🧵 THREAD: Why Historians Reject Ancient Nations in Europe but Accept Them for Iran & Armenia?
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1/
Here’s one of the biggest double standards in modern scholarship:
👉 In Europe: “Nations are modern inventions.”
👉 In Iran & Armenia: “These nations are 3000 years old.”
Why the contradiction? Let’s break it down.
Here’s one of the biggest double standards in modern scholarship:
👉 In Europe: “Nations are modern inventions.”
👉 In Iran & Armenia: “These nations are 3000 years old.”
Why the contradiction? Let’s break it down.
2/
Modern nationalism theory (Anderson, Gellner, Hobsbawm) says:
❌ Nations do not exist in antiquity.
✔️ They emerge in the 18th–20th centuries with schools, print culture, bureaucracy.
So why do Iran and Armenia get treated differently?
Modern nationalism theory (Anderson, Gellner, Hobsbawm) says:
❌ Nations do not exist in antiquity.
✔️ They emerge in the 18th–20th centuries with schools, print culture, bureaucracy.
So why do Iran and Armenia get treated differently?
3/
Because geography got nationalized.
Terms like:
• “Arm. Highland”
• “Iranian Plateau”
sound neutral, but they’re not.
They imply a primordial homeland and uninterrupted continuity.
Historians never use “German Plateau” or “French Highland.” But for Iran/Arm — no problem.
Because geography got nationalized.
Terms like:
• “Arm. Highland”
• “Iranian Plateau”
sound neutral, but they’re not.
They imply a primordial homeland and uninterrupted continuity.
Historians never use “German Plateau” or “French Highland.” But for Iran/Arm — no problem.
4/
Area studies inherited Orientalist habits.
Middle Eastern & Caucasus studies grew from philology, not social theory.
So old notions like “ancient Iranian civilization” or “eternal Armenia” survived long after similar myths were rejected in European history.
Area studies inherited Orientalist habits.
Middle Eastern & Caucasus studies grew from philology, not social theory.
So old notions like “ancient Iranian civilization” or “eternal Armenia” survived long after similar myths were rejected in European history.
5/
Textbooks and encyclopedias reinforce the story.
You’ll see phrases like:
• “the immemorial Iranian nation”
• “Armenia as a homeland for three millennia”
These go unchallenged → primordialism becomes “normal.”
Textbooks and encyclopedias reinforce the story.
You’ll see phrases like:
• “the immemorial Iranian nation”
• “Armenia as a homeland for three millennia”
These go unchallenged → primordialism becomes “normal.”
6/
Political sensitivity plays a huge role.
Especially regarding the Armenian Genocide & regional conflicts.
Criticizing ancient origin narratives is often misread as political hostility.
So many Western scholars avoid the topic entirely.
Political sensitivity plays a huge role.
Especially regarding the Armenian Genocide & regional conflicts.
Criticizing ancient origin narratives is often misread as political hostility.
So many Western scholars avoid the topic entirely.
7/
But the result is clear:
We get ancient nations in the East
and
modern nations in Europe…
…even though the same theoretical framework should apply everywhere.
But the result is clear:
We get ancient nations in the East
and
modern nations in Europe…
…even though the same theoretical framework should apply everywhere.
8/
A consistent approach would:
• Drop nationalized toponyms
• Use real historical polities (Urartu, Elam, satrapies)
• Treat “nation” as a modern category
• Study origin myths as myths, not as facts
Simple. Coherent. Honest.
A consistent approach would:
• Drop nationalized toponyms
• Use real historical polities (Urartu, Elam, satrapies)
• Treat “nation” as a modern category
• Study origin myths as myths, not as facts
Simple. Coherent. Honest.
9/
Until then, Iran and Armenia will continue to be exceptions in a field that claims to reject primordialism.
And this double standard shapes how entire regions understand their past.
Until then, Iran and Armenia will continue to be exceptions in a field that claims to reject primordialism.
And this double standard shapes how entire regions understand their past.
f you want a deeper dive, I’ve written a full breakdown (with references).
DM for the full text or comment “SEND”.
🧵 End.
DM for the full text or comment “SEND”.
🧵 End.
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