Podcast Summary: Le Cours de l'histoire

Episode Title: L’Iran médiéval à la croisée des peuples (2/3)
Podcast: France Culture – Le Cours de l'histoire
Host: Xavier Mauduit
Guests: Camille René (Historian, Université d’Aix-Marseille), Ève Feuillebois (Persian Literature, Sorbonne Nouvelle), Kadhim Jihad Hassan (Poet, Translator, Literary Critic)
Date: January 25, 2026

Overview of the Episode

This episode explores how medieval Iran stood at a crossroads of peoples, cultures, and passions. Moving beyond reductive images of conflict, the discussion spotlights Iran’s role as a major cultural and intellectual hub, crucial not just to Islamic history but to European history as well. Drawing on literature, political structure, and cross-cultural exchanges, the guests untangle the layers that shaped Iranian identity and illustrate how medieval Iran became a site of both encounter and transformation.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Introduction: The Persian Legacy and “Les Mille et Une Nuits”

• Xavier Mauduit opens by recalling the frame story of “Les Mille et Une Nuits,” underlining its place in Persian tradition and as a symbol of storytelling’s power to captivate and transform (00:00).
• The episode establishes medieval Iran as more than a conflict zone: it’s “un carrefour de peuples, de cultures, sans cesse en contact avec ses voisins.”

Defining “Medieval Iran”: Chronology and Geography

• Camille René:
  • Emphasizes the vastness and diversity of medieval Iran, whose boundaries once encompassed present-day Iran, Afghanistan, parts of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and even the southern Kazakhstan (03:35).
  • Notes the field is "considérable" but "immense parce qu’il est longtemps resté en marge," especially in French academia (03:02).
• Ève Feuillebois:
  • Argues that neither “Iran” nor “médiéval” fit neatly: the medieval period for Iran spans from the Arab-Muslim conquest (~7th century) to the rise of the Safavids (end 16th/beginning 17th century)—a millennium of varied and fluctuating borders and powers (04:33).
  • “Ce n’est pas du tout une période qui est uniforme […] ce n’est pas quelque chose que l’on peut résumer en quelques mots.” (05:55)

The Impact of the Arab-Muslim Conquest

• Ève Feuillebois:
  • Describes the conquest as a profound rupture—the Sassanian power collapses, Zoroastrian religion loses influence, and Islam slowly replaces local religions (10:29).
  • Points out the length of Islamization: “La conversion ne se complète véritablement qu’au XIIIe siècle, donc plus de six siècles…” (10:29)
  • Conversion proceeds by stages: elites/military first, then urban centers, then countryside, often with syncretism.

Iran as a Crossroads: Economic, Cultural, and Intellectual Exchange

• Camille René:
  • The region was always a zone of exchange, especially as it lay on the “routes de la soie” trading furs, slaves (“roulam/mamelouk”), and competing over power (12:45).
  • The fragmentation and pluralism of power shaped networks: “c’est une interface” rather than a border in the modern sense (22:59).
  • Political transformations:
    • Arab conquests (640–710 CE)
    • Rise of Iranian governors (from 9th century)
    • Arrival of the Turks (late 10th/11th centuries) (14:56)
• Ève Feuillebois:
  • The “Iran–Touran” opposition in the “Livre des Rois” (Shahnameh): Persians as settled/civilized; Turanians (Turks) as nomadic, valorous adversaries—reflects a dynamic, not static, relationship (16:16).

Life in Medieval Iran: Mobility, Scholarship, and Frontiers

• Ève Feuillebois:
  • Three motivations for travel: commerce, pursuit of knowledge (both religious and profane), and war (20:10).
  • Scholars (e.g., Biruni) traveled widely and produced comparative ethnographies.
• Camille René:
  • Frontiers in the Middle Ages aren’t rigid lines but zones of contact and negotiation (22:59).
  • “À l’époque médiévale, il n’y a quasiment aucun exemple de frontière linéaire au sens moderne.”

Bilingualism, Literary Creation, and Cultural Transmission

• Kadhim Jihad Hassan:
  • Highlights how Persian and Arabic coexisted: “l’arabe est devenu ce qu’a été le latin pour l’Europe, […] un signe fédérateur” (24:34).
  • Iranians contributed enormously to Arabic literature, administration, and science, often as a bilingual elite.
• Ève Feuillebois:
  • By the 10th century, Persian reemerges in literature alongside Arabic: “à partir du Xe siècle naît une littérature écrite en persan, et le persan redevient une langue de culture à côté de l’arabe…” (29:10).
  • Bilingualism, sometimes trilingualism (Persian, Arabic, Turkish/Soghdian), was the norm among elites.

The Origins and Significance of “Les Mille et Une Nuits”

• Kadhim Jihad Hassan:
  • The collection isn’t simply “Persian” in origin—it's a mixture of Indian, Persian, and Arab narrative traditions (35:06).
  • The essential “canvas” (framework) comes from an old lost Persian work called Hezar Afsane (“mille contes”), but the narrative layers—characters, ambiance—are mainly Arab.
  • “Le canvas de l’oeuvre, ça vient de Persan, c’est très important, parce qu’il y a une œuvre dont on a perdu la trace en persan, qui s’appelle Hezar Afsane, littéralement ‘mille contes’.” (35:06)
• The narrative power of “Les Mille et Une Nuits,” its recursive, never-ending storytelling, has had wide influence—from Proust to Rushdie (43:13).

Literature, Legitimacy, and Cultural Heritage

• Political and literary works served to legitimize authority and create collective identities:
  • “Le Livre des Rois” (Shahnameh) casts leadership as a contest between civilization and barbarism.
  • Dynastic histories (e.g., Bayaki, 11th century) combine martial and bureaucratic models (38:08).
  • Enormous efforts in translation: Greek, Indian, and Sassanian texts entered the Arabic (and later Persian) corpus via Iranian intermediaries (38:08).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On medieval Iran’s diversity:
  “La période médiévale en Iran n’a pas les mêmes limites que celles que l’on imagine en Europe... c’est un millénaire d’histoire et ce n’est pas du tout une période qui est uniforme.”
  —Ève Feuillebois [05:00]

• On the slowness of religious conversion:
  “La conversion ne se complète véritablement qu’au XIIIe siècle, donc plus de six siècles...”
  —Ève Feuillebois [10:29]

• On the flexible meaning of frontiers:
  “À l’époque médiévale, il n’y a quasiment aucun exemple de frontière linéaire au sens moderne du terme… c’est une interface.”
  —Camille René [22:59]

• On multilingualism and cultural transmission:
  “Les élites étaient bilingues, complètement bilingues, et parfois trilingues… on passait d’une langue à l’autre avec une très grande facilité.”
  —Ève Feuillebois [29:10]

• On the origins of “Les Mille et Une Nuits”:
  “Le canvas de l’oeuvre, ça vient de Persan, c’est très important, parce qu’il y a une œuvre dont on a perdu la trace en persan, qui s’appelle Hezar Afsane, littéralement ‘mille contes’.”
  —Kadhim Jihad Hassan [35:06]

• On “Les Mille et une nuits”’s universal appeal:
  “Cette technique a eu... un impact majeur... cela a donné une sorte de libération pour l’esprit. Cette dérive mentale et imaginative... le récit devient un exercice apte à être poussé à l’infini.”
  —Kadhim Jihad Hassan [43:13]

• On the persistence of Iranian identity:
  “Les iraniens ont toujours réussi à marier différents apports d’où qu’ils aient pu venir. Et je pense que leur force, c’est justement une sorte de soft power.”
  —Ève Feuillebois [51:50]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00–04:00: Introduction, story of “Les Mille et Une Nuits,” setup of episode.
• 04:00–08:30: Defining “médiéval” and the territorial scope of Iran.
• 10:29–12:30: Effects of the Arab-Muslim conquest.
• 12:45–16:30: Iran as a crossroads, turbulence, and contact zones.
• 20:10–22:59: Mobility, travel, purposes, and scholarship.
• 22:59–24:30: The concept of frontiers in medieval Iran.
• 29:10–31:10: Language: Arabic as lingua franca and the rise of literature in Persian.
• 31:24–35:06: “Les Mille et Une Nuits”: excerpt, discussion on origins and narrative form.
• 38:08–40:30: Literature serving political legitimacy and cultural integration.
• 43:13–45:25: The universal power and influence of “Les Mille et Une Nuits”.
• 51:50: The legacy of medieval Iran in today’s Iranian identity.

Conclusion

This episode richly deconstructs stereotypes of medieval Iran as insular or stagnant. Instead, medieval Iran emerges as a dynamic center, shaped by exchange, negotiation, and creative adaptation. The episode reminds us: the medieval Persian world, through its literature, science, and language, forged bridges between worlds—and continues to inform Iranian identity and the imagination of the globe.

For further exploration, see Ève Feuillebois’ book “L’Iran médiéval”, and Kadhim Jihad Hassan’s special issue on “Les Mille et Une Nuits” in the Revue Europe, both mentioned during the episode.