Posted on 12/31/2004 12:17:57 PM PST by freedom44
SHIRAZ -- Some Iranians are up in arms again at the United States -- this time because of Hollywood’s version of Alexander the Great’s conquest of ancient Persia. According to Hassan Moussavi, who teaches history at Shiraz University, Oliver Stone’s latest blockbuster is merely the latest in a long line of affronts to the national esteem of the Persians.
“There is not even any proof that this Alexander even existed,” asserted Moussavi, who said he was “fed up” with history’s ongoing fascination with the Macedonian king, who died in 323 BC at the age of 32 after capturing most of what was then the known world.
“We should be clearer about which Alexander we are talking about. There are 300 of them in our history books, but no archaeological relic proves the existence of this particular one,” said Moussavi.
Grave historical errors
The movie “Alexander” has yet to appear in Iran, but here in Shiraz -- not far from the ancient city of Persepolis that Alexander destroyed along with the Persian empire of Darius III -- it is likely to upset a people who prefer to see their Persian forefathers as the founders of civilisation and a matter of national pride.
Furthermore, Iranians have so far had to make do with a one-sided account of Alexander’s exploits, given that historians say that Darius III -- who while on the throne was proclaimed the “king of kings” -- left little in the way of historical documents.
So viewers will have to make do with watching the Persian king suffering defeat at the hands of the lesser-numbered Macedonian forces, and then flee in his chariot from the young blond-haired conqueror played by Irishman Colin Farrell.
For Moussavi, Oliver Stone’s film “is built on a biased and partisan vision of history, and will only add to centuries of distrust towards the West”.
Another Iranian historian, Kaveh Farrokh, has also complained of ”grave historical errors.”
Rewriting history to entertain
In a report in the Internet site of Iran’s National Heritage Organisation, he compained that “the ancient Iranians are portrayed in a way that is comical, if not insulting.”
Roxana, the Persian wife of Alexander portrayed in the film by African-American actress Rosario Dawson, “was not black just like Alexander was not a Scandinavian”, Farrokh complained over what he sees as the film’s depiction of a Nordic blond defeating dark-skinned people.
Choosing Dawson to play Roxana, he said, “is just like choosing an Asian to portray Queen Victoria”.
“It seems that when it comes to the Iranians and their identity, we are permitted to rewrite history to entertain,” he said, adding he was hoping for the day when a film would tackle the life of Sassanid king Shapour I (241-272 AD) who “defeated three Roman emperors”.
But according to Iranian archaeologist Shahryar Adle, Iranians should stop worrying about Alexander and instead embrace him as a man who came, married and never went back.
“The Europeans and the Greeks have seized on Alexander as a champion of the West against the East,” he said. “But it was not Europe which won, because he was transformed into a Persian prince.”
“Our nation has defeated so many others,” added Mohammad Moghaddam, the maker of a documentary on Alexander’s travels through Iran, “that we should not be weighed down by one or two defeats.”
And maybe in Iran the Earth is flat?
I wonder if a Fatwa for Stone will be issued?
What do you get?
A pertual vortex of nothingness.
Gotta love the mohammedan nutcase reasoning. Nevermind that this movie portrays Alexander as a mentally deranged homosexual hedonist with an Oedipus complex toward his mother...they're upset because they believe that Alexander the Great didn't exist!
May the holey camel leave a sacred recil on his lawn.
Sorry, it's been many years since i heard the phrase.
I doubt it. The Mullahs denounce Iran's pre-Islamic past. Pre-600 A.D. The Kings as well as all Iranians were Zoroastrians, not Muslim.
You'd be ticked, too, if your country had been vanquished by an army of poofters....
May the Holy camel leave a sacred relic on his lawn.
Sorry, this is sad. And I haven't even started the celebration yet!
Too much whisky already?!? Don't worry i'm about to get started on my Makers Mark.
GGG?
.
OLIVER STONE = Anti-West
ALWAYS has been, ALWAYS will be.
.
It all depends on what you mean by proof.
May the holey camel leave a sacred recil on his lawn.
======
Oak Hay... so what have you got against his innocent lawn???
What, not green enough to suit you??? ;-))
If I started this early I'd be asleep before midnight in London. :)
:')
"There is not even any proof that this Muhammad even existed."
If he'd tried saying that, there's be no proof that he himself had ever existed.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest -- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)
They did so well against the Mongols.
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