Political archaeology and the Growth of nationalism in historiography of Iran in early twenty century : the Case of Pirniya’s Ancient History

Abstract

Political archaeology and the Growth of nationalism in historiography of Iran in<br><br>early twenty century : the Case of Pirniya’s Ancient History<br><br><br><br>It is argued that whenever the political situation provides a favourable environment, the archaeological activities<br><br>has been encouraged to provoke nationalism, and historians in various capacities have used archaeological data<br><br>and historical records to advocate nationalist agendas. Owing to its rich archaeological and historical past and<br><br>its contemporary socio-cultural diversity, Iran is, particularly interesting for exploring the connection between<br><br>archaeological activities and manipulations of historical records, especially by taking into account the reestablishment<br><br>of Achaemenid history by late nineteen century and then the rise of Reza Khan to power in the early<br><br>twentieth century.<br><br>Those developments, however, left a deeper impact on Iranian Historiography which the case of Pirniya’s Ancient<br><br>History will be discussed in this paper. In this paper the process of establishment of Achaemenid history is reviewed<br><br>and then, it has been argued that how the archaeological activities and re- establishment of Achaemenid history<br><br>raised the historical nationalism and led to new trend in historiography of Iran in twenty century. It has been<br><br>concluded that Pirniya’s