Neglect of Authentic Historical Sources in Mazandaran / Unreliable Narrators, Invalid Data
Iran Book News Agency (IBNA) Provincial Group – Maryam Ghazizadeh: The history of Mazandaran province is full of historical junctures, each of which has influenced not only the situation of this land but also the conditions of the region and the country. Undoubtedly, one of the most important of these junctures is the first of Shawwal in the year 250 AH, when a public allegiance was made with Hassan ibn Zayd in the Grand Mosque of Kujur, paving the way for the Alavian government in this region. The formation of this Shiite government influenced not only national relations but also international dimensions, as this government is considered one of Iran’s prominent governments during the symmetrical governments era. Therefore, this important historical juncture in Mazandaran, after being matched with the solar Hijri calendar and extracting the date of November 5th, has been registered as “Mazandaran Day” in the national calendar.
The Necessity of Properly Introducing History to the General Public
In the few years since Mazandaran Day was registered in the national calendar and a week was named after it in the province, perhaps one of the most important concerns has been to introduce the history and culture of Mazandaran to the general public as much and as well as possible. Audiences, although not specifically seeking specialized information about the historical, cultural, and social background of the province, welcome any information that can increase their knowledge of their homeland. According to Rahim Mousavi, a doctor of history and university professor, this information must be presented very thoughtfully and authentically.
He told the IBNA reporter: “When we are to narrate history for non-specialists, we have a duty to have a correct structure and formatting and not suddenly involve an audience with no prior knowledge in the middle of the story, because the absence of a suitable narrative structure can lead to a misunderstanding of history, and this issue causes an audience who lacks sufficient expertise in discerning the accuracy of history to become entangled with fundamentally incorrect information.”
This history researcher continued: “Unfortunately, we are currently witnessing that some individuals, especially in virtual spaces, provide audiences with a mixture of correct and incorrect historical information, and when we trace the origin of the information, we see that they are quoting snippets of specialists’ words, not the whole story, and this causes correct information not to reach the audience as it should.”
Undoubtedly, one of the most important challenges is the narration of history through unreliable sources, about which Mousavi explained: “Currently, there are prominent researchers at the provincial level whose sole concern is to research and compile various aspects of this land’s history, but unfortunately, the lack of sufficient financial resources to publish the results of their research has led some unreliable sources, whose authors are generally not specialists in history and have only been able to publish a book due to financial means, to release works whose accuracy is questionable.”
He referred to the presence of unreliable researchers in the province and said: “It is regrettable to say that some individuals in Mazandaran who lack expertise in history and are considered more as enthusiasts than specialists in this field, publish works that are not only unreliable but also more akin to personal fantasies and delusions, and unfortunately, this very information circulates in virtual spaces and is made available to audiences seeking information, unaware that the dissemination of incorrect information can be challenging in the long run.”
Neglect of Authentic Historical Sources
Despite the fact that, according to this researcher and professor of Mazandaran history, numerous documented sources exist on the province’s history, the question arises: why have these important works been neglected and less seen? Mousavi answered this question by explaining: “Apart from all the unreliable sources about Mazandaran’s history, there are many credible, eloquent, understandable, and valuable sources about Mazandaran’s history and culture that, unfortunately, have not been seen as they should, and I consider this an important mission of the media. The media, as a powerful arm of culture, should be able to introduce these works to society and be advocates and promoters of serious and authentic works.”
He continued: “Unfortunately, in this regard, the media has also marginalized its role in raising awareness, and often we see that simply due to certain financial interests, works that lack the necessary credibility have been praised and encouraged by the media, while many valuable and authentic sources remain neglected, and no one even knows of their existence.”
Mousavi clarified: “Given the conditions mentioned, it is not unreasonable that many prominent provincial researchers prefer to dedicate their time and energy to national and macro-level research rather than narrating the history of Mazandaran, where the results of their efforts are not seen as they should be. This is why the current number of researchers who still work on the history and culture of Mazandaran at the provincial level is not commensurate with the capacity of this province, and their financial and media resources for reflecting the results of their efforts are also very limited.”
Confirming Mousavi’s statement are the names of researchers who, although once strove to document the history of this province, nowadays there is no news of their works about the history and culture of this region, and their focus is mostly on national history. This history, although narrating events that have occurred in this land, inherently includes events that have taken place in every corner of the country, and the documented narration of the history of each part of the country will bring nothing but credibility to Iran’s history.
