Genealogy of Archaeological and Iranological Discourse in Iran: Examining the Nexus of Knowledge and Power within Political Transformations

This study investigates the profound and complex effects of politics on the formation and evolution of archaeological and Iranological discourses in Iran. Using a genealogical approach, the author argues that these two fields of knowledge emerged and developed in response to Iran’s political needs and transformations from the Qajar period onward. The simultaneous emergence of these discourses with pivotal events such as the Constitutional Revolution, their temporal continuity with the rise of the Pahlavi dynasty and the ideology of antiquity-based nationalism, and the subsequent changes following the Islamic Revolution, resulted in the inherent predominance of political over scientific considerations within them. The findings indicate that archaeology, with its high capacity for reconstructing the past and shaping identity, has primarily served projects of top-down legitimation and nation-building. The dominance of the cultural-historical school, coupled with its alignment with the Pahlavi regime’s ideology, led to theoretical stagnation in the field and the marginalization of currents such as Marxist archaeology. In contrast, Iranology became a space for intellectual contestation, experiencing significant influence from Marxist thought in historiography, literature, and committed art. This article also examines the differing trajectories of institutionalization for the two discourses. Accordingly, archaeological discourse, due to its direct connection with the ruling ideology, established administrative and educational structures much earlier, whereas Iranological discourse institutionalized later and in a more decentralized manner. In conclusion, politics—as a context rather than merely an external factor—has shaped the trajectories of these two fields of knowledge.