A Shahbanou Farah Pahlavi Foundation Signature Initiative
The Farah Pahlavi Expert Series | Voices Of Knowledge
Storytelling | Economic, Cultural and Social Impact
The true measure of a nation lies not only in its monuments, but in its ideas, its people, and its enduring capacity to imagine a better future.
The Continuity of Storytelling: From the Naqqāl to the Expert
A Retrospective with Purpose | Storytelling as Legacy
In the long arc of Iranian civilization, storytelling has always been more than art — it is the way a people remembers, teaches, and renews itself. From the naqqāl in a teahouse reciting the Shahnameh to the poet weaving moral parables or the modern filmmaker capturing the texture of daily life, the storyteller has served as the conscience of society — bridging memory and imagination, history and hope.
In old Iran, stories were not merely told; they were performed and inhabited. The reciter carried within him the memory of the nation — its myths, its ethics, its triumphs and sorrows. Through his voice, Iranians saw themselves reflected in the struggles of the epic hero Rostam, the wisdom of the Sasanian King Anoushirvan, or the moral insight of the poet Rumi. Storytelling bound together the palace and the bazaar, the scholar and the villager, the past and the future. It gave meaning to progress by rooting it in identity.
The Shahbanou Farah Pahlavi Foundation’s Expert Series continues this timeless tradition of storytelling in a new form, suited to the present age. Its storytellers are the architects, scientists, physicians, artists, and thinkers who lived through a pivotal era in Iran’s modern history — a period of vision and transformation. Through their words, they recount not only what was built or achieved, but what was believed: that knowledge, culture, and human creativity could illuminate a nation’s path forward.
Like the naqqāls of old, these experts speak with the authority of experience and humility of service. Their stories are not nostalgic; they are living lessons — windows into a time when progress and identity walked hand in hand. By listening to them, new generations are invited to understand that the true measure of a nation lies not only in its monuments, but in its ideas, its people, and its enduring capacity to imagine a better future.
In bringing these voices together, the Expert Series becomes part of Iran’s long continuum of storytelling — preserving the past not as memory alone, but as inspiration. It is a reminder that, across centuries, the Iranian story remains the same in its essence: the pursuit of light over darkness, truth over silence, and creation over forgetting.
Purpose
The recorded lectures, interviews, and public dialogues, the Foundation reaffirms its mission: to celebrate knowledge as a bridge between tradition and progress, and between Iran and the world. They will be a valuable resource for scholars, students, and future generations. The Expert Series seeks to:
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Recount the achievements of Iran in the 1960’s and 1970’s, documenting the vision and people behind its progress;
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Preserve memory of a transformative historical era through firsthand accounts;
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Inform and inspire new generations of Iranians and global audiences alike through the lived experience of leadership and creativity;
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Promote dialogue on how Iran’s legacy can inform the future of development, culture, and human dignity - dialogue between Iranian expertise and global thought.
The programme will evolve into a permanent series, expanding into different fields forming part of a broader Knowledge Archive, ensuring that Iran’s story of creativity and progress continues to resonate across borders and generations — “Voices of Knowledge”.
Format
The series will consist of recorded public talks and interviews, held in academic and cultural venues, and later made available as part of the Foundation’s digital archive and online educational resources. Each conversation will serve as both a record of expertise and a testament to the unity of knowledge and culture.
Storytelling in Old Iran: Roots and Social Meaning
Storytelling in old Iran is one of the deepest veins of its cultural identity. What we call “storytelling” was never merely entertainment: it was a moral, historical, and social force — a way to preserve memory, identity, and ethical imagination through generations. It was presented in many forms - Naqqāli, Shahnameh-khāni, Pardeh-khāni, Ta‘ziyeh.
The Ancient Roots — Oral Tradition and the Guardians of Memory
Long before writing became widespread, oral storytelling was the vessel of Iranian civilization. Tribal elders, poets, and Zoroastrian priests recited tales of creation, good and evil, and the eternal struggle between truth (asha) and falsehood (druj). These early narrators were not “entertainers” but moral guides and keepers of collective wisdom.
The Epic Tradition — History Turned into Legend
From these oral roots grew the epic storytelling that defined Iran’s classical identity. The greatest embodiment is Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh (Book of Kings), completed around 1010 CE — a monumental poem of some 50,000 couplets. It transformed scattered myths, legends, and historical chronicles into a national narrative, celebrating Iran’s heroes, ethics, and cultural continuity after the Arab conquest.
For over a millennium, Shahnameh-khāns — professional storytellers — performed these tales in coffeehouses, caravanserais, and public squares. Their recitations often lasted hours or days, accompanied by dramatic gestures, painted curtains, and rhythmic chanting. These performances served several functions:
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Education: transmitting moral lessons and cultural pride.
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Entertainment: accessible to all social classes.
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Social cohesion: a shared emotional experience that reinforced collective identity.
The Social Role — From the Court to the Bazaar
Storytelling in Iran had a remarkably democratic reach. At the royal courts, naqqāls performed to glorify kings and connect rulers to mythic ancestors like Jamshid, Rostam, and Darius. In the bazaars and teahouses, the same stories were retold from the people’s perspective — blending humor, philosophy, and social critique. The naqqāl thus occupied a unique place between artist, historian, and moral philosopher. Naqqāl’s voice carried authority, and his memory of Iran’s past was regarded as a living archive.
Storytelling as Moral and Mystical Education
Beyond epic and history, Iranian storytelling also took on mystical and ethical forms. Sufi poets such as Attar, Rumi, and Saadi transformed storytelling into allegory — narratives that explored the soul’s journey, divine love, and the unity of all creation. Rumi’s Masnavi is composed of teaching stories. Saadi’s Gulistan uses concise tales and parables to convey lessons in virtue, justice, and humility. In this sense, storytelling became a moral compass — linking wisdom with beauty, philosophy with feeling.
Storytelling and the Iranian Sense of Time
A fascinating trait of Iranian storytelling is its cyclical view of time: history repeats, moral patterns recur, and heroes reappear in different guises. This worldview stems from Zoroastrian cosmology — the eternal struggle between light and darkness, good and evil — which gave storytelling a cosmic dimension. Every tale, no matter how local or humorous, echoed the larger rhythm of cosmic order.
The Modern Transformation
By the 19th and 20th centuries, as Iran modernized, storytelling adapted to new media: printing, theater, radio, and cinema. Writers such as Sadeq Hedayat and Jalal Al-e Ahmad reimagined traditional narrative forms to critique modernity and explore identity. Meanwhile, naqqāli continued to survive in rural regions and was officially recognised by UNESCO in 2011 as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The Social Roots — Why Storytelling Endures
At its heart, Iranian storytelling reflects a few enduring social traits:
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Memory as moral duty: remembering the past is a form of ethical responsibility.
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Respect for the spoken word: that truth and beauty are preserved through eloquence.
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Collective participation: stories belong to the people, not just to authors.
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Balance of fate and free will: the moral center of almost every Iranian tale.
Legacy and Contemporary Resonance
Storytelling remains central to Iranian culture — in poetry, film, music, and even digital expression. Modern filmmakers such as Abbas Kiarostami and Asghar Farhadi continue this ancient art: moral allegory, layered narrative, human empathy — all rooted in that same oral tradition. This Series continues that tradition of collective narrative and cultural memory through subject matter experts each telling us about their respective fields of knowledge and expertise through a modern vision.