National Identity and Ancient Persia: The Semiotics of Pre-Islamic Symbols in Modern Iran

This article examines the role of pre-Islamic Persian symbols in shaping contemporary Iranian national identity through contemporary semiotic theory. Drawing on Yuri Lotman, Umberto Eco, Winfried Nöth, Kalevi Kull, and the Tartu-Moscow School, it analyzes symbols such as the Faravahar and Persepolis as dynamic semiotic resources rather than fixed historical representations. The study explores how these symbols circulate across political discourse, digital media, tourism, popular culture, and diaspora communities, acquiring new meanings within competing ideological contexts. It argues that ancient Persian symbols mediate relationships among heritage, nationalism, religion, and globalization while actively shaping collective memory and national imagination. The findings contribute to cultural semiotics by illuminating identity formation, symbolic boundaries, and heritage in modern Iran.

Cultural Semiotics; National Identity; Cultural Memory; Pre-Islamic Persian Symbols; Iranian Heritage

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