An Introduction to the “Theory of Iranian Civilizational Cultural Nationalism” Based on the Analysis of the Ancient Foundations of Iranian Nationality
Subject Areas : Research in Theoritical Politics
mohammad kouravand
1
,
masoud shahramnia
2
,
mohsen 12emami
3
1 - Ph.D. Student in Political Sociology, Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economics, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
2 - Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
3 - Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
Keywords: Nation, Cultural Nationalism, Civilization, Culture, History.,
Abstract :
An Introduction to the “Theory of Iranian Civilizational Cultural Nationalism” Based on the Analysis of the Ancient Foundations
of Iranian Nationality
Mohammad Kouravand *
Masoud Shahram-Nia**
Seyyed Gholamreza Davazdah-Emami ***
From a macro-perspective, there exist two fundamental narratives regarding the authenticity of the nation and the concept of nationalism: one grounded in a modern, political conception, and the other rooted in a historical and cultural understanding of the nation. By exploring the “ancient foundations of Iranian nationhood,” this study seeks to formulate the continuity and evolution of Iranian nationhood through an interpretation of the relations among natural, civilizational, and cultural phenomena since prehistory, serving as a prelude to proposing a “Theory of Iran’s Cultural-Civilizational Nationalism.” According to the research findings, the distinct physical geography of the Iranian Plateau particularly its interconnected mountain ranges, which shielded the plateau’s inhabitants from historical adversaries to the east and west as well as from climatic shifts in the central plateau combined with the ancient naturalism of the plateau’s denizens and their reverence for elemental nature as manifested in the Mazdean intellectual system, played the primary role in forging the continuous cultural-civilizational structure of Iranian nationhood and Iran’s historical persistence.
Keywords: Nation, Cultural Nationalism, Civilization, Culture, History.
Introduction and Objectives
In a broad sense, there are two basic narratives about the origin of the nation and consequently the concept of nationalism. One is based on a political, conventional and modern understanding and the other is based on a natural, historical and cultural understanding of the nation. This historical research, within the framework of the second understanding of the concept of nation, seeks to prove the ancient and continuous structure of the Iranian nation. Within this framework, it is possible to propose a theory of Iranian cultural civilizational nationalism and reflect on it through the analysis and re-understanding of the ancient roots of Iranian nationality from prehistory to the historical era. This theoretical project seeks to formulate the continuity and evolution of Iranian nationality by describing the relationships between natural, civilizational and cultural phenomena and analyzing their impact on each other.
Background
Ahmad Ashraf (2020) in a study entitled “Iranian Identity from Antiquity to Pahlavi” with the help of Hamid Ahmadi, formulates articles on Iranian identity. In examining the various narratives of Iranian identity, he chooses the historical narrative as a middle solution for analyzing Iranian identity, and although he considers national identity to be a category of the modern era, he considers Iranian cultural identity to be a historical category. Hamid Ahmadi and Habibollah Fazeli (2007) in a study “Nationalism, the Problem of Identity and the National State in Social Theory” try to distinguish between two types of classical and modern nationalism, reject the idea of nationalism as a product of modernism and enlightenment, and extend the nationalist sense and sacrifice for national ideals throughout human history. In the first volume of his book “A Reflection on Iran,” Javad Tabatabaei (2001) expresses the concept of Iran from the perspective of the philosophy of history. Tabatabaei believes that this reflection, or in other words, "Iranology" and fundamental knowledge, will begin when we can accurately apply the system of concepts to our history and thought.
Method
In the present study, the re-understanding of the foundations is carried out through the interpretation of the development of Iranian civilization and with an interpretative historical approach. The type of research is historical and analytical based on text and content, and the data collection method is documentary-library.
Findings: According to the findings of this study, the specific nature of the Iranian Najd, and especially the interconnected mountain ranges of the plateau, has played a major role in the formation of the civilizational structure of the Iranian nation. The high climate of the Alborz and Zagros in its heart protected the inhabitants of Najd against invaders in the east and west of Najd, as well as against the effects of the drying up of the central lakes, climatic changes in the center of the plateau, and forced migration. The first carvings and the construction of temples and cities in the mountains were created to record history and to determine the territorial territory, and the most important civilizational mixing between the old and new inhabitants of the plateau occurred in the middle Zagros. The formation of a stable habitat and civilization within Najd, in contrast to the "Mesopotamian Semitic" civilizations in the west and the "nomadic Turanian" tribes in the east, caused a distinct society to form in this geographical area from the prehistoric period, with its own territory, independence, sense of mutual loyalty and mythology (the main features of the definition of a nation), and the mountain entered Iranian mythology as one of the important national manifestations. In this way, the foundation of Iranian nationality and the sense of solidarity and defense of the common land in the Alborz and Zagros ecosystems emerged within the Iranian Najd. Iranian nationality then had its own "geographical, biological and civilizational territory" and the phenomenon of "Iran-land" emerged. The link between the civilizational and cultural foundation of the Iranian nation in prehistory was the ancient naturalism of the inhabitants of Najd, which was rooted in the gifts and feelings that nature had bestowed upon the people. With the establishment of a stable civilization in Najd, Iran, the protection of the sanctity of nature, the praise of natural elements and light, with the development of thought, were manifested in the intellectual and spiritual system of Mazdaism. The Avesta mentions the Aryan lands from which the prehistoric unity and the sense of belonging to a common land and mythology (the defining characteristics of the nation) and the praise of Iran originated. With the emergence of Zoroastrianism, the development and defense of one's own land and civilization were praised. With the spread of Zoroastrianism, natural chronology, calendars and national celebrations became a social and unifying tradition, and Iranian culture acquired Minoan and national symbols. Ahura Mazda, the symbol of light, wisdom, and monotheism (as the epitome of Iranian wisdom), was raised, and Shahryar Nik (the originator of political theology) led to the idea of an ideal kingdom to create order and defend the homeland and religion. Fire became a common point of civilization, and fire temples became a sign of cultural distinction of the Iranian nation throughout its territory and borders, because in the East, "Turanian idols" were worshiped, and in Mesopotamia, "Semitic gods." In this way, with Mazda worship and the symbol of fire, the Iranian nation was unified with a "mythological, ritual, and cultural realm," and the concept of "Ahuraic Iran" became the cultural and spiritual foundation of the Iranian nation in the transition from prehistory to the historical stage of Iran.
Conclusion
This historical-interpretive research, within the framework of a historical and civilization-oriented understanding of the concept of nation, attempted to formulate the continuity and evolution of Iranian nationality and national sense by reflecting and exploring the "ancient foundations of Iranian nationality" from the prehistoric era by interpreting the relationships between natural, civilizational, and cultural phenomena and analyzing their impact on each other. According to the findings of this research, contrary to modern political views, the phenomenon of nationalism and the originality of the Iranian nation has an ancient civilizational and cultural foundation with cumulative, evolutionary, and continuous properties. According to the argument of the "Theory of Iranian Civilizational and Cultural Nationalism", in the prehistoric period, based on the specific nature of the Iranian Najd, the civilizational foundation of Iranian nationality and the phenomenon of "Iran of the Earth" were formed, and on this civilizational structure, the cultural foundation of Iranian nationality and the concept of "Ahurian Iran" were formed. Then, in the historical period, the foundation of the ideal Iranian monarchy and the phenomenon of "Iranshahr" and the foundation of the Pahlavi-Persian language and literature are based on these two ancient structures and continue in the concept of "Cultural Iran". This continuous structure became the most important factor in the national convergence and historical continuity of Iran and led to many times of rebirth during the ups and downs of the era. The present study states that the Iranian nationality and its special sense of nationalism arose from the process of evolution of Iranian civilization and culture and was formed in connection with the natural, civilizational and historical requirements and structure of this people, and this evolutionary structural connection in the philosophy of history is the "unique civilizational and cultural spirit of the Iranian nation". A magnificent structure that can be symbolically called the ziggurat or the tower of the originality of the Iranian nationality.
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* Ph.D. Student in Political Sociology, Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economics, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
mo.kouravand@ase.ui.ac.ir
https: //orcid.org/0009-0005-1779-2184
** Corresponding Author: Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
m.shahramnia@ase.ui.ac.ir
https: //orcid.org/0000-0001-8333-0256
*** Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
gh.12emami@ase.ui.ac.ir
https: //orcid.org/0000-0002-7758-0854
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