Iranians History on This Day

Anniversary of the coronation of Darius the Great, the father of Iranian nationalism

Darius the Great

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    On the first day of Mehregan celebrations (after verifying with Christian calendar – 2nd October), Darius of Achamenia, son of Vishtasb, one of the noble men of Persia, became king of Iran.
    In the 36 years of the reign of Darius the Great, the territory of Iran expanded to the Indus Valley, Libyan coast in Africa, north of Marmare Sea (called Thrace in Europe), Pamir mountains, in Asia all of today’s Middle East, Asia minor, part of South Asia, Caucasus, Egypt and a part of Sudan, which was divided into several provinces (Satrapi) and administered directly under the central government and a single set of laws. Those parts where the three Iranian nations had settled (Parthian, Persian, Medes), had common ancestors and culture and celebrated Nowrooz in the same manner, were called ‘Iran Land’ (the Medes lived from Ray towards the west and northwest, including the Kurds and Azaris, the Persians lived towards south of Ray upto Persian Gulf and from the east upto Hindukush and the farthest point of Badakhshan, and the Parthians lived in the northeast).Egypt, the 6th satrapi of Iran
    Kooroosh (Cyrus) was the founder of Iran, but Iranian nationalism was born with Darius the Great. Kourosh thought globally and created a nation with common interests, equal rights under the Iranian central government, and did not allow interference in internal affairs of the members of the federal government.
    In epigraphs left from Darius the Great, he has praised Ahura Mazda, who has created the Earth, skies, mankind, life and joy, considered his kingdom over this vast land, with its good men and good horses (meaning good army) the blessings of Ahura Mazda and in one of his epigraphs he asks Ahura Mazda to guard Iran land from harm, untruth and famine.
    Some of the landmarks of Darius are a canal between the Red Sea and River Nile, which connected the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea; construction of Takhte Jamshid as the king’s palace in Iran (the administrative capital of Iran was Sossa); a permanent, ever ready army in the capital (immortals) which, until the other units of the army could arrive from districts and far reaching places of the country, could resist any sudden attack; minting of silver and gold coins, especially the almost pure gold coin called ‘daric’ in 515 BC; establishing a postal service; court of justice; kindergarten and primary school (only for boys); and establishing laws and tax tariffs; and also a naval force in the Persian Gulf. 23 centuries later, when establishing the government post office (Central) the Americans used the same slogan of Darius on the entrance door: “Neither wind nor rain will prevent the work of postmen.” Darius had built a type of an
     asphalt road between Soosa and the Mediterranean coast, a part of which was recently discovered. One of Darius’s unique works was transfer of 24,000 infantry and cavalry soldiers by ship, from the Eastern Mediterranean to Athen’s shores in Greece (800 km distance).
    Darius, who had married Atussa, daughter of Kourosh, died in 486 BC and his son, Xerxes, the grandson of Kourosh, succeeded him, who precisely followed the policies of Darius. Darius was buried in ‘Naqshe Rostam’.
    Some historians write 16 Mehr (8 October), the last day of Mehr festivals, as the day when Darius became king. In those days, Mehr was celebrated for 6 continuous days. After Nowrooz, ceremonies related to Mehr (Mehregan festivals) were the most important national festivals of the Iranians.
    It is from Darius’s time that the schools have opened after Mehregan celebrations and this tradition spread to Greece and from there all over the world, though in some countries, due to climatic reasons, school starts a few days earlier. The main reason for establishing schools in Iran in the Achamenian era was to teach ethics, health horse riding, archery and finally to select the most suitable children for serving in the military. According to Roman historians (written by the Greek) Iranian teachers in schools taught the children that the sovereignty, glory and honour of their country and preservation of the Iranian civilization depended on their unity, friendship and commitment, and by having an undefeatable army.

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    The days of the month in ancient Iran each had a specific name and the 16th day of each month was named Mehr. Therefore, Mehr day of Mehr month (16th day of the month) was the most important festival of the Mehragan celebrations. Mehr celebrations (Mehregan), after Nowrooz, was the most important festival of Iranians; Nowrooz came with spring and budding and the promise of abundance, and Mehregan was for finalization of collection of crops and start of the 6 months of colder and longer nights.
    Mehregan included ceremonies for thanking God who had bestowed all the blessings and also for strengthening friendship and love among Iranians. During Mehregan big feasts were given and all types of fruit were offered, but it is not clear from what time entertainment with ‘ash reshteh’ (traditional soup) became a custom. It is also not clear from which period Mehr day was brought forward to 14 Mehr, and why!?

The persian Empire

A Darius epigraph

Translation by Rowshan Lohrasbpour

Influence of Iranian culture in China

This piece of history will be completely edited later

    As written by chronicle of historic events, the spread of Iranian culture in China was the cause for using the word «satrap» (the keeper of the province and district) almost all over china, for the governors.
     We know that Iranians introduced the name «Chin (China)» derived from the name «Qin», a dynasty who ruled over the country in the ancient times. And this word was transferred from Iran to Europe and then became global. While, Chinese, themselves, use another name for their country.

    Translation by Rowshan Lohrasbpour (AmordadNews writer)

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