Why an Iran at war draws strength from pre-Islamic Persian warriors

Images of pre-Islamic Zoroastrian kings and warriors have been unveiled in Iran, evoking courage and resilience. Many say the Ayatollah regime in Iran revives the country's Persian identity during conflicts with Israel and the US. But this Persian heritage has always run deep, and is visible from time to time, in both dissent and unity.

Wearing a Faravahar locket, a Zoroastrian symbol of a guardian spirit, would be considered haraam by the Muslim community globally. But that's not the case in Iran — the world's largest Shia Muslim nation, with over 90% of its population following Islam. Experts of the Persian culture say the Zoroaster insignia is sold openly across Iran, and even worn by many Shias. That's how multifaceted cultural identity is in the country. Today, amid the war with Israel and the US, these Persian roots have seemingly strengthened Iran's resolve.

The Faravahar is just one of the examples of Iran's Persian roots showing through. Images of Achaemenid soldiers, from one of ancient Persia's greatest empires; statues and posters of the legendary archer Arash, a symbol of sacrifice; and Rostam, a hero from Persian mythology — all have appeared in Iran, from billboards to TV programmes, or in the form of statues.

Before the Arab conquest of Iran, the land saw a thousand-year rule by Zoroastarian empires, beginning with the Achaemenid Empire of Cyrus the Great. These pre-Islamic empires were among the biggest of their times. And while the Caliphates merged Iran with the Arabian empire, the Zoroastrian roots remained deep.

Persian heritage in Iran runs so deep it surfaces in both dissent and unity. A Farahavar symbol at a Zoroastrian temple in Iran's Yazd, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. (Image: Unsplash)

For centuries, the Zoroastrian heritage and symbols remained key for Iranians to assert their distinct identity from the Arabs. Even the Shahs of Iran used the old Persian empires to justify their rule in Iran from 1925 to 1979, when the Iranian Revolution was used to usher in the Ayatollah regime.

In recent years too, whenever Iranians have protested against the clerical regime, slogans have been raised in support of the Shah's rule, which was overthrown in 1979 during the Enqelab-e Eslami, aka the Islamic Revolution. In some such protests, crowds were dotted with symbols like the Lion and Sun flags, also rooted in Iran's pre-Islamic identity.