(De-)Revolutionising the Monuments of Iran

Van de Ven, Annelies [UCL]

The 1978-1979 revolution in Iran saw the country move from a monarchy to an Islamic Republic. This gave rise to political, economic and social changes, but also a series of cultural shifts, most heavily effecting Iran’s pre-Islamic and Pahlavi Era inheritance. While some sites seamlessly transferred from one cultural context to the next, others were ignored or even defaced. Even within the positive recasting of pre-Islamic heritage during the reformist movements of the late 1990s, the concept of Iranian identity has remained complicated, an unstable foundation upon which to construct a uniform heritage policy. Finding a way to reconcile the various political movements has become central to the successful management and preservation of Iran’s heritage as a sustainable resource that can serve a complex nation with a long and rich history. This paper will examine three specific examples of heritage sites that were affected by the changes in Iranian identity politics: the tomb of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae, Sa’dabad palace and the Azadi Tower. An exploration of the similarities and differences between these sites before and after the revolution will then highlight the surprising creativity with which such heritage has been treated within the Islamic Republic.