Persian Society

Persian culture has seen many changes and taken many forms through over 2500 years of civilization.

Society of the Achaemenid Empire

The first major Persian state, the Achaemenid Empire, was founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BCE. The Achaemenids grew to eclipse older regional powers like Babylon, Assyria, Lydia, Egypt, and Media. Through a series of conquests, the ancient Persians eventually incorporated all of their lands and extended as far as Greece. Rather than relying on vassal states to raise armies, the Persians supported a strong, centralized fighting force. They built roads, monumental architecture, gardens, and infrastructure throughout the empire. A standardized currency and postal system also facilitated trade and communication. By the time it fell to Alexander the Great in 331 BCE, the empire was home to as many as 35 million people.

The Achaemenids held this vast, multicultural society together through a strong administrative system paired with cultural tolerance. When the Achaemenids took control of a new province, or satrapy, they installed members of the Persian nobility as governors and bureaucrats. For the most part, however, its common people were allowed to follow the same patterns of life as before. Most worked as farmers, either on their own land or in the service of larger estates. While slavery existed within the empire, the Persians generally regarded the practice with disdain.

Islamic Changes to Persian Society

In 651 CE, much of the former Persian territories came under the sway of Islamic caliphates. During the early stages of Islamic rule, the Persians were reluctant to convert and frozen out of dynastic politics. The Arab ruling class saw them as second-class citizens, especially while the Persians remained majority Zoroastrian. But within a few centuries, the Persians had contributed many aspects of their society to the overall culture of Islam. Their respected position as poets, doctors, astronomers, and philosophers allowed them to keep their social structures and languages in-tact.

The Sunni Caliphates were not the only foreign rulers to control historic Persia. The 13th century brought the Mongols, who also adopted many Persian social customs. After devastating the region, the Mongol Empire’s Ilkhanate gradually adopted Islam and local politics. Their close ties to the Chinese Yuan dynasty brought significant exchange between the two cultures. Persian and Chinese scholars came into close contact. This facilitated the transfer of ideas like gunpowder, mathematics, and astronomy at a crucial point in world history.

Social Structure of the Safavids

Modern Persian or Iranian society is widely considered to have begun with the Safavids. For the first time in centuries, Persians controlled their own large and stable state. At this time, the majority of Iranian people converted to Shia Islam. This would have a profound impact on the politics of the Middle East, where the majority still followed Sunni beliefs. The Safavids established their capital at Isfahan and began patronizing the arts, architecture, and education.

Safavid society was headed by a Shah, the supreme authority of the state. Beneath him, an aristocratic class served as civil servants and governed the common classes of merchants, artisans, and farmers, among others. Social mobility was high. It was possible for members of the lower classes to rise to the pinnacle of society on merit alone. Shah Abbas I is said to have promoted impressive street vendors, shepherds, and tailors to positions of great responsibility. This willingness to recognize potential rather than prestige ensured a strong government and helped secure the loyalties of ethnic minorities.

Modernization and the Iranian Revolution

The Safavids reigned until 1736. They were succeeded by the Ashfarid and Qajar dynasties. Faced by increasing military encroachment from Turkey and Russia, the Qajar government worked to modernize its civil state and military. Measures as drastic as a Constitutional Revolution by 1909 all failed to curb the loss of Persian territory and sovereignty.

Like many other cultures, the people of Iran experienced massive social upheaval in the 20th century. Foreign interference, most notably by the British, Turks, and Soviet Union, left Iran divided and on a reluctant fast-track to modernization. The Qajars were replaced by a constitutional monarchy under Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who worked to modernize the nation but provoked controversy both at home and abroad. In the wake of World War II and a US-backed coup in 1953, the nation emerged under the rule of Pahlavi’s son, Mohammad Reza Shah.

Mohammad Reza Shah proved friendly toward the Western powers. He embraced Western dress, secularism, gender equality, and education. Dissent was tightly controlled through a secret police and surveillance system known as Savat. But as he made major reforms within Iran and engaged in lavish diplomacy, the Shah failed to gauge the mood of his own people. Sick of foreign influence and still deeply religious, the common people of Iran grew restive. They began to organize around an exiled, conservative Ayatollah named Ruhollah Khomeini in 1978. By 1979, the nation had erupted into revolution. The Shah was forced out within a year.

Society of Modern Iran

After the Revolution, Iran reverted to a more conservative and insular society. The nation’s university system was revamped with Quranic studies at its core. Women lost many of their rights gained under the Shah. Western-style apparel grew rarer in favor of less revealing Islamic garb. Women are required by law to wear a loose outer layer and headscarf, and men are also held to certain modesty standards. The current state’s government is headed by a Supreme Leader, who is elected through an Assembly of Experts. This Assembly, along with Iran’s President and Parliament, is chosen by a Guardian Council. The Guardian Council is in turn primarily selected by the Supreme Leader.

Modern Iranian society is generally divided between its older generations and a less conservative youth movement. Access to social media triggered a widespread wave of protests across the nation in 2009. As of 2018, another round of protests have shaken Iran over economic inflation and increasing poverty.

References

Amanat, Abbas. Iran: A Modern History. Yale University Press. 2017.

André-Salvini, Béatrice. Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia. University of California Press. 2005.

Archibald, Zofia H., John Davies, Vincent Gabrielsen, and Graham Oliver, Eds. Hellenistic Economies. Routledge. 2006.

Axworthy, Michael. A History of Iran: Empire of the Mind. Basic Books. 2016.

Lemon, Jason. “Iran's President Faces Political Backlash as Protests Rock Major Cities.” Newsweek, Newsweek, 1 Aug. 2018, www.newsweek.com/iran-president-faces-political-backlash-protests-rock-major-cities-1053360.

Newman, Andrew. Safavid Iran: Rebirth of a Persian Empire. I.B. Tauris. 2012.

Savory, Roger. Iran Under the Safavids. Cambridge University Press. 2007.

“The World Factbook: Iran.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 12 July 2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ir.html.

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