The Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian ايران), colloquially and before 1935 at international level also Persia) in the Near East with the capital Tehran covers 1,648,195 km². It borders Iraq, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia to the west and north-west, Turkmenistan to the north-east and east, and Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east and south-east. Iran is bordered to the north by the Caspian Sea and to the south by the Persian Gulf. The Islamic Republic was founded in 1979 following the flight of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi (1919-1980) into exile and the return of Ayatollah Khomeini (1902-1989) from exile in France. The latter was head of state until his death.
History
In ancient times, a large part of Persia belonged to Mesopotamia, where, among other things, the cultivated grapevine and viticulture are thought to have originated. There is a beautiful legend about the "invention of wine" in the time of the legendary Persian king Jemshid, who lived around 2,500 years BC. According to the Greek historian Herodotus (482-425 BC) and later confirmed by Strabo, under the Achaemenid dynasty (559-331 BC), intoxication was deliberately used to make judgements on important issues. Decisions made had to be confirmed in a sober state. This also applied vice versa, as decisions made when sober were reaffirmed when drunk.
At this time, there were also fixed rations for the population depending on the occasion. For example, women who had given birth to a son received ten litres of wine, but only five litres for a daughter. Even the royal horses and camels were allocated beer and wine. The working population received fixed monthly rations of wine, men 20 to 30 and women 10 litres.
Viticulture from antiquity to modern times
Despite the Muslim takeover in 641 and the resulting ban on alcohol, wine continued to be produced. The city of Shiraz near the ancient capital Persepolis was a wine centre and had a reputation for the finest wines in the Middle East. It is wrongly cited as the origin of the Syrah grape variety. Wine plays an important role in the works of the poet Omar Khayyam (11th century) and the famous poet Hafiz (1324-1388) made a declaration of love to wine in his verses. In the 17th century, wine was already being bottled and exported to India.
From the 17th to the 19th century, the wine from Shiraz was repeatedly praised by English and French travellers, for example with "No part of the world has better wine than Shiraz". The most frequently described was a sweet (for longer storage) or dry (for immediate consumption) white wine. According to a documentary by an English traveller, this was produced using mash fermentation and a type of filtration through canvas bags. He wrote that "only after five years does the wine develop a fine aroma and bouquet with a nutty, spicy flavour".
Viticulture today
After the Ayatollah regime seized power in 1979, viticulture in Iran quickly came to a complete standstill due to the extremely strict interpretation of the ban on alcohol. In 2022, the area under vines was 157,947 hectares, from which 1,899,585 tonnes of grapes were harvested. Of these, almost exclusively table grapes and sultanas are produced. Wine as the basis for the distillation of alcohol is mainly used for medical (disinfection, medicines) and industrial purposes.
Map: © Goruma
Flag: Public domain, Link
Coat of arms: by Madden, Public domain, Link
Persopolis: By Charles Chipiez, Public domain, Link
