THE MULLAH’S REWRITE OF IRAN’S ANCIENT HISTORY: DON’T OVERLOOK THIS ATROCITY

/WTARC/2009/me_iran0727_09_15.asp
World Tribune
Sept 15 2009

The Islamic Republic’s butchery of Iran’s ancient history is beyond
belief and comprehension.

The clerics’ audacity and blatant hatred for Iran spews from every
page written by approved scholars. Iranology suffers from the lack of
sufficient primary sources — especially native — making the task of
balanced fact-finding more difficult. But any degree of bias observed
in foreign sources about ancient Persians is nothing compared to the
negativity, falsehood, and insufficient information provided by the
Islamic Republic to Iranian children.

A quick survey of 2005-06 history textbooks for middle school
(grades 6-8) shows that over 1300 years of Iranian history as one
of the ancient superpowers prior to the Moslem invasion is covered
in approximately 37 pages while more than 2.5 volumes of materials
are dedicated to Islam, its founder, and Iran’s post-Islamic history
(mid-7th century to present). With more than half of the 37 pages
devoted to pictures and maps, it is fair to say that 1300 years of
history is crammed into 17 pages of actual written content. It goes
without saying that putting this part of history in 6th grade textbook
provides a convenient forum for simplifying materials.

In reviewing all of these 37 pages dedicated to one of the most
important ancient civilizations, the following general observations are
made. There are no dates associated with any of the eras, characters,
or major events. It is difficult to understand how history can
be taught without dates. Only a few kings are mentioned for each
dynasty and no explanation is provided as to why those few are named
in the first place. No major events such as wars, peace treaties,
or social and political developments are mentioned. In short,
there are no discussions as to what 1300 years of ancient Iranian
history contributed to civilization. There is nothing in the 37 pages
indicating that the Achaemenid Persia was the first ancient world
empire, and prior to Islam Iran was a superpower for 13 centuries.

The overall tone is negativity towards Iranian monarchs, who
define the nation’s culture and history, and all leaders of the
Iranian communities, who helped build and protect the country. The
ancient Persians are described as greedy, unjust, chaotic, and
selfish. According to the textbook, Iranian leaders accomplished
nothing of importance for the common good, and that the people of
Iran hated their leaders and way of life. There is no mention of the
ancient Iranian prophet, Zoroaster, who is credited with being the
first monotheist. Most scholars agree that Zoroaster lived around
1700 BCE. That makes Zoroastrianism the dominant religion in Iran
for at least 2700 years, and yet the middle school history textbook
barely mentions it, let alone its teachings.

There is nothing in the 37 pages about Persian society, daily life,
commerce, warfare, technology, and international diplomacy. As a
misogynistic regime, there is no hint as to the relatively liberal
status of women in ancient Persia. The names of famous Iranian
women who were queens, monarchs and warriors are completely
disregarded. There is no discussion about the development of
the Persian language or the invention of cuneiform. As a history
textbook, it is baffling to find that myths are actually taught
as history. Incorrect information and religious propaganda are
boundless. In short, Iran’s ancient history has been sterilized and
faces extinction.

Median Empire (728-550 BCE) – 5 pages

The events leading up to the conquest of Assyria by Babylonian-Median
alliance is not discussed. The textbook claims that because of the
friendship of the Lydians and the Babylonians, the Medes were no longer
threatened by external forces. The Median Empire is marginalized
and its downfall is attributed to the kings’ life of leisure,
greedy nobility, abuse of the people, and high taxes collected from
neighboring tribes.

Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BCE) – 10 pages

The Achaemenid kings important to world history such as Cyrus and
Darius are not referred to as "the Great." Incorrect and inadequate
information are given regarding the origin of the name "Achaemenid,"
the relationships between Cyrus and Darius or Cyrus and the Median
ruling house, conflict between the Persians and the Medes, and the
conquest of Lydia and other nations by Cyrus. The book also suggests
that Cyrus’ motivation for conquest was to become wealthy. Nothing is
mentioned of Cyrus’ famous bill of rights cylinder and his decree
in freeing the Jewish captives from Babylonia while taking on the
financial responsibility to rebuild their temple. No mention of
ancient Jewish communities was noted. The book states that some
experts believe Cyrus was great, as if Iranians do not. No reason is
given as to why he would be considered great even by his own enemies.

The events surrounding the death of Cyrus’s younger son Bardiya
and his relationship with his older brother and king, Cambyses,
are incorrect. The role of the usurper Gaumata responsible for
Bardiya’s death is misrepresented at the expense of Iranian leaders,
who saved the fragile empire from destruction. The book claims that
the Median and Persian ruling families were unjust and cruel to the
people. Rebellions without details are generally emphasized to show
that the Persian rulers were hated. The brilliant administrative skills
and innovations of Darius and the ability of the Iranian leaders in
managing an unprecedented empire comprising of 23 nations are not
mentioned. The book states that the Greeks were the most important
neighbors to the Persians when in fact the Achaemenid political
strategy considered Mesopotamia, Egypt, Central Asia, and India as
the most important regions. None of the famous Persian-Greek wars or
their aftermath is mentioned.

The fall of the Achaemenids is attributed to the fact that nobody
had any say in the matters of the country but the monarch, and that
is why they eventually became corrupt. Apparently, the greed of the
nobility caused further suffering for the people. Alexander’s invasion
of Iran is mentioned in one sentence, and the bravery of the Iranian
defenders during that invasion is not discussed.

Alexander/Seleucids (330-247 BCE) – 2 pages

Only two pages are dedicated to this era. Nothing substantive is
mentioned. Alexander’s desire and subsequent actions to mix the
Persians and the Greeks are not discussed nor the effect, if any, of
Hellenization on the Achaemenid Empire. The textbook does not cover
how Alexander used Iranian soldiers, commanders, and governors for
his eastern conquests and management of the empire.

Parthians (247 BCE-224 CE) – 9 pages

According to the textbook, the Iranian noble families helped the
Parthians in pushing out the foreign Seleucids, but only for personal
gain. The Romans are slave-owners mostly in pursuit of leisure. Jesus
Christ is introduced as savior of the people from the hands of the evil
Romans. The textbook states that Jesus appeared in Palestine during
these difficult times while his Jewish heritage is omitted. Jesus
is portrayed in a limited but political capacity. He is defined as a
defender of those in suffering. According to the textbook, the Romans,
who abused the Christians, after some time decided to become Christians
too. The fall of the Parthians is attributed to the weakness of the
kings, greed and power hungry nobility, and Parthian liberal attitude
towards religious matters.

Sasanians (224-651 CE) – 11 pages

The book claims that Ardeshir I, founder of the Sasanians, rose
to power because he promised the Zoroastrian priests that he would
revive the religion if they support him in overthrowing the Parthians
since the Parthians did not know how to manage the country. Ardeshir
is credited with specifically stating that the rise of Buddhism and
Christianity is one of the unattended problems. According to the book,
those Iranian nobles who supported Ardeshir did so only for personal
ambition. However, despite the rise of the Sasanians, religious chaos
continued because people were free to practice their religion.

The relationship between Armenia and Persia is marginalized, and the
continuous Roman-Persian conflict over Armenia is not discussed. Mani
and Mazdak, two radical and independent socio-religious figures,
are sympathized as oppose to the Sasanian rulers. The political and
social implications caused by the respective preachings of Mani and
Mazdak are not discussed. The textbook accuses Sasanian rulers from
becoming very wealthy by taxing people and that most of the tax
collected was not used for the benefit of the people.

The textbook incorrectly claims that the Sasanian society was divided
into two classes: the nobility and the common folk. It further
claims that nobility had many privileges including education while
commoners were not allowed to attend school. Nothing is mentioned of
the large middle class, the dehghans, created by the Sasanian monarchs
to balance the society. An alleged letter from the prophet of Islam
to Sasanian king asking him to convert as well as the king’s audacity
to reject such an invitation are mentioned as well-known history. Not
surprisingly, the book claims that the righteous Moslem invaders were
able to defeat the corrupt and cruel Sasanians, and bring freedom
and justice to the people, who willingly accepted Islam.

Volumes of books in many languages have been written on Iran’s 1300
years of pre-Islamic history. One of the most respected, comprehensive
set is The Cambridge History of Iran which has devoted 2600 pages
without pictures to this era. Yet the Islamic Republic only found
enough written material to cover 17 full pages directed to 6th
grade students most of which contain deliberate misinformation and
anti-Iranian sentiment. The mullahs are using Iran and its resources
to further a warped religious agenda at the detriment of the Iranian
people and the international community. In this process, they are
systematically destroying a nation’s understanding of its past given
such a past is more advanced, humane, and liberal than the Islamic
Republic’s Constitution of the 21st century. Stay tuned for more on
the ongoing Iranian genocide at the hands of the Islamofascist clerics.

Sheda Vasseghi has a Masters in Ancient History with emphasis on
ancient Persia. She handles public relations for persepolis3d.com
and is a member of the Azadegan Foundation. Ms. Vasseghi is a regular
contributor to political magazines such as WorldTribune.com.