ABSTRACT
This chapter will explore the basis of Iran's identity in history, as it will be important to give context to the current relationship with Western powers through historiography before exploring it in a contemporary setting. This chapter endeavours to explore how this identity developed by examining five points in history. These historical snapshots were selected based on the way they each represent a different element of Iran's current cultural identity in contrast to, which consists of Persian exceptionalism (Persian Empire), Iran's colonial experience (the Tobacco Rebellion and Constitutional Revolution), modern Iranian nationalism (the oil nationalisation crisis and Mohammad Mosaddegh), the illegitimacy of Western actions (1953 coup), and Islam's role in national identity (1979 revolution).
