ABSTRACT
I once wrote that up to a century ago, when an Iranian man left home in the morning he would not know whether, by the evening, he would be made a minister or be hung, drawn and quartered. I also wrote, on another occasion, that an Iranian may be a merchant this year, a minister next year, and a prisoner the year after. Obviously these are exaggerations, but nevertheless they are close to the Iranian experience throughout its long history. Ask an average Iranian what he would be doing in six month's time and you would normally receive the reply, ‘In six months’ time who is dead and who is alive?'
