Art & Culture

The Shahnameh of Ferdowsi is the greatest national epic of the Iranian people and one of the most important literary works in world literature. For generations, a popular belief has circulated that "Ferdowsi did not use a single Arabic word in the Shahnameh." This claim has been repeated in books, lectures, and on social media, but linguistic research has shown that it is not literally true.

From what historians have recorded, one can clearly understand the elevated position of the Persian language during the period of Arab domination over our land. The language of the Arabs never truly took root in Iran and never entered the lives of the general population. Therefore, although Iranians who had dealings with Arabs were compelled to learn Arabic and used it only to meet their daily necessities, their own language remained Persian, along with its various beautiful dialects. In the cities and villages of Iran, people spoke only Persian languages and dialects, and in their daily lives they used no other language. The greatest proof that Arabic never became established in Iran—and the reason why, shortly after the conquest by the Arab armies, Persian once again replaced Arabic in literature and administration—was that Arabic never entered Iranian households and never found a place in the everyday life of the people.

Sometimes, in the stillness of the night, in the midst of an unexplained anxiety, or within a pattern that refuses to leave us, we sense that something greater than our present life is stirring inside us. It feels as though an ancient shadow, an old wound, or an unfinished story from our family's past is still breathing within us. Many people call this ancestral karma—a poetic and mysterious expression suggesting that:
"Some of the burdens we carry are not ours alone; their roots reach back to years before we were born."
Perhaps there is truth in this.

Educational cooperation plays a significant role in strengthening social ties between Iran and Hungary. Hungarian universities have hosted Iranian students in fields such as engineering, medicine, and humanities, while Iranian academic institutions have welcomed Hungarian researchers in Persian studies and archaeology. Scholarship programs, academic conferences, and student exchange initiatives contribute to the development of interpersonal networks that transcend national boundaries. These interactions help reduce cultural stereotypes and foster long-term social understanding.

Few places on Earth have a history as deep and continuous as Susa, one of the world's oldest inhabited cities. Long before the rise of Rome, Athens, or even Babylon's greatest days, Susa stood as a thriving center of civilization in the fertile plains of southwestern Iran. For thousands of years, it served as a crossroads where cultures, empires, religions, and trade routes converged.

The illicit trafficking of ancient objects is one of the most serious threats to the preservation of cultural heritage worldwide. Archaeological artifacts are not merely valuable commodities; they are irreplaceable historical records that embody the identity, traditions, and collective memory of civilizations. The illegal excavation, smuggling, and commercial trade of antiquities result in irreversible losses to scientific research, cultural continuity, and national heritage.

Iran's Generation Z, generally defined as individuals born between the late 1990s and early 2010s, has emerged as an influential social and political generation. Their aspirations have become increasingly visible through social movements, digital activism, and cultural expression. While the diversity of this generation makes broad generalizations difficult, survey data, academic research, and analyses of recent protest movements indicate recurring themes such as individual freedom, social pluralism, gender equality, secular governance, economic opportunity, and global engagement. These aspirations differ substantially from the ideology of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), an Iranian opposition organization founded in the 1960s

Firooz Bahram High School is among the oldest continuously operating secondary schools in Tehran and represents one of the most significant educational institutions established by Iran's Zoroastrian community during the early Pahlavi era. Founded in 1932 through the philanthropy of the Indian Parsi benefactor Bahramji Bikaji, the school embodies the intersection of minority philanthropy, educational modernization, Persian architectural revival, and nation-building in twentieth-century Iran.

Indo-Persian culture is the product of more than two millennia of interaction between the Iranian plateau and the Indian subcontinent. While medieval Persianate civilization is often associated with Islamic dynasties, the foundations of Indo-Iranian cultural exchange predate Islam by many centuries. Commercial contacts during the Achaemenid, Parthian, and Sasanian periods fostered the movement of merchants, artisans, priests, and intellectuals across the Arabian Sea and Central Asian trade routes. Following the Arab conquest of the Sasanian Empire in the seventh century, groups of Zoroastrians migrated from Iran to western India, where they established communities that became known as the Parsis.