comparative study of the evolution of the culture of flattery in Iran; Case study: Safavid period to the first Pahlavi period, from the perspective of foreign travel writers

Document Type : .

Authors

1 phd student of history , faculty of literature and humanities , the gulf university , persian gulf , bushehr , iran

2 Associate prof of history , faculty of literature and humanities , the gulf university , persian gulf , bushehr , iran

3 Associate prof of history، of the institute of history , research institute of humanities and cultural studiesTehran,Iran.

Abstract

By examining travelogue sources from the Safavid period to the Pahlavi period, it is possible to examine many thematic and epistemological areas in the context of cultural history. One of the most important topics and historical categories of Iran, which has a high frequency in these sources, is flattery. Therefore, the question of the present research is formulated as follows: What evolution has the culture of flattery and flattery undergone during the Safavid period to the first Pahlavi period?
Keyword:   flattery, travel book, Safavid, Qajar, first Pahlavi
​
Introduction
One of the most important and stable cultural aspects of Iranians, which has always been challenged by foreign observers and domestic critics, is the culture of flattery. A culture that is very close to politeness and compliments, but independent. The culture of flattery has continued its way through intermittent social changes and is still considered as one of the broad problems of Iranian society, especially in the field of political discourse. The current research aims to investigate the developments of this public culture using travelogue sources of the Safavid, Qajar and Pahlavi period and explore and explain the developments caused by the extensive changes in Iranian society on flattery and flattery.
The research literature observes that in the form of public culture, along with other cultural aspects of Iranian society, there are references to flattery. Considering this little background and the importance of the investigated component, the present research, relying on foreign travelogues, will try to explain the manifestations of this cultural action in addition to investigating the cultural history of flattery and flattery in the studied period.
 
Methodology
Based on the historical research method, the present research has described the historical data and analyzed it based on the sociological approach, and has used library sources to gather information.
 
Conclusion
 
In this research, to theorize the concept of flattery; Two Islamic-Iranian perspectives and the political discourse of power relations have been used.
The result of rooting in religious thought and Iranian thought shows flattery as a cultural phenomenon and a morally reprehensible matter that can be examined and evaluated in the following three components:

The root of flattery is poverty.
The flatterer is humiliated and the flatterer becomes arrogant, and arrogance is the root of tyranny.
The atmosphere of flattery affects people and flatters people.

James C. Scott's clear theory of dominance and hidden narratives. He deals with the formulation of the resistance of the subordinates against the powerful. He tries to show how the subordinates, by avoiding violent reactions, criticize the rulers while achieving their goals. According to this theory, the political action of the people against the rulers is divided into three parts. 1. Obedience 2. Flattery 3. A result of rebellion and obedience; Despite dealing with compliance and flattery, most of his theory deals with the political behavior of the mass of people as a hidden narrative. The theoretical framework of this research is based on the second part, flattery.
By examining the period of Afshar and Zand, in which the concept of flattery was mentioned only once, as well as numerous travelogues of the Qajar period, the notes of travelogues in different periods of the kingdom of this period were organized in the form of the following table according to the ideas of the article.
Considering that the constitutional period is considered as the era of political and cultural transition in the history of Iran, the results of the first Pahlavi period were examined. , expresses a deep analysis of the Iranian society, in which the culture of flattery also stands out.
The comparative course of the culture of flattery in the Safavid and Qajar period shows differences and similarities. During the Safavid period, the flattering of the holy, intimidating and humiliating people was reflected in foreign travelogues. However, in the Qajar period, which is politically a continuation of the turbulent process of the late Safavid era, from the point of view of travel writers, the same humiliating process of flattery, which is more necessary to solve the need, appears in the face of the culture of flattery. In the constitutional period, i.e. the era of fundamental transformation of Iranian history, the culture of tamlogh continues the same process. And it does not have a great effect on it.

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