Persepolis

The author, Marjane Satrapi, begins with a brief summary of Iranian history. The name “Iran” came from “Aryan Vaejo,” or origin of the Aryans, a group of semi-nomadic people that Indo-European invaders encountered on the land. The Persian language and culture that emerged over centuries was often prone to outside attack, yet it remained strong and united. In fact, invaders often assimilated to the Persian language, culture, and history.

But in the 20th century, oil was discovered in Iran, leading to the country’s enormous newfound wealth. Reza Shah planned to modernize Iran around this same time. But with oil and modernization came British rule and influence. When WWII began, Reza Shah declared Iran would remain a neutral country, eventually resulting in Ally occupation. Now exiled, Reza Shah’s son, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi (also known as “the shah”) came to power. In the 1950s, the Iranian Prime Minister was ousted with the help of the U.S. CIA and British Intelligence, allowing the shah to take back his power until 1979 during the Islamic Revolution.

Satrapi says in recent times her home country has solely been linked to ideas of fanaticism, fundamentalism, and extremism, which is far from how she remembers it (having lived at least half of her life there).