Touraj Daryaee's Lecture: Moving Beyond Two Centuries of Silence

Touraj Daryaee critiques the historiography of the Sasanian collapse, challenging narratives that reflect the political ideologies of the Pahlavi era, such as the works of Zarrinkoub and the communists. His examination of Iranian culture during the first two Islamic centuries calls earlier assumptions into question.

Touraj Daryaee explains the subject of this session as follows:

In this lecture, I intend to speak about the historiography of the Sasanian collapse and its consequences. In Iran, since the Pahlavi era, a particular historiography emerged, and after half a century, the same old view, subject to the beliefs and worldview of the Pahlavi period, still persists. In truth, what we think happened in Iran at the end of the Sasanian era and during the first two Islamic centuries is nothing but the writings of twentieth-century literati and historians who have imposed their own political thoughts and ideas. Figures like the late Zarrinkoub, with the nationalism of their time, have given us an image of the early Islamic period that still holds sway over our beliefs. On the other hand, communist historians, through the translation of their works into Persian, have led us to believe that Sasanian society was rotten from within and ripe for collapse. Our Islamic historians and thinkers, with a view similar to that of leftist writers, have considered Islam the key to the salvation of a class-based society, which, with its slogans of equality and brotherhood, was able to open the gates of Iranian cities without violence. This lecture calls all these ideas into question.

Therefore, in this session, we will focus on the following question:

How can we have a modern and sound view of our past and history? Did no Iranian speak or write in their own language during the first two Islamic centuries?

Dr. Touraj Daryaee is an Iranian university professor in the field of "History of Iran and Persianate Societies" and a board member of the Dr. Samuel M. Jordan Center for Iranian Studies at the University of California. He writes in both English and Persian. He has published several books and dozens of articles to date, and a portion of his English works have also been translated into Persian. Managing the "Sasanika" project, editing the journal "Nāme-ye Irān-e Bāstān" (Journal of Ancient Iran), and publishing articles in major Iranological periodicals are among Daryaee's other activities.

Part One, Moving Beyond Two Centuries of Silence: The Iranian Encounter with the Fall of the Sasanians and its Aftermath

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Part Two, Q&A Session

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Moving Beyond Two Centuries of Silence: Iranians' Encounter with the Fall of the Sasanians and Its Aftermath (A Critique of the Book Two Centuries of Silence by the Late Dr. Zarrinkoub)

University of Toronto | March 6, 2015

Source: The Esteemed Agora Website

Touraj Daryaee's Lecture: Moving Beyond Two Centuries of Silence

Touraj Daryaee explains the subject of this session as follows:

Therefore, in this session, we will focus on the following question:

How can we have a modern and sound view of our past and history? Did no Iranian speak or write in their own language during the first two Islamic centuries?