section_path: Culture/Philosophy
section_name: Philosophy
paragraph_text: Philosophy
  
  Iranian philosophy can be traced back as far as Old Iranian philosophical traditions and thoughts which originated in ancient Indo-Iranian roots and were influenced by Zarathustra 's teachings. Throughout Iranian history and due to remarkable political and social changes such as the Arab and Mongol invasions, a wide spectrum of schools of thoughts showed a variety of views on philosophical questions, extending from Old Iranian and mainly Zoroastrianism -related traditions, to schools appearing in the late pre-Islamic era such as Manicheism and Mazdakism as well as post-Islamic schools.
  
  The Cyrus Cylinder is seen as a reflection of the questions and thoughts expressed by Zoroaster and developed in Zoroastrian schools of the Achaemenid era. Post-Islam Iranian philosophy is characterized by different interactions with the Old Iranian philosophy, the Greek philosophy and with the development of Islamic philosophy. The Illumination School and the Transcendent Philosophy are regarded as two of the main philosophical traditions of that era in Iran. Contemporary Iranian philosophy has been limited in its scope by intellectual repression.