Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 “Master’s student at Allameh Tabataba’i University”
2 Department of Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Since the emergence of newspapers in Iran, the publication of historical materials has constituted one of their most prominent thematic domains. Historical content in the press reflects prevailing societal attitudes toward the past and its interpretive frameworks. Employing a descriptive–historical approach, the present study seeks to identify and classify the historical content published in Iranian periodicals from their inception to the end of the Qajar era. An examination of 226 periodicals from the Qajar period identifies 227 items of historical content, a finding that highlights the significant presence of historical writing within the press discourse of the time. At a historical juncture marked by emerging political and intellectual transformations, the press assumed an educational and reform-oriented role, and history functioned as an effective instrument for promoting public awareness and legitimizing political and social reforms. The rearticulation of the historical past was conceived as a strategy for consolidating national identity and responding to external threats. By foregrounding historical heritage, periodicals actively contributed to the construction of cultural cohesion. Furthermore, the appeal of historical subjects enhanced readership and strengthened the economic viability of the press. Taken together, these factors enabled the Iranian press of the Qajar era to generate a wide and diverse range of historical content and to exert a formative influence on the shaping of collective historical memory.
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