Includes bibliographical references (pages 228-260) and index.

Introduction -- Part I: Two broad patterns of place -- Persepolis and inscriptions of homeland: A Pre-Islamic collective imagination -- The formation of a Shi'i Collective imagination -- Interlude: the implications of pre-islamic and Shi'i standards of identity for inscribing homeland -- Part 2: What is a Persian? Redemptive dreams of homeland and identity -- The rise of the imperial dream: The Ancient Iran Museum, the homeland and the Nation-State 1937-1979 -- The aftermath of the imperial dream: A spiritual dream in the Islamic Period Museum 1996-2008 -- Ideological inscriptions: Homeland and its tensions in the National Museum of Iran -- Conclusion.

"Modern Iran is a country with two significant but competing discourses of national identity, one stemming from ancient pre-Islamic customs and mythology, the other from Islamic Shiite practices and beliefs. This has left an often confused notion of identity in Iran. Ali Mozaffari explores the complex processes involved in the formation of Iranian national identity, laying particular stress upon the importance of place to ideas of homeland and the creation of a collective national identity. He illustrates his arguments through an analysis of the ancient Achaemenid capital of Persepolis and the Shiite rituals of Moharram. In a concluding part, he extends his analysis to the Ancient Iran Museum and the Islamic Period Museum, housed in the National Museum of Iran. An important work that offers powerful insights into the forces shaping national identity in Iran." -- Provided by publisher.