History is powerful. It impacts our cultural narratives and modern sense of self.

The goal of the 1001 Shahs of Iran project is to illustrate Iranian historical figures so we can reengage with the past to better understand the present.

The artist’s process:

• start with archeological evidence like ancient coins, busts, written descriptions, and family trees.

• employ exciting modern tools like video game character creators and an AI painting tool to create the first draft of the portrait.

• digitally pain the image to add relevant accessories like crowns and jewels and to make it further resemble the archeological evidence.

• write descriptions in English and Farsi and rank the recreation’s level of reliability.

The families covered in this project, to date:

Pre Median Period
Coming soon

Median and Achaemenian Period
Median Kings
Achaemenid Kings
Achaemenian Satraps
Fratakas

Parthian Period
Arcacid Kings
Perso-Greek House Pontus
House of Ariobarzanes of Capadocia
Kingdom of Sophene and house of Orontes of Armenia
Kingdom of Atropatene
Kings of Persis and house of Dara
Indo-Parthian Kings
Kushan Rulers
Kingdom of Elymais

Sassanian Period
House of Sasan
Kushano-Sassanian Kings

Post Islamic Iran

Coming soon

Impact
Impressions to Date: 17,500,000+
Hours Spent: ~1,200
Active Since: January 2021
Last updated: July 2022

Audience feedback:

The audience reactions that stick out the most over the course of this project are the personal ones. One woman wrote that a reimagined queen looked exactly like a nurse she’d worked alongside. Several people have submitted selfies, showing how closely they ressemble Shahs from certain periods. A young person shared “today I feel very proud of my prominent nose after seeing this image.”

“That type of reaction and engagement with the material is beyond what I could have hoped for when I started this project,” - Mo Rasoulipour

Publisher
Eranshahr
Digital
Instagram - @mo.rasoulipour
Print
Coming soon

Team Members
Mohammad Rasoulipour - Steward, Illustrator, Researcher, Author