Darius leader of the Persians speaks Aramaic, not Farsi
Introduction
For months since Firaxis announced Civilization V, I have been eagerly anticipating it’s arrival. Soaking up any screenshot or bit of news about the game.
Yesterday Firaxis updated their website to show the introductions of the leaders. As I was clicking through all of them making sure to leave Persia for last, I was amazed at the quality and level of polish given to each leader. Ghandi especially stood out, no longer a cartoon caricature from past Civilization game’s this new Ghandi felt true to the real hero and sounded great (I even verified it with a Hindi-speaking friend of mine).
When I finally clicked Persia, there stood Darius, leader of the Persian Empire in front of his palace. Immortal soldiers carved in the wall behind him and double bull statutes flanking him. But I was confused. I didn’t understand a word he was saying. I clicked again to make sure I was hearing him correctly, but no he clearly wasn’t speaking Farsi.
My first reaction was anger. I couldn’t believe it! The game was going to be released tomorrow. I loved everything I had read about the new hex layout, the new combat system, everything. To then to have this one small thing not be the way I wanted. Well, it made me mad. So mad I of course tweeted about it.
But I cooled down, and thought about it more carefully. I started checking the internet to find out what language Darius was really speaking. After 15 minutes looking through wikipedia and then stumbling on a video on youtube, it became clear that Darius was speaking Aramaic which I learned was the language instituted by Darius as the official language of the Achaemenid Empire.
After learning this I wasn’t sure what to think. On one hand it was amazing that Firaxis stayed historically accurate and even went as far as finding an Aramaic speaker (something I can’t imagine was easy). However as an Iranian, a part of me felt let down.
Let me try to explain.
Modern Persia
As an Iranian, it hurts to see the condition Iran is in today. I’m not just talking about the insane politics and human-rights crimes the government commits against it’s people. I mean the actual state of the country.
I try to go every year to visit family, and every time I visit it’s saddening to see how things get worse and worse. Tehran is a dirty, polluted, and overcrowded city, the streets packed with cars, giant neon signs advertising fast food, and lots of garbage. Everybody talks about how great Iran is or more often was, but nobody actually cares about the well being of their home.
Just take a drive and you will see the same people who talk about how much they love Iran just casually toss their trash out the window. On a two hour drive to my grandfathers orchard, the highway is lined with trash and the sky filled with the smoke of cement factories.
Yes, there are parts of the country that still contain the natural beauty and heritage of Iran. But like Iran’s ancient past they are quickly disappearing. I am always surprised when my cousins tell me they aren’t taught about the history of the Persian Empire. On a trip last January to the National Museum of Iran, I was disappointed how little attention and care was given to the exhibits.
Which is a shame, because the culture and history of Iran is so rich. Take the Shahnameh, The Persian Book of Kings, by Ferdowsi. A book full of poetry so beautiful that it can only be appreciated in Farsi. Besides being a literary masterpiece, the Shahnameh was written to save Iran’s most valuable treasure, the Persian language.
After the last Persian empire fell to the Islamic Empire, there were many attempts to eliminate the Persian language and replace it with Arabic. But with the help of writers and poets like Ferdowsi the language survived and is a point of great national pride for many Iranians.
When you consider the sorry state Iran is in today, then it should be no surprise that many Iranians cling to the glory day’s of Iran’s past. “Look how great we once were we,” we tell people, “do you know how great our language is!” we shout. We are a proud people.
Conclusion
When I originally began writing this, my aim was to convince myself why Firaxis should have had Darius speak Farsi. Even though I still wish he did speak Farsi, in the process of writing this I’ve realized that the decision is ultimately meaningless.
What does it matter what language an ancient civilization for a computer game speaks. Does it in any way change the crappy state Iran is in today. Or is it just another way to hide from the reality of Iran by clinging to the past.
I am proud of Iran’s grand history, proud of my Persian language, and proud to be Iranian. Instead of looking at the past, I think it is better to envision the future and do what I can today to bring about an Iran that I can be proud of again.
I’m not sure what that is right now (I have a few ideas), but for now thank you Sid Meier and the people at Firaxis for making Civilization. I never thought a game would lead me to reexamine myself and who I am.
End Notes
* Civilization 5 is a turn based strategy game that comes out on September 21st. You can bet I’ll be playing it very soon.
* I use Farsi and Persian interchangeably, I mean no disrespect.
* If your interested to learn more about the Shahnameh, check out Dick Davis translation of the book on Amazon.
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21. September 2010 at 20:40
Omid joon,
I enjoyed your article very much. Thanks for sharing.
About the language, I also used to think that Achaemenids speak Farsi. Considering the time factor (2500 years ago) it was not a very realistic expectation:)
Some people have called the Achaemenids language “ancient Persian” which does not seem very accurate because the languages are very much different in grammar and structure.
But don’t worry, even if the language was Farsi, we could not be able to understand it because it would be a very ancient Farsi. It is like you try to read an ancient text in English.
It is also very interesting to know that even Sassanids (1400 years ago) were not able to read the Persepolis writings. The language was already gone.
Another thing is that there are lots of different dialects in Iran. Although all of them are driven out of the same root (Farsi), one may have serious problem understanding all of them. Like I can not understand a word of Kurdi.
Because Iran is such an old country, there are a lot of strange and interesting things to know and learn in every aspect of it and it really fascinates me. Every part of it has an interesting story. What that makes the Mideast and part of Europe so interesting to me is that the history begins there and the origins of many things can be find in that relatively small area.
26. September 2010 at 16:25
I enjoyed this post as well, Omid. I think you should also consider posting the email you sent to Vibhu and I a few weeks ago about the wonders of the internet, how many ideas you can connect with its help, etc.
And my suspicion is that while (according to this post!) Darius promulgated Aramaic during his reign he probably spoke and understood multiple languages and dialects, which I suspect was likewise a characteristic of most rulers of the time. The linguistic richness of the ancient world is only reflected today in places like New Guinea or Africa, where many people apparently speak several languages with a really mind-boggling ease–I think my favorite musician was able to speak ten. And while it’s unlikely that Darius would have been able to understand you, or vice-versa, your two vocabularies probably contain more than a few words in common.
The question of the languages that ancient people spoke is always a curious one and really a more major issue than people realize. I took a class at Hampshire revolving around a book that used the Syriac language to decode certain portions of the Koran that apparently make no sense to speakers of Arabic. Jesus Christ, for instance, spoke Aramaic as well, I think, and probably had little or no knowledge of the Greek that was used to compose the book about him. Most Americans probably believe he spoke English and rode a pet dinosaur to work, so it can be interesting to compare current perceptions of the past (which are more often than not driven by nationalism, a concept that did not exist a few hundred years ago) with what historians believe to be the reality at the time–a thing that was undoubtedly far more beautiful, fascinating, and complex, than any of us can imagine.
26. September 2010 at 23:32
thanks for the responses.
I was just playing civilization 5, as the Persians of course, and what a wonderful game. Unlike other games where you are generally destroying things, in Civ you build and it such a great feeling.
Ian, I think you would enjoy the soundtrack. Listening to the middle-eastern soundtrack felt like being back in Iran. Also now I want to see a picture of Jesus on a t-rex.
Amoo, I agree, no matter how many times I visit I always learn something new.