{"id":159194,"date":"2025-09-16T19:40:24","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T16:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/?p=159194"},"modified":"2025-09-16T19:40:24","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T16:10:24","slug":"morteza-saqebfar-distorting-irans-historical-identity-is-a-deliberate-crime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/?p=159194","title":{"rendered":"Morteza Saqebfar: Distorting Iran\u2019s Historical Identity Is a Deliberate Crime"},"content":{"rendered":"

Researcher and translator Morteza Saqebfar argues that Iran\u2019s greatest strength has always been its rich culture and civilization \u2014 one that once overshadowed other ancient societies and still leaves its mark on both Iran and the West today. Yet, in modern Western historical narratives, Iran\u2019s legacy is often overlooked. Disturbingly, some Iranians have either assisted in this erasure or, through silence, have allowed it to happen.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a recent interview, Saqebfar emphasized the importance of Iranians taking ownership of their own history. \u201cI\u2019m not in favor of exaggeration,\u201d he said, \u201cbut it\u2019s clear that we must be the ones to write our own story. During the West\u2019s intellectual peak in the 18th and 19th centuries, Iran was in the depths of the Qajar era \u2014 a time of severe decline. That\u2019s why much of our ancient history, up to the end of the Sasanian period, was recorded by Greek and Roman writers. And from the 19th century onward, most archaeological discoveries about our culture were made by foreigners.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saqebfar acknowledged the role of Western scholars, citing Colonel Henry Rawlinson\u2019s groundbreaking work in deciphering the Behistun Inscription. \u201cWe owe much to these scholars \u2014 that\u2019s a fact,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He concluded by noting that real engagement with Iran\u2019s ancient history only began during Reza Shah\u2019s reign: \u201cIt was only then that we started to seriously study our own heritage \u2014 particularly the Achaemenid and Parthian periods, which had remained largely unknown to us until that point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saqebfar: We Have the Tools\u2014Now It’s Time to Tell Our Story<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to Morteza Saqebfar, the Pahlavi II era marked a turning point in Iran\u2019s engagement with its own history. \u201cThat period focused on studying and correcting key historical and literary texts,\u201d he said. \u201cCuneiform was deciphered, the Avesta analyzed linguistically, and essential texts were critically edited. We now have the tools \u2014 it’s time to write and reflect.\u201d<\/p>\n

On how Iran is portrayed in Western histories, Saqebfar noted that much of the ancient record was written by Greeks and Romans \u2014 Iran\u2019s historical rivals. \u201cAlmost all of their writings are biased and often deliberately distorted,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

He pointed out that in the 17th and 18th centuries, as Europe sought to build a cultural identity rooted in ideals like democracy, it turned Greece into a symbol \u2014 and demonized Greece\u2019s enemies. \u201cThey called anyone who fought Greece \u2018barbarian.\u2019 Originally, that just meant \u2018non-Greek,\u2019 but Europeans turned it into an insult \u2014 and placed Iranians in that category.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thinkers like Voltaire and Bossuet even claimed that had Iran defeated Greece at the Battle of Salamis (480 BCE), Europe would have fallen under barbarian rule and lost its chance at freedom. \u201cSuch claims show how little they understood the Persian Empire\u2019s values,\u201d Saqebfar said.<\/p>\n

He added that not all Greeks held such views. \u201cPhilosophers like Plato and Xenophon praised Persian governance. Plato\u2019s idea of the philosopher-king was inspired by Zoroastrian philosophy \u2014 something even his students acknowledged.\u201d<\/p>\n

He noted that anti-Iranian prejudice among Western historians took root in the 17th to 19th centuries and unfortunately still persists today among some politically biased individuals. \u201cThat said, many Western scholars in the past century have strived for fairness,\u201d Saqebfar explained, drawing from his extensive study and translation of works on ancient Iran. \u201cWith the exception of one, most have remained impartial. For instance, American author Dan Nardo openly identified Iran\u2019s adversaries in his book The Persian Empire. We need to read such works with caution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saqebfar stressed that despite these biases, Iran\u2019s civilization was too significant to be ignored \u2014 even if discussed with prejudice. \u201cHowever, in recent years, Western books increasingly omit Iran entirely. In major works like Civilizations of the World, Iran is absent. Even in children\u2019s geography and history books in the West, which shape early education, Iran is often missing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saqebfar attributes Iran\u2019s marginalization in Western narratives to several causes, foremost among them lingering anti-Iranian and anti-Eastern biases. \u201cEven European children\u2019s books portray Greece as the beacon of democracy, while depicting Iran as despotic, with its people labeled as barbaric, cruel, and ruthless,\u201d he explained. \u201cSuch prejudices foster neglect, which must be challenged. While I\u2019m indifferent to smaller countries, we cannot accept this from the West \u2014 a society that claims to uphold democracy and progress and should have no insecurities about our 2,500-year-old empire and rich cultural heritage.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stressed that throughout history, Iran was unique as an empire that preserved and fostered culture rather than destroying it. \u201cLike all nations, we\u2019ve had victories and defeats. But when at our strongest \u2014 ruling the Near East, including Lydia (modern Turkey), Syria, Lebanon, Mesopotamia (Iraq), and Egypt for over two centuries \u2014 we governed justly and without oppression.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saqebfar called for a balanced study of Iranian history. \u201cWe must avoid exaggeration. Without evidence, we cannot claim that all sciences originated in Iran. Yet, a study of Hegel\u2019s philosophy of nature reveals striking parallels with Zoroastrian thought.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regarding protecting Iran\u2019s rights today, he remarked, \u201cIndividuals alone can\u2019t defend our heritage; we must act through official channels. For instance, Arabs receive funding to rename the Persian Gulf on maps \u2014 such actions demand a firm response.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Researcher and translator Morteza Saqebfar argues that Iran\u2019s greatest strength has always been its rich culture and civilization \u2014 one that once overshadowed other ancient societies and still leaves its mark on both Iran and the West today. Yet, in modern Western historical narratives, Iran\u2019s legacy is often overlooked. Disturbingly, some Iranians have either assisted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":159195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1182],"class_list":["post-159194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-zoroastrians","tag-morteza-saqebfar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=159194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159194\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/159195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=159194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=159194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=159194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}