Perceptions Of Iran History Myths And Nationalism From Medieval Persia To The Islamic Republic

Ali M. Ansari, Pejman Abdolmohammadi, Touraj Daryaee, Saeed Talajooy

<">From the Sasanian to the Safavid Empire, and from Qajar Iran to the current Islamic Republic, the history of Iran is one which has been coloured by a rich tradition of myths and narratives and shaped by its wealth of philosophers, cultural theorists and political thinkers. Perceptions of Iran dissects the construction of Iranian identity, to reveal how nationalism has been continually re-formulated and how Iran's self-perception has been moulded by its literary past. Here, Ali M. Ansari gathers together a varied and wide-ranging account of the long history of Iranian encounters with the Western world, whether via the observations of Herodotus, or the knowledge - via the Old Testament - of Cyrus liberating the Jews from Babylon, or into the modern era when nineteenth and twentieth century interactions reflect the unequal power relationship between Iran and the West. Perceptions of...