Does this story begin in the era of the Achaemenid Empire, the same period that the Greeks called Persia?

During this era, the Iranians, by unifying the four great early cradles of civilization—Mesopotamia, the Iranian Plateau, Egypt, and India—created the first world empire in history. This vast realm, in addition to large parts of Central Asia, India, Iran, the Caucasus, Turkey, Iraq, and Syria, also extended to North Africa and parts of southeastern Europe. Thus, the Achaemenids became the first power to have a presence on the three continents. The extent of this empire was such that, according to some estimates, it included nearly 40 percent of the world’s population at the time. [1][2]

But the story of Iran does not begin with the Achaemenids. Iran’s history is far more ancient.

When we speak of Iran, two distinct yet related concepts may be considered: Iran as a civilization and Iran as a country. Together, these two perspectives provide us with a more complete picture.

Iran as a country

In the common definition today, a political unit is considered a country when it possesses four characteristics. First, a territory with defined geographical borders. Second, a population, meaning the people who live within these borders. Third, a government, that is, a central institution for legislation. Fourth, sovereignty, meaning political independence and the ability to enforce the will of the government within that territory. [3]

From this perspective, the formation of the Median kingdom around 2,700 years ago may be regarded as one of the earliest steps toward the emergence of a political entity later called “Iran” in the Sasanian period. The center of this kingdom was Hegmataneh, present-day Hamadan. A city that is described in accounts as having seven colorful walls. The Greeks called it Ecbatana. [4][5]

However, Iranian civilization is far older than the country of Iran. If we consider civilization as the formation of organized societies with political and social structures, specialized occupations such as pottery, and administrative tools such as writing, its signs can be seen on the Iranian plateau thousands of years before the emergence of the country of Iran. [1]

Iranian civilization

The earliest signs of this civilization may be observed at Ganj Dareh in western Iran. A place in the heart of the Zagros Mountains where, about 10,000 years ago, village life took shape. Several thousand years later, at Tepe Sialk around 8,000 years ago, the transformation from a simple rural society to a more complex urban society is clearly evident. [1][6]

Another important example is the Jiroft civilization, which flourished around 5,000 years ago in the southeastern Iranian plateau. In this region, advanced stone-carving art, signs of a distinctive writing system, and engineering capability in constructing large structures can be seen. Recent excavations at sites such as Konar Sandal show that Jiroft was not merely a local civilizational center, but was regarded as a link among the civilizations of the West Asian region. On the one hand, it was connected to the Indus Valley civilization in the east, and on the other, it was in contact with the Mesopotamian civilizations in the west. [7]

However, the civilization of Iran did not emerge in isolation. It arose within a network of connections with other civilizations and was always in interaction with them. Iran was connected to civilizations such as Elam, Assyria, and Babylon, and was also indirectly influenced by Sumer.

For a proper understanding of Iran, whether as a civilization or as a country, these connections and mutual influences must be taken into account.

The influence of other early civilizations on Iran

Architecture and art

In architecture, one important element is the use of the platform (terrace), a feature whose roots can be seen in structures such as the ziggurat of Chogha Zanbil in Elamite architecture. Iranian architects combined this idea with advanced elements of Greek, Egyptian, and Lydian architecture, creating a distinctive style at Pasargadae and Persepolis.

On the left, you see the reconstructed model of the ziggurat of Chogha Zanbil, which shows how, in 1250 BC, the use of tiers and platforms created grandeur. On the right, the palace of Darius at Persepolis demonstrates how, about 1,000 years later, Iranian architects brought the same idea of the “platform” to a peak of perfection and durability in stone.

In another example, the glazed bricks and colored motifs of the Apadana Palace at Persepolis were directly inspired by the art of Babylon and Assyria. Likewise, Assyrian bas-reliefs had a notable influence on Iranian stone reliefs. [8]

The stone relief on the left was created by the Assyrians, and about 200 years later, the one on the right was produced by the Iranians. A striking similarity can be seen in the way the hair and beards of the figures are depicted in these two works. It appears that even in personal grooming standards, the Assyrian civilization influenced Iran.

Writing and language

Cuneiform script, invented by the Sumerians around 5,200 years ago, spread and evolved across the Akkadian, Elamite, and Assyrian civilizations. The ancient Persians also drew inspiration from this writing system and created their own form of cuneiform script. [9]

The inscription of Xerxes the Achaemenid at Van in Turkey is an admirable example of a trilingual text. In this inscription, a single message is written in three languages and in three types of cuneiform script. The message in all three sections is identical, but it is composed in the three principal languages of the Achaemenid Empire: Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian.

Old Persian, in the left column, is the native language of the Achaemenid kings. Elamite, in the middle column, is the empire's administrative and bureaucratic language, with roots in the ancient civilization of Elam. Babylonian, or Akkadian, in the right column, is the language of the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia. By doing so, the Achaemenids demonstrated that the king was the ruler of all the peoples and civilizations under his dominion. [10]

The use of Babylonian and Elamite script and language alongside Old Persian in inscriptions is also a sign of respect for the ancient traditions of earlier civilizations and a means of establishing communication with different parts of the empire. [11]

In addition to inscriptional writing, the Achaemenid Empire was multilingual and influenced by neighboring civilizations in its communications and daily correspondence. A Persian prince spoke Old Persian in conversation with family and nobles, but used Aramaic for official correspondence. The Aramaic script was developed by the Aramaeans, a Semitic people, and spread across West Asia. Unlike the logographic cuneiform script, Aramaic was alphabetic and could be easily written with a pen on papyrus or leather.

Darius the Great chose Aramaic as the official language of the entire empire. This decision made it possible for an imperial official in India to write a letter that could be easily read in Egypt or Persepolis. In this way, Aramaic effectively became a lingua franca, that is, an international language, in the Achaemenid era. [1]

Religion and mythology

Many of the visual religious symbols of Iran have their roots in other early civilizations. For example, the Faravahar originates from the winged sun of the Assyrian civilization. The Iranians, with artistry, transformed this symbol of power in Assyrian culture into a symbol of spiritual and mythological concepts in their own culture.

Whereas the winged sun in Nineveh represented the Assyrian god Shamash, the Faravahar in Persepolis came to symbolize divine glory and protective forces. [12]

Mythological concepts related to the struggle between good and evil and protective deities—such as the winged bulls at palace entrances—also entered the visual and belief systems of Iran from the art and religious traditions of Assyria and Babylon. [13]

Law and administration

The administrative structure of the Achaemenids, particularly in archiving and accounting, was influenced by the Elamite bureaucratic system. At the center of the empire, financial affairs were also managed by Elamite scribes. [14]

In the field of lawmaking, Babylonian legal inscriptions, such as the Code of Hammurabi, influenced the formation of the concept of “royal justice” and the codification of laws during the early Iranian empires. [15]

Conclusion

Ultimately, the answer to the question “Where did Iran originate?” depends on how one views Iran. If Iran is regarded as a country, its origins may be traced to the Median kingdom. But if Iran is seen as a civilization, its roots are far more ancient, reaching back thousands of years to the earliest rural and later urban societies in various parts of the Iranian plateau. In this view, Iran did not begin at a single moment; rather, it emerged from a gradual, continuous process. This process took shape through constant interaction with neighboring civilizations and, by absorbing and re-creating their cultural, artistic, linguistic, and political elements, achieved a unique identity and gradually became what we recognize today.

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