In the graphic novel Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi’s childhood home is Iran.
Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic memoir about growing up in Iran during and after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. The book follows her childhood in Tehran, her family’s political discussions, the Iran–Iraq War, and her later experiences abroad. Its black-and-white artwork combines a child’s viewpoint with the author’s adult reflection.
The title refers to Persepolis, the ancient ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire near modern Shiraz. That historical reference contrasts Iran’s ancient cultural heritage with the political upheavals described in Satrapi’s memoir. The graphic novel was originally published in French in two volumes in 2000 and 2004, then translated into English.
Persepolis is sometimes mistaken for a fictional adventure or a memoir set primarily in Iraq because the Iran–Iraq War is important to its story. Its central setting and the author’s childhood identity are Iranian.