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{{Infobox Country or territory|conventional_long_name = جمهوری اسلامی ايرانIslamic Republic of Iran|common_name = Iran|image_flag = Flag of Iran.svg|image_coat = Coat of arms of Iran.svg|symbol_type = Emblem|image_map = LocationIran.png|official_religion =
Shi'a Islam)"Independence, freedom, Islamic Republic"(introduced 1979)|national_anthem = [Sorud-e Melli-e Iran ²|capital =
Tehran|demonym = Iranian|government_type = [Islamic republic|leader_title1 =
Supreme Leader of Iran|leader_name1 = |leader_title2 =
President of Iran|leader_name2 = |sovereignty_type = Unification|established_event1 =
Cyrus the Great|established_date1 = 559 BCE|established_event2 =
Parthia|established_date2 = 248 BCE-224 CE|established_event3 =
Sasanian|established_date3 = 224–651 CE|established_event4 =
Safavid|established_date4 = May 1502|established_event5 = Iranian Constitution of 1906|established_date5 = 1906|established_event6 =
Iranian Revolution|established_date6 = 1979|area_km2 = 1,648,195|area_sq_mi = 636,372 ]-->|population_density_rank = 158th|population_census = 70,472,846³|population_census_year = 2006 (1385 Iranian calendar)|population_census_rank = 18th|GDP_PPP = $610 billion (2006)
note: estimates ranges from $602 billion (2006) by IMF International Monetary Fund - World Economic Outlook Database, April 2007, retrieved 1 Oct 2007 to $735 billion (2006) by
Economist Intelligence Unit Economist.com, Country Briefings: Iran, Factsheet, 25 Sept 2007, retrieved 1 Oct 2007|GDP_PPP_rank = 19th |GDP_PPP_year = 2006|GDP_PPP_per_capita = $8,700 (2006)
note: estimates ranges from $8,624 (2006) by IMF to $10,494 (2006) by Economist Intelligence Unit |GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 74th|GDP_nominal = $212.4 billion |GDP_nominal_rank = 32nd|GDP_nominal_year = 2005|GDP_nominal_per_capita = $3,046 |GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 92nd|Gini = 43.0|Gini_year = 1998|Gini_category = medium|HDI_year = 2004|HDI = 0.746|HDI_rank = 96th|HDI_category = medium|currency =
Iranian rial (ريال)]|utc_offset = +3:30|time_zone_DST = not observed|utc_offset_DST = +3:30|cctld =
.ir: ), officially the [Islamic Republic of Iran (, transliteration:
Jomhūrī-ye Eslāmī-ye Īrān), formerly known internationally as
Persian Empire, is a
Southwest Asian country located in the geographical territories of the Middle East, Southern Asia,,
Central Asia and the Caucasus. Shi'a Islam is the state religion and
Persian language the official language.
The 18th largest country in the world in terms of area at 1,648,000 square kilometers, Iran is about the size of United Kingdom, France, Spain and
Germany combined. It has a population of over seventy million people.
Iran borders Armenia,
Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan to the north;
Afghanistan and
Pakistan to the east; and
Turkey and
Iraq to the west. In addition, it borders the Persian Gulf, an important oil-producing area,
Gulf of Oman, and the
Caspian Sea. Because of its geographically central location it also has a proximity to Europe,
Africa, South Asia and Central Asia and is therefore considered to be of geographical importance. IRAN @ 2000 and Beyond lecture series, opening address, W. Herbert Hunt, 18 May 2000, retrieved 1 Oct 2007
The Politics and Government of Iran comprises several intricately connected governing bodies. It is based on the 1979 Constitution of Islamic Republic of Iran. The highest state authority is
Supreme Leader of Iran, currently
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran is one of the world's oldest continuous major civilizations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to 4000 BCE, making it a possible candidate for the earliest human civilization. Xinhua, "New evidence: modern civilization began in Iran", 10 Aug 2007, retrieved 1 Oct 2007 Iran Daily, "Panorama", 3 Mar 2007, retrieved 1 Oct 2007 Iranian.ws, "Archaeologists: Modern civilization began in Iran based on new evidence", 12 Aug 2007, retrieved 1 Oct 2007 Throughout history Iran has been of geostrategy importance because of its central location in Eurasia. Iran is a founding member of the
United Nations,
Non-Aligned Movement, Organization of the Islamic Conference, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Economic Cooperation Organization, and seeks to join the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
It occupies an important position in international energy security and world economy due to its large reserves of
petroleum and natural gas. BBC NEWS -
Iran's growing regional influence.The country is known for its independent stances in the global arena. Iran is currently a regional power. parliament.uk, "Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, Eighth Report, Iran, retrieved 1 Oct 2007 The name Iran is a cognate of
Aryan, and literally means "Land of the
Aryans". hinduwebsite.com, "The Concepts of Hinduism - Arya", retrieved 1 Oct 2007 imp.lss.wisc.edu, "Iranian Languages", Political, Social, Scientific, Literary & Artistic (Monthly) Oct 2000, No. 171, Dr. Suzan Kaviri, pages 26-27, retrieved 1 Oct 2007 "Iran - The Ancient Name of Iran", N.S. Gill, retrieved 1 Oct 2007
Etymology
The term
Iran (ایران) in modern Persian derives from the Proto-Iranian term
Aryānām first attested in
Zoroastrianism Avesta tradition. As in Zoroaster's lifetime, differing dates for
Avestan have been proposed; scholarly consensus floats around 1000 BCE (roughly contemporary to the Brahmana period of
Vedic Sanskrit).
Ariya- and
Airiia- are also attested as an ethnic designator in Achaemenid inscriptions. The term
Ērān from Middle Persian
Ērān,
Pahlavi ʼyrʼn, is found at the inscription that accompanies the investiture relief of Ardashir I at Naqsh-e Rustam. In this inscription, the king's appellation in Middle Persian contains the term
ērān (Pahlavi:
ʼryʼn), while in the
Parthian language inscription that accompanies it, Iran is mentioned as
aryān. In Ardashir's time
ērān retained this meaning, denoting
the people rather than
the state.
Notwithstanding this inscriptional use of
ērān to refer to the Iranian peoples, the use of
ērān to refer to the empire is also attested by the early Sassanid period. An inscription of Shapur I, Ardashir's son and immediate successor, apparently "includes in
Ērān regions such as
Armenia and the
Caucasus which were not inhabited predominantly by Iranians." In
Kartir inscriptions the high priest includes the same regions in his list of provinces of the antonymic
Anērān. Both
ērān and
aryān comes from the
Proto-Iranian term
Aryānām, (Land) of the (Iranian) Aryas. The word and concept of Airyanem Vaejah is present in the name of the country Iran (Lit. Land of the Aryans) where Iran (
Ērān), is modern-Persian of the word
Aryānā.
Since the
Iranian Revolution of 1979, the official name of the country is "Islamic Republic of Iran." For the pre-1935 use of "Persia" as the western name for Iran, see Iran naming dispute.
History
Early history and the Median and Achaemenian Empires (3200 BCE – 330 BCE)
, Circa200 BCE. The names Ariana (Aryânâ) were used to describe the region where the
Iranian Plateau is found.Dozens of prehistory sites across the Iranian plateau point to the existence of ancient cultures and urban settlements, centuries before the earliest civilizations arose in nearby Mesopotamia.
The Indo-Iranian culture probably originated in
Central Asia. The Andronovo culture is strongly suggested as the candidate for the common Indo-Iranian culture
ca. 2000 BCE.
Proto-Iranians first emerged following the separation of Indo-Iranians, and are traced to the
Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex, a
Bronze Age culture of
Central Asia. "The Paleolithic Indo-Europeans" — Panshin.com (retrieved
4 June 2006)Aryan, (Ancient Iranian peoples) tribes arrived in the
Iranian plateau in the third and second millennium BCE, probably in more than one wave of emigration. Further separation (due to migration) of Proto-Iranians, into an "Eastern" and a "Western" group, is attested in the form of
Avestan language, an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the sacred hymns and canon of Zoroastrianism
Avesta. And
Old Persian language, which appears primarily in the inscriptions, clay tablets, seals of the Achaemenid era (c. 600 BCE to 300 BCE). Examples of Old Persian have been found in present-day Iran, Iraq,
Turkey and Egypt.
Nomadic Iranian tribes settled across the Iranian plateau and by the 1st millennium BCE, Medes,
Persian people, Bactrians and Parthians populated the western part, while
Cimmerians, Sarmatians and
Alans populated the steppes north of the Black Sea. The Iranian
Pashtuns and
Baloch began to settle on the eastern edge, on the mountainous frontier of northwestern
India and in to what is now
Balochistan (region). Others, such as the Scythian tribes spread as far west as the
Balkans and as far east as Xinjiang.
The establishing of the
Medes (728–550 BCE) culminated in the first Iranian Empire. The Medes are credited with the foundation of Iran as a nation and empire, the largest of its day, until Cyrus the Great established a unified empire of the Medes and Persian people leading to the Achaemenid Empire (648–330 BCE), and further unification between peoples and cultures.After Cyrus's death, his son Cambyses continued his father's work of conquest, making significant gains in Egypt. A power struggle followed Cambyses' death and, despite his tenuous connection to the royal line, Darius was declared king (ruled 522–486 BCE). He was to be arguably the greatest of the ancient Persian rulers. is an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the sacred hymns and canon of the
Zoroastrianism Avesta. Scholarly consensus floats around 1000 BCE.
Zoroastrianism became the state religion under the Achamenid empire and later Iranian empires, until the 7th century CE. was the founder of the Persian Empire, and the author of "the world's oldest human rights declaration". Interview with United Nations Under-Secretary Shashi Tharoor The First Declaration of Human Rights
Abbas Milani.
Lost Wisdom. 2004. Mage Publishers. p.12. ISBN 0934211906Under Cyrus the Great and Darius the Great, the Persian Empire eventually became the largest and most powerful empire in human history up until that point. Their greatest achievement was the empire itself. The Persian Empire was "a paragon of religious and cultural tolerance".
Abbas Milani.
Lost Wisdom. 2004. Mage Publishers. p.12. ISBN 0934211906The borders of the
Persian empire stretched from the Indus and
Oxus Rivers in the East to the Mediterranean Sea in the West, extending through
Anatolia (modern day Turkey) and Egypt.
In 499BCE, Athens lent support to a revolt by one of the cities along the coast of Anatolia,
Miletus, ruled by a Greek tyrant named Aristagoras, which culminated in the sacking and burning of the city of
Sardis. This event escalated into what is known as the Greco-Persian Wars, during which Persia conquered Thrace, Macedonia, then most of the Greek mainland (Battle of Thermopylae), and razed Athens in 480BCE.However Greek victories on land at Battle of Marathon and
Battle of Platea and at sea at Battle of Salamis and Battle of Mycale forced Persia to withdraw. Fighting continued across the Eastern Mediterranean area from
Cyprus to Egypt until the peace of Callias in 449BCE.
The rules and ethics emanating from Zorasters teachings were strictly followed by the Achaemenids who introduced and adopted policies based on
human rights, equality and banning of slavery. Zoroastrianism spread unimposed during the time of the Achaemenids and through contacts with the exiled
Jewish people in Babylon freed by Cyrus, Zoroastrian concepts further propagated and influenced into other
Abrahamic religions. The Golden Age of Athens marked by
Aristotle, Plato and
Socrates also came about during the Achaemenid period while their contacts with Persia and the Near East abounded. The peace, tranquility, security and prosperity that were afforded to the people of the Near East and Southeastern Europe proved to be a rare historical occurrence, an unparalleled period where commerce prospered, and the standard of living for all people of the region improved. vohuman.org, "Historical perspective on Zoroastrianism", Reproduced from Âtaš-è Dorün - The Fire Within, Jamshid Soroush Soroushian Memorial Volume II, 1st Books Library, Bloomington, IN, 2003, retrieved 1 Oct 2007, 559 BCE–330 BCEAlexander the Great - referred to as "the accursed" in the Zoroastrian Middle Persian
Book of Arda Viraf - invaded Achaemenid territory in 334 BCE, defeating the last Achaemenid Emperor
Darius III at the Battle of Issus in 333 BCE. He left the annexed territory in 328-327.In each of the former Achaemenid territories he installed his own officers as caretakers, which led to friction and ultimately to the Partition of Babylon after Alexander's death. A reunification would not occur until 700 years later, under the Sassanids (see below). Unlike the
diadochic Seleucids and the succeeding Arsacids, who used a vassal state, the Sassanids - like the Achaemenids - had a system of governors (MP:
shahrab) personally appointed by the Emperor and directed by the central government. The new empire led by Alexander became the first, of other, later, foreign ruled Iranian empires that came to promote a Persianate society.
Third Iranian Empire: Parthian Empire (248 BCE – 224 CE)
, civilized, friend of Greeks. Parthia was led by the Arsacid dynasty (اشکانیان Ashkâniân), who reunited and ruled over the Iranian plateau, after defeating the
Hellenic Greece Seleucid Empire, beginning in the late third century BCE, and intermittently controlled
Mesopotamia between ca 150 BCE and 224 CE. These were the third native dynasty of ancient Iran (
Persia) and lasted five centuries.After the conquests of Medes, Assyria, Babylonia and Elam, the Parthians had to organize their empire. The former elites of these countries were Greeks, and the new rulers had to adapt to their customs if they wanted their rule to last. As a result, the cities retained their ancient rights and civil administrations remained more or less undisturbed. An interesting detail is coinage: legends were written in the Greek alphabet, a practice that continued until the 2nd century CE, when local knowledge of the language was in decline and few people knew how to read or write the
Greek alphabet., the arch-rival of Rome, at its greatest extent (
c. 60 BCE), superimposed over modern borders.Parthia was the arch-enemy of the
Roman Empire in the east, limiting Rome's expansion beyond Cappadocia (central
Anatolia). By using a heavily-armed and armored cataphract cavalry, and lightly armed but highly-mobile Horse archer, the Parthians "held their own against Rome for almost 300 years".
Persians: Masters of Empire, 1995, ISBN 0809491044, p.142–143 Rome's acclaimed general Mark Antony led a disastrous campaign against the Parthians in 36 BCE in which he lost 32,000 men. By the time of Roman emperor
Augustus, Rome and Parthia were settling some of their differences through diplomacy. By this time, Parthia had acquired an assortment of
golden eagles, the cherished standards of Rome's legions, captured from Mark Antony, and Crassus, who suffered "a disastrous defeat" at
Carrhae in 53 BCE.Cotterell, Arthur.
From Aristotle to Zoroaster: An a to Z Companion to the Classical World. 1998. p.272
During Parthian, and later
Sassanid era, trade on the Silk Road was a significant factor in the development of the great civilizations of
China, Ancient Egypt,
Mesopotamia, Persia,
Indian subcontinent, and Ancient Rome, and helped to lay the foundations for the modern world.Parthian remains display classically Greek influences in some instances and retain their oriental mode in others, a clear expression of "the cultural diversity that characterized Parthian art and life".
Persians: Masters of Empire, 1995, ISBN 0809491044, p.134 The Parthians were
Parthian style (Iranian architecture) such as that of Ctesiphon, which later on "influenced European
Romanesque architecture".
Persians: Masters of Empire, 1995, ISBN 0809491044, p.138
"Even the architecture of the Christian church, with its hallowed chancel seems inspired by the designs of Mithraic temples". Abbas Milani.
Lost Wisdom. 2004. Mage Publishers. p.13. ISBN 0934211906
Fourth Iranian Empire: Sassanid Empire () (224 – 651 CE)
, superimposed over modern borders.The end of the Parthian Empire came in 224 CE, when the empire was loosely organized and the last king was defeated by Ardashir I, one of the empire's vassals.
Ardashir I then went on to create the Sassanid Empire. Soon he started reforming the country both economically and militarily. the Great displays the craftsmanship commanded by Sassanid artisans.
The Sassanids established an empire roughly within the frontiers achieved by the Achaemenids, referring to it as
Erânshahr or
Iranshahr,
, "Dominion of the Aryans", i.e. of Iranian peoples), with their capital at
Ctesiphon.Garthwaite, Gene R.,
The Persians, p. 2
During their reign, Sassanid battles with the Roman Empire caused such pessimism in Rome that the historian
Cassius Dio wrote:{{Cquote],
Shapur I, and
Shapur II.Lorentz, John H.
Historical Dictionary of Iran.Asian Historical Dictionaries; No.16. 1995. ISBN 9780810829947, p.189
Under the Sassanids, Persia Iran-China relations, the
Sassanid art,
Sassanid music, and Sassanid architecture greatly flourished, and centers such as the
School of Nisibis and Academy of Gundishapur became world renowned centers of science and scholarship.
After roughly six hundred years of confrontation and rivalry with the
Roman Empire, raids from the Arab peninsula began attacking the Sassanin and
Byzantine Empire frontiers in which a war-exhausted Persia was defeated in the
Battle of al-Qâdisiyah, paving way for the
Islamic conquest of Persia.
From the fall of the Sassanid Dynasty to the Safavid Empire (652–1501 CE)
from 7th century
Persia. Cast, chased, and inlaid bronze.
New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.After the
Islamic conquest of Persia, Persia was annexed into the
Umayyad. But the
Islamization in Iran was to yield deep transformations within the cultural, scientific, and political structure of Iran's society: The blossoming of
Persian literature,
Iranian philosophy, Science and technology in Iran and
Persian art became major elements of the newly-forming Muslim civilization. Inheriting a heritage of thousands of years of civilization, and being at the "crossroads of the major cultural highways",Caheb C., Cambridge History of Iran,
Tribes, Cities and Social Organization, vol. 4, p305–328 contributed to Persia emerging as what culminated into the "Islamic Golden Age".
It was the Persian general
Abu Muslim, who expelled the
Umayyads from
Damascus and helped the
Abbasid caliphs to conquer
Baghdad. The Abbasid caliphs frequently chose their "
Vizier" (viziers) among Persians, and Persian governors acquired a certain amount of local autonomy. Thus in 822 CE, the governor of Khorasan, Tahir II of Khorasan, proclaimed his independence and founded a new Persian dynasty of
Tahirid dynasty. And by the Samanid era, Persia's efforts to regain its independence had been well solidified.Bosworth C. E., Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 4, p.90
Attempts of Arabization thus never succeeded in Iran, and movements such as the Shuubiyah became catalysts for Persians to regain their independence in their relations with the Arab invaders.The cultural revival of the post-Abbasid period led to a resurfacing of Persian national identity. The resulting cultural movement reached its peak during the
9th century and
10th century. The most notable effect of the movement was the continuation of the Persian language, the language of the Persians and the official language of Iran to the present day. Ferdowsi, Iran's greatest epic poet, is regarded today as the most important figure in maintaining the Persian language.
Before the conquest, Iranian philosophical traditions and thoughts which originated in ancient
Indo-Iranian roots, were considerably influenced by
Zoroasters teachings. The Persians had been mainly Zoroastrian, however, there were also large and thriving Christian and
Jewish communities. The newly converted Iranian Muslims projected many of their own Persian moral and ethical values that predates the advent of
Islam, while recognizing Islam as their religion and the prophet's son in law, Ali, as an enduring symbol of justice. copy of Avicenna's
Canon of Medicine, which was the standard medical text in Europe for seven centuries.After an interval of silence Persians remained Persians and Iran reemerged as a separate, different and distinctive element within Islam.
Culturally, politically, and religiously, the Iranian contribution to this new
Islamic civilization is of immense importance. The work of Iranians can be seen in every field of scientific and cultural endeavor, including Arabic poetry, to which poets of Iranian origin composing their poems in
Arabic made a significant contribution.
Persian Islam Islam-i Ajam was brought to new areas and new peoples: to the
Turkish people, first in Central Asia and then in the Middle East in the country which came to be called Turkey, as well as to
India and beyond. The Ottoman Turks brought a form of Iranian civilization to the walls of
Vienna http://www.tau.ac.il/dayancenter/mel/lewis.html .
Iranian philosophy after the Islamic conquest, 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 Persia.
The movement continued well into the eleventh century, when Mahmud of Ghazni founded a vast empire, with its capital at
Isfahan and Ghazna. Their successors, the Seljuk dynasty, asserted their domination from the
Mediterranean Sea to Central Asia. As with their predecessors, the divan of the empire was in the hands of Persian
viziers, who founded the Nizamiyya.During this period, List of Iranian scientists and scholars vastly contributed to technology, science and medicine, later influencing the rise of European science during the Renaissance.Kühnel E., in
Zeittschrift der deutschen morgenländischen Gesell, Vol. CVI (1956)
In 1218, the eastern
Khwarezmian Empire provinces of
Transoxiana and
Khorasan suffered a devastating invasion by Genghis Khan. During this period more than half of Persia's population were killed,The memoirs of
Edward Teller,
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory "Science and Technology Review". July/August 1998. Link: turning the streets of Persian cities like
Neishabur into "rivers of blood", as the severed heads of men, women, and children were "neatly stacked into carefully constructed pyramids around which the carcasses of the city's dogs and cats were placed".
Sandra Mackey.
The Iranians: Persia, Islam, and the soul of a nation. 1996. ISBN 0-525-94005-7. p.69. Between 1220 and 1260, the total population of Persia may had dropped from 2,500,000 to 250,000 as a result of mass
murder and famine. Battuta's Travels: Part Three - Persia and IraqIn a letter to King
Louis IX of France, Hulagu Khan, one of the Genghis Khan's grandsons, alone took responsibility for 200,000 deaths in his raids of Persia and the Caliphate.
Mackey, p. 70 He was followed by yet another conqueror, Timur, who established his capital in Samarkand. Old World Contacts/Armies/Tamerlane
The waves of devastation prevented many cities such as Neishabur from reaching their pre-invasion population levels until the 20th century, eight centuries later.Mackey, S.
The Iranians: Persia, Islam, and the soul of a nation. 1996. ISBN 0-525-94005-7. p.69.But both Hulegu,
Timur and their successors soon came to adopt the ways and customs of that which they had conquered, choosing to surround themselves with a culture that was distinctively Persian.
The Persians ruled for a thousand years and did not need us even for a day. We have been ruling them for one or two centuries and cannot do without them for an hour.Bertold Spuler.
The Muslim World. Vol.I The Age of the Caliphs. Leiden. E.J. Brill. 1960 ISBN 0-685-23328-6 p.29
The birth of modern Iran: Rise of the Safavid Empire (1501 – 1920)
, an Iranian Kingdom at its Greatest Extent., the founder of the
Safavid dynasty (1501 to 1736).Persia's first encompassing
Shi'a Islamic state was established under the Safavid dynasty in 1501 by
Shah Ismail I. The Safavid dynasty soon became a major political power and promoted the flow of bilateral state contacts. The Safavid peak was during the rule of "
Shah Abbas I". "The Islamic World to 1600", The Applied History Research Group, The University of Calgary, 1998, retrieved 1 Oct 2007 The Shah swiftly moved to defeat the Uzbeks,
Ottomans, and Portuguese Empire, bringing a flow of prosperity into Iranian cities.
The Safavids moved their capital from
Tabriz to Qazvin and then to
Isfahan where their patronage for the arts propelled Persia into one of its most aesthetically productive eras. Under their rule, the state became highly centralized, the first attempts to modernize the military were made, and even
Isfahani style (Iranian architecture).
The defeat of
Husayn (Safavid) by Afghan rebels marked the start of the downfall of the Safavid era in 1722. One year after the last Safavid monarch lost his throne in 1735, Nader Shah successfully drove out the Afghan rebels from Isfahan and established the
Afsharid dynasty. He then staged an incursion into India in 1738 securing the Peacock throne,
Koh-i-Noor, and Darya-ye Noor among other royal family treasures. His rule did not last long however, and he was assassinated in 1747.
The Mashhad based Afshar dynasty was succeeded by the Zand dynasty in 1750, founded by
Karim Khan, who established his capital at
Shiraz. His rule brought a period of relative peace and renewed prosperity. The Afshar dynasty lasted three generations, until
Mohammad Khan Qajar executed Lotf Ali Khan (assisted by the young Zand king's betrayal by his chancellor), and founded his new capital in
Tehran, marking the dawn of the Qajar in 1794. The capable
Qajar chancellor Amir Kabir established
Dar ul-Funun system, among other modernizing reforms. Mohammad Khan Qajars successors however gradually transformed Iran into an arena for the rising colonial powers of Imperial Russia and the British Empire, which wielded great political influence in
Tehran under the subsequent
Qajarid kings. Yet in spite of
The Great Game, Iran managed to maintain her sovereignty and was never colonized, unlike neighboring states in the region.
Persia suffered Russo-Persian Wars during the
Qajar era, resulting in Persia losing almost half of its territories to Imperial Russia and the British Empire via the treaties of
Treaty of Gulistan,
Treaty of Turkmenchay, and
Treaty of Akhal. Repeated foreign intervention and a corrupt and weakened Qajar rule led to
Tobacco Protest, which by the end of the Qajar period resulted in Iranian Constitutional Revolution establishing
Majles in 1906, within a
constitutional monarchy.
List of famines in 1870-1871 is believed to have caused the death of 2 million people. Persian Famine Donation Lists During the 1917-1919 famine as much as 1/4 of the population living in the north of Persia died. Global Connections . Timeline
From the Pahlavi era to the Iranian Revolution (1921 – 1979)
, former Iranian prime minister, was overthrown in a CIA-backed coup in 1953.With the rise of
modernization and encroachment of stronger Western powers in the late nineteenth century came the
Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1905–1911. Reformers hoped the constitution would strengthen Iran against
Imperial Russia and Britain by centralizing and modernizing it. Ultimately the constitution became law, but its provisions were seldom followed during most of its history.
In 1921, an army officer Reza Shah of Mazandarani and Persian descent (known as Reza Shah after assuming the throne) staged a coup d'état against the weakened
Qajar dynasty. An autocrat and supporter of modernization, Reza Shah initiated the development of modern
industry, rail transport, and establishment of a national
Higher education in Iran system. Reza Shah sought to balance the influence of Russia and Britain by seeking out assistance and technology from European powers traditionally not involved in Iranian affairs, but when World War II started his closeness to Germany alarmed allied powers Russia and Britain, Germany's enemies.
In summer of 1941 Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran to prevent Iran from allying with the Axis powers. The
Allies of World War II occupied Iran, securing a supply line to Russia, Iran's petroleum infrastructure, and forced the Shah to abdicate in favor of his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In 1951, a nationalist politician, Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh rose to prominence in Iran and was elected
Prime Minister. As Prime Minister, Mossadegh became enormously popular in Iran by nationalization the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (later British Petroleum, BP) which controlled the country's oil reserves. In response, Britain embargoed Iranian oil and began plotting to depose Mossadegh. Members of the British Intelligence Service invited the
United States to join them, convincing U.S. President Eisenhower that Mossadegh was reliant on the Tudeh Party of Iran (communism) Party to stay in power. In 1953, President Eisenhower authorized
Operation Ajax, and the CIA took the lead in overthrowing Mossadegh and supporting a U.S.-friendly monarch; and for which the
U.S. Government apologized in 2000. CNN Transcripts, "U.S. Comes Clean About The Coup In Iran", 19 Apr 2000, retrieved 1 Oct 2007
, Shah of Iran, and his wife, Queen Farah, prepare to depart after a visit to the United StatesThe CIA faced many setbacks, but the
covert operation soon went into full swing, conducted from the U.S. Embassy in Tehran under the leadership of Kermit Roosevelt, Jr. Iranians were hired to protest Mossadegh and fight pro-Mossadegh demonstrators. Anti- and pro-monarchy protestors violently clashed in the streets, leaving almost three hundred dead. The operation was successful in triggering a coup, and within days, pro-Shah tanks stormed the capital and bombarded the Prime Minister's residence. Mossadegh surrendered, and was arrested on 19 August 1953. He was tried for treason, and sentenced to three years in prison.
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi returned to power greatly strengthened and his rule became increasingly
autocracy in the following years. With strong support from the U.S. and U.K., the Shah further modernized Iranian industry, but simultaneously crushed all forms of political opposition with his intelligence agency,
SAVAK.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini became an active critic of the Shah's White Revolution and publicly denounced the government. Khomeini, who was popular in religious circles, was arrested and imprisoned for 18 months. After his release in 1964, Khomeini publicly criticized the United States government. The Shah was persuaded to send him into exile by General Hassan Pakravan. Khomeini was sent first to
Turkey, then to
Iraq and finally to
France. While in exile, he continued to denounce the Shah.
Iranian Revolution and Iran-Iraq War (1979 – 1988)
The
Iranian Revolution (also known as the Islamic Revolution) Islamic Revolution, Iran Chamber. Islamic Revolution of Iran, MS Encarta.
The Shah and the Ayatollah: Iranian Mythology and Islamic Revolution (Hardcover), ISBN, by Fereydoun Hoveyda, brother of
Amir Abbas Hoveyda. transformed Iran from a
Iranian monarchy under Shah
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, to an Islamic republic under
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution and founder of the Islamic Republic. Encyclopædia Britannica. Khomeini on February 1, 1979 from France.The revolution began in January 1978 with the first major demonstrations against the
Shah. The Iranian Revolution. After strikes and demonstrations paralyzed the country, the Shah fled the country in January 1979. On February 1, 1979 Ayatollah Khomeini returned from exile to Tehran, enthusiastically greeted by millions of Iranians. Ruhollah Khomeini, Encyclopedia Britannica. The Pahlavi dynasty collapsed ten days later on February 11 when Iran's military declared itself "neutral" after guerrillas and rebel troops overwhelmed troops loyal to the Shah in armed street fighting. Iran officially became an Islamic Republic on April 1, 1979 when Iranians overwhelmingly approved a national referendum to make it so. Iran Islamic Republic, Encyclopedia Britannica. In December 1979 the country approved a theocratic constitution, whereby Khomeini became
Supreme Leader of the country.The speed and success of the revolution surprised many throughout the world,Amuzegar,
The Dynamics of the Iranian Revolution, (1991), p.4, 9–12 as it had not been precipitated by a military defeat, a financial crisis, or a peasant rebellion.Arjomand,
Turban (1988), p. 191. It produced profound change at great speed.Amuzegar, Jahangir,
The Dynamics of the Iranian Revolution, SUNY Press, p.10 It overthrew a regime thought to be heavily protected by a lavishly financed army and security services.Harney,
Priest (1998), p. 2.Abrahamian
Iran (1982), p. 496. And it replaced a monarchy with a theocracy based on Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists (or
velayat-e faqih). Although both nationalists and Marxists joined with Islamic traditionalists to overthrow the Shah, it ultimately resulted in an Islamic Republic "under the guidance of an 80-year-old exiled religious scholar from Qom," Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini.Benard,
"The Government of God" (1984), p. 18.
Iran's relations with the United States became deeply antagonistic during the revolution. On
November 4 1979, Iranian students
Iran hostage crisis, labeling the embassy a "den of spies." PBS, American Experience, Jimmy Carter, "444 Days: America Reacts", retrieved 1 Oct 2007 They accused its personnel of being CIA agents plotting to overthrow the revolutionary government, as the CIA had done to
Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953. While the student ringleaders had not asked for permission from
Khomeini to seize the embassy,
Khomeini nonetheless supported the embassy takeover after hearing of its success. Guests of the Ayatollah: The Iran Hostage Crisis: The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam, Mark Bowden, p. 127 While most of the
female and African American hostages were released within the first months,Guests of the Ayatollah: The Iran Hostage Crisis: The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam, Mark Bowden, p. 200 the remaining fifty-two hostages were held for 444 days. This is often considered a violation of the long-standing principal of international law that diplomats are immune from arrest (diplomatic immunity). The students demanded the handover of the Shah in exchange for the hostages, and following the Shah's death in the summer of 1980, that the hostages be put on trial for espionage. Subsequently attempts by the
Jimmy Carter administration to negotiate or
Operation Eagle Claw were unsuccessful until January 1981 when the
Algiers declaration was agreed upon. The U.S. promised (among other things) in the accord to release Iranian assets that had been frozen, but as of 2007 those assets still remain frozen. meets Saddam Hussein on
19 December - 20 December
1983. Rumsfeld visited again on
24 March 1984, the day the UN reported that Iraq had used
mustard gas and
Tabun (nerve agent) nerve agent against Iranian troops. The
NY Times reported from Baghdad on 29 March
1984, that "American diplomats pronounce themselves satisfied with Iraq and the U.S., and suggest that normal diplomatic ties have been established in all but name."National Security Archive: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82}Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein decided to take advantage of what he perceived to be disorder in the wake of the Iranian Revolution and its unpopularity with Western governments. The once-strong Iranian military had been disbanded during the revolution, and with the Shah ousted, Hussein had ambitions to position himself as the new strong man of the Middle East. He also sought to expand Iraq's access to the Persian Gulf by acquiring territories that Iraq had claimed earlier from Iran during the Shah's rule. Of chief importance to Iraq was
Khuzestan Province which not only boasted a substantial
Arab population, but rich oil fields as well. On the unilateral behalf of the United Arab Emirates, the islands of
Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs became objectives as well. With these ambitions in mind, Hussein planned a full-scale assault on Iran, boasting that his forces could reach the capital within three days. On September 22,
1980 the Iraqi army invaded Iran at Khuzestan, precipitating the Iran-Iraq War. The attack took revolutionary Iran completely by surprise.
Although Saddam Hussein's forces made several early advances, by 1982, Iranian forces managed to push the Iraqi army back into Iraq. Khomeini sought to export his Islamic revolution westward into Iraq, especially on the majority Shi'a Arabs living in the country. The war then continued for six more years until 1988, when Khomeini, in his words, "drank the cup of poison" and accepted a truce mediated by the United Nations.
Tens of thousands of Iranian civilians and military personnel were killed when Iraq used
{{Infobox Country or territory|conventional_long_name = جمهوری اسلامی ايرانIslamic Republic of Iran|common_name = Iran|image_flag = Flag of Iran.svg|image_coat = Coat of arms of Iran.svg|symbol_type = Emblem|image_map = LocationIran.png|official_religion = Shi'a Islam)"Independence, freedom, Islamic Republic"(introduced 1979)|national_anthem =
[Sorud-e Melli-e Iran ²|capital =
Tehran|demonym = Iranian|government_type = [Islamic republic|leader_title1 =
Supreme Leader of Iran|leader_name1 = |leader_title2 = President of Iran|leader_name2 = |sovereignty_type = Unification|established_event1 = Cyrus the Great|established_date1 = 559 BCE|established_event2 =
Parthia|established_date2 = 248 BCE-224 CE|established_event3 = Sasanian|established_date3 = 224–651 CE|established_event4 =
Safavid|established_date4 = May 1502|established_event5 =
Iranian Constitution of 1906|established_date5 = 1906|established_event6 =
Iranian Revolution|established_date6 = 1979|area_km2 = 1,648,195|area_sq_mi = 636,372 ]-->|population_density_rank = 158th|population_census = 70,472,846³|population_census_year = 2006 (1385 Iranian calendar)|population_census_rank = 18th|GDP_PPP = $610 billion (2006)
note: estimates ranges from $602 billion (2006) by
IMF International Monetary Fund - World Economic Outlook Database, April 2007, retrieved 1 Oct 2007 to $735 billion (2006) by Economist Intelligence Unit Economist.com, Country Briefings: Iran, Factsheet, 25 Sept 2007, retrieved 1 Oct 2007|GDP_PPP_rank = 19th |GDP_PPP_year = 2006|GDP_PPP_per_capita = $8,700 (2006)
note: estimates ranges from $8,624 (2006) by
IMF to $10,494 (2006) by Economist Intelligence Unit |GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 74th|GDP_nominal = $212.4 billion |GDP_nominal_rank = 32nd|GDP_nominal_year = 2005|GDP_nominal_per_capita = $3,046 |GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 92nd|Gini = 43.0|Gini_year = 1998|Gini_category = medium|HDI_year = 2004|HDI = 0.746|HDI_rank = 96th|HDI_category = medium|currency = Iranian rial (ريال)]|utc_offset = +3:30|time_zone_DST = not observed|utc_offset_DST = +3:30|cctld = .ir: ), officially the
[Islamic Republic of Iran (, transliteration:
Jomhūrī-ye Eslāmī-ye Īrān), formerly known internationally as
Persian Empire, is a
Southwest Asian country located in the geographical territories of the
Middle East,
Southern Asia,, Central Asia and the Caucasus.
Shi'a Islam is the state religion and
Persian language the official language.
The 18th largest country in the world in terms of area at 1,648,000 square kilometers, Iran is about the size of
United Kingdom, France,
Spain and
Germany combined. It has a population of over seventy million people.
Iran borders
Armenia, Azerbaijan, and
Turkmenistan to the north;
Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east; and
Turkey and Iraq to the west. In addition, it borders the
Persian Gulf, an important oil-producing area,
Gulf of Oman, and the Caspian Sea. Because of its geographically central location it also has a proximity to
Europe, Africa,
South Asia and
Central Asia and is therefore considered to be of geographical importance. IRAN @ 2000 and Beyond lecture series, opening address, W. Herbert Hunt, 18 May 2000, retrieved 1 Oct 2007
The
Politics and Government of Iran comprises several intricately connected governing bodies. It is based on the 1979 Constitution of Islamic Republic of Iran. The highest state authority is Supreme Leader of Iran, currently Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei.
Iran is one of the world's oldest continuous major civilizations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to 4000 BCE, making it a possible candidate for the earliest human civilization. Xinhua, "New evidence: modern civilization began in Iran", 10 Aug 2007, retrieved 1 Oct 2007 Iran Daily, "Panorama", 3 Mar 2007, retrieved 1 Oct 2007 Iranian.ws, "Archaeologists: Modern civilization began in Iran based on new evidence", 12 Aug 2007, retrieved 1 Oct 2007 Throughout history Iran has been of
geostrategy importance because of its central location in
Eurasia. Iran is a founding member of the
United Nations,
Non-Aligned Movement, Organization of the Islamic Conference,
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Economic Cooperation Organization, and seeks to join the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
It occupies an important position in international energy security and world economy due to its large reserves of petroleum and
natural gas. BBC NEWS -
Iran's growing regional influence.The country is known for its independent stances in the global arena. Iran is currently a regional power. parliament.uk, "Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, Eighth Report, Iran, retrieved 1 Oct 2007 The name Iran is a cognate of
Aryan, and literally means "Land of the Aryans". hinduwebsite.com, "The Concepts of Hinduism - Arya", retrieved 1 Oct 2007 imp.lss.wisc.edu, "Iranian Languages", Political, Social, Scientific, Literary & Artistic (Monthly) Oct 2000, No. 171, Dr. Suzan Kaviri, pages 26-27, retrieved 1 Oct 2007 "Iran - The Ancient Name of Iran", N.S. Gill, retrieved 1 Oct 2007
Etymology
The term
Iran (ایران) in modern Persian derives from the Proto-Iranian term
Aryānām first attested in
Zoroastrianism Avesta tradition. As in
Zoroaster's lifetime, differing dates for
Avestan have been proposed; scholarly consensus floats around 1000 BCE (roughly contemporary to the Brahmana period of Vedic Sanskrit).
Ariya- and
Airiia- are also attested as an ethnic designator in
Achaemenid inscriptions. The term
Ērān from Middle Persian
Ērān, Pahlavi
ʼyrʼn, is found at the inscription that accompanies the investiture relief of
Ardashir I at Naqsh-e Rustam. In this inscription, the king's appellation in Middle Persian contains the term
ērān (Pahlavi:
ʼryʼn), while in the Parthian language inscription that accompanies it, Iran is mentioned as
aryān. In Ardashir's time
ērān retained this meaning, denoting
the people rather than
the state.
Notwithstanding this inscriptional use of
ērān to refer to the
Iranian peoples, the use of
ērān to refer to the empire is also attested by the early Sassanid period. An inscription of Shapur I, Ardashir's son and immediate successor, apparently "includes in
Ērān regions such as Armenia and the
Caucasus which were not inhabited predominantly by Iranians." In Kartir inscriptions the high priest includes the same regions in his list of provinces of the antonymic
Anērān. Both
ērān and
aryān comes from the
Proto-Iranian term
Aryānām, (Land) of the (Iranian) Aryas. The word and concept of
Airyanem Vaejah is present in the name of the country Iran (Lit. Land of the Aryans) where Iran (
Ērān), is modern-Persian of the word
Aryānā.
Since the
Iranian Revolution of 1979, the official name of the country is "Islamic Republic of Iran." For the pre-1935 use of "Persia" as the western name for Iran, see Iran naming dispute.
History
Early history and the Median and Achaemenian Empires (3200 BCE – 330 BCE)
,
Circa200 BCE. The names Ariana (Aryânâ) were used to describe the region where the Iranian Plateau is found.Dozens of
prehistory sites across the Iranian plateau point to the existence of ancient cultures and urban settlements, centuries before the earliest civilizations arose in nearby Mesopotamia.
The
Indo-Iranian culture probably originated in Central Asia. The Andronovo culture is strongly suggested as the candidate for the common Indo-Iranian culture
ca. 2000 BCE.
Proto-Iranians first emerged following the separation of
Indo-Iranians, and are traced to the
Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex, a Bronze Age culture of Central Asia. "The Paleolithic Indo-Europeans" — Panshin.com (retrieved 4 June 2006)Aryan, (
Ancient Iranian peoples) tribes arrived in the
Iranian plateau in the third and second
millennium BCE, probably in more than one wave of emigration. Further separation (due to migration) of Proto-Iranians, into an "Eastern" and a "Western" group, is attested in the form of
Avestan language, an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the sacred hymns and canon of
Zoroastrianism Avesta. And Old Persian language, which appears primarily in the inscriptions, clay tablets, seals of the Achaemenid era (c. 600 BCE to 300 BCE). Examples of Old Persian have been found in present-day Iran,
Iraq, Turkey and Egypt.
Nomadic Iranian tribes settled across the Iranian plateau and by the 1st millennium BCE,
Medes, Persian people, Bactrians and Parthians populated the western part, while
Cimmerians, Sarmatians and
Alans populated the steppes north of the Black Sea. The Iranian Pashtuns and Baloch began to settle on the eastern edge, on the mountainous frontier of northwestern
India and in to what is now Balochistan (region). Others, such as the
Scythian tribes spread as far west as the Balkans and as far east as Xinjiang.
The establishing of the Medes (728–550 BCE) culminated in the first Iranian Empire. The Medes are credited with the foundation of Iran as a nation and empire, the largest of its day, until
Cyrus the Great established a unified empire of the Medes and Persian people leading to the
Achaemenid Empire (648–330 BCE), and further unification between peoples and cultures.After Cyrus's death, his son Cambyses continued his father's work of conquest, making significant gains in Egypt. A power struggle followed Cambyses' death and, despite his tenuous connection to the royal line, Darius was declared king (ruled 522–486 BCE). He was to be arguably the greatest of the ancient Persian rulers. is an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the sacred hymns and canon of the
Zoroastrianism Avesta. Scholarly consensus floats around 1000 BCE.
Zoroastrianism became the state religion under the Achamenid empire and later Iranian empires, until the 7th century CE. was the founder of the Persian Empire, and the author of "the world's oldest
human rights declaration". Interview with United Nations Under-Secretary Shashi Tharoor The First Declaration of Human RightsAbbas Milani.
Lost Wisdom. 2004. Mage Publishers. p.12. ISBN 0934211906Under
Cyrus the Great and
Darius the Great, the Persian Empire eventually became the largest and most powerful empire in human history up until that point. Their greatest achievement was the empire itself. The Persian Empire was "a paragon of religious and cultural tolerance".
Abbas Milani.
Lost Wisdom. 2004. Mage Publishers. p.12. ISBN 0934211906The borders of the Persian empire stretched from the Indus and
Oxus Rivers in the East to the Mediterranean Sea in the West, extending through
Anatolia (modern day Turkey) and Egypt.
In 499BCE, Athens lent support to a revolt by one of the cities along the coast of Anatolia, Miletus, ruled by a Greek tyrant named
Aristagoras, which culminated in the sacking and burning of the city of Sardis. This event escalated into what is known as the Greco-Persian Wars, during which Persia conquered Thrace, Macedonia, then most of the Greek mainland (Battle of Thermopylae), and razed Athens in 480BCE.However Greek victories on land at Battle of Marathon and Battle of Platea and at sea at Battle of Salamis and Battle of Mycale forced Persia to withdraw. Fighting continued across the Eastern Mediterranean area from
Cyprus to
Egypt until the
peace of Callias in 449BCE.
The rules and ethics emanating from Zorasters teachings were strictly followed by the Achaemenids who introduced and adopted policies based on
human rights,
equality and banning of slavery. Zoroastrianism spread unimposed during the time of the Achaemenids and through contacts with the exiled
Jewish people in Babylon freed by Cyrus, Zoroastrian concepts further propagated and influenced into other Abrahamic religions. The Golden Age of Athens marked by
Aristotle,
Plato and Socrates also came about during the Achaemenid period while their contacts with Persia and the Near East abounded. The peace, tranquility, security and prosperity that were afforded to the people of the Near East and
Southeastern Europe proved to be a rare historical occurrence, an unparalleled period where commerce prospered, and the standard of living for all people of the region improved. vohuman.org, "Historical perspective on Zoroastrianism", Reproduced from Âtaš-è Dorün - The Fire Within, Jamshid Soroush Soroushian Memorial Volume II, 1st Books Library, Bloomington, IN, 2003, retrieved 1 Oct 2007, 559 BCE–330 BCE
Alexander the Great - referred to as "the accursed" in the Zoroastrian Middle Persian
Book of Arda Viraf - invaded Achaemenid territory in 334 BCE, defeating the last Achaemenid Emperor
Darius III at the
Battle of Issus in 333 BCE. He left the annexed territory in 328-327.In each of the former Achaemenid territories he installed his own officers as caretakers, which led to friction and ultimately to the Partition of Babylon after Alexander's death. A reunification would not occur until 700 years later, under the Sassanids (see below). Unlike the
diadochic Seleucids and the succeeding Arsacids, who used a
vassal state, the Sassanids - like the Achaemenids - had a system of governors (MP:
shahrab) personally appointed by the Emperor and directed by the central government. The new empire led by Alexander became the first, of other, later, foreign ruled Iranian empires that came to promote a Persianate society.
Third Iranian Empire: Parthian Empire (248 BCE – 224 CE)
, civilized, friend of Greeks.
Parthia was led by the Arsacid dynasty (اشکانیان Ashkâniân), who reunited and ruled over the Iranian plateau, after defeating the Hellenic Greece
Seleucid Empire, beginning in the late third century BCE, and intermittently controlled
Mesopotamia between ca 150 BCE and 224 CE. These were the third native dynasty of ancient Iran (Persia) and lasted five centuries.After the conquests of Medes, Assyria, Babylonia and
Elam, the Parthians had to organize their empire. The former elites of these countries were Greeks, and the new rulers had to adapt to their customs if they wanted their rule to last. As a result, the cities retained their ancient rights and civil administrations remained more or less undisturbed. An interesting detail is coinage: legends were written in the Greek alphabet, a practice that continued until the 2nd century CE, when local knowledge of the language was in decline and few people knew how to read or write the
Greek alphabet., the arch-rival of Rome, at its greatest extent (
c. 60 BCE), superimposed over modern borders.Parthia was the arch-enemy of the
Roman Empire in the east, limiting Rome's expansion beyond Cappadocia (central Anatolia). By using a heavily-armed and armored
cataphract cavalry, and lightly armed but highly-mobile Horse archer, the Parthians "held their own against Rome for almost 300 years".
Persians: Masters of Empire, 1995, ISBN 0809491044, p.142–143 Rome's acclaimed general
Mark Antony led a disastrous campaign against the Parthians in 36 BCE in which he lost 32,000 men. By the time of Roman emperor
Augustus, Rome and Parthia were settling some of their differences through diplomacy. By this time, Parthia had acquired an assortment of
golden eagles, the cherished standards of Rome's legions, captured from Mark Antony, and
Crassus, who suffered "a disastrous defeat" at Carrhae in 53 BCE.Cotterell, Arthur.
From Aristotle to Zoroaster: An a to Z Companion to the Classical World. 1998. p.272
During Parthian, and later
Sassanid era, trade on the Silk Road was a significant factor in the development of the great
civilizations of China, Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia,
Persia,
Indian subcontinent, and Ancient Rome, and helped to lay the foundations for the modern world.Parthian remains display classically Greek influences in some instances and retain their oriental mode in others, a clear expression of "the cultural diversity that characterized Parthian art and life".
Persians: Masters of Empire, 1995, ISBN 0809491044, p.134 The Parthians were
Parthian style (Iranian architecture) such as that of
Ctesiphon, which later on "influenced European Romanesque architecture".
Persians: Masters of Empire, 1995, ISBN 0809491044, p.138
"Even the architecture of the Christian church, with its hallowed chancel seems inspired by the designs of Mithraic temples".
Abbas Milani.
Lost Wisdom. 2004. Mage Publishers. p.13. ISBN 0934211906
Fourth Iranian Empire: Sassanid Empire () (224 – 651 CE)
, superimposed over modern borders.The end of the Parthian Empire came in 224 CE, when the empire was loosely organized and the last king was defeated by
Ardashir I, one of the empire's vassals. Ardashir I then went on to create the Sassanid Empire. Soon he started reforming the country both economically and militarily. the Great displays the craftsmanship commanded by Sassanid artisans.
The Sassanids established an empire roughly within the frontiers achieved by the Achaemenids, referring to it as
Erânshahr or
Iranshahr,
, "Dominion of the Aryans", i.e. of Iranian peoples), with their capital at
Ctesiphon.Garthwaite, Gene R.,
The Persians, p. 2
During their reign, Sassanid battles with the Roman Empire caused such pessimism in Rome that the historian
Cassius Dio wrote:{{Cquote], Shapur I, and Shapur II.Lorentz, John H.
Historical Dictionary of Iran.Asian Historical Dictionaries; No.16. 1995. ISBN 9780810829947, p.189
Under the Sassanids, Persia Iran-China relations, the
Sassanid art,
Sassanid music, and
Sassanid architecture greatly flourished, and centers such as the
School of Nisibis and
Academy of Gundishapur became world renowned centers of science and scholarship.
After roughly six hundred years of confrontation and rivalry with the
Roman Empire, raids from the Arab peninsula began attacking the Sassanin and Byzantine Empire frontiers in which a war-exhausted Persia was defeated in the
Battle of al-Qâdisiyah, paving way for the Islamic conquest of Persia.
From the fall of the Sassanid Dynasty to the Safavid Empire (652–1501 CE)
from 7th century Persia. Cast, chased, and inlaid bronze. New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.After the Islamic conquest of Persia, Persia was annexed into the
Umayyad. But the
Islamization in Iran was to yield deep transformations within the cultural, scientific, and political structure of Iran's society: The blossoming of Persian literature,
Iranian philosophy, Science and technology in Iran and Persian art became major elements of the newly-forming Muslim civilization. Inheriting a heritage of thousands of years of civilization, and being at the "crossroads of the major cultural highways",Caheb C., Cambridge History of Iran,
Tribes, Cities and Social Organization, vol. 4, p305–328 contributed to Persia emerging as what culminated into the "Islamic Golden Age".
It was the Persian general
Abu Muslim, who expelled the Umayyads from Damascus and helped the Abbasid caliphs to conquer Baghdad. The
Abbasid caliphs frequently chose their "Vizier" (viziers) among Persians, and Persian governors acquired a certain amount of local autonomy. Thus in 822 CE, the governor of Khorasan, Tahir II of Khorasan, proclaimed his independence and founded a new Persian dynasty of Tahirid dynasty. And by the Samanid era, Persia's efforts to regain its independence had been well solidified.Bosworth C. E., Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 4, p.90
Attempts of Arabization thus never succeeded in Iran, and movements such as the Shuubiyah became catalysts for Persians to regain their independence in their relations with the Arab invaders.The cultural revival of the post-Abbasid period led to a resurfacing of Persian national identity. The resulting cultural movement reached its peak during the 9th century and 10th century. The most notable effect of the movement was the continuation of the Persian language, the language of the Persians and the official language of Iran to the present day.
Ferdowsi, Iran's greatest epic poet, is regarded today as the most important figure in maintaining the Persian language.
Before the conquest, Iranian philosophical traditions and thoughts which originated in ancient
Indo-Iranian roots, were considerably influenced by Zoroasters teachings. The Persians had been mainly
Zoroastrian, however, there were also large and thriving Christian and
Jewish communities. The newly converted Iranian Muslims projected many of their own Persian moral and ethical values that predates the advent of Islam, while recognizing Islam as their religion and the prophet's son in law,
Ali, as an enduring symbol of justice. copy of Avicenna's
Canon of Medicine, which was the standard medical text in Europe for seven centuries.After an interval of silence Persians remained Persians and Iran reemerged as a separate, different and distinctive element within Islam.
Culturally, politically, and religiously, the Iranian contribution to this new
Islamic civilization is of immense importance. The work of Iranians can be seen in every field of scientific and cultural endeavor, including Arabic poetry, to which poets of Iranian origin composing their poems in
Arabic made a significant contribution.
Persian Islam Islam-i Ajam was brought to new areas and new peoples: to the Turkish people, first in
Central Asia and then in the Middle East in the country which came to be called
Turkey, as well as to India and beyond. The
Ottoman Turks brought a form of Iranian civilization to the walls of Vienna http://www.tau.ac.il/dayancenter/mel/lewis.html .
Iranian philosophy after the Islamic conquest, 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 Persia.
The movement continued well into the eleventh century, when Mahmud of Ghazni founded a vast empire, with its capital at Isfahan and Ghazna. Their successors, the Seljuk dynasty, asserted their domination from the Mediterranean Sea to Central Asia. As with their predecessors, the divan of the empire was in the hands of Persian
viziers, who founded the Nizamiyya.During this period, List of Iranian scientists and scholars vastly contributed to technology, science and medicine, later influencing the rise of European science during the Renaissance.Kühnel E., in
Zeittschrift der deutschen morgenländischen Gesell, Vol. CVI (1956)
In 1218, the eastern
Khwarezmian Empire provinces of
Transoxiana and Khorasan suffered a devastating invasion by
Genghis Khan. During this period more than half of Persia's population were killed,The memoirs of
Edward Teller,
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory "Science and Technology Review". July/August 1998. Link: turning the streets of Persian cities like
Neishabur into "rivers of blood", as the severed heads of men, women, and children were "neatly stacked into carefully constructed pyramids around which the carcasses of the city's dogs and cats were placed".Sandra Mackey.
The Iranians: Persia, Islam, and the soul of a nation. 1996. ISBN 0-525-94005-7. p.69. Between 1220 and 1260, the total population of Persia may had dropped from 2,500,000 to 250,000 as a result of mass
murder and famine. Battuta's Travels: Part Three - Persia and IraqIn a letter to King
Louis IX of France,
Hulagu Khan, one of the
Genghis Khan's grandsons, alone took responsibility for 200,000 deaths in his raids of Persia and the Caliphate.
Mackey, p. 70 He was followed by yet another conqueror, Timur, who established his capital in
Samarkand. Old World Contacts/Armies/Tamerlane
The waves of devastation prevented many cities such as Neishabur from reaching their pre-invasion population levels until the 20th century, eight centuries later.Mackey, S.
The Iranians: Persia, Islam, and the soul of a nation. 1996. ISBN 0-525-94005-7. p.69.But both Hulegu, Timur and their successors soon came to adopt the ways and customs of that which they had conquered, choosing to surround themselves with a culture that was distinctively Persian.
The Persians ruled for a thousand years and did not need us even for a day. We have been ruling them for one or two centuries and cannot do without them for an hour.Bertold Spuler.
The Muslim World. Vol.I The Age of the Caliphs. Leiden. E.J. Brill. 1960 ISBN 0-685-23328-6 p.29
The birth of modern Iran: Rise of the Safavid Empire (1501 – 1920)
, an Iranian Kingdom at its Greatest Extent., the founder of the
Safavid dynasty (1501 to 1736).Persia's first encompassing
Shi'a Islamic state was established under the
Safavid dynasty in 1501 by Shah Ismail I. The Safavid dynasty soon became a major political power and promoted the flow of bilateral state contacts. The Safavid peak was during the rule of "
Shah Abbas I". "The Islamic World to 1600", The Applied History Research Group, The University of Calgary, 1998, retrieved 1 Oct 2007 The Shah swiftly moved to defeat the Uzbeks, Ottomans, and Portuguese Empire, bringing a flow of prosperity into Iranian cities.
The Safavids moved their capital from Tabriz to
Qazvin and then to
Isfahan where their patronage for the arts propelled Persia into one of its most aesthetically productive eras. Under their rule, the state became highly centralized, the first attempts to modernize the military were made, and even
Isfahani style (Iranian architecture).
The defeat of
Husayn (Safavid) by Afghan rebels marked the start of the downfall of the Safavid era in 1722. One year after the last Safavid monarch lost his throne in 1735, Nader Shah successfully drove out the Afghan rebels from Isfahan and established the
Afsharid dynasty. He then staged an incursion into
India in 1738 securing the Peacock throne,
Koh-i-Noor, and Darya-ye Noor among other royal family treasures. His rule did not last long however, and he was assassinated in 1747.
The
Mashhad based Afshar dynasty was succeeded by the
Zand dynasty in 1750, founded by
Karim Khan, who established his capital at Shiraz. His rule brought a period of relative peace and renewed prosperity. The Afshar dynasty lasted three generations, until Mohammad Khan Qajar executed Lotf Ali Khan (assisted by the young Zand king's betrayal by his chancellor), and founded his new capital in Tehran, marking the dawn of the Qajar in 1794. The capable Qajar chancellor
Amir Kabir established
Dar ul-Funun system, among other modernizing reforms. Mohammad Khan Qajars successors however gradually transformed Iran into an arena for the rising colonial powers of Imperial Russia and the British Empire, which wielded great political influence in
Tehran under the subsequent Qajarid kings. Yet in spite of
The Great Game, Iran managed to maintain her sovereignty and was never colonized, unlike neighboring states in the region.
Persia suffered
Russo-Persian Wars during the Qajar era, resulting in Persia losing almost half of its territories to Imperial Russia and the
British Empire via the treaties of Treaty of Gulistan, Treaty of Turkmenchay, and
Treaty of Akhal. Repeated foreign intervention and a corrupt and weakened Qajar rule led to
Tobacco Protest, which by the end of the Qajar period resulted in Iranian Constitutional Revolution establishing Majles in 1906, within a constitutional monarchy.
List of famines in 1870-1871 is believed to have caused the death of 2 million people. Persian Famine Donation Lists During the 1917-1919 famine as much as 1/4 of the population living in the north of Persia died. Global Connections . Timeline
From the Pahlavi era to the Iranian Revolution (1921 – 1979)
, former Iranian prime minister, was overthrown in a CIA-backed coup in 1953.With the rise of
modernization and encroachment of stronger Western powers in the late nineteenth century came the
Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1905–1911. Reformers hoped the constitution would strengthen Iran against
Imperial Russia and Britain by centralizing and modernizing it. Ultimately the constitution became law, but its provisions were seldom followed during most of its history.
In 1921, an army officer Reza Shah of Mazandarani and Persian descent (known as
Reza Shah after assuming the throne) staged a
coup d'état against the weakened Qajar dynasty. An autocrat and supporter of modernization, Reza Shah initiated the development of modern
industry, rail transport, and establishment of a national
Higher education in Iran system. Reza Shah sought to balance the influence of Russia and Britain by seeking out assistance and technology from European powers traditionally not involved in Iranian affairs, but when World War II started his closeness to Germany alarmed allied powers Russia and Britain, Germany's enemies.
In summer of 1941
Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran to prevent Iran from allying with the Axis powers. The
Allies of World War II occupied Iran, securing a supply line to Russia, Iran's petroleum infrastructure, and forced the Shah to abdicate in favor of his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In 1951, a nationalist politician, Dr.
Mohammed Mossadegh rose to prominence in Iran and was elected Prime Minister. As Prime Minister, Mossadegh became enormously popular in Iran by nationalization the
Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (later
British Petroleum, BP) which controlled the country's oil reserves. In response, Britain embargoed Iranian oil and began plotting to depose Mossadegh. Members of the British Intelligence Service invited the
United States to join them, convincing U.S. President Eisenhower that Mossadegh was reliant on the Tudeh Party of Iran (
communism) Party to stay in power. In 1953, President Eisenhower authorized
Operation Ajax, and the CIA took the lead in overthrowing Mossadegh and supporting a U.S.-friendly monarch; and for which the U.S. Government apologized in 2000. CNN Transcripts, "U.S. Comes Clean About The Coup In Iran", 19 Apr 2000, retrieved 1 Oct 2007
, Shah of Iran, and his wife, Queen Farah, prepare to depart after a visit to the United StatesThe CIA faced many setbacks, but the covert operation soon went into full swing, conducted from the U.S. Embassy in Tehran under the leadership of
Kermit Roosevelt, Jr. Iranians were hired to protest Mossadegh and fight pro-Mossadegh demonstrators. Anti- and pro-monarchy protestors violently clashed in the streets, leaving almost three hundred dead. The operation was successful in triggering a coup, and within days, pro-Shah tanks stormed the capital and bombarded the Prime Minister's residence. Mossadegh surrendered, and was arrested on
19 August 1953. He was tried for treason, and sentenced to three years in prison.
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi returned to power greatly strengthened and his rule became increasingly autocracy in the following years. With strong support from the U.S. and U.K., the Shah further modernized Iranian industry, but simultaneously crushed all forms of political opposition with his intelligence agency, SAVAK.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini became an active critic of the Shah's
White Revolution and publicly denounced the government. Khomeini, who was popular in religious circles, was arrested and imprisoned for 18 months. After his release in 1964, Khomeini publicly criticized the United States government. The Shah was persuaded to send him into exile by General
Hassan Pakravan. Khomeini was sent first to Turkey, then to Iraq and finally to
France. While in exile, he continued to denounce the Shah.
Iranian Revolution and Iran-Iraq War (1979 – 1988)
The Iranian Revolution (also known as the
Islamic Revolution) Islamic Revolution, Iran Chamber. Islamic Revolution of Iran, MS Encarta.
The Shah and the Ayatollah: Iranian Mythology and Islamic Revolution (Hardcover), ISBN, by Fereydoun Hoveyda, brother of
Amir Abbas Hoveyda. transformed Iran from a Iranian monarchy under
Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, to an
Islamic republic under
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution and founder of the Islamic Republic. Encyclopædia Britannica. Khomeini on February 1, 1979 from France.The revolution began in January 1978 with the first major demonstrations against the Shah. The Iranian Revolution. After strikes and demonstrations paralyzed the country, the
Shah fled the country in January 1979. On February 1, 1979 Ayatollah Khomeini returned from exile to Tehran, enthusiastically greeted by millions of Iranians. Ruhollah Khomeini, Encyclopedia Britannica. The
Pahlavi dynasty collapsed ten days later on
February 11 when Iran's military declared itself "neutral" after guerrillas and rebel troops overwhelmed troops loyal to the Shah in armed street fighting. Iran officially became an Islamic Republic on
April 1,
1979 when Iranians overwhelmingly approved a national referendum to make it so. Iran Islamic Republic, Encyclopedia Britannica. In December 1979 the country approved a
theocratic constitution, whereby Khomeini became Supreme Leader of the country.The speed and success of the revolution surprised many throughout the world,Amuzegar,
The Dynamics of the Iranian Revolution, (1991), p.4, 9–12 as it had not been precipitated by a military defeat, a financial crisis, or a peasant rebellion.Arjomand,
Turban (1988), p. 191. It produced profound change at great speed.Amuzegar, Jahangir,
The Dynamics of the Iranian Revolution, SUNY Press, p.10 It overthrew a regime thought to be heavily protected by a lavishly financed army and security services.Harney,
Priest (1998), p. 2.Abrahamian
Iran (1982), p. 496. And it replaced a monarchy with a theocracy based on Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists (or
velayat-e faqih). Although both nationalists and Marxists joined with Islamic traditionalists to overthrow the Shah, it ultimately resulted in an Islamic Republic "under the guidance of an 80-year-old exiled religious scholar from Qom,"
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.Benard,
"The Government of God" (1984), p. 18.
Iran's relations with the
United States became deeply antagonistic during the revolution. On
November 4 1979, Iranian students
Iran hostage crisis, labeling the embassy a "den of spies." PBS, American Experience, Jimmy Carter, "444 Days: America Reacts", retrieved 1 Oct 2007 They accused its personnel of being CIA agents plotting to overthrow the revolutionary government, as the CIA had done to Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953. While the student ringleaders had not asked for permission from Khomeini to seize the embassy,
Khomeini nonetheless supported the embassy takeover after hearing of its success. Guests of the Ayatollah: The Iran Hostage Crisis: The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam, Mark Bowden, p. 127 While most of the
female and
African American hostages were released within the first months,Guests of the Ayatollah: The Iran Hostage Crisis: The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam, Mark Bowden, p. 200 the remaining fifty-two hostages were held for 444 days. This is often considered a violation of the long-standing principal of international law that diplomats are immune from arrest (diplomatic immunity). The students demanded the handover of the Shah in exchange for the hostages, and following the Shah's death in the summer of 1980, that the hostages be put on trial for espionage. Subsequently attempts by the Jimmy Carter administration to negotiate or
Operation Eagle Claw were unsuccessful until January 1981 when the Algiers declaration was agreed upon. The U.S. promised (among other things) in the accord to release Iranian assets that had been frozen, but as of 2007 those assets still remain frozen. meets Saddam Hussein on
19 December - 20 December 1983. Rumsfeld visited again on
24 March 1984, the day the UN reported that Iraq had used mustard gas and
Tabun (nerve agent) nerve agent against Iranian troops. The NY Times reported from Baghdad on
29 March 1984, that "American diplomats pronounce themselves satisfied with Iraq and the U.S., and suggest that normal diplomatic ties have been established in all but name."National Security Archive: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82}
Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein decided to take advantage of what he perceived to be disorder in the wake of the Iranian Revolution and its unpopularity with Western governments. The once-strong Iranian military had been disbanded during the revolution, and with the Shah ousted, Hussein had ambitions to position himself as the new strong man of the Middle East. He also sought to expand Iraq's access to the Persian Gulf by acquiring territories that Iraq had claimed earlier from Iran during the Shah's rule. Of chief importance to Iraq was Khuzestan Province which not only boasted a substantial
Arab population, but rich oil fields as well. On the unilateral behalf of the United Arab Emirates, the islands of
Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs became objectives as well. With these ambitions in mind, Hussein planned a full-scale assault on Iran, boasting that his forces could reach the capital within three days. On September 22,
1980 the Iraqi army invaded Iran at Khuzestan, precipitating the
Iran-Iraq War. The attack took revolutionary Iran completely by surprise.
Although Saddam Hussein's forces made several early advances, by 1982, Iranian forces managed to push the Iraqi army back into Iraq. Khomeini sought to export his Islamic revolution westward into Iraq, especially on the majority Shi'a Arabs living in the country. The war then continued for six more years until 1988, when Khomeini, in his words, "drank the cup of poison" and accepted a truce mediated by the United Nations.
Tens of thousands of Iranian
civilians and military personnel were killed when Iraq used
Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in London
Includes consular, visa, and general information. [English and Farsi]
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