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Iran, (Persian: ايران,[ʔiˈɾɒn] ĭrănˈ), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI, Persian: جمهوری اسلامی ايران, pronounced [dʒomhuɾije ʔeslɒmije ʔiɾɒn]), formerly known internationally as Persia until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia. Iran is bounded by the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf to the south and the Caspian Sea to its north. Shi\'a Islam is the official religion, and Persian is the official language.قانون اساسی جمهوری اسلامی ایران (Persian). retrieved 23 January 2008 The 18th largest country in the world in terms of area at 1,648,195 km², Iran has a population of over seventy million. Iran borders Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan to the north, Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east, and Turkey and Iraq to the west. Being a littoral state of the Caspian sea (an internal sea and condominium), also Kazakhstan and Russia are Iran\'s direct neighbours.
Iran is home to one of the world\'s oldest continuous major civilizations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to 4000 BC.Xinhua, "New evidence: modern civilization began in Iran", 10 Aug 2007, retrieved 1 Oct 2007Iran Daily, "Panorama", 3 Mar 2007, retrieved 1 Oct 2007Iranian.ws, "Archaeologists: Modern civilization began in Iran based on new evidence", 12 Aug 2007, retrieved 1 Oct 2007 Throughout history, Iran has been of geostrategic importance because of its central location in Eurasia and is a regional power.parliament.uk, "Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, Eighth Report, Iran, retrieved 1 Oct 2007IRAN @ 2000 and Beyond lecture series, opening address, W. Herbert Hunt, 18 May 2000, retrieved 1 Oct 2007 Iran is a founding member of the UN, NAM, OIC, and OPEC. The political system of Iran, based on the 1979 Constitution, comprises several intricately connected governing bodies. The highest state authority is the Supreme Leader, currently Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran occupies an important position in international energy security and world economy as a result of of its large reserves of petroleum and natural gas. The name Iran is a cognate of Aryan, and means "Land of the Aryans".hinduwebsite.com, "The Concepts of Hinduism — Arya", retrieved 1 Oct 2007imp.lss.wisc.edu, "Iranian Languages", Political, Social, Scientific, Literary & Artistic (Monthly) Oct 2000, No. 171, Dr. Suzan Kaviri, pp. 26–7, retrieved 1 Oct 2007"Iran — The Ancient Name of Iran", N.S. Gill, retrieved 1 Oct 2007 "Land of Kindness" (سرزمين مهر) is used as an alternative name for Iran in Persian literature and Iranian media.http://www.chtn.ir/newsShow.aspx?ID=23455 retrieved 23 January 2008Ali Akbar Sadeghi, Iran the Land of Love ISBN 964 Goya Publishing Company published:1994
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The term Iran (ایران) in modern Persian derives from the Proto-Iranian term Aryānām first attested in Zoroastrianism\'s Avesta tradition.Bailey, Harold Walter (1987). "Arya". Encyclopedia Iranica 2. New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. 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.MacKenzie, David Niel (1998). "Ērān, Ērānšahr". Encyclopedia Iranica 8. Cosa Mesa: Mazda. 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 geographical empire is also attested in 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." "Anērān".. retrieved 25 Feb 2008 In Kartir\'s 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) inasmuch as Iran (Ērān) is the modern Persian form of the word Aryānā.
Since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the official name of the country has been the "Islamic Republic of Iran."
In the outside world the official name of Iran from 6th century BC until 1935 was Persia or similar names. In that year Reza Shah asked the international community to call the country by the name "Iran". A few years later some Persian scholars protested to the government that changing the name had separated the country from its past, so in 1959 Mohammad Reza Shah announced that both terms could officially be used interchangeably. Now both terms are common, but "Iran" is used mostly in the modern political context and "Persia" in a cultural and historical context.
Iran is the eighteenth largest country in the world after Libya and before Mongolia.World Statistics by Area retrieved 23 January 2008 Its area roughly equals that of the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany combined, or slightly less than the state of Alaska.Welcome to Iran retrieved 25 Feb 2008 Iran-Location, size, and extent retrieved 23 January 2008 Its borders are with Azerbaijan (432 km/268 mi) and Armenia (35 km/22 mi) to the north-west; the Caspian Sea to the north; Turkmenistan (992 km/616 mi) to the north-east; Pakistan (909 km/565 mi) and Afghanistan (936 km/582 mi) to the east; Turkey (499 km/310 mi) and Iraq (1,458 km/906 mi) to the west; and finally the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman to the south. Iran\'s area is 1,648,000 km² (approximately 636,300 sq mi).
Satellite image of Iran
Mount Damavand is Iran\'s highest point.
Iran consists of the Iranian Plateau with the exception of the coasts of the Caspian Sea and Khuzestan. It is one of the world\'s most mountainous countries, its landscape dominated by rugged mountain ranges that separate various basins or plateaux from one another. The populous western part is the most mountainous, with ranges such as the Caucasus, Zagros and Alborz Mountains; the latter contains Iran\'s highest point, Mount Damavand at 5,604 m (18,386 ft), which is not only the country\'s highest peak but also the highest mountain on the Eurasian landmass west of the Hindu Kush.SurfWax: News, Reviews and Articles On Hindu Kush retrieved 25 Feb 2008 The eastern part consists mostly of desert basins like the saline Dasht-e Kavir, Iran\'s largest desert, in the north-central portion of the country, and the Dasht-e Lut, in the east, as well as some salt lakes. This is because the mountain ranges are too high for rain clouds to reach these regions. The only large plains are found along the coast of the Caspian Sea and at the northern end of the Persian Gulf, where Iran borders the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab (or the Arvand Rūd) river. Smaller, discontinuous plains are found along the remaining coast of the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman.
Iran\'s climate is mostly arid or semiarid, to subtropical along the Caspian coast. On the northern edge of the country (the Caspian coastal plain) temperatures nearly fall below freezing and it remains humid for the rest of the year. Summer temperatures rarely exceed 29 °C (85 °F).Nature & Mountains of Iran retrieved 25 Feb 2008Iran- Current Information retrieved 25 feb 2008 Annual precipitation is 680 mm (27 in) in the eastern part of the plain and more than 1,700 mm (67 in) in the western part. To the west, settlements in the Zagros basin experience lower temperatures, severe winters with below zero average daily temperatures and heavy snowfall. The eastern and central basins are arid, with less than 200 mm (eight in) of rain, and have occasional deserts. Average summer temperatures exceed 38 °C (100 °F). The coastal plains of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman in southern Iran have mild winters, and very humid and hot summers. The annual precipitation ranges from 135 to 355 mm (five to fourteen inches).
Iran is divided into 30 provinces (ostān), each governed by an appointed governor (استاندار, ostāndār). The provinces are divided into counties (shahrestān), and subdivided into districts (bakhsh) and sub-districts (dehestān).
After the revolution, Shahyad Tower was renamed Freedom Tower
Iran has one of the highest urban-growth rates in the world. From 1950 to 2002 the urban proportion of the population increased from 27% to 60%.Payvand. "Iran: Focus on reverse migration". Retrieved on 2006-04-17. The United Nations predicts that by 2030 80% of the population will be urban."Islamic Azad University", retrieved 28 Jan 2008 Most internal migrants have settled near the cities of Tehran, Isfahan, Ahvaz, and Qom. The listed populations are from the 2006/07 (1385 AP) census.Iranian National Portal of Statistics retrieved 27 Feb 2008
Tehran, with population of 7,705,036, is the largest city in Iran and is the Capital city. Tehran is home to around 11% of Iran\'s population. Tehran, like many big cities, suffers from severe air pollution. It is the hub of the country\'s communication and transport network.
Mashhad is the second largest Iranian city and is one of the holiest Shi\'a cities in the world as it is the site of the Imam Reza shrine. It is the second largest city and with a population of 2.8 million is the centre of the province of Razavi Khorasan. It\'s the centre of tourism in Iran and between 15 and 20 million pilgrims go to the Imam Reza\'s shrine every year.Religious Tourism Potentials Rich retrieved 28 Feb 2008Mashhad, Iran retrieved 28 Feb 2008 The other major Iranian city is Isfahan (population city: 1,986,542). Isfahan is the capital of Isfahan Province. The Naghsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The city contains a wide variety of Islamic architectural sites ranging from the eleventh to the 19th century. The growth of suburb area around the city has turned Isfahan to the second most populous metropolitan area (3,430,353).http://www.sci.org.ir/content/userfiles/_census85/census85/natayej/township/Os10.xls retreved 27 Feb 2008 The other majour Iranian cities are Karaj (population 1,732,275), Tabriz (population 1,597,312) and Shiraz (population 1,227,331). Tabriz is situated north of the volcanic cone of Sahand south of the Eynali mountain. Tabriz is the largest city in north-western Iran and is the capital of East Azarbaijan Province. Karaj is located in Tehran province and is situated 20 km west of Tehran, at the foot of Alborz mountains, however the city is increasingly becoming an extension of the metropolitan Tehran.
Map of the world by Eratosthenes, c.200 BC. The name Ariana (Aryânâ) was used to describe the region where the Iranian Plateau is found.
Dozens of pre-historic sites across the Iranian plateau point to the existence of ancient cultures and urban settlements in the fourth millennium BC,Xinhua, "New evidence: modern civilization began in Iran", 10 Aug 2007, retrieved 1 Oct 2007Iran Daily, "Panorama", 3 Mar 2007, retrieved 1 Oct 2007Iranian.ws, "Archaeologists: Modern civilization began in Iran based on new evidence", 12 Aug 2007, retrieved 1 Oct 2007 centuries before the earliest civilizations arose in nearby Mesopotamia.http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/VOL/NN_SUM94/NN_Sum94.html retrieved 2006-04-29
Proto-Iranians first emerged following the separation of Indo-Iranians, and are traced to the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex. "The Palaeolithic Indo-Europeans" — Panshin.com (retrieved 4 June 2006) Aryan, (Proto-Iranian) tribes arrived in the Iranian plateau in the third and second millennium BC, probably in more than one wave of emigration, and settled as nomads. Further separation of Proto-Iranians into "Eastern" and "Western" groups occurred due to migration. By the first millennium BC, Medes, Persians, Bactrians and Parthians populated the western part, while Cimmerians, Sarmatians and Alans populated the steppes north of the Black Sea. Other tribes began to settle on the eastern edge, as far as on the mountainous frontier of north-western Indian subcontinent and in to the area which is now Balochistan. Others, such as the Scythian tribes spread as far west as the Balkans and as far east as Xinjiang. Avestan is an eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the sacred hymns and canon of the Zoroastrian Avesta in c. 1000 BC. Zoroastrianism was the state religion of the Achaemenid empire and later Iranian empires, until the 7th century.
The Cyrus Cylinder is considered the first recorded declaration of human rights in history.
The Medes are credited with the foundation of Iran as a nation and empire (728–550 BC), the largest of its day, until Cyrus the Great established a unified empire of the Medes and Persians leading to the Achaemenid Empire (648–330 BC), 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 I was declared king (ruled 522–486 BC). He was to be arguably the greatest of the ancient Iranian rulers.
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.The Persians. Retrieved on 2006-08-20. The 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 499 BC Athens lent support to a revolt in Miletus which resulted in the sacking of Sardis. This led to an Achaemenid campaign against Greece known as the Greco-Persian Wars which lasted the first half of the 5th century BC. During the Greco-Persian wars Persia made some major advantages and razed Athens in 480 BC, But after a string of Greek victories the Persians were forced to withdraw. Fighting ended with the peace of Callias in 449 BC.
The Achaemenid\'s greatest achievement was the empire itself. The rules and ethics emanating from Zoroaster\'s 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, tranquillity, 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
A bust from The National Museum of Iran of Queen Musa, excavated by a French team in Khuzestan in 1939.
Alexander the Great invaded Achaemenid territory in 334 BC, defeating the last Achaemenid Emperor Darius III at the Battle of Issus in 333 BC. 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 partitioning of the former empire 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 vassalary system, 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.
Sassanid relief of Ardashir I
Parthia was led by the Arsacid Dynasty (اشکانیان Ashkâniân), who reunited and ruled over the Iranian plateau, after defeating the Greek Seleucid Empire, beginning in the late 3rd century BC, and intermittently controlled Mesopotamia between ca. 150 BC and 224 AD. These were the third native dynasty of ancient Iran and lasted five centuries. After the conquests of Media, Assyria, Babylonia and Elam, the Parthians had to organize their empire. The former elites of these countries were Greek, 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.
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 armoured cataphract cavalry, and lightly armed but highly-mobile mounted archers, the Parthians "held their own against Rome for almost 300 years".Persians: Masters of Empire, 1995, ISBN 0809491044, p.142–143,Time-life Books Rome\'s acclaimed general Mark Antony led a disastrous campaign against the Parthians in 36 BC 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 BC.Cotterell, Arthur. From Aristotle to Zoroaster: An a to Z Companion to the Classical World. 1998. p.272, Free Press
The end of the Parthian Empire came in 224 AD, 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 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 Iranians), with their capital at Ctesiphon.Garthwaite, Gene R., The Persians, p. 2, ISBN 1405156805, Wiley-Blackwell (2006) The Romans suffered repeated losses particularly by Ardashir I, Shapur I, and Shapur II.Lorentz, John H. Historical Dictionary of Iran.Asian Historical Dictionaries; No.16. 1995. ISBN 9780810829947, p.189 During their reign, Sassanid battles with the Roman Empire caused such pessimism in Rome that the historian Cassius Dio wrote:
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Here was a source of great fear to us. So formidable does the Sassanid king seem to our eastern legions, that some are liable to go over to him, and others are unwilling to fight at all. | ” |
In 632 raiders from the Arab peninsula began attacking the Sassanid Empire. Iran was defeated in the Battle of al-Qâdisiyah, paving way for the Islamic conquest of Persia.
During Parthian, and later Sassanid era, trade on the Silk Road was a significant factor in the development of the great civilizations of China, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, Indian subcontinent, and 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, Time-life Books The Parthians were innovators of many architecture designs such as that of Ctesiphon, which bears resemblance to, and might have influenced, European Romanesque architecture.Persians: Masters of Empire, 1995, ISBN 0809491044, p.138, Time-life Books"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 Under the Sassanids, Iran expanded relations with China, the arts, music, and architecture greatly flourished, and centres such as the School of Nisibis and Academy of Gundishapur became world renowned centres of science and scholarship.
Map of Iranian Dynasties c. 1000
After the Islamic conquest of Persia, Iran was annexed into the Arab Umayyad Caliphate. But the Islamization of Iran was to yield deep transformations within the cultural, scientific, and political structure of Iran\'s society: The blossoming of Persian literature, philosophy, medicine and art became major elements of the newly-forming Muslim civilization. Culturally, politically, and religiously, the Iranian contribution to this new Islamic civilization is of immense importance. Indeed, the culmination of Iran caused the "Islamic Golden Age".Caheb C., Cambridge History of Iran, Tribes, Cities and Social Organization, vol. 4, p305–328
Abu Moslem, an Iranian general , expelled the Umayyads from Damascus and helped the Abbasid caliphs to conquer Baghdad. The Abbasid caliphs frequently chose their "wazirs" (viziers) among Iranians, and Iranian governors acquired a certain amount of local autonomy. Thus in 822, the governor of Khorasan, Tahir, proclaimed his independence and founded a new Persian dynasty of Tahirids. And by the Samanid era, Iran\'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 Iranians to regain their independence in their relations with the Arab invaders. The cultural revival of the post-Abbasid period led to a resurfacing of Iranian national identity. The resulting cultural movement reached its peak during the 9th and 10th centuries. 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.
Avicenna\'s Canon of Medicine which was the standard medical text in Europe for seven centuries. This is a Latin copy of Canon of Medicine.
After an interval of silence Iran re-emerged as a separate, different and distinctive element within Islam. 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 11th century, when Mahmud-a Ghaznavi founded a vast empire, with its capital at Isfahan and Ghazna. Their successors, the Seljuks, asserted their domination from the Mediterranean Sea to Central Asia. As with their predecessors, the divan of the empire was in the hands of Iranian viziers, who founded the Nizamiyya. During this period, hundreds of scholars and scientists 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 Khwarazmid provinces of Transoxiana and Khorasan suffered a devastating invasion by Genghis Khan. During this period more than half of Iran\'s population were killed,The memoirs of Edward Teller, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory "Science and Technology Review". July/August 1998 p20. Link: [1] 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".Mackey, S.. 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 Iran had dropped from 2,500,000 to 250,000 as a result of mass extermination and famine.Battuta\'s Travels: Part Three — Persia and Iraq retrieved 23 January 2008 In a letter to King Louis IX of France, Holaku, one of the Genghis Khan\'s grandsons, alone took responsibility for 200,000 deaths in his raids of Iran and the Caliphate.Mackey, S.. The Iranians: Persia, Islam, and the soul of a nation. 1996. ISBN 0-525-94005-7. p.70 He was followed by yet another conqueror, Tamerlane, who established his capital in Samarkand.Old World Contacts/Armies/Tamerlane retrieved 23 January 2008 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 Hulagu, 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.Bertold Spuler. The Muslim World. Vol. I The Age of the Caliphs. Leiden. E.J. Brill. 1960 ISBN 0-685-23328-6 p.29
Sattar Khan was a key figure in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution.
Shah Ismail I, the founder of the Safavid Dynasty (1501 to 1736)
Iran\'s first encompassing Shi\'a Islamic state was established under the Safavid Dynasty (1501–1722) 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 The Great."The Islamic World to 1600", The Applied History Research Group, The University of Calgary, 1998, retrieved 1 Oct 2007 The Safavid Dynasty frequently locked horns with Ottoman Empire, Uzbek tribes and the Portuguese Empire. The Safavids moved their capital from Tabriz to Qazvin and then to Isfahan where their patronage for the arts propelled Iran 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 a distinct style of architecture developed. In 1722 Afghan rebels defeated Shah Sultan Hossein and ended the Safavid Dynasty, but 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 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 Zand dynasty lasted three generations, until Aga Muhammad Khan executed Lotf Ali Khan, and founded his new capital in Tehran, marking the dawn of the Qajar Dynasty in 1794. The capable Qajar chancellor Amir Kabir established Iran\'s first modern college system, among other modernizing reforms. Iran suffered several wars with Imperial Russia during the Qajar era, resulting in Iran losing almost half of its territories to Imperial Russia and the British Empire, via the treaties of Gulistan, Turkmenchay and Akhal. In spite of The Great Game Iran managed to maintain her sovereignty and was never colonized, unlike neighbouring states in the region. Repeated foreign intervention and a corrupt and weakened Qajar rule led to various protests, which by the end of the Qajar period resulted in Persia\'s constitutional revolution establishing the nation\'s first parliament in 1906, within a constitutional monarchy.
Former Iranian prime minister, Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh.
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Queen Farah about to depart after a visit to the United States.
In 1921, Reza Khan overthrew the weakening Qajar Dynasty and became Shah. Reza Shah initiated industrialization, railroad construction, and the establishment of a national education system. Reza Shah sought to balance Russian and British influence, but when World War II started, his nascent ties to Germany alarmed Britain and Russia. In 1941, Britain and the USSR invaded Iran in order to utilize Iranian railroad capacity during World War II. The Shah was forced to abdicate in favour of his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In 1951 Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh was elected prime minister. As prime minister, Mossadegh became enormously popular in Iran after he nationalized Iran\'s oil reserves. In response Britain embargoed Iranian oil and invited the United States to join in a plot to depose Mossadegh, and in 1953 President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized Operation Ajax. The operation was successful, and Mossadegh was arrested on 19 August, 1953. After Operation Ajax Mohammad Reza Pahlavi\'s rule became increasingly autocratic. With American support the Shah was able to rapidly modernize Iranian infrastructure, but he 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.
The Iranian Revolution, also known as the Islamic Revolution,Islamic Revolution of 1979, retrieved 23 January 2008Islamic Revolution of Iran, encarta, retrieved 23 January 2008Fereydoun Hoveyda, The Shah and the Ayatollah: Iranian Mythology and Islamic Revolution ISBN 0275978583, Praeger Publishers began in January 1978 with the first major demonstrations against the Shah.The Iranian Revolution retrieved 23 January 2008 After strikes and demonstrations paralysed the country and its economy, the Shah fled the country in January 1979 and Ayatollah Khomeini soon returned from exile to Tehran, enthusiastically greeted by millions of Iranians.Ruhollah Khomeini, Encyclopaedia Britannica retrieved 23 January 2008 The Pahlavi Dynasty collapsed ten days later on 11 February 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 1 April, 1979 when Iranians overwhelmingly approved a national referendum to make it so.Iran Islamic Republic, Encyclopaedia Britannica retrieved 23 January 2008Encyclopædia Britannica23 January 2008 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,Jahangir Amuzegar, The Dynamics of the Iranian Revolution, (1991), p.4, 9–12 ISBN 0791407314 as it had not been precipitated by a military defeat, a financial crisis, or a peasant rebellion.Arjomand, Turban (1988), p. 191. Although both nationalists and Marxists joined with Islamic traditionalists to overthrow the Shah, the revolution ultimately resulted in an Islamic Republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.Cheryl Benard, Zalmay Khalilzad, "The Government of God" ISBN 0231053762, Columbia University Press (1984), p. 18.
Donald Rumsfeld meets Saddam Hussein on 19–20 December 1983. Rumsfeld visited again on 24 March 1984, the day the UN reported that Iraq had used mustard gas and tabun nerve agent against Iranian troops. The New York Times reported from Baghdad on 29 March 1984, that "American diplomats pronounce themselves satisfied with Iraq and the US, and suggest that normal diplomatic ties have been established in all but name."National Security Archive: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82 retrieved 23 January 2008
Iran\'s relationship with the United States deteriorated rapidly during the revolution. On 4 November 1979, a group of Iranian students seized US embassy personnel, labelling the embassy a "den of spies", a violation of diplomatic immunity.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 ISBN 0802143032, Grove Press 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. 127 ISBN 0802143032, Grove Press the remaining fifty-two hostages were held for 444 days. 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 rescue were unsuccessful until January 1981 when the Algiers declaration was agreed upon. 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. Saddam 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 which not only has a substantial Arab population, but boasted rich oil fields as well. On the unilateral behalf of the United Arab Emirates, the islands of <
