Anyway

Hirre

Very good points about Reza Shah Pahlavi. You need not be Harvard educated to be a patriot. Nor do you need to be a democrat. Reza Shah did a great service to Iran. His greatest mistake was to side with Germans. 

That is why the allies brought him down. If he had remained it would have been a lot better for Iran. Yes he was a dictator and a good one.

I was just

Googling "Gold Daric". There are many sold by coin collectors. They are expensive but real and confirmed from the days of Darius the Great. Did Zionists "create" them? Do Zionists have time machines.

Aha! Them clever Israeli have been making Darics; going back 2500 years and burying them. Now we find them as "proof" that Darius was real. Those tricky Zionists are pretty smart!

I mostly agree with Iran 2050

But even tyrants can do some good directly or indirectly...

In the case of Reza Shah many people forget that Iran was a very weak country which was according to many historians very close to a total collapse. This was due to the mismanagement of the country by Ahmad Shah along with feodal rulers all over the country wanting a piece of their own, not to forget foreign threats. Reza Shah was initially an uneducated man from the people who had ideas on how to unite the countries power hierarchy.

For example, if RS didn't conquere the feodal rulers, Iran would probably be in the hands of foreign occupiers because the feodal rulers would easily be bought by the US, Britain or Russia... We would not have a Iran, but a Iranestan... Now atleast we have a country to fight for, which would not be the case if RS didn't succeed...

Comparing RS with his son is basically like comparing a winner with a loser in the same game. Many people who hated the late shah or even don't like monarchy still think high of Reza Shah. It is really strange for me that many monarchists talk too much about MRP rather than speaking about his father... From a historic point of view RS did more for his country given the means that he had during that time comparing to his son (which he also didn't think much of)...

Iran 2050

Please don't take this as a sign of disrespect, but you really ought to familiarise yourself with the history of Kourosh and Darius better, and do so with an open mind, before you engage in crass generalisation of them as "tyrants" etc.

First and foremost, judging the world of 2500 years ago by today's ideas of human rights, international organisations like the UN, world peace etc, is an exercise in futility. It was a totally different era. 2500 ago, as a country you either conquered others or you got conquered by others. There wasn't much in the way of other alternatives if you wanted to survive. As it happens, many of the wars Kourosh and Darius fought, they did so after attacks by other invaders, and indeed Kourosh lost his life when leading defence of Persia from constant attacks from fierce tribes outside the North Eastern borders of the Empire. That's how things were then.

And yes, Kourosh and Darius did the conquering part very well and achieved a great deal for Persia and its people in the process. Conversely, as we know, later Persia itself was conquered too by Alexander and others. Like I said, you either conquered or got conquered.

But really grates me about your inane comments on this matter, is your omission, probably born out of ignorance, of how much those Kings achieved besides fighting wars. These kings built cities and advanced civilizations. They built roads and developed communication systems. They developed the idea and structures of a federal state, with regional governance and accountability. Ancient Persians were among the first people in the World to develop a sophisticated currency, taxation and economic system. And they extended their knowledge and their civilization to many other regions, this at a time when most people of what is now the First World were running around in caves.

And of course, Kouroush was the first known ruler to propagate and implement the idea of human rights and freedom for other people. two and half millennia before people like you got on their high horse to lecture others about what a nasty piece of work he supposedly was.

Kings like Kourosh and Darius are lauded for all those achievements not just by historians around the World, but by many others who know about history and the contribution of the Persian Empire to human civilization. It's a shame then Iranians like you, who one would've thought (and hoped), would be proud of the history of their ancestors, instead engage in spouting ignorant nonsense about it.

This guy is a typical...

...Islamist douche. 

Religions

The Judea-Christian-Islamic religions treat God like some kind of tyrannical king. It is obvious they modeled their idea after their rulers. You get out of line and are tossed in the dungeon or in this case "hell".

I have no doubt Islam was modeled after Judaism. Thanks to Salman they also added some of the worst Zoroastrian superstitions to it. Then cooked up a toxic brew. The problem is that many people buy into it and we are stuck for now.

Arthmis

Thanks for your post. Next time you meet a Muslim ranting on about Jews ask him/her the circumcision question: Was Mohammed circumcised? and when?
The only people who circumcised boys were either Jews or Christians. No tribe in Arabia would have circumcised a child if it wasn't for religious reasons and it would be too painful a procedure for an adult to do without anaesthetic 1,400.years ago.

Simorgh 5555, You are

Simorgh 5555,

You are absolutely on the mark!!! I agree with you , the similarities between the Jews & Muslims are unbelievable... I recently met with a a Jewish Rabbi (one of my customers...) and he mentined everthing you wrote here and he went as far as saying that "Mohammad" in fact hired few Jewish rabbais and scholars to write the "Qura'n" for him... As a non-practicing muslim and 100% practicing Iranian, I won't be surprised if these stories can be true... in fact they are more believable than all the non-sense these religions preach and promote all together...

Both Religions are wacked in my humble view ... They all preach division among masses, as if GOD is bipolar like human being.... LOL :-)) Only insecure people seek refuge into religions instead of "GOD" directly...

To Reach God, Man needs Consciousness NOT religions!!! Why bring in the "Middle man" when one can connect with "God" directly... 

Iran 2050

You are not listening so I am not going to keep repeating myself. If you are not able to see the damage of Islam then your are not looking. If you really do not see the horrors of Genghiz Khan then you need to go back to school. Go ahead and call me arrogant. Anyone who does not understand the cruelty of Genghiz is so ignorant as to not be worth wasting my time on. Yes, I am intolerant of intolerance. I do not tolerate stoning people or forcing hijab on them. Over and out!

Jamshid and NowRuz

Jamshid is the legendary Pishdady king of Iran. He was to have instituted "Jashn-e Now-Ruz" our new year. Jamshid is said to have ruled for a 1000 years during which no one died or aged. He had abolished all that ailed humankind. It is said that fathers and sons walked together neither appearing older than 16. He was endowed with the Farr which was lost when he became arrogant. Obviously Jamshid is a legendary king as opposed to Cyrus who was a real live person with plenty of historical evidence to back him up. We should not confuse our legends and myths with history.

I value them both and respect them both. But there is a huge difference between them and we better remember that. No one in their right mind will try to mix them up. Indicating the doctor is not in his right mind and needs a real doctor :-)

Maryam Hojjat, I appreciate

Maryam Hojjat,
I appreciate your opinion about me, however, just to reiterate, ANY piece taken out of this beautiful mosaic we call Iran, will ruin the entire image.
You might not find this mosaic beautiful, but I do. And many civilized 21st century nations have also recognized the beauty of their own mosaic.

Valid Prophet Of

Valid Prophet Of Khorasan,
The intolerance that I’m talking about is evident in your postings. You called me an “Islamist”, you said “I need to get a book”…all that implies that you are an intolerant person. How do you know I’m an Islamist? Do you even know what “Islamist” mean? Which mature person attacks someone else during a debate and tells them to “get a book”?? And you did that simply for one reason: I don’t share your view.
As far as your other arguments are concerned, again, many Iranians have been brainwashed to think that Cyrus was a “freedom fighter”. Do you call invading other countries and murdering their people, “giving freedom to people”? So the fact that he invaded other countries and murdered their people in the process means nothing to you, all that means to you is that people have some certain degrees of freedom of worship under his rule? Guess what, ALL people had freedom of worship under Genghis Khan too. Religion is one area that he didn’t even touch on. Also during other empires, including, yes, the Islamic – Arabic empire, there were freedom of religion, even for Zoroastrians. Go “read a book” and see for how long did the “Atashkhanehs” remain open after the Islamic invasion and go find out who actually closed many of them, was it the Arabs or extremist Muslim Iranians couple of centuries later?
Also, you cannot occupy other countries and bring their people to build you palaces and even if you pay them to do that, not call it a form of slavery. Is it an extreme form of slavery like the Romans had? No. but slavery nonetheless. Did they volunteer to build these castles for the kings? NO!

Part II,
Islam, like any other religion including Zoroastrianism, should not be mixed with state in a modern 21st century nation. We have gotten into the habit of picking verses from Islamic teachings that are negative (And they are) and portray them as the only aspect Islam. Islam has many great teachings as well, again, JUST LIKE ANY OTHER “RELIGION” IN HISTORY. And that’s the problem. Because of the contradictions in religions, they should not be mixed with legislation and public interest. I’m not even going to touch on the fact that many of the actions taken by IRI which has been contributed to Islam is in not in any way, shape or form Islamic. If anything, Shiteism (which is NOT true Islam) is an Iranian version of Zoroastrianism and IRI applies Shite teachings.

Who is Jamshid and what "eid is he talking about" ???

If he is talking about Noruz then it must be said that it is so old that no one knows, like the christmas. And its date was changed during Khayyams time. So no Jamshid there "DOCTOR".

 And also I am against worshipping Cyrus and Darius. 

Creating a big empire is not done by handing out candy. A lot of innocent has probably met a violent death during the reign of these kings, but that said the were pretty smart and ahead of their times, they knew that it is better to decentralize some part of the power. 

Iran 2050, I agree with VPOK

eventhough your arguement sounds good but it is not logical.  I feel Right for VPOK arguing with you.  He certainly know history much better than you.  This mosaic b.s sounds good without Islam. 

Iran 2050 part II

Islam is bad; just as Christianity except Islam never got reformed. In fact it has gone backwards. The proof is whenever the Islamists or hard core Christians got to power they brought harm.

I am going to focus on Islam. They mistreat others as second class {people of the book} or worse {non believers}. Would you tell me how Islam treats pagans?  They Safavids forced millions of Zartoshti and others to convert to Shia under the threat of death. My ancestors were some of them . I am sure you know about najis and what it means. They very conveniently forget about it while living in the West! Forced hijab; actions of the Taliban. Where do I stop for crying out loud. Even the slave owning Greeks were better than that. Until Christianity and its child Islam came along there was a mosaic. But then it all got one uniform mass. All hail the great single religion or else. You must know what Sharia law requies.

I am all for a multicultural Iran but Islamists are not. They drove away the Jews; Bahai; and seculars. Some get a half decent treatment like Armenians and Zartoshti. But by and large they are persecuted. So now I am intolerant! By the way it is Veiled not Valid although I have been called much worse. At least you made an honest mistake :-) The only solution is a secular state where you mosaic will thrive. Not some theocracy which dictates what people think and wear.

Iran 2050

You don't know anything about me. I am a very tolerant person. I have written articles in praise of Iranian Arabs; I oppose the death penalty and support pardons for the MKO low level members. 

So exactly what kind of "intolerance" are you talking about. I have always been in support of freedom of speech. In particular stupid speech like that of this Dr. But I also don't like historical revisionism. Cyrus was a Great King. Who told you he "enslaved" anyone? Show me proof. Have you read his declaration of human rights? Do you call that enslaving people. Under his rule Persia was the single most tolerant empire. He unequivocally opposed slavery while Greek "democracies" were build on slavery.

Why do you say things that you don't know. Why should we dishonor our greats. By the way I greatly admire many of the people you mentioned. The other day I was teaching my kids about Karim Khan. Told them how Karim Khan forgave his enemy and made him his adviser. We have many greats in our history but they don't replace each other. They add to and build on each others greatness. We also had tyrants like Nader Shah who despite his military achievements was a nut. 

Bafarahmand,   I’m

Bafarahmand,

I’m all for that. But lets not worship or create this ultra human image of them.

All aspects of Iranian culture is valuable: Islam , pre Islam, Shite Iranians, Sunni Iranians, Kurd Iranians, Balouch Iranians, Fars Iranians, Arab Iranians. That’s what makes us who we are. That’s what makes this beautiful mosaic. If you take of any of these mosaics out, you will ruin the entire image. And that’s what some folks are doing by either worshipping pre Islam or post Islam Iran. They are trying to ruin this beautiful mosaic. People who say Islam is bad and we need to go back to Cyrus’ days or Cyrus is bad and we need to wipe out pre Islam, both sides are ruining this beautiful mosaic and more dangerously contributing to the spread of intolerance and Fascism in Iran.

Valid Prophet of Khorassan,

Valid Prophet of Khorassan,

You embody exactly what’s wrong with Iran and its culture: intolerance and thugness. You conduct personal attacks on people who have different opinion than you, people who didn’t even address you directly! Until we have this thug mentality amongst us, we are going nowhere azizan.

Before I even go any further, I am not by any means an Islamist, but it is a catastrophic mistake to blame Iran’s ills on Islam instead of the actual root causes: tyrannical socio-political structure and thug mentality (which you possess).

 As far as your other claims, “Our Great King freed people and brought justice”..Really? It’s sad how some Iranians are so brainwashed like that. Let me ask you, have you ever thought about the people of Babylon when Cyrus attacked them? Or are you only considered about the Jews who were in Babylon.

Here’s a fact: CYRUS FREED THE JEWS, BUT ENSLAVED THE BABYLONIANS. 

 So attacking Babylon and invading their country was an act of “freedom”? Ok George W! Lets forget about Babylon, what about Lydia? What did they ever do to him? He attacked and killed its people and invaded the country, didn’t he? How about the Masagets in Northeastern Iran? How about the other territories he attacked?  Cyrus, like most other kings, didn’t give a rats behind about Iran or others. All he wanted was power, that’s what most kings wanted.   I think the greatest historical figures in Iranian history are Khajeh Nezam Ol Molk, Karim Khan and Amir Kabeer. Karim Khan was the only king that did not even call himself a “king”. He didn’t attack anyone, he only took back Basra from the Ottomanians. He didn’t belittle Islam or Aryan Iran or Sunnis or Shites or Arabs or anyone else. He brought peace to Iran and built great relations with the entire world. Khajeh Nazem ol molk built the greatest educational system in Iran’s history up until modern ages and yet he was killed by shites (What a surprise!) These are the figures we need to be proud of, that’s it! The rest of them are nothing but bunch of tyrants, some less tyrant than others but tyrants nonetheless.

Iran 2050

we will respect those that served our country to the best of their ability. That includes kings, scientist, philosophers, musicians, athletes, etc.

Afshinazad aziz,  

Afshinazad aziz,

Reza Shah embodied the Iranian tyrannical socio-political culture. He along with Khomeini and Cyrus and Dariush and others, represent an ill society where the value of human life means nothing to the king. Iran represents the idea of Eastern dictatorial system, and that system is at the core of Iran’s issues.

The problem with us think we think we owe our king gratitude and not the other way around, and that’s the mentality I’m talking about. We should thank Reza Shah for building schools? That’s his job! However, his job was NOT to force himself on 30 million Iranians and brutally oppress anyone who opposes his dictatorship. His job was NOT to enforce his beliefs on people. I’m not for Hijab but how is it any humane that a government (non elected nonetheless) beats people in the streets for practicing their very basic right of wearing the cloth of their choice? Well, all Khomeini did was the same exact idea but in reverse. Because in our country we have a legacy of tyranny. Even as individuals we are tyrants.

Socialist countries during the cold war had some of the best educational system around with illiteracy rate in low percentages, but, what kind of legacy did they leave? They left a legacy of oppression.

Let’s think clear here my friend.

Re: must be eliminated

I am not a big fan of eliminating anyone even morons. It is better to let them talk. The more stupid things they say the dumber they sound. If people had read Khomeini they would not have followed him.

Ta mard sokhan nagofte bashd; eybo honarash nahofteh bashad. Better allow morons to speak. And to show the world how stupid they are. If not people may actually think they had something we are trying to hide.

He's From Ghazvin for sure...

Don't pick anything up off the floor around this guy.

He'll do you, like he's doing Cyrus.

Ignorance leads to Pure Evil. How did such bad people ever come to power, how did they have a good reputation in the first place?

friends let me speak to him in a manner he would understand

Friends!!! let me speak to him in a manner he would understand:

VA HALA CHAND KALAME AZ MADARE AROOS

:)

dont get angry guys, this dude is clearly an ignorant fool on opiet. if you ask me, this makes great stand up material.

In hope of a Free, Independent, Democratic and Secular Iran

Ignorance

Nothing is worse than being ignorant. He is dangerous for the society and must be eliminated

who is this idiot in the above video?

What a waste of time to listen to this idiot. What a waste of sperm this person was born from.

Iran 2050

We do not worship our Great Kings but we respect them. Something that you will never get. You and the other Islamists are history. People are seeing what your Islam has brought.

How you dare compare Cyrus to Genghis Khan who was a murderer. Our Great King freed people and brought justice. Did Reza Shah create the Cyrus cylinder! No it is 2500 years old. Reza Shah was not around then to carve it.

The degree of Iran hating among Islamists is too much. What is missing is education and some knowledge of history. Thankfully there is plenty of evidence for it and all you need to do is get a book.

Dariush and Cyrus

Are as much parts of Iran as George Washington and Lincoln parts of America. This moron sounds as if he should run for the flat Earth society. I am sure he will have a good chance.

مه فشاند نور و سگ عوعو کند

هر کسی بر خصلت خود می تند

بگذارید هر چه می خواهد عوعو کند. در خصلتش است.

Iran 2050

Dear Iran2050, can you explain how did REZA SHAH destroyed Iran's social culture and others?

" invention of the Reza Shah regime that destroyed Iran’s social structure and social psyche by inventing this “Aryanism” culture"

If you mean Reza shah saved Iranian from stine age era and midernized and reminded them that we are the nation with history and glory and he saved our nation from clerical qajar regime, he is the reason your father and your grandfather got educated, because of Reza shah you and I could read and write, we Iranian love our history but we don't worship them for your information.

Doctor olagh