Iranian nationalism
Government of Islamic Republic of Iran |
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Iranian nationalism
History
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Origins
The idea of Iran as a religious, cultural, and ethnic reality goes back as far as the end of the 6th century B.C.E. As a political idea, it first appeared in the twenties of the third century C.E. as an essential feature of Sasanian propaganda.[2]
Third-century Iran was shaken by a conflict between universalism and nationalism that was most clearly manifested in the religious and cultural sphere. The outcome of this conflict is well known: the traditionalistic and nationalistic impulses gained the upper hand, and Manichaean universalism succumbed to the nationalism of the Zoroastrian Magi. Iranian identity, which up to that point had essentially consisted of cultural and religious nature, assumed a definite political value, placing Persia and the Persians at the center of the Ērān-šahr, in other words, at the center of a state based on the twin powers of throne and altar and sustained by an antiquarian and archaizing ideology. This ideology became more and more accentuated during the Sassanian period, reaching its height in the long reign of Khosrow I (531-79 C.E.). Of course, economic and social factors favored the victory of the stronger classes in a society that was based mainly on a rural economy, namely the aristocratic landed and warrior classes and the Magian clergy.[2]
Shu'ubiyya
Iranian identity came under threat after the fall of the
Iranian Intermezzo
The term
Iranian-Shia identity under the Safavids
Qajar Era - start of modern nationalism
The modern Iranian national movement began in the late 19th century. Iranian nationalism is in origin a reaction to
The initial objectives of these nationalists e.g. ending the feudalistic landholding system, governmental sloth and corruption and, the wholesale distribution of Iranian resources to foreigners also greatly appealed to modernizers.[1]
One of the principal and most noted forerunners of Iranian nationalism of the Qajar era was Mirza Fatali Akhundov, born in the recently taken territories in the Caucasus to a landowner family originally stemming from Iranian Azerbaijan.[10]
Modern nationalism
Modern nationalism in Iran dates back to 1906 when an almost bloodless
Iranian nationalist discourse often focuses on the pre-Islamic history of Iran.[14] In the 20th century, different aspects of this romantic nationalism would be referenced by both the Pahlavi monarchy, which employed titles such as Āryāmehr "Light of the Aryans", and by some leaders of the Islamic Republic that followed it.[15]
Despite the secular tendencies of the vast majority of Iranian nationalists, there is a grouping called the Religious Nationalists who are Iranian nationalists but also religious Muslims.
Nationalist parties of Iran
- Active parties
- Pan-Iranist Party (founded 1941, banned, operating inside Iran)
- National Front (founded 1949, banned, operating inside Iran)
- Iran Party (founded 1944, banned, operating inside Iran)
- Party of the Iranian People (founded 1949, banned, operating inside Iran)
- Nation Party of Iran (founded 1951, banned, operating inside Iran)
- Freedom Movement of Iran (founded 1961, banned, operating inside Iran)
- Marze Por Gohar(founded 1998, banned, exiled)
- Council of Nationalist-Religious Activists of Iran (founded 2000, banned, operating inside Iran)
- Historic parties
- Society for the Progress of Iran (1909–1911)
- Revival Party (1920–1927)
- Iran-e-No Party (1927)
- Progress Party (1927–1932)
- Motherland Party (1940–1946)
- Justice Party (1941–1946)
- Azure Party (1942–1953)
- National Will Party (1943–1951)
- Movement of God-Worshipping Socialists (1943–1960)
- Democrat Party of Iran (1946–1984)
- Aria Party (1946–1953)
- Iran Unity Party (1946–1948)
- Society of Muslim Warriors (1948–1955)
- Third Force (1948–1960)
- National Socialist Workers Party of Iran (1952–1953)
- Nationalists’ Party(1957–1963)
- League of Iranian Socialists (1960–1982)
- The Liberation Movement of People of Iran(1964–1988)
- National Democratic Front (1979–1981)
- Iranians' Party (1970–1975)
- Rastakhiz Party (1975–1979)
See also
Footnotes
- ^ Persian: ملیگرایی ایرانی
Baloch: راج دوستی ایرانی
Kurdish: نەتەوە پەروەریی ئێرانی
Gilaki: ایجانایی ایرانی
Azerbaijani: İran millətçiliyi
Turkmen: Eýranyň milletçiligi
Arabic: القومية الإيرانية - ^ Such an obviously coined designation was introduced by Vladimir Minorsky, "The Iranian Intermezzo", in Studies in Caucasian history (London, 1953) and has been taken up by Bernard Lewis, among others, in his The Middle East: A brief history of the last 2,000 years (New York, 1995).
References
- ^ ISBN 0-8229-5299-8. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
- ^ a b Gnoli, Gherardo. "IRANIAN IDENTITY ii. PRE-ISLAMIC PERIOD". Encyclopædia Iranica. Archived from the original on 2011-11-17. Retrieved 2011-09-11.
{{cite encyclopedia}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Lewis, Bernard. The Middle East: 2,000 Years of History from the Rise of Christianity to the Present Day. pp. 81–82.
- ^ Ashraf, Ahmad. "IRANIAN IDENTITY iii. MEDIEVAL ISLAMIC PERIOD". Encyclopedia Iranica. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
- S2CID 55237025.
- ^ Eaton, R. The Persian Cosmopolis. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History. Retrieved 3 May. 2023, from https://oxfordre.com/asianhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277727-e-402.
- ^ Patrick Clawson writes:
- "Since the days of the ISBN 1-4039-6276-6.
- "Since the days of the
- ISBN 1598849484
- ^ Fisher et al. 1991, p. 329.
- ^ Tadeusz Swietochowski, Russia and Azerbaijan: A Borderland in Transition (New York: Columbia University Press), 1995, page 27-28:
- ISBN 9780199371020.
- ISBN 9780199371020.
- ^ Hunt, Michael (2014). The World Transformed 1945 to the Present. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 282.
- ^ Adib-Moghaddam, Arshin (2006). "Reflections on Arab and Iranian Ultra-Nationalism". Monthly Review Magazine. 11/06..
- ISBN 0-300-12105-9..
Sources
- Fisher, William Bayne; Avery, P.; Hambly, G. R. G; Melville, C. (1991). The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 7. Cambridge: ISBN 0521200954.
Further reading
- Zia-Ebrahimi, Reza (2016). The Emergence of Iranian Nationalism: Race and the Politics of Dislocation. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0231175760.