True Left

We already know all we need to know about Cyrus II:

https://trueleft.createaforum.com/ancient-world/the-ancient-rolemodels-of-our-enemies/msg15700/#msg15700

but now the anti-regime protestors in Iran are also trying to portray Sassanid Persia in a positive light as a way to infer that Iran should never have been Islamized. The Sassanids themselves also portrayed their own dynasty as a revival of the Achaemenids (to whom Cyrus II belonged). So let's do a quick refresher:

Important developments in Jewish history are associated with the Sassanian Empire. The Babylonian Talmud was composed between the third and sixth centuries in Sasanian Persia[161] and major Jewish academies of learning were established in Sura and Pumbedita that became cornerstones of Jewish scholarship.[162] Several individuals of the Imperial family such as Ifra Hormizd the Queen mother of Shapur II and Queen Shushandukht, the Jewish wife of Yazdegerd I, significantly contributed to the close relations between the Jews of the empire and the government in Ctesiphon.[163]

Shapur I (Or Shvor Malka, which is the Aramaic form of the name) was friendly to the Jews. His friendship with Shmuel gained many advantages for the Jewish community. According to rabbinical sources Shapur II's mother was Jewish, and this gave the Jewish community relative freedom of religion and many advantages.
...
The wife of Yazdgerd I and the mother of Bahram V was Shushandukht who was the daughter of Exilarch Huna b. Nathan. Shushandukht secured many benefits for the Jewish community and ordered construction of Jewish neighborhoods in Shushtar, Susa, Hamedan and Isfahan.

In contrast:

After the Islamic conquest of Persia, Jews ... were assigned the status of dhimmis, inferior subjects of the Islamic empire. ... they were prohibited from bearing arms, riding horses, testifying in courts in cases involving a Muslim, and frequently required to wear clothes that clearly distinguished them from Muslims.

And guess who rescued the Jews?

inequality remained in force until the Mongol invasion.[28]
...
One of the Ilkhanate rulers, Arghun Khan, even preferred Jews and Christians for administrative positions and appointed Sa'd al-Daula, a Jew, as his vizier.

Fortunately:

The appointment, however, provoked resentment from the Muslim clergy, and after Arghun's death in 1291, Sa'd al-Daula was murdered and Persian Jews suffered a period of violent clergy-instigated persecutions from the Muslim populace. The contemporary Christian historian Bar Hebraeus wrote that of the violence committed against the Jews during that period "neither tongue can utter, nor the pen write down".[30] Ghazan Khan's conversion to Islam in 1295 heralded for Persian Jews a pronounced turn for the worse, as they were once again relegated to the status of dhimmis.

Are we seeing a pattern yet?

It gets better with the rise of Shia over Sunni:

Further deterioration in the treatment of Persian Jews occurred during the reign of the Safavids who proclaimed Shi'a Islam the state religion.
...
the Shah forced Jews to wear a distinctive badge on clothing and headgear.

Guess who rescued the Jews this time round?

Jews formed close ties with the British and provided banking support and intelligence for them.[36]
...
In 1876 in accordance to pressure from Moses Montefiore the Iranian government improved the living conditions of the Jews and reduced their taxes. In 1881 Sir William Taylour Thomson finally succeeded to force the Shah to abolish the Jizya tax for the Persian Jewry[43]

Are we seeing a pattern yet?

Elyas a Jewish banker for the British Residency in Bushehr "was attacked for doing its business in the bazaar." Anti-Jewish acts were sometimes linked to resentment of European powers.[50] In this time Iranian Jews who were aware of the growing influence of European Jews in global affairs turned to them for assistance. In 1840 the Jewish community of Hamedan sent an envoy, Nissim Bar Selomah, to meet Western Jewry. He went to England and met with Moses Montefiore, who provided "certificates" against the accusations of the Jews.[51]

From 1860 many attempts were made by the Persian Jewish community to secure assistance from European Jews against Muslims.

Next thing you know:

By 1905, many Jews of Isfahan were trading opium. This commerce which was very profitable, involved trade with India and China. The head of Isfahan Jewry was known to have contacts with house of David Sassoon.[34]

(See also: https://trueleft.createaforum.com/true-left-vs-false-left/jews-have-nothing-in-common-with-us!/msg15910/#msg15910 )

Which brings us back to:

The Pahlavi dynasty implemented modernizing reforms, which greatly improved the life of Jews. The influence of the Shi'a clergy was weakened, and the restrictions on Jews and other religious minorities were abolished.[62] Reza Shah prohibited mass conversion of Jews and eliminated the Shi'ite concept of ritual uncleanness of non-Muslims.[citation needed] Modern Hebrew was incorporated into the curriculum of Jewish schools and Jewish newspapers were published. Jews were also allowed to hold government jobs.[6] In 1915 two Jewish brothers, Mordechai and Asher ben Avaraham, opened the first Jewish newspaper called "Shalom". These changes moved the balance of power in the Jewish community from elders and Rabbis to the youth. Establishment of Zionist Organization of Persia further accelerated this transfer of power to the young Jews. The Jews of Persia understood that "Zion" is the biblical name of Jerusalem and Zionism demonstrates that end of exile and the beginning of redemption. The Persian Zionist Aziz ben Yona Naim wrote in the early 1920s :"Zionism is nothing but a new name and new institution, for the Zionist idea has been present in Jewish thought for over two thousands years."[63] In the wake of Zionist activity, many Jews emigrated to Palestine. Many Persian Jews were poorer than their European brethren but nevertheless they enthusiastically bought Shekels, contributed to the national funds, and sought to be represented at Zionist Congress held in Europe.

See also:

https://trueleft.createaforum.com/issues/dress-decolonization/msg16111/#msg16111

https://trueleft.createaforum.com/issues/psychological-decolonization/msg16127/#msg16127

So, back to the present, can you figure out who will benefit the most if the current Islamic Republic is overthrown in Iran?

Our enemies admit that medieval Persians were less patriarchist than medieval Icelanders:

The engaging webzine Ancient Origins, which I also recommend, has a more readable version of the Nature article: Ancient DNA is Restoring the Origin Story of the Swahili People of the East African Coast (by Chapurukha Kusimba, March, 2023).

    Contradicting what we had expected… our genetic analysis identified… that the overwhelming majority of male-line ancestors came from Asia, while female-line ancestors came from Africa. This finding must reflect a history of Persian males traveling to the coast and having children with local women.

The Ancient Origins article reasonably proposes, because so much of the folk habits, including the status of Shirazi women, resemble East Africa generally, that this intermarriage was peaceful. In societies built on slave raiding, like Iceland, the women are more likely to submit to the culture of the capturers.

Background:



Contrast also with Spanish colonies (where the indigenous women also submitted to the culture of the "white" conquistadors):

https://trueleft.createaforum.com/colonial-era/aztecs-arrival-of-cortes-and-the-conquistadors/

Or, for that matter, with British colonies:

https://trueleft.createaforum.com/colonial-era/colonialism-and-sexism/msg13115/#msg13115