Iran

-is the most populous and the 2nd largest

country in the Middle East
-major exporter of oil
-meaning “Land of the Aryans”
-in the West, the country has been known as
“Persia”

Official Name: Islamic Republic of Persia

Capital: Tehran

The Iran Flag

Green-symbolizes fertility
White-symbolizes pureness and peace
Red-symbolizes the martyr’s blood
Languages
Official Language: Persian
Gilani and Mazandarani dialects
-spoken by the inhabitants of the provinces around the caspian sea and
the Kurdish,Luri, and Baluchi dialects are also Indo-European.
Turkish dialects
-are spoken by the Qashqai in the southwest and the Turkoman in the
northeast
Azerbaijani Turkish
-spoken throughout the northwestern provinces
Arabic
-spoken in khuzestan and by some tribes in Fars
• Religion
• some 99% of Iranians are muslim, over 93%
belonging to the shiite branch of islam and
under 6% to the Sunni branch

• Iran is the only muslim country where Shiism

(since 1501) has been the official state
religion.
• sunni leaders, called Caliphs, are elected
through voting while Shiite leaders, or
Imams, are direct descendants of
Muhammad.
• the arts
• poetry
• -the most important art form
• Music and architecture are also historically
important, as are calligraphy are minature
painting.
• iran is also famous for its crafts, including
ceramics, silver and gold metalworj, and above
all, the Persian carpets.
• Government
• -the government of iran is the first theocratic
republic in the world. the constitution of the
Islamic Republic gives its leader, the Faqih,
extensive religious and secular powers,
including the right to appoint the
commanders of the armed forces and the
head of the judiciary and to confirm the
elected president.
• characterisitics of persian literature
• much of the literature of persia have been influenced by the varieties
of ideals, religions, the ways of life of the different invaders who had
dominated Persian soil.
• the most zealous adherents of islam endeavored to reconcile
themselves with the mysteries of existence and transcedental reality
beyond the strappings of ceremonials by the practice of Sufism
(mortification of mortal flesh) by the wearing of wool (suf in Arabic).
• sufism believes thta ther exists in the universe only one Reality. A part
of it is imprisoned in the human body and this is the human soul. it
can only find release by the destruction of the human flesh.
• Nizami
• -considered the greatest poet of love and life
• Jami
• -generally regarded as the last great classicist who excelled in prose
and poetry.

• Persian Prose