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در خدمت پنج سلطان
A dramatic account of the evolution of Iran by one who took part.
542 pages, Paperback
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 4, 2020
“I am the very model of a modern Persian general”
At the beginning of the 20th century, when this author was but five years old, Iran lay supine before Russia and Britain who were still competing for dominance in Central Asia—the Great Game, as it was called. There were no roads or railroads, few schools or hospitals, and the various tribes and ethnic groups in the vast land operated more or less independently. Gen. Hassan Arfa, born of an Iranian father and Russian/English mother, lived the first part of his life in Europe in the lap of luxury. His family had a home in Monte Carlo, he studied in various elite schools in France or Switzerland, never set foot in Iran, but nevertheless conceived the idea that he should be a soldier defending Islam and Iran. Before "returning", as a young soldier he fought for the Turkish Army in the Balkan War against the Bulgarians. This book is his autobiography; a soldier’s story written almost in the style of a report, with a minimum of personal information. “I went here, I met this person, I fought this group, I fought that group, I was named to this rank, then that rank, I became an ambassador, I always stood by my shah, my commanders, and my men.” The narrative breaks off at 1964, after which the book was published, but Arfa lived to be 88 years old, abandoning his country when the Islamic Revolution occurred, and dying in Monte Carlo.
You can read a lot of interesting information about one officer’s experiences in all the trials and tribulations that Iran went through in the years 1917-1963—fighting a nascent Communist government under Bolshevik inspiration in the Caspian provinces, fighting Kurds, Turkomans, and other tribal peoples in order to extend national rule throughout the country, dealing with the World War II occupation of Iran by the USSR and Britain, fighting to avoid being swallowed by the USSR and its scheme for an independent (south) Azerbaijan in 1945-46, and being in the center of the Mosaddegh-oil nationalization crisis in the early fifties. Arfa presents himself as the ultimate straight arrow, never wavering in his support for the Pahlavi dynasty, never changing his boundless admiration for the Shahs. He never regrets a single thing, never admits to a single mistake, and says not a whit about the poverty, secret police, repression, or CIA interference. I don’t think he lied, but his gaze was a very elite one, also the view of a person who lived in great luxury all his life and hobnobbed with famous and powerful people. It’s an interesting life story, but too loaded with hundreds of names and trivial events mixed with that story. If you want to know what a person of that ilk thought and experienced, this could be your book. Similarly, if you’re interested in Iranian history, you may get a particular version of the inside story here, but believe me, it’s not the only version.
At the beginning of the 20th century, when this author was but five years old, Iran lay supine before Russia and Britain who were still competing for dominance in Central Asia—the Great Game, as it was called. There were no roads or railroads, few schools or hospitals, and the various tribes and ethnic groups in the vast land operated more or less independently. Gen. Hassan Arfa, born of an Iranian father and Russian/English mother, lived the first part of his life in Europe in the lap of luxury. His family had a home in Monte Carlo, he studied in various elite schools in France or Switzerland, never set foot in Iran, but nevertheless conceived the idea that he should be a soldier defending Islam and Iran. Before "returning", as a young soldier he fought for the Turkish Army in the Balkan War against the Bulgarians. This book is his autobiography; a soldier’s story written almost in the style of a report, with a minimum of personal information. “I went here, I met this person, I fought this group, I fought that group, I was named to this rank, then that rank, I became an ambassador, I always stood by my shah, my commanders, and my men.” The narrative breaks off at 1964, after which the book was published, but Arfa lived to be 88 years old, abandoning his country when the Islamic Revolution occurred, and dying in Monte Carlo.
You can read a lot of interesting information about one officer’s experiences in all the trials and tribulations that Iran went through in the years 1917-1963—fighting a nascent Communist government under Bolshevik inspiration in the Caspian provinces, fighting Kurds, Turkomans, and other tribal peoples in order to extend national rule throughout the country, dealing with the World War II occupation of Iran by the USSR and Britain, fighting to avoid being swallowed by the USSR and its scheme for an independent (south) Azerbaijan in 1945-46, and being in the center of the Mosaddegh-oil nationalization crisis in the early fifties. Arfa presents himself as the ultimate straight arrow, never wavering in his support for the Pahlavi dynasty, never changing his boundless admiration for the Shahs. He never regrets a single thing, never admits to a single mistake, and says not a whit about the poverty, secret police, repression, or CIA interference. I don’t think he lied, but his gaze was a very elite one, also the view of a person who lived in great luxury all his life and hobnobbed with famous and powerful people. It’s an interesting life story, but too loaded with hundreds of names and trivial events mixed with that story. If you want to know what a person of that ilk thought and experienced, this could be your book. Similarly, if you’re interested in Iranian history, you may get a particular version of the inside story here, but believe me, it’s not the only version.
January 2, 2019
كتاب بسيار جذاب و پر كشش از انتهاي دوران قاجار تا زمان پهلوي كه شرح فعاليت هاي نويسنده (حسن ارفع)، سفرهايش در زمانه پر خطر آن روزگار و شرح جنگهاي آن زمان به منظور سركوت خانات و ايجاد امنيت در كشور توسط رضاشاه. جداي از جذابيت هاي تاريخي كه اين كتاب براي من داشت، نثر بسيار زيباي كتاب براي من فوق العاده بود انگار كه يك رمان هيجان انگيز مي خوندم.
May 18, 2019
مزیت اصلی خاطرات ارفع در به تصویر کشیدن بلبشویِ افسارگسیخته حاکم بر ایران قبل کودتای رضاخان است، حضور خود نویسنده در بسیاری از سرکوب های سال های صدرات پهلوی اول کتاب را پر از اطلاعات دست اول کرده است، تنها نکتهای که خواندن کتاب را حتی در جاهایی، غیرقابل تحمل میکند نگاه سراسر ستایشگرانه و غیر تاریخی نویسنده است که نسبت به شخص رضاشاه و محمدرضا دارد.
June 22, 2016
در كتاب در خدمت پنج سلطان، نویسنده ضمن خاطرات خود، هفتاد سال تاریخ معاصر ایران را از زمان ناصرالدین شاه تا سال 1343روایت میكند. نویسنده 33سال در دوران پهلوی با درجه افسری در ارتش مشغول فعالیت بوده، سپس مشاغل سیاسی و دیپلماتیك متعددی برعهده داشته است .مطالب كتاب در چهار بخش و بیست و دو فصل با این عناوین فراهم آمده است : بخش اول : قبل از جنگ جهانی اول در اروپا و ایران، در زمان آخرین شاهان سلسله قاجار 1287ـ 1273(1919ـ1895)، بخش دوم : ایران در زمان رضاشاه پهلوی، نوسازی 1319ـ1297 (1919-1941)، بخش سوم : بحران اقتصادی در طی جنگ جهانی دوم در ایران، بخش چهارم : ایران معاصر و محمدرضا شاه، پیشرفت توام با تقلا و كوشش و تحولات 1341ـ1324 (1963ـ1946) .صفحات پایانی كتاب به تعدادی عكس از نگارنده، بستگان او، شاهان قاجار و پهلوی و برخی شخصیتهای سیاسی اختصاص دارد .
April 5, 2020
در روایات مربوط به دوره پهلوی و سیاست های هر کدام از شاهان پهلوی تناقضات آشکاری در بیان نویسنده است
ولی خواندن نظریات یک نظامی وطن پرست و شاهدوست ایرانی لطف خودش را داشت
ولی خواندن نظریات یک نظامی وطن پرست و شاهدوست ایرانی لطف خودش را داشت
October 18, 2020
کتاب بیشتر شکل خاطرات ارفع رو داره.
برای درک کارهای رضاشاه اطلاعات مفیدی میده و همینطور اطلاعاتی راجعبه کشورهایی که نویسنده در اونجا زندگی کرده.
برای درک کارهای رضاشاه اطلاعات مفیدی میده و همینطور اطلاعاتی راجعبه کشورهایی که نویسنده در اونجا زندگی کرده.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews