Greater Iran
Federated commonwealth of Iranian states
February 21, 2005
iranian.com
The purpose of this writing is not to present you with yet another flabby
history lesson about Persia, something which I trust you all to be sick to
death of. Yet the topic of the current article is something which I feel I
cannot ignore writing about, as it seems that nobody these days cares to
sputter about, save myself.
Febuary 21 marks the anniversary of one of Iran’s most darkest days in
memory. On this day in 1828, Haj Mirza Abol-hasan Khan and Asef o-dowleh,
chancellor of Fath-Ali Shah signed a stomach-churning treaty by which:
1. The current republics of Armenia and Nakhjavan joined Georgia,
Azerbaijan, and Daghestan as the newest Iranian lands to be annexed by
Russia forever.
2. Iran promised to pay Russia 5 million Tomans for money spent by Russia in
trying to conquer these lands.
3. Full rights for Russian ships to navigate all of the Caspian and her
coasts.
4. Capitulation rights for Russians in Iran.
In return, Russia promised to support Abbas Mirza to gain the seat of
monarchy after Fath-Ali Shah (which never happened).
Did it end there? Hell no. The Russians were using skulking vermiform
British help in doing the same to Iran in Herat and the rest of central
Asia. Persian Asia, I might add.
OK. Sad story. It was just to refresh your memories.
Now, when the British were kicked out of their own empire, they still
managed to maintain their presence in their “commonwealth” by various means.
They were in Hong Kong as late as 1997. Same goes for the French “La
Francophonie”.
I don’t see an Iranian presence in the “Iranian commonwealth”. Instead of
focusing on the commonwealth of Iranian states, we see a non-plebiscitary
system that demands genuflection in trying to define us as culturally Arab,
sticking its nose into places where it innately does not belong, such as the
Israeli-Arab conflict.
But it gets even worse. While Iran is sucking up to “Muslim brother nations”
like Malaysia for economic opportunities, Malaysia smarmily forbids the
official hiring of Iranian Muslims. And these are not even Arabs.
That said, it is imperative that every Iranian, from every creed and
ethnicity, at least keep the memory alive, before even the memory
disappears. The memory of Greater Iran.
What is “Greater Iran”?
I. Members of the Greater Iran, a federated commonwealth of Iranian states
Armenia
Separated from Iran by the Turkemanchay Treaty. Our government, as well as
foreign governments, try very hard to encourage Iranian minorities to leave
Iran. That’s sad. St Thaddeus is buried in Iran. So are Prophet Daniel and
Queen Esther. Iran was inherently pluralist to begin with.
Azerbaijan
Turkey is now stepping in to separate Azerbaijan from Iran by claiming
Azeris as Turks, and therefore part of “Greater Turkey”. The vainglorious
ciphers even claim the Safavis as “a Turkic dynasty that ruled Persia”.
Turkic as in non-Iranian. And what do we do instead to make our Azeri
citizens feel welcome in their own home? Make jokes about how dumb “Torks”
are. The definition of hemaaghat.
Afghanistan
The Dari language spoken by Afghanis is Farsi. And if we haven’t been
treating them as equals to ourselves, then shame on us. I have to keep
showing people “Baran” to remind them of this. I wonder what people would be
calling Ebne Sina of he were alive todayÖ. An “Afghani”? What about Molavi?
Would he be riding a Zamyad pickup with a shovel in hand?
Tajikestan
Perhaps one of the most important states of Greater Iran. These people
actually appreciate being a member of the Persian family. We should fully
embrace that. Ah, but Qods Day is more important.
Turkmenistan
Marv is where Yazdegerd finally lost to Omar. It was the capital of Greater
Khorasan. Nisa was the capital of the Parthians. No insignificant detail
there.
Uzbekistan
While western Iran and Fars were enduring the wave of Arabization, the
people of this region were preserving our language. Where were the Samanids
from? Where is Bokhara? Where is Samarqand? Where is Rudaki from?
Kyrqyzstan
Another state inhabited by Iranian tribes such as the Sogdians, whose
capital was the city of Afrasyab. Like the other “SSR” states, they lost
much of their identity during the russification policies of Moscow.
Daghestan
Next time someone ridicules you for this claim, show them the picture of the
best preserved Sassanian castle anywhere, in Darband.
II. States that should be within the Iranian sphere of influence
Iraq
That great vault has been begging for ages to hear Persian poetry recited
under her majestic shadow. And how many of you had a grandfather or great
ancestor that lived in Najaf or Karbala? Kamal-ol-molk loved it there as did
many others. And what about Mashallah and Nowbakht, the Iranian Jew and
Zoroastrian that first designed Baghdad based on Firouzabad? Like it or not,
Iraq is an Iranoid state by nature. Our presence is eternally felt there.
UAE
How many Iranians do we have there? What does a government like Russia do
when it has a minority of its citizens living somewhere, say, like in
Lithuania? Would it act less than aggressive to protect them? Besides,
business is good for everyone. And you see a lot of it in the UAE nowadays.
India
These people are proud of their Mughal heritage. It’s no coincidence we see
Persian poetry in India. No coincidence that The Taj Mahal was built by
Shirazi craftsmen. This should be a point for strengthening cultural bonds.
India has achieved much schtick as a nation that stood on her own feet and
evolved into a democracy. We have a lot to learn from them.
Turkey
If you don’t try to influence them, they will try to influence you. That’s
the rule. Otherwise next thing you know, Tabriz and Qazvin are on their maps
again.
III. States of key importance for Greater Iran
Israel
Like it or not, Israel is here to stay. Secondly, Israel is the only country
in the region that understands “Iranians are not Arabs”. They understood it
during our war against Iraq. They understand it when I go to my doctors, all
Jewish, and all top of their class. We need Israel for stability. And Israel
still sees us as the descendants of Cyrus the savior.
As ridiculous as it sounds, YOU CAN be a follower of Hossein, and be a
brother to a Jew. That is if you don’t think Jews are Najes to shake hands
with, and aren’t stuck in the mold defined by pan-Arabism, nowadays called
“Islam”. Even our hero Morgan Shuster was Jewish for crying out loud.
The US
Ever since Howard G. Baskerville became the first American to bravely die
for Iran’s struggle toward democracy, it has become clear that Iran cannot
trust any major power, if any at all, other than the United States. The US
was the only power who ever tried to help Persia, just for the sake of
helping her. Even today, where pro-war neocons reign supreme in Washington,
Iran would still be much better off having America as a friend than having
Europeans. I firmly believe in this.
Without the US, Iran can’t go far in anything it does. Not because Iran is
wimpy and powerless, but because America has so much to offer. Au contraire,
the US needs Iran too. Iran can be a most loyal friend for a well
intentioned United States. It would be very wise for both American and
Iranian statesmen to come to their senses and try coordinating efforts to
reach their numerous shared interests. Just think, when Arthur Millspaugh
and Arthur Pope were helping Iran, what were the Europeans doing? Why do we
have a tomb of Phyllis Ackerman in Isfahan?
Conclusion
Richard Frye once said: “Many times I have emphasized that the present
peoples of central Asia, whether Iranian or Turkic speaking, have one
culture, one religion, one set of social values and traditions with only
language separating them”.
Empires and kingdoms come and go, but the memory of a unified great state
not only continues to inspire folk bards and poets, but also to motivate
political action. It is our duty to defend the memory of Greater Iran from
her enemies, and try hard to preserve the cultural glue that solidifies the
peoples of this great land, whether Persian, Turkic, Afghani, Turkomen, or
whatever, in spite of religion and creed, even if Iran herself doesn’t.
Perhaps future generations will awaken to this reality unlike the current
one.