سازندگان هویت ایرانی و نیروهای همگرایی‌آفرین در ایران پیشامدرن

مطابق دیدگاه غالب در علوم اجتماعی جدید، تعلقات ملی، پدیده ای مربوط به دوران مدرن بوده، تسری آن به دوران سنتی، مصداق زمان پریشی تاریخی است. این مقاله با نقد دیدگاه یادشده در پی اثبات این فرضیه است که علی رغم گسست های بزرگ، وجود تنوع و پراکندگی اجتماعی گسترده و وجود نیروهای واگرایی آفرین در ایران پیشامدرن، همواره یک آگاهی نیرومند به نام محدوده جغرافیایی، خاطره تاریخی و فرهنگ ایرانی وجود داشته است. این تعلق را می توان در تمایز با ملی گرایی مدرن با عنوان »میهن دوستی « نام گذاری کرد. اما بخش اصلی مقاله در پی پاسخ به پرسش دیگری است: عاملان تولید و حفظ این آگاهی و شکل دهندگان وحدت و همگرایی فراسوی کثرت ها در ایران پیشامدرن، کدام نیروها بوده اند؟ یافته های مقاله نشان می دهد که مجموعه ای از نیروهای اجتماعی- سیاسی شامل دولت و دربارها، اهل قلم، صوفیان، علما، بازرگانان و شبکه های مرتبط با آنان ضمن خلق و حفظ عناصر هویت ایرانی، عاملان ایجاد رشته های پیونددهنده نواحی مختلف حول تعلقاتی مشترک بوده اند. هرچند گروه های پنج گانه در شمار اعیان و قشر میانی شهرها بودند، ولی امتداد آنها از رهگذر حضور شاعران، نقالان و مکتب خانه داران در میان عامه دیده می شد. بقا و تداوم هویت ایرانی و همگرایی سرزمینی و اجتماعی محصول کنش های هدفمند و همچنین نتیجه ناخواسته عملکرد این گروه ها بوده است.

builders of iranian identity and convergence-creating forces in pre-modern iran

according to the prevailing perspective in modern social sciences, national belongings are a phenomenon associated with the modern era, and extending them to pre-modern periods is an instance of historical anachronism. this article, by critiquing the aforementioned view, seeks to substantiate the hypothesis that, despite significant ruptures, widespread social diversity and fragmentation, and the presence of divergent forces in pre-modern iran, there has always been a strong awareness of the name, geographical area, historical memory and iranian culture. this attachment to iranian identity can be named patriotism in distinction from modern nationalism. however, the main focus of the article is to address another question: what forces were responsible for producing and maintaining this awareness and shaping unity and convergence beyond diversities in pre-modern iran? the article rsquo;s findings demonstrate that a constellation of socio-political forces mdash;including the government and courts, literati (ahl-e-ghalam), sufis, clergies (ulama), merchants, and their associated networks mdash;while creating and preserving elements of iranian identity, were also agents of creating connector threads among various regions around shared belongings. although the five groups were among the notables and the middle urban strata, their influence was also seen among the ordinary people of cities, villages, and tribes through the presence of poets, storytellers (naqqālan), and school (maktab) teachers. the survival and continuity of iranian identity, as well as territorial and social convergence, were both the result of purposeful actions and the unintended result of these groups rsquo; activities. keywords: iranian identity, socio-political forces, cultural continuity, convergence, and unity in diversity.extended abstractaccording to the dominant view in modern social sciences, national belonging is a phenomenon related to the modern era and searching for it in the traditional era is an example of historical anachronism. marxists, ethnocentrisms and supporters of critical theories based on this sociological approach believe that the concept of iran and iranian identity are imagined, constructed and invented phenomena of the modern era and there is no sign of it in the pre-modern era. this article is written with a sociological approach in criticizing these perceptions. therefore, the first question of this article is as follows: can a shared mentality and belonging about the concept of iran be found among the people of this land in the pre-modern era?the first part of the article, relying on first-hand historical, geographical, and literary texts, seeks to prove the view that despite the great historical discontinuities, the vast social diversity and dispersion, and the role of divergent forces in pre-modern iran, there has always been a powerful and enduring awareness in the name of iran, its geographical scope, historical memory, and culture. although the origins of this awareness can be seen in the archaeological evidence and texts remaining from the achaemenid period, the coherent form of this awareness and belonging took shape in the sasanian period. this awareness continued in the transition to the islamic age in literary, historical, and geographical texts in arabic and persian, and in connection with new cultural elements, it found a new form and content, and until the threshold of the modern era, it had a powerful presence among public feeling and awareness. this attachment to iranian identity can be named patriotism in distinction from modern nationalism.this view is consistent with sociological approaches that emphasize the distinction between historical nations and those created in the modern era. theorists such as anthony smith, criticizing the instrumentalism and voluntarism of constructivist and modernist approaches, believe that based on the experience of some societies, general and non-historical propositions cannot be put forward and considered valid for all societies. smith argues that some historical societies, such as iran, are evidence of the existence of the phenomenon of nations before nationalism.by accepting the historical background of iranian identity, a more important question arises: what forces were the agents of creating, preserving, continuing, and expanding this identity and shared belonging beyond the differentiating factors in this vast geography and diverse people? answering this question is important because one of the main foundations of constructivist and modernist approaches is that they believe that the various regions of the iranian plateau in the pre-modern era were the habitat of a large number of social groups that, due to natural and technological obstacles, lacked an effective connection with each other. from their point of view, this lack of communication between groups led to the formation of specific local identities of these groups. as a result, these fragmented groups did not have an understanding of the concept of iran and iranian identity. most of the existing discussions about the antiquity and historical background of iranian identity (including epic-poetic, philosophical, and historical narratives) do not provide a clear answer to the main challenge posed by constructivist approaches due to their non-sociological orientation. what is necessary is a sociological defense of the existence of iranian identity in the traditional era. the requirement of this sociological position is to identify a set of socio-political forces in traditional iran that were able, by going beyond geographical and technological limitations, through their purposeful or non-purposeful actions, to build attachments and convergence in the context of the socio-cultural-political diversity and geographical fragmentation of iran. recognition these forces and analyzing their actions in the historical process will help achieve two goals: 1. to avoid repeating unhistorical, mystical, and static narratives of iranian identity, 2. to respond to the view that considers iranian identity a phenomenon invented in the modern era.the main part of this article is focused on describing and proving the second hypothesis of the article. this hypothesis can be formulated as follows: the agents of producing and preserving iranian identity and the shapers of unity and convergence beyond the pluralities in pre-modern iran were a set of socio-political forces including the governments and courts, literati (ahl-e-ghalam), sufis, clergymen (ulama), merchants, and their associated networks. the role of each of these forces is explained in the article. 1- the courts and the governments: the idea of the state in iran was based on a critique of dispersion and an emphasis on the necessity of convergence around a powerful king. the historical memory of a unified kingdom within the historical borders of iran was constantly repeated in iranian texts. this memory, in times of divergence and the collapse of the empire, outlined the goals and path ahead for ambitious conquerors. these conquerors always introduced themselves as restorers of the great kingdom and the lost unity in the iranian plateau, and this claim formed part of their legitimizing ideology. in addition, the structure and function of the state institution was also a binding force. state conquests eliminated divergent forces and created unity and convergence. states, with the aim of strengthening their power, created nationwide state institutions, formed communication networks, and relocated population groups. all these measures served to strengthen territorial unity and convergence. part of the efforts of the states and courts was focused on strengthening and promoting unifying elements such as the persian language, literary heritage, and historical memory in the geographical territory of iran. the support of the turk conquerors for the persian language and the elements of iranian culture played a key role in preserving and continuing the identity of iran after islam. 2-literati (ahl-e-ghalam):ahl-e-ghalam included bureaucratic secretaries, sages, scientists, writers and poets, historians, geographers, and artists who were often in the service of courts and central and local governments. they, as a distinct stratum from the men of the sword (i.e. ahle-e- shamshir) and clergymen (ulama), were the most important builders and promoters of the elements of iranian identity. the preservation and transmission of iran's ancient heritage to the islamic era, the preservation of the persian language and its transformation from the everyday language of ordinary people to a literary, scientific, and bureaucratic language, and ultimately the continuous narration of iranian history in the form of epic and history were among their main actions. as a group in the service of powerful conquerors; they managed to compensate for military defeat by preserving culture and imposing it on the conquerors. the upbringing, education, skills, and knowledge of this group in different regions of the iranian plateau were very similar and caused them to be a binding factor between different regions and a continuation of the memory of belonging of the regions to a larger whole called iran. 3- clergies (ulama): the main goal of religious scholars was to spread religious belief and create belonging to the concept of the islamic ummah, and at first glance, they did not have much attachment to iranian identity. however, the religious figures played an indirect but important role in preserving iranian identity. sunni scholars, by issuing permission to speak and write religious and non-religious texts, created an important ground for the preservation of the persian language. with the spread of shiism in iran, the role and position of religion and religious scholars in strengthening iranian identity was reinforced. in the safavid period, a powerful alignment was created between shiite identity and iranian identity. the confrontation with the ottoman empire strengthened the link between iranian identity and shiism. for religious scholars, preserving iran as the stronghold shiism gained spiritual value. issuing permission to translate religious texts into persian led to the promotion of persian writing among religious people. in this process, the shiite religion and its derived identity elements became a defining part of iranian identity and a binding force among them. 4-sufis and the khanqah system: sufis played several roles in preserving and nurturing iranian identity: their first role was the continuation of the spiritual heritage of ancient iran and the explicit and implicit emphasis on this heritage in their teachings. another role was their persistent focus on the necessity of speaking and writing in persian, sanctifying the language, and creating a vast cultural legacy in persian, which became widespread among both the common people and the elites in the expansive cultural geography of iran. the khanqah system and the vast network of sufis were also an important factor in creating social and cultural ties in the geography of cultural iran. 5-merchants and trade networks: merchants and urban guilds, from the time of the formation of independent iranian states to the constitutional revolution, were known as enthusiasts of historical memory, iranian customs, and the persian language. this interest also caused them, while supporting poets and literati, to be promoters of iran's literary and cultural heritage during their travels and extensive interactions in the vast geographical expanse of cultural iran.although the five groups were among the notables and the middle urban strata, their extension was also seen among the ordinary people of cities, villages, and tribes through the presence of poets, storytellers (naqqālan), and school (maktab) teachers. this group acted as intermediary forces between high culture and popular culture and spread familiarity and belonging to iranian history and heritage in the form of oral narratives among the people of the iranian plateau and established the persian language as an intermediary and binding language in this geographical expanse.by focusing on the role of these agents, it becomes clear that the survival and continuity of iranian identity and territorial and social convergence is the product of purposeful actions as well as the unintended result of the performance of these groups. referencesaruzi samarqandi, a. i. u. i. n. 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