A Study of Iran and Iranian's Status in Renaissance Historiography

Renaissance historiography, like other aspects of this cultural and literary movement, sought to revive ancient Greek and Roman culture and civilization. Since the Greco-Persian wars, Greeks used the term barbarian for all non-Greek-speaking individuals, including Persians, and this led to the invention of the concept of "others" in their historical identification. This is while wisdom and the way of Persian governance were praised in Greek philosophical thoughts. Historical thoughts and Renaissance historiography were influenced by Greek and Roman thoughts in various ways; meanwhile, it followed the philosophical school of Socrates and his disciples in relation to the subject and status of Persia in ancient history and contemporary period. The translation of the Cyropaedia from Xenophon, Instead of Herodudt's works was influential in this regard. In addition, on the one hand, the trend of Renaissance historiography to political and national history, and on the other hand, political developments in Western Asia, including the rule of Timur and Ozon Hassan Agh Qoyunlu on Persia, had a significant impact on the evolution of the Renaissance historiography approach toward Persians. In relation to the position of Persian history and civilization, the aim of this descriptive-analytical study is to examine the nature and the way of presenting "continuity" and "developments" in the historical thoughts of the Renaissance from the preceding period.