A royal romance: the cult of Cyrus the Great in modern Iran

A. Ansari

doi:10.1017/S1356186321000195

A royal romance: the cult of Cyrus the Great in modern Iran

A. Ansari^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This article looks at the continuing fascination with the idea of monarchy in Iran, dismissed and condemned after the revolution but gradually rehabilitated through an engagement with the Shahnameh and a reinvigorated interest in ancient Iran. The interest in Sasanian Iran, as the cradle for the development of Islamic civilisation, has in turn enabled a popular re-acquaintance with Achaemenid Iran, previously frowned on for its association with Mohammad Reza Shah but legitimised by the enthusiastic endorsement of the figure of Cyrus the Great by President Ahmadinejad. This political myth of Cyrus the Great reflects the changing political dynamics of the Islamic Republic and the need to appropriate popular nationalist iconography to the state.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	405 - 419
Number of pages	15
Journal	Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
Volume	31
Issue number	3
Early online date	17 May 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/S1356186321000195
Publication status	Published - Jul 2021

Keywords

Achaemenid Iran
Cyrus the Great
Monarchy
Nationalism
Political myth
Sasanian Iran
Shahnameh

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10.1017/S1356186321000195

Ansari-2021-A-royal-romance-JRAS-AAM
Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). This work has been made available online in accordance with publisher policies or with permission. Permission for further reuse of this content should be sought from the publisher or the rights holder. This is the author created accepted manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at https://doi.org/10.1017/S1356186321000195.
Accepted author manuscript, 341 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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A royal romance: the cult of Cyrus the Great in modern Iran

Abstract

Keywords

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