The Philosophical Foundations of the Idea of Iran in Medieval Islamic Governmentality

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

mohammad osmani ¹

Seyyad Hossein Athari ²

Morteza Manshadi ²

¹ Phd student in political science, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

² Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

10.22067/ips.2026.96042.1019

Abstract

This study investigates the philosophical foundations of the concept of “Iran” within the framework of medieval Islamic governmentality by tracing the transformation of political philosophy from post-ancient Iran (Sassanid period) to the Islamic era. The research focuses on how the idea of governance—originally grounded in Sassanid political wisdom—was reinterpreted through the epistemic and institutional shifts of the Translation Movement, shaping the intellectual discourse of Islamic governance? Drawing on Michel Foucault’s notion of governmentality, the paper conceptualizes governance as a complex configuration of knowledge, power, and subject formation that transcends the limits of sovereignty. By situating Iranian political thought within this Foucauldian framework, the study reveals how pre-Islamic notions of rule, legitimacy, and moral order were absorbed and transformed in Islamic philosophical discourse. The findings suggest that the “idea of Iran” persisted not as a territorial or ethnocentric identity, but as a philosophical-political paradigm of governance based on ethical self-regulation and the harmonization of power with wisdom. This continuity underscores the role of philosophical reflection in shaping models of rule that transcend temporal and cultural boundaries, thereby offering a deeper understanding of the intellectual genealogy of Islamic political thought.

Keywords

Governmentality

Political Philosophy

Idea of Iran

Foucault

Islamic Governance

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