The 1979 Iranian Revolution’s Martyr-Tulip Motif

Record summary

Iranian revolutionary discourse and imagery associated martyrs with red tulips, commonly linked to the older poetic and Shi‘i symbolism of blood, sacrifice, and renewal. In some retellings, the motif becomes a quasi-legendary transformation in which martyrs’ blood produces tulips. This is valuable for comparing inherited religious symbolism with rapidly circulating revolutionary folklore, posters, sermons, and commemorative practices. The exact origin of particular formulations is difficult to establish, and researchers should distinguish poetic metaphor, ritual symbolism, and literalized oral retellings.