Culture of Iran

Iran has long prided itself as one of the most important cultural forces in the Middle East, both after and before Islam.

The list of cultural contributions attributed to ancient Persia is staggering. They include the invention of the brick, the lute, wine, and the windmill, in addition to ice cream and cookies; the domestication of the goat, and the first cultivations of peaches, tulips and spinach. Persian carpets have been renowned since the pre-Islamic period, and are still regarded as among the world's finest carpets. 

In 1000 AD, after the Arab conquest of Persia, the poet Ferdowsi wrote a massive epic, weaving together history and myth, called the Shahnameh, which is still considered Iran's national work of literature. The legend goes that the Sultan had promised Ferdowsi a gold coin for every couplet, but the book ended up being so long that the Sultan asked the poet to accept a silver coin for every couplet instead. Ferdowsi refused, and died penniless.

The Shahnameh is also significant for having been written in Persian, not Arabic, which had begun to supersede Persian as the language of poets and scholars. Persian survived, and is the dominant language of Iran today.

Another accomplished Persian poet who is more well-known in the West is Rumi. Rumi was not his given name, according to Wikipedia, but a nickname meaning "the Roman," since he came from an area once ruled by the Eastern Roman Empire. Rumi, who lived in the twelfth century, was an adherent to the mystical branch of Islam known as Sufism, which emphasizes turning away from worldly things in order to find a personal, even passionate relationship with God.

Many of Rumi's poems can be read either as love poetry or an expression of deep religious feeling. Here is an example, from the website "Rumi Love and Ecstasy Poems":

"The moment I heard my first love story,

I started looking for you, not knowing

how blind that was.

Lovers don't finally meet somewhere,

they're in each other all along."

Modern Iran has a vibrant culture as well, including pop music and world-renowned films. Director Abbas Kierostami, whose film credits include Taste of Cherry, is considered a master. And Iranian expatriate Marjane Satrapi has won acclaim for her edgy graphic novel about growing up during the revolution, Persepolis.

To find out more about modern Iranian culture, check out the article "Modern Iranian Culture for Dummies" from Vanity Fair.