| Revision as of 19:55, 4 September 2009 editRockstone35 (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers10,475 edits (uninvolved editor who happened to pass by) A well sourced article should not be turned into a redirect, especially when it is of a well-known nation. There is no consensus of a redirect.← Previous edit | Revision as of 19:59, 4 September 2009 edit undoAlefbe (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Pending changes reviewers4,309 edits revert - Uninvlved users should first read the discussion and then elaborate their justification in the talk page (before doing any drastic edit)Next edit → | ||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| #REDIRECT] | |||
| {{pp-dispute}} | |||
| {{Otheruses|Persia (disambiguation)}} | |||
| {{Cleanup|date=March 2009}} | |||
| {{Original research|date=April 2009}} | |||
| {{FixHTML|beg}} | |||
| {{FixHTML|mid}} | |||
| {{History of Greater Iran}} | |||
| {{FixHTML|end}} | |||
| {{Split|Achaemenid Empire|Sassanid Empire|History of Persia|Persia (disambiguation)|date=August 2009}} | |||
| The '''Persian Empire''' was a series of successive ]ian or ] empires that ruled over the ], the original Persian homeland, and beyond in ], ], ] and the ].<ref>], including ], ], ] and ] and other Iranian ethnic groups. Iranians are ] of ] (Iran means "Land of the Aryans"). ] is an ] of ] branch.</ref> | |||
| The first Persian Empire formed under the ] (550–330 BC). The ] (550–330 BC) was the ] of the ] and it reached its greatest extent under ] and ] — famous in antiquity as the foe of the classical Greek states (See ]). It was a united Persian kingdom that originated in the region now known as ] (Fars province) of ]. | |||
| It was formed under ], who took over the empire of the ], and conquered much of the Middle East, including the territories of the ], ], the ], and the ]. ], Son of Cyrus the Great, continued his conquests by conquering Egypt. The ] was ended during the ]. For the next 550 years, most of Iran was ruled first by the descendants of Alexander's Macedonian general ], who founded the ], and then by the ]n ]. | |||
| The ], which replaced the Arsacids in 226 AD, arose from the same region as the Achaemenids, and restored the conception of a Persian Empire. They ruled until the Arab conquest in the mid 7th century. After the ] took power in the mid-8th century and moved their capital to ], in Mesopotamia on the ] near the old Sassanid capital of ], the Islamic ] gradually became Persianized. When the Abbasid dynasty began to break up in the late 9th century, regional Iranian dynasties arose, many of them claiming a connection to the Sassanids and professing ambitions to restore the old Persian Empire. | |||
| Later Islamic dynasties in Iran, whether of Iranian, Turkic, or Mongol origins, also sought to claim ties to the ancient Persian Empire. In the sixteenth century, the ] took power in Iran, and, after a period of division, reunified the country under their rule. While the country they ruled was most commonly known as simply "Persia" in the west, the term "Persian Empire," by analogy with the ancient dynasties that ruled over the same territory, was occasionally used. | |||
| ==History== | |||
| === Median Empire (728 BC-559 BC)=== | |||
| {{Main|Medes}} | |||
| {{Infobox Former Country | |||
| |native_name = | |||
| |conventional_long_name = Median Empire | |||
| |common_name = Media | |||
| |continent = Asia | |||
| |region = Near East | |||
| |country = | |||
| |era = Classical Antiquity | |||
| |status = | |||
| |status_text = | |||
| |empire = | |||
| |government_type = |year_start = 728 BC | |||
| |year_end = 559 BC | |||
| |year_exile_start = | |||
| |year_exile_end = | |||
| |event_start = ] | |||
| |date_start = | |||
| |event_end =''' Cyrus the Great''' | |||
| |date_end = | |||
| |event1 = | |||
| |date_event1 = | |||
| |event2 = | |||
| |date_event2 = | |||
| |event3 = | |||
| |date_event3 = | |||
| |event4 = | |||
| |date_event4 = | |||
| |event_pre = | |||
| |date_pre = | |||
| |event_post = | |||
| |date_post = | |||
| |p1 = Neo-Assyrian Empire | |||
| |flag_p1 = | |||
| |image_p1 = | |||
| |p2 = | |||
| |flag_p2 = | |||
| |p3 = | |||
| |flag_p3 = | |||
| |p4 = | |||
| |flag_p4 = | |||
| |p5 = | |||
| |flag_p5 = | |||
| |s1 = Achaemenid Empire | |||
| |flag_s1 = | |||
| |image_s1 = | |||
| |s2 = | |||
| |flag_s2 = | |||
| |s3 = | |||
| |flag_s3 = | |||
| |s4 = | |||
| |flag_s4 = | |||
| |s5 = | |||
| |flag_s5 = | |||
| |image_flag = | |||
| |flag = | |||
| |flag_type = | |||
| |image_coat = | |||
| |symbol = | |||
| |symbol_type = | |||
| |image_map = Median-empire-600BCE.png | |||
| |image_map_caption = Median Empire, ca. 600 BC | |||
| |capital = Ecbatana | |||
| |capital_exile = | |||
| |latd= |latm= |latNS= |longd= |longm= |longEW= | |||
| |national_motto = | |||
| |national_anthem = | |||
| |common_languages = | |||
| |religion = ], possibly also ] | |||
| |currency = | |||
| |leader1 = | |||
| |leader2 = | |||
| |leader3 = | |||
| |leader4 = | |||
| |year_leader1 = | |||
| |year_leader2 = | |||
| |year_leader3 = | |||
| |year_leader4 = | |||
| |title_leader = King | |||
| |representative1 = <!--- Name of representative of head of state (eg. colonial governor)---> | |||
| |representative2 = | |||
| |representative3 = | |||
| |representative4 = | |||
| |year_representative1 = <!--- Years served ---> | |||
| |year_representative2 = | |||
| |year_representative3 = | |||
| |year_representative4 = | |||
| |title_representative = <!--- Default: "Governor"---> | |||
| |deputy1 = <!--- Name of prime minister ---> | |||
| |deputy2 = | |||
| |deputy3 = | |||
| |deputy4 = | |||
| |year_deputy1 = <!--- Years served ---> | |||
| |year_deputy2 = | |||
| |year_deputy3 = | |||
| |year_deputy4 = | |||
| |title_deputy = <!--- Default: "Prime minister" ---> | |||
| |legislature = | |||
| |house1 = | |||
| |type_house1 = | |||
| |house2 = | |||
| |type_house2 = | |||
| |<!--- Area and population of a given year ---> | |||
| |stat_year1 = | |||
| |stat_area1 = | |||
| |stat_pop1 = <!--- population (w/o commas or spaces), population density is calculated if area is also given ---> | |||
| |stat_year2 = | |||
| |stat_area2 = | |||
| |stat_pop2 = | |||
| |stat_year3 = | |||
| |stat_area3 = | |||
| |stat_pop3 = | |||
| |stat_year4 = | |||
| |stat_area4 = | |||
| |stat_pop4 = | |||
| |stat_year5 = | |||
| |stat_area5 = | |||
| |stat_pop5 = | |||
| |footnotes = | |||
| }} | |||
| The Medes are credited with the foundation of the first Iranian empire, the largest of its day until Cyrus the Great established a unified Iranian empire of the Medes and Persians, often referred to as the Achaemenid Persian Empire, by defeating his grandfather and overlord, Astyages the shah of Media. The Median capital was ], the modern day Iranian city of ]. Ectbatana was preserved as one of the capital cities of the Achaemenid Empire, which succeeded the Median Empire. | |||
| ] (left) and ] (right) soldiers, Carvings of ].]] | |||
| According to ], the conquests of ] were preceded by a ] invasion and domination lasting twenty-eight years (under Madius the Scythian, 653-625 BC). The Mede tribes seem to have come into immediate conflict with a settled state to the West known as ], allied with Assyria. Assyrian inscriptions state that the early Mede rulers, who had attempted rebellions against the Assyrians in the time of Esarhaddon and Assur-bani-pal, were allied with chieftains of the ''Ashguza'' (Scythians) and other tribes - who had come from the northern shore of the ] and invaded ] and ]; and '']'' and '']'' in the Old Testament agree with Herodotus that a massive invasion of ] and ] by northern barbarians took place in 626 BC. The state of Mannae was finally conquered and assimilated by the Medes in the year 616 BC. | |||
| In 612 BC, Cyaxares conquered ], and with the alliance of ] the Chaldean, succeeded in destroying the Assyrian capital, ]; and by 606 BC, the remaining vestiges of Assyrian control. From then on, the Mede king ruled over much of Iran, Assyria and northern Mesopotamia, Armenia and ]. His power was very dangerous to his neighbors, and the exiled ]s expected the destruction of ] by the Medes (Isaiah 13, 14m 21; Jerem. 1, 51.). | |||
| When Cyaxares attacked ], the kings of ] and ] intervened and negotiated a peace in 585 BC, whereby the ] was established as the Medes' frontier with Lydia. ] of Babylon married a daughter of Cyaxares, and an equilibrium of the great powers was maintained until the rise of the Persians under ]. | |||
| Median Kings were: | |||
| *] (Old Iranian *Dahyu-ka) 727-675 B.C.<ref></ref> | |||
| *] (Old Iranian *Fravarti) 674-653 | |||
| *] (Scythian Rule) 652-625 | |||
| *] (Old Iranian *Uvaxštra) 624-585<ref name="ReferenceA">I.M. Diakonoff, “Media” in Cambridge History of Iran 2 </ref> | |||
| *] (Old Iranian *Ršti-vêga) 589-549<ref name="ReferenceA"/> | |||
| Modern research by a professor of ], Robert Rollinger, has questioned the Median empire and its sphere of influence, proposing for example that it did not control the Assyrian heartland.<ref></ref> --> | |||
| ===The Achaemenid Empire (550 BC–330 BC)=== | |||
| {{Main|Achaemenid Empire}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ], ceremonial capital of ].]] | |||
| ] in ] - a symbol ] Nowruz - in day of a spring ] power of eternally fighting bull (personifying the ]), and a lion (personifying the ]), are equal]] | |||
| ], deposited by Cyrus the Great in the foundations of ]]] | |||
| ]. Silicious glazed bricks, c. 510 BC.]] | |||
| The earliest known record of the Persians comes from an ]n inscription from c. 844 BC that calls them the ''Parsu'' (Parsuaš, Parsumaš)<ref>{{Cite book | |||
| | edition = 2 | |||
| | publisher = Cambridge University Press | |||
| | isbn = 0521228042 | |||
| | pages = 15 | |||
| | last = Hammond | |||
| | first = N. G. L. | |||
| | coauthors = M. Ostwald | |||
| | others = John Boardman, D. M. Lewis (eds.) | |||
| | title = The Cambridge Ancient History Set: The Cambridge Ancient History Volume 4: Persia, Greece and the Western Mediterranean, c.525-479 BC: Persia, Greece and ... C.525-479 B.C. Ed.J.Boardman, Etc v. 4 | |||
| | date = 1988-11-24 | |||
| }}</ref> and mentions them in the region of ] alongside another group, the ''Mādāyu'' (]s).<ref name="Mede">{{cite web | |||
| |first= | |||
| |last= | |||
| |authorlink= | |||
| |author=] | |||
| |coauthors= | |||
| |title=Assyrian Identity in Ancient Times and Today | |||
| |url=http://www.aina.org/articles/assyrianidentity.pdf | |||
| |format=PDF | |||
| |work=] | |||
| |publisher=] | |||
| |id= | |||
| |pages=3 | |||
| |page= | |||
| |date= | |||
| |accessdate= | |||
| |quote=Ethnonyms like Arbāyu "Arab", Mādāyu "Mede", Muşurāyu "Egyptian", and Urarţāyu "Urartian" are from the late eighth century on frequently borne by fully Assyrianized, affluent individuals in high positions. }}</ref> For the next two centuries, the Persians and Medes were at times tributary to the Assyrians. The region of Parsuash was annexed by Sargon of Assyria around 719 BC. Eventually the Medes came to rule an independent Median Empire, and the Persians were subject to them. | |||
| The Achaemenids were the first to create a centralized state in Persia, founded by ] (''Haxamaniš''), chieftain of the Persians around 700 BC. | |||
| Around 653 BC, the Medes came under the domination of the ], and ] (Cišpiš), the son of Achaemenes, seems to have led the nomadic Persians to settle in southern Iran around this time — eventually establishing the first organized Persian ] in the important region of ] as the ]ite kingdom was permanently destroyed by the Assyrian ruler ] (640 BC). The kingdom of Anšan and its successors continued to use ] as an official language for quite some time after this, although the new dynasts spoke Persian, an ] tongue. | |||
| Teispes' descendants may have branched off into two lines, one line ruling in Anshan, while the other ruled the rest of Persia. ] (Kuruš) united the separate kingdoms around 559 BC. At this time, the Persians were still tributary to the ] ruled by ]. Cyrus rallied the Persians together, and in 550 BC defeated the forces of Astyages, who was then captured by his own nobles and turned over to the triumphant Cyrus, now ] of a unified Persian kingdom. As Persia assumed control over the rest of Media and their large empire, Cyrus led the united Medes and Persians to still more conquest. He took ] in ], and carried his arms eastward into ]. Finally in 539 BC, Cyrus marched triumphantly into the ancient city of ]. After this victory, he issued the declaration recorded in the ], which portrayed him as a benevolent conqueror welcomed by the local inhabitants and their gods.<ref>Pierre Briant "Cyrus the Great" ''The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization''. Ed. Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth. Oxford University Press, 1998.</ref> Cyrus was killed in 530 BC during a battle against the ] or ]. | |||
| ] from the palace of ] at Susa.]] | |||
| Cyrus's son, ] (Kambūjiya), annexed ] to the Achaemenid Empire. The empire then reached its greatest extent under ] (Dāryavuš). He led conquering armies into the ] valley and into ] in Europe. A punitive raid against ] was halted at the ]. A larger invasion by his son, ] (Xšayārša), would have initial success at the ]. Following the destruction of his navy at the ], Xerxes would withdraw most of his forces from Greece. The remnant of his army in Greece commanded by General ] was ultimately defeated at the ] in 479 BC. | |||
| Darius improved the famous ] and other ancient trade routes, thereby connecting far reaches of the empire. He may have moved the administration center from Fars itself to ], near Babylon and closer to the center of the realm. The Persians allowed local cultures to survive, following the precedent set by Cyrus the Great. This was not only good for the empire's subjects, but ultimately benefited the Achaemenids, because the conquered peoples felt no need to revolt. | |||
| It may have been during the Achaemenid period that ] reached South-Western Iran, where it came to be accepted by the rulers and through them became a defining element of Persian culture. The religion was not only accompanied by a formalization of the concepts and divinities of the traditional (Indo-)Iranian pantheon, but also introduced several novel ideas, including that of ], which is arguably ] greatest contribution to religious philosophy. Under the patronage of the Achaemenid kings, and later as the ''de-facto'' religion of the state, Zoroastrianism would reach all corners of the empire. In turn, Zoroastrianism would be subject to the first syncretic influences, in particular from the Semitic lands to the west, from which the divinities of the religion would gain astral and planetary aspects and from where the temple cult originates. It was also during the Achaemenid era that the sacerdotal ] would exert their influence on the religion, introducing many of the practices that are today identified as typically Zoroastrian, but also introducing doctrinal modifications that are today considered to be revocations of the original teachings of the prophet. | |||
| The Achaemenid Empire united people and kingdoms from every major civilization in south West Asia and North East Africa. It was overthrown during the ]. | |||
| <!-- ===The Seleucid Empire (312 BC–63 BC)=== | |||
| {{Main|Seleucid Empire}} | |||
| ] | |||
| The '''Seleucid Empire''' /sə'lusɪd/ (] - ]) was a ], i.e. a successor state of ]'s empire. The Seleucid Empire was centered in the ] and at the height of its power included central ], the ], ], ], today's ], ] and parts of ]. It was a major centre of Hellenistic culture which maintained the preeminence of ] customs and where a ]-speaking Macedonian elite dominated, mostly in the urban areas. <ref name=Brit>'''Britannica''','' Seleucid kingdom'', 2008, O.Ed.</ref> | |||
| ] had conquered the ] within a short time-frame and died young, leaving an expansive empire of partly Hellenised culture without an adult heir. The empire was put under the authority of a regent in the person of ] in 323 BC, and the territories were divided between Alexander's generals, who thereby became ]s, at the ] in 323 BC. | |||
| Alexander's generals (the ]) jostled for supremacy over parts of his empire, and ], one of his generals and satrap of ], was the first to challenge the new rule, leading to the demise of Perdiccas. His revolt led to a new partition of the empire with the ] in 320 BC. ], who had been "Commander-in-Chief of the camp" under Perdiccas since 323 BC but helped to assassinate the latter, received ], and from that point continued to expand his dominions ruthlessly. Seleucus established himself in ] in 312 BC, used as the foundation date of the Seleucid Empire. --> | |||
| ===The Parthian Empire (250 BC–AD 226)=== | |||
| {{Main|Arsacid Empire}} | |||
| ]'''.]] | |||
| The '''Parthian Empire''' or '''Arsacid Empire''' ({{lang-fa|اشکانیان}}),is the name used for the third imperial ] ] (250 BCE - 226 CE).The Parthian dynasty was founded by ]({{lang-fa|اشک}} ''Ashk'') and ended when the last parthian ] (''King of Kings''), ] defeated by ] who later founded The Sassanid Empire. | |||
| Its rulers, the ], belonged to an Iranian tribe that had settled there during the time of Alexander. They declared their independence from the Seleucids in 238 BC, but their attempts to unify Iran were thwarted until after the advent of ] to the Parthian throne in about 170 BC. | |||
| ]n prince (thought to be ]), AD 100, kept at The National Museum of Iran, ].]] | |||
| ] of Queen ], wife of ].]] | |||
| The Parthian Confederacy shared a border with Rome along the upper Euphrates River. The two polities became major rivals, especially over control of Armenia. Heavily-armoured Parthian cavalry (]s) supported by mounted archers proved a match for Roman legions, as in the ] in which the Parthian General ] defeated ] of Rome. Wars were very frequent, with ] serving as the battleground. | |||
| During the Parthian period, Hellenistic customs partially gave way to a resurgence of Iranian culture. However, the area lacked political unity, and the vassalary structure that the Arsacids had adopted from the Seleucids left the Parthians in a constant state of war with one seceding vassal or the other. By the 1st century BC, Parthia was decentralized, ruled by ] nobles. Wars with Romans to the west and the ] Empire to the northeast drained the country's resources. | |||
| Parthia, now impoverished and without any hope of recovering its lost territories, was demoralized. The kings had to give more concessions to the nobility, and the vassal kings sometimes refused to obey. Parthia's last ruler ] had an initial success in putting together the crumbling state. However, the fate of the Arsacid Dynasty was doomed when in AD 224, the Persian vassal king ] revolted. Two years later, he took ], and this time, it meant the end of Parthia. It also meant the beginning of the second Persian Empire, ruled by the Sassanid kings. Sassanids were from the province of Persis, native to the first Persian Empire, the Achaemenids. | |||
| ===The Sassanid Empire (226–651)=== | |||
| {{Main|Sassanid Empire}} | |||
| ]''' at its greatest extent under Emperor ].]] | |||
| ] | |||
| The '''Sassanid Empire''' or '''Sassanian Dynasty''' ({{lang-fa|ساسانیان}}) is the name used for the fourth imperial ] ], and the second Persian Empire (226–651). The Sassanid dynasty was founded by ] ({{lang-fa|اردشیر یکم}}) after defeating the last ] king, ] ({{lang-fa|اردوان پنجم}} Ardavan) and ended when the last Sassanid ] (''King of Kings''), ] (632–651), lost a 14-year struggle to drive out the early ], the first of the ] empires. | |||
| ] led a rebellion against the Parthian Confederacy in an attempt to revive the glory of the previous empire and to legitimize the Hellenized form of ] practised in southwestern Iran. In two years he was the ] of a new Persian Empire. | |||
| The ] (also Sassanian, named for Ardashir's grandfather) was the first dynasty native to the Pars province since the Achaemenids; thus they saw themselves as the successors of Darius and Cyrus. They pursued an aggressive expansionist policy. They recovered much of the eastern lands that the Kushans had taken in the Parthian period. The Sassanids continued to make war against Rome; a Persian army even captured the ] ] in 260. | |||
| The Sassanid Empire, unlike Parthia, was a highly centralized state. The people were rigidly organized into a caste system: Priests, Soldiers, Scribes, and Commoners. Zoroastrianism was finally made the official state religion, and spread outside Persia proper and out into the provinces. There was sporadic persecution of other religions. The ] was particularly persecuted, but this was in part due to its ties to the ]. The ] was tolerated and sometimes even favored by the Sassanids. | |||
| ] of Iranian emperor Shapur I (on horseback) capturing Roman emperor Valerian (kneeing) and Philip the Arab (standing)]] | |||
| <!-- ], 1521, pen and black ink on a chalk sketch, ]).]] --> | |||
| The wars and religious control that had fueled the Sassanid Empire's early successes eventually contributed to its decline. The eastern regions were conquered by the ] in the late 5th century. Adherents of a radical religious sect, the ]ites, revolted around the same time. ] was able to recover his empire and expand into the Christian countries of ] and ]. Between 605 and 629, Sassanids successfully annexed Levant and ] and pushed into Anatolia. | |||
| However, a subsequent war with the Romans utterly destroyed the empire. In the course of the protracted conflict, Sassinid armies reached ], but could not defeat the Byzantines there. Meanwhile, the Byzantine Emperor ] had successfully outflanked the Persian armies in Asia Minor and attacked the empire from the rear while the main Iranian army along with its top ]s were far from battlefields. This resulted in a crushing defeat for the Sassanids in Northern Mesopotamia. The Sassanids had to give up all their conquered lands and retreat. | |||
| Following the advent of Islam and collapse of the ], Persians came under the subjection of Arab rulers for almost two centuries before native Persian dynasties could gradually drive them out. In this period a number of small and numerically inferior Arab tribes migrated to inland Iran.<ref>Zarinkoob, pp. 355-357</ref> | |||
| Also some ] tribes settled in Persia between the 9th and 12th centuries.<ref>Zarinkoob, pp. 461, 519</ref> | |||
| In time these peoples were integrated into numerous Persian populations and adopted ] and language while Persians retained their culture with minimal influence from outside.<ref>Zarinkoob, p. 899</ref> | |||
| ===Conquest of Persia by Muslims=== | |||
| {{Main|Islamic conquest of Persia}} | |||
| ] | |||
| The explosive growth of the ] ] coincided with the chaos caused by the defeat of ]s in wars with the ]. Most of the country was conquered between 643 and 650 with the ] marking the total collapse of the Sassanids.<ref>A Short History of Syriac Literature By William Wright. pg 44</ref> | |||
| Arabs defeated Persians and other Iranians and introduced their religion. | |||
| ], the last Sassanid emperor, died ten years after he lost his empire to the newly-formed ] Caliphate. He tried to recover some of what he lost with the help of the ], but they were easily defeated by Muslim armies. Then he sought the aid of the Chinese ]. However, the Chinese never intervened on behalf of the Sassanids and instead, appointed Peroz, son of Yazdgerd as the governor over his own territory which the Tang named the "protectorate of Persia". This territory was overrun by the Arabs around the early 660s and Peroz escaped to the Tang court. The Umayyads would rule Persia for a hundred years. The Arab conquest dramatically changed life in Persia. ] became the new ], Islam eventually replaced ], and mosques were built. | |||
| In 750 the Umayyads were ousted from power by the ] dynasty. By that time, Persians had come to play an important role in the bureaucracy of the empire.<ref>ISBN 1-84212-011-5</ref> The caliph ], whose mother was ], moved his capital away from Arab lands into ] in eastern ]. | |||
| ===Tahirid Persian Empire(821–873)=== | |||
| {{See|Tahirids}} | |||
| The ] (]-]) is considered to be the first independent Iranian empire from the Abbasid caliphate, established in ]. The dynasty was founded by ] and their capital was ]. They ruled over the northeastern part of ] (]), in the region of ] (parts that are presently in ], ], ], ], and ]). Tahir's military victories were rewarded with the gift of lands in the east of ], which were subsequently extended by his successors as far as the borders of ]. They were overthrown by the ]. | |||
| ===Saffarid Persian Empire=== | |||
| {{See|Saffarids}} | |||
| ] Persian Empire]] | |||
| ], the founder of Saffarid dynasty, seized control of the Seystan region, conquering all of modern-day eastern ], ] and ]. Using their capital (Zaranj) as base for an aggressive expansion eastwards and westwards, they overthrew the ] and annexed ] in 873. | |||
| By the time of Yaqub's death, he had conquered ], ], ], ] (]), ], ], Khorasan, and nearly reached ] but then suffered defeat.<ref>Britannica, </ref> | |||
| ===Samanid Persian Empire=== | |||
| {{See|Samanids}} | |||
| ], ], and ].]] | |||
| In 819, ]s carved out a semi-independent state in eastern ] to be among the first native ] rulers after the Arabic conquest. Despite having roots in Zoroastrianism theocratic nobility, they embraced ] and propagated the religion deep into the heart of ]. They made ], ] and ] their capitals and revived the ] and culture. The Samanid rulers displayed tolerance toward religious minorities as ] clerics compiled and authored major religious texts, such as the ], in ]. It was approximately during this age, when the poet ] finished the ], an epic poem retelling the history of the Iranian kings. This epic was completed by AD 1009. | |||
| ===Buwayhid Persian Empire=== | |||
| {{See|Buwayhids}} | |||
| In 913, western ] was conquered by the '']'', a ]ite ] tribal confederation from the shores of the ]. ] were a ] ]<ref></ref><ref></ref> dynasty which founded a confederation that controlled most of modern-day ] and ] in the 10th and 11th centuries. | |||
| They made the city of ] (In the ] of Iran) their capital. The Buwayhids destroyed Islam's former territorial unity. Rather than a province of a united Muslim empire, ] became one nation in an increasingly diverse and cultured Islamic world. | |||
| ===Turco-Persian rule (1037–1219)=== | |||
| {{Main|Ghaznavid dynasty|Seljuq dynasty|Khwārazm-Shāh dynasty}} | |||
| ====Ghaznavid Empire(963–1187)==== | |||
| ] | |||
| ]s. First half of 11th century.]] | |||
| The '''Ghaznavids''' ({{lang-fa|غزنویان}}) were an ] and ] Empire of ] '']''<ref></ref> origin which existed from 975 to 1187 and ruled much of ], ], and the northern parts of the ].<ref name="EIr">C.E. Bosworth: The Ghaznavids. Edinburgh, 1963</ref><ref>], ''"Ghaznavids"'', in ], Online Edition 2006, ()</ref><ref name="EI">], ''"Ghaznavids"'', in ], Online Edition; Brill, Leiden; 2006/2007</ref> The Ghaznavid state was centered in ], a city in present ]. Due to the political and cultural influence of their predecessors - that of the ] ] - the originally Turkic Ghaznavids became thoroughly ].<ref name="EIr" /><ref name="EI"/><ref name="Shahrbanu">M.A. Amir-Moezzi, ''"Shahrbanu"'', ], Online Edition, (): ''"... here one might bear in mind that non-Persian dynasties such as the Ghaznavids, Saljuqs and Ilkhanids were rapidly to adopt the Persian language and have their origins traced back to the ancient kings of Persia rather than to Turkish heroes or Muslim saints ..."''</ref><ref name="E.Yar."></ref><ref>B. Spuler, "The Disintegration of the Caliphate in the East", in the Cambridge History of Islam, Vol. IA: ''The Central islamic Lands from Pre-Islamic Times to the First World War, ed. by P.M. Holt, Ann K.S. Lambton, and Bernard Lewis (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970). pg 147: ''One of the effects of the renaissance of the Persian spirit evoked by this work was that the Ghaznavids were also Persianized and thereby became a Persian dynasty.</ref><ref>Anatoly M Khazanov, André Wink, "Nomads in the Sedentary World", Routledge, 2padhte padhte to pagla jayega aadmi, "A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia", Blackwell Publishing, 1998. pg 370: "Though Turkic in origin and, apparently in speech, Alp Tegin, Sebuk Tegin and Mahmud were all thoroughly Persianized"</ref><ref>Robert L. Canfield, Turko-Persia in historical perspective, Cambridge University Press, 1991. pg 8: "The Ghaznavids (989-1149) were essentially Persianized Turks who in manner of the pre-Islamic Persians encouraged the development of high culture"</ref> | |||
| The dynasty was founded by ] upon his succession to rule of territories centered around the city of ] from his father-in-law, ], a break-away ex-general of the Samanid sultans.<ref name="EB">Encyclopedia Britannica, ''Ghaznavid Dynasty'', Online Edition 2007 ()</ref> Sebuktigin's son, ], expanded the empire in the region that stretched from the ] to the ] and the ]; and in the west it reached ] and ]. Under the reign of ] it experienced major territorial losses. It lost its western territories to the ] in the ] resulting in a restriction of its holdings to ], ] and the ]. In 1151, Sultan Bahram Shah lost Ghazni to Ala'uddin Hussain of ] and the capital was moved to ] until its subsequent capture by the ] in 1186. | |||
| Although the Ghaznavids were of Turkic origin and their military leaders were generally of the same stock, as a result of the original involvement of ] and ] in Samanid affairs and in the Samanid cultural environment, the dynasty became thoroughly Persianized, so that in practice one cannot consider their rule over Iran one of foreign domination. In terms of cultural championship and the support of Persian poets, they were far more Persian than the ethnically Iranian ] rivals, whose support of Arabic letters in preference to Persian is well known.<ref name="Iranica2">Encyclopedia Iranica, ''Iran'', EHSAN YARSHATER, Online Edition 2008, ()</ref> | |||
| In fact with the adoption of Persian administrative and cultural ways the Ghaznavids threw off their original Turkish steppe background and became largely integrated with the ''Perso-Islamic tradition''.<ref>Clifford Edmund Bosworth, ''The new Islamic dynasties: a chronological and genealogical manual'', Edition: 2, Published by Edinburgh University Press, 2004, ISBN 0748621377, p. 297</ref> | |||
| ====Seljuk Empire==== | |||
| ] in 1092, upon the death of ]]] | |||
| The Seljuks created a very large Middle Eastern empire. The Seljuks built the Friday Mosque in the city of ]. The famous Persian mathematician and poet, ], wrote his '']'' during Seljuk times. | |||
| In the early 13th century the Seljuks lost control of Persia to another group of ] from ], near the ]. The ]s of the ] later ruled. | |||
| ===Mongols and their successors (1219–1500)=== | |||
| {{Main|Ilkhanate|Timurid dynasty}} | |||
| ], ], ], ] and ] illustrate just how far east Persian culture extended due to their conquests. The actual architectural domed design of Mosques were borrowed from the ] era, which then spilled into the Muslim world.]] | |||
| In 1218, ] sent ambassadors and merchants to the city of ], on the northeastern confines of the Khwarizm shahdom. The governor of Otrar had these envoys executed. Genghis attacked Otrar, ] and other cities of the northeast in 1219. | |||
| Genghis' grandson, ], finished the invasions that Genghis had begun when he defeated the Khwarzim Empire, Baghdad, and much of the rest of the ] from 1255 to 1258. Persia temporarily became the ], a division of the vast ]. | |||
| In 1295, after Ilkhan ] converted to Islam, he forced Mongols in Persia to convert to Islam. The Ilkhans patronized the arts and learning in the great tradition of Iranian Islam; indeed, they helped to repair much of the damage of the Mongol conquests. | |||
| In 1335, the death of ], the last well-recognized Ilkhan, spelled the end of the Ilkhanate. Though ] was declared Ilkhan his authority was disputed and the Ilkhanate was splintered into a number of small states. This left Persia vulnerable to conquest at the hands of ] or Tamerlane, a Central Asian conqueror seeking to revive the Mongol Empire. He ordered the attack of Persia beginning around 1370 and robbed the region until his death in 1405. Timur is known for his brutality; in ], for instance, he was responsible for the murder of 70,000 people so that he could build towers with their skulls{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}}. He conquered a wide area and made his own city of Samarkand rich, but he failed to forge a lasting empire. The Persian Empire was essentially in ruins. | |||
| For the next hundred years Persia was not a unified state. It was ruled for a while by descendants of Timur, called the ] ]s. Toward the end of the 15th century, Persia was taken over by the Emirate of the ] (''Ak Koyunlu''). But there was little unity and none of the sophistication that had defined Iran during the glory days of Islam. | |||
| ===Safavid Persian Empire (1500–1722)=== | |||
| {{Main|Safavid Dynasty}} | |||
| ] is one of the many monuments built during the Safavid era.]] | |||
| ] | |||
| The ] hailed from the town of ] in the region of ]. The Safavid Shah ] overthrew the White Sheep (Akkoyunlu) Turkish rulers of Persia to found a new native Persian empire. Ismail expanded Persia to include all of present-day Azerbaijan, Iran, and Iraq, plus much of ] and ]. Ismail's expansion was halted by the ] at the ] in 1514, and war with the Ottomans became a fact of life in Safavid Iran. | |||
| Safavid Persia was a violent and chaotic state for the next seventy years, but in 1588 Shah ] ascended to the throne and instituted a cultural and political renaissance. He moved his capital to Isfahan, which quickly became one of the most important cultural centers in the Islamic world. He made peace with the Ottomans. He reformed the army, drove the ] out of Iran and into modern-day ], and (with English help) recaptured the island of ] from the ]. ] was the Persian ambassador to ], ], and wrote vividly of his experiences there.<ref>{{cite web | |||
| |url=http://india_resource.tripod.com/Europetrade.html | |||
| |title=European Domination of the Indian Ocean Trade | |||
| |publisher= | |||
| |accessdate=2007-01-10 | |||
| }}</ref> | |||
| The Safavids were followers of ] Islam, and under them Persia (Iran) became the largest ] country in the Muslim world, a position Iran still holds today. | |||
| Under the Safavids Persia enjoyed its last period as a major imperial power. In 1639, a final border was agreed upon with the Ottoman Empire with the Treaty of Qasr-e Shirin; which delineates the border between the Republic of ] and Iran and also that of between Iraq and Iran, today. | |||
| ===Persia and Europe (1722–1914)=== | |||
| ]. Throughout the ], the ] and ] of ] were furthered and preserved within the Muslim world. During this period, Persia became a centre for the manufacture of ]s, retaining its reputation for quality well into the 19th century.]] | |||
| In 1722, the Safavid state collapsed. That year saw the first European invasion of Persia since the time of Heraclius: ], ] of ], invaded from the northwest as part of a bid to dominate central Asia. Ottoman forces accompanied the Russians, successfully laying siege to Isfahan. | |||
| The Russians conquered the city of Baku and its surroundings. The Turks also gained territory. However, the Safavids were severely weakened, and that same year (1722), the ] launched a bloody battle in response to the Safavids' attempts on trying to forcefully convert them from ] to ] sect of Islam. The last Safavid shah was executed, and the dynasty came to an end. | |||
| The Persian empire experienced a temporary revival under ] in the 1730s and 1740s. Nadir checked the advances of the Russians and defeated the Afghans, later recapturing all of Afghanistan. He also launched successful campaigns against the nomadic khanates of Central Asia, and the Arabs of Oman. He also recaptured the territories lost to the Ottomans and invaded the ]. In 1739, he attacked and looted ], the capital of ] India. After Nadir Shah was assassinated, the empire was ruled by the ]. Iran was left unprepared for the worldwide expansion of ] in the late 18th century and throughout the 19th century. | |||
| Persia found relative stability in the ], ruling from 1779 to 1925, but lost hope to compete with the new industrial powers of Europe; Persia found itself sandwiched between the growing Russian Empire in ] and the expanding ] in ]. Each carved out pieces from the Persian empire that became ], ], ], ], ] and ] amongst other previous provinces. | |||
| Although Persia was never directly invaded, it gradually became economically dependent on ]. The ] of 1907 formalised Russian and British control over the north and south of the country, respectively, where Britain and Russia each created a "]", wherein the colonial power had the final say on economic matters. | |||
| At the same time ] shah had granted a concession to ], later the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, to explore and work the newly-discovered oil fields at ] in southwest Persia, which started production in 1914. ], as ] to the British ], oversaw the conversion of the ] to oil-fired battleships and partially nationalized it prior to the start of war. A small Anglo-Persian force was garrisoned there to protect the field from hostile tribal factions. | |||
| {{See also|The Great Game}} | |||
| {{See also|Anglo-Persian War}} | |||
| ===World War I and the Interbellum (1914–1935)=== | |||
| ], built in the ] era is an example of Persian architecture of that time.]] | |||
| ] era in the style of ], located at ].]] | |||
| The ] was waged on the Persian land during ].<ref>William J. Olson "Anglo-Iranian Relations During World War I" Routledge, 1984, pp. 1–305</ref> Persia was drawn into the periphery of ] because of its strategic position between ] and the warring ], ], and ]s. In 1914 Britain sent a military force to ] to deny the Ottomans access to the Persian oilfields. The ] retaliated on behalf of its ally by spreading a rumour that Kaiser ] had converted to ], and sent agents through Iran to attack the oil fields and raise a ] against British rule in ]. Most of those German agents were captured by Persian, British and Russian troops who were sent to patrol the Afghan border, and the rebellion faded away. This was followed by a German attempt to abduct ] which was foiled at the last moment. | |||
| In 1916 the fighting between Russian and Ottoman forces to the north of the country had spilled down into Persia; Russia gained the advantage until most of her armies collapsed in the wake of the ]. This left the ] unprotected, and the Caucasian and Persian civilians starving after years of war and deprivation. In 1918 a small force of 400 British troops under ] moved into the Trans-Caucasus from Persia in a bid to encourage local resistance to German and Ottoman armies who were about to invade the ] oilfields. Although they later withdrew back into Persia, they did succeed in delaying the Turks access to the oil almost until the ]. In addition, the expedition’s supplies were used to avert a major famine in the region, and a camp for 30,000 displaced refugees was created near the Mesopotamian frontier. | |||
| In 1919, northern Persia was occupied by the British General ] to enforce the Turkish ] conditions and help General <!--Malleson? or-->] and Colonel ] to contain ] influence (of ]) in the north. Britain also took tighter control over the increasingly lucrative oil fields. | |||
| In 1925, ] seized power from the Qajars and established the new ], the last Persian monarchy before the establishment of the ]. However, Britain and the ] remained the influential powers in Persia into the early years of the ]. | |||
| On March 21, 1935, ''Iran'' was officially accepted as the new name of the country. After Persian scholars' protested this decision on the grounds that it represented a break with their classical past and seemed to be unduly influenced by the "Aryan" propaganda from Nazi Germany, in 1953 Mohammad Reza Shah announced both names "Iran" and "Persia" could be used.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} | |||
| ==Legacy== | |||
| The role of Persia ] in history is highly significant; In fact, the ] philosopher ] considered the ancient Persians to be ''the first historic people'' and stated: ''"In Persia first arises that light which shines itself and illuminates what is around... The principle of development begins with the history of Persia; this constitutes therefore the beginning of history"''.<ref>] in '']'', (trans.) J. Sibree, Buffalo, 1991, p. 173.</ref> | |||
| ]: | |||
| {{quote|Few nations in the world present more of a justification for the study of history than Iran.<ref>] in ''The Golden Age of Persia''.</ref>}} | |||
| ==Timeline== | |||
| {{History Timeline of Iran}} | |||
| == See also == | |||
| {{portal|Iran|Coat_of_arms_of_Iran.svg}} | |||
| {{portal|Zoroastrianism|Faravahar.svg}} | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] (video game) | |||
| * ] | |||
| == References == | |||
| * Stronach, David "Darius at Pasargadae: A Neglected Source for the History of Early Persia," Topoi | |||
| * ], ''Ruzgaran: tarikh-i Iran az aghz ta saqut saltnat Pahlvi'' Sukhan, 1999. ISBN 964-6961-11-8 | |||
| * Ali Akbar Sarfaraz, Bahman Firuzmandi ''Mad, Hakhamanishi, Ashkani, Sasani'', Marlik, 1996. ISBN 964-90495-1-7 | |||
| * Daniel, Elton, ''The History of Iran'', Greenwood Press, 2001 | |||
| * | |||
| == Notes== | |||
| {{reflist}} | |||
| == Further reading == | |||
| *] (ed.) ''The Cambridge History of Iran'', Cambridge University Press 1993, Cambridge. ISBN 0-521-45148-5 | |||
| *Wiesehofer, Josef: ''Ancient Persia'' | |||
| *J. E Curtis and N. Tallis: ''Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia'' | |||
| * ]: ''From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire'', Eisenbrauns: 2002, ISBN 978-1-57506-0310 | |||
| * Richard N. Frye: ''The Heritage of Persia'' | |||
| * A.T. Olmstead: ''History of the Persian Empire'' | |||
| * Lindsay Allen: ''The Persian Empire'' | |||
| * J.M. Cook: ''The Persian Empire'' | |||
| * Tom Holland: ''Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West'' | |||
| * Amini Sam: ''Pictorial History of Iran: Ancient Persia Before Islam 15000 B.C.-625 A.D.'' | |||
| * ''Timelife Persians: Masters of the Empire (Lost Civilizations)'' | |||
| * ''Houchang Nahavandi, The Last Shah of Iran - Fatal Countdown of a Great Patriot betrayed by the Free World, a Great Country whose fault was Success, Aquilion, 2005,'' ISBN 1-904997-03-1 | |||
| * Farrokh, Kaveh: ''Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War'', Osprey: 2007, ISBN 978-1-84603-108-3 | |||
| * Brosius, Maria: ''The Persians: An Introduction'', Routledge:2006, ISBN 978-0-41532-090-0 | |||
| * Wiesehofer, Joseph ''Ancient Persia'' New York:1996 I.B. Tauris | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * , by S.G.W. Benjamin, 1891 | |||
| * (Persian) | |||
| * | |||
| * (Persian) | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * (Persian) | |||
| * (Nearly 1,000 archaeological photographs of Persepolis and Ancient Persia) | |||
| * Hamid-Reza Hosseini, ''Shush at the foot of ]'' (''Shush dar dāman-e Louvre''), in Persian, Jadid Online, 10 March 2009, .<br />Audio slideshow: (6 min 31 sec). | |||
| {{coord missing|Iran}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Revision as of 19:59, 4 September 2009
Redirect to: