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history of Iran

It is thought that in Iran there are well 250.000 archaeological sites, not to mention that excavations continue to bring to light new surprises, offering continuous news about a country with ancient history, complex religion, deeply rooted traditions, amazing geography and from the priceless artistic and cultural heritage.

Brief history of Iran (a fleeting glance)

When discussing the history of Iran, a question emerges that needs to be clarified in order to better define the survey framework: we intend to talk about the chronological path of the populationsthat, from the dawn of civilization to the present day, lived in the current Iranian borders, or, we want to describe the events of those peoples who, in some way, considered themselves Iranian and lived in a historical-geographical context that includes the regions of Today's Iran and the territories included in the borders of ancient Iran. Some scholars make the beginning of the history of Iran coincide with the arrival of the Aryan peoples in the Iranian plateau, the name of Iran derives from these populations. However, this does not mean that, in earlier times, such a vast territory was uninhabited or without signs of other civilizations. Before the arrival of the Aryan populations in the Iranian plateau, many other ancient civilizations were born and disappeared, but the legacy left by some of them in this district, still today, bears its fruits under colorful forms. As examples of such civilizations we can mention the following: Sahr-e Sukhte (in Sistan), the Elamite civilization (north of the Khuzestan region), the civilizations of the Halil Rud river basin near the city of Jiroft (in the area of Kerman), the urban civilization of the ancient dune of Siyalk (near the city of Kashan), the civilization of Urartu (in the Azarbayejan), Ghiyan Tepe (in the area of ​​Nehavand), the civilization of the Mannei in Kurdistan and in the Azarbayejan, the civilization of the Cassites in Lorestan. The current opinion among the specialists places the arrival in the Iranian plateau of those populations that they called themselves Aryans - the term 'Ariano' in their language meant 'noble' or 'lord' at the end of the second millennium before Christ, but on this date there are very divergent opinions. Therefore, the Iranian people possess a national culture and a civilization that have been formed over the millennia and have reached their flourishing apex in the Islamic period. Traces of culture and civilization of this kind can be observed in various forms, for example, in the positivities, in the novelties and in the religious genius of this nation. So it is true that, from the religious and cultural point of view, Iran has donated its intellectual and moral treasure both to the East and to the West, starting with the Zoroastras of the Academy of Plato up to the mystery cult of Mithra and, in the same way, it played an important role in the spread of gnosis and Manichaeism, of which some ideas can also be found in Buddhism. Finally, the great legacy of an ancient civilization that for many Asian countries and other parts of the world has been of vital importance entrusts Islamic Iran with the task of making it worthy of praise. From a chronological point of view, the history of 'Iran can be divided into various phases, in some cases this subdivision has elements in common with other cultures and civilizations of the world, while there are epochs in which it takes on more specific traits which, in other words, can be defined as' more Iranian periods '. The chronological division common to other world cultures embraces the following phases: the Paleolithic, the epipaleolithic, the Neolithic, the three Bronze Ages, the period of the 'urban revolution', the 'proto-dynastic' period, the Iron Age and the era in which the first new governments and state structures began to take shape, endowed with more precise political boundaries. The first such government in Iranian land took shape at the time of the Elamites and not in the times of the Medes or the Achaemenids and later, under the rule of the Medes, a new phase began with more modern state arrangements. The major dynasties that succeeded each other in Iran are the following:

The Medes

They officially founded the first autonomous government in Iran and it is believed that the formation of their kingdom dates back to the 9th and 8th centuries BC. In the beginning the Medes were shepherds and farmers, then Dayakku (Deioces in Greek) entered the scene, took power, unified the different tribes and, later, the dominion of the Medes assumed an imperial dimension.

The Achaemenids

Cyrus II the Great was the founder of this dynasty that ruled Iran for almost 220 years. The Persians who emigrated to the Iranian plateau were part of the Indo-Iranian group, that is to say a branch of the great ethnic-linguistic family dating back to Proto-Indo-Aryan. The Persians were also divided into different tribes that were reunited under the guidance of Achemene. The Achaemenid emperors were of Zoroastrian faith, but never imposed their religious belief on any people. The Persians adopted the writing with cuneiform characters, composed of 42 signs. Their empire is considered one of the most powerful in all of world history.

The Parts (or Arsacidi)

They ruled for about 475 years. Their first capital was Hekaton Police, also known as Sad Darvaze, then changed headquarters and moved to the cities of Ctesifonte and Rey. The Parthians are also called Arsacids, named after Arshak who was their ancestor. The arsacid dynasty, throughout its existence, was forced to face both the nomadic tribes of the eastern borders and the Roman empire.

The Sassanids

They reigned for 428 years and their age is regarded as the pinnacle of Iranian civilization in the ancient world. In the Sasanian period, urban planning, the arts, the spread of bridges and other constructions, as well as the expansion of internal and external trade, reached the highest point of their growth. Among the major festivities of the Sasanian period are: the feast of Nouruz (the Iranian New Year); the Mehregan festival, which occurs every year on the 16 day of the month of Mehr of the Persian calendar and recalls the victory of the hero Fereydoun over the demon Zahhak; and the feast of the Sade which is the feast of the discovery of fire and is celebrated after one hundred days have passed since the beginning of winter. With the appearance of Islam and after this new faith was welcomed by almost all Iranians, despite weak resistance in some parts of the country, the message of brotherhood and equality of the Muslim religion took the place of the Zoroastrian religion that was strongly hierarchical. After the Islamization of the Iranian plateau, for about two centuries there was no local government involved in tribal or religious wars, given that the local governors depended on the central power of the caliph; until the Tahirid dynasty emerged in the Khorasan region and assumed local government.

The Tahirids

Taher Zu-l-Yamanein was the founder of the dynasty and, defeating the army of Ali ebn-e Mahan, succeeded in storming Baghdad and gave his support to bring al-Mamun caliph to power. Although the Tahirid dynasty did not give rise to a strong government, after two hundred years it had liberated Iran from Arab influence, partly causing the appearance of other Iranian dynasties.

Saffarids

This dynasty ruled a part of eastern Iran for 32 years and its founder was Yaqub Leis Saffar. After Imam Ali's victory over the Kharigites, some of them fled to Sistan and created some ephemeral local governments. Among them, Saleh ebn-e Nasr had power and fame, among the ranks of his army militated Yaqub.

The Buyidi

Originally the brothers Buyidi, Ali, Hasan and Ahmad, were fishermen, then became very ambitious and put aside the profession of the father, reaching the rank of officers in the army of Makan Kaki. While he was defeated by Mardavich, the Buyidi brothers entered the ranks of the Mardaviz army who chose the buyide Ali for the Karaj government, the name of a locality near Nehavand in the Hamadan region, not to be confused with the today's city. With the support of some military chiefs of the Mardaviz army, the buyis Ali took the city of Esfahan and got the better of the armies of the Caliph of Baghdad, giving rise to the Buyidi dynasty. It was from the time of this dynasty that Shi'ism took on an official dimension in Iran.

The Ziyarids

The ziyaride dynasty succeeded that of the survivors of the Tabarestan region. Naser-e Kabir was the one who with much perseverance made that area independent, after his death, his followers allied themselves with Afsar Shirviye and conquered the Tabarestan. But Afsar did not behave worthily with the Muslims, Mardavich took advantage of this fact, which attracted the sympathy of the local population and founded the ziyaride dynasty.

The Ghaznavids

This dynasty was founded in the city of Ghazna, created by the tenacity of a servant named Alabtekin. The Ghaznavids were of Turkish descent and since they were the first couriers of the ruler of the city became famous with this name. The peak of their power coincides with the reign of Soltan Mahmud the Ghaznavide. For almost 231 years, the Ghaznavid dynasty reigned over vast territories of the Iranian plateau.

The Kharazm-shah

For about 138 years during the Seljuq era, the Kharazm-shah dynasty also ruled over parts of Iran. Anushtakin Gharce was one of the servants at the court of the sovereign Seljukide Malekshah from whom he received the government of the Kharazm region and for this reason this dynasty took the title of Kharazm-Shah. During the government of Qotb ad-Din Mohammad, famous as Ala ad-Din, the Mongols invaded the Iranian plateau. Despite the tenacious resistance that Soltan Jalal ad-Din Mankeberni, son of Qotb ad-Din Mohammad, put in place, he was killed in battle and their dynasty died out.

Il-kanidi

After the end of the Kharazm-shah dynasty, the territories of Central Asia along with the Khorasan region and other parts of Iran entered the Mongol domain. The economic, cultural and political blows Genghis Khan inflicted on Iran gave no chance to other local governments to be born. This was the reason why the Mongols chose one of their army chiefs to rule the Kharazm-shah territories. The il-khanide dynasty reigned for almost 200 years.

Timurids

Tamerlane was the founder of the dynasty to which he gave the name, he after consolidating his government in Central Asia, turned his attention to Iran, having the intention to create an empire similar to that of Genghis Khan. Tamerlano and his armies fought together for fifteen years and managed to conquer several territories of the Iranian plateau. The Timurids reigned for 104 years.

The Safavids

Shah Esmail I Safavide, originally from the city of Ardabil, was the founder of the dynasty that ruled Iran for almost 239 years. In the times of the Safavids, Iran had an economic-political growth never seen in the whole period following the appearance of Islam, acquiring a certain importance among the powers of the time.

The Afsharidi

Nader Shah was the founder of this dynasty. He came from the Afshar tribe, who were rejected by Shah Esmail I from Azarbayejan to Khorasan. Most historians attribute 60 years of age to the Afsharid government.

The Zand

The Zand dynasty, founded by Karim Khan-e Zand, was a government of Persian origin. After the killing of Nader Shah, Iran fell into a period of crisis and unrest, Karim Khan repressed some of his opponents' revolts and seized power in the city of Shiraz. This dynasty ruled over some areas of the country for 46 years.

I Qajar

They reigned in Iran for 130 years and the founder of this dynasty was Agha Mohammad Khan-e Qajar who crowned himself in Tehran. The period of this family of Turkmen origins coincided with a phase in which there was progress in the scientific, economic and social fields all over the world, but the government of Iran became one of the weakest. Although the country was apparently independent, in reality, the real administrators were the consuls, not even the ambassadors of the various foreign powers, particularly Russia and England. The sovereign Fath Ali Shah had to concede, in one go, and without any war, 18 Iranian cities to Tsarist Russia. At that time, suddenly, every kind of development and progress stopped in Iran. The last king of this dynasty was Ahmad Shah who in exile was assassinated at an early age.

The Pahlavi

They reigned in Iran for 54 years. Reza Shah was the founder of this dynasty, crowned in Tehran in the year 1924 and reigned for 16 years. So the crown passed from father to son and, finally, in the year 1979, thanks to the Islamic revolution led by Imam Khomeini, the kingdom of Pahlavi was overthrown.

The Islamic revolution of Iran

The 11 day of February, the Islamic revival of the Iranian people reached its peak with the guidance of Imam Khomeini: the era of the hereditary monarchy ended and the government of the Islamic Republic was established. The Islamic revival in Iran began in the year 1962 with the vigorous protest of Imam Khomeini, and other intellectuals, both against the proposed law that wanted to reform the local administration, and against everything that Mohammad Reza Shah considered the 'revolution white 'of the king and the nation. The 22 March of the 1963 took place an assembly to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq in the theological school (Feiziye) of the city of Qom, where a group in the pay of Savak, the secret police of the Pahlavi regime, attacked the building and spread blood. This episode made the clergy and the people even more determined and Ayatollah Khomeini gave a historical and memorable speech. Because of his appeal, Ayatollah Khomeini was arrested by Savak agents on the night of 05 1963 in June and was transferred to Tehran. With the spread of this news, massive demonstrations of protest occurred in the various cities of the country, while the regime of the Pahlavi gave the order to repress such popular uprisings. In the 05 historical revolt of June 1963, which marks a decisive moment of the beginning of the Islamic revival in Iran, thousands of people were killed and injured in many cities of the country. The 26 October 1964, in the Grand Mosque of Qom, Imam Khomeini pronounced other words that left an indelible mark and announced an irreversible destiny: he opposed a bill that wanted to approve the privileges of American consultants in Iran (capitolasion), and he believed that it could be the cause of the slavery of the Iranians, detrimental to the independence of the country and an indelible mark of the Pahlavi regime. The 4 November 1964, the reaction of the crown was to send the Ayatollah Khomeini into exile, first in Turkey and then in the city of Najaf in Iraq. However, the struggle and popular uprisings continued. The 5 October 1978, Imam Khomeini moved to France, from where he gave his fundamental support to the Islamic revolution. His home in the small village of Neauphle le Chateau near Paris became the center of the world press. In November the level of struggle reached such a level that there were many strikes by the workers of the oil company, the Post Office and the telegraph, the National Bank, the Water Authority, the radio and television and others. Finally, after 15 years of exile, on 01 February 1979 day, Imam Khomeini returned to his homeland and with his guidance the 11 February 1979, after so many years of struggle, tenacity, sacrifices and resistance, the Islamic revolution reached the final victory thanks to support of the people. Therefore, on the first of April 1979 with a popular referendum, the Islamic Republic of Iran was constituted with the favorable vote of 98,5% of those entitled.