Persepolis by marjane satrapi
introduction
Iran meant "The origin of the aryans"
The Medes established the first Iran, which was later destroyed by Cyrus the Great
The birth of the Persian empire
It was a geographical rich location, attracted many attacks from example Alexander the Great and Turkish and mongolian conquerors
Iran was always called Persia until 1935 when Reza Shah asked everyone to call the country Iran.
He got attacked because he disobeyed the allies during second world war. He is replaced by his son thats only called Shah.
He returns 1953, but then fled Iran to avoid the islamic revolutions.
The story
Islamic revolution led to more strict rules such as must-having a veil and boys and girls have to be seperated.
There were tons of demonstration for and against the veil.
The burning of Rex Cinema
killed over 400 people, Shah blamed it on religious fanatics, even though he was the one that commited the crime.
Tons of brain-wash in school
Characters
Main character (the author)
A father that was anti- the new rule
Her grandpa was a prince, but when his father was overthrown, he got the job as prime minister for his academics. And he got brainwashed into a communist.
His grandpa was the overthrown emperor
quotes
"God did not choose the king" "He did so! It's written on the first page of our schoolbook"
History behind Iran
Iran has always been a monark
But after the Islamic revolution and Reza Shah was overthrown, the country became a theocracy
The family was firstly against the Shah
and now the dad is also against the Islamic Republic
Reza Shah modernized Iran
But when he as overthrown, the country rebounded back to extreme conservatism ruled by religion.
They want the proletariats to rule
War between Iran and Iraq
Iraq has always wanted to attack Iran, they just needed a reason. And when the islamic republic in Iran tried to recruit Iraqians to fight Iraq, Iraq attacked Iran.
Iraq had modern weapons and technology. Iraq had quality while Iran had quantity. Iran recruited children (often poor) and gave them "the golden key to heaven", and then sent them into the mine fields.