Science Education in Iran

Abstract

Iran’s history as one of the oldest empires dates back to the seventh century BCE. Iranians were mainly Zoroastrians and considered themselves Aryan Persians. Over the pre-Islamic period, instruction in reading, writing, mathematics, medicine, and astronomy was accessible to privileged higher social classes. The wars between Arab Moslems and Persians brought the Old Iranian (Persian) Sassanid Empire and its central government to an end in the seventh century CE. The influence of Islam on Iran changed not only the political climate but also cultural worldview of Persians. Islamic teachings such as monotheism, justice, brotherhood, and equality for all human beings have influenced the Iranian mind. After the arrival of Islam, Iran’s history witnessed much social and political upheaval. Historians of Iran mention the tenth and eleventh centuries as the first golden age of scientific and social development (Nasr 2009). Iranian Moslem scientists extended the frontiers of science based on an inductive-deductive approach. Rhazes, Avicenna, Jabir ibn Hayyan, Biruni, and Kharazmi were among the Iranian scientists whose works were translated into Latin during Medieval and Renaissance periods, paving the way for scientists to build modern experimental sciences. The Moghul invasion in the thirteenth century, in contrast, triggered the fall of science in Islam and Iran. During the Shia Safavid period (sixteenth–eighteenth centuries), however, there was a second rise of scientific advancement (Velayati 2007).