By Darius KADIVAR
"Stay Awake you won't die
today, Stay Awake …" – Cyrus Kar in
Abu Ghraib Prison, Iraq ( cnn report)
"O Cyrus
[Koroush], great King, King of Kings, Achaemenian King, King of the land of Iran. I, the Shahanshah of
Iran, offer thee salutations from
myself and from my nation. Rest in peace, for we are awake, and we will always
stay awake." – Shah of
Iran's historical speech
at Pasargadae October 12th, 1971.
It's a fascinating story : That
of a quest of an Iranian-American
in search of his roots. Or is it a quest that every Iranian expat has somewhat
undertook if not physically at least subconsciously in the past 27 years for
anyone who has left Iran due to War, Revolution, or Terror that followed the
Islamic Revolution of 1979? In the aftermath of September 11Th, Iran
was labeled by US President George W. Bush as part of an Axis of Evil
paradoxically in an equally religious terminology that has often been used by
Islamic Fundamentalists over the years to qualify the US or Israel. A strange
rhetoric unexpected to be used by the President of the most powerful nation in
the world and oldest Democracy. A paradoxical designation also for a country
like Iran whose ancient roots dig deep in the history of Humanity as a Cradle
of Civilization and whose founder, Cyrus the Great, was to establish the
very first Declaration of Human Rights nearly 2500 years ago. An act also
recorded in the Bible and Torah for which a fragile mud-baked brick cylinder,
today in display at the British Museum ( and also a replica of which
stands in the United Nation's Building in NY) also is said to have inspired the
drafting of American Constitution as we know it today. This is where this story
of a personal quest gets into the big picture of international
politics:
Cyrus Kar, an Iranian-American, became
an identifiable face on CNN news reports for being wrongfully imprisoned and in
violation of his Constitutional Rights. He went to Iraq to film a historical documentary on his
Royal namesake Cyrus the Great hoping to shoot footage of ruins in Babylon and archeological
sites. Kar was charged with being a terrorist and placed in the notorious Abu
Ghraib Prison. Kar passed a lie detector test but was refused a lawyer. The
FBI raided his Los
Angeles apartment but found no evidence that he was
involved in terrorism. Kar was held for 55 days, 53 in solitary confinement.
After 49 days, he was given a hearing. Cyrus Kar is again making headlines for
attempting to sue former US secretary of defense Donald
Rumsfeld. A lawsuit that Kar is adamant to pursue as much as finishing his very
fascinating documentary on certainly the Greatest Persian King and Conqueror of
all Time…
Darius KADIVAR (DK): Much has
already been written on your dangerous predicament in Iraq followed by
your arrest and detainment in Abu Ghraib. Was shooting part of your
documentary on Cyrus the Great in war torn Iraq that
essential to your film ?
Cyrus KAR (CK): Most people don't realize that I
had already invested some $200K and two years of my life into this project by
the time the war with Iraq began. My film was designed to take the
audience on a vicarious tour along the footsteps of Cyrus The Great. Ancient Babylon, which is in present-day Iraq, was the
site of Cyrus's most defining moment.
With so much time
and money invested, we couldn't simply forgo Cyrus's conquest of Babylon. We waited for the situation in
Iraq to stabilize. We expected the U.S. military to secure Iraq while we
filmed all of our other locations.
So we literally
retraced Cyrus's conquests through Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. But the situation in Iraq had only
gotten worse. To complete our film,
we had to reach El Kasr Hill, the site of ancient Babylon.
We feared that if we waited any longer, we would not get another
opportunity.
When we entered
Iraq, there was still a reasonable
chance of returning in one piece.
We went through great lengths to secure permission not just from
U.S. military officials but also from
Iraqi authorities, the Kurdish Democratic Party (PDK), and the Iraqi Ministry of
Antiquities and Heritage.
But we never
reached El Kasr Hill, our final filming destination. Something I will always
regret.
DK: What is a typical day or
night like in Abu Ghraib ? Did you have any contacts with your other crew
members ?
CK: I was in Abu
Ghraib for only a few hours before I was taken away to Camp Cropper. However, my cameraman, Farshid Faraji
spent his entire incarceration at Abu Ghraib. His ordeal was far worse than
mine.
A typical day at
Camp
Cropper consisted of 23
hours of solitary confinement and one hour of sitting outside in an enclosed
cage. The only physical challenges
I faced were adapting to the claustrophobia of my 2 x 3 meter cell and
malnutrition. The prison served
mostly meat, and as a vegetarian, I lost over 15 pounds.
But far more
difficult was coming to terms with my feelings of abandonment and betrayal by my
fellow-countrymen. The same
military, which I had served honorably, was now dishonorably imprisoning
me. They knew we were innocent, yet
they made no effort to release us.
They didn't tell us anything.
So the same questions haunted me day after day. How long were they going to keep
us? Is anyone doing something to
get us out? Are we stuck here for
the duration of the war?
I didn't see my
cameraman again until my first court hearing 50 days later. I had requested him as a witness mostly
to get him out of Abu Ghraib if even just for a day. The hearing was intended only for
me. But I told the three judges
that I would not leave without my cameraman. They informed me that there was nothing
they could do for him. But a few
days later I was told that Farshid would be released with me. Perhaps the pressure to release me had
finally superseded the mind-numbing bureaucracy of the U.S.
military.
We were reunited
on July 10, 2005 at Camp Cropper and taken to the "Green Zone"
where we were set free.
DK: Did you ever lose hope of
not being heard of abroad or not to see your family
again?
CK: I was allowed a phone call to my family
in Los Angeles
on the 7th day of our captivity. So
I was relieved that my family knew I was alive. I also knew they would inform my
cameraman's family in Tehran.
I was confident that sooner or later I would see my family
again.
DK: Was Cyrus the Great and his
ideals in your thoughts while on detention in that remote and infamous Iraqi
prison camp ?
CK: The irony was inescapable. Here we were, making a film about a man
who many consider "The Father Of Human Rights" while our own basic rights were
being violated. I compared Cyrus's
invasion of Iraq to President
Bush's invasion of Iraq and found several
similarities. For
example:
1.
Both Sadam Hussein
and Nabonidus, the king of Babylonia during the
time of Cyrus, were unpopular with their people.
2.
Both were minority
kings, who ruled over a majority.
Sadam Hussein, a Sunni, ruled over a majority of Kurds and Shiites, and
Nabonidus, a follower of the Moon-God Sin, ruled over a majority of Marduk
worshippers.
3.
Both Persian
forces and U.S. forces were initially received
as liberators.
But here the
similarities end. Unlike U.S.
Forces, Cyrus managed to keep his image as 'liberator' from slipping to
"occupier." We even know how he did
it.
In his famous clay
cylinder, Cyrus tells us in his own words that he did not allow any looting to
take place: "I did not allow any troublemaker to arise. Marduk's city of Babylon and all his
cult-centres I maintained in prosperity."
U.S. forces, on the other hand,
consciously allowed looting to occur throughout Iraq. When asked why looting was permitted,
one U.S. Officer replied, "Iraqi's are getting their first taste of
freedom."
Cyrus granted
amnesty to enemy fighters.
According to Xenophon, Cyrus told Babylonian soldiers, "You shall dwell
in the same houses and work the same farms; you shall lie with the same wives
and have control of your children just as now. But you shall not have to fight either
us or anyone else again."
The Bush
Administration on the other hand embarked on a "De-Baathification" policy, which
sent thousands of former Baath party members fleeing to their nearest insurgency
group.
We also know that
Cyrus spared the life of Nabonidus.
According to Eusebius and Josephus, Cyrus even appointed him governor of
Carmania in southern Iran. In contrast, the Bush Administration
celebrated Sadam Hussein's recent death sentence as a "milestone for Coalition
Forces."
These are but a
few differences, which demonstrate just how far ahead of his time Cyrus really
was. In other words, Cyrus treated
the Babylonians with respect. Had
U.S forces treated Iraqis with the same dignity, I'm quite certain they would be
regarded today as liberators. But I
can personally attest to their inhumane behavior, which is quite unusual for
U.S. forces. As a veteran of the U.S. Navy, I know
first-hand how decent American servicemen and women are. Their unfettered behavior in
Iraq is the result of their Commander
and Chief.
DK: You were born in
Iran but raised in the
US and I suppose with
Hollywood films particularly Epics. You seem to
share some frustration as to the lack of representation and even
misrepresentation of Persians in the few films that were made on them, like
Rudolph Maté's 300
Spartans or Oliver Stone's Alexander
the Great. What explains this shortcoming in your viewpoint
?
CK: I'm not a conspiracy theorist. But something happened around the mid
19th century, which changed the West's perception of ancient
Persia.
Before the 1850's,
Xenophon was the West's main source for Persian history. Xenophon, a Greek mercenary in the
employ of a genuine Achaemenian Prince, portrays the Persians as heroes who
exercised benevolent power. This,
along with the glowing accounts of the Old Testament, boded well for our Persian
forefathers.
But after 1850,
the West's official source for Persian history suddenly became Herodotus. So determined was the West in effecting
this change, that it even called Herodotus, "The Father Of History." Herodotus was a Greek living in
Persian-occupied Halicarnassus. As such, he depicts the Persians as
barbaric tyrants who sought to overthrow Greece's fledgling democracy and enslave all of
Europe.
This became the
West's official stance on ancient Persia. It was taught thereafter in Western
schools and eventually adopted by Hollywood. The newly released movie '300' and its
forerunner '300 Spartans' is a fanciful tale about
300 Greek Spartans who hold 2 million Persians at bay at the Battle of
Thermopylae and comes straight out of Herodotus' 'Histories.' Oliver Stone used this vilification of
the Persians to make a hero out of Alexander, a feat not even Alexander's own
scribes were able to accomplish.
I believe the
sudden shift from Xenophon to Herodotus was a conscious and deliberate effort by
the West to promote democracy. By
opting for Herodotus, the West severed its ties with the East, solidifying its
European identity and linking its history directly to Athenian democracy. At the same time anti-democratic
Persia came to symbolize a
monarchy from which America had fought to liberate
itself.
The West's
strategy worked. Today, democracy
and human rights are seen as "Western Values, not only by the West but even by
its detractors in the Middle East who dismiss
democracy and human rights as the sinister trappings of Western
neo-imperialism.
Unfortunately the
truth has been the biggest victim in this Herodotian agenda. In fact, most historians know that the
first practicing democracy and the first human rights legislation, in recorded
history, both find their origins in Iran beginning with the Medes and
Persians respectively. But when has
Iran ever been credited for these
invaluable contributions to human civilization?
Our film is truly
revolutionary in that, for the first time, the world's leading scholars reveal
the origins of what we have come to regard as "Western
Values."
DK: What kind of Man was
Cyrus ?
CK: If I had to describe Cyrus The Great in
one word, it would be 'honorable.'
All his other characteristics were built atop bedrock of 'honor' in the
true Iranian tradition found in Ferdowsi's 'Shahnameh.'
Based on
everything I've read, his unwavering honor made him a universally admired
figure. His soldiers worshipped
him. The Jews called him "Messiah"
and Iranians called him "Father."
He was even liked by his enemies.
The Greeks called him "Law Giver," the Babylonians welcomed him as
Marduk's elect. Some states such as
Cilicia and Miletus even submitted to his rule
voluntarily. He became the symbol
of 'benevolent power.'
Dr. David
Stronach, perhaps the world's foremost authority on Cyrus The Great, sums it up
best: "For the first time in human
history, Cyrus used his great power to improve the human condition rather than
degrade it."
There have only
been a handful of such leaders throughout history. But Cyrus was the first, which makes him
a truly revolutionary figure.
DK: Having traveled for your
film across the countries that were part of Cyrus' Empire how much of his
historical legacy is still present today be it architecturally or
philosophically?
CK: Cyrus's philosophical legacy survives
today, more so in the West than in the country of his birth. Cyrus's philosophy of 'benevolent power'
may well have shaped America's constitution. And since most of Western Europe modeled
its constitutions after America's, Cyrus may well have helped
shape Western civilization, as we know it.
Architecturally
little remains of Cyrus's legacy.
Cyropolis (The City Of Cyrus) in northern Tajikistan,
still referred to by locals as "Kurkad" (short for Kurosh Kadeh), is but a mound
of rubble today. We managed to film
the last remaining brickwork visible on the mountain of dirt, which was once a
massive fortress marking the northeastern-most border of his
empire.
Furthermore the
ruins of his capital city, Parsagarda, in southwestern Iran, are
threatened by natural as well as man-made elements. The humidity resulting from the Sivand
Dam, due to be inaugurated this Spring is expected to cause irreparable damage
to Cyrus's palatial ruins.
Even worse, the
dam will forever engulf the site of one of Cyrus's most historic battles. The rumors that both Parsagarda and
Persepolis will
be submerged under water are false and only empower those seeking to activate
the dam. But the Tang-e Bolaghi
will be lost forever and this will be a devastating loss to Cyrus's legacy.
The entrance of
Tang-e Bolaghi is the confirmed location where Cyrus won his decisive victory
over the Median forces of Astyages.
Cyrus considered his victory at Tang-e Bolaghi so important that Nicolaus
of Damascus, Polyaenus, and Strabo all tell us that Cyrus chose the site of
Parsagarda, just outside Tang-e Bolaghi, as his new capital, to commemorate his
victory over Astyages. In other
words, if not for Cyrus's victory at Tang-e Bolaghi, the Persian Empire would have never existed. This sacred battleground will be lost to
the Sivand Dam forever.
Imagine if the U.S. Government
decided to flood Gettysburg, the hallowed
battleground where the North won its decisive victory over the Confederate army
of the South during America's Civil War. Americans would be up in arms. Yet Iranians, unaware of the historic
importance of Tang-e Bolaghi, allow their heritage to be slowly wiped away in
the name of "progress."
DK: Your film suggests that
Cyrus' ideals may well have influenced Western Democracy, and even the American
Constitution and Bill of Rights. Could you develop
?
CK: America's founding fathers took ideas
from many sources. Aristotle
probably provided the blueprint for America's democracy. But democracy does not necessarily
guarantee human rights. In fact, it
can lead to tyranny by the majority as it did in democratic Athens.
It is the U.S.
Bill Of Rights, which makes America's democracy so powerful. And I believe Cyrus had a direct
influence on America's Bill Of Rights.
Orson
Welles Film Legend and narrator of Shahrokh Golestan's
documentary
Flames of Persia directed in October
1971 in Persepolis.
In the Bible and
the Cyropaedia, two of the most influential books read by the framers of
America's Constitution, Cyrus
exemplifies how granting citizens basic, god-given rights not only won't pose a
threat to government but will even strengthen it.
But affording
rights to citizens was risky business.
Most rulers played it safe and followed Machiavelli's ominous advice that
"It is better to be feared than loved."
But America's founders broke with
tradition and chose Cyrus's policy of 'benevolent government' for their new
nation.
I reached this
conclusion when I discovered five copies of Xenophon's Cyropaedia at the Library
Of Congress in Washington
D.C. Two copies belonged to Thomas Jefferson,
the author of the U.S. Constitution (one in Greek, the other in Latin). Another would have almost certainly
belonged to James Madison, Thomas Jefferson's closest confidant and another
framer of America's Constitution. The curator told me that there were many
more copies of the Cyropaedia before the fire of 1851, which destroyed much of
the library.
But for
confirmation we only need to look at the U.S. Constitution itself. The laws which held together the Persian
Empire such as the separation of church and state, freedom of religion, and the
right to life, liberty, and due process are virtually reincarnated in
America's Constitution. The similarities between the
United States and ancient
Persia are not coincidental and
neither was their meteoric rise to power.
DK: Your documentary must have
required a great deal of research. Which experts did you consult on the subject
and what were your sources ?
CK: I drew on many
sources for my research. First and
foremost was Dr. David Stronach, who, despite his
stature and fame in the field of Archeology, was the most generous and humble of
scholars. Dr. Maria Brosius, Dr.
Cliff Rogers, Dr. Jennifer Rose, Dr. Kamyar Abdi, Dr. Mathew Stolper, Dr.
William Sumner, Dr. Shapur Shahbazi, and many others played a significant role
in helping me develop a clear and credible picture of the man who was Cyrus The
Great.
My research was
further supplemented by many books most noteworthy of which were 'The Cambridge
History Of Iran,' 'Encyclopedia Iranica' and Pierre Briant's, 'From Cyrus To Alexander.'
DK: Several directors hope to
make a feature film on Cyrus such as British director Alex Jovey and Iranian
American Kayvan Mashayekh (The
Keeper : The Legend of Omar Khayyam ). Given your knowledge on this
historical figure which Hollywood actor or from Iranian Cinema could best
encompass Cyrus' personality ?
CK: Unfortunately I'm not familiar with any
Iranian actors, many of who would undoubtedly do great justice to Cyrus's
image. But among Hollywood actors,
I agree with my good friend Kayvan Mashayekh, who believes Clive
Owen would capture Cyrus strong yet gentle
nature. My second choice would be
Benicio
Del Toro
DK: Your documentary is still
in production, when do you hope it will be out and where will it be distributed
( Cinema or TV)
?
CK: My film has
languished due to lack of money. I
have, so far, spent over $250,000 to complete pre-Production and am in the
process of raising another $400,000 to finish post-Production which includes
editing, sound, music, special effects, etc.
Once we raise the
necessary funds, the film should be released within six months. I'm hoping to broadcast it to the
combined, worldwide audiences of PBS and BBC. They are the most respectable outlets
and offer the most reach since they are not pay
channels.
I'm humbled by how many Iranians
have rallied to our cause. Every
single one of them is recognized on our website www.spentaproductions.com. I am truly honored by the trust and
hard-earned money working Iranians are investing in me and my ability to bring
something significant to the screen.
I'm hoping a single wealthy donor will come forward to bring this project
to a speedy conclusion.
DK : What would Cyrus the Great
think of Ahmaninejad's Comments on Israel being wiped out were he alive today ?
CK: If we put politics aside and consider
this question from a purely historical sense, it becomes quite clear that Cyrus
recognized Judah, which is present-day Israel, as the Jewish homeland even 60
years after it had been destroyed by the Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar, who
burned its capital Jerusalem to the ground and deported over 40,000 Jews to
Babylon to serve as slaves.
60 years later,
when Cyrus conquered Babylonia, he freed all its slaves including the Jews,
whose numbers had swelled to almost 200,000 according to Pierre Briant and David
Stronach. But it was what he did
afterwards, which is in direct conflict with Mr. Ahmadinejad's comments. Cyrus sent armed soldiers to escort the
Jews back to Judah, and even paid to have their capital, Jerusalem rebuilt.
In other words,
Cyrus created a new Jewish state, where none had existed for over six
decades. Mr. Ahmadinejad's seems
bent on doing the exact opposite.
He wants to wipe out a Jewish State, which has existed for almost six
decades.
As a student of
Persian history, I've learned that being Iranian is about more than just being
born on the real estate, which comprises today's Iran. It implies a set of values. The name Iranian by definition means
"noble" or honorable. In fact,
pre-Islamic Iranians referred to those who behaved dishonorably as
"un-Iranian."
Therefore, as a
champion of truth and righteousness, its safe to say that Cyrus would have
considered Mr. Ahmadinejad's denial of the well-documented
Holocaust and calls to wipe Israel off the map as
lacking in honor.
DK: Cyrus, before asking the
following question I'd like to remind our readers that in October 1971, the late
Shah of Iran proudly celebrated 2500 years of Persian Monarchy with hundreds of
foreign dignitaries, Kings and Queens in Persepolis and delivered a historical
speech in front of Cyrus' Tomb at Pasargadae. The ceremony was bitterly
criticized in the Western Anglo-Saxon Press as a waste and was to some degree
misunderstood in Iran dividing the intelligentsia between pro's and
con's. Yet 27 years
after the revolution the DVD of the film that was directed by famed journalist
Shahrokh Golestan and narrated by the Legendary Orson Welles remains a
favorite to this day as one of the best-selling Iranian films on that period.
Recently the current Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmaninejad (See
article ) claimed to
even want to rebuild the royal tents identically to what they were back in
1971. Have Iranians and their
leaders, during the past centuries, failed to see in Cyrus' Legacy, anything
else than just a set of ruins rather than his humanistic message that could have
maybe benefit them both ?
CK: I'm no expert on Iranian politics. But it seems to me that neither
pre-revolution nor post-revolution Iranians ever understood the essence of Cyrus
The Great. Cyrus was the vehicle by
which Iranian values were spread across much of the ancient world.
The late Shah saw
Cyrus as a means to showcase his monarchy to the world. Yet by excluding the common people from
taking part in the celebration, he defied the very values Cyrus stood for.
Perhaps we are too
critical of the late Shah because we expected more from him. We don't expect much from Mr.
Ahmadinejad and his cohorts other than to leave their Father's house standing
while they occupy it. Mr.
Ahmadinejad, after all, is the product of a movement, which sought to level
Persepolis and plans to surrender Tang-e Bolaghi to the deep waters of the
Sivand dam. One of its founding
members, Mr. Khalkhali even wrote a book titled, 'Kourosh-e Doroughin-e
Jenayat-kar (The False and Criminal Cyrus).
So if Mr.
Ahmadinejad is considering rebuilding the royal tents as they were in 1971, he
should be commended for it. If he
stops the impending inauguration of the Sivand Dam, he might even realize a
level of popularity hitherto unseen in post-revolutionary Iran.
DK: Given a quarter of a
century of historical revisionism preached by the current Islamic Regime in
Iran, do you feel that young Iranians today, particularly in Iran but also in
the Diaspora, are aware of their pre-Islamic ancestry
?
CK: Today, most
Iranians can name the wives of the prophets Mohammad, Ali, and Hussein. But most cannot name the wife of Cyrus
The Great. Her name of course was
Cassandana, and she bore Cyrus five children.
It seems to me
that Iran's pre-Islamic history is just as important as its Islamic
history. So why has Iran's Islamic
alter ego never made peace with its pre-Islamic
history?
History forms our
identities. Iranians are among the
lucky few who can truly be proud of their history. But they first need to know about it and
understand the significant role their ancestors played in shaping human
civilization.
Our film is a small but important
investment in future-generation Iranians inside and outside Iran. Films make learning fun. They're faster and more entertaining
than books. I believe a factual
film about Cyrus The Great is important to complete the Iranian
identity.
DK: Thank you Cyrus for your
time and we look forward to seeing your film soon.
Cyrus' Cylinder: Considered as History's First Declaration of Human
Rights
in Ancient Times is today
displayed at the British Museum.
©British Museum,
London
Author's
notes:
Recommended Viewing:
A well documented website on Persepolis
and Coronation Celebrations created by Portuguese Web
Artists.
Cyrus the Great
Memorial created by Artist Lewis Batros in Sydney's Bicentennial Park, Australia.
Recommended Reading: Persia? Ancient Persia's virtual
absence in Hollywood By Darius KADIVAR
Recommended Reading: Two opposite yet equally
respectable views in their own right on the Persepolis Celebrations of
1971:
We are Awake
by Cyrus KADIVAR
Shah
bee Shah by Jahanshah JAVID
Recommended Readings:
Iran to rebuild spectacular tent city at Persepolis by Robert TAIT (Guardian)
Ahmaninejad sets up international conference in Tehran to establish
the Truth on the Holocaust by Robert TAIT
(Guardian)
About the Author: Darius KADIVAR is a Freelance
Journalist, Film Historian, and Media Consultant.
