Iran, Past and Present: From Monarchy to Islamic Republic

by Donald Newton Wilber

Overview

This Ninth Edition of the standard work on Iran includes up-to-date statistics and current information on the country. It begins with an account of the history, arts, languages, and religions of Iran from 4000 B.C. to the present.

Originally published in 1982.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691614397
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	07/14/2014
Series:	Princeton Legacy Library , #529
Pages:	398
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.90(d)

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Iran Past and Present

From Monarchy to Islamic Republic

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By Donald Newton Wilber

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS

Copyright © 1981 Princeton University Press
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-691-03130-9

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CHAPTER 1

I. THE LAND

Place Name

Iran and Persia: the two names have been used to designate the same country, but are not true synonyms. When the Aryan peoples migrated from their original territory, somewhere within Asia, to the upland plateau below the Caspian Sea, one of their tribal groups was the Iranian. The Iranian tribe called Parsa finally settled in a region of the plateau which they called Parsa. In time this regional name became Pars, and Fars, and hence the people of many other lands came to call the country Persia. In Sasanian times the official name of the empire of Iran was Iranshahr. Since 1935 when the Iranian government, for the sake of consistency, requested all foreign countries to use the official name of Iran, the correct designation has gained general usage. On the other hand the language of the country is Persian, farsi to the inhabitants, since it derived, over the centuries, from the language of ancient Parsa.

Location

Iran lies between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf, and has common frontiers with Iraq, Turkey, Soviet Russia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Along her perimeter dwell peoples of various languages or ethnic stocks whose area of settlement or of tribal movement overlaps the actual boundaries of the country.

Iran's geographical position made it the bridge for communication by land between Far Eastern Asia and the lands of the Mediterranean and Europe. Before the dawn of recorded history its mountain caves sheltered the hunters who were among the earliest people of the world to move down into the lower plains and to settle in villages, cultivate crops, and raise domestic animals. It also lay athwart the lines of movement of the early migrant tribes of central Asia, and became settled by many of these groups. Within historic times its rulers expanded their control far to the east and the west of the plateau and established the first great world empire. For hundreds of years the main trade routes between the Far East and the West crossed northern Iran, and later on, when sea routes became of equal importance, additional highways led up from ports along the Persian Gulf to the principal commercial centers both within the country and beyond its frontiers.

The vital role of the overland trade routes across Iran was seriously limited by the construction of the Suez Canal, and the decline of her importance as a channel of trade heralded a period of political and military weakness. At the same time her strategic location made her a bone of contention between great powers whose interests were diametrically opposed. Her present frontiers, established during the nineteenth century, were the result of a series of wars in which she was unable to hold her own against more powerful neighbors.

Iran today covers an area of 628,000 square miles, approximately as large as that part of the United States which lies east of the Mississippi River, exclusive of New England — a much smaller area than at many times in her long existence. In general, her previous frontiers were much farther to the east than at present and fairly close to her present western ones, the greater expansion toward the east having been the result both of the less broken topography in that direction and of the strong linguistic and ethnic relations between the people of that area and the Iranians of the plateau. In spite of its present restricted size the country is still known as the Empire of Iran, and its ruler is the Shahinshah, or "King of Kings," a title first used in Iran over two thousand five hundred years ago.

Geology and Topography

The geological formations of the country have been fairly well studied, although not in a systematic fashion. More detailed studies of certain areas have been made in connection with the search for oil fields and for important mineral deposits.

The average traveler in Iran is made aware of its geological history by the lofty peaks, the ranks of jagged mountains springing abruptly from the fairly level plains, the vivid coloration of many formations, and the spectacular faulting or folding of the rocks. The traveler by air, who usually approaches Iran from the west or southwest, looks down on a series of mountain ranges which resemble the corrugated surface of a washboard. Each successive ridge is tilted from the vertical and higher than the one before until the general level of the high plateau is reached, but even there mountains rise on every side. From sufficient altitude the villages and tilled fields lose all identity, and the entire country seems to be barren and devoid of life.

Iran displays all systems from the Pre-Cambrian to the Quaternary, while from the beginning of the Palaeozoic era onwards fossils are rather abundant. In summary, after a turbulent start in the Pre-Cambrian there was a long lull until the Jurassic when the coal beds of the Alborz and the Kerman region were laid down. Movements began in central Iran in the Jurassic and reached a climax in the Upper Cretaceous, when some folding took place with volcanic activity, northeast of the Zagros mountains. Volcanoes remained active throughout much of the Eocene. With some breakdown due to faulting, folding increased to a maximum in the Pliocene or Mio-Pliocene.

The Zagros and Alborz ranges, formed by the Mio-Pliocene, attain altitudes of over 11,000 feet. As mountains go they are rather young, as is shown by their sharp, broken profiles. The general configuration of these ranges and of the Iranian plateau seems to have been the result of prolonged pressure against the area of Iran from a Russian mass on the north and an African mass on the south. The fact that the southward pressure was the stronger is indicated by the steeper slopes of the Alborz as compared to the softer folds of the Zagros Range. The building of the mountain systems was of course complicated by vertical movements and by extensive faulting.

In several regions of the country the prominent cones of formerly active volcanoes are a dominant feature of the landscape. The principal volcanic peaks are Demavand, the highest peak in Iran, which figures in many ancient tales of heroes and demons, rising to 18,600 feet, in the north; Savalan, at 14,000 feet, Sahand at 12,138 feet, and Ararat (lesser Ararat is within Iran, but greater Ararat lies just over the frontier) in the northwest; and Bazman and Kuh-i-Taftan at 13,262 feet, in the extreme southeast. Two of these cones still show some traces of activity: all climbers who have made the ascent of Demavand have noted the presence of sulphur gases, and Kuh-i-Taftan occasionally spews forth gas and mud.

Oil was trapped and stored in Asmari limestone of the Oliocene and Lower Miocene, with this limestone formation stretching for nearly five hundred miles. Some 300 salt plugs, ranging from a half mile to four miles in diameter, are found in the area south of Tehran and strewn along the shore of the Persian Gulf.

Iran may be described in general terms as a high plateau some 4,000 feet above sea level, strewn with mountains. Specifically, there are four main topographical areas, each distinctive in character and extending beyond the frontiers of Iran:

1. The great Zagros and Alborz Ranges, stamping a huge V upon the surface of the country. The apex of the V forms in northwestern Iran and extends beyond into Turkey and the Russian Caucasus. The southern arm of the letter is represented by the Zagros Range, which runs southeast and roughly parallels the frontier of Iraq, while the upper arm, the Alborz Range, looms like a great wall across the north of the country, breaking down into other ranges which run on into Afghanistan and Turkestan.

2. The area within the V begins as the high plateau with its own secondary mountain ranges and gradually levels off to become the empty deserts which continue into southern Afghanistan and Pakistan.

3. The region of Khuzistan, below the lower arm of the V, is a continuation of the low-lying plain of Iraq.

4. The Caspian Sea coast above the upper arm of the V is below sea level and forms a separate climatic zone.

The fact that each of these topographical formations extends beyond the frontiers of Iran does not mean that the country is easy of access, for its present boundaries are guarded by formidable natural barriers. The entire western frontier and the country inland from the Persian Gulf is protected by lofty ramparts of rock, where steep passes lead from sea level to a height of over 7,000 feet and down again to the plateau. Equally forbidding passes isolate the Caspian littoral from the rest of Iran, and along the northeastern and eastern frontiers the approaches are either through hilly country or across vast spaces of empty desert.

Drainage

There are four principal drainage basins, roughly corresponding to the topographical zones: The Caspian, the Lake Rezaieh, the Persian Gulf, and the great desert basins. The Persian Gulf basin is fed by three separate systems: the smaller streams of northwest Iran which eventually find their way into the Tigris River; the Karun and its tributaries, which empty into the head of the Persian Gulf; and the countless streams which indent the thousand-mile-long coast line of the Persian Gulf.

Most of the rivers and streams of Iran flow not into one of the three large bodies of water, but into the vast interior deserts where there are three subordinate drainage areas, separated from one another by lines of hills but having the same effect as that of a single basin. This feature of interior drainage has an important relation to the economic life of Iran.

The great majority of the inhabitants of Iran live along the lines of the V formed by the main mountain ranges. The mountains run in parallel files, enclosing long, narrow valleys walled at each end by mountainous cross barriers. The general pattern of mountains and valleys may be compared to a number of ladders laid down roughly parallel to each other, the uprights representing the lines of the mountains and the rungs the barriers across the ends of each valley. An average valley may be eight miles in width and from 25 to 40 miles long, flat bottomed, with rims rising directly and abruptly into the mountains above. Villages are more closely clustered along the rims than along the center line where may be found one of the highways which even in modern times have penetrated relatively few of the thousands of mountain valleys. Nomads spend the summers in the higher altitudes where the heavy snows and extreme cold of winter would make village life impossible, while farming communities abound in the valleys where the level ground is more suitable for cultivation. For centuries the farmers have led isolated, self-sufficient lives, and the barriers which separate them from the outer world have contributed to historical continuity, preservation of racial stocks, and comparative safety and independence in periods of foreign invasion.

Rivers

The more important rivers which flow into the Caspian are, from west to east: the Aras (Araxes), the Sefid and its long tributary the Qizil Uzun, the Chalus, the Haraz, the Lar, the Gorgan, and the Atrek. None of them carry a great volume of water except in the spring. Their lower courses serve as spawning grounds for the sturgeon of the Caspian, productive of fine caviar, and these streams offer a reservoir of water power.

The largest river flowing into the Persian Gulf is the Karun, whose lower course is the confluence of the upper Karun and the Diz River. The Karun is navigable by small steamers as far as Ahwaz, some 70 miles from its mouth, and smaller boats can proceed even farther above the Ahwaz rapids. At Ahwaz the river is about one hundred yards wide, and is spanned by highway bridges and a railroad bridge.

Rivers which empty into the interior desert basins of the country are the Zayandeh, which flows past Isfahan; the Jajirud, Karej, and Kand, near Tehran; the Qarasu, near Hamadan; the Hableh, east of Kashan; the Qum, flowing by the town of the same name; and the Kur, which runs near ancient Persepolis. Far to the east is the Helmand River, whose dammed-up waters, although nearly all of its course is within Afghanistan, are led through channels to irrigate a part of the province of Sistan.

These rivers are the principal perennial streams; most of the others run dry in the middle of the summer. Typical of the larger streams in this category is the Zayandeh, whose waters nourish Isfahan and the score of adjacent farming communities. In the early spring this river is more than one hundred yards wide at Isfahan and nearly six feet deep. Later in the spring the communities upstream from Isfahan draw off its water to their fields, or flood paddies for cultivating rice, and as a result, in midsummer the river opposite Isfahan is just adequate for the needs of the area.

In recent years Iran has constructed a number of great dams which provide water for irrigation, create electric power, and, in some cases, water for urban consumption.

Seas and Lakes

The Caspian Sea, the largest landlocked body of water in the world, lies some 85 feet below sea level, is comparatively shallow, and for several centuries has been slowly shrinking in size. Its salt content is considerably less than that of the oceans, and though it abounds with fish its shelving coasts do not offer any good natural harbors, and sudden and violent storms make it dangerous for small boats.

Lake Rezaieh, formerly called Lake Urmiya, is about 80 miles long and 35 miles wide, or approximately the same size as the Great Salt Lake of Utah, and averages from five to six yards in depth with a maximum depth of eleven yards. Only a few minor streams flow into this landlocked body of water, which has resulted in a steady shrinking in the size of the lake and so high a concentration of salt that no fish can live in it. Its saline content, made up of salts and sulphates of magnesium, calcium, sodium, and potassium, is as high as 23 percent. Most maps show a large island of Shahi well out toward the center of the lake, but within recent years the water has receded so far that during the summer months it is now possible to walk directly from the mainland to the shores of the "island."

Along the frontier between Iran and Afghanistan are several marshy lakes which expand and contract according to the season of the year. The largest of these, the Hamun-i-Sabari, is alive with wild fowl. Real fresh water lakes are exceedingly rare in Iran; there are probably not more than ten in all the country, all of them brackish and most not much bigger than ponds.

Deserts

The vast desert regions of Iran stretch across the plateau from the northwest, close to Tehran and Qum, for a distance of nearly 800 miles to the southeast and beyond the frontier. Approximately one-sixth of the total area of Iran is barren desert.

The two largest desert areas are known as the Dasht-i-Lut and the Dasht-i-Kavir, dasht meaning "plain," lut meaning "naked" or "barren," and kavir meaning "salt desert." Third in size of these deserts is the Jaz Murian. Some sections contain salt lakes which each year are swollen by the spring torrents from the interior rivers and in summer disappear beneath a hard salt crust. Other areas are stony wastes, wide stretches of saline soil or deserts heaped with sand dunes, and nearly all are crisscrossed by ranges of hills. At a few widely separated points copious springs flowing from the naked earth have created fertile oases, such as the charming village of Tabas, set in the midst of flowering gardens, orchards, and groves of date palms.

It is often said that the Dasht-i-Lut and the Dasht-i-Kavir are impassable except by the single road which runs from Yazd to Firdaus, but within recent years heavy trucks and other vehicles have traveled over long stretches of these deserts. Ruins of caravanserais and of villages found there are evidence that not too long ago the deserts were kinder to human existence. For example, in fairly recent times there was a direct north-south caravan road from Simnan to Kerman: a section of its sang farash, or "stone carpet," some 18 miles long and up to 40 feet wide still exists. The labor involved in conveying these stones great distances must have been enormous. However, it is true that disaster dogged the caravans; many fell victim to exhaustion of water supplies in summer or to winter's sudden rains which could turn the surface into a slippery morass and always chance straying from the trail might mean, for men and camels, breaking through the salt crust to become hopelessly trapped in the mire beneath.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Iran Past and Present by Donald Newton Wilber. Copyright © 1981 Princeton University Press. Excerpted by permission of PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS.
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Table of Contents

• FrontMatter, pg. i
• Preface, pg. v
• Contents, pg. vii
• Illustrations, pg. ix
• I. The Land, pg. 3
• II. History, pg. 16
• III. Patterns Of Iranian Culture And Society, pg. 74
• IV. The Pahlavi Period, pg. 125
• V. The People And Their Life, pg. 160
• VI. The Government, pg. 228
• VII. The Development Of Natural Resources, pg. 262
• VIII. The Development Of Facilities, pg. 301
• IX. From Monarchy To Islamic Republic, pg. 331
• Selected Bibliography, pg. 352
• Index, pg. 358
• Additions To Index, pg. 374