KARACHI: From the rise of Cyrus the Great to the fall of Mohammed Reza Shah Pahalvi, renowned history and culture lover Dr Iftikhar Salahuddin covered almost all the important periods in Persian history in a presentation titled ‘Iran – the Story of Emperors and Kings’ at the Aga Khan University auditorium on Monday evening.

Recipient of Peace Prize 2014 for his book ‘Jerusalem-A Journey Back in Time’, Dr Salahuddin established at the outset that the history of Iran is perhaps the longest of any civilisation. He began his talk from the sixth century BC, when Greek philosophy was taking its roots in the West, while in the East, Buddha and Confucius’ thoughts were attracting followers. According to him, the first Jewish diaspora took place around that time. Cyrus, the first emperor of Persia and the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, held sway over a vast region from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indus River, he said. Cyrus freed the Jews and helped them make the second temple of Solomon. He built his capital near Shiraz called Pasargadae. He was succeeded by Darius who made Persepolis the capital of Persia. He constructed many magnificent buildings for Achaemenid kings, including burial places. He was interred in Naqsh-i-Rustam but Alexander and his army took away everything when they invaded the region, therefore nothing remained in those burial chambers. There was a 20-year Greco-Persian war in which Persia inflicted damage on Greece, and the end to the war came at the hand of Alexander who ordered the destruction of Persepolis. After that it was Ardashir who founded the Sassanid dynasty that lasted 400 years, and that was the time when renaissance of the Persian culture happened, Dr Salahuddin said, adding that the period was known for its artistic achievements. One of the most expensive carpets, the Spring of Khusrau, was made in this phase. The Sassanid practised Zoroastrian faith, he added.

Dr Salahuddin said after that Persia was occupied by the Arabs who brought with them a new culture and a new language to the area. The Ummayads ruled it for 90 years and in the Abbasid era, particularly Khalifa Mamoon’s time, the country was enriched by philosophers and scholars. The two prominent names at that time were Ibne Sina and Al Razi – the former was called an ‘unbeliever’ by Al Ghazali. After the Abbasid rule, the region was divided into regional dynasties like the Sammanids and the Ghaznavids. It was in the Ghaznavid time that Firdausi’s masterpiece ‘Shahnama’, which took Firdausi 30 years to pen, became famous.

Moving on to talk about the Seljuqs who made Isfahan their capital, Dr Salahuddin, an ENT specialist by profession, described it as a period of artistic and architectural accomplishments when the Jama Masjid was constructed and Sufis, too, flourished. Poet Omar Khayyam was a product of the era whose value as a poet, according to Dr Salahuddin, was reduced by Fitzgerald’s translation of his works. Khayyam was a liberal person. This was also the time when die-hard orthodox such as Ghazali were opposing Greek philosophy.

Afterwards the region saw the rules of Khwarzam Shah and Mongols during which literary giants like Rumi, Saadi and Hafiz came to the fore, he said. Rumi’s poetry transcended geographical boundaries, Saadi created masterpieces, Bostaan and Gulistaan, while Hafiz was known for his diwan.

All these creative individuals saw quite a few upheavals, he said, adding that Hafiz was even accused of blasphemy and denied burial in a Muslim graveyard, but was eventually given a dignified burial.

Dr Salahuddin then spoke of the Shah Ismail-led Safavids who made Shia Islam the official religion in Persia. Shah Ismail was defeated by Sultan Salim of the Ottoman Empire who did not occupy Persia but ‘neutralised’ it. Shah Abbas was the most celebrated of the Safavid rulers, followed by a time when Nadir Shah, Sunni, held the reins of the state. He was killed by his own generals. Shia belief came back with the Zand dynasty, followed by the Qajar dynasty (1785-1925). Fatih Shah of the Qajar dynasty led a hedonistic life. It was during this tenure that Tehran was declared capital of the country. When the British developed differences with the dynasty they put Reza Shah in power who laid the foundation for the Pahalvi dynasty. His son, Mohammad Reza Shah, was the last king of Iran. After the 1979 revolution, he left the country and was later buried in Cairo. Ironically, Dr Salahuddin informed the audience, when he visited Cairo he discovered that no one in the Egyptian city knew where Reza Shah’s grave was.

The presentation was ably supported by some beautiful images from ancient Iran, including those of the Peacock Throne and Koh-i-Noor diamond.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2014