Many of the social reforms and industrialist innovations are connected and credited to Western civilization, but actually began in the Persian Empire. Unfortunately, most people in the world know little or nothing about Persian culture and history, and base their knowledge of Persia on movies and Western-biased media stories.
Ancient Name, First Civilization
The name “Persia” is actually rooted in the Greek language, and used to describe the geographical region of ancient Iran. Not only was the Persian Empire the largest the ancient world had seen, it was also the first great human civilization, dating back about 30,000 years. The Persian Empire was ruled by a supreme king, assisted by a royal court and large bureaucracy. Believed to be divine, this supreme ruler was known as “the king of kings.” The bureaucracy was composed of government workers known as scribes, many of whom worked in the royal treasuries. The Stone Age, a period of history when humans constructed and used stone tools, began in Iran about 70,000 years ago.
Birthplace of Business, Agriculture, and Economy
The first private bank was started in Persia about 2,500 years ago, along with weights, measurements, and money concepts. Military forces guarded and protected trade routes, and the government sponsored ocean voyages to establish new trading partners.
The government also invested in irrigation and other agricultural endeavors. The Persians were the first to domesticate animals for livestock, starting about 10,000 years ago with a goat. They were also the first to discover the act of milking a farm animal for a food source. Inhabitants around the Persian Gulf are believed to be the first to use fish as food.
Scholars say that the Industrial Revolution didn’t start in 18th Century England, but in Medeo-Persia, about 10,000 years ago. Not only was this the first time metals were melted for production, but bricks, glass, and pottery were also mass-produced.
Iran’s Future
The Organization of Iranian American Communities believes that the best ways to improve the lives of Iranian citizens are not through war, conflict, and discrimination, but through sanctions on Iran’s suppressive elements, separation of Church and state, and improvement of human rights. In order for the Iranian people to live full and productive lives, all individual freedoms should be recognized and there should be no monarchy. These freedoms start at the ballot box, where citizens have the opportunity to make themselves heard without the fear of reprisal. The OIAC’s goal is to organize Iranian-American communities in the U.S. in order to promote a secular, non-nuclear, and democratic government in Iran. For more information, please visit our website at https://oiac.org/about/.
