2024/2025
History of Iran
Type:
Mago-Lego
Delivered by:
Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies
When:
1, 2 module
Open to:
students of all HSE University campuses
Language:
English
ECTS credits:
3
Contact hours:
60
Course Syllabus
Abstract
The history of Iran has been closely tied to its religious practices throughout the centuries. As different dynasties rose and fell, they brought changes to the region's religious landscape with a significant impact on its political and cultural life. This course explores the history of Iran through the lens of its most prominent religious figures across various eras. The course focuses on the prophets, God-inspired rulers, priests and saints (sometimes self-proclaimed), who have shaped Iranian religious, ideological, political, and cultural fabric, which continues to play a crucial role in modern-day Iran.
Learning Objectives
- To introduce students to the range of concepts, research methods and approaches in Iranian studies pertaining to the history of religions in Iran
- To deepen students’ understanding of diverse social and cultural practices of Iranian societies throughout the centuries
- To encourage students to critically reflect on their own cultural assumptions
- To stimulate the development of students' analytical skills
Expected Learning Outcomes
- Students can process the information and articulate their expertise on Zoroastrianism
- Students are able to analyze and articulate the controversy surrounding the rise of Zoroastrianism in Sassanid epoch
- Students can explain the difference between Manichaeism and other religions of Mesopotamia
- Students can critically analyze disparate sources of information about the rise of Islam
- Students can discuss the origins of Shi'a-Sunni split
- Students can critically analyze the issue of development of Sufism
- Students can discuss the reasons and outcomes of the establishment of Safavid dynasty in Iran
- Students can discuss millenarianism in Shi'a thought
- Students can scrutinize messianic trends in modern Iran
Course Contents
- No One is a Prophet in Their Own Land: Zarathustra and the Emergence of Zoroastrianism in Iran
- Making a State Religion in Late Antiquity: The High Priest Kartir and the Rise of Sassanids
- From Universal Religion to Worldwide Heresy: Mani and the Fate of Manichaeism
- The Seal of the Prophets: Muhammad and the Rise of Islam
- The Prince of the Martyrs: Husain Ibn Ali and the Tragedy of Karbala
- He is no Prophet, but He has a Book: Jalal al-din Rumi and Making of Sufi Brotherhood
- The Reincarnated Imam: Ismail Safavi and the Triumph of Shi‘ism in Iran
- A Revelation Renewed: Sayyid Ali Muhammad and the Emergence of Babism
- A (Dis-)continuation of God-Inspired Leadership? Modern Iranian Politics and the Quest for the Legitimacy
Bibliography
Recommended Core Bibliography
- Abrahamian, E. (2008). A History of Modern Iran. Cambridge University Press.
- Amanat, A. (2009). Apocalyptic Islam and Iranian Shi’ism. I.B.Tauris.
- Ansari, A. M. (2012). The Politics of Nationalism in Modern Iran. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=473248
- Chittick, W. C. (2008). Sufism : A Beginner’s Guide. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=218393
- Christopher Melchert. (2020). Before Sufism : Early Islamic Renunciant Piety. De Gruyter.
- Fisher, G. (2015). Arabs and Empires Before Islam. Oxford: OUP Oxford. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1081348
- Karamustafa, A. T. (2007). Sufism : The Formative Period. Edinburgh University Press.
- Lapidus, I. M. . (DE-588)124445977, (DE-576)294175717. (2014). A history of Islamic societies / Ira M. Lapidus. New York: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.425657388
- Michael Axworthy. (2016). A History of Iran: Empire of the Mind. Basic Books.
- Newman, A. J. (2009). Safavid Iran : Rebirth of a Persian Empire: Vol. Pbk. ed. I.B. Tauris.
- The Cambridge History of Iran. (1968). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/chol9780521069359
- The Cambridge History of Iran. (1983). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/chol9780521200929
Recommended Additional Bibliography
- Skjærvø, P. O., & International Sacred Literature Trust. (2011). The Spirit of Zoroastrianism. New Haven [Conn.]: Yale University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=450246