In this short summary, we will illustrate some of the misconceptions, misinformation and misrepresentations about Varzesh-e Pahlavani. Each category is defined and some of its sources of error have been identified.

Before we can review the list of misconceptions, we would like to explain that the reasons for them can be attributed to several factors which, once superimposed, have contributed a great deal to the confusion we face when we study Pahlavani tradition. We cite some of these factors as follows:

• Pahlavi Regime: As we explained in the introduction to Varzesh-e Pahlavani articles, this tradition reached its peak during Qajar Dynasty in the 19th century. During Pahlavi regime, Reza Shah did not show any interest in this tradition. He believed this tradition was a relic of the Qajar ceremonials. Recall, the Pahlavan of the nation would be known in the final match wrestled in the court of Qajar Shahs and in front of them on the first day of the Iranian New Year (Naw-ruz). Reza Shah was more concerned building an infrasturcture, such as construction of new buildings and roads, than preserving ancient traditions and practices. He belived in putting Iran on track for western modernism religiously, and, in fact, resisted any reference to the past of Iran where her tradition would be in conflict with those western ideals.

  By the time his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, became the Shah in 1941, he restored what was left of Pahlavani tradition. Shah was an avid sport man himself and was a good soccer player in his formative years. It was during this Shah that final Pahlavani wrestling contests were held in his Majesty's presence, and he would personally give the Pahlavani Armlet to the Pahlavan of the nation. Unfortunately, the tradition was harmed immensely when he appointed Shaban Jafari (also known as Shaban "the Brainless") to run the Pahlavani Federation, or it was incorrectly called the Federation of Ancient Athletics (Varzesh-e Bastani), right after the 1953 coup de'ta. It was payback time.

  Shaban Jafari was one player in the 1953 coup de'ta that eventually toppled the legitimate and popular government of Prime Minister Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh. It is reported that Shaban Jafari used to lead a group of thugs in Tehran who disrupted mass gatherings on the streets by threatening people's lives. As late as 2002 there is also an opinion that he was already put in the prison by government authorities on the day of the coup de'ta because of his leading street gang operation. Whatever his whereabouts on the day of coup de'ta, it is a fact accepted by all parties that this person was a street thug.

  By appointing an unwanted and unpopular character to lead the federation, the Shah caused the most harm to this ancient, peaceful, spiritual and national institution. A revered sport organization was to be run by a thug. This was a big blow to the traditional Iranian sector that made up the majority of Zoorkhaneh practioners -- the same people who always supported the Pahlavani movement.

• Western Sport Influence: By 1950's, Iran was entering the international arena and sport was the first avenue of inclusion. Iran attended the 1948 London Olympics for the first time only few years after the ending of the World War II. Coming in contact with Western ideas of sport, Iranian authorities felt championship titles, medal gatherings and standing on the platforms would serve national ego and national recognition more appropriately. Pahlavani, on the other hand, was always aloof from materialistic aspects of sport. A Pahlavan was not to collect gold medals. In fact, the Pahlavani Armlet, given by the person of the Shah to the Pahlavan of the nation, was a symbol of humanity, humbleness and selflessness. It appears the tradition was bound to be suppressed because it could not withstand the influx of materialistic western concepts of sport. "Pahlavanship" (or some scholars say "Pahlavanhood") was eventually replaced by Championship.

• Book Publishing: Once a forgotten tradition and less popular, there were less historians and writers interested in documenting it. Today, there are only few books available about the topic, and they are mostly out of print. There appeared a peak in book publishing in the 1950 decade and early 1960's, but by late 1960's and early 1970's it stopped. From a handful of books published, most contained critical errors -- either misconceptions or misrepresentations.

  As a result, less qualified writers began to write books about Pahlavani for which they had no knowledge, formally or otherwise. It can be shown that some authors had not even entered a Zoorkhaneh in their life, yet books were written bearing their names.

• Western Views: Western scholars and the so-called orientalists made the matter worse. They have written books that are totally false. In one case, the author turned Shaban Jafari into a national Pahlavan hero and referred to Dr. Mossadegh as a "Madman" who was working against the wishes of the people! Unfortunately, a small group of current Iranian scholars turn to these western writers to harvest knowledge about Pahlavani tradition. They loosely quote them to support their own erroneous positions. If only a few number of people know about a tradition, everybody can possibly write about it without being challenged as to the authenticity of the claims.

• Post-revolution Era: In the early years after the Islamic revolution of 1979 Pahlavani tradition under the auspices of the Federation of Ancient Sports and Pahlavani Wrestling (as the federation is called) did not progress as fast as it would have been expected. The tradition is still respected and its values are elevated by the state, but again due to lack of knowledge some of the writers and authors, who have taken it upon themselves to write about Pahlavani, continue to misquote events and facts.

  As recently as late 1990s, the Federation has taken a series of positive steps in restoring and reviving the original Pahlavani tradition. It has been a long waiting to see the true image of the Pahlavani tradition in various aspects of Iranian sports.

  Zoorkhaneh and the tradition is still alive at grassroot level, but you have to know the right people and the right venues. Very few Pahlavans are still alive and therefore very respected. Pahlavani ceremonies before the Shahs are not repeated before the Republic's President. The Federation is still called the same as that of the Pahlavi era, although there are efforts as recently as 2001 to start the process of changing its name to Pahlavani Federation. Pahlavani used to receive the least attention by the Iranian Physical Organization. With management changes in the higher levels of sports apparatus in 2001, there are now indications to make us believe more attention is to be given to this federation.

  As we witnessed the morphism of Shaban Jafari in the Shah regime from a thug to the presidency of Pahlavani Federation, a Teyeb Haj Rezai was elevated to Pahlavani position in the post-revolution era. He too was a street fighter who used to bother people who disagreed with him. One of the reasons he was revered by some people and through publication of few books is because he arose to support the social unrest and the uprisings of 1963 against the Pahlavi regime. Ironically, in the 1953 coup de'ta he had participated along Shaban Jafari to threaten the public demonstrators in the streets. He was eventually arrested and executed by the army in the aftermath of the 1963 uprisings.

  Regardless of his political views, he was never accepted as a Pahlavan by the people, because such troublemaker with his own street gang did not possess any place in the hearts of the people. By studying the life of the Pahlavans, we learn that a Pahlavan Mohammad Sadegh Bolourforoosh in Qajar era, for example, fed the poor in Tehran once a month for free. He was a successful merchant in crystals and glasses working hard to make an earning. On the other hand, Teyeb was reported as appearing at bars in the Baharestan district in Tehran and treating street gang members to free alcholic drinks in order to show off his prowess.

• Misconceptions

  • A Madman Called Mossadegh: In the Book Zen Combat and the Secret Power Called KI, published by Weatherhill in New York in 1962, its author, Jay Gluck, covers martial arts in several countries. In the Chapter about Iran on page 94, he writes:

    ". . . in the popular revolt against the madman Mossadeg several years before, it was a Zur Khane Champion (the Brainless), who led the unarmed civilian attack on Mossadeg's stronghold mansion to overthrow the unstable tyrant."

    Mr. Gluck refers to Mossadegh as the "Madman" who hid himself in his protected castle until Shaban Jafari (here the author correctly calls him the Brainlesss) came and with bravery captured the madman and saved Iran. I wonder if the author knows what the true meaning of the word brainless is.

    The author wrote the historical facts 100% wrong. Obviously, he is referring to the coup de'ta in 1953 led by the British and CIA. First, Dr. Mossadegh was a popular and legitimate Prime Minister of Iranian government at the time and was very much supported by the Iranian masses. In fact, Shaban Jafari on the day of the coup was attacking the anti-Shah demonstrators and disrupting their gatherings through his CIA-paid gang members.

  • House of Deception: In the same book on page 92, the author mistakenly translates Zoorkhaneh, where the rituals of Pahlavani are practiced, as the "House of Deception." Zoorkhaneh literally means the House of Strength. We think the error arises from the notion that the Persian word "Zoor" is mistaken for Arabic root of the verb "Zavara" which means deception, hence the translation House of Deception.

  • Iranian Tradition, not Arabic/Islamic: Contrary to popular belief, Varzesh-e Pahlavani is a purely Iranian tradition from ancient days. Its origin goes back to the Parthian Dynasty when the first academy of martial arts was established. The word Pahlavan is derived from the Parthian word "Pahlav." Moreover, the Zoorkhaneh itself resembles structurally nothing short of the temples of Mithraism religion. Mithraism fully developed at the time of Parthian. The Mithraist temples were round, had lower-than-ground entrance doors, and included an elevated seating area where the priests would preach about the religion. Similarly, the structure of the Zoorkhaneh is exactly the same. Islamic mosques, on the other hand, do not resemble the above configurations.

    It is true that with the introduction of Islam in Iran, the spiritual dimension of the religion was incorporated into various aspects of the Persian culture. Pahlavani was not an exception and openly absorbed this aspect because inherently it was a peaceful tradition that preached to cleanse the soul and the heart from attachment to material belongings.

    Islam advised the men and women to cover their naked bodies. In Zoorkhaneh, it is customary that men exercise with naked upper bodies. This is in violation of Islamic teachings of dressing. Again, in Mithraist tradition, the men would pray and worship with naked upper bodies.

    Finally, as for the portrait of Imam Ali in the Zoorkhaneh, the practice was introduced from Safavid Dynasty (~ 1500-1737 AD). Safavid was a political-religious state which chose the Shia' sect of Islam as her official religion. Imam Ali is the first leader of the Shia' sect and very much loved by Iranians as a great leader. He was also a brave fighter during religious wars alongside Prophet Mohammad. This attribute can explain why he is revered in the Pahlavani tradition. He would not fight for power, but for justice and for the right of the poor -- an end that is also one of the principles of Varzesh-e Pahlavani.

  • Tatoo and Knifing: Tatooing hands and bodies have been mistakenly attributed to Pahlavans. There is no evidence that a real Pahlavan tatooed his body. The practice was introduced by body builders and thugs who felt additional mark would afford them special identity. Personalities like Shaban Jafari and Teyeb Haj Rezai damaged the respect of Pahlavani for generations to come. In the late Pahlavi regime, in middle- and upper-class families, the parents used to discourage their children from tatooing arguing that was an indecent act "only practiced by uneducated thugs and pahlavans."

    Knifing was also a characteristic of the street gang members who used to harass citizens in public roads in order to steal their monies and belongings. It is true that during Reza Shah's time due to neglect in not restoring old Zoorkhanehs and because their owners had abandoned their properties, some of these gang members had occupied them and it was known to be their prime location of activity. Again, the parents in the 1970's used to advise their children that Zoorkhanehs were places of child molesters and undesired people. This misconception hurt Pahlavani the most.

  • Women in Zoorkhaneh: Women are strictly forbidden from entering Zoorkhanehs. This practice has been in place from early days. In Pahlavi regime, specially during Mohammad Reza Shah, it was the practice to take government dignitaries and their wives to Zoorkhanehs of Tehran and show various practices of Pahlavani. The situation would be an awkward one for the practitioners who on one hand did not appreciate the arrival of the women and on the other hand they had to exhibit their exercises in the presence of the authorities. There were even special occasions in which western-educated Iranian authorities visited Zoorkhanehs with their wives who were dressed in mini skirts. The practioners were disturbed yet they could not openly object fearing some sort of punishment from the visitors.

    Another misconception is that Pahlavani was open to women during the Shah and after the Islamic revolution women were banned from attending Zoorkhaneh. As recently as 2002, we see reports in US news alluding to this. For example, on the web site of Washington Post (July 3, 2002) and in the article "Mind Over Muscle", the reporter Teresa Wiltz writes:

    "They do not, however, usually have female groupies. You do not attempt this if you are a woman. In post-revolution Iran, you can't even look at these guys in action. (something about bare chests . . .)"

    It should be mentioned that the exclusion of women from Zoorkhaneh originates from Mithraist rituals. This has nothing to do with Islam. Mithraism in essence was a religion for warriors. Roman soldiers through contact with Mithra followers became attracted to it and in later years Mithraism spread from Iran to the Roman Empire.

  • Mythical Pahlavans, not Real History: It is important to note that the beginning of Pahlavani tradition goes back to Parthian Dynasty, but poet Ferdowsi in his epic book called Shahnameh (The Book of Kings) chronicles the events occurred during some 5,000 years of Persian dynasties. Reading Shahnameh, the reader loses the boundaries between mythical and historical events. Pahlavans like Sam, Zal, Rostam and Sohrab seem real characters, although they are mythical figures. Ferdowsi created Rostam as a strong hero fighting to preserve Iranian borders. He called him Jahan Pahlavan (Pahlavan of the World). When contemporary wrestler Gholamreza Takhti became Iran's Pahlavan in 1957, the Iranian people gave him the title of Jahan Pahlavan borrowed from Ferdowsi's Shahnameh. For the first time a mythical figure like Rostam and a real historical personage like Takhti shared the same title, hence making the line between myth and reality even more transparent.

• To Be Continued

• Misinformation

  • Habibullah Bolour's Articles:

  • Teyeb Haj Rezai:

  • Homa Airline Magazine:

  • Ancient Sport (Varzesh Bastani):

  • Indian Club:

• Misrepresentations

  • The Original Sin:

  • Shaban "the Brainless":

  • Foreign Dignitaries at Zoorkhaneh:

  • Professor Christian Barnard's Book:

  • Mr. Iranpanah's Book "koshtigir":

  • Article in "Pajouhesh" Magazine:

  • Pahlavani Practice in Public Parks in the US:

  • Pahlavans on Championship Platform:

  • Persian Gymnasium: