When Iran was glorious Persia

As Iran burns, and burns others in return, let's take a look at the tremendous achievements of ancient Persia and its crucial forgotten lesson.

Every day, I sit before my TV set and watch with deep sadness the death and destruction spreading in the Middle East, and the collateral damage to the rest of the world.

I can only pray that the madness ends soon, before more people – especially civilians – are killed or injured and economies destroyed in the war that erupted when the US and Israel attacked Iran on Feb 28, a war that continues to swallow more nations into the vortex of violence.

A few days ago, I heard that the town of Shiraz had been struck by US-Israeli missiles. The US said it struck the military airbase. One report quoting Iran’s official IRNA news agency said that 20 civilians had been killed in the attack.

I checked to see if the ruins of Persepolis – declared a world heritage site by Unesco in 1979 and located not far from the city of Shiraz – had been hit. The proud columns that sing of a glorious Persian past still stand.

I remember reading about Persepolis and the Persian Empire in one of my school history texts.

I don’t know if they teach ancient history in school these days, but a few years ago a teacher told me school history was focussed on the Melaka sultanate and Islamic civilisation. That’s not enough, one can learn so much from the history of various past civilisations.

Malaysians will certainly know something of Iran but I wonder how many know of its illustrious past.

The then director-general of Unesco. Audrey Azoulay, said in March 2021: “Persia was a centre for scientific achievement and a conduit of knowledge – from China and India in the East, to Greece and Rome in the West.”

She said this in a message addressing the 3rd international congress on the Academy of Gundi-Shapur, held to commemorate the 1,750th anniversary of the academy’s establishment. It is considered one of the ancient world’s main centres where knowledge and wisdom blossomed.

The academy had, among other things, a centre of higher learning and an immense library containing translations from Sanskrit, Greek, Syriac, and Middle Persian. It also had a teaching hospital, believed to be the first of its kind.

Azulay said: “Since its creation, this university, the intellectual capital of the Sassanian Empire, has been a major centre for producing knowledge, a truly universal forum for science. It is this idea that we celebrate today.”

The academy attracted some of the best minds, including Greek philosophers and Indian mathematicians and astronomers.

Persia also set the stage in the development of various systems and conveniences.

An example of its engineering prowess in the Achaemenid era was the invention of the qanats, a water management system used for irrigation.

The first highways in the world branched out from Persepolis and the administrative capital of Susa to the remotest parts of the Persian Empire which, at its peak, covered modern-day Iran, Egypt, Türkiye, and parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Built by Darius I, the 2,699km stretch of roads – often referred to as the Royal Road – helped facilitate trade, information and cultural diffusion and, importantly, moved troops swiftly when needed to put down rebellions.

The Persian Empire lasted from approximately 559 BCE to 331 BCE, when Alexander of Macedon conquered it and set Persepolis on fire. There were two other empires before Ardashir I established, in 224 CE, the Sassanian Empire, which is regarded as the continuation of the Persian tradition. In 651, the Muslim Arabs defeated the Sassanian Empire and a new era followed.

Many of us still use the postal service, not knowing that what is considered the first postal system was started by the Persians. The network of relay systems and postal houses was also accomplished under the rule of Darius I. Horsemen would ride to a post, change horses and move on to the next to collect and deliver mail from one part of the empire to another in a matter of days.

The Greek historian Herodotus described the system thus: “Whatever the conditions – it may be snowing, raining, blazing hot, or dark – they never fail to complete their assigned journey in the fastest possible time.”

Words derived from this – “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds” – are engraved on the front of the James A. Farley Post Office in New York City, built by the architectural firm that designed it.

The Persians had one of the earliest centralised administrative bureaucracies. They introduced innovative administrative practices, including a system of provincial governance with satraps or governors at the head of regions. The satrap had the freedom to do what was best for his region, provided it was for the good of the empire and he showed loyalty to the emperor.

Successive empires and groups, including the Islamic caliphates, Rome and the British, adopted this and other Persian models.

To better understand this, consider the present relationship between Putrajaya and Sabah and Sarawak: The two states enjoy autonomy in several areas but everything they do must consider Malaysia and operate within the ambit of the Federal Constitution.

In governing vast stretches of land and people of various ethnicities, the Persians showed immense tolerance and respect for local customs. They did not try to convert anyone to Zoroastrianism – the state religion in pre-Islamic Persia – nor did they force the conquered people to follow their ways.

Everyone could keep their beliefs and religious practices so long as they did not disturb the stability of the empire. This is certainly something that Malaysians can relate to.

It is important to note, therefore, that the ancient Persians administered their vast empire largely through tolerance and the provision of amenities and infrastructural development, not by force.

We owe much to the Persians in the area of human rights too.

Last year, in recognising Cyrus the Great Cylinder as “one of the earliest known accounts embodying principles later associated with human rights”, Unesco said: “It (the cylinder) narrates (Emperor) Cyrus’ restoration of sanctuaries, his liberation of captives, and his recognition of diverse traditions and religions. While deeply rooted in the political culture of its time, the document reflects values of tolerance, freedom, and justice that remain highly relevant today.”

Last year was the 2,550th anniversary of the promulgation of a decree on tolerance by Cyrus the Great – now known as the Cyrus Cylinder – inscribed on an ancient clay artifact from around 539-538 BCE. I’ll write more about this in my next column.

The foundational contribution of the ancient Persians helped the flowering of the Golden Age of Islam (8th to 13th century), a period of tremendous achievement in numerous fields. Even during this latter period, the Persians played a major role in Baghdad and other centres of learning.

Encyclopaedia Britannica says, for instance, that the works of Persian mathematician Muhammad Ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi introduced Hindu-Arabic numerals and the concepts of algebra into European mathematics. It says the word “algorithm” has its origin in the Latin translation of one of his works, ‘Algoritmi de numero Indorum’ (‘Al-Khwarizmi Concerning the Hindu Art of Reckoning’).

In talking about another famous Persian scientist, Ibn Sina or Avicenna, the Britannica quotes Canadian professor of medicine Sir William Osler as describing Avicenna as “the author of the most famous medical text-book ever written,” and adding that he was “the prototype of the successful physician who was at the same time statesman, teacher, philosopher and literary man”.

Another Persian, Abu Musa Jabir ibn Ḥayyan, is described as the father of Arabic chemistry. Some of the techniques he developed – including crystallisation, distillation, filtration, and calcination – are used by scientists even today.

Coming back to the Academy of Gundi-Shapur, can you guess what was the motto inscribed at its entrance 1,750 years ago? It was something that is as relevant today as it was then: “Science and knowledge, virtue and wisdom, are more important than force and sword.”

Alas, neither the US of president Donald Trump nor the Israel of Benjamin Netanyahu subscribe to this. Sadly, neither does the Iran of the Ayatollahs.

I’m sure Sa’di of Shiraz, one of Persia’s greatest poets, would weep openly over the tragedy unfolding in his beloved land if he were alive, a land soiled by the ugliness of war. For had he not written the following when Persia was a shining beacon of the arts and sciences?

“One who has never smelled the aroma of love,

Tell him to visit Shiraz and smell our soil.”

And like him, I too weep for the innocents in all lands who suffer because of war and violence.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.