Aryamehr

Aryamehr (Persian: آریامهر, romanized: Âryâmehr, Persian pronunciation: [ɒːɾjɒːˈmehɾ]) was the title used in the Pahlavi dynasty by Shahanshah Mohammad Reza Shah of Iran. It means Light of the Aryans.[1][2]

History

Aryamehr was granted as a secondary title by a session of the joint Houses of Parliament (Majles) on 15 September 1965 to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran (reigning since he took the oath at the Majles on 17 September 1941), before his coronation at Teheran, 26 October 1967.[3][4][5][6] The Pahlavis used it as an idealization of pre-Islamic Iran and foundation for anti-clerical monarchism, while the clerics used it to exalt "Iranian values" vis-à-vis Westernization.[7][8] Demonstrating affinity with Orientalist views of the alleged "supremacy" of the Aryan peoples and the "mediocrity" of the Semitic peoples, Iranian nationalist discourse idealized pre-Islamic Achaemenid and Sassanid empires,[lower-alpha 1] whilst negating the Islamization of Persia during Islamic Caliphate era.[9][10][11]

In 1965, the Shah ordered Mohammad Ali Mojtahedi to establish Aryamehr University of Technology. However, after the 1979 revolution It was renamed and currently known as the Sharif university named after Majid Sharif-Vaghefi.[12]

Associated order
Order of Aftab this order was transformed into Nishan-I-Aryamehr (the order of light of the aryans) in 1967

In 1873 Naser al-Din Shah Qajar of Qajar dynasty established the order of Aftab (order of the sun) restricted to female sovereigns or consorts (1st class) and princess ladies or women of high rank (2nd class). In 1939 the order was renamed to Nishan-I-khorschid.[13] and finally the order was transformed into the Neshān-e Āryāmehr, Nešâne Āryāmehr or Nishān-i Āryāmehr, meaning 'the Order of Light of the Aryans' it become the third and last Imperial order of knighthood founded by the Shah on 26 September 1967 [lower-alpha 2] in honour of his consort, Empress Farah Diba, and restricted to ladies only. The first class was restricted to female Sovereigns or consorts of reigning rulers, the second class to princesses.[14]

See also

References

Notes
  1. In a similar fashion the Shah celebrated 2,500-year celebration of the Persian Empire at Persepolis in 1971. One of his other titles was shahanshah ("kings of kings"); Ramesh Sanghvi viewed the Shah as an heir to Darius the Great[1]: 323 
  2. This date, given in most publications, is plausibly the date of revival, not of institution: photographs of the Imperial wedding celebrations in 1939 show the Empress Mother Taj ul-Mulk wearing an almost identical star; Reza Shah may well have founded the order at the same time as the Order of Pahlavi in 1932

References
  1. Sanghvi, Ramesh (1968). "Aryamehr: The Shah of Iran: A Political Biography". p. 329. It was thus that when the Shah ultimately succeeded in reviving and enriching the proud traditions of ancient Iran, they joyously and gratefully bestowed upon him the title 'Light of the Aryans': Aryamehr. The Shah warmly appreciated this
  2. Bradley, D. L. (2 March 2018). Dictionary of Iran: A Shorter Encyclopedia. p. 68. ISBN 9781312825086.
  3. Haddad, Dr Elie G.; Rifkind, Asst Prof David; Deyong, Ms Sarah (28 March 2014). A Critical History of Contemporary Architecture: 1960-2010. p. 347. ISBN 9781472429377.
  4. Alvandi, Roham (2018). The age of Aryamehr: Late Pahlavi Iran and its global entanglements. ISBN 9781909942196.
  5. Ansari, Ali M. (2012). The politics of nationalism in modern Iran. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 103,175–176. ISBN 9780521687171.
  6. Graham, Robert (1978). Iran, the illusion of power. ISBN 9780312435875.
  7. Afkhami, Gholam Reza (January 12, 2009). The Life and Times of the Shah. University of California Press. p. 475. ISBN 9780520942165.
  8. Keddie, Nikki R.; Richard, Yann (2006), Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution, Yale University Press, pp. 178f., ISBN 0-300-12105-9
  9. Asian and African Studies. Jerusalem Academic Press. 1978. p. 211. ISBN 9780878551323. wishes to assert the Aryan legacy. The Shah, who bears the ancient title of Aryamehr (Light of the Aryans) has recently defined Iran as a country in 'the far west of the Orient', stating: "Yes, we are Easterners but we are Aryans. This Middle East, what is it?"
  10. Adib-Moghaddam, Arshin (2006), "Reflections on Arab and Iranian Ultra-Nationalism", Monthly Review Magazine, 11/06
  11. Ansari, Ali M. (2012). The politics of nationalism in modern Iran. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 90. ISBN 9780521687171.
  12. Zarghamee, Mehdi (2011). "Mojtahedi and the Founding of the Arya-Mehr University of Technology". Iranian Studies. 44 (5): 767–775. doi:10.1080/00210862.2011.570485. JSTOR 23033299. S2CID 145012971 – via JSTOR.
  13. "SINCONA Auction 67: Persian Coins and Medals, World Orders and Decorations".
  14. Sainty, Guy Stair; Heydel-Mankoo, Rafal (2006). World Orders of Knighthood and Merit. p. 813. ISBN 9780971196674.
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