Khvarenah

Khvarenah, in New Persian Farr, is a mystical radiant force emanating from men chosen by God that confers upon them both the right to rule and the cosmic capacity to do so justly.

Farr is understood as a real presence: an invisible yet palpable aura of righteousness that legitimizes rule, enables victory, and proves divine favor. A king possesses the Farr when his rule aligns with asha (cosmic truth/order); he loses it the moment druj ('the Lie', more generally, pride, cruelty, or falsehood) enter his heart. It is one of the most ancient concepts in Iranian civilization, attested long before the establishment of the First Persian Empire;

The Khvarenah of the Kiani,
Khvarenah that divinities and mortals alike should strive for.

— Yasht 19, Avesta; holy scripture of Zoroastrianism

The idea continues to dominate Iranian debates about just leadership up to the present day. While the 1979 Revolution nominally positioned itself against absolute monarchy, supporters of Khomeini "drew upon the concept of Farr. The Ayatollah specifically relied on the Iranian penchant for a supreme monarch endowed with a divine right to rule when he converted Iran's Islamic clerics into a new monarchical dynasty, with absolute power."


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