to built the largest army and navy in the Greek world.

The Athenians had every reason to build a temple worthy of the powerful goddess that had assisted them. Therefore, the Parthenon was the best place to show the world why the Athenians and Athena were the best rulers of the Greek world. An ambitious project by an ambitious town.

In these years, people started to speak of an “Athenian empire”, and perhaps the Athenians were looking for inspiration to the other superpower of their age: Persia.

[Click to Enlarge] Xerxes, Darius and Pharnaces (Picture originally posted in Iran Chamber Society).

Some seventy years earlier, the Persian king Darius I the Great had started to build one of the palaces where he and his court were to stay: Persepolis. Here the king received guests and subjects; here he lived his official and private lives when he was in Persis; here he stored his treasures. Craftsmen and specialists from all parts of the Achaemenid empire were invited to come and help building the palace, such as Yaunâ (Greeks from Ionia), who were well-known for their expertise in sculpture. Although we can not have absolutely certainty that the Ionian Greeks are the makers of the reliefs discussed below, it is reasonable to assume this, since no other nation in the Achaemenid empire was capable of the perfect rendering of the human body.

The western side of the Apadana stairs (Picture originally posted in Iran Chamber Society).

The relief under discussion can be found on the eastern wall of the audience hall, which is usually called Apadana. It is part of the decoration of a large stairs. On the relief we can see how the subject nations come and visit the great king during the New Year’s festival and bring their tribute. They approach from the right, and every ambassador is accompanied by a Persian courtier; they are introduced to king (Darius) and crown prince (Xerxes) by a high official (who has been identified with Pharnaces) (see picture above). Behind the king are noblemen, horses, chariots, knights, and guardsmen. Everything appears to be ready to begin. The ambassadors and the men behind the king are talking and correcting their dresses. The highest official is about to introduce the first ambassador.

Now let’s compare the relief of the Apadana at Persepolis to the frieze of the Parthenon in Athens, which is currently in the British Museum in London (the so-called Elgin marbles). Here we see the Panathenaea, the yearly festival in which the Athenian citizens visited the statue of Athena. Every four year, they offered her a new cloak (peplos). At the end of the procession, on the western side of the sanctuary, are the knights, then we see chariots, citizens, the carriers of the objects needed during the ceremony, victims, and the officials of Athens. On the eastern side, above the main entrance of the temple, the gods are already waiting to receive the offerings.

In the central part of the frieze, the old peplos is folded up, a footstool is brought for the ritual king and queen of Athens (the basileus and basillina), and everybody is waiting for the ceremony to begin. People in the queue are talking to each other, horses are calmed down.

[Click to Enlarge ]Reclining gods on the Parthenon frieze London (British Museum) (Picture originally posted in Iran Chamber Society).

Both reliefs are tripartite, and the central parts are the most important. The other two parts, flanking the central composition, also show strong similarities. At the extreme ends, we see the last partakers in the processions, e.g., horses and other animals. There is much space allotted to them. More to the center, the people become more quiet, are placed closer to each other. Here, turned heads or stretched arms are the only visible actions. The central panel, where Darius and Xerxes or the basileus and basillina are visible, is larger and more spacious. This composition forces, so to speak, the spectator to look to the center of the relief.

It is possible to make another tripartite division. In both works of art, the picture is that of a central figure, an entourage surrounding him, and people approaching him. (In the Parthenon frieze, the entourage consists of gods and the folding of the peplos.)

Another resemblance is their placing: they are both situated on the spot where the ceremonies actually happened. This must have caused a special effect. The Athenian spectator was not just looking at a beautiful picture with an obvious symbolism, but recognized something that he had experienced himself. The Persepolis relief created a similar involvement of the spectator, although at a larger scale. But those who saw the relief on the Apadana, knew instinctively that they belonged to this procession of subjects, belonged to the Achaemenid empire, and had to contribute to its strength. This solidarity was of course what the great Achaemenid empire, or any nation that wanted to be great, needed. Of course, the depicted unitedness -social and political in Persia, religious in Athens- was not necessarily real, but an ideal.

The Parthenon is not a pure religious building. The frieze is also a political statement, inviting the citizens to remain united. But this is not the only message. Elsewhere, on the metopes, we can see a battle between Amazons (dressed as Persians) and Greeks that is usually interpreted as a mythological reference to the war between Athens and Persia, and a deep insult to the Persians, who could not be offended more than by being called “woman”. We can also see gods fighting against giants, Greeks against centaurs, and Achaeans against Trojans. (Similar representations of the war between the powers of chaos and order can be found in Persepolis, where we find pictures of a bull and lion.) All this served to present the Athenians as valiant warriors, the equals of the gods and the legendary heroes.

The Parthenon also had a function as treasury of the Delian League and a reserve fund. For example, every tributary town was supposed to send an ambassador to the Panathenaea and offer a cow and a coat of arms. This was again similar to the Persian example, because one of Persepolis’ main functions was that of treasury. Both buildings, Apadana and Parthenon, were an empire’s focus points of politics, religion, and finance, and it is possible that Athenian artists had learned from their older Ionian colleagues how the great king had invited his subjects to be his collaborators.

Architecture: Erechtheum

Another example of the emulation of artistic ideas can be found in the Erechtheum on the Athenian acropolis. It was built after the Parthenon, between 425 and 409 BCE, during the war against Sparta. For the present purpose, we are interested in only one part of this complex sanctuary: the caryatids.

Athenian caryatids (Picture originally posted in Iran Chamber Society).

In one of the wings of the Erechtheum, these female figures carry the roof on their heads. They are not the first examples of thus type of column in Greece: the caryatids of the Siphnian treasury at Delphi were, according to some art historians, erected after the Greek victory over the Persians in 479 BCE.

The issue is how and from where these women were introduced into Greek art. One explanation is offered by Vitruvius, a Roman architect who published a textbook On architecture. He writes:

Should any one wish for information on the origin of those draped matronal figures [...] called caryatids, I will explain it by the following story. Carya, a city of Peloponnese, joined the Persians in their war against the Greeks. These in return for the treachery, after having freed themselves by a most glorious victory from the intended Persian yoke, unanimously resolved to launch a war against the Caryans. Carya was taken and destroyed, its male population extinguished, and its matrons carried into slavery. To ensure that these circumstances might be better remembered, and the nature of the triumph perpetuated, the victors represented the matrons draped, and apparently suffering under the burden with which they were loaded, to expiate the crime of their native city. Thus, in their edifices, did the ancient architects, by the use of these statues, hand down to posterity a memorial of the crime of the Caryans. [Vitruvius, On architecture 1.1.5]

In other words, caryatids are not only statues with the function of columns, but express an idea: you were not supposed to collaborate with the enemy, because you would be subdued, humiliated, and punished.

The Naqshe Rustam relief (Picture originally posted in Iran Chamber Society).

This motif is also known from Persia. In the second half of the sixth century BCE, the great king had assembled a great many conquered nations. These people, or rather their subjection, became part of the royal imagery.

To express the idea that others were subjected, the Persians used no human but animal figures. For example, the imposts of the columns in the palaces (the top of a column which connects it with the supporting beams of the roof) often have the shape of of a bull or a winged feline. The analogy is obvious: like a griffin or a wild bull under a yoke, the nations were kept under control by the king.

Sometimes, humans are depicted as carriers of a great weight: for example, on the royal tombs at Naqš-i Rustam, we see the king, standing on two large platforms. These platforms are carried by men, who probably resemble the subject nations. Another example is the representation of the king on the tripylon-gate at Persepolis, where the king is sitting on a throne, supported by three levels of humans.

The Athenian caryatids do not resemble Athenian women: their hair cuts are uncommon and resemble Peloponnesian hair cuts. This is something we can say with certainty. It is tempting to look for a Persian antecedent for the caryatids, because there are no obvious antecedents in Greek art. But when we try to establish a Persian influence, we have to be more speculative. Why didn’t the Athenians copy the animal figures and did they use women instead?

Relief from Persepolis (Picture originally posted in Iran Chamber Society).

If we ignore the possibility that the Athenian men treated their women like animals -which is certainly a possible interpretation- the solution may be that the Athenians only emulated the general idea behind the representation. In the Persian context, yoked animals or people are carrying a great weight, which was apparently seen as the essence of subjection. The same element can be found in the Greek situation: the caryatids are carrying a heavy load. This time, they are not animals but women, but this has a reason: as we have seen in the example of the Parthenon frieze (above), the Athenians adapted a general idea to a specific situation. They used a concrete example, the shameful subjection of the women of Carya, to show that they were prepared to subject people, as the Persians did.

This was not merely an intention, but the Athenians put it into practice. In the next section, we will deal with their imperialist policy. In the years after the Persian Wars, Athens expanded its empire and controlled a great part of the Greek world with its superior navy. This created new problems in the management of the empire, and the Athenians wanted to deal with them as efficiently as possible. Probably, they looked abroad how the Achaemenid empire had solved the same problems. Of course it is possible that the Athenian leaders were original and creative thinkers, but, as we shall see in the next parts of this article, there are indications that they copied Persian solutions.

Politics

As we have seen above, Athens brought the war against the Persians to a good ending and discovered the opportunities offered by the Delian League. As long as the war against Persia had been going on, its members had had every reason to remain united, but now that the immediate cause was removed, Athens had to look for a tool to keep its nascent empire together.

Member states that wanted to segregate from the League, were brutally attacked. The smaller city states, which could use some help and protection, were inclined to side with Athens, but others, which hated to pay tribute and the increasing Athenian involvement in their internal affairs, were visited by the Athenian navy and forced into surrender (e.g., Naxos in 470 and Thasos in 465 BCE). These towns, which had been forced to remain in the League, had another status than the cities that obeyed Athens. They had to disband their navies, had to pay tribute in cash, and lost much of their autonomy. If they were not democratic, they were forced to change their constitution.

At a later stage, towns that had always paid their tribute in cash were equaled with the subject cities. The number of autonomous cities diminished. When the Peloponnesian War broke out in 431 BCE, only Chios and Lesbos had retained some of their former independence.

 Athenian coin (Picture originally posted in Iran Chamber Society).

But it was not only military power that helped Athens become the master of a great part of Greece; its economic power was a source of strength as well. The Athenian port was the center of interregional commerce and the city had commercial treaties with many towns and nations inside and outside the League. It controlled the monetary system and ordered that only the famous Athenian ‘owl’-coins and weights were to be used in commercial transactions.

Athens also founded colonies (cleruchies). These were meant to repopulate subject towns from which a part of the population had been expelled. This gave the Athenians a stronghold in potentially unquiet areas, because the colonists retained their Athenian citizenship and did not have to pay tribute. After 450 BCE, Athens started to station garrisons throughout its empire.

Every town in the Athenian empire, whatever its precise status, was supervised by an episcopus or overseer. This Athenian magistrate kept an eye on the town where he resided. He controlled the payment of the tributes, was supposed to prevent insurrections and had to investigate evils and report them to the government at home.

All in all, the Delian League was a complex organization. We will now investigate whether the organization of the Achaemenid empire served as a model to the Athenian empire, and we will concentrate on the following aspects:

• the organization of the League, and its resemblances with and its differences from the structure of the Persian state, and especially the way tribute was paid.
• the function and origin of the office of the episcopus.

As part of WAALM’s endeavour for Cultural Diplomacy, the institute has facilitated the artistic works in a duet by Iranian Meastro Sattar and Young Turkish Rising Star Ersin Faikzade singing the song “Simin Bari” in Turkish and Persian  This is yet another expression of WAALM’s  works to assist dialogue and understanding between civilizations (see for example WAALM’s Empower Africa Conference in April 7-10, 2010).

Sattar (left) and Ersin Faikzade (right) have lent their exemplary creativity and musical talents towards the initiative to re-awaken the long-standing and powerful cultural bonds between the Iranians and the Turks. 

WAALM’s initiative has been a significant first step in re-awakening the deep-rooted cultural ties between Turks and Iranians (Persians, Kurds, Azaris, Lurs, etc.). The Iranians and Turkic peoples have a shared (yet unappreciated) civilization known as the Turco-Iranian or Persianate civilization – see for example the articles below (for more see here…)

• Turkic-Iranian Contact Areas: Historical and Linguistic Aspects (Edited by Lars Johansen and Christiane Bulut), Turcologica 62, 2006 (pdf).
• Victor H. Mair (2005), Contact and exchange in the ancient world, University of Hawaii University Press, pp. 142-149 - these pages discuss the historical Irano-Turkic contacts.
• Iran’s Reza Shah conversing in Turkish with Turkey’s Mustafa Kemal Attaturk (video)
• -جریان فرهنگی ادبی-همواره از ایران به عثمانی- (The Literary Influences of Iran upon the Ottoman Empire-in Persian posted by the Iran-Azar website).

Sattar and Ersin Faikzade singing Simin Bari in Turkish and Persian. This is part of WAALM’s initiative to re-awaken the awareness of the strong and long-standing Turco-Iranian cultural ties known as the Turco-Iranian or Persianate civilization.  Note that the video is also under post-production. 

The song (Simin Bari) was originally composed by the late Iranian Singer and Songwriter Jamshid Sheybani (1922 – 2009). The first time this song was performed as a Turkish-Persian duet was in the 1970s by the Sheybani and the stunningly talented and beautiful Turkish singer, Emil Sayin. 

Emel Sayin and the late Jamshid Sheybani singing “Simin Bari” in Turkish and Persian. The keyboards are performed by Maestro Anoushirvan Rohani. As noted by the WAALM diplomatic journal “…Emel Sayin’s visit was in fact due to a fund raising tour benefiting the victims of a devastating earthquake in Turkey and fostering cultural exchange”. Iranians and Turks often rush to each others’ aid during such calamities.

Iranian and Turkish musicians often travelled to each other’s countries to perform songs in Turkish and Persian, with songs often being adopted and adapted in both language. Sattar’s “Gol-e Sangam” for example was performed by Emel Sayin as well and remians a favorite song among the Turks in the 1970s. 

The WAALM initiative in reviving Turco-Iranian cultural ties has been very well received by the Turks, as indicated by the Turkish media’s coverage of the Sattar-Ersin Faikzade duet.

At left is Radio Istanbul with their distinguished guest, the young and rising star, Ersin Faikzade and at right is Iranian legendary singer Sattar being cited by the Turkish press. Iranian-Turkish cultural ties predate and transcend the oft-used term “Middle East”, a term of 20th century Western origin. 

Readers are also invited to consult WAALM’s short interview with Dr. Mosi Dorbayani on the role of music in fostering dialogue, diplomacy, cooperation and friendship at the international level.  

Greek philosopher Aristotle (Hellenic: Ἀριστοτέλης, Aristotélēs)(384 BC – 322 BC) has noted that “Music directly represents the passions or states of the soul …gentleness, anger, courage, temperance…” (Politics, 8, 1340). Aristotle’s assertion is corroborated by modern research. Dr. Richard G. Pellegrino (Brain specialist & Researcher) has noted that music can “…trigger a flood of human emotions and images that have the ability to instantaneously produce very powerful changes in emotional states…take it from a brain guy…in 25 years of working with the brain, I still cannot affect a person’s state of mind the way that one simple song can…”.

Music is indeed a powerful learning medium, one which the Turks and Iranians share. It is remarkable that to this day, both peoples have a deep appreciation for the music and songs of each other. This is one facet of the long-standing Turco-Iranian civilization which spans from the borders of northern China to the shores of the Aegean Sea. It is a civilization that predates Islam, and one which has arisen from centuries of intermingling between Iranian and Turkic peoples. 

The Yulduz Turdieva Musical Ensemble of Uzbekistan. The above video displays Uzbek singer Yulduz Turdieva singing in Persian accompanied by Uzbek musicians composing Classical Persian music. Western historians and writers often refer to the non-Arabian civilizations of the Near East, Central Asia, Iran, etc. as “Islamic” or “MIddle Eastern” . What is often not acknowledged is that there is a powerful and very unique culture shared by Iranian and Turkic peoples known as the Persianate or Turco-Iranian civilzation.

Striking are the cultural modes of expression among Iranians and Turkic peoples. These parallelisms can often be encountered in everyday situations. 

Iranian actors Homayoun and Morteza Aghili depicting street-toughs known in Persian as “Jahel”  in the movie “Topoli” (the Chubby one). Interestingly, the almost exact type of street-toughs can be seen in Turkey – similar attire (hat, shirt, jacket, shoes), gestures, conversing,
codes of conduct and even the minutiae of drinking  tea, coffee or alcohol are strikingly parallel! 

The Persian language is also witnessing a revival of interest in Turkey as seen below…

Teaching Persian in Turkey – Turkish instructor teaching Persian grammar to students.  Note the enthusiasm of the instructor and the students.  Iranians and Turks in fact share many common traits, notably in culture, music, foods, etc. While considerably downplayed by Western writers and “nationalists” on all sides, the reality is that Iranians and Turks are (at the very least) cultural cousins. 

[Click Book Jacket to Enlarge] For information on obtaining this text, kindly consult Mohammad-Reza Mohseni’s site by clicking here… 

The book begins with a concise and informative overview of the philosophies of pan-Turkism. The author outlines how pan-Turkist philosophers  engage in the following processes:

• Re-writing history, including the falsification of  books in translations.
• Appropriation of the historiography and cultural figures of non-Turkic peoples.

It must be noted however that the originators of pan-Turkism were not of Turkish nationality. These were almost wholly of European origins, dating to the 19th century.

David Leon Cahun (1841-1900) proposed that the Turks were a superior race or more specifically “supermen”. The notion of racial superiority is an alien concept among the Turks who have always been (and remain) warm, open, friendly and hospitable to all who visit or settle in Turkey. Racism has never existed among Turks or Turkic-speakers – the importation of this concept can be traced to European thinkers such as Leon Cahun, Count Helmuth Von Moltke (1800-1891), Arminius (Hermann) Vambery (1832-1913), Konstanty Borzecki (1826-1876) and Elias John Wilkinson Gibb (1857-1901). Cahun placed a heavy emphasis on distancing Turkic peoples from Persianate civilization and Iranian peoples. 

A whole series of ancient languages and civilizations have been labelled by pan-Turks as “Turkic”, including Sumeria, the Elamo-Dravidian civilization, and even Etruscan (pre-Roman) Italy. With the exception of pan-Turkist activists, the Republic of Azerbaijan (thus named from 1918) and the Turkish Republic, these theses have failed to gain scientific and academic recognition at the international level.

Ancient Sumerian wheel and axle. The Sumerians are one of the progenitor peoples of civilization with inventions such as the wheel-axle. Pan-Turk activists claim that the ancient Sumerians spoke a dialect of Turkish and that they were Turks. Linguistic and archaeological studies by international scholarship fails to verify pan-Turkist claims. 

Mohseni’s book tabulates the claims of pan-Turks against Iranian Azarbaijan. The author then places these claims under scholarly scrutiny. 

A common pan-Turkist fallacy for example, is that since modern-day Azaris speak a Turkic language, they then must be Turks by race. Genetic studies have failed to show Iranian Azaris as being genetically related to Central Asian Turkic peoples. These same studies have in fact shown Azaris to be genetically related to other Iranian peoples such as Kurds, Persians, Lurs, etc. For more on these studies consult:

• Farjadian S, Ghaderi A. (2007). HLA class II similarities in Iranian Kurds and Azeris.The International journal of immunogenetics, 34(6), pp.457-463.
• Yepiskoposian, Levon; Margarian, Shot; Andonian, Laris; Rashidvash, Vahid (2011). The Location of Azaris on the Patrilineal Genetic Landscape of the Middle East (A Preliminary Report) (pdf). Iran and the Caucasus, Volume 15, Numbers 1-2, pp. 73-78(6).
• L Andonian, S Rezaie, A Margaryan, DD Farhud, K Mohammad, K Holakouie Naieni1, MR Khorramizadeh6, M H Sanati, M Jamali8, P Bayatian, L Yepiskoposyan (2011). Iranian Azeri’s Y-Chromosomal Diversity in the Context of Turkish-Speaking Populations of the Middle East   (pdf). Iranian J Publ Health, Vol. 40, No.1, pp.119-123.
• L Andonian, S Rezaie, A Margaryan3, DD Farhud4, K Mohammad1, K Holakouie Naieni1,MR Khorramizadeh, M H Sanati, M Jamali8, P Bayatian1, L Yepiskoposyan (2011). Iranian Azeri’s Y-Chromosomal Diversity in the Context of Turkish-Speaking Populations of the Middle East. Iranian Journal of Public Health, Vol. 40, No.1, 2011, pp.119-127. (pdf)

[Click photos to Enlarge] American actor Samuel B. Jackson (left) and New Zealand-born director Peter Jackson.  Both men share the name “Jackson”, as well as the English language. Being an Anglophone and having an English name does not mean that one is Anglo-Saxon by race. In that case, the entire Black, Asian, Hispanic, and Amerindian population of the United States and Canada are Anglo-Saxons! Likewise, being a Turcophone does not mean that one is Turkish or Turkic by race. National identity is based on a number of domains, only one of which is defined by language. Nevertheless, this simplistic logic (language = race) is being used by pan-Turkist activists, politicians, and lobbyists to attack the Iranian heritage of the people of Azarbaijan and Iran in general.

 Iranian Azaris and those of the modern-day Republic of Azerbaijan were linguistically  Turkified by conquering Turkic-speaking rulers, a process explained in detail by Mohseni. 

[Click Image to Enlarge] Professor Colin Renfrew’s diagram outlining the four ways in which language displacement can occur. These are (from top to bottom) (1) initial migrations (2) Farming dispersal (3) Late climate-related dispersal and (4) Elite dominance. It was the latter process (Elite dominance by Turkic-speaking elites) that spread the Turkic languages into not only Albania/Arran (modern Republic of Azerbaijan), Iranian Azarbaijan but also into Anatolia (diagram in “World Linguistic Diversity”. Colin Renfrew, Scientific American, 1994, p.116-120, 122-123).

Mohseni’s book is an important academic work on the study of pan-Turkist ideology. As noted previously in this book review, pan-Turkism never originated in Turkey or among the Turks – it is essentially a philosophy of European origins. For more on this little known topic  consult: Ideology, Founders and Objectives of Pan-Turkism

Kindly note that the pictures and their accompanying descriptions shown below do not appear in the original Financial Times article. 

The Financial Times and the Reuters News Service also reviewed Kaveh Farrokh’s 2011 text, Iran at War: 1500-1988 which features several chapters on the Iran-Iraq war as well as the role of Western support for Saddam Hussein’s war machine. 

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Margaret Thatcher’s government was covertly supplying military equipment to Iraq as early as 1981, according to newly released government documents.

Secret files made public on Friday contain an exhaustive list of equipment from Hawk fighter jets to military air and naval bases that the government was attempting to sell Saddam Hussein’s regime.

This came despite the fact that the UK was officially neutral in the Iran-Iraq war, which begun in late 1980. Britain had also signed up to a UN Security Council resolution calling on its members to “refrain from any act which may lead to a further escalation and widening of the conflict”.

[Click photo to Enlarge] An Iraqi T-55 training with an advanced British-manufactured tank gunnery simulator in 1987. Iraq’s armoured corps had undergone a massive training and rearmament program by 1987-1988 – thanks to the the assistance of the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc, Egypt, India, Pakistan, England and numbers of Western countries (Picture Source: Armed Forces journal, July 1987 , pp.354; see also Farrokh, Iran at War, 2011, pp.400-402). British military personnel also refurbished and re-activated captured Iranian Chieftains for Saddam Hussein’s forces. 

The list shows 78 different types of military equipment including Land Rovers, tank recovery vehicles, terrain-following radar and spare tank parts that were in the process of being sold. Not all the sales on the list were completed.

All the equipment on the sales list was technically “non-lethal”, although equipment such as tank parts stretched the definition.

One prime-ministerial brief recommended that the best way to avoid public condemnation but to still make money from Iraq was to sell only non-lethal equipment but to “define this narrowly”.

[Click photos to Enlarge] Iraqi-Kurdish victims of Saddam’s chemical weapons attacks at Halabja in 1988. Many Iranian (and Iraqi Kurdish) civilians and soldiers were to be exposed to chemical weapon attacks during the war. Despite the brutal rapacity of these actions, Western lobbies (including the UK) continued to support Saddam Hussein right up to 1990 (Picture sources: Iran Photo Foundation). Less known are Iraqi Chemical weapons “experiments” on Iranian prisoners of war – a fact which was virtually ignored by the UK and Western press during the 1980s (Farrokh, Iran at War, 2011, pp.402). 

“Contracts worth over £150m have been concluded [with Iraq] in the last six months including one for £34m (for armoured recovery vehicles through Jordan),” writes Thomas Trenchard, a junior minister, in a secret letter to Mrs Thatcher in March 1981.

The letter also says that a meeting with Saddam Hussein “represent a significant step forward in establishing a working relationship with Iraq which … should produce both political and major commercial benefits”.

Mrs Thatcher wrote by hand at the top of the letter that she was “very pleased” by the progress being made.

Throughout her premiership Mrs Thatcher took a direct roll in securing deals for British defence companies, calling her efforts “battling for Britain”. Partly thanks to her efforts, the UK climbed from being the fifth- to the second-largest supplier of military equipment over the decade.

A pair of Saddam Hussein’s modified Scud ground to ground missiles known as the “Al-Hussein”. These were essentially improved versions of the Soviet-designed SCUD missiles; the range of these missiles had been enhanced with the assistance of mainly German, Egyptian, Argentinean and other Western engineers. More ominous was Saddam’s threat to mount chemical warheads on the Al-Hussein for firing against Iranian population centers (consult Farrokh, Iran at War, 2011, pp.404; Ripley, 1991, pp.14). The pro-Saddam stance of the Western (especially US and British) governments at the time meant that such dangers were either ignored or at best downplayed by the Western media. Iraq was to fire 189 Al-Husseins at Iran (135 at Tehran) in February-March 1988 (picture source: onwar.com)

Her greatest defence coup over the decade was the Al-Yamamah contract with Saudi Arabia in 1985 and 1988, which was one of the largest arms deals in history worth about £40bn to British Aerospace and other British companies.

The push to sell arms in Iraq, encouraged by the privatisation of British Aerospace in 1981, in the end caused serious embarrassment when, in 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. Britain then found itself at war with the country they had been selling weapons to just a few months earlier.

Another consequence was the Scott Report, which was published in 1996 and gave a damming assessment of the Conservative government’s role in selling arms to the Middle East through the 1980s.

[Click photos to Enlarge] Iran Air Flight 655 [1] was shot down by missiles fired from the USS Vincennes [2]. All civilians and crew aboard the doomed airliner were killed [3]. Investigations by John Barry and Roger Charles of Newsweek Magazine and ABC News’ Ted Koppel of Nightline revealed the ugly truth behind these events. In short the reports revealed that both Captain Will Rogers III (Captain of the Vincennes) [4]  and Admiral William Crowe (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) [5] had falsified information to mislead US and world public opinion. Barry and Charles concluded that “The top Pentagon brass understood from the beginning that if the whole truth about the Vincennes came out, it would mean months of humiliating headlines…the US Navy…told lies and handed out medals” (Barry & Charles, 1992, “Sea of Lies”, Newsweek, July 13, pp. 29; see also Farrokh, Iran at War, 2011, pp.411).

The newly released papers also show how some in the government were concerned about Mrs Thatcher’s aggressive arms sales policy. One prime ministerial brief in January 1981 warned that

“if we expose ourselves to serious accusations of breach of neutrality obligation [in Iraq] or deviousness our efforts could backfire”.

Ivor Lucas, the ambassador to Oman, writes:

“I should prefer a more balanced approach to arms sales in the Sultanate, for fear that an accumulation of sophisticated equipment largely for prestige reasons will be more than the defence capability of this country requires“.

[Click photos to Enlarge] Saddam’s “Wunderwaffe”: The Babylon Super-Gun. At right is the unfinished assembly of one of these super-guns and at right is an undelivered section of the weapon now in England. The project almost became an operational reality, thanks in large part to British technical and manufacturing expertise. Saddam Hussein planned to install at least 75 of these Super-guns for use against Iran. Each of these guns could then fire conventional or nuclear-tipped projectiles into Iranian population centers.  

The article below was originally posted on Iranscope  in 2004, followed later in 2004 by a  Greek site, Payvand news of Iran, and irandokht. Farrokh’s observations were also cited on the Russian academic-encyclopedia site, and Radio Free Europe,

The version below has been updated and revised in 2011.

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Hollywood released one of its epic historical-movie  blockbusters in 2004 entitled: Alexander,  directed by the distinguished director Oliver Stone.

The movie endeavours to recreate the events of the Hellenic conquests and the downfall of the first Persian Achaemenid Empire. It is important to note however, that simply because a movie is high budget, casts high profile Hollywood actors and is directed by top ranking directors, does not make it flawless.

Beyond the entertainment value of Oliver Stone’s latest project, a number of serious errors do exist in the movie, many which may appear trivial. These “trivial” errors are nevertheless of consequence to Iranians, Greeks and all viewers in general. Movies are a powerful medium of leanring and persuation, irrespective of how vociforously we are told that the movie is simply “entertainment”.

Ironically, it was my Greek friends and colleagues who brought the flaws of Oliver Stone’s “Alexander” picture to my attention. There are a total of five overall errors that are listed and discussed below.

(1) The Battle of Gaugamela

Oliver Stone has relied on Dr. Robin Lane Fox, one of the world’s foremost experts in the area of Alexander and Hellenic Studies. Unfortunately, Dr. Fox is essentially a Eurocentrist, a fact which is demosntrated in his writings and the Alexander picture he “advised”.

Thanks in large part to Robin Lane Fox’s tutelage. the movie promotes distortions against ancient Iran, Iranian culture, people and the Achaemenid army.

However it must be pointed out that the vast majority of modern-day scholars reject Eurocentricism as espoused by Dr. Fox in the Alexander movie.

Robin Lane-Fox, a Classical (Greco-Roman) historian,  is a Fellow of New College, Oxford and University of Oxford Reader in Ancient History. His writings and role in the 2004 movie “Alexander” has highlighted the power of Eurocentricism in academia and the media. Eurocentrist thinking, like all ideologically-driven biases, distorts historiography.

The Shahrbaraz Blog contains numerous Blogs that outline Dr. Fox’s distorted Alexandro-philia and his tendency to write with a patronizing and anger-ridden tone against ancient Iran. Dr. Fox’s book is a standard reference text in the area of Alexandrian Studies:  

Title: Alexander the Great., Author: Robin Lane Fox, Publisher: Penguin, Dates: 1986, 1994 and 2011, ISBN: 0140088784

Despite excellent reviews of his book by critics and scholars, Dr. Fox does not understand the military of ancient Persia.

A typographical movie shot of the battle of Gaugamela, shows the Greeks advancing in ordered and disciplined ranks. In contrast, the armies of Darius III are shown as little better than an amorphous mob. This is a false image of the Achaemenid army. The Achaemenids used drums and musical instruments to direct the marching tactics of their troops in battle.

Second, the Achaemeneans used the decimal system, which was in fact, unknown to the Greeks of the period. Persian units were formed in legions of 10, 100 or 1000 or 10,000. A typical term was “Hezar-Patesh” (roughly equivalent to “leader of a thousand men”). Dr. Fox distorts this information and thanks to his “advising”, the movie shows the Achaemenid army as a mob-like organization.

Dr. Fox also omits (or is unaware) that the Persians had developed a sophisticated system of heraldry and that their troops wore standard uniforms. The Greeks were certainly excellent fighters and were thoroughly organized, but this does not mean that the Persians were not. The Greeks were militarily superior at the time with respect to armaments, tactics and military training.

Bringing Classical Eurocentricism to life: Dr. Robn Lane Fox acts as one of Alexander’s companion cavalry in the 2004 Oliver Stone movie “Alexander”.  It is interesting that Dr. Fox portrays Iranians as cartoon-like “Arabian nights” characters despite numerous Greek art works that show both Greeks and Iranians as Caucasians. (Source: Archaeology.org website).

This military imbalance changed with the coming of the Parthian and Sassanian cavalry. The Iranian Savaran-اسواران ساسانی- (elite Cavalry) successfully halted and defeated many of the later Greek-Hoplite inspired Roman armies. Many Romans attempted to imitate Alexander and failed against Persia. These include Marcus Lucinius Crassus at Carrhae, Marc Antony at Tabriz (where he failed twice), Gordian III at Mesiche, Phillip the Arab near modern Syria, Valerian at Barbablissos, and Julian the Apostate in Mesopotamia. 

I personally doubt that Hollywood will recreate the spectacular Roman defeats suffered against Parthian and Sassanian Persia as these will challenge contemporary notions of the Alexandrian legacy.

In addition, the contemporary Iranian establishment has not emphasized the proud legacy of the Parthian and Sassanian Savaran.

Professor Fox’s elementary grasp of Iranian militaria should not inspire much confidence with respect to accurate portrayals of Iranians in general. You may wish to read the following books by Professors Sekunda and Head who are experts on the uniforms, dress and equipment of the ancient Greeks and Achaemenid Persians.

Title: The Persian Army: 560-330 BC, Author: Nick Sekunda, Publisher: Osprey Men at Arms Elite Series, Date: 1992, ISBN: 1855322501 

Title: The Achaemenid Persian Army, Author: Duncan Head, Publisher: Montvert Publications, Date: 1992, ISBN: 1874101000

There are many errors with the uniforms portrayed as “Persian”. As you will see in these books, the colors and materials of Achaemenid Persians were invariably bright with a mix of shades of purple, Saffron, red dyes, shades of blue and green, mixed with darker browns (almost Burgundy) and black. These fashions and regalia were resuscitated during the Sassanian dynasty (226-651 AD). Only the Persian archers (and a few guards) are shown with some accuracy; the same cannot be said with respect to the other “Persians” of the movie set.

More puzzling is the “Arabesque” way in which ancient Persians are portrayed in this battle. I was shocked to see Arabian camel riders used to portray one of the vanguards of Darius III’s attack on Alexander at the battle scene. Arabs were auxiliary units in the Achaemenean army at the time, and were not a major factor. I also noticed that an infantry troop of the Achaemenid advance guard was speaking in Arabic. Persian is not related to Arabic; it is an Indo-European language akin to the languages of Europe and India.

This may be the usual Hollywood habit however of portraying Iranians as Arabs, a topic we will re-visit later in this commentary.

(2) Confusing Persia with Babylon

It is very interesting that Professor Fox does not refer to the Achaemenid capitals in Susa, Maracanda (Samarqand), Media or Persopolis. The destruction of Persopolis by Alexander is a major event – instead the movie shows Alexander entering the city of Babylon, implying that this was the administrative capital of Persia. Babylon was simply another satrapy of the empire; not its capital. Babylon had already been incorporated into the Persian Empire in 539 BC by Cyrus the Great (559-530 BC). Why is Persopolis and its destruction not mentioned? There was also the destruction of the three major Zoroastrian texts by Alexander – also not referred to in the movie.

A possible reason for this may be found in Professor Fox’s interview with the distinguished journal “Archeology Today” (Riding with Alexander). Note the statement below, and how indicative it is of Dr. Fox’s lack of understanding of Classical Achaemenid Persia:

“We all understood that the separate “parts” of Oliver’s drama must be “color-coded” and … which could not totally depart from audiences’ expectations of Greek or Babylonian imagery“

Note the statement “expectations of Greek or Babylonian imagery“. What “expectations“  are being discussed here? 

But there is another dangerous point made by Fox – notice that he describes “Babylonian” and NOT Persian imagry. This ties into a trend among select scholars (usually in Assyriology, cuneiform and Baylonian studies) who view ancient Persia as a derivative of Mesopotamian civilization. Put crudely, this is the view that ancient Persia is essentially a “clone” or “copy” of the Mesopotamian. This interpreation is highly biased as it is categorically false.

The Iranian plateau has been host to complex civilizations of its own for thousands of years - these are in cases, more ancient than the Mesopotamian civilizations. For more on this topic consult the following:

• Shahr e Sookhteh: Reconstruction of the Face of a 5000-year old Woman in Iran
• 6000 Year old Mysterious Ritual uncovered at Sialk
• Jiroft: The Forgotten Civilizational Legacy of Ancient Iran -جیرفت زادگاهی از تمدن جهان- (Video in Persian)

The case of the 5000-year-old Shahr e Sookhteh (Burnt City). Skeleton of a young woman from the Burnt City. Note artificial eye in the eye socket of the skull. The site of the Burnt City has also yielded numerous interesting finds including an ancient measuring ruler, backgammon game pieces and an animation device.  Shahr e Sookhteh has no connection to other ancient civilizations in Western Asia although its close proximity to the site of Mohenjo-Daro (in present-day Pakistan) is possible. What is certain is that the Burnt City is neither connected to – nor derived from – the Mesopotamian plain.

Fox’s statement implies that Persia had no real arts worth mentioning, and that Persia is simply an extension of Babylon or at best interchangeable.  This same view pervades with respect to historical revisionism against Cyrus the Great and the legacy of his humanistic policies.

• Koorosh Ahmadi: Vandalization of the Cyrus Cylinder article in Wikipedia by Eurocentirsts {pdf) (2010).
• CAIS News: Axis of Prejudice – from Khalkhali to Jona Lendering and their Crusade against Cyrus the Great  (2009)
• Response to Der Spiegel Magazine’s Attack on the Legacy of Cyrus the Great (2008)
• Retort to Daily Telegraph article against Cyrus the Great; Posted originally in the Pasargard Foundation website (2008)

The West Wall in Jerusalem. After his conquest of Babylon, Cyrus allowed the Jewish captives to return to Israel and rebuild the Hebrew temple. It is believed that approximately 40,000 did permanently return to Israel. Despite Cyrus’ enlightened policies, a strong core of (mainly Assyriology-trained) academics have been attacking the history of Cyrus as “propaganda” .

As noted previously, Babylon was not a major power at the time of Alexander. Persian arts and architecture were an eclectic synthesis of indigenous (e.g Median, Elamite), Lydian, and Mesopotamian styles, including Babylonian. The city-palace of Persopolis is very distinct and cannot be crudely termed as Babylonian. It is, to put it mildly, shocking, that the treatment of Persian studies is addressed at such a shallow level by Professor Fox.

An important point must be made, especially with respect to the reason why Alexander was so violent in his conquest of Persia. The Greeks were simply taking revenge for the earlier invasion of their country by Darius the Great and his son Xerxes. The Greeks paid a heavy price for their battles at Marathon (490 BC), Thermopylae (17th September, 490 BC), Athens (27th September, 490 BC), Salamis (29th September, 490 BC), and Plataea (479 BC). It is significant that when Xerxes burned Athens, he ordered the sacred statues of the Greek gods to be removed and brought to Persia. The Greeks revered their gods and this Persian act was a national insult to them. Most contemporary Iranians are not aware of these facts. This certainly is not an excuse for what happened at Alexander’s time, but it does help put these events in perspective.

Although many Iranians demonize Alexander, the man did come to develop a great deal of respect for Persia. The more Alexander stayed in Persia, the more “Persian” he became, in manners and in dress. Alexander paid his respects at the tomb of Cyrus the Great and indeed saw himself as the heir of Cyrus. The Greeks so admired Cyrus the Great, that they saw his manner of government as a model. You may wish to read the Greek “Cyropedia” by Xenophon:

• Cyropedia of Xenophon translated by H.G. Dakyns (pdf)
• -زندگینامۀ کوروش بزرگ-خشایار رُخسانی-Cyropedia of Xenophon translated into Persian by Khaschayar Rochssani (pdf)

If Aristotle made racist statements about the Persians (and this is shown in the movie), it must also be made clear that many Greeks also praised the Persians (see the aforementioned Xenophon or Plutarch in his discussion of the Parthian general Surena). A very positive aspect of the Alexander movie is that Alexander praises the “east” for its architecture and civilization. It is possible that Alexander was poisoned by some of his officers for becoming too “Persian”.

(3) The Blondism of Alexander

A very serious concern of the Alexander movie is the promotion of the idea of the “Nordicism” of ancient Greece. Put simply, this is the thesis that ancient Greeks were not only predominantly blonde, but “Nordic”, in the manner of present-day Scandinavians and Northern Germans. Nordicists have long argued, since the late 1700s, that the people of ancient and modern Greece are unrelated.

Nordicism argues that the “ancient” Greeks were the “true” Greeks in contrast to the non-Nordic people of Greece today. This view is exemplified by the Austrian Hellenicist, Professor Fallmerayer, in the 1830s, who noted that “not a drop of pure Greek blood runs in the veins of modern Greeks…”.

Professor Jakob Phillip Fallmerayer (1790-1861), He promoted the thesis that ancient Greeks were predominantly blonde, like present-day Scandinavians and Northern Europeans. Fallmerayer’s writings, which could be construed as racist, state that the people of ancient and modern Greece have no relation. According to this thesis, ”ancient” Greeks were the “true” Greeks – these being wholly unrelated to the predominantly Mediterranean people of Greece today. Fallmerayer’s divergence from reality is illustrated by the fact that he never visited Greece during his lifetime. This is identical to a select number of contemporary historians who wish to re-write the history of Cyrus the Great, yet are unable to speak or read  modern Persian. 

To this day, Fallmerayer is recalled with bitterness and derision in Greece. It is worth noting that Fallmerayer never set foot in Greece in his entire lifetime. For further discussion on these issues you may wish to read:

Title: Guide to Peoples of Europe, (especially pages 207-216), Author: Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, Published: Times Books, Date: 1994, ISBN: 0-7320-0624-5

Fallmerayer’s analysis of Greece is not entirely correct. While true that the Ottoman Turks ruled Greece for 400 years and that previous Byzantine rulers (e.g. Emperor Nikopherous) had to import colonists from present day south Italy to help repopulate parts of Greece ravaged by wars, many of these “Italian” colonists were themselves ancient Greek, settled in regions such as Calabria and Southern France since the times of Darius the Great and earlier. In any event, there has always been a strong and predominant Greek element in areas such as the Peloponnesos.

As for the lack of mainstream Nordiscism in modern Greece, this has to do with the history of ancient Greece itself. Mainland Greece was already settled with indigenous Mediterranean peoples, such as the ancient Minoans, before the arrival of the Classical Greeks. Ancient Greece, like today, was a mixture of Mediterranean and “blonde” peoples.

This leads to a very crucial question: why were no Greek actors selected to portray classical Greeks such as Alexander, Hephaestion, Ptolemy I, Olympias, King Phillip II, Cassander or Antiginous? For a review of the cast, click here…

Israeli actor, Raz Degan who portrays Darius III. Predictably, Fox’s Darius III is virtually a cartoon-like character with no in-depth interpretation of who he could have been as a person or king.

If one were to use Classical Greek works of art (vases and statues specifically) as a standard for prototypical Greek physical appearance, one can then easily find a plethora of modern Greek actors and actresses today who can portray ancient Greeks. It is interesting as to why Oliver Stone did not select Hollywood actors of Greek descent or from mainland Greece.

Oliver Stone goes further however. Colin Farrell, a dark haired Irish actor, who plays Alexander, is portrayed literally, as a bleached blonde.

The notion of Alexander being Flaxen-haired or blonde is itself a matter of considerable doubt if not strong dispute. As noted by my friend George Tsonis, a Greek-Canadian and a scholar of Greek, Roman and Persian history, the Greek word for Alexander’s complexion is “Xanthenein” (fair). This description simply marks Alexander’s complexion as being fairer than the other Greeks of his time. Yes, he was relatively fair, but not necessarily flaxen-blonde in the Nordicist sense.

From the Tufts University Lexicon “Xanthenein” is roughly translated as fair or a yellowish-brown color. A related term, “Xanthizo”, can also be to “make yellow” or “brown”. No wonder there is confusion!

Plutarch, whom most western scholars rely on for their references, does not actually describe Alexander’s hair color, only his complexion. This is a quote from Aelian on the hair; below is the Anglisized Greek from Cyrillic and the English translation below that:

“Alexandron de ton Filippou apragmonos oraion legousi genesthai’ tin men gar komin anasesyrthai afto, xanthin de einai’“ 
“Alexander the son of Philip is reported to have possessed a natural beauty: his hair was wavy and fair“ 
Varia Historae, 12.14

To see the debates raging about Alexander’s true appearance consult the following discussion panel (click here…) 

A very non-Nordic portrayal of Alexander is evident in the Pompei Mosaic. It is agreed by a majority of scholars that the painting is a faithful rendition of an original Hellenistic painting of the 3rd century BC. As you will witness in the painting below, this Hellenic-Roman version of Alexander is very different from the contemporary Hollywood fantasy interpretation (see images below):

Re-writing History: the historical Alexander as portrayed by the Pompei mosaic (3rd century BC)(left) and Dr. Fox’s 2004 Eurocentrist interpretation of Alexander and ancient Greeks (right). Thanks in large part to Dr. Lane’s historical advising, tno Greek actors of note were hired to portray historical Greeks. Ancient Greeks were simply “Nordified” in the movie, meaning they are portrayed as fair-complexted Northern Europeans rather than Mediterraneans and/or southern Europeans. Arab and North African extras were overwhelmingly used to portray ancient Iranians – again a result of Dr. Fox’s Eurocentirst views of the ancient world.

What the Alexander movie Alexander (under Fox’s tutelage) has demonstrated is that:

a) Historians can be biased and insist on viewing history through a narrow viewpoint

b) the role of Eurtocentricism in both academia, media and entertainment

The role of Dr. Fox is vividly highlighted in a book he wrote in 2005, one year after the release of the Alexander picture:

Title: The making of Alexander: The Official Guide to the Movie “Alexander”, Author: Robert Lane Fox, Publisher: R & L, Date: 2005, ISBN-10: 0951139215, ISBN-13: 978-0951139219

Fox’s book not only highlights the fact that he was a consultant to the movie, but that he also acted as one of the members of Alexander’s Companion cavalry.  In the strict psychological sense, Dr. Fox appears to be “acting out” his version of history. This also entails the Eurocentirst view of ancient Iran as the nebulous, Oriental, irrational, backward and untrustworthy  ”Other”.

The Pompei painting challenges the notion of Alexander being blonde. Nevertheless, a number of western scholars remain determined to push forward an image of Alexander that may be false. There are scholars who are actually convinced that the Pompei mosaic is proof of Alexander’s Nordic blondeness!

Even in allowing for poor reproductions, the mosaic clearly shows a ‘brown’ haired person with a Mediterranean or modern Iranian profile. Many Greek and Iranian people today have auburn-brown hair, which can appear to be somewhat “blonde” in sunlight.

Not fitting into Dr. Fox’s “audience expectations”: Iranian actor Mohammad Reza Golzar who is virtually unknown in mainstream Hollywood.  Iranian actors as well as Arabs from countries such as Lebanon, Syria etc. who appear Caucasian are often discriminated against in Hollywood as they do not fit the so-called “Middle East stereotype”.

The point from the Greek perspective however, is not simply whether Alexander was blonde or not. After all, the Dorian Greeks were blonde as a rule, just as the Indo-European settlers of ancient Iran were as well. The issue is that of using the notion of blondeness to project a specifically non-Greek Nordic west European image. Irrespective of whether Alexander was blonde or not, he represented the culture of ancient Greece, which is not necessarily the same as that of modern Western Europe.

Ancient Greece and Rome, as we will note again further below, were Mediterranean empires, very different from the inhabitants of interior and northern Europe. The peoples of western and eastern Europe were very different from the Classical Greeks in culture, language and temperament. To obtain an introduction to the history of the northern Europeans, you may wish to read:

D. Rankin. Celts and the Classical World. London: Routledge, 1996. ISBN: 0-415-15090-6
A. Ferrill. The Fall of the Roman Empire: The Military Explanation. Thames & Hudson, 1986. ISBN: 0500274959

The “Europeans” adopted a great deal of their civilization and identity from the Greeks and the Romans. Even the name “Europe” is derived from the ancient Greek term “Oropia”. It may not be an exaggeration to state the following: with their adoption of Greco-Roman culture, west European scholars in particular, have essentially affected a “Nordic makeover” of the ancient Greeks and Romans. 

As Western culture has adopted the mantle of ancient Greece, it has also adopted Alexander as its own son; to the point that Alexander and ancient Greece are viewed as identical with ancient Western Europe and Scandinavia.

The Nordicising of favourite historical figures does not end with Alexander. Jesus Christ, is frequently portrayed as a slightly built, tall blonde Nordic man. Jesus or Jeshua, was a Jew from West Asia who spoke Aramaic. It is now acknowledged by a number of researchers that much of what we accept as the “appearance” of Jesus is not altogether accurate. Jesus would most likely have resembled a modern Fertile Crescent Arab or Jew from places such as Jerusalem, Amman, Hebron, Damascus or Basra. Scientists have recently reconstructed the image of Christ as he would have most likely appeared in his lifetime in ancient Palestine and Judea (see photo below):

The reconstruction that you witnessed above is very different from the icons we are used to seeing in the churches and Christian arts of Northwestern Europe. How many images have you seen in North American or Western European churches that show the Aramaic Christ?

It would seen that, like Alexander, the “real image” of Jesus has shifted in accordance with politics, ideology, dogma and popular culture over the centuries. Interestingly, many cultures across the world today interpret Jesus’ physical appearance in accordance with their own anthropomorphic image (for more on this click here…)

It appears that Hollywood has successfully associated a certain physical appearance with modernity, progress, success and rationalism. By implication, that which is not of that “certain look” is in danger of being associated with all that is the antithesis of that. With this logic, historical reality is bent to fit a manufactured reality: a fantasy.

(4) Greek or Macedonian?

This movie contains a number of concerns to Greeks in particular, such as Macedonia being “different” from the rest of Greece, a very contested issue in the Balkans these days. Although not generally reported, the government of Greece, which had originally supported the Alexander picture, withdrew its funding and support for Oliver Stone’s project (for more on this click here…)

There was to have been co-operation between Stone and the Greek government, but this was apparently changed when the details of the script became known (see also (5) below).

To be honest, I was left confused as to whether the Macedonians were Greek or not. This may be an attempt to placate those who view Macedonia as “different” from Greece, not unlike those who try to argue that Kurds and Azerbaijanis are unrelated to Iranians.

The Greeks, like the Iranians today, are now confronted with having to defend their historical heritage against those who have territorial claims against their nation. The Oliver Stone picture, in my opinion, does not clearly define Macedonians as Greeks.

In addition to these concerns, many Greeks are offended by the bisexual portrayal of Alexander. There were rumors in 2004 that many Greek associations had plans to sue Oliver Stone.

Again, ancient Greek terminology and its translations by western scholars may have played a role in the “bisexual” interpretation of Alexander. We have already seen how the term “Xanthenein” has been stretched to paint a “Scandinavian” Alexander.

(5) The Portrayal of Roxanna and the Perpetuation of the “Hollywood Persian”

Many iranians have found the portrayal of Roxanna insulting. This portrayal has again been defined by the aforementioned Professor Fox, whose portrayal of Roxanna indicates a lack of knowledge of Iran’s anthropological history.

The portrayal of ancient Iranians is outright comical, if not insulting. The inaccurate Hollywood portrayal of Iranians is exemplified by the selection of Rosario Dawson:

Dr. Robin Fox’s Roxanna: Rosario Dawson 

Rosario Dawson is a very talented, beautiful and intelligent Peurto-Rican actress, who was cast to star as Roxanna, an ancient Iranian queen from Soghdia-Bactria.

Roxanna however, was not black or Hispanic in appearance, anymore than Alexander was Scandinavian. Having Rosario Dawson portrayed as Roxanna makes as much sense as having Lucy Liu, an Asian-American, portraying Queen Victoria of Great Britain.

The term Roxanna is derived from Old Iranian “Rokh-shwan” or “face (Ruksh) – fair skinned-shiny (shwan)”. Roxanna was related to a North Iranian tribe known later as the Sarmatians, the remnants who survive in the Caucasus and Russia as the Ossetians (ancient Alans or Ard-Alans).

North Iranian girl from Rasht. Photograph taken in 1971 by Ali Massoudi of a girl from Rasht in Gilan province, Northern Iran (Source: R. Tarverdi (Editor) & A. Massoudi (Art editor), The land of Kings, Tehran: Rahnama Publications, 1971, p.116). Note that Roxanna is derived from Old Iranian “Rokh-shwan” or “face (Ruksh) – fair skinned-shiny (shwan)”.

Roman sources such as Pliny repeatedly describe ancient North Iranian peoples such as the Alans and Seres as “…flaxen (blonde) haired blue eyed nomads…” (see Wilcox, p.19). Rosario Dawson does not fit the description of an ancient Iranian woman, especially from Northern Iranian stock. The Ossetians of today, descendants of ancient Northern Iranians, predominantly resemble northern Iranians and Europeans and speak an archaic Iranian language (like the Avesta of the Zoroastrians). Blondism is very common among these descendants of ancient North Iranians in cities such as Beslan and Vladikafkaz. It can be argued that Roxanna was a brunette, however, she was of Northern Iranian stock, which would still make her very different from actress Rosario Dawson.

There are plenty of talented actresses of Iranian descent in North America alone that would well fit the historical Roxanna. Oliver Stone could have just as easily selected an Iranian actress, however he relied on the historical “expertise” of Professor Fox. The question that can be addressed to Professor Fox is this: what makes Rosario Dawson so representative of Iranian women and Roxanna in particular? Is the Professor aware of the anthropology and history of ancient Iran as it was at 333 BC?

More puzzling is the design of Roxanna’s costume in the movie. Note the photo showing the marriage of Alexander to Roxanna. Roxanna appears to wear a Burka-like veil constructed of strips of metallic mesh in which the face is partly hidden. See the photo

Fox’s personal view of ancient Iranian women. Note how Fox has placed a strange metal-strip-like face guard on Roxanna, almost identical to the clothes the modern-day Taliban or the Wahhabis impose on women. It is not clear how Fox is making the jump between the present, the post-Classical and Medieval Islamic era and ancient times. One possible explanation is that Fox’s choice of costume for Roxanna is propelled by Eurocentrist views. 

The headgear is partly correct if we base the costume on the Saka Paradraya Iranian speaking tribes of the present-day Ukraine (8-4th centuries BC). The decorations on the headgear are simply wrong and Iranian queens did not wear face masks of any type. For a discussion of the Saka Paradrya, known in the west as Scythians, consult:

Author: E.V. Cernenko, Title:  The Scythians 700-300 BC, Publisher: OspreyPublishing, Date: 1989, ISBN: 0850454786

See colour plate F from the above book shown below:

A reconstruction by Cernenko and Gorelik of the north-Iranian Saka or Scythians in battle (Cernenko & Gorelik, 1989, Plate F). The ancient Iranians (those in ancient Persia and the ones in ancient Eastern Europe) often had women warriors and chieftains, a practice not unlike those of the contemporary ancient Celts in ancient Central and Western Europe. What is also notable is the costume of the Iranian female warrior – this type of dress continues to appear in parts of Luristan in Western Iran.  it is clear that Dr. Fox has simply invented his own version of ancient Iranian female dress.

Once you have consulted Professor’s Cernenko’s book, it will be evident how flawed the costume design is, not to mention the colors. None of the reconstructions by Professor Gorelik, which Cernenko has consulted, show any type of face masks for ancient Iranian women. Ancient Iranian women, who were found in military, religious and political leadership roles, simply did not wear such attire during courtship, marriage or everyday duties. Already as noted before, Fox has chosen to be extremely selective as to his “vision” of Iranian women – note the picture of the Iranian woman from Luristan, a region with a strong Scythian (North Iranian) heritage:

Iranian woman from the Luristan region of Western Iran. Lur women were known for their combat and equestrian skills well up to the post-Islamic times  of Karim Khan Zand.

It is not clear why Professor Fox has chosen a Burka-like face mask for Roxanna at Alexander’s wedding. Variants of this face mask are present in Afghanistan today, mainly the result of former Taliban rule and very conservative Pashtoon tribal society, which very strongly identifies itself with the culture of ancient Arabia.

Perhaps even more disturbing is Fox’s Eurocentrist portrayal of Iranian women as passive pawns in society – historically and culturally this is pure myth. Readers are invited to witness the picture below: 

Iranian women from Malayer (near Hamedan in the northwest) engaged in target practice in the Malayer city limits in the late 1950s.  The association between weapons and women is nothing new in Iran; Roman references for example note of Iranian women armed as regular troops in the armies of the Sassanians (224-651 AD). Western media and Eurocentrist academics have worked hard to block such images from appearing in mainstream Western culture.

Even more interesting is the “Arabian Nights” portrayal of an Achaemenid harem. Harems certainly existed in Persia and the later Roman and Byzantine courts, however the specifically “Arabian” appearance accorded to the Achaemenids is simply consistent with the Hollywood tradition of portraying Iranians as Arabs.

Iranian acresses Saye Yabandeh who was a winner at the 11th Annual Beverly Hills Film Festival of 2011(left) and Nazanin Afshin-Jam (right) an international model and actress, 2003 Miss World Canada winner and ranked second in Miss World contest in 2003. Despite the large pool of highly intelligent, educated and talented Iranian actresses , Hollywood often discriminates against these, especially when producing “historical” or “true story” pictures related to Iran and/or Iranians.  

For more on the Iranian women in history and culture consult:

• Women of Persia

Interestingly, the movie portrays the “Persians” with Arabian styles of music and dance. This portrayal is not based on factual information; it is a Hollywood portrayal. From the scant evidence that exists, we do know that one of the Persian styles of dance strongly resembled the dances of the Kurds of today; a style also seen in western Turkey, Greece and the Balkans. As for music, we have no notes or scales from that period, and “Arab music” as we know it today simply did not exist at that time; it is a much later creation. Arabian music can trace its beginnings to the Bedouin tribes of Arabia – it later borrowing heavily of Sassanian and Greek scales (after the 7th century AD).

These errors are enough to question the historical accuracy of the Alexander picture. It seems that when it comes to Iranians and their identity, history is easily “re-written” for the benefit of popular entertainment.

As Professor Fox has duly noted in an interview interview with Archeology Today, the movie “could not totally depart from audiences’ expectations“. The “audience” (as defined by Fox) undoubtedly has “expectations” as to what Iranians “should” look like.

For a good introduction into the Indo-European arrivals into ancient Iran, you may wish to refer to:

Author: J.P. Mallory, Title: In Search of the Indo-Europeans: Language, Archeology and Myth, Publisher: London: Thames & Hudson, Date: 1989., ISBN: 0-500-27616-1

Read from the above Mallory book, pages: 9-23, 48-56, 78, 266-272. Related to this topic:

• Dr. Oric Basirov: Origin of Pre-Imperial Iranian Peoples

For color reconstructions of ancient Iranians see: 

Author: Peter Wilcox, Title: Rome’s Enemies (3): Parthians and Sassanid Persians, Publisher: OspreyPublishing, Date: 1986, ISBN: 0850456886 

Read also the book below:

Author: T. Newark,  Title: The Barbarians: warriors and Wars of the Dark Ages, Publisher: Concord Publications Company, Date: 1998, ISBN: 9623616341 

From the above book see Page 7 (the Saka – ancestors of today’s Lurs and Seistanis) and 30 (ancestors of the Ard-Alan). 

Iran today is very much a genetic tapestry that includes blondism in Northern and Western Iran (e.g. Parsabad, or Talysh), as well as among Iranian peoples such as Lurs, Azeris, Mazandaranis, Kurds and Boyer-Ahmadis. Iran is also home to Arabians in Khuzistan and the Persian Gulf coast, Asiatic Turcomens in the Northeast, as well as the Baluchis near Pakistan, who have a strong Elamo-Dravidian admixture. You may wish to read the very thorough and precise compendium of Iranian peoples today below:

Title: The Archaeology of Western Iran: Settlement and Society from Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest , Editor: F. Hole, Publisher: Washington, D.C. Smithsonian Institution Press, Date: 1987, ISBN: 0874745268 

See also the below volume:

Title:  The Cambridge History of Iran: Volume 1, The Land of Iran, Editor: W. B. Fisher, Publisher: Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Date: 2004, ISBN: 0521069351 

These books (especially the Cambridge History of Iran series) will provide a more informed and less misleading analysis of Iran’s anthropological history than that shown in the Alexander movie.

As seen in this commentary, Hollywood portrayals of Iranians are in stark contrast to reality. Greek and Roman references to classical Iranians do not refer to them as different in the “physical” sense; differences lay mainly in manner of government, philosophy and to a lesser extent, mythology. The Azadan nobility of the Parthian and Sassanian Savaran (elite cavalry), more than 500 years later than Alexander, are described by Peter Wilcox as “…very similar to the Celts…strikingly similar to Northwest Europeans…” (p.6). There are still many short stories in Southern Italy today which accurately portray the temperament and appearance of the Persians as they would have appeared in antiquity.

Concluding Notes

Despite the powerful historical revisionism of a number of mainly northwest European historians such as Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) or the aforementioned Fallmerayer, the Greco-Roman world and Persia have profoundly influenced each other in areas such as architecture, the arts and crafts, the sciences and medicine, mythology, military and engineering technologies.

While true that one can find a number of anti-Persian references in Greco-Roman sources, these were in the context of wars that broke out between these powers. A perfect example of this is how the movie explicitly shows Aristotle deriding the Persians as inferior to the Greeks. Modern Greeks place this in context and see Aristotle as expressing the political climate of his day. Iranians are very well liked and respected in Greece and are seen as the heirs of a great civilization. Alexander himself came to greatly appreciate the Iranians and their culture. It is a shame that the movie did not show Alexander as paying homage to the tomb of Cyrus the Great.

As noted previously, numbers of Greco-Roman historians were prepared to acknowledge and highly praise the Persians (e.g. Xenophon, Plutarch, etc.). Today’s popular culture, education systems and movie entertainment industries in particular, seem to be providing a very selective and distorted view of Persia with respect to antiquity. Many are simply not aware (or wish not be aware) of Persia’s importance and status in antiquity let alone her major contributions to world civilization.

Ancient Greeks, Romans and Persians had much more in common with each other than with the relatively unsophisticated Celtic and Germanic peoples who were roaming the Northern European forests. For an incisive discussion of these little discussed topics consult:

Title: Calabria, L’enigma Delle Arti Asittite: Nella Calabria Ultramediterranea, Author: Nik Spatari, Publisher: Italy: MUSABA, Date: 2003, ISBN: 8887935300

The above book by Spatari has not been translated from Italian to English. Still an excellent read, especially with the illustrations. See also:

Title: In Search of Zarathustra: The First prophet and the Ideas that Changed the World, Author: Paul Kriwaczek, Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Date: 2003, ISBN: 0297646222 

 It would be interesting to see blockbuster movies of Shapur I (241-272) who defeated three Roman emperors in his lifetime and destroyed a third of Rome’s armies. Even more dramatic would be to see movies made of the life and times of figures such as Zarathustra, Cyrus the Great, Darius the Great, General Shahrbaraz, Mani, Mazdak, Babak, Abu Ali Sina, Omar Khayyam, Shah Ismail and Nader Shah.

The article below by Helmut Nickel was orginally published by the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1975.  Readers can download the original article in pdf:

Helmut Nickel (1975). The Dawn of Chivalry -From the Lands of the Scythians: Ancient Treasures from the Museums of the U.S.S.R., 3000 B.C – 100 B.C. (Foreword by Philippe de Montebello and Introduction by Thomas Hoving), published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, pp.150-152 . (pdf)

Persian readers can find a translation of Nickel’s article into Persian by Hessameddin Shafeian:

 -برگردان به پارسی: حسام الدین شافعیان-سپیده دم آیین سلحشوری-

Kindly note that numbers of pictures inserted into the Helmut Nickel article below are from Kaveh Farrokh’’s lectures at the University of British Columbia’s Continuing Studies Division and Stanford University’s WAIS 2006 Critical World Problems Conference Presentations on July 30-31, 2006). as well as by Hessamoddin Shafeian’s translation of Nickel’s article. All of the pictures and accompanying descriptions were displayed for students in Kaveh Farrokh’s Fall 2011 course at the University of British Columbia’s Continuing Studies Division entitled  “Persia’s Silent Legacy in European Culture and Christianity” which was first offered in the summer semsester of 2011 at the university. 

For readers who have further interests in the history of chivalry and east-west cultural ties, kindly consult:

Arthurian and European Culture and Ancient Iran (Eire-An)

Persian readers may find this site of interest as well:

-جوانمردی، پهلوانی و عیاری-Iranian Tradition of Military Code, Pahlavani and Chivalry

Before reading Nickel’s article below, readers are also invited to consult the following book by Professors C. Scott Littleton and Linda A. Malcor entitled: “From Scythia to Camelot: A Radical Reassessment of the Legends of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, and the Holy Grail (Arthurian Characters and Themes) ” – see review by Professor Victor H. Mair.

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The horseman, mastering a beautiful animal and tower-ing over the man walking on his own feet, had a traditional sense of superiority and felt little more than contempt for the digger of the soil. In primitive societies,when the horseman was a herder, the two life styles that of nomadic herdsman and peasant behind his plough were considered mutually exclusive. This age old antagonism showed itself even as late as the range wars of the American West, when cowhands fought homesteaders. On the more romantic side, the dashing horseman made a deep impression on those outside of his culture. The centaur, the Amazon warrior-maiden, the Hun, the Tartar of the Golden Horde, the medieval knight in shining armor, the Saracen, the dazzling Napoleonic hussar and cuirassier, the Plains Indian and the cowboy under the “big blue sky,” all were looked upon with a mixture of awe and a delicious shudder that became greater the more remote they became in time and distance.

A reconstruction of the ancient Iranian-speaking Saka Paradraya (Old Persian: Saka beyond the Sea) or the Scythians of ancient Ukraine. The Scythians, who were akin to the Persians and the Medes of ancient Iran or Persia, were to transmit much of the mythology, technology and arts of ancient Iran to the European arena  (Picture used in Kaveh Farrokh’’s lectures at the University of British Columbia’s Continuing Studies Division and Stanford University’s WAIS 2006 Critical World Problems Conference Presentations on July 30-31, 2006).

The horsemen par excellence of classical antiquitywere the Scythians, who lived on the plains north of the Black Sea beyond the borders of Greek civilization. Roaming the steppes east of the Scythians, were tribes that Herodotus called the Sauromatae, who were thought to be the offspring of Scythians and Amazons. Later, in Roman times, called the Sarmatians, they showed up in the west-as the first heavy armored cavalry (cataphraclarii) in Europe.

[CLICK TO ENLARGE] Saka Tigra-khauda (Old Persian: pointed-hat Saka/Scythians) as depicted in the ancient Achaemenid city-palace of Persepolis. It was northern Iranian peoples such as the Sakas (Scythians) and their successors, the Sarmatians and Alans, who were to be the cultural link between Iran and ancient Europe  (Picture used in Kaveh Farrokh’’s lectures at the University of British Columbia’s Continuing Studies Division and Stanford University’s WAIS 2006 Critical World Problems Conference Presentations on July 30-31, 2006).

When the Huns came from Central Asia and in A.D. 375 shattered the Ostrogothic Empire that had been established in the former lands of the Scythians, agricultural Germanic tribes Goths, Burgundians, and the much-maligned Vandals as well as nomadic tribes f corn the steppes, such as the Alans, cousins of the Scythians and Sarmatians, were driven from their eastern homes and set adrift westward. The uprooted Germanic warriors successfully adopted the nomads cavalry equipment, and from the blending of the two cultures emerged what became a fundamental concept of the medieval world, chivalry.

[CLICK TO ENLARGE] The Iranian Kandys cape and its legacy in Europe (click to enlarge). (A) Medo-Persian nobleman from Persepolis wearing the Iranian Kandys cape of the nobility 2500 years past (B) figure of Paul dressed in North Iranian/Germanic dress from a 5th century ivory plaque depicting the life of Saint-Paul (C) reconstruction by Daniel Peterson (The Roman Legions, published by Windrow & Greene in 1992, pp.84) of a 4th-5th century Germanic warrior wearing Iranian style dress and the Kandys. The Iranian Persepolis styles of arts and architecture continued to exert a profound influence far beyond its borders for centuries after its destruction by Alexander (Pictures used in Kaveh Farrokh’’s lectures at the University of British Columbia’s Continuing Studies Division and Stanford University’s WAIS 2006 Critical World Problems Conference Presentations on July 30-31, 2006)..

In 378 the Gothic-Alanic cavalry wiped out a Roman army at Adrianople, a victory that heralded the dominance of the heavy armored horseman on the medieval battlefield. Groups of Alans set themselves up as local aristocracies in Hort hem Spain ( Catalonia : Goth-Alania ) and northern France ( Alenon ) . Chivalry developed into its final form when another wave of Germanic warriors, the Normans, came to northern France and took up the horsemanship of the Alanic gentry. (The Battle of Hastings, in 1066, was decided by the time honored nomad tactic of feigned retreat, executed by the left wing of the Norman cavalry commanded by the Count of Brittany, who had the telltale name Alan the Red.)

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]Iranian-speaking Alan warrior circa 5th century AD. The descendants of the Alans are found in the Caucasus as well as in the old Iranian province of Ard-Alan (Royal House of Alan) in western Iran. The legends of the Alans are recalled in the Kurdish folklore  epic “Memi-Alan o Zhin e Bohtan” (Painting by Angus McBride; Picture used in Kaveh Farrokh’’s lectures at the University of British Columbia’s Continuing Studies Division and Stanford University’s WAIS 2006 Critical World Problems Conference Presentations on July 30-31, 2006).

By the first century the Sarmatians had moved from their homeland between the Black and Caspian seas to the banks of the Danube, where they clashed with outposts of the Roman Empire. In 175 the emperor Marcus Aurelius made a treaty with the westernmost Sarmaflan tribe, the lazyges, who occupied Pannonia, today’s Hungary, and hired 8,000 of them to serve in the Roman army. Fifty five hundred lazyges cavalrymen were sent to northern Britain to fight the troublesome Picts. After their twenty-year term of service expired, they were not permitted to return home but were settled in Bremetennacum, the modern Ribchester in Lancashire, where their descendants were still listed in the fifth century as “the troop of Sarmatian veterans” (see Figure below).

Sarmatian warrior clad in scale armor. Fluttering behind him is the distinctive Iranian battle standard, a dragon made like a windsock. Fragments of a funeral stele from the Roman camp at Chester, England. Chester Museum. Photo: Chester Archaeological Society. From The Sarmatians (New York, 1970), pl. 46.

As the first heavy armored cavalry in western Europe, the Sarmatians wore segmented helmets and scale bodyarmor; even their horses were protected by scale covers and bronze studded leather chanfrons. For their distinctive battle standard, Sarmatian troops carried a dragon made like a windsock on a pole; it had a metal head and a red fabric body that writhed when the wind blew through its jaws.

A depiction of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae and Sir Thomas Mallory’s Le Morte d”Arthur. Note the windsock carried by the horseman (Farrokh, Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War, 2007, pp.171) – this item was bought from the wider Iranian realm (Persia, Sarmatians, etc) into Europe by the Iranian-speaking Alans. The inset depicts a reconstruction of a 3rd century AD Partho-Sassanian banner by Peter Wilcox (1986).

The Sarmatians worshiped their tribal god in the form of a sword stuck upright into a small stone platform. These details may resemble uncannily some of the more familiar motifs from the stories surrounding King Arthur, and it is interesting to note further that the commander (praejeans) of the Legio VI Victrix, to which the Sarmatian auxiliaries in Britain were assigned, was a certain Lucius Artorius Castus, who had served in Pannonia.

[CLICK TO ENLARGE](left) A reconstruction by Brzezinski and Mielczarek (2002 ) of Iranian-speaking Sarmatian warriors paying their respects to a fallen comrade in Europe (circa 1st century AD) – note the ritual of thrusting the fallen comrade’s sword  into the earth. At right is a screenshot of the Excalibur sword of King Arthur thrust into the stone (Movie “Excalibur“, 1981, John Boorman). This is one of many parallels between the Arthurian legends and the mythologies of the ancient Iranians  (Pictures used in Kaveh Farrokh’’s lectures at the University of British Columbia’s Continuing Studies Division).

The Sarmatians undoubtedly welcomed a commander familiar with their homeland, perhaps even their customs and language; possibly they turned his name, Artorius, into a title the way Caesar became Kaiser and Tsar. During the fifth century, when the “historical” Arthur is supposed to have lived, this title might have been used by a great British chieftain. In addition, the earliest source that mentions Arthur, the Historia Brz.tonum of Nennius shortly before 800, gives three citynames in a list of twelve battles won by Arthur, and all three (one of which seems to be an abbreviated form of Bremetennacum) were garrisons of Sarmatians or heavy armored cavalry in Roman times.

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]A reconstruction by Shadrake of the historical Arthur who was a Roman commander known as Lucius Artorius Bastus (circa 175 AD). Artorius was the original commander of the first Sarmatian contingents that settled in England . These Sarmatians who were originally settled in Pannonia (ancient Hungary) were sent to England by Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

An integral part of chivalry was chivalrous literature, especially the Arthurian legends. Judging from nomads in historical and modern times, it can be assumed that the early Scythians, Sarmatians, Alans, and Huns possessed a highly developed epic tradition (since it was oral, the term “literature” is not quite fitting) . In fact, the great western European epics, the Nibelungen and Dietrich cycles and the Arthurian legends, were composed around heroes who lived during the fifth century, the period of the greatest influx of steppe nomads into western Europe.

[CLICK TO ENLARGE] The Surp Neshan Basilica (4th Century AD) near Abaran in the Republic of Armenia. The Surp Neshan is akin to ancient Iran’s Drafsh e Kaviani (banner of Kaveh) which has ties to the Pagan Celtic Cross (Irish), the medieval Crusader Cross of the Teutonic Knights and the German Iron Cross…READ MORE…

Among the gold plaques from the Siberian collection of Peter the Great are two pairs with human representations. One pair shows a rider pursuing a boar; the other ( see Figure below) a woman sitting under a tree with a man stretched out resting his head in her lap, while two horses and a groom stand by. This idyllic scene has been recognized as a distinctive motif appearing in the medieval legend of St. Ladislav of Hungary, in the Hungarian folk ballad Ana Molna’r, and in the ancient Turkish epic about the hero Targhyn (whose name has the same root as Pendragon) . In western Europe this motif is featured in Ekkehard of St. Gall’s epic poem Waltharius (about 940) , in Wolf ram von Eschenbach’s Parzival ( about.1 200) , and in Sir Thomas Malory’s Sir Edlin and Sir Balan (about 1470, after French sources of about 1 250) .

Warrior resting (probably a scene from a legend), plaque. Gold, length 16.2 cm. (638 in.).Siberian collection of Peter I. Hermitage, Si 1727, 1/161. (Cat. no. 95, color plate 21).

Waltharius, fleeing f corn the Huns who had held him hostage, is armed “in the manner of the Pannonians” with two swords (which might explain why these gold plaques, originally scabbard mounts, are in pairs) , and both Arthurian heroes, Parzival and Sir Balin, carry two swords. (After Sir Balin’s death one of his swords is stuck into a marble block by Merlin.) Furthermore,Parzival and Sir Dalia are heroes connected with the quest for the Holy Grail, the sacred vessel that inspired visions of bliss, and it is intriguing that the Scythians and the Siberian nomads, as we have learned from their f cozen tombs-used special cauldrons to burn hashish on hot stones and inhaled the f umes, according to Herodotus, “shouting f or joy.”

 The other scene on the gold plaques,the boar hunt, brings to mind Arthur’s earliest supernatural adventure, reported by Nennius, the hunt for the boar Trwch Troynt.

[CLICK TO ENLARGE] A post-Sassanian prince, Pour e Vahman, engaged in a royal hunt of boars and lions. The ancient Iranian practice of the Royal Hunt, especially in the hunting of boars and lions, is one of many Near Eastern traditions that have parallels in European culture and mythology. Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Inv.S-247 -Picture used in Kaveh Farrokh’’s lectures at the University of British Columbia’s Continuing Studies Division and Stanford University’s WAIS 2006 Critical World Problems Conference Presentations on July 30-31, 2006).

Finally, the story of the sword Excalibur (which at Arthur’s death is thrown into the water after the knight entrusted with this task had hesitated twice to do so) has direct parallels in the epic of the death of Batradz, the tribal hero of the Ossetians of the Caucasus, and in the episode of the death of Krabat, included in a folk tale of the Sorbs of eastern Germany.

The Ossetians are the last surviving group of Sarmatian-speaking people, and the Sorbs, though now speaking a Slavic language, are an isolated group still bearing a Sarmatian tribal name. “Excalibur,” incidentally, in its earliest form “Caliburnus,” is dearly derived from the Latin word for steel, chalybs, which comes from a Greek word derived f corn the name of the Sarmatian Kalybes, a tribe of smiths in the Caucasus.

Modern-day Ossetians in traditional dress. The Ossetians of the Caucasus speak an ancient Iranian  language akin to modern Persian and Kurdish.

In 2005 a six-chapter on-line book by Kaveh Farrokh was posted in the Rozaneh on-line journal entitled:

Pan-Turanism takes aim at Azarbaijan(2005)

The book, originally intended for a general audience (laypersons and academics), ‘was essentially a descriptions of pan-Turkism and the dangers this ideology now poses in the international arena.

The publication was later posted at UN Association in Geneva. Despite being an on-line publication, the item has been cited in some academic venues.

There has also been peer-review of this book in Persian by Reza Saberi entitled: 

Review of Kaveh Farrokh Pan-Turanism Takes Aim at Azerbaijan-The Persian Book Review: A Quarterly on Arts and Literature, Winter 2005-2006, Volume XV Number 46, pages 89-95 (pdf). See also Reza Saberi’s most recent review in Persian posted in the Iranboom site: -معرفی کتاب پان‌تورانیسم آذربایجان را هدف می‌گیرد-

Nevertheless, the book’s contents (notably Chapters 1-5) are now somewhat dated as it was posted six years ago. However the final chapter of that book (Chapter 6) continues to bear relevance to the present – click on the “READ  MORE” item in the paragraph housed below the following map: 

Ralph Peters’ version of the Bernard Lewis Plan (Professor Bernard Lewis in inset). The above is a “revised” map of Iran and the Middle East as proposed by Ralph Peters (source: Peters, R. 2006. Blood Borders: How a better Middle East would Look. Armed Forces Journal, June Issue). Note that the Republic of Azarbaijan has absorbed Iran’s Azarbaijan province, a Greater Kurdistan has absorbed Iran’s Kurdish and Luri regions, Iran’s Khuzistan province has become joined to a southern Iraqi Arab state, Iran’s southeast is joined to a Greater Baluchistan. Interestingly, Peters has “compensated” Iran by “granting” it the city of Herat, which was in fact a part of historical Iran until its official detachment from the country by the British Empire in the late 1850s. Professor Lewis, who is a veritable world-class expert on the Middle East, has recently denied any associations with this plan but recent publications such as those by William Engdahl dispute this. READ MORE…

As shown in Chapter 6 of the item (click on the READ MORE above), geopolitical lobbies endeavor to promote the Lewis-Peters project by promoting pan-Turkism in Iran (also other “-isms” such as pan-Baluchism, pan-Kurdism, pan-Arabism, etc.)

Robert Olsen’s book has provided details on plans to dismember Iran and has also highlighted how pan-Turkism is being used in this process. (See review of this book by Mainuddin, Rolin. Journal of Third World Studies, Spring 2005, Vol. 22 Issue 1, p287-289 (pdf). To consult this book click here).

Chapter 6 of the Farrokh text on the dangers of pan-Turkism (2005) also notes of the role of Western activists such as Ruel Gerecht (see below):

A Racist man: Reuel Marc Gerecht of  the American Enterprise Institute is on record for having said “The Iranians …have terrorism in their DNA”.  The same Mr. Gerecht has been significantly prominent in trying to stir ethnic tensions in Iran. Gerecht’s role in attempting to foster ethno-separatist sentiments in Iranian Azarbaijan have been noted in the Asia Times article “Stirring the Ethnic Pot”  by Jason Athanasiadis (April 29, 2005).

With the exception of Chapter 6,, the other chapters of the 2005 on-line text by Farrokh is somewhat dated; Readers are encouraged to consult the contents laden in the following link on Kavehfarrokh.com:

Pan-Turkism

Below are some pictures and highlights from the above link…

Pan-Turks burning Persian language books in Tabriz (December 19, 2006) (left) and Nazi fascists (note Brown Shirt member of the SA)  burning ”un-German” books in Berlin’s Opernplatz on May 10, 1933 (right). Racist ideology resorts to censorship, revisionism, propaganda and even violence in an endeavor to re-write history.  Interestingly, Western lobbies, including Human Rights organizations, have remained silent with respect to the overt racialism, Persophobia and violent nature of pan-Turkism. READ MORE…

Count Helmuth Von Moltke (1800-1891) who was the first to suggest to the Ottoman Turks that they turn their gaze “to Asia” – meaning Iran and Russia. The Count was encouraging the Ottoman Turks to conquer Iran and the Turkic-speaking regions of Russia. READ MORE…

Ottoman officers in the Caucasus. After Russia’s collapse in 1917, they fought to implement the plan for a pan-Turkic super state that would join the Caucasus and northern Iran to Turkey. The scheme failed in northern Iran as the Iranian Azarbaijanis rejected both the Ottomans and the pro-Ottoman Musavats of Baku. Iranian Azarbaijanis such as Sheikh Mohammad Khiyabani protested against the Musavat’s use of the name “Azerbaijan” for their newly founded republic. READ MORE…

Reconstruction of Russian officers in Berlin in 1945 [left] and the Soviet-controlled “Azerbaijan Feda-iyan” [right] – note Gholam Yahya Daneshiyan standing at the right. The similarity of the uniforms of Pishevari’s troops with those of his Soviet supporters are striking. Despite the photo’s poor quality, Daneshiyan’s uniform is that of a Junior Lieutenant of the Russian Red Army; the two men standing next to him wear the uniforms and caps of Soviet NKVD officers (Red Army political/intelligence officers). The Red Army was the main force behind Pishevari’s puppet regime. READ MORE…

Falsifying history: Dr. Brenda Shaffer who has relied on Soviet-era propaganda and pan-Turkist writings to present a false history of the Caucasus and Azarbaijan. Dr. Touraj Atabaki (of Iranian Azarbaijani origin) has reviewed Shaffer’s book “Borders and Brethren: Iran and the Challenge of Azerbaijani Identity” and  noted  “Within the first two chapters, however, the reader becomes disappointed with the unbalanced and sometimes even biased political appraisal which not only dominates the author’s methodology but also shapes her selective amnesia in recalling historical data… shortcomings in Shaffer’s study are vivid, both in regard to methodology and the data she offers us…”   See more of Dr. Atabaki’s review here (Touraj Atabaki’s review in Slavic Review, 63:1 (2004) (pdf) … see also Evan Siegal’s review in Iranian Studies, Volume 37, Issue 1 March 2004 , pages 140 – 143 (pdf) see longer version of Siegal’s review (click here)…

The Baku regime’s pan-Turkist propaganda mouthpiece: Mr. Ahmad Obali as he appears in his study (picture source: Modern.Az). Interestingly, Mr. Obali is often touted as an ‘expert” in cultural, linguistic, and historical affairs by the Baku establishment, but in reality his main profession is in the restaurant business – he has faced legal troubles due to his sales of alcohol to children in Chicago (see the following document in pdf). Despite these controversies, Mr. Obali is also actively courted by Western officials as a “Human Rights” activist. READ MORE…

Rouben Galichian was born in Tabriz, Iran, to a family of immigrant Armenians who had fled Van in 1915 to escape the Genocide, and who arrived in Iran via Armenia, Georgia and France. After attending school in Tehran, Rouben obtained a degree in Engineering from the University of Aston, Birmingham in 1963.

Rouben Galichian has written numerous books outlining the history and cartography of the Caucasus. He is also the author of a number of cartographic articles published in various magazines and has lectured extensively in Europe, the USA, Iran and Armenia. For his services to Armenian historical cartography, Rouben was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia in November of 2008. In 2009 he was the recipient of “Vazgen I” cultural achievements medal. He is married and shares his time between London and Yerevan.

Rouben’s interest in geography and cartography started early in life and began seriously studying this subject sine the 1970s. In 1981 he moved to London with his family, where he had access to a huge variety of cartographic material. His books are described below

“Historic Maps of Armenia: The Cartographic Heritage (I. B Tauris, London, 2004) [see Amazon]. Galichian’s first book which contains a collection of world maps and maps of the Caucasus over a period of 2600 years, as seen by various mapmakers. Galichian collected these rare maps from various libraries from all over the world. This book became a bestseller in 2005. For more information on this text click here…

Note that expanded versions of the above book have been published (in Russian, Armenian [Printinfo Art Books, 2005], and English. The Russian translation of the book is available below in pdf:

Мифологизация истории: Азербайджан, Армения,вымыслы и факты

Galichian’s third book, is also laden with valuable historical information: 

“Countries South of the Caucasus in Medieval Maps: Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan” (Gomidas Institute, London, 2007) [see Amazon]. This text provides analytical historical-geographical information of this area for readers in the EU. For more information on this text click here…

Galichian’s fourth and most recent book is:

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]. Azerbaijan, Armenia and the Showcasing of Imagination (second, revised and expanded edition) (see Amazon). London/Yerevan 2010:  Gomitas Institute & Printinfo Art Books. This book is also available in pdf – click here…

The above book documents the native Armenian pedigree in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabagh through the centuries. The text is also of interest as it exposes the Republic of Azerbaijan or ROA [known as Arran until May 1918 - distinct from the historical Azerbaijan in Iran's northwest] falsifications in historical and cultural fields.

Galichian has completed another work dedicated to exposing the ROA’s falsifications of history, culture etc. The book draft is in Armenian but is to be transated into English. The work shall be entitled along the lines of “Historico-geographical Falsifications of Azerbaijan“. The book has alreayd been translated into Russian.

In the work Galichian shall discuss the following:

•  Manner, reason and need for the Baku establishment to engage in falsifications
•  Reason for claiming and appropriating others’ (especially Iranian) cultures
• Baku’s claims about the Armenians being newcomers in the Caucasus and claiming 5000 years of historic heritage for Turkic-speakers in the Caucasus.
• Analysis of 40 maps produced over the 2000 years, with particular reference to Islamic maps.
• Identity of Albanians (ancient settlers of modern-day Republic of Azerbaijan) versus the real historical Azeris of iran
• Short discussion on Azeri and Azerbaijani-Turkish language
• Psychological factors etc.

Galichian demonstrates that historical Azerbaijan has always been a province of ancient Iran (Media) and not the present-day Republic of Azerbaijan, which was thus named in May 1918. Kavehfarrokh.com will release more information on this upcoming text as soon as it goes to print.

Nazrin Mehdiyova a historian from the Republic of Azarbaijan (ROA), has noted that

“…for the purpose of breaking Azerbaijan’s historical links with Iran… Soviet authorities falsified documents and re-wrote history books…” (Mehdiyova, 2003, p.280).

The policy of re-writing history books and falsifying documents has continued to the present day by the Baku authorities.

Despite the historical facts, a number of historical revisionist views are officially taught as “history” at the elementary, secondary and post-secondary levels of the educational system in the Republic of Azarbaijan (Former Arran as opposed to historical Azarbaijan in Iran).

It is also no secret that the teaching of history in the Republic of Azarbaijan is distorted with respect to its Iranian historical ties and legacy:

سرنوشت غمبار تاریخ جمهوری آذربایجان اران در بیخبری ما + لینک دانلود فیلم

Even children’s textbooks in Baku have became a major medium for the transmission of ethno-nationalist  propaganda. For more on this topic consult a recent textbook entitled “Ata Yurdu” now being taught in Baku’s schools:

-تبلیغات ضد ایرانی در کتابهای درسی رژیم حاکم بر باکو!-[Anti-Iranian propaganda in school textbooks printed by the current regime of Baku]

The Ata Yurdu textbook is replete with historical falsifications such as the following:

1) The treaty of Golestan and Turkmenchai which Iran was forced to sign after her defeats by Russia) are re-narrated as having resulted in the “division of the independent kingdom of Azarbaijan by Iran and Russia”. This is false as (a) no independent Azarbaijan entity existed (b) historical Azarbaijan is in Iran below the Araxes River; the territories to the north were not known as “Azarbaijan” – these were known as Arran/Albania and the Khanates (c) the territories of the Caucasus ceded to Russia had historically elonged to Iran

2) Shah Ismail is narrated as the founder of the “Independent kingdom of azarbaijan” which is historically false. Ismail specifically re-asserted the sovereignty of the Iranian state and adopted the Persian title “Shah” instead of “Khan“.

3) The book also falsifies information on living persons. Shahyar, an iranian azarbaijani, is introduced as a “pan-Azarbaijani nationalist” when in fact the same Shahyar has written several verses praising Iran.

History books are now being published for mass distribution at the international level. The textbook, “A Short History of Azerbaijan”, written by Yagub Mahmudlu and printed by the embassy of the Republic of Azarbaijan in Pakistan, is one such example.

The book “A Short History of Azerbaijan” by Yagub Mahmudlu of Baku has essentially engaged in the rehabilitation of former Communist and pan-Turkist propaganda. The book contains a large number of historical distortions and falsified maps.

The Mahmudlu book pretends that neither Iranian Azarbaijan nor Arran (modern Republic of Azarbaijan) were ever a part of Iran in history. The historical claims in the book are surprising due to their fantastically revisionist claims. Almost every single point in this book is either falsified or distorted.

The notion of a “Greater Azarbaijan” is promoted at the official level by the Baku authorities (apolicy first promoted by the former Soviet Union). As noted by the aforementioned historian, Nazrin Mehdiyova the falsification of history has led to:

“…the myth [of a North versus South Azarbaiajn ] became deeply ingrained in the population [of the Republic of Azarbaijan] and was adopted by the PFA [Popular Front of Azerbaijan] as part of the rhetoric.”  Mehdiyova, 2003, p.280).

Mahmudlu’s aforementioned book for example completely ignores the region’s long-standing associations with Iran and re-writes history to promote the “Greater Azarbaijan” myth - note one of the book’s maps below:

 A historically false map of an alleged “Greater Azarbaijan” during the Arab Caliphate. Historically all contemporary sources clearly distinguish between the real-historical Azarbaijan which is cited as being south of the Araxes River in northwest Iran versus Arran or Albania located to the north of the Araxes River. There are no maps or references that cite ancient Arran in the Caucasus aboves the Araxes River as “Azarbaijan”.

As noted by the aforementioned Nazrin Mehdiyova:

“…the myth [of a North versus South Azerbaijan] was invented under the Soviets for the purpose of breaking Azerbaijan’s historical links with Iran….(Mehdiyova, 2003, p.280).

Shireen T. Hunter (see 1994, p.11) had earlier raised the alarm that the myth of a “divided Greater Azarbaijan” between Czarist Russia and Qajar Iran after the Golestan (1826) and Turkmenchai (1828) treaties had become a major mainstay of the newly independent Republic of Azarbaijan (following the collapse of the Soviet Union by the early 1990s).

It is interesting that another western historian, Blum (2007, pp.106) clearly reports that modern-day Baku:

“…boasts a well-established official national identity …there has been little historical basis for national identity formation among Azeri elites, who were significantly affected by Russification …”.

 There are even pan-Turk essayists from Baku who are forced to acknowledge these facts. One case is Nazim Dadasov who admits that

“…If we look back to the history it will be very difficult to find the term “Azeri nation”. Historians have begun to use this term only during Soviet Union period”.

You can corroborate this at: Dadasov, Nazim, “What is Azeri Nation”, March 26, 2008, posted on-line at International Research Club website (click here).

 Dadasov however is very biased. He explains the Soviet policy as having been in place to separate Arran-Albania from Turkey- he makes no mention that Arran was Iranian territory until relatively recently in the early 19^th century. Once again, readers may be surprised to learn that a significant number of the modern-day inhabitants of Arran-Albania are unaware of their nation’s links with Iran.

 On this point, let us return to the modern-day educational policies of the Republic of Azarbaijan or Arran-Albania. Below is a Baku-government sponsored video animation (Azerbaijan Tarihi (Tarix)) showing a mythical “Greater” Azarbaijan being divided into a “Southern” and “Northern” Azarbaijan by Iran and Russia in the early 19^th century (clock on picture to see the video):

A post-Soviet era propafanda map produced in Baku. The above map (click on the above map to see the video) promotes the false notion that a “Greater Azerbaijan” was divided in two by Russia and Iran in 1828. Historically false claims such as these were first promoted by the pan-Turkists of the early 20th century which were then propagated by the former Soviet Union and the Communists, notably Joseph Stalin and Mirjaafar Baguirov. Unfortunately the legacy of historical amnesia has continued to persist at the official level in the Caucasian state.

As noted by Professor Roy [Roy, O., The New Central Asia, I.B. Tauris, 2007] with respect to those territories situated above the Araxes abive the historical Azarbaijan province in Iran:

 ”The concept of Azeri identity barely appears at all before 1920. Up until that point Azerbaijan had been a purely geographical area. Before 1924, the Russians called Azeri Tatars “Turk” or “Muslims“[ Roy, 2007, p. 18]

 Note also Professor Kaufman [Kaufman, S., Modern Hatreds: The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War, Cornell University Press, 2001] who has observed that:

“In fact, the very name “Azerbaijani” was not widely used until the 1930s; before that Azerbaijani intellectuals were unsure whether they should call themselves Caucasian Turks, Muslims, Tatars, or something else” [Kaufman, 2001, p. 56].

Historical archives completely contradict what is essence post-Soviet (and pan-Turkist inspired) ethno-nationalist propaganda (and maps).  Note a European map of 1805 below, just before the wars in which Russia conquered Iran’s Caucasian territories – note that there is no such entity as a “Azarbaijan kingdom” or “Greater Azarbaijan”. In fact all of modern day Republic of Azarbaijan were simply khanates which were part of the Iranian state. 

Map of Iran in 1805 before the invasions of Czarist Russia. Note the Caucasus, north of Iran and along the eastern Caspian littoral, which was Iranian territory. There was no “Greater Azarbaijan”  supposedly “divided” between Iran and Russia. Russia invaded Iran and forced her to cede the Caucasus.   Iran also lost important eastern territories such as Herat, which broke away with British support, Picture source from CAIS.

The number of historical distortions on this subject has become so large that debunking these would require volumes of textbooks.  On the other hand these falsifications are easy to dismiss with just a few sources. As we have already noted, no such “Southern” and “Northern” Azarbaijan entities are reported by native Caucasian sources, or European (i.e. Russian and British) sources.  It is a sad fact that Elchibey went to his grave believing the historical fabrications of the Soviet Communist state, not to mention the falsifications made by the Tsars and pan-Turk activists.

But what of the post-Elchibey era today? This is a more complex question as “officially” Baku and Tehran are on cordial terms. But one must look at the large picture as Baku is a close ally of Tel Aviv and Western lobbies – a vast topic which we need to discuss in a separate question.

 There are numerous references that can be produced to dismiss Mahmudlu’s Communist and pan-Turk inspired claims. Below is an actual map drafted during the Arab caliphates which reveal the historical Azarbaijan being in Iran and distinct from Arran (modern Republic of Azarbaijan), thereby revelaing the deliberate forgery seen in  Mahmudlu’s map:

A map drawn by Ibn Hawqal (ابن حوقل) during the Arab caliphates which shows the clear distinction between Arran (north east Caucasus just above Araxes), Armenia (north/northwest Caucasus just above Araxes River) and Azarbaijan inside Iran and below the Araxes River. Ibn-Hawqal:clearly cited the Araxes River as the southern limit of Arran.

ابن حوقل نیز طبق نقشه ای که از سه سرزمین ارمنستان، آذربایجان و اران ارائه کرده است ، رود ارس را مرز میان آذربایجان و اران دانسته و هنگام بحث از شهرهای اران ، از بردعه ، جنزه ( گنجه ) شمکور ( شامخور ) ، تفلیس ، برزنج ، شماخیه ( شماخی ) ، شروان ، شاوران ، قبله و شکی ، نام برده ، اما شهرهای اردبیل ، دَه خرقان (دهخوارقان) ، تبریز ، سلماس ، خوی ، برکری ، ارمیه ( ارومیه ) ، مراغه ، اشنه ( آشنویه ) ، میانج ( میانه ) ، مرند و برزند را جزو شهرهای آذربایجان دانسته است .
جهانگرد معروف دیگر ابوعبدالله بشار مقدسی ، ضمن جدا دانستن آذربایگان و ارآن ، درباره محدوده جغرافیایی و شهرهای اران چنین نوشته است :
« اران سرزمینی است جزیره مانند ، میانه دریای خزر و رود ارس ، نهرالمَلِک ( رود کُر ) از طول آن را قطع می کند . مرکز آن بردعه است و شهرهای آن عبارتند از تفلیس قلعه ، خنان ، شمکور ( شامخور ) ، جنزه ( گنجه ) ، بردیج ، شماخی ، شروان ، باکویه ( باکو ) ، شابران ، دربند ، قبله ، شکی ، ملازگرد

Here are more examples of the Arran-Azarbaijan distinction made by islamic and medieval era cartographers and historians:

The Hodud-ol-Alam Text (10^th century AD): Cites the Araxes River as the northern limit of Azerbaijan.

Ibn Khordadbeh (ابن خردادبه): Clear distinction between Arran and Azarbaijan 

ابن خردادبه از اران و آذربایگان به طور جداگانه نام می برد و ضمن شرح شهرها و روستاهای آذربایجان ، نام شهرها و شهرکهایی را آورده که تماماً در جنوب رود ارس واقعند . اما از اران ، تفلیس ، بردعه ( بردع ) و بیلقان ( بیلگان ) ، قبله و شروان جداگانه نام برده و افزوده است که شهرستان های اران و جزو آن ( گرجستان ) و سیسجان جزو بلاد خزر بودند که نوشیروان به تصرف آورد . ابن فقیه مرز آذربایجان را از یک سو رود ارس و از سوی دیگر مرز زنجان و حدود دیلمستان و طرم ( طارم ) و گیلان دانسته است . و از شهرهای آذربایجان به این شرح نام می برد : « برکَری ، سلماس ، موقان ( مغان) ، خوی ، ورثان ( وردان ) ، مراغه ، نیریز » تبریز ، شاپور خواست ، برزه ، خونه ، میانه ، مرند ، خوی ، کولسره و برزند . . . »

Al-Muqaddasi (10^th Century AD): Divided Persia into eight regions which include both Azerbaijan and Arran. Defines Arran as being situated between the Caspian Sea and the Araxes River.

Yaqut Al-Hamavi (13^th Century AD) (یاقوت حمودی، ): Defines Arran and Azerbaijan as distinct territories with the Araxes River forming the boundary between them. Arran defined as north and west of the Araxes, with Azerbaijan to the south of the River 

یاقوت حمودی، در کتاب معروف «معجم البلدان» درباره این نواحی چنین می‌نویسد:
«اران نامی است ایرانی، دارای سرزمینی فراخ و شهرهای بسیار که یکی از آنها جنزه (گنجه) است و این همان است که مردم آن را گنجه گویند . میان آذربایجان و اران رودی است که آن را ارس گویند . آنچه در شمال و مغرب این رود نهاده است از اران و آنچه در سوی جنوب قرار گرفته است ، از آذربایجان است .

Borhan-e-Qate (فرهنگ برهان قاطع) (Completed 1602 or 1632 AD – during the safavid era): Aras (Araxes) defined as a river flowing past Tbilisi in Georgia and forming the boundary between Arran and Azerbaijan. 

در فرهنگ برهان قاطع که محمد حسین بن خلف تبریزی آن را به سال 1602 هجری تألیف کرده است ، در شرح واژه ارس ، چنین می خوانیم :
« ارس ـ به فتح اول و ثانی و سکون سین بی نقطه نام رودخانه ای است مشهور که از کنار تفلیس و مابین آذربایجان و ارّان می گذرد .

Hamdollah Mostofi (حمداله مستوفی): makes a clear distinction between Arran and azarbaijan being divided by the Araxes River. 

حمداله مستوفی نیز در کتاب مشهور نزهه القلوب ، از شهرهای آذربایجان یک به یک نام برده و میان دو رود ارس و کُرا اران و آن سوی رود کُر را شیروان می نامد .Abu al-Fadai Dameshqi (ابوالفدائ دمشقی): makes a clear distinction between Arran and azarbaijan being divided by the Araxes River.

ابوالفدائ دمشقی که چهل و شش سال بعد از درگذشت یاقوت به دنیا آمده و کتاب کم نظیر تقویم البلدان را در سال 721 به پایان آورده است به روشنی تمام می نویسد: « اران . . . اقلیمی است مشهور که هم مرز آذربایجان است » و بعد اضافه می کند : « ارمنستان و اران و آذربایجان سه سرزمین بزرگ اند جدا از هم که اهل فن آنها را در یک نقشه نشان می دهند.»

The same distinction in antiquity and pre-Islamic times is seen between Azarbaijan (in Iran) below the Araxes River versus Arran (in the Caucasus above the Araxes River with Strabo (64/63 BC-23 AD) who noted that the people of Iranian Azerbaijan (known as Media Atropatene at the time of Strabo) as Iranians with Persian as their language (Strabo, Geographica, see p. 17-18).

Another example is Arrian (92-c. 175 AD) who noted that the region north of the Araxes River is cited as “Albania” and south of the Araxes as “Media Atropatene”. 

Sassanian emperor, Shapur I (r. 241-270 AD), cited Albania and Media Atropatene as two separate provinces of the Persian Empire. Professor Mark Whittow’s map of Oxford University clearly shows the historically attested distinction between ancient Arran/Albania and the original Azarbaijan in Iran. Note how the Araxes River separates Arran from the historical Azerbaijan (in Iran).

Suffice it to say that there has been no entity known as a “Greater Azarbaijan” either before or after the Islamic era. 

Ottoman Map showing Iran in the Middle Ages (note that the map specifically states “Iran” in perso-Arabic script). The map also confirms that much of the Caucasus was Iranian territory and that Azarbaijan province in Iran is distinct from those Caucasian khanates (north of the Araxes), re-named in 1918 as “Republic of Azerbaijan”. Note that the Caucasian khanates (notably those areas now known as “Republic of Azarbaijan”) were part of Iran’s domains. The map (like all historical maps) makes clear that the so-called “Greater Azarbaijan state” (first promoted by the Soviets and now by Baku and its Western supporters) has never existed in history.

As noted in the News Blog of November 9, 2011, a major conference was held in Yerevan, Armenia entitled: The 2nd International Conference on Talishi Studies at Yerevan, Armenia on 12-13 Nov 2011  During that conference Kaveh Farrokh presented a paper entitled “The Process of the De-Iranianization of Caucasian Azerbaijan (1828-Present)”.

[CLICK TO ENLARGE] Brochure cover for the 2nd International Conference on Talishi Studies (left) with Page 4 of the Brochure at right which lists the Key Presenters opening the conference.

Armenian print and TV media provided extensive coverage of this event and conducted several interviews with the conference participants, including kaveh Farrokh who was cited in the Armenian Times and Panorama News. Farrokh was also one of the persons interviewed on Armenian TV news – see below: 

Armenian State TV – Hyalur on Nov. 12 2011. The news program interviewed a whole host of participants, including Professor Ali Granmayeh (London Middle East Institute, SOAS, University of London). Kaveh  Farrokh is interviewed approximately 24 minutes into the program.

The conference addressed mutliple facets of Talishi issues, including the state of the language in Iran and the Caucasus, its linguistic characteristics (especially in relation to other Iranian languages such as Gilaki and Mazandarani), social and cultural aspects (i.e. Professor Arakelova’s presentation of demonic figures in Talishi folklore), etc.  In this endeavor, the conference hosted a wide array of excellent topics and presenters from the Caucasus, Iran, Russia and Europe.

The conference was laden with a whole sleuth of excellent topics and scholars. Above is Shadi Davari from Iran presenting her paper “On Talishi Oblique Case: A Case of Syncretism”.

A number of excellent new publications also appeared during the conference, some of which are presented below:

[CLICK TO ENLARGE] The number 37-38, 2011 edition of the Farhang-e-Mardom (Iranian Folklore Quarterly), a Persian language quarterly with a primary focus on Iranian traditions and folklore. There is also a short section dedicated to English-language abstracts.

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]. Rouben Galichian (2010). Azerbaijan, Armenia and the Showcasing of Imagination (second, revised and expanded edition). London/Yerevan:  Gomitas Institute & Printinfo Art Books. ISBN: 978-1-903656-86-0. This book is also available in pdf – click here…

Below are some photos taken from the conference.

Evening of Nov 12, 2011 in Yerevan; at left Professor Garnik Asatrian (Chair, Iranian Studies Department, Yerevan State University; Editor, “Iran and the Caucasus”, BRILL, Leiden-Boston) and Kaveh Farrokh at right.

From left to right: Kaveh Farrokh, Professor Victoria Arakelova (Associate Professor, Department of Iranian Studies, Yerevan State University; Associate Editor, “Iran and the Caucasus”, BRILL, Leiden) and Professor Ali Granmayeh (London Middle East Institute, SOAS, University of London). Professor Arakelova presented a  paper entitled “Demonic creatures and demonized deities in the system of Talishi Folk beliefs” with Professor Granmayeh presenting a paper entitled “Talishi Language and Culture: How to Save them?”

Banquet held for conference participants on the evening of Nov. 12, 2011.  Gentleman with black jacket and moustache is Professor Arayik Sargsyan (Sarkissyan), Academician and Vice President of the Academy of Geopolitical Issues in Russia. At right (with dark-blue tie and smiling) is Russian professor Audrey Arashev who presented a paper entitled “The Talysh Region and the Current Political Transformations in the South Caucasus”. To the left of Professor Sargsyan (Sarkissyan) sits Professor Sekandar Amanollahi-Baharvand who teaches anthropology at the University of Shiraz.

A lunch break on November 13, 2011 at Yerevan’s Anahit Restaurant, hosted by Professor Geurgin Melikiyan (Dean of Oriental Studies, Yerevan University and Aide to the Armenian Minister of War). At right side of the table are (from back to front) Professor Geurgin Melikiyan and Professor Zhores Khachatrian (major researcher and archaeologist, Yerevan State University) - at the left side of the table are (from back to front) Professor Ali Ashraf Sadeghi  (Professor of Linguistics at Tehran University, Permanent Member of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature) and Professor Dabir-Moghaddam (Professor of Linguistics at Allameh Tabataba’i University, Permanent Member of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature). Kaveh Farrokh with red shirt at far back.

 A rare early 1900s photo of Yerevan’s city streets.

A piece of history: A late 19th or early 20th century Armenian gavel and block.