While reading Marjane Satrapi’s graphic narrative Persepolis, a personal account of growing up in Iran during the War on Terror, I found myself intrigued by the title, wondering what it meant, and how it connected to the story of the young girl’s life. I decided to research the name, and through this, I gained an idea of not only what the title meant, but how it connected to the author’s reasons for writing the narrative.
Persepolis was at one time the capital of Persia. Persepolis existed from 522 BCE as it was built and run by Darius the Great, until it was pillaged and burned in 330 BCE by Alexander the Great during Xerxes’ reign. The area we now know as Iran was an extremely powerful empire from the reign of Cyrus (559-530 BCE) until 330 BCE. By the time Alexander came to Persepolis, it was one of the wealthiest cities in the world. Not only was the royal palace and citadel full of ancient treasures dating back to Cyrus’s reign, but all of the empire’s most important literary works and pieces of art as well.
Persia, pre-330 BCE was a thriving, and wealthy empire. The Persian empire was also known as the Achaemenid Empire after the first king to rule in the area, Achaemenes. From the reign of Cyrus the Great (559-530 BCE) who founded the Persian Empire, to Darius the Great (522-486 BCE) who built Persepolis, until Darius III (336-330) who lead until the throne was taken over by Alexander, Persia’s rulers were known to be fair and respectful of their people. Because of its vast size and diversity, the Persian Empire had great military, cultural, social, technological and religious influence on the rest of the world.
It was 330 BCE when Alexander the Great and his army raped and pillaged the city of Persepolis. According to several ancient historians, it was during Alexander and his friends’ celebration of their success that they drunkenly decided to burn the great palace and surrounding city to the ground. The city was not recovered for 2000 years after this day.
After gaining a better idea of what Persepolis was, how it began its collapse, and how it has become the place it is now, I started to think about Satrapi’s motives for writing the narrative. In the introduction of the book, Satrapi briefly describes the history and setting of Iran. The final line in the introduction is, “One can forgive, but never forget.” This is one of the most obvious connections between the title and the book, as she is reminding us of the ancient city that fell, and in turn warning us not to repeat history and forget what is happening in Iran. Another thing that Satrapi says in the introduction is, “I believe that an entire nation should not be judged by the wrongdoings of a few extremists.” It is clear that Satrapi is proud of her country, and wants to remind us of the thriving and important place Iran, or Persia as it was previously called, was before the collapse of the great empire.
The biggest connection I saw between the ancient city of Persepolis and present day Iran in the narrative was the difference in perspective. In the Western world, we have learned from Greek-influenced history that Alexander the Great was a military genius who mightily conquered the Persian Empire. However, after looking more closely at the history of Persepolis and learning the Persian perspective to this story, we see Alexander not as a mighty conqueror, but as a man who destroyed a thriving, powerful city and culture unnecessarily. Satrapi’s main reason for writing this Narrative was to provide Western cultures her Iranian perspective. After reading the narrative Persepolis, I formed a whole new idea of what Iran and the War on Terror meant to me, just as reading about the city of Persepolis helped me form a new perspective of the history of Persia and of Alexander the Great.
More on the Ancient City of Persepolis:
A History of the Achaemenid Empire
Video of the Ancient Persian Cities: Persepolis and Darius
Ancient History Encyclopedia- Alexander the Great and the Burning of Persepolis
BBC News Magazine: Alexander the Not So Great: History through Persian Eyes
