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History of Iran
The Gate of All Nations in Fars
Prehistoric periodBCE / BC Baradostian culture c. 36,000–18,000 Zarzian culture c. 20,000–10,000 Shulaveri–Shomu culture c. 6000–5000 Zayandeh River Culture c. 6th millennium Dalma culture c. 5th millennium
Ancient period Kura–Araxes culture 3400–2000 Helmand culture/Jiroft culture c. 3300–2200 Proto-Elamite 3200–2700 Lullubi Kingdom/Zamua c. 3100-675 Elam 2700–539 Marhaši c. 2550-2020 Oxus Civilization c. 2400–1700 Akkadian Empire 2400–2150 Kassites c. 1500–1155 Avestan period c. 1500–500 Neo-Assyrian Empire 911–609 Urartu 860–590 Mannaea 850–616 Zikirti 750-521 Saparda 720-670
Imperial period Median Empire 678–550 BC Scythian Kingdom 652–625 BC Anshanite Kingdom 635 BC–550 BC Neo-Babylonian Empire 626 BC–539 BC Sogdia c. 6th century BC–11th century AD Achaemenid Empire 550 BC–330 BC Kingdom of Armenia 331 BC–428 AD Atropatene c. 323 BC–226 AD Kingdom of Cappadocia 320s BC–17 AD Seleucid Empire 312 BC–63 BC Kingdom of Pontus 281 BC–62 BC Fratarakas 3rd-century BC–132 BC Parthian Empire 247 BC–224 AD Elymais 147 BC–224 AD Characene 141 BC–222 AD Kings of Persis 132 BC–224 AD Indo-Parthian Kingdom 19 AD–224/5 Paratarajas 125–300 Sasanian Empire 224–651 Zarmihrids 6th century–785 Qarinvandids 550s–11th century
Medieval periodCE / AD Rashidun Caliphate 632-661 Umayyad Caliphate 661–750 Abbasid Caliphate 750–1258 Dabuyids 642–760 Bavandids 651–1349 Masmughans of Damavand 651–760 Baduspanids 665–1598 Justanids 791 – 11th century Alid dynasties 864 – 14th century Tahirid dynasty 821–873 Samanid Empire 819–999 Saffarid dynasty 861–1003 Ghurid dynasty pre-879 – 1215 Sajid dynasty 889–929 Sallarid dynasty 919–1062 Ziyarid dynasty 930–1090 Ilyasids 932–968 Buyid dynasty 934–1062 Rawadid dynasty 955–1070 Hasanwayhids 959–1095 Ghaznavid dynasty 977–1186 Annazids 990/1–1117 Kakuyids 1008–1141 Nasrid dynasty 1029–1236 Shabankara 1030–1355 Seljuk Empire 1037–1194 Khwarazmian dynasty 1077–1231 Eldiguzids 1135–1225 Atabegs of Yazd 1141–1319 Salghurids 1148–1282 Hazaraspids 1155–1424 Pishkinid dynasty 1155–1231 Khorshidi dynasty 1184-1597 Qutlugh-Khanids 1223-1306 Mihrabanids 1236–1537 Kurt dynasty 1244–1396 Ilkhanate Empire 1256–1335 Chobanid dynasty 1335–1357 Muzaffarid dynasty 1335–1393 Jalayirid Sultanate 1337–1376 Sarbadars 1337–1376 Injuids 1335–1357 Afrasiyab dynasty 1349–1504 Mar'ashis 1359–1596 Timurid Empire 1370–1507 Kar-Kiya dynasty 1370s–1592 Qara Qoyunlu 1406–1468 Aq Qoyunlu 1468–1508
Early modern period Safavid Iran 1501–1736 (Hotak dynasty) 1722–1729 Afsharid Iran 1736–1796 Zand dynasty 1751–1794
Modern period Qajar Iran 1789–1925 Pahlavi Iran 1925–1979
Contemporary period Iranian Revolution 1979 Interim Government 1979 Islamic Republic 1979–present
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History of Iran and Greater Iran (also referred to as the "Iranian Cultural Continent" by the Encyclopedia Iranica)—- consisting of the modern nations Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and surrounding regions which is one of the world's oldest continuous major civilizations. — covers thousands of years, from the ancient civilization on the Iranian plateau, Mannaeans civilization in Azarbaijan, Shahr-i Sokhta (Burned City) near Zabol in Sistan va Baluchestan, and the ancient Kingdom of Jiroft in Kerman followed by the kingdom of Elam and the Median, Achaemenid, the Parthian, the Sassanian dynasties and following Empires to the modern Islamic Republic of Iran and neighbouring countries.

Ancient history

Iranian history before the Aryans

There are records of numerous ancient and technologically advanced civilizations on the Iranian plateau before the arrival of Aryan tribes from the north, many of whom are still unknown to historians today. Archeological findings place knowledge of Persian prehistory at middle paleolithic times (100,000 years ago). The earliest sedentary cultures date from 18,000-14,000 years ago. In 6000 BCE the world saw a fairly sophisticated agricultural society and proto-urban population centers. The south-western part of Iran was part of the Fertile Crescent where most of humanity's first major crops were grown. 7000 year old jars of wine excavated in the Zagros Mountains (now on display at The University of Pennsylvania) and ruins of 7000 year old settlements such as Sialk are further testament to this. Many dynasties have ruled Persia throughout the ages. Scholars and archeologists are only beginning to discover the scope of the independent, non-Semitic Elamite Empire and Jiroft civilizations (2) 5000 years ago. At the end of second millennium, the Aryan nomads from central Asia settled in Persia. These are some of the civilizations in Iran before the Aryans: Neolithic civilizations, Teppe Sialk, Shahr-e Sukhteh, Marlik civilization, Luristan civilization, Mannaeans civilization, Kingdom of Jiroft, Elamite kingdom.

Persian Empire

• Main article: Persian Empire

The ancient nation of Iran was historically known to the West as Persia until March 21, 1935. The name was used in the West due to the ancient Greek name for Iran, Persis. Persia is used to describe the nation of Iran, its people, or its ancient empire. The Persians have called their country Iran / Iranshahr since the Sassanian period.

The name Persia comes from a region in the south of Iran, called Fars or Pars in the Persian language. Persis is the Hellenized form of Pars, based on which other European nations termed it Persia. Eratosthenes however does make mention of the word "Iran" in his writings. This region was the core of the original Persian Empire. Westerners referred to the state as Persia until March 21, 1935, when Reza Shah Pahlavi formally asked the international community to call the country by its native name, Iran, which means Land of the Aryans but because of some Persian scholars' protests the government announced in 1959 that both Persia and Iran could be used. (see Iran/Persia naming controversy). For the geography of Persia, see Geography of Iran.

Once a major empire of superpower proportions, Persia has been overrun frequently and has had its territory altered throughout the centuries. Invaded and occupied by Arabs, Turks, Mongols, British and Russians, and others -- and often caught up in the affairs of larger powers -- Persia has always reasserted its national identity and has developed as a distinct political and cultural entity.

The first true empire of global proportions of Persia blossomed under the Achaemenids in (559 - 330 BC). The dynasty was founded by Cyrus the Great, who merged the various tribes and kingdoms into one unified entity. Following the Hellenistic period (300 - 250 BC) came the Parthian (250 BC - AD 226 ) and the Sassanid (226 - 651) dynasties.

Early history and the Median and Achaemenian Empires (3200 BCE – 330 BCE)

Iran has been inhabited by humans since pre-historic times and recent discoveries have begun to shed light upon what these ancient cultures were like in Iran, centuries before the earliest civilizations arose in nearby Mesopotamia.

The written history of Persia (Iran) begins in about 3200 BCE with the Proto-Iranian civilization, followed by the Elamites. The arrival of the Aryans (Indo-Iranians) in the third and second millennium BCE and the establishing of the Median dynasty (728–550 BCE) culminated in the first Iranian Empire. The Medes are credited with the foundation of Iran as a nation and empire, and established the first Iranian empire, the largest of its day until Cyrus the Great established a unified empire of the Medes and Persians leading to the Achaemenian Empire (648–330 BCE), founded by Cyrus the Great.

Cyrus the Great created the Cyrus Cylinder, considered to be the first declaration of human rights. He was the first king whose name has the suffix "Great" and the first Shah of Iran to be known by that title. Cyrus also banned slavery in all of the conquered areas that became the Persian Empire. Cyrus' seminal ideas greatly influenced later human civilizations; Cyrus' principles of ruling – advocating "love" rather than "fear" – influenced the original U.S. Constitution.

After Cyrus' death, his son Cambyses ruled for seven years (531-522 BCE) and 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.

Darius' first capital was at Susa, and he started the building programme at Persepolis. He built a canal between the Nile and the Red Sea, a forerunner of the modern Suez Canal. He improved the extensive road system, and it is during his reign that mention is first made of the Royal Road (shown on map), a great highway stretching all the way from Susa to Sardis with posting stations at regular intervals.

Major reforms took place under Darius. Coinage, in the form of the daric (gold coin) and the shekel (silver coin) was introduced to the world, and administrative efficiency was increased. The Old Persian language appears in royal inscriptions, written in a specially adapted version of cuneiform.

Under 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, ruling and administrating over most of the then known world.Their greatest achievement was the empire itself. The Persian Empire represented the world's first global superpower and was based on a model of tolerance and respect for other cultures and religions.

Alexander of Macedon, also known in the Zoroastrian Arda Wiraz Nâmag as "the accursed Alexander" (due to his conquest of the Persian Empire and the destruction of its cities, including the capital Persepolis), conquered Persia in 333 BCE only to be followed shortly by two more vast and unified Iranian empires that shaped the pre-Islamic identity of Iran and Central Asia: the Parthian (250 BCE-226 CE) and Sassanian (226-650 CE) dynasties. The latter dynasties also defeated the Roman empire at the height of its power on several occasions.

The Silk Road, connecting Persia with China was significant not only for the development and flowering of the great civilizations of China, ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, India and Rome but also helped to lay the foundations of our modern world.

Parthian Empire (248 BCE – 224 CE)

Parthia was led by the Arsacid dynasty, who reunited and ruled over the Iranian plateau, after defeating the Greek Seleucid Empire, beginning in the late 3rd century BCE, and intermittently controlled Mesopotamia between ca 150 BCE and 224 CE. It was the second native dynasty of ancient Iran (Persia). Parthia was the arch-enemy of the Roman Empire in the east; and it limited Rome's expansion beyond Cappadocia (central Anatolia). The Parthian armies included two types of cavalry: the heavily-armed and armoured cataphracts and lightly armed but highly-mobile mounted archers. For the Romans, who relied on heavy infantry, the Parthians were too hard to defeat, as both types of cavalry were much faster and more mobile than foot soldiers. On the other hand, the Parthians found it difficult to occupy conquered areas as they were unskilled in siege warfare. Because of these weaknesses, neither the Romans nor the Parthians were able to completely annex each other.

The Parthian empire lasted five centuries, longer than most Eastern Empires. The end of this long lasted empire came in 224 CE, when the empire was loosely organized and the last king was defeated by one of the empire's vassals, the Persians of the Sassanian dynasty.

Zoroastrianism

Before the Islamic conquest of Persia, Zoroastrianism was the state religion of the Sassanian Empire of Persia (224-651 AD) and played an important role in the earlier Median, Achaemenian and Parthian dynasties. The Iranian Prophet Zoroaster is considered by numerous scholars as the founder of the earliest religion based on revealed scripture. Many scholars point out that Judaism and subsequently, Christianity and Islam have borrowed from Zoroastrianism in regards to the concepts of Eschatology, Angelology and Demonology, as well as the fallen angel Satan, as the ultimate agent of evil.

The foundation of human existence is the cosmic struggle between Asha, The Truth, and Druj, The Lie

Zoroastrian monotheism has had major influence on the religions of the Middle Eastern monotheisms in adaptations of such concepts as heavens, hells, judgment day and messianic figures. These concepts, amongst many others reflect the extreme dualism of Persian culture which has influenced Eastern and Western civilization. According to Professor Mary Boyce, who was the world's leading doyenne of Zoroastrian studies and Iranology, Zoroastrianism is the oldest of the revealed credal religions, and it has probably had more influence on mankind, directly and indirectly, than any other single faith.

Despite its persecution of certain "Christians" during the fourth century, fifth century Zoroastrian Iran became a haven for Nestorians fleeing Christian territories that supported the Council of Ephesus. As a result, the Assyrian Church of the East was formed.

Sassanian Empire (224 – 651 CE)

The first Shah of the Sassanian Empire, Ardashir I, started reforming the country both economically and militarily. The empire's territory encompassed all of today's Iran, Iraq, Armenia, Afghanistan, eastern parts of Turkey, and parts of Syria, Pakistan, Caucasia, Central Asia and Arabia. During Khosrau II's rule in 590-628, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon were also annexed to the Empire. The Sassanians called their empire Erânshahr (or Iranshahr, "Dominion of the Aryans", i.e. of Iranians).

A chapter of Iran's history followed after roughly six hundred years of conflict with the Roman Empire. According to historians, the war-exhausted Persians lost the Battle of al-Qâdisiyah (632 CE) in Hilla, (present day Iraq). The Persian general Rostam Farrokhzad had been criticised for his decision to face the Arabs on their own ground, suggesting that the Persians could have prevailed if they had stayed on the opposite bank of the Euphrates. The first day of battle ended with Persian advances and the Arab force appeared as though it would succumb to the much larger Sassanian army. In particular, the latter's elephants terrified the Arab cavalry. By the third day of battle, Arab veterans arrived on the scene and re-enforced the Arab army. In addition a clever trick whereby the Arab horses were decorated in costume succeeded in frightening the Persian elephants. When an Arab warrior succeeded in slaying the lead elephant, the rest fled into the rear, trampelling numerous Persian fighters. At dawn of the fourth day, a sandstorm broke out blowing sand in the Persian army's faces resulting in total disarray for the Sassanian army and paving way for the Islamic conquest of Persia.

The Sassanian era, encompassing the length of the Late Antiquity period, is considered to be one of the most important and influential historical periods in Iran, and had a major impact on the world. In many ways the Sassanian period witnessed the highest achievement of Persian civilization, and constituted the last great Iranian Empire before the adoption of Islam. Persia influenced Roman civilization considerably during Sassanian times, their cultural influence extending far beyond the empire's territorial borders, reaching as far as Western Europe, Africa, China and India and also playing a prominent role in the formation of both European and Asiatic medieval art. This influence carried forward to the Islamic world. The dynasty's unique and aristocratic culture transformed the Islamic conquest and destruction of Iran into a Persian Renaissance. Much of what later became known as Islamic culture, architecture, writing and other contributions to civilization, were taken from the Sassanian Persians into the broader Muslim world.

Islamic Conquest

• Main article: Islamic conquest of Iran

Its consist of an intermediate era of nearly 150 years between the dissoloution of Sassanid dynasty of Persia and establishment of first native dynasty of Persia after Islam in which Iran was ruled by Caliphates of Umayyads and continued with Abbassids.

Iran after arrival of Islam

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Following the defeat of Sassanids and reign of Caliphates of Umayyads and Abbasids, Iranians sought to regain their lost independence, beginning with semiautonomous Tahirid dynasty, Persians fought consistently for their full independence. The following three Persian dynasties Saffarid dynasty, Ziyarid dynasty and Samanid dynasty slowly recaptured those provinces of Iran which were still under Abbasid rule. The gradual decline of Abbasids speeded this progress, reaching to a point where Shi'ite Buwayhid dynasty of Persia subsequent of capture of whole mainland Iran thus completing the Persia's goal of full independence. They even invaded Khvarvaran (Iraq) (Aragh-e-Arab) and took the city of Baghdad, the Abbasids capital, and imprisoned the Caliph. while restoring the ancient Sassanid title Shâhanshâh (شاهنشاه), literally king of kings.

Culturally, all of initial dynasties tried more or less to re-establish Persian culture and language. Samanids and Buwayhids were the most steadfast in this restoration process. During these two dynasties many of ancient Persian traditions and festivals reappeared from the ashes, and Persian culture found a new life.

The Middle Ages

Persia's next ruling dynasties descended from Central Asian Turkic-speaking warriors who had been moving out of Central Asia into Transoxiana for more than a millennium. The Abbasid caliphs began enlisting these people as slave warriors as early as the ninth century. Shortly thereafter the real power of the Abbasid caliphs began to wane; eventually they became religious figureheads while the warrior slaves ruled. As the power of the Abbasid caliphs diminished, a series of independent and indigenous dynasties rose in various parts of Persia, some with considerable influence and power. Among the most important of these overlapping dynasties were the Tahirids in Khorasan (820-872); the Saffarids in Sistan (867-903); and the Samanids (875-1005), originally at Bukhara. The Samanids eventually ruled an area from central Persia to India. In 962 a Turkish slave governor of the Samanids, Aluptigin, conquered Ghazna (in present-day Afghanistan) and established a dynasty, the Ghaznavids, that lasted to 1186.

Several Samanid cities had been lost to another Turkish group, the Seljuks, a clan of the Oghuz (or Ghuzz) Turks, who lived north of the Oxus River (present-day Amu Darya). Their leader, Tughril Beg, turned his warriors against the Ghaznavids in Khorasan. He moved south and then west, conquering but not wasting the cities in his path. In 1055 the caliph in Baghdad gave Tughril Beg robes, gifts, and the title King of the East. Under Tughril Beg's successor, Malik Shah (1072–1092), Iran enjoyed a cultural and scientific renaissance, largely attributed to his brilliant Iranian vizier, Nizam al Mulk. These leaders established the observatory where Omar Khayyám did much of his experimentation for a new calendar, and they built religious schools in all the major towns. They brought Abu Hamid Ghazali, one of the greatest Islamic theologians, and other eminent scholars to the Seljuk capital at Baghdad and encouraged and supported their work.

A serious internal threat to the Seljuks, however, came from the Ismailis, a secret sect with headquarters at Alamut between Rasht and Tehran. They controlled the immediate area for more than 150 years and sporadically sent out adherents to strengthen their rule by murdering important officials. Several of the various theories on the etymology of the word assassin derive from these killers.

After the death of Malik Shah in 1092, Iran once again reverted to petty dynasties. During this time, Genghis Khan brought together a number of Mongol tribes and led them on a devastating sweep through China. Then, in 1219, he turned his 700,000 forces west and quickly devastated Bukhara, Samarkand, Balkh, Merv, and Neyshabur. Before his death in 1227, he had reached western Azarbaijan, pillaging and burning cities along the way.

The Mongol invasion was disastrous to the Iranians. Destruction of qanat irrigation systems destroyed the pattern of relatively continuous settlement, producing numerous isolated oasis cities in a land where they had previously been rare (see Water , ch. 3). A large number of people, particularly males, were killed; between 1220 and 1258, the population of Iran dropped drastically.

Mongol rulers who followed Genghis Khan did little to improve Iran's situation. Genghis's grandson, Hulagu Khan, turned to foreign conquest, seizing Baghdad in 1258 and killing the last Abbasid caliph. He was stopped by the Mamluk forces of Egypt at Ain Jalut in Palestine. Afterward he returned to Iran and spent the rest of his life in Azarbaijan.

A later Mongol ruler, Ghazan Khan (1295-1304), and his famous Iranian vizier, Rashid ad Din, brought Iran a partial and brief economic revival. The Mongols lowered taxes for artisans, encouraged agriculture, rebuilt and extended irrigation works, and improved the safety of the trade routes. As a result, commerce increased dramatically. Items from India, China, and Iran passed easily across the Asian steppes, and these contacts culturally enriched Iran. For example, Iranians developed a new style of painting based on a unique fusion of solid, two-dimensional Mesopotamian painting with the feathery, light brush strokes and other motifs characteristic of China. After Ghazan's nephew, Abu Said, died in 1335, however, Iran again lapsed into petty dynasties--the Salghurid, Muzaffarid, Inju, and Jalayirid--under Mongol commanders, old Seljuk retainers, and regional chiefs.

Tamerlane, variously described as of Mongol or Turkic origin, was the next ruler to achieve emperor status. He conquered Transoxiana proper and by 1381 established himself as sovereign. He did not have the huge forces of earlier Mongol leaders, so his conquests were slower and less savage than those of Genghis Khan or Hulagu Khan. Nevertheless, Shiraz and Esfahan were virtually leveled. Tamerlane's regime was characterized by its inclusion of Iranians in administrative roles and its promotion of architecture and poetry. His empire disintegrated rapidly after his death in 1405, however, and Mongol tribes, Uzbeks, and Bayundur Turkomans ruled roughly the area of present-day Iran until the rise of the Safavid dynasty, the first native Iranian dynasty in almost 1,000 years.

The birth of Modern Iran

Persia underwent a revival under the Safavid dynasty (1502-1736), the most prominent figure of which was Shah Abbas I. Some historians credit the Safavid dynasty for founding the modern nation-state of Iran. Iran's contemporary Shia character, and significant segments of Iran's current borders take their origin from this era (e.g. Treaty of Zuhab).

Safavid Empire (1502-1736) until the Pahlavi Dynasty

The Safiviyeh came to be led by a fifteen-year old Ismail I. To establish political legitimacy, the Safavid rulers claimed to be descended from Imam Ali and his wife Fatima (the daughter of Prophet Muhammad) through the seventh Imam Musa al-Kazim. To further legitimize his power, Ismail I also added claims of royal Sassanian heritage after becoming Shah. Persia underwent a revival under the Safavid dynasty (1502-1736), the most prominent figure of which was Shah Abbas I. Some historians credit the Safavid dynasty for founding the modern nation-state of Iran. Iran's contemporary Shia character, and significant segments of Iran's current borders take their origin from this era (e.g. Treaty of Zuhab).

Shah Ismail soon conquered and unified Iran under his rule. Soon after, the new Iranian Empire conquered most of the modern day Afghanistan and Iraq.

The greatest of the Safavid monarchs, Shah Abbas I the Great (1587–1629) came to power in 1587 aged 16. Abbas I first fought the Uzbeks, recapturing Herat and Mashhad in 1598. Then he turned against the Ottomans recapturing Baghdad, eastern Iraq and the Caucasian provinces by 1622. He also used his new force to dislodge the Portuguese from Bahrain (1602) and the English navy from Hormuz (1622), in the Persian Gulf (a vital link in Portuguese trade with India). He expanded commercial links with the English East India Company and the Dutch East India Company. Thus Abbas I was able to break the dependence on the Qizilbash for military might and therefore was able to centralize control. The Safavid dynasty soon became a major power in the world and started the promotion of tourism in Iran. Under their rule Persian Architecture flowered again and saw many new monuments.

A faltering Safavid court eventually gave way to the conqueror Nadir Shah who restored order and implemented policies for safekeeping the territorial integrity of Iran. The Afsharids were then followed by the Zand dynasty, founded by Karim Khan, and later the Qajar (1795-1925) and the Pahlavi dynasties (1925-1979).

By the 17th century, European countries, including Portugal, Great Britain, Imperial Russia, and France, had already started establishing colonial footholds in the region. Iran as a result lost sovereignty over many of its provinces to these countries via the Turkmanchai treaty, Gulistan Treaty, and others.

A new era in the History of Persia dawned with the Constitutional Revolution of Iran against the Shah in the late 19th and early 20th century. The Shah managed to remain in power, granting a limited constitution in 1906 (making the country a constitutional monarchy). The first Majlis (parliament) was convened on October 7, 1906.

The discovery of oil in 1908 by the British in Khuzestan spawned intense renewed interest in Persia by the British Empire (see William Knox D'Arcy and Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, now BP). Control of Persia remained contested between the United Kingdom and Russia, in what became known as The Great Game, and codified in the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907, which divided Persia into spheres of influence, regardless of her national sovereignty.

Finally, the Constitutionalist movement of Gilan and the central power vacuum caused by the instability of the Qajar government resulted in the rise of Reza Shah Pahlavi and the Pahlavi dynasty in 1921.

World Wars

During World War I the country was occupied by British and Russian forces but was essentially neutral. In 1919, Britain attempted to establish a protectorate in Iran, aided by the Soviet Union's withdrawal in 1921. In that year a military coup established Reza Khan, a Persian officer of the Persian Cossack Brigade, as dictator and then hereditary Shah of the new Pahlavi dynasty (1925). Reza Shah Pahlavi ruled for almost 16 years, at the beginning mostly secretly aided by the British, installed the new Pahlavi dynasty, thwarted the British attempt at control, and pushed to have the country developed.

Under his reign, Persia (Iran) began to modernize and to secularize politics, and the central government reasserted its authority over the tribes and provinces.

During World War II, Iran was a vital oil-supply source and link in the Allied supply line for lend-lease supplies to the Soviet Union. The then-Shah's tacit pro-German sympathies led to British and Indian forces from Iraq and Soviet forces from the north occupying Iran in August 1941. In September, the British forced Reza to abdicate in favour of his pro-British son Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who ruled as an Allied puppet until 1979.

At the Tehran Conference of 1943, the Tehran Declaration guaranteed the post-war independence and boundaries of Iran. However when the war actually ended, Soviet troops stationed in northwestern Iran not only refused to withdraw but backed revolts that established short-lived, pro-Soviet separatist national states in the northern regions of Azerbaijan and Kurdistan, the People's Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Kurdistan in late 1945, both effective Soviet puppet regimes.

Soviet troops did not withdraw from Iran proper until May 1946 after receiving a promise of oil concessions. The Soviet republics in the north were soon overthrown and the oil concessions were revoked.

United States and the Shah

Initially there were hopes that post-occupation Iran could become a constitutional monarchy. The new, young Shah Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi initially took a very hands-off role in government, and allowed parliament to hold a lot of power. Some elections were held in the first shaky years, although they remained mired in corruption. Parliament became chronically unstable, and from the 1947 to 1951 period Iran saw the rise and fall of six different prime ministers.

In 1951, Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh, a nationalist, received the vote required from the parliament to nationalize the British-owned oil industry, in a situation known as the Abadan Crisis. Despite British pressure, including an economic blockade which caused real hardship, the nationalization continued. Mossadegh was briefly removed from power in 1952 but was quickly re-appointed by the shah, due to an overwhelming majority in parliament supporting him, and he, in turn, forced the Shah into a brief exile in August 1953. A military coup headed by his former minister of the Interior and retired army general Fazlollah Zahedi, with the support of the intelligence services of the British and US governments, finally forced Mossadegh from office on August 19. Mossadegh was arrested and tried for treason by a military tribunal, while Zahedi succeeded him as prime minister.

In return for the US support the Shah agreed, in 1954, to allow an international consortium of British (40%), American (40%), French (6%), and Dutch (14%) companies to run the Iranian oil facilities for the next 25 years, with profits shared equally. The international consortium agreed to a fifty-fifty split of profits with Iran but would not allow Iran to audit their accounts to confirm the consortium was reporting profits properly, nor would they allow Iran to have members on their board of directors. There was a return to stability in the late 1950s and the 1960s. In 1957 martial law was ended after 16 years and Iran became closer to the West, joining the Baghdad Pact and receiving military and economic aid from the US. The Iranian government began a broad program of reforms to modernize the country, notably changing the quasi-feudal land system.

However the reforms did not greatly improve economic conditions and the liberal pro-Western policies alienated certain Islamic religious and political groups. From the mid-1960s the political situation was becoming increasingly unstable, with organisations such as Mujaheddin-e-Khalq (MEK) emerging. In 1961, Iran initiated a series of economic, social, and administrative reforms that became known as the Shah's White Revolution. The core of this program was land reform. Modernization and economic growth proceeded at an unprecedented rate, fueled by Iran's vast petroleum reserves, the third-largest in the world.

The Premier Hassan Ali Mansur was assassinated in 1965 and the internal security service, SAVAK, became more violently active. It is estimated that 13,000-13,500 people were killed by the SAVAK during this period of time, and thousands more were arrested and tortured. The Islamic clergy, headed by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (who had been exiled in 1964), were becoming increasingly vociferous.

International relations with Iraq fell into a steep decline, mainly due to a dispute over the Arvand waterway which a 1937 agreement gave to Iraq. Following a number of clashes in April, 1969, Iran abrogated the 1937 accord and demanded a renegotiation. Iran greatly increased its defense budget and by the early 1970s was the region's strongest military power. In November, 1971 Iranian forces seized control of three islands at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, in response Iraq expelling thousands of Iranian nationals.

In mid-1973, the Shah returned the oil industry to national control. Following the Arab-Israeli War of October 1973, Iran did not join the Arab oil embargo against the West and Israel. Instead it used the situation to raise oil prices, using the money gained for modernization and to increase defense spending.

In the early 1970s, the Mujaheddin-e-Khalq organisation assassinated Tehran-based US military personnel and US civilians involved in military contracts, seeking to weaken the regime and remove foreign influence.

A border dispute between Iraq and Iran was resolved with the signing of the Algiers Accord on March 6, 1975.

However the economic improvements tended to only benefit a very small group and succeeded in disaffecting the vast majority of the population, culminating in widespread religious led protests throughout the late 1970s. There was widespread religious and political opposition to the Shah's rule and programs--especially SAVAK, the hated internal security and intelligence service. Martial law was declared in September 1978 (see Black Friday (1978)) for all major cities but the Shah recognized the erosion of his power-base and fled Iran on January 16, 1979.

Islamic Revolution

After many months of popular protests against the rule of the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was forced to flee the nation on January 16, 1979. After a period of internal competition over the future of Iran, the contest was eventually won by the alliance led by the Ayatollah Khomeini who supported making Iran a religious democratic country. On February 1, 1979, Khomeini returned from France (after 15 years in exile in France, Turkey, and Iraq) overthrowing the shah's government on February 11 and becoming Iran's Supreme Leader.

The new government acted revolutionary. It nationalized industry and started establishing Islamic traditions in culture and law. Western influences were banned and many of the pro-West migrated. There were also clashes between Marxist parties and Iranian armed forces after referendum of April 1, 1979 which continued for almost four years in various provinces.

The Islamic Republic

Supported by the Mujaheddin-e-Khalq , militant Iranian students seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979, holding 52 embassy employees hostage for a 444 days (see Iran hostage crisis). The Carter administration severed diplomatic relations and imposed economic sanctions on April 7, 1980 and later that month attempted a rescue. A commando mission was aborted on April 25 after mechanical problems grounded rescue helicopters and eight American troops were killed in a mid-air collision. On May 24 the International Court of Justice called for the hostages' release. Finally the hostages were released Jan 20 1981, by Agreement of the Carter Administration, see Algiers Accords Jan 19,1981.

On September 22, 1980 Iraq invaded Iran. Official U.S. policy sought to isolate Iran, and the U.S. and its allies supplied Iraq with weapons and technology to maintain a balance in the war. Iraq obtained most of its weaponry from the Soviets, China, and France. Members of the Reagan Administration covertly sold anti-tank missles and spare parts to Iran in what became known as the Iran-Contra affair. Iran finally agreed to United Nations Security Council Resolution 598 in 1988 to end the bloody war. Nonetheless, severe fighting continued into the 1990s and even to the present on a smaller scale ) as Kurdish (nationalist and communist) forces fought the Iranian government.

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At times, large parts of the western Iran were without government control.

In 1981, the Mujaheddin-e-Khalq detonated bombs in the head office of the Islamic Republic Party and the Premier's office, killing 70 high-ranking Iranian officials, including Iranian President Mohammad Ali Rajai, Prime Minister Mohammad Javad Bahonar, and Chief Justice Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti.

On July 3, 1988 the USS Vincennes shot down Iran Air Flight 655 en route to UAE killing all 290 people on board.

Following Khomeini's death on June 3, 1989, the Assembly of Experts — an elected body of senior clerics — chose the outgoing president of the republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to be his successor as national religious leader in what proved to be a smooth transition.

During the Persian Gulf War in 1991 the country remained neutral, restricting its action to the condemnation of the U.S. and allowing fleeing Iraqi aircraft and refugees into the country.

President Rafsanjani was re-elected in 1993 with a less resounding majority; some Western observers attributed the reduced voter turnout to disenchantment with the deteriorating economy. Rafsanjani was succeeded in 1997 by the moderate Mohammad Khatami. His presidency was soon marked by tensions between the reform-minded government and an increasingly conservative and vocal clergy. This rift reached a climax in July 1999 with massive anti-government protests erupted in the streets of Tehran. The disturbances lasted over a week before police and pro-government vigilantes dispersed the crowds.

Khatami was re-elected in June 2001 but his efforts were repeatedly blocked by the religious Guardian Council. Conservative elements within Iran's government moved to undermine the reformist movement, banning liberal newspapers and disqualifying candidates for parliamentary elections. This clampdown on dissent, combined with the failure of Khatami to reform the government, led to growing political apathy among Iran's youth.

In June 2003, anti-government protests by several thousand students took place in Tehran. Several human rights protests also occurred in 2006.

The ultraconservative mayor of Tehran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was elected president in 2005 in an election that saw the disqualification of over 1,000 candidates by the Guardian Council.

Chatham House think-tank told in August 2006 that Iran views Iraq as its own backyard and has now superseded the US as the most influential power there; this affords it a key role in Iraq's future. It also said that Tehran had an unparalleled ability to affect stability and security across most of the country. Analysts have pointed out in September 2006 that Iran's increasing influence in post-war Iraq since the empowerment of its Shi'a majority. This influence, analysts say, is particularly strong in the mainly Shia south, where a top Shia leader in the week of September 3 2006 renewed demands for an autonomous Shia region.

2005-2006 US-Iran tensions

During 2005 and 2006, there were claims that the United States and Israel were planning to attack Iran, including the threat of attack with nuclear weapons by the United States, for many different claimed reasons, including Iran's civilian nuclear energy program which the United States and some other states fear could lead to a nuclear weapons program, crude oil and other strategic reasons (including the Iranian Oil Bourse), electoral reasons in the USA and in Iran. P.R. China and Russia oppose military action of any sort and oppose economic sanctions. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a fatwa forbidding the production, stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons. The fatwa was cited in an official statement by the Iranian government at an August 2005 meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna.

2005-2006 alleged violation of Iranian territory

Claims were made by Scott Ritter, Seymour Hersh and Raw Story that US military incursions into Iranian territory started by June 2005 and continued for at least a year, either by US troops themselves or by retrained, ex-members of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) acting on behalf of the US security forces, carrying out acts of violence and gathering information.

References

1. Oriental Institute, University of Chicago. ""Iranian Pottery"". Retrieved 2006-04-29.
2. Archaeological and Cultural News, CAIS. ""Majidzadeh asked Archaeologists to Use the Correct Term of Proto-Iranian"". Retrieved 2007-01-03.
3. http://www.spentaproductions.com/cyruspreview.htm "In Search of Cyrus the Great", movieclip 11:23.
4. http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/forgottenempire/persia/darius.html
5. http://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/Languages/aryan/aryan_language.htm "The Aryan (Old Persian) Language".
6. Hooker, Richard (1996). "The Persians". Retrieved 2006-08-20.
7. http://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/History/hakhamaneshian/Cyrus-the-great/cyrus_the_great.htm "CYRUS THE GREAT - THE LIBERATOR",
8. http://web.utk.edu/~persian/benevolent.htm
9. http://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/History/hakhamaneshian/burning_persepolis.htm "Burning of Persepolis by Alexander of Macedon"
10. http://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/Religions/iranian/Zarathushtrian/fravahar.htm "Fravahar"
11. http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/z/zoroastrianism.html
12. Garthwaite, Gene R., The Persians, p. 2
13. J. B. Bury, p.109.
14. Durant.
15. Transoxiana 04: Sassanians in Africa
16. Sarfaraz, pp.329-330.
17. Iransaga: The art of Sassanians
18. Durant.
19. Zarinkoob, p.305.
20. Patrick Clawson. Eternal Iran. Palgrave Macmillan. 2005. ISBN 1-4039-6276-6 p.19
21. This section incorporates test from the public domain Library of Congress Country Studies
22. Iranians protest against clerics
23. Uprising in Iran
24. "Iraq prime minister to visit Iran". Al Jazeera. Sep 9 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D890900D-A483-4C19-86C8-41F35135090D.htm" ignored (help)
25. Iran issues anti-nuke fatwa
26. Iran, holder of peaceful nuclear fuel cycle technology

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Further reading

• Iran Between Two Revolutions, Ervand Abrahamian, 1982, ISBN 0-691-10134-5
• Persian Historiography and Geography: Bertold Spuler on Major Works Produced in Iran, the Caucasus, Central Asia, India and Early Ottoman Turkey, M. Ismail Marcinkowski, 2003, ISBN 9971-77-488-7
• Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan. Vol. I., Isabella Bird, 1988, Reprint: Virago Press, London
• All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror, Stephen Kinzer, 2003, ISBN 0-471-26517-9
• Kapuściński, Ryszard (1982). Shah of Shahs. Vinage. ISBN 0-679-73801-0
• Google News: Iran

History related articles on Iran

Pre-Islam

• Aratta
• Aratti theory
• Aryan
• Andronovo Culture
• Indo-Iranians
• Iran naming dispute
• List of kings of Persia
• Parthia
• Persian Empire

Post-Islam

• Arabization and Islamicization in post-conquest Iran
• Islamic Conquest of Iran
• Barmakids
• Persian Empire
• Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907
• Gulistan Treaty
• Akhal Treaty
• The Great Game
• Turkmanchai Treaty

Pahlavi and contemporary

• Constitutionalist movement of Gilan
• List of Prime Ministers of Iran
• Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran
• Persian Constitutional Revolution
• Persian Corridor
• White Revolution
• Iran-Iraq War
• 1988 Massacre of Iranian Prisoners
• U.S. support for Saddam during the Iran-Iraq war
• Ahvaz Bombings

General

• History of science in Persia
• Military history of Iran
• List of Iranian National Heroes
• Prime Minister of Iran
• Persianization
• Persian mythology
• Iranian continent
• Iranian Kurdistan
• Iranology
• Anti-Persianism
• Anti-Iranianism
• Islamic Cultural Revolution
• University of Chicago's Persian heritage crisis
• Islam in Iran
• Islamicization in Iran

External links

• Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies at SOAS

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• History of Iran
• National histories