Far from barbarians

Some years ago, just before the Shah went into exile, I was touring the archaeological sites of Iran as a guest of the then Imperial Ministry of Culture. I wanted to see the extent to which archaeology was now acting as a means of establishing national identities. Near Hamadan there was a modern bridge over a ravine, whose sole purpose was to bring the visitor to two large cuneiform inscriptions in which Darius and his son Xerxes rather touchingly gave thanks to God for his gift to them of the land of Iran. With Iran’s chaotic history over the past two millennia in mind, I turned to my guide, a young graduate of Tehran University. ‘Do you regard these people as your ancestors — your father’s father’s father’s people?’ ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘They were Iranians. As am I.’

Visiting the exhibition Forgotten Empire: the world of Ancient Persia, now at the British Museum, it occurred to me that her belief was valid.