In the 7th century, theMuslim conquest of Iran resulted in the Sasanian Empire's annexation by theRashidun Caliphate and the beginning of theIslamization of Iran. In spite of repeated invasions by foreign powers, such as theArabs,Turks, andMongols, among others, the Iranian national identity was repeatedly asserted in the face of assimilation, allowing it to develop as a distinct political and cultural entity. While theearly Muslim conquests had caused the decline ofZoroastrianism, which had been Iran's majority and official religion up to that point, the achievements of prior Iranian civilizations were absorbed into the nascentIslamic empires and expanded upon during theIslamic Golden Age. Nomadic tribes overran parts of the Iranian plateau during theLate Middle Ages and into theearly modern period, negatively impacting the region.[17] By 1501, however, the nation was reunified by theSafavid dynasty, which initiated Iranian history's most momentous religious change since the original Muslim conquest byconverting Iran to Shia Islam.[18][19] Iran again emerged as a leading world power, especially in rivalry with theTurkish-ruledOttoman Empire. In the 19th century, Iran came into conflict with theRussian Empire, which annexed theSouth Caucasus by the end of theRusso-Persian Wars.[20]
TheSafavid period (1501–1736) is becoming more recognized as an important time in Iran's history by scholars in both Iran and the West. In 1501, the Safavid dynasty became the first local dynasty to rule all of Iran sincethe Arabs overthrew the Sasanid empire in the 7th century. For eight and a half centuries, Iran was mostly just a geographical area with no independent government, ruled by various foreign powers—Arabs,Turks,Mongols, andTartars. TheMongol invasions in the 13th century were a turning point in Iran's history and in Islam. The Mongols destroyed the historical caliphate, which had been a symbol of unity for the Islamic world for 600 years. During the long foreign rule, Iranians kept their unique culture and national identity, and they used this chance to regain their political independence.[21]
In the 1940s there were hopes that Iran could become a constitutional monarchy, but a 1953 coup aided by U.S. and U.K. removed the elected prime minister, and Iran was ruled as an autocracy under the Shah with American support from that time until the revolution. The Iranian monarchy lasted until theIslamic Revolution in 1979, when the country was officially declared anIslamic republic.[22][23] Since then, it has experienced significant political, social, and economic changes. The establishment of an Islamic republic led to a major restructuring of the country's political system. Iran's foreign relations have been shaped by regional conflicts, beginning with theIran–Iraq War and persisting through manyArab countries; ongoing tensions withIsrael, theUnited States, and theWestern world; and theIranian nuclear program, which has been a point of contention in international diplomacy. Despiteinternational sanctions andinternal challenges, Iran remains a key player in regional and global geopolitics.
Early agricultural communities such asChogha Golan in the 11th millennium BC[30][31] along with settlements such asChogha Bonut (the earliest village in Elam) in the 9th millennium BC[32][33] began to flourish in and around the Zagros Mountains.[34] Around about the same time, the earliest-known clay vessels and modelled human and animal terracotta figurines were produced atGanj Dareh.[34] There are 10,000-year-old human and animal figurines from Tepe Sarab inKermanshah Province among many other ancient artefacts.[35]
The south-western part of Iran was part of theFertile Crescent where most of humanity's first major crops were grown, in villages such asSusa (where a settlement was first founded possibly as early as 4395 BC)[36]: 46–47 and settlements such asChogha Mish, dating back to 6800 BC;[37][38] there are 7,000-year-old jars of wine excavated in the Zagros Mountains[39] (now on display at theUniversity of Pennsylvania) and ruins of 7,000-year-old settlements such asTepe Sialk are further testament to that. The two main Neolithic Iranian settlements were Ganj Dareh and the hypotheticalZayandeh River Culture.[40]
Cylinder with a ritual scene, early 2nd millennium BC,Geoy Tepe, IranChogha Zanbil is one of the few extantziggurats outside ofMesopotamia and is considered to be the best preserved example in the world.
TheKura–Araxes culture (circa 3400 BC—ca. 2000 BC) stretched from northwestern Iran up into the neighbouring regions of theCaucasus andAnatolia.[41][42] Susa is one of the oldest-known settlements of Iran and the world. The general perception among archaeologists is that Susa was an extension of theSumerian city-state ofUruk, hence incorporating many aspects of Mesopotamian culture.[43][44] In its later history, Susa became the capital of Elam, which emerged as a state founded 4000 BC.[36]: 45–46 There are also dozens of prehistoric sites across the Iranian plateau pointing to the existence of ancient cultures and urban settlements in the fourth millennium BC.[37] One of the earliest civilizations on the Iranian plateau was theJiroft culture in southeastern Iran in the province ofKerman.
Iran is one of the most artefact-rich archaeological sites in theMiddle East. Archaeological excavations inJiroft led to the discovery of several objects belonging to the 4th millennium BC.[45] There is a large quantity of objects decorated with highly distinctive engravings of animals, mythological figures, and architectural motifs. The objects and their iconography are considered unique. Many are made fromchlorite, a grey-green soft stone; others are incopper,bronze,terracotta, and evenlapis lazuli. Recent excavations at the sites have produced the world's earliest inscription which pre-dates Mesopotamian inscriptions.[46][47]
There are records of numerous other ancient civilizations on the Iranian plateau before the emergence ofIranian peoples during theEarly Iron Age. TheEarly Bronze Age saw the rise of urbanization into organized city-states and the invention of writing (theUruk period) in the Near East. While Bronze Age Elam made use of writing from an early time, theProto-Elamite script remains undeciphered, and records from Sumer pertaining to Elam are scarce.
Russian historianIgor M. Diakonoff states that the modern inhabitants of Iran are descendants of mainly non-Indo-European groups, more specifically of pre-Iranic inhabitants of the Iranian Plateau: "It is the autochthones of the Iranian plateau, and not the Proto-Indo-European tribes of Europe, which are, in the main, the ancestors, in the physical sense of the word, of the present-day Iranians."[48]
Rhyton in the shape of a ram's head, gold –Saqqez -Kurdistan - western Iran[6] –, late 7th–early 6th century BCEA gold cup at theNational Museum of Iran, from the first half of the 1st millennium BC
Records become more tangible with the rise of theNeo-Assyrian Empire and its records of incursions from the Iranian plateau. As early as the 20th century BC, tribes came to the Iranian plateau from thePontic–Caspian steppe. The arrival of Iranians on the Iranian plateau forced the Elamites to relinquish one area of their empire after another and to take refuge in Elam,Khuzestan and the nearby area, which only then became coterminous with Elam.[49] Bahman Firuzmandi says that the southern Iranians might be intermixed with the Elamite peoples living in the plateau.[50] By the mid-1st millennium BC,Medes,Persians, andParthians populated the Iranian plateau. Until the rise of the Medes, they all remained underAssyrian domination, like the rest of theNear East. In the first half of the 1st millennium BC, parts of what is nowIranian Azerbaijan were incorporated intoUrartu.
In 646 BC,Assyrian kingAshurbanipal sackedSusa, which ended Elamite supremacy in the region.[51] For over 150 years Assyrian kings of nearby northernMesopotamia had been wanting to conquer Median tribes of western Iran.[52] Under pressure from Assyria, the small kingdoms of the western Iranian plateau coalesced into increasingly larger and more centralized states.[51]
The Medes at the time of their maximum expansion
In the second half of the 7th century BC, the Medes gained their independence and were united byDeioces. In 612 BC,Cyaxares, Deioces' grandson, and theBabylonian kingNabopolassar invaded Assyria and laid siege to and eventually destroyedNineveh, the Assyrian capital, which led to the fall of theNeo-Assyrian Empire.[53] Urartu was later on conquered and dissolved as well by the Medes.[54][55] The Medes are credited with founding Iran as a nation and empire, and established the first Iranian empire, the largest of its day untilCyrus the Great established a unified empire of the Medes and Persians, leading to the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550–330 BC).
The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent
Cyrus the Great overthrew, in turn, the Median,Lydian, andNeo-Babylonian empires, creating an empire far larger than Assyria. He was better able, through more benign policies, to reconcile his subjects to Persian rule; the longevity of his empire was one result. The Persian king, like the Assyrian, was also "King of Kings",xšāyaθiya xšāyaθiyānām (shāhanshāh in modern Persian) – "great king",Megas Basileus, as known by theGreeks.
Cyrus's son,Cambyses II, conquered the last major power of the region,ancient Egypt, causing the collapse of theTwenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt. Since he became ill and died before, or while, leaving Egypt, stories developed, as related byHerodotus, that he was struck down for impiety against theancient Egyptian deities. After the death of Cambyses II,Darius ascended the throne by overthrowing the legitimate Achaemenid monarchBardiya, and then quelling rebellions throughout his kingdom. As the winner, Darius based his claim on membership in a collateral line of the Achaemenid Empire.
Darius' first capital was at Susa, and he started the building program atPersepolis. He rebuilt a canal between theNile and theRed Sea, a forerunner of the modernSuez Canal. He improved the extensive road system, and it is during his reign that mentions are first made of theRoyal Road (shown on map), a great highway stretching all the way from Susa toSardis with posting stations at regular intervals. Major reforms took place under Darius. Coinage, in the form of thedaric (gold coin) and theshekel (silver coin), was standardized (coinage had been invented over a century before in Lydia c. 660 BC but not standardized),[56] and administrative efficiency increased.
TheOld Persian language appears in royal inscriptions, written in a specially adapted version of thecuneiform script. Under Cyrus the Great and Darius, the Persian Empire eventually became the largest empire in human history up until that point, ruling and administrating over most of the known world,[57] as well as spanning the continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The greatest achievement was the empire itself. The Persian Empire represented the world's firstsuperpower[58][59] that was based on a model of tolerance and respect for other cultures and religions.[60]
Map showing key sites during the Persian invasions of Greece.
In the late 6th century BC, Darius launched his European campaign, in which he defeated thePaeonians, conqueredThrace, and subdued all coastal Greek cities,as well as defeating the EuropeanScythians around theDanube river.[61] In 512/511 BC,Macedon became avassal kingdom of Persia.[61]
In 499 BC,Athens lent support to a revolt inMiletus, which resulted in the sacking ofSardis. This led to an Achaemenid campaign against mainland Greece known as theGreco-Persian Wars, which lasted the first half of the 5th century BC, and is known as one of the most important wars in European history. In theFirst Persian invasion of Greece, the Persian generalMardonius re-subjugated Thrace and made Macedon a full part of Persia.[61] The war eventually turned out in defeat, however. Darius' successorXerxes I launched theSecond Persian invasion of Greece. At a crucial moment in the war, about half of mainland Greece was overrun by the Persians, including all territories to the north of theIsthmus of Corinth,[62][63] however, this was also turned out in a Greek victory, following the battles ofPlataea andSalamis, by which Persia lost its footholds in Europe, and eventually withdrew from it.[64] During the Greco-Persian wars, the Persians gained major territorial advantages. Theycaptured and razed Athens twice, once in 480 BC and again in 479 BC. However, after a string of Greek victories the Persians were forced to withdraw, thus losing control ofMacedonia,Thrace andIonia. Fighting continued for several decades after the successful Greek repelling of the Second Invasion with numerous Greek city-states under the Athens' newly formedDelian League, which eventually ended with thepeace of Callias in 449 BC, ending the Greco-Persian Wars. In 404 BC, following the death ofDarius II, Egypt rebelled underAmyrtaeus. Laterpharaohs successfully resisted Persian attempts to reconquer Egypt until 343 BC, when Egypt was reconquered byArtaxerxes III.
Bagadates I, first native Persian ruler after Greek rule
TheParthian Empire—ruled by the Parthians, a group of northwestern Iranian people—was the realm of the Arsacid dynasty. This latter reunited and governed the Iranian plateau after theParni conquest of Parthia and defeating the Seleucid Empire in the late 3rd century BC. It intermittently controlled Mesopotamia betweenc. 150 BC and 224 AD and absorbedEastern Arabia.
Parthia was the eastern arch-enemy of theRoman Empire, and it limited Rome's expansion beyondCappadocia (central Anatolia). The Parthian armies included two types ofcavalry: the heavily armed and armoredcataphracts and the lightly armed but highly-mobilemounted archers.
For the Romans, who relied on heavyinfantry, the Parthians were too hard to defeat, as both types of cavalry were much faster and more mobile than foot soldiers. TheParthian shot used by the Parthian cavalry was most notably feared by the Roman soldiers, which proved pivotal in the crushing Roman defeat at theBattle of Carrhae. On the other hand, the Parthians found it difficult to occupy conquered areas as they were unskilled insiege warfare. Because of these weaknesses, neither the Romans nor the Parthians were able completely toannex each other's territory.
The Parthian empire subsisted for five centuries, longer than most Eastern Empires. The end of this empire came at last in 224 AD, when the empire's organization had loosened and the last king was defeated by one of the empire's vassal peoples, the Persians under the Sasanians. However, the Arsacid dynasty continued to exist for centuries onwards inArmenia, theIberia, and theCaucasian Albania, which were all eponymous branches of the dynasty.
Most of the Sasanian Empire's lifespan was overshadowed by the frequentByzantine–Sasanian wars, a continuation of theRoman–Parthian Wars and the all-comprisingRoman–Persian Wars; the last was the longest-lasting conflict in human history. Started in the first century BC by their predecessors, the Parthians, and Romans, the last Roman–Persian War was fought in the seventh century. The Persians defeated the Romans at theBattle of Edessa in 260 and took emperorValerian prisoner for the remainder of his life. Eastern Arabia was conquered early on. DuringKhosrow II's rule in 590–628,Egypt,Jordan,Palestine andLebanon were also annexed to the Empire. The Sassanians called their empireErânshahr ("Dominion of the Aryans", i.e., ofIranians).[67]
A chapter of Iran's history followed after roughly 600 years of conflict with the Roman Empire. During this time, the Sassanian and Romano-Byzantine armies clashed for influence in Anatolia, the western Caucasus (mainlyLazica and theKingdom of Iberia; modern-dayGeorgia andAbkhazia),Mesopotamia, Armenia and the Levant. Under Justinian I, the war came to an uneasy peace with payment of tribute to the Sassanians. However, the Sasanians used the deposition of the Byzantine emperorMaurice as acasus belli to attack the Empire. After many gains, the Sassanians were defeated at Issus, Constantinople, and finally Nineveh, resulting in peace. With the conclusion of the over 700 years lasting Roman–Persian Wars through the climacticByzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628, which included the verysiege of the Byzantine capital of Constantinople, the war-exhausted Persians lost theBattle of al-Qādisiyyah (632) inHilla (present-dayIraq) to the invading Muslim forces.
The Sasanian era, encompassing the length ofLate Antiquity, 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 constitutes the last great Iranian Empire before the adoption of Islam. Persia influenced Roman civilization considerably during Sassanian times,[68] their cultural influence extending far beyond the empire's territorial borders, reaching as far as Western Europe,[69] Africa,[70] China and India[71] and also playing a prominent role in the formation of both European and Asiatic medieval art.[72]
This influence carried forward to theMuslim world. The dynasty's unique and aristocratic culture transformed the Islamic conquest and destruction of Iran into a Persian Renaissance.[69] 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.[73]
In 633, when the Sasanian kingYazdegerd III was ruling over Iran, the Muslims underUmar invaded the country right after it had been in a bloody civil war. Several Iranian nobles and families such as king Dinar of theHouse of Karen, and laterKanarangiyans ofKhorasan, mutinied against their Sasanian overlords. Although theHouse of Mihran had claimed the Sasanian throne under the two prominent generalsBahrām Chōbin andShahrbaraz, it remained loyal to the Sasanians during its struggle against the Arabs, but the Mihrans were eventually betrayed and defeated by their own kinsmen, theHouse of Ispahbudhan, under their leaderFarrukhzad, who had mutinied against Yazdegerd III. Yazdegerd III fled from one district to another until a local miller killed him for his purse atMerv in 651.[74] By 674, Muslims had conquered Khorasan (which includedKhorasan province and modern Afghanistan and parts ofTransoxiana).
The Muslim conquest of Persia ended the Sasanian Empire and led to the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion in Persia. Over time, the majority of Iranians converted to Islam. Most of the aspects of the previous Persian civilizations were not discarded but were absorbed by the new Islamic polity. AsBernard Lewis has commented:
These events have been variously seen in Iran: by some as a blessing, the advent of the true faith, the end of the age of ignorance and heathenism; by others as a humiliating national defeat, the conquest and subjugation of the country by foreign invaders. Both perceptions are of course valid, depending on one's angle of vision.[75]
Umayyad era and Muslim incursions into the Caspian coast
After the fall of the Sasanian Empire in 651, theArabs of theUmayyad Caliphate adopted many Persian customs, especially the administrative and the court mannerisms. Arab provincial governors were undoubtedly either PersianizedArameans or ethnic Persians; certainly Persian remained the language of official business of the caliphate until the adoption of Arabic toward the end of the 7th century,[76] when in 692 minting began at the capitalDamascus. The Islamic coins evolved from imitations of Sasanian coins (as well asByzantine), and thePahlavi script on the coinage was replaced withArabic alphabet.
During the Umayyad Caliphate, the Arab conquerors imposedArabic as the primary language of the subject peoples throughout their empire.Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, who was not happy with the prevalence of the Persian language in thedivan, ordered the official language of the conquered lands to be replaced by Arabic, sometimes by force.[77] Inal-Biruni'sFrom the Remaining Signs of Past Centuries for example it is written:
WhenQutaibah bin Muslim under the command of Al-Hajjaj bin Yousef was sent toKhwarazmia with a military expedition and conquered it for the second time, he swiftly killed whoever wrote the Khwarazmian native language that knew of the Khwarazmian heritage, history, and culture. He then killed all their Zoroastrian priests and burned and wasted their books, until gradually the illiterate only remained, who knew nothing of writing, and hence their history was mostly forgotten.[78]
Several historians see the rule of the Umayyads as setting up the "dhimmah" to increase taxes from thedhimmis to benefit the Muslim Arab community financially and by discouraging conversion.[79] Governors lodged complaints with the caliph when he enacted laws that made conversion easier, depriving the provinces of revenues. In the 7th century, when many non-Arabs such as Persians entered Islam, they were recognized asmawali ("clients") and treated as second-class citizens by the ruling Arab elite until the end of the Umayyad Caliphate. During this era, Islam was initially associated with the ethnic identity of the Arab and required formal association with anArab tribe and the adoption of the client status ofmawali.[79] The half-hearted policies of the late Umayyads to tolerate non-Arab Muslims and Shias had failed to quell unrest among these minorities.
However, all of Iran was still not under Arab control; the region ofDaylam was under the control of theDaylamites, whileTabaristan was underDabuyid andPaduspanid control, and theMount Damavand region was underMasmughans of Damavand. The Arabs had invaded these regions several times but achieved no decisive result because of the inaccessible terrain of the regions. The most prominent ruler of the Dabuyids, known asFarrukhan the Great (r. 712–728), managed to hold his domains during his long struggle against the Arab generalYazid ibn al-Muhallab, who was defeated by a combined Dailamite-Dabuyid army and was forced to retreat from Tabaristan.[80]
With the death of the Umayyad CaliphHisham ibn Abd al-Malik in 743, the Islamic world was launched into civil war.Abu Muslim was sent to Khorasan by theAbbasid Caliphate initially as a propagandist and then to revolt on their behalf. He tookMerv defeating the Umayyad governorNasr ibn Sayyar. He became the de facto Abbasid governor of Khurasan. During the same period, the Dabuyid rulerKhurshid declared independence from the Umayyads but was shortly forced to recognize Abbasid authority. In 750, Abu Muslim became the leader of the Abbasid army and defeated the Umayyads at theBattle of the Zab. Abu Muslim stormed Damascus later that year.
TheSaffarid dynasty in 900 AD.Map of the Iranian dynasties in the mid 10th-century.
The Abbasid army consisted primarily of Khorasanians and was led by Abu Muslim. It contained both Iranian and Arab elements, and the Abbasids enjoyed both Iranian and Arab support. The Abbasids overthrew the Umayyads in 750.[81] According to Amir Arjomand, theAbbasid Revolution essentially marked the end of the Arab empire and the beginning of a more inclusive, multi-ethnic state in the Middle East.[82] One of the first changes the Abbasids made after taking power from the Umayyads was to move the empire's capital to Iraq. The latter region was influenced by Persian history and culture, and moving the capital was part of the Persian mawali demand for Arab influence in the empire. The city ofBaghdad was constructed on theTigris River, in 762, to serve as the Abbasid capital.[83]
The Abbasids established the position ofvizier likeBarmakids in their administration, which was the equivalent of a "vice-caliph", or second-in-command. Eventually, this change meant that many caliphs under the Abbasids ended up in a much more ceremonial role than ever before, with the vizier in real power. A new Persian bureaucracy began to replace the old Arab aristocracy, and the entire administration reflected these changes, demonstrating that the new dynasty was different in many ways from the Umayyads.[83]
By the 9th century, Abbasid control began to wane as regional leaders sprang up in the far corners of the empire to challenge the central authority of the Abbasid caliphate.[83] The Abbasid caliphs began enlistingmamluks, Turkic-speaking warriors, who had been moving out of Central Asia into Transoxiana as slave warriors as early as the 9th century. Shortly thereafter the real power of the Abbasid caliphs began to wane; eventually, they became religious figureheads while the warrior slaves ruled.[81]
The 9th century also saw the revolt by native Zoroastrians, known as theKhurramites, against oppressive Arab rule. The movement was led by a Persian freedom fighterBabak Khorramdin. Babak's Iranianizing[84] rebellion, from its base in Azerbaijan in northwestern Iran,[85] called for a return of the political glories of the Iranian[86] past. The Khorramdin rebellion of Babak spread to the western and central parts of Iran and lasted more than 20 years before it was defeated when Babak was betrayed byAfshin, a senior general of the Abbasid Caliphate.
As the power of the Abbasid caliphs diminished, a series of dynasties rose in various parts of Iran, some with considerable influence and power. Among the most important of these overlapping dynasties were theTahirids in Khorasan (821–873); theSaffarids inSistan (861–1003, their rule lasted as maliks of Sistan until 1537); and theSamanids (819–1005), originally atBukhara. The Samanids eventually ruled an area from central Iran to Pakistan.[81]
By the early 10th century, the Abbasids almost lost control to the growing Persian faction known as theBuyid dynasty (934–1062). Since much of the Abbasid administration had been Persian anyway, the Buyids were quietly able to assume real power in Baghdad. The Buyids were defeated in the mid-11th century by theSeljuqTurks, who continued to exert influence over the Abbasids, while publicly pledging allegiance to them. The balance of power in Baghdad remained as such – with the Abbasids in power in name only – until the Mongol invasion of 1258 sacked the city and definitively ended the Abbasid dynasty.[83]
During theAbbasid period an enfranchisement was experienced by themawali and a shift was made in political conception from that of a primarily Arab empire to one of a Muslim empire[87] and c. 930 a requirement was enacted that required all bureaucrats of the empire be Muslim.[79]
Islamic golden age, Shu'ubiyya movement and Persianization process
Extract from a medieval manuscript byQotbeddin Shirazi (1236–1311), a Persian astronomer, depicting an epicyclic planetary model
Islamization was a long process by which Islam was gradually adopted by the majority population of Iran.Richard Bulliet's "conversion curve" indicates that only about 10% of Iran converted to Islam during the relatively Arab-centric Umayyad period. Beginning in the Abbasid period, with its mix of Persian as well as Arab rulers, the Muslim percentage of the population rose. As Persian Muslims consolidated their rule of the country, the Muslim population rose from approximately 40% in the mid-9th century to close to 90% by the end of the 11th century.[87]Seyyed Hossein Nasr suggests that the rapid increase in conversion was aided by the Persian nationality of the rulers.[88] Although Persians adopted the religion of their conquerors, over the centuries they worked to protect and revive their distinctive language and culture, a process known asPersianization. Arabs and Turks participated in this attempt.[89][90][91]
In the 9th and 10th centuries, non-Arab subjects of theUmmah created a movement calledShu'ubiyyah in response to the privileged status of Arabs. Most of those behind the movement were Persian, but references toEgyptians,Berbers andAramaeans are attested.[92] Citing as its basis Islamic notions of equality of races and nations, the movement was primarily concerned with preserving Persian culture and protecting Persian identity, though within a Muslim context.
The Samanid dynasty led the revival of Persian culture and the first important Persian poet after the arrival of Islam,Rudaki, was born during this era and was praised by Samanid kings. The Samanids also revived many ancient Persian festivals. Their successor, theGhaznawids, who were of non-Iranian Turkic origin, also became instrumental in the revival of Persian culture.[93]
The culmination of the Persianization movement was theShahnameh, the national epic of Iran, written almost entirely in Persian. This voluminous work, reflects Iran's ancient history, its unique cultural values, its pre-Islamic Zoroastrian religion, and its sense of nationhood. According toBernard Lewis:[75]
Iran was indeed Islamized, but it was not Arabized. Persians remained Persians. And after an interval of silence, Iran re-emerged as a separate, different and distinctive element within Islam, eventually adding a new element even to Islam itself. Culturally, politically, and most remarkable of all even religiously, the Iranian contribution to this new Islamic civilization is of immense importance. The work of Iranians can be seen in every field of cultural endeavour, including Arabic poetry, to which poets of Iranian origin composing their poems in Arabic made a very significant contribution. In a sense, Iranian Islam is a second advent of Islam itself, a new Islam sometimes referred to as Islam-i Ajam. It was this Persian Islam, rather than the original Arab Islam, that was brought to new areas and new peoples: to the Turks, first in Central Asia and then in the Middle East in the country which came to be called Turkey, and of course to India. The Ottoman Turks brought a form of Iranian civilization to the walls of Vienna...
TheIslamization of Iran was to yield deep transformations within the cultural, scientific, and political structure of Iran's society: The blossoming ofPersian literature,philosophy,medicine andart became major elements of the newly forming Muslim civilization. Inheriting a heritage of thousands of years of civilization, and being at the "crossroads of the major cultural highways",[96] contributed to Persia emerging as what culminated into the "Islamic Golden Age". During this period,hundreds of scholars and scientists vastly contributed to technology, science and medicine, later influencing the rise of European science duringthe Renaissance.[97]
In 977, a Turkic governor of the Samanids,Sabuktigin, conqueredGhazna (in present-day Afghanistan) and established a dynasty, theGhaznavids, that lasted to 1186.[81] The Ghaznavid empire grew by taking all of the Samanid territories south of theAmu Darya in the last decade of the 10th century, and eventually occupied parts of Eastern Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and north-west India.[83] The Ghaznavids are generally credited with launching Islam into a mainlyHindu India. The invasion of India was undertaken in 1000 by the Ghaznavid rulerMahmud and continued for several years. They were unable to hold power for long, however, particularly after the death of Mahmud in 1030. By 1040 theSeljuqs had taken over the Ghaznavid lands in Iran.[83]
The Seljuqs, who like the Ghaznavids were Persianate in nature and of Turkic origin, slowly conquered Iran over the course of the 11th century.[81] The dynasty had its origins in theTurcoman tribal confederations of Central Asia and marked the beginning ofTurkic power in the Middle East. They established aSunni Muslim rule over parts of Central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries. They set theSeljuq Empire that stretched from Anatolia in the west to western Afghanistan in the east and the western borders of modern-day China in the north-east; and was the target of theFirst Crusade. Today they are regarded as the cultural ancestors of the Western Turks, the present-day inhabitants of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, and they are remembered as great patrons ofPersian culture,art,literature, andlanguage.[89][98][99]
Seljuq empire at the time of its greatest extent, at the death of Malik Shah I[citation needed]
The founder of the dynasty,Tughril Beg, turned his army 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 whereOmar Khayyám did much of his experimentation for a new calendar, and they builtreligious schools in all the major towns. They broughtAbu Hamid Ghazali, one of the greatest Islamic theologians, and other eminent scholars to the Seljuq capital at Baghdad and encouraged and supported their work.[81]
When Malik Shah I died in 1092, the empire split as his brother and four sons quarreled over the apportioning of the empire among themselves. In Anatolia, Malik Shah I was succeeded byKilij Arslan I who founded theSultanate of Rûm and in Syria by his brotherTutush I. In Persia he was succeeded by his sonMahmud I whose reign was contested by his other three brothersBarkiyaruq in Iraq,Muhammad I in Baghdad andAhmad Sanjar in Khorasan. As Seljuq power in Iran weakened, other dynasties began to step up in its place, including a resurgent Abbasid caliphate and theKhwarezmshahs. The Khwarezmid Empire was a Sunni Muslim Persianate dynasty, of East Turkic origin, that ruled in Central Asia. Originally vassals of the Seljuqs, they took advantage of the decline of the Seljuqs to expand into Iran.[100] In 1194 the KhwarezmshahAla ad-Din Tekish defeated the Seljuq sultanToghrul III in battle and the Seljuq empire in Iran collapsed. Of the former Seljuq Empire, only the Sultanate of Rum in Anatolia remained.
A serious internal threat to the Seljuqs during their reign came from theNizari Ismailis, a secret sect with headquarters atAlamut Castle betweenRasht andTehran. 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 wordassassin derive from these killers.[81] Parts of northwestern Iran were conquered in the early 13th century AD by theKingdom of Georgia, led byTamar the Great.[101]
Eurasia on the eve of the Mongol invasions,c. 1200The Mongol Empire's expansion
TheKhwarazmian dynasty only lasted for a few decades, until the arrival of theMongols.Genghis Khan had unified the Mongols, and under him theMongol Empire quickly expanded in several directions. In 1218, it bordered Khwarezm. At that time, the Khwarazmian Empire was ruled byAla ad-Din Muhammad (1200–1220). Muhammad, like Genghis, was intent on expanding his lands and had gained the submission of most of Iran. He declared himself shah and demanded formal recognition from the Abbasid caliphAl-Nasir. When the caliph rejected his claim, Ala ad-Din Muhammad proclaimed one of his nobles caliph and unsuccessfully tried to depose an-Nasir.
The Mongol invasion of Iran began in 1219, after two diplomatic missions to Khwarezm sent by Genghis Khan had been massacred. During 1220–21 Bukhara,Samarkand,Herat,Tus andNishapur were razed, and the populations were slaughtered. The Khwarezm-Shah fled, to die on an island off the Caspian coast.[102] During the invasion of Transoxiana in 1219, along with the main Mongol force, Genghis Khan used a Chinese specialist catapult unit in battle; they were used again in 1220 in Transoxania. The Chinese may have used the catapults to hurl gunpowder bombs, since they already had them by this time.[103]
While Genghis Khan was conquering Transoxania and Persia, several Chinese who were familiar with gunpowder were serving in Genghis's army.[104] "Whole regiments" entirely made out of Chinese were used by the Mongols to command bomb hurling trebuchets during the invasion of Iran.[105] Historians have suggested that the Mongol invasion had brought Chinese gunpowder weapons to Central Asia. One of these was thehuochong, a Chinese mortar.[106] Books written around the area afterward depicted gunpowder weapons which resembled those of China.[107]
Before his death in 1227, Genghis had reached western Azerbaijan, pillaging and burning many cities along the way after entering into Iran from its north east. The Mongol invasion was by and large disastrous to the Iranians. Although the Mongol invaders eventually converted to Islam and accepted the culture of Iran, the Mongol destruction in Iran and other regions of the Islamic heartland (particularly the historical Khorasan region, mainly in Central Asia) marked a major change of direction for the region. Much of the six centuries of Islamic scholarship, culture, and infrastructure was destroyed as the invaders leveled cities, burned libraries, and in some cases replaced mosques withBuddhist temples.[108][109][110] The Mongols killed many Iranian civilians. Destruction ofqanat irrigation systems in the north east of Iran destroyed the pattern of relatively continuous settlements, producing many abandoned towns which were relatively quite good with irrigation and agriculture.[111] In 1221, Genghis Khandestroyed the city of Gurganj. Most if not all the ancientIranicKhwarazmian people were killed or pushed out, paving the way for theTurkification ofKhwarazm.
After Genghis's death, Iran was ruled by several Mongol commanders. Genghis' grandson,Hulagu Khan, was tasked with the westward expansion of Mongol dominion. However, by the time he ascended to power, the Mongol Empire had already dissolved, dividing into different factions. Arriving with an army, he established himself in the region and founded theIlkhanate, a breakaway state of the Mongol Empire, which would rule Iran for the next 80 years and become Persian in the process.
Hulagu Khan seized Baghdad in 1258 and put the last Abbasid caliph to death. The westward advance of his forces was stopped by theMamelukes, however, at theBattle of Ain Jalut inPalestine in 1260. Hulagu's campaigns against the Muslims also enragedBerke, khan of theGolden Horde and a convert to Islam. Hulagu and Berke fought against each other, demonstrating the weakening unity of the Mongol empire.
The rule of Hulagu's great-grandson,Ghazan (1295–1304) saw the establishment of Islam as the state religion of the Ilkhanate. Ghazan and his famous Iranian vizier,Rashid al-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 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 nephewAbu Said died in 1335 the Ilkhanate lapsed into civil war and was divided between several petty dynasties – most prominently theJalayirids,Muzaffarids,Sarbadars andKartids. The mid-14th-centuryBlack Death killed about 30% of the country's population.[112]
Imam Reza shrine, the tomb of the eighth Imam of the twelver Shiites
Prior to the rise of the Safavid Empire, Sunni Islam was the dominant religion, accounting for around 90% of the population at the time. According toMortaza Motahhari the majority of Iranian scholars and masses remained Sunni until the time of the Safavids.[113] The domination of Sunnis did not mean Shia were rootless in Iran. The writers ofThe Four Books of Shia were Iranian, as well as many other great Shia scholars.
The domination of the Sunni creed during the first nine Islamic centuries characterized the religious history of Iran during this period. There were however some exceptions to this general domination which emerged in the form of theZaydīs ofTabaristan (seeAlid dynasties of northern Iran), theBuyids, theKakuyids, the rule ofSultan Muhammad Khudabandah (r. Shawwal 703-Shawwal 716/1304–1316) and theSarbedaran.[114]
Apart from this domination there existed, firstly, throughout these nine centuries, Shia inclinations among many Sunnis of this land and, secondly, originalImami Shiism as well asZaydī Shiism had prevalence in some parts of Iran. During this period, Shia in Iran were nourished fromKufah,Baghdad and later fromNajaf andHillah.[114] Shiism was the dominant sect inTabaristan,Qom,Kashan,Avaj andSabzevar. In many other areas merged population of Shia and Sunni lived together.[citation needed]
During the 10th and 11th centuries,Fatimids sentIsmailisDa'i (missioners) to Iran as well as other Muslim lands. When Ismailis divided into two sects,Nizaris established their base in Iran.Hassan-i Sabbah conquered fortresses and capturedAlamut in 1090 AD. Nizaris used this fortress until a Mongol raid in 1256.[citation needed]
After the Mongol raid and fall of the Abbasids, Sunni hierarchies faltered. Not only did they lose the caliphate but also the status of officialmadhhab. Their loss was the gain of Shia, whose centre wasn't in Iran at that time. Several local Shia dynasties likeSarbadars were established during this time.[citation needed]
Iran remained divided until the arrival ofTimur, aTurco-Mongol[115] belonging to theTimurid dynasty. Like its predecessors, theTimurid Empire was also part of the Persianate world. After establishing a power base in Transoxiana, Timur invaded Iran in 1381 and eventually conquered most of it. Timur's campaigns were known for their brutality; many people were slaughtered and several cities were destroyed.[116]
His regime was characterized by tyranny and bloodshed, but also by its inclusion of Iranians in administrative roles and its promotion of architecture and poetry. His successors, the Timurids, maintained a hold on most of Iran until 1452, when they lost the bulk of it toBlack Sheep Turkmen. The Black Sheep Turkmen were conquered by theWhite Sheep Turkmen underUzun Hasan in 1468; Uzun Hasan and his successors were the masters of Iran until the rise of the Safavids.[116]
Sufi poetHafez's popularity became firmly established in the Timurid era that saw the compilation and widespread copying of hisdivan. Sufis were often persecuted by orthodox Muslims who considered their teachingsblasphemous. Sufism developed a symbolic language rich with metaphors to obscure poetic references to provocative philosophical teachings. Hafez concealed his own Sufi faith, even as he employed the secret language of Sufism (developed over hundreds of years) in his own work, and he is sometimes credited with having "brought it to perfection".[117] His work was imitated byJami, whose own popularity grew to spread across the full breadth of the Persianate world.[118]
TheKara Koyunlu were aTurkmen[119] tribal federation that ruled over northwestern Iran and surrounding areas from 1374 to 1468. The Kara Koyunlu expanded their conquest to Baghdad, however, internal fighting, defeats by the Timurids, rebellions by theArmenians in response to their persecution,[120] and failed struggles with theAg Qoyunlu led to their eventual demise.[121] Aq Qoyunlu were Turkmen[122][123] under the leadership of theBayandur tribe,[124] tribal federation of Sunni Muslims who ruled over most of Iran and large parts of surrounding areas from 1378 to 1501 CE. Aq Qoyunlu emerged whenTimur granted them all ofDiyar Bakr in present-day Turkey. Afterward, they struggled with their rival Oghuz Turks, theQara Qoyunlu. While the Aq Qoyunlu were successful in defeating Kara Koyunlu, their struggle with the emergingSafavid dynasty led to their downfall.[125]
Persia underwent a revival under theSafavid dynasty (1501–1736), the most prominent figure of which wasShah 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).
The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran and "is often considered the beginning of modern Persian history".[126] They ruled one of the greatest Iranian empires after theMuslim conquest of Persia[127] and established theTwelver school ofShi'a Islam[18] as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning points inMuslim history. The Safavids ruled from 1501 to 1722 (experiencing a brief restoration from 1729 to 1736) and at their height, they controlled all of modern Iran,Azerbaijan andArmenia, most ofGeorgia, theNorth Caucasus,Iraq,Kuwait andAfghanistan, as well as parts ofTurkey,Syria,Pakistan,Turkmenistan andUzbekistan. Safavid Iran was one of the Islamic "gunpowder empires", along with its neighbours, its archrival and principal enemy theOttoman Empire, and to the east, theMughal Empire.
The Safavid ruling dynasty was founded by Ismāil, who styled himselfShāh Ismāil I.[128] Practically worshipped by hisQizilbāsh followers, Ismāil invadedShirvan to avenge the death of his father,Shaykh Haydar, who had been killed during his siege ofDerbent, in Dagestan. Afterwards he went on a campaign of conquest, and following the capture ofTabriz in July 1501, he enthroned himself as the Shāh of Iran,[129]: 324 [130][131] minted coins in this name, and proclaimed Shi'ism the official religion of his domain.[18]
Although initially the masters of Azerbaijan and southern Dagestan only, the Safavids had, in fact, won the struggle for power in Iran which had been going on for nearly a century between various dynasties and political forces following the fragmentation of theKara Koyunlu and theAq Qoyunlu. A year after his victory in Tabriz, Ismāil proclaimed most of Iran as his domain, and[18] quickly conquered and unified Iran under his rule. Soon afterwards, the new Safavid Empire rapidly conquered regions, nations, and peoples in all directions, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, parts of Georgia,Mesopotamia (Iraq), Kuwait, Syria,Dagestan, large parts of what is now Afghanistan, parts of Turkmenistan, and large chunks of Anatolia, laying the foundation of its multi-ethnic character which would heavily influence the empire itself (most notably the Caucasus andits peoples).
Tahmasp I, the son and successor ofIsmail I, carried out multiple invasions in the Caucasus which had been incorporated in theSafavid empire since Shah Ismail I and for many centuries afterwards, and started with the trend of deporting and moving hundreds of thousands ofCircassians,Georgians, andArmenians to Iran's heartlands. Initially only solely put in the royal harems, royal guards, and minor other sections of the Empire, Tahmasp believed he could eventually reduce the power of theQizilbash, by creating and fully integrating a new layer in Iranian society. AsEncyclopædia Iranica states, for Tahmasp, the problem circled around the military tribal elite of the empire, the Qizilbash, who believed that physical proximity to and control of a member of the immediate Safavid family guaranteed spiritual advantages, political fortune, and material advancement.[132] With this new Caucasian layer in Iranian society, the undisputed might of the Qizilbash (who functioned much like theghazis of the neighbouringOttoman Empire) would be questioned and fully diminished as society would become fullymeritocratic.
ShahAbbas I and his successors would significantly expand this policy and plan initiated by Tahmasp, deporting during his reign alone around some 200,000Georgians, 300,000Armenians and 100,000–150,000Circassians to Iran, completing the foundation of a new layer in Iranian society. With this, and the complete systematic disorganisation of the Qizilbash by his personal orders, he eventually fully succeeded in replacing the power of the Qizilbash, with that of theCaucasian ghulams. These new Caucasian elements (the so-calledghilman / غِلْمَان /"servants"), almost always after conversion toShi'ism depending on given function would be, unlike the Qizilbash, fully loyal only to the Shah. The other masses of Caucasians were deployed in all other possible functions and positions available in the empire, as well as in theharem, regular military, craftsmen, farmers, etc. This system of mass usage of Caucasian subjects remained to exist until the fall of theQajar dynasty.
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, recapturingHerat and Mashhad in 1598, which had been lost by his predecessorMohammad Khodabanda by theOttoman–Safavid War (1578–1590). Then he turned against the Ottomans, the archrivals of the Safavids, recapturing Baghdad, eastern Iraq, the Caucasian provinces, and beyondby 1618. Between 1616 and 1618, following the disobedience of his most loyal Georgian subjectsTeimuraz I andLuarsab II, Abbas carried out a punitive campaign in his territories of Georgia, devastatingKakheti andTbilisi and carrying away 130,000[134] – 200,000[135][136] Georgian captives towards mainland Iran. His new army, which had dramatically been improved with the advent ofRobert Shirley and his brothers following thefirst diplomatic mission to Europe, pitted the first crushing victory over the Safavids' archrivals, the Ottomans in the above-mentioned 1603–1618 war and would surpass the Ottomans in military strength. He also used his new force to dislodge the Portuguese fromBahrain (1602) andHormuz (1622) with aid of the English navy, in the Persian Gulf.
He expanded commercial links with theDutch East India Company and established firm links with the European royal houses, which had been initiated by Ismail I earlier on by theHabsburg–Persian alliance. 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 had already established itself during Shah Ismail I, but under Abbas I it really became a major power in the world along with its archrival the Ottoman Empire, against whom it became able to compete with on equal foot. It also started the promotion of tourism in Iran. Under their rule Persian Architecture flourished again and saw many new monuments in various Iranian cities, of whichIsfahan is the most notable example.
Except for ShahAbbas the Great, ShahIsmail I, ShahTahmasp I, and ShahAbbas II, many of the Safavid rulers were ineffectual, often being more interested in their women, alcohol and other leisure activities. The end of Abbas II's reign in 1666, marked the beginning of the end of the Safavid dynasty. Despite falling revenues and military threats, many of the later shahs had lavish lifestyles. Shah Soltan Hosain (1694–1722) in particular was known for his love of wine and disinterest in governance.[137]
The declining country was repeatedly raided on its frontiers. Finally,GhilzaiPashtun chieftain namedMir Wais Khan began a rebellion inKandahar and defeated the Safavid army under the Iranian Georgian governor over the region,Gurgin Khan. In 1722,Peter the Great of neighbouringImperial Russia launched theRusso-Persian War (1722–1723), capturing many of Iran's Caucasian territories, includingDerbent,Shaki,Baku, but alsoGilan,Mazandaran andAstrabad. In the midst of chaos, in the same year of 1722, an Afghan army led by Mir Wais' sonMahmud marched across eastern Iran,besieged and took Isfahan. Mahmud proclaimed himself 'Shah' of Persia. Meanwhile, Persia's imperial rivals, the Ottomans and the Russians, took advantage of the chaos in the country to seize more territory for themselves.[138] By these events, the Safavid dynasty had effectively ended. In 1724, conform theTreaty of Constantinople, the Ottomans and the Russians agreed to divide large portions of Iran, which they had conquered between themselves.[139]
Nader ShahThe Afsharid Empire at its greatest extent in 1741–1745 underNader Shah
Iran's territorial integrity was restored by a native IranianTurkicAfshar warlord from Khorasan,Nader Shah. He defeated and banished the Afghans,defeated the Ottomans,reinstalled the Safavids on the throne, and negotiated Russian withdrawal from Iran's Caucasian territories, with theTreaty of Resht andTreaty of Ganja. By 1736, Nader had become so powerful he was able to depose the Safavids and have himself crowned shah. Nader was one of the last great conquerors of Asia and briefly presided over what was probably the most powerful military force in the world.[140] To financially support his wars against Iran's arch-rival, the Ottoman Empire, he fixed his sights on the weak but rich Mughal Empire to the east. In 1739, accompanied by his loyal Caucasian subjects includingErekle II,[141][142]: 55 heinvaded Mughal India, defeated a numerically superior Mughal army inless than three hours, and completely sacked and looted Delhi, bringing back immense wealth to Iran. On his way back, he also conquered all the Uzbek khanates – except forKokand – and made the Uzbeks his vassals. He also firmly re-established Iranian rule over the entire Caucasus, Bahrain, as well as large parts of Anatolia and Mesopotamia. Undefeated for years, his defeat inDagestan, following guerrilla rebellions by theLezgins and the assassination attempt on him nearMazandaran is often considered the turning point in Nader's impressive career. To his frustration, the Dagestanis resorted to guerrilla warfare, and Nader with his conventional army could make little headway against them.[143] At theBattle of Andalal and the Battle of Avaria, Nader's army was crushingly defeated and he lost half of his entire force, forcing him to flee for the mountains.[144][better source needed] Though Nader managed to take most of Dagestan during his campaign, the effective guerrilla warfare as deployed by the Lezgins, but also theAvars andLaks, made the Iranian re-conquest of the particularNorth Caucasian region this time a short lived one; several years later, Naderwas forced to withdraw. Around the same time, an assassination attempt was made on him near, which accelerated his descent into paranoia and megalomania. He blinded his sons, whom he suspected of the assassination attempts, and showed increasing cruelty against his subjects and officers. In his later years, this eventually provoked multiple revolts and, ultimately, his assassination in 1747.[145]
Nader Shah's death was followed by a period of anarchy asrival army commanders fought for power. Nader's own family, the Afsharids, were soon reduced to holding on to a small domain in Khorasan. Many of the Caucasian territories broke away in variousCaucasian khanates. Ottomans regained lost territories in Anatolia and Mesopotamia.Oman and the Uzbek khanates ofBukhara andKhiva regained independence.Ahmad Shah Durrani, one of Nader's officers, founded an independent state which eventually became modern Afghanistan. Erekle II andTeimuraz II, who in 1744 had been made the kings ofKakheti andKartli respectively by Nader for their loyal service,[142]: 55 capitalized on the eruption of instability and declaredde facto independence. Erekle II assumed control over Kartli after Teimuraz II's death, thus unifying the two as theKingdom of Kartli-Kakheti, becoming the first Georgian ruler in three centuries to preside over a politically unified eastern Georgia.[146] Due to the frantic turn of events in mainland Iran he would be able to remainde facto autonomous through theZand period.[147] From his capitalShiraz,Karim Khan of theZand dynasty ruled "an island of relative calm and peace in an otherwise bloody and destructive period,"[148] however the extent of Zand power was confined to contemporary Iran and parts of the Caucasus. Karim Khan's death in 1779 led to yet another civil war in which theQajar dynasty eventually triumphed and became kings of Iran. During the civil war, Iran permanently lostBasra in 1779 to the Ottomans, which had been captured during theOttoman–Persian War (1775–76),[149] andBahrain toAl Khalifa family afterBani Utbah invasion in 1783.[citation needed]
Agha Mohammad Khan emerged victorious out of the civil war that commenced with the death of the last Zand king. His reign is noted for the reemergence of a centrally led and united Iran. After the death of Nader Shah and the last of the Zands, most of Iran's Caucasian territories had broken away into variousCaucasian khanates. Agha Mohammad Khan, like the Safavid kings and Nader Shah before him, viewed the region as no different from the territories in mainland Iran. Therefore, his first objective after having secured mainland Iran, was to reincorpate the Caucasus region into Iran.[150] Georgia was seen as one of the most integral territories.[147] For Agha Mohammad Khan, the resubjugation and reintegration of Georgia into the Iranian Empire was part of the same process that had brought Shiraz,Isfahan, and Tabriz under his rule.[147] As theCambridge History of Iran states, its permanent secession was inconceivable and had to be resisted in the same way as one would resist an attempt at the separation ofFars orGilan.[147] It was therefore natural for Agha Mohammad Khan to perform whatever necessary means in the Caucasus in order to subdue and reincorporate the recently lost regions following Nader Shah's death and the demise of the Zands, including putting down what in Iranian eyes was seen as treason on the part Erekle II.[147]
Agha Mohammad Khan subsequently demanded that Erekle renounceits 1783 treaty with Russia, and to submit again to Iraniansuzerainty,[150] in return for peace and the security of his kingdom. The Ottomans, Iran's neighboring rival, recognized the latter's rights overKartli andKakheti for the first time in four centuries.[151] Heraclius appealed then to his theoretical protector, EmpressCatherine II of Russia, pleading for at least 3,000 Russian troops,[151] but he was ignored, leaving Georgia to fend off the Persian threat alone.[152] Nevertheless, Heraclius II still rejected the Khan'sultimatum.[153] As a response, Agha Mohammad Khan invaded the Caucasus region after crossing theAras river, and, while on his way to Georgia, he re-subjugated Iran's territories of theErivan Khanate,Shirvan,Nakhchivan Khanate,Ganja khanate,Derbent Khanate,Baku khanate,Talysh Khanate,Shaki Khanate,Karabakh Khanate, which comprise modern-dayArmenia,Azerbaijan,Dagestan, andIgdir. Having reached Georgia with his large army, he prevailed in theBattle of Krtsanisi, which resulted in the capture and sack ofTbilisi, as well as the effective resubjugation of Georgia.[154][155] Upon his return from his successful campaign in Tbilisi and in effective control over Georgia, together with some 15,000 Georgian captives that were moved back to mainland Iran,[152] Agha Mohammad was formally crownedShah in 1796 in theMughan plain, just as his predecessor Nader Shah was about sixty years earlier. Agha Mohammad Shah was later assassinated in 1797 while preparing a second expedition against Georgia inShusha[156] (now part of theRepublic of Azerbaijan) and its King Heraclius II.
The reassertion of Iranian hegemony over Georgia did not last long; in 1799 the Russians marched into Tbilisi.[157] The Russians were already actively occupied with an expansionist policy towards its neighboring empires to its south, namely the Ottoman Empire and the successive Iranian kingdoms, since the late 17th/early 18th century. The next two years following Russia's entrance into Tbilisi were a time of confusion, and the weakened and devastated Georgian kingdom, with its capital half in ruins, was easilyabsorbed by Russia in 1801.[152][153] As Iran could not permit or allow the cession ofTranscaucasia and Dagestan, which had been an integral part of Iran for centuries,[158] this would lead directly to the wars of several years later, namely theRusso-Persian Wars of1804-1813 and1826–1828. The outcome of these two wars (in theTreaty of Gulistan and theTreaty of Turkmenchay, respectively) proved for the irrevocable forced cession and loss of what is now eastern Georgia, Dagestan, Armenia, and Azerbaijan to Imperial Russia.[159][154]
The area to the north of the riverAras, among which the territory of the contemporary republic of Azerbaijan, eastern Georgia, Dagestan, and Armenia were Iranian territory until they were occupied by Russia in the course of the 19th century.[160]
Following the official loss of vast territories in the Caucasus, major demographic shifts were bound to take place. Following the 1804–1814 war, but also per the 1826–1828 war which ceded the last territories, large migrations of so-called Caucasian Muhajirs set off for mainland Iran. Some of these groups included theAyrums,Qarapapaqs,Circassians, ShiaLezgins, and otherTranscaucasian Muslims.[161]
After theBattle of Ganja of 1804, many thousands of Ayrums and Qarapapaqs were settled in Tabriz. During the remaining part of the 1804–1813 war, as well as through the1826–1828 war, a large number of the Ayrums and Qarapapaqs that were still remaining in newly conquered Russian territories were settled in and migrated toSolduz (in modern-day Iran'sWest Azerbaijan province).[162] As theCambridge History of Iran states; "The steady encroachment of Russian troops along the frontier in the Caucasus, GeneralYermolov's brutal punitive expeditions and misgovernment, drove large numbers of Muslims, and even someGeorgian Christians, into exile in Iran."[163]
From 1864 until the early 20th century,another mass expulsion took place of Caucasian Muslims as a result of the Russian victory in theCaucasian War. Others simply voluntarily refused to live under Christian Russian rule, and thus departed for Turkey or Iran. These migrations once again, towards Iran, included masses of CaucasianAzerbaijanis, other Transcaucasian Muslims, as well as many North Caucasian Muslims, such as Circassians, Shia Lezgins andLaks.[161][164]Many of these migrants would prove to play a pivotal role in further Iranian history, as they formed most of the ranks of thePersian Cossack Brigade, which was established in the late 19th century.[165] The initial ranks of the brigade would be entirely composed ofCircassians and other Caucasian Muhajirs.[165] This brigade would prove decisive in the following decades in Qajar history.
Furthermore, the 1828Treaty of Turkmenchay included the official rights for the Russian Empire to encourage settling ofArmenians from Iran in the newly conquered Russian territories.[166][167] Until the mid-fourteenth century, Armenians had constituted a majority inEastern Armenia.[168] At the close of the fourteenth century, afterTimur's campaigns, theTimurid Renaissance flourished, and Islam had become the dominant faith, and Armenians became a minority in Eastern Armenia.[168] After centuries of constant warfare on theArmenian plateau, many Armenians chose to emigrate and settle elsewhere. FollowingShah Abbas I's massive relocation of Armenians and Muslims in 1604–05,[169] their numbers dwindled even further.
At the time of the Russian invasion of Iran, some 80% of the population ofIranian Armenia were Muslims (Persians,Turkics, andKurds) whereas ChristianArmenians constituted a minority of about 20%.[170] As a result of theTreaty of Gulistan (1813) and the Treaty of Turkmenchay (1828), Iran was forced to cede Iranian Armenia (which also constituted the present-dayArmenia), to the Russians.[171][172] After the Russian administration took hold of Iranian Armenia, the ethnic make-up shifted, and thus for the first time in more than four centuries, ethnic Armenians started to form a majority once again in one part of historic Armenia.[173] The new Russian administration encouraged the settling of ethnic Armenians from Iran proper andOttoman Turkey. As a result, by 1832, the number of ethnic Armenians had matched that of the Muslims.[170] It would be only after theCrimean War and theRusso-Turkish War of 1877–1878, which brought another influx of Turkish Armenians, that ethnic Armenians once again established a solid majority inEastern Armenia.[174] Nevertheless, the city of Erivan retained a Muslim majority up to the twentieth century.[174] According to the travellerH. F. B. Lynch, the city of Erivan was about 50% Armenian and 50% Muslim (Tatars[a] i.e. Azeris and Persians) in the early 1890s.[177]
Fath Ali Shah's reign saw increased diplomatic contacts with the West and the beginning of intense European diplomatic rivalries over Iran. His grandsonMohammad Shah, who succeeded him in 1834, fell under the Russian influence and made two unsuccessful attempts to captureHerat. When Mohammad Shah died in 1848 the succession passed to his sonNaser al-Din Shah Qajar, who proved to be the ablest and most successful of the Qajar sovereigns. He founded the first modern hospital in Iran.[178]
A new era in the history of Iran dawned with thePersian Constitutional Revolution against the shah in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The shah managed to remain in power, granting a limited constitution in 1906 (making the country aconstitutional monarchy). The firstMajlis (parliament) was convened on 7 October 1906. The discovery ofpetroleum in 1908 by the British inKhuzestan spawned intense renewed interest in Persia by theBritish Empire (seeWilliam Knox D'Arcy andAnglo-Iranian Oil Company, nowBP). Britain's influence was solidified by the establishment of the Indo-European Telegraph Department in the 1860s and theImperial Bank of Persia in 1889.[180] By the end of the 19th century, European interference became so pronounced that Iran's central government required Anglo-Russian approval for ministerial appointments.[181] Control of Persia remained contested between the United Kingdom and Russia, in what became known asThe Great Game, and codified in theAnglo-Russian Convention of 1907, which divided Iran into spheres of influence, regardless of her national sovereignty.
During World War I, the country was occupied by British, Ottoman and Russian forces but was essentially neutral (seePersian Campaign). In 1919, after theRussian Revolution and their withdrawal, Britain attempted to establish aprotectorate in Iran, which was unsuccessful. TheConstitutionalist movement of Gilan and the central power vacuum caused by the instability of the Qajar government resulted in the rise of Reza Khan, laterReza Shah Pahlavi, who established thePahlavi dynasty in 1925. In 1921, Reza Khan, an officer of thePersian Cossack Brigade, (along withSeyyed Zia'eddin Tabatabai) led a military led a coup against governing officials (leaving the Qajar monarchy nominally head of state).[182] In 1925, after being prime minister for two years, Reza Khan did depose the Qajar dynasty and became the first shah of the Pahlavi dynasty.
Reza Shah ruled for almost 16 years until 16 September 1941, when he was forced toabdicate by theAnglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. He established anauthoritarian government that valuednationalism,militarism,secularism andanti-communism combined with strictcensorship andstate propaganda.[183] Reza Shah introduced many socio-economic reforms, reorganizing the army, government administration, and finances.[184] To his supporters, his reign brought "law and order, discipline, central authority, and modern amenities – schools, trains, buses, radios, cinemas, and telephones".[185] However, his attempts of modernisation have been criticised for being "too fast"[186] and "superficial",[187] and his reign a time of "oppression, corruption, taxation, lack of authenticity" with "security typical ofpolice states."[185]
Many of the new laws and regulations created resentment among devout Muslims and the clergy. For example, mosques were required to use chairs; most men were required to wear western clothing, including a hat with a brim; women were encouraged to discard thehijab—hijab was eventuallybanned in 1936; men and women were allowed to congregate freely, violating Islamicmixing of the sexes. Tensions boiled over in 1935, when bazaaris and villagers rose upin rebellion at theImam Reza shrine inMashhad to protest against plans for the hijab ban, chanting slogans such as 'The Shah is a newYezid.' Dozens were killed and hundreds were injured when troops finally quelled the unrest.[188]
At theTehran Conference of 1943, the Allies issued theTehran Declaration which 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 andIranian Kurdistan, theAzerbaijan People's Government and theRepublic of Kurdistan respectively, in late 1945. 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 soonoverthrown and the oil concessions were revoked.[190][191]
Initially there were hopes that post-occupation Iran could become aconstitutional monarchy. The new, young ShahMohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi initially took a very hands-off role in government, and allowedparliament 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. Pahlavi increased his political power by convening theIran Constituent Assembly, 1949, which finally formed theSenate of Iran—a legislativeupper house allowed for in the 1906 constitution but never brought into being. The new senators were largely supportive of Pahlavi, as he had intended.
In 1951 Prime MinisterMohammed Mosaddeq received the vote required from the parliament tonationalize the British-owned oil industry, in a situation known as theAbadan Crisis. Despite British pressure, including an economic blockade, the nationalization continued. Mosaddeq was briefly removed from power in 1952 but was quickly re-appointed by the Shah, due to a popular uprising in support of the premier, and he, in turn, forced the Shah into a brief exile in August 1953 after a failed military coup byImperial Guard ColonelNematollah Nassiri.
Shortly thereafter on 19 August a successfulcoup was headed by retired army generalFazlollah Zahedi, aided by the United States (CIA)[192] with the active support of the British (MI6) (known asOperation Ajax and Operation Boot to the respective agencies).[193] The coup—with ablack propaganda campaign designed to turn the population against Mosaddeq[194] — forced Mosaddeq from office. Mosaddeq was arrested and tried for treason. Found guilty, his sentence was reduced to house arrest on his family estate while his foreign minister,Hossein Fatemi, was executed.Zahedi succeeded him as prime minister, and suppressed opposition to the Shah, specifically theNational Front and CommunistTudeh Party.
1971 film about Iran under the Shah
Iran was ruled as an autocracy under the Shah with American support from that time until the revolution. The Iranian government entered into agreement with an international consortium of foreign companies which ran the Iranian oil facilities for the next 25 years, splitting profits fifty-fifty with Iran but not allowing Iran to audit their accounts or have members on their board of directors. In 1957 martial law was ended after 16 years and Iran became closer to the West, joining theBaghdad Pact and receiving military and economic aid from the US. In 1961, Iran initiated a series of economic, social, agrarian and administrative reforms to modernize the country that became known as the Shah'sWhite 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. However, the reforms, including the White Revolution, did not greatly improve economic conditions and the liberal pro-Western policies alienated certainIslamic religious and political groups. In early June 1963several days of massive rioting occurred in support ofAyatollahRuhollah Khomeini following the cleric's arrest for a speech attacking the Shah.
Two years later, premierHassan Ali Mansur was assassinated and the internal security service,SAVAK, became more violently active. In the 1970s, leftistguerilla groups such asMujaheddin-e-Khalq (MEK), emerged and contributed to overthrowing the Shah during the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Nearly a hundred Iran political prisoners were killed by the SAVAK during the decade before the revolution and many more were arrested and tortured.[195] The Islamic clergy, headed by the AyatollahRuhollah Khomeini (who had been exiled in 1964), were becoming increasingly vociferous.
Iran greatly increased its defense budget and by the early 1970s was the region's strongest military power. Bilateral relations with Iraq were not good, mainly due to a dispute over theShatt al-Arab waterway. In November 1971, Iranian forces seized control ofthree islands at the mouth of the Persian Gulf; in response, Iraq expelled thousands of Iranian nationals. Following a number of clashes in April 1969, Iran abrogatedthe 1937 accord and demanded a renegotiation.
In mid-1973, the Shah returned the oil industry to national control. Following theArab-Israeli War of October 1973, Iran did not join the Arab oil embargo against the West andIsrael. Instead, it used the situation to raise oil prices, using the money gained for modernisation and to increase defense spending.
A border dispute between Iraq and Iran was resolved with the signing of theAlgiers Accord on 6 March 1975.
AyatollahKhomeini returns to Iran after 14 years exile in France on 1 February 1979.
The Iranian Revolution, also known as the Islamic Revolution,[196] was therevolution that transformed Iran from an absolutemonarchy underShahMohammad Reza Pahlavi to anIslamic republic underAyatollahRuhollah Khomeini, one of the leaders of the revolution and founder of the Islamic Republic.[23] Its time span can be said to have begun in January 1978 with the first major demonstrations,[197] and concluded with the approval of the newtheocratic Constitution—whereby Ayatollah Khomeini becameSupreme Leader of the country—in December 1979.[198]
In between,Mohammad Reza Pahlavi left the country for exile in January 1979 after strikes and demonstrations paralyzed the country, and on 1 February 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Tehran.[198] The final collapse of the Pahlavi dynasty occurred shortly after 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, after Iranians overwhelmingly approved anational referendum to make it so a day before.[22]
The ideology of the revolutionary government waspopulist, nationalist and most of allShi'a Islamic. Its unique constitution is based on the concept ofvelayat-e faqih the idea advanced by Khomeini that Muslims – in fact everyone – requires "guardianship", in the form of rule or supervision by the leadingIslamic jurist or jurists.[199] Khomeini served as this ruling jurist, orsupreme leader, until his death in 1989.
Iran's rapidly modernising, capitalist economy was replaced by populist and Islamic economic and cultural policies. Much industry wasnationalized, laws and schools Islamicized, and Western influences banned.
The Islamic revolution also created great impact around the world. In the non-Muslim world it has changed the image of Islam, generating much interest in the politics and spirituality of Islam,[200] along with "fear and distrust towards Islam" and particularly the Islamic Republic and its founder.[201]
Khomeini served as leader of the revolution or asSupreme Leader of Iran from 1979 to his death on 3 June 1989. This era was dominated by the consolidation of the revolution into atheocratic republic under Khomeini, and by the costly and bloodywar with Iraq.
The consolidation lasted until 1982–3,[202][203] as Iran coped with the damage to its economy, military, and apparatus of government, and protests and uprisings by secularists, leftists, and more traditional Muslims—formerly ally revolutionaries but now rivals—were effectively suppressed. Many political opponents were executed by the new regimes. Following the events of the revolution, Marxist guerrillas and federalist parties revolted in regions comprisingKhuzistan,Kurdistan andGonbad-e Qabus, resulting in severe fighting between rebels and revolutionary forces. These revolts began in April 1979 and lasted between several months to over a year, depending on the region. TheKurdish uprising, led by the KDPI, was the most violent, lasting until 1983 and resulting in 10,000 casualties.
In the summer of 1979 a new constitution giving Khomeini a powerful post as guardian jurist Supreme Leader[204] and a clericalCouncil of Guardians power over legislation and elections, was drawn up by anAssembly of Experts for Constitution. The new constitution was approved by referendum in December 1979.
An early event in the history of the Islamic republic that had a long-term impact was theIran hostage crisis. Following the admitting of the former Shah of Iran into the United States for cancer treatment, on 4 November 1979, Iranian studentsseized US embassy personnel, labeling the embassy a "den of spies."[205] Fifty-two hostages were held for 444 days until January 1981.[206] An Americanmilitary attempt to rescue the hostages failed.[207]
The takeover was enormously popular in Iran, where thousands gathered in support of the hostage takers, and it is thought to have strengthened the prestige of theAyatollah Khomeini and consolidated the hold of anti-Americanism. It was at this time that Khomeini began referring to America as the "Great Satan." In America, where it was considered a violation of the long-standing principle of international law thatdiplomats may be expelled but not held captive, it created a powerful anti-Iranian backlash. Relations between the two countries have remained deeply antagonistic and Americaninternational sanctions have hurt Iran's economy.[208]
An Iranian soldier with gas mask during the Iran–Iraq War
During this political and social crisis, Iraqi leaderSaddam Hussein attempted to take advantage of the disorder of the Revolution, the weakness of the Iranian military and the revolution's antagonism with Western governments. The once-strong Iranian military had been disbanded during the revolution, and with the Shah ousted, Hussein had ambitions to position himself as the new strong man of the Middle East. He 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 wasKhuzestan which not only boasted a substantial Arab population, but rich oil fields as well. On the unilateral behalf of theUnited Arab Emirates, the islands ofAbu Musa and theGreater and Lesser Tunbs became objectives as well. With these ambitions in mind, Hussein planned a full-scale assault on Iran, boasting that his forces could reach the capital within three days. On 22 September 1980, the Iraqi army invaded Iran at Khuzestan, precipitating theIran–Iraq War. The attack took revolutionary Iran completely by surprise.
Although Saddam Hussein's forces made several early advances, Iranian forces had pushed the Iraqi army back into Iraq by 1982. Khomeini sought toexport his Islamic revolution westward into Iraq, especially on the majority Shi'a Arabs living in the country. The war then continued for six more years until 1988, when Khomeini, in his words, "drank the cup of poison" and accepted a truce mediated by the United Nations.
There were more than 182,000 Kurdish victims[209] of Iraq's chemical weapons during the eight-year war. The total Iranian casualties of the war were estimated to be between 500,000 and 1,000,000. Almost all relevant international agencies have confirmed that Saddam engaged in chemical warfare to blunt Iranianhuman wave attacks; these agencies unanimously confirmed that Iran never used chemical weapons during the war.[210][211][212][213]
Starting on 19 July 1988 and lasting for about five months thegovernment systematically executed thousands of political prisoners across Iran. This is commonly referred to as the1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners or the 1988 Iranian Massacre. The main target was the membership of thePeople's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), although a lesser number of political prisoners from other leftist groups were also included such as theTudeh Party of Iran (Communist Party).[214][215] Estimates of the number executed vary from 1,400[216] to 30,000.[217][218]
On his deathbed in 1989,Khomeini appointed a 25-man Constitutional Reform Council which named then presidentAli Khamenei as the next Supreme Leader, and made a number of changes to Iran's constitution.[219] A smooth transition followed Khomeini's death on 3 June 1989. While Khamenei lacked Khomeini's "charisma and clerical standing", he developed a network of supporters within Iran's armed forces and its economically powerfulreligious foundations.[220] Under his reign Iran's regime is said – by at least one observer – to resemble more "a clerical oligarchy ... than an autocracy."[220]
Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani succeeded Khamenei as president on 3 August 1989, as a pragmatic conservative who served two four-year terms and focused his efforts on rebuilding the country's economy and infrastructure damaged by war, though hampered by low oil prices. Rafsanjani sought to restore confidence in the government among the general population by privatizing the companies that had been nationalized in the first few years of the Islamic Republic, as well as by bringing in qualified technocrats to manage the economy. The state of their economy also influenced the government to move towards ending their diplomatic isolation. This was achieved through the reestablishment of normalized relations with neighbors such asSaudi Arabia and an attempt to improve its reputation in the region with assertions that its revolution was not exportable to other states.[221] During thePersian Gulf War in 1991 the country remainedneutral, restricting its action to the condemnation of the U.S. and allowing fleeing Iraqi aircraft and refugees into the country.[citation needed]
Iran in the 1990s had a greater secular behavior and admiration for Western popular culture than in the previous decades. This admiration had become a way in which the urban population expressed their resentment at the invasive Islamic policies of the government.[222] The pressures from the population placed on the new Supreme Leader AyatollahAli Khamenei led to an uneasy alliance between him and PresidentAkbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Through this alliance they attempted to hinder theulama's ability to gain further control of the state. In 1989, they created a sequence of constitutional amendments that removed the office of prime minister and increased the scope of presidential power. However, these new amendments did not curtail the powers of theSupreme Leader of Iran in any way; this position still contained the ultimate authority over the armed forces, the making of war and peace, the final say in foreign policy, and the right to intervene in the legislative process whenever he deemed it necessary.[222]
Khatami: reformers and conservatives struggle (1997–2005)
President Rafsanjani's economic policies led to stronger relations with the outside world. But his government's relaxation of the enforcement of certain regulations on social behavior were met with some responses of widespread disenchantment among the general population with the ulama as rulers of the country.[222] This led to the defeat of the government's candidate for president in 1997, who had the backing of the supreme Islamic jurist. He was beaten by an independent candidate from theReformists,Mohammad Khatami. He received 69% of the vote and enjoyed particular support from two groups of the population that had felt ostracized by the practices of the state: women and youth. The younger generations in the country had been too young to experience the shah's regime or the revolution that ended it, and now they resented the restrictions placed on their daily lives under the Islamic Republic. Mohammad Khatami's presidency was soon marked by tensions between thereform-minded government and an increasingly conservative and vocal clergy. This rift reached a climax in July 1999 when massive anti-government protests erupted in the streets ofTehran. The disturbances lasted over a week before police and pro-government vigilantes dispersed the crowds.
During his first term, President Khatami oversaw Iran’s second five-year development plan and introduced a new plan for 2000–2004 focused oneconomic reconstruction alongside social and political reforms. The plan aimed for privatization, job creation, and reduced subsidies but fell short on employment targets.[223] Despite this, Iran saw improved economic indicators: real GDP growth rose to nearly 6 percent, unemployment and inflation declined, external debt dropped significantly, and the government authorized private banks for the first time since 1979.[224] Poverty levels also decreased modestly.[225]
In theMajlis elections of 2000, for the first time liberals and Khatami’s supporters gained parliamentary control from conservatives.[226] That same year, following the adoption of a new press law, authorities banned the publication of 16 reformist newspapers.[226]
Khatami was re-elected in June 2001 but his efforts were repeatedly blocked by the conservatives in the parliament. 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.
Following theSeptember 11 attacks in 2001, Iran initially was sympathetic with the United States.[227] However, relations deteriorated sharply after PresidentGeorge W. Bush labeled Iran part of the "Axis of Evil" in 2002, accusing the country of pursuing weapons of mass destruction that posed a threat to the U.S.[228][229]
In June 2003, anti-government protests by several thousand students took place in Tehran.[230][231]Shirin Ebadi, a lawyer and human rights advocate, became the first Iranian to win theNobel Peace Prize in 2003. She had been the country's first female judge until being forced to step down after the 1979 revolution.[226] The response to the award in Iran was mixed—enthusiastic supporters greeted her at the airport upon her return, the conservative media underplayed it, and Khatami criticized it as political.[232][233]
A violentearthquake struck theKerman province of southeastern Iran in December 2003. The earthquake was particularly destructive inBam, with the death toll amounting to at least 34,000 people and injuring up to 200,000.[234]
After the hardlineCouncil of Guardians disqualified thousands of reformist candidates, conservatives regained control of parliament in theelections of 2004.[226]
During this time, the American invasion of Iraq, the overthrow ofSaddam Hussein's regime and empowerment of itsShi'a majority, all strengthened Iran's position in the region particularly in the mainly Shi'a south of Iraq, where a top Shia leader in the week of 3 September 2006 renewed demands for an autonomous Shi'a region.[238] At least one commentator (former U.S. Defense SecretaryWilliam S. Cohen) has stated that as of 2009 Iran's growing power has eclipsedanti-Zionism as the major foreign policy issue in the Middle East.[239]
During 2005 and 2006, there were claims thatthe United States andIsrael were planning to attack Iran, with the most cited reason beingIran's civilian nuclear energy program which the United States and some other states fear could lead toa nuclear weapons program. China and Russia opposed military action of any sort and opposedeconomic sanctions. Khamenei issued afatwa forbidding the production, stockpiling and use ofnuclear weapons. The fatwa was cited in an official statement by the Iranian government at an August 2005 meeting of theInternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inVienna.[240][241] However, The IAEA reported in 2008 that Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons research remained “a matter of serious concern,” prompting European Union countries to agree on new sanctions.[242] Additional U.N. sanctions followed in 2010.[226] In 2011, Iran announced that theBushehr Nuclear Power Plant had been connected to the national electricity grid for the first time.[226] Eventually, the sanctions severely impacted Iran’s economy, contributing to a dramatic depreciation of therial, which reportedly fell to a record low of 35,000 to the US dollar—an 80% drop since late 2011.[243]
In 2007, a diplomatic standoff erupted between Iran and the UK afterIranian forces detained 15 British sailors and marines near the Shatt al-Arab waterway, which forms part of the Iran-Iraq border.[226]
In 2009,Ahmadinejad's reelection was hotly disputed and marred by largeprotests that formed the "greatest domestic challenge" to the leadership of the Islamic Republic "in 30 years". The resulting social unrest is widely known as theIranian Green Movement.[244] Reformist opponentMir-Hossein Mousavi and his supporters alleged voting irregularities and by 1 July 2009, 1000 people had been arrested and 20 killed in street demonstrations.[245] Supreme LeaderAli Khamenei and other Islamic officials blamed foreign powers for fomenting the protest.[246]
On 14 February 2011,widespread protests erupted in Tehran as thousands gathered in response to opposition calls, expressing solidarity with pro-democracy movements in the region and reviving dissent over the contested 2009 presidential election. Security forces quickly suppressed the demonstrations, resulting in two deaths and numerous injuries. Further protests followed, including on 20 February and 1 March, when the opposition reported around 200 arrests. Authorities subsequently managed to prevent large-scale demonstrations.[253]
Reports of growing tensions between Ahmadinejad and Khamenei emerged during this period. In the 2012 parliamentary elections, Ahmadinejad’s allies lost ground to factions loyal to Khamenei, while the opposition Green Movement remained banned. Its leaders,Mehdi Karroubi and Mir-Hossein Mousavi, were placed under house arrest in early 2011 and have remained out of public view, with some government supporters demanding their execution.[253]
On 15 June 2013,Hassan Rouhani won the presidential election in Iran, with a total number of 36,704,156 ballots cast; Rouhani won 18,613,329 votes. In his press conference one day after election day, Rouhani reiterated his promise to recalibrate Iran's relations with the world.[254]
On 14 July 2015, after years of negotiations, Iran and theP5+1 group of world powers (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, plus Germany)[255] together with the European Union finalized theJoint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal.[256] The agreement aimed to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for relief from international sanctions.[257] It followed the 2013Joint Plan of Action, an interim deal that opened formal negotiations.[258] By April 2015, negotiators had agreed on a framework that set the stage for the final accord in Vienna.[259]
Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to significant restrictions on its nuclear activities, including limits on uranium enrichment levels, the number and type of operating centrifuges, and the size of its enriched uranium stockpile. Key facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Arak were to be repurposed for civilian research and medical uses. Iran also accepted more intrusive inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency to verify compliance. In return, it received relief from nuclear-related sanctions imposed by the United Nations, the European Union, and the United States, although many other U.S. sanctions remained in place, especially those targeting Iran’s missile program and regional activities.[260]
Beginning on 28 December 2017, protests known as theDey protests spread across Iran, starting over economic grievances inMashhad but quickly expanding to political opposition to Supreme LeaderAli Khamenei and the theocratic system.[261][262] Marking the most serious unrest since 2009, the largely leaderless protests[263][264] featured anti-regime chants and attacks on government sites,[265] with at least twenty-one protesters and two security personnel killed, and around 3,700 arrested by early January 2018.[266] In response, thousands of government supporters held pro-government rallies in multiple cities.[267]
In May 2018, Donald Trump decided topull out of the JCPOA, announcing he would reimpose economic sanctions on Iran effective from 4 November that year.[268][269] This marked the beginning of the Trump administration'smaximum pressure campaign, an effort to force Iran to renegotiate the nuclear agreement by imposing intensified sanctions.[270]
On 22 September 2018, theAhvaz military parade was attacked by gunmen in the southwestern Iranian city ofAhvaz.[271][272] The shooters killed 25 people, including soldiers of theIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and civilian bystanders.[273] TheIslamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.[274] Iran blamed "militants in Syria"[275] and claimed the "U.S. and the Gulf states enabled the attack" and vowed revenge.[276] The U.S.,[277] Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates rejected the accusation.[278]
From mid-March to April 2019 widespreadflash flooding affected large parts ofIran, most severely inGolestan,Fars,Khuzestan,Lorestan, and other provinces. Iran was hit by three major waves of rain and flooding over the course of two weeks[279] which led to flooding in at least 26 of Iran's 31 provinces.[280] At least 70 people died nationwide.[280]
The2019–2020 Iranian protests began in response to a 50–200% fuel price increase[281][282] and quickly spread to 21 cities,[283][284] becoming the most violent unrest since the 1979 revolution.[285][286] Security forces reportedly shot protesters from rooftops, helicopters, and at close range, killing around 1,500 people according to U.S. sources,[287][288][289] whileAmnesty International described efforts to cover up the scale of the violence.[290] Protesters attacked 731 banks, 50 military bases, and nine religious centers,[291][286] prompting the government to impose a near-total internet blackout for six days.[292] The uprising was crushed within three days,[293] though sporadic protests continued.
The2020 parliamentary elections in Iran were marked by historically low voter turnout, officially reported at 42.6%—the lowest since the 1979 revolution. The elections took place in the wake of widespread public disillusionment following the violent crackdown on protests in late 2019, which severely damaged the credibility of President Hassan Rouhani and the reformist camp. As a result, conservative candidates won a dominant majority in the parliament, securing 221 out of 290 seats, while reformists managed to win only a small fraction. The outcome was widely seen as a significant blow to Rouhani ahead of the end of his term in 2021.[296]
TheCOVID-19 pandemic in Iran led to 7,627,863[297] confirmed cases ofCOVID-19 and 146,837[297] deaths. The first cases were reported in Qom on 19 February 2020.[298] The government responded by cancelling public events, closing institutions and shrines,[299][300] and requesting a $5 billion emergency loan from theIMF.[301] Initial resistance to quarantines and travel restrictions contributed to the virus’s spread before a ban on intercity travel was implemented.[300][302] After restrictions eased in April, cases surged again, peaking in June and July.[303][304] Despite these rising case numbers, the government had no option but to keep the economy open, as it was already under strain from U.S. sanctions and had suffered a further 15% GDP decline due to the pandemic by June 2020.[305] Estimates of deaths have varied widely, with some leaked data suggesting a much higher toll than official figures,[306][307] and the government faced allegations of mismanagement and censorship.[308] The virus also impacted Iran’s leadership, infecting 23 MPs by early March and killing at least 17 officials by late March.[309][310]
On 16 September 2022, 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian womanMahsa Amini died in a hospital inTehran, Iran, under suspicious circumstances.[312] TheGuidance Patrol, thereligious morality police ofIran's government, had arrested Amini for allegedly not wearing thehijab in accordance with government standards. TheLaw Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran stated that she had a heart attack at a police station, collapsed, and fell into a coma before being transferred to a hospital.[313] However, eyewitnesses reported that she was severely beaten and that she died as a result ofpolice brutality,[314][315] which was denied by the Iranian authorities.[316] Amini's death resulted ina series of protests described as more widespread and larger than previous large protests.[317][318]Iran Human Rights reported that by December 2022 at least 476 people had been killed by security forces attacking protests across the country.[319][320] By spring 2023, the protests had largely subsided,[321][322] ultimately leaving the political leadership unchanged and firmly entrenched in power.[323]
In October 2023, an IAEA report estimated Iran had increased its uranium stockpile 22 times over the 2015 agreed JCPOA limit.[324]
On 1 April 2024, Israel's airstrike on an Iranian consulate building in the Syrian capitalDamascus killed an important senior commander of theIslamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Brig GenMohammad Reza Zahedi.[325] In retaliation for the Israeli strike, Iranattacked Israel with over 300 drones and missiles on 13 April. However, the Iranian attack was mainly intercepted either outside Israeli airspace or over the country itself. It was the biggest missile attack in Iranian history, and its first ever direct attack on Israel.[326] It was followed by a retaliatorymissile strike by Israel on Isfahan, Iran on 19 April.[327]
On 19 May 2024, Ebrahim Raisi died in ahelicopter crash in the country’s East Azerbaijan province.[328] First Vice PresidentMohammad Mokhber was appointed acting president after the death of President Raisi.[329]
On 28 July 2024,Masoud Pezeshkian was formally endorsed as Iran's new president by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Pezeshkian, a reformist, won in apresidential election runoff on 5 July.[330] Three days later,Ismail Haniyeh, political chief of Palestinian political and military organisationHamas, wasassassinated in Iran’s capital, Tehran, where he was to attend the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian.[331]
On 1 October 2024, Iran launched about 180 ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for assassinations of Haniyeh,Hassan Nasrallah andAbbas Nilforoushan. On 27 October, Israel responded to that attack by strikes on a missile defence system in the Iranian region of Isfahan.[332]
In December 2024, thefall of the Assad regime in Syria, a close ally of Iran, was a severe setback for the political influence of Iran in the region.[333]
In early 2025, Iran was enriching substantial quantities of uranium to 60% purity, close to weapons-grade. Analysts warned that such activity exceeded any plausible civilian justification.[334] Beginning in April 2025, Iran and the United States enterednegotiations for a new nuclear agreement, but progress stalled as Iran's leaders have refused to stop enriching uranium.[335] Among the main points of disagreement were the conditions for liftingsanctions against Iran.[336][337] In June 2025, IAEA found Iran non-compliant with its nuclear obligations for the first time in two decades.[338] In response, Iran announced the activation of a new enrichment facility and began installing additional advanced centrifuges.[339]
On 13 June 2025, Israellaunched coordinated strikes across Iran, targeting nuclear facilities and eliminating top members of Iran's military leadership.[340][341] Iran retaliated with waves of missile and drone strikes against Israeli cities and military sites.[342][343][344] On 22 June, also the US bombed three Iranian nuclear sites.[345] On 24 June, Israel and Iran agreed to aceasefire after insistence from the US.[346][347][348]
^J.D. Vigne, J. Peters and D. Helmer,First Steps of Animal Domestication, Proceedings of the 9th Conference of the International Council of Archaeozoology, Durham, August 2002,ISBN1-84217-121-6
^Hole, Frank (20 July 2004)."Neolithic Age in Iran".Encyclopedia Iranica. Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation.Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved9 August 2012.
^ab"Iran, 8000–2000 BC".The Timeline of Art History. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. October 2000.Archived from the original on 5 March 2001. Retrieved9 August 2008.
^abPotts, D. T. (1999).The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State. Cambridge University Press.ISBN0-521-56358-5.
^Sagona, Antonio; Zimansky, Paul (24 February 2015).Ancient Turkey. Routledge.ISBN978-1-134-44027-6.Archived from the original on 6 September 2020. Retrieved8 May 2016., page 163
^Algaze, Guillermo. 2005. The Uruk World System: The Dynamics of Expansion of Early Mesopotamian Civilization
^Lackenbacher, Sylvie."Elam".Encyclopædia Iranica.Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved23 June 2008.
^^ Bahman Firuzmandi "Mad, Hakhamanishi, Ashkani, Sasani" pp. 20
^ab"Iran, 1000 BC–1 AD".The Timeline of Art History. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. October 2000.Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved9 August 2008.
^Medvedskaya, I.N. (January 2002)."The Rise and Fall of Media".International Journal of Kurdish Studies. BNET. Archived fromthe original on 28 March 2008. Retrieved10 August 2008.
^Sicker, Martin (2000).The pre-Islamic Middle East. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 68/69.ISBN978-0-275-96890-8.
^Norman A. StillmanThe Jews of Arab Lands pp 22 Jewish Publication Society, 1979ISBN0827611552
^International Congress of Byzantine StudiesProceedings of the 21st International Congress of Byzantine Studies, London, 21–26 August 2006, Volumes 1–3 pp 29. Ashgate Pub Co, 30 September 2006ISBN075465740X
^Al-Biruni. الآثار الباقية عن القرون الخالية, p.35,36,48 وقتی قتبیه بن مسلم سردار حجاج، بار دوم بخوارزم رفت و آن را باز گشود هرکس را که خط خوارزمی می نوشت و از تاریخ و علوم و اخبار گذشته آگاهی داشت از دم تیغ بی دریغ درگذاشت و موبدان و هیربدان قوم را یکسر هلاک نمود و کتابهاشان همه بسوزانید و تباه کرد تا آنکه رفته رفته مردم امی ماندند و از خط و کتابت بی بهره گشتند و اخبار آنها اکثر فراموش شد و از میان رفت
^Bernard Lewis (1991), "The Political Language of Islam", University of Chicago Press, pp 482: "Babak's Iranianizing rebellion in Azerbaijan gave occasion for sentiments at the capital to harden against men who were sympathetic to the more explicitly Iranian tradition"
^F. Daftary (1999) Sectarian and National Movements in Iran, Khurasan and Transoxania During Umayyad and Early 'Abbasid Times In History of Civilizations of Central Asia, vol. IV, part One, ed. M. S. Asimov, and C. E. Bosworth. Paris: UNESCO Publishing, pp. 41–60. excerpt from pg 50: "The activities of the Khurammiya reached their peak in the movement of Babak al-Khurrami, whose protracted rebellion based in north-western Iran seriously threatened the stability of the Abbassid caliphate... This revolt lasting for more than twenty years soon spread from Azerbaijan (North/West Iran) to western and central parts of Iran."
^Kathryn Babayan, "Mystics, monarchs, and messiahs", Harvard CMES, 2002. pg 138: "Babak revolted in Azerbaijan (816–838), evoking Abu Muslim as a heroic symbol..and called for a return to the Iranian past"
^abEncyclopædia Britannica, "Seljuq", Online Edition, (LINKArchived 19 December 2007 at theWayback Machine): "... Because the Turkish Seljuqs had no Islamic tradition or strong literary heritage of their own, they adopted the cultural language of their Persian instructors in Islam. Literary Persian thus spread to the whole of Iran, and the Arabic language disappeared in that country except in works of religious scholarship ..."
^Hillenbrand, Carole (2005). "Ravandi, the Seljuq court at Konya and the Persianisation of Anatolian Cities".Mesogeios (Mediterranean Studies). 25/26. Editions Herodotos:157–169.
^Kenneth Warren Chase (2003).Firearms: a global history to 1700 (illustrated ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 58.ISBN0-521-82274-2.Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved28 November 2011.Chinggis Khan organized a unit of Chinese catapult specialists in 1214, and these men formed part of the first Mongol army to invade Transoxania in 1219. This was not too early for true firearms, and it was nearly two centuries after catapult-thrown gunpowder bombs had been added to the Chinese arsenal. Chinese siege equipment saw action in Transoxania in 1220 and in the north Caucasus in 1239–40.
^David Nicolle; Richard Hook (1998).The Mongol Warlords: Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, Hulegu, Tamerlane (illustrated ed.). Brockhampton Press. p. 86.ISBN1-86019-407-9.Archived from the original on 12 April 2016. Retrieved28 November 2011.Though he was himself a Chinese, he learned his trade from his father, who had accompanied Genghis Khan on his invasion of Muslim Transoxania and Iran. Perhaps the use of gunpowder as a propellant, in other words the invention of true guns, appeared first in the Muslim Middle East, whereas the invention of gunpowder itself was a Chinese achievement
^Arnold Pacey (1991).Technology in world civilization: a thousand-year history (reprint, illustrated ed.). MIT Press. p. 46.ISBN0-262-66072-5.Archived from the original on 20 August 2020. Retrieved28 November 2011.During the 1250s, the Mongols invaded Iran with 'whole regiments' of Chinese engineers operating trebuchets (catapults) throwing gunpowder bombs. Their progress was rapid and devastating until, after the sack of Baghdad in 1258, they entered Syria. There they met an Islamic army similarly equipped and experienced their first defeat. In 1291, the same sort of weapon was used during the siege of Acre, when the European Crusaders were expelled form Palestine.
^Chahryar Adle; Irfan Habib (2003). Ahmad Hasan Dani; Chahryar Adle; Irfan Habib (eds.).History of Civilizations of Central Asia: Development in contrast: from the sixteenth to the mid-nineteenth century. Vol. 5 of History of Civilizations of Central Asia (illustrated ed.). UNESCO. p. 474.ISBN92-3-103876-1.Archived from the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved28 November 2011.Indeed, it is possible that gunpowder devices, including Chinese mortar (huochong), had reached Central Asia through the Mongols as early as the thirteenth century.71 Yet the potential remained unexploited; even Sultan Husayn's use of cannon may have had Ottoman inspiration.
^Arnold Pacey (1991).Technology in world civilization: a thousand-year history (reprint, illustrated ed.). MIT Press. p. 46.ISBN0-262-66072-5.Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved28 November 2011.The presence of these individuals in China in the 1270s, and the deployment of Chinese engineers in Iran, mean that there were several routes by which information about gunpowder weapons could pass from the Islamic world to China, or vice versa. Thus when two authors from the eastern Mediterranean region wrote books about gunpowder weapons around the year 1280, it is not surprising that they described bombs, rockets and fire-lances very similar to some types of Chinese weaponry.
^Peter B. GoldenCentral Asia in World History (New Oxford World History) (Oxford University Press, 2011), page 94: "He was born some 100 km (62 miles) south of Samarkand into a clan of the Barlas, a Turkicized tribe of Mongol descent."
^abThis section incorporates text from the public domainLibrary of Congress Country Studies. Chapin Metz, Helen (1989), "Invasions of the Mongols and Tamerlane",Iran: a country study, Library of Congress Country Studies, archived from the original on 17 September 2008
^W. B. Fisher; C. E. Bosworth (2011) [1986],"Araxes River",Encyclopædia Iranica,archived from the original on 4 January 2021 "Subsequently, it came under the control of Turkmen dynasties like the Āq Qoyunlū and Qara Qoyunlū and then of local khanates like those of Qara Bāḡ and Naḵǰavān which formed a buffer region between the Ottomans and Safavids."Philippe, Beaujard (2019). "Western Asia: Revival of the Persian Gulf".The Worlds of the Indian Ocean. Cambridge University Press. pp. 515–521.ISBN978-1-108-34121-9. "In a state of demographic stagnation or downturn, the region was an easy prey for nomadic Turkmen. The Turkmen, however, never managed to build strong states, owing to a lack of sedentary populations (Martinez-Gros 2009: 643). When Tamerlane died in 1405, the Jalāyerid sultan Ahmad, who had fled Iraq, came back to Baghdad. Five years later, he died in Tabriz (1410) in a battle led against the Turkmen Kara Koyunlu ("[Those of the] Black Sheep"), who took Baghdad in 1412.""Kara Koyunlu".Encyclopædia Britannica.Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved16 July 2020. "Kara Koyunlu, also spelled Qara Qoyunlu, Turkish Karakoyunlular, English Black Sheep, Turkmen tribal federation that ruled Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Iraq from about 1375 to 1468."The Book of Dede Korkut (F.Sumer, A.Uysal, W.Walker ed.). University of Texas Press. 1972. Introduction.ISBN0-292-70787-8.
^"Ak Koyunlu".Encyclopaedia Britannica.Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved16 July 2020. "AK Koyunlu, also spelled Aq Qoyunlu ("White Sheep"),Turkmen tribal federation that ruled northern Iraq, Azerbaijan, and eastern Anatolia from 1378 to 1508..."
^Türkmen Ak koyunlu İmparatorluğu: Türkmen Ak koyunlu İmparatorluğu makaleler antolojisi (in Turkish). Grafiker. 2003. p. 418.ISBN975-92721-7-2.
^C.E.Bosworth and R.Bulliet,The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual, Columbia University Press, 1996,ISBN0-231-10714-5, p. 275.
^Woods, John E. (1998)The Ak kuyunlu: Clan, Confederation, Empire, University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, p. 128,ISBN0-87480-565-1
^Mathee, Rudi (2008)."Safavid Dynasty".Encyclopædia Iranica.Archived from the original on 24 May 2019. Retrieved2 June 2014.
^Chapin Metz, Helen, ed. (1989).Iran, a Country study. University of Michigan. p. 313.Bogle, Emory C. (1989).Islam: Origin and Belief. University of Texas Press. p. 145.Shaw, Stanford Jay (1977).History of the Ottoman Empire. Cambridge University Press. p. 77.Andrew J. Newman, Safavid Iran:Rebirth of a Persian Empire, I.B. Tauris (30 March 2006).
^Savory, Roger M.; Karamustafa, Ahmet T. (2012) [1998],"Esmāʿīl I Ṣafawī",Encyclopædia Iranica, vol. VIII/6, pp. 628–636,archived from the original on 25 July 2019
^Tapper, Richard (1974). "Shāhsevan in Ṣafavid Persia".Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.37 (3). Cambridge University Press:321–354.doi:10.1017/S0041977X00136286.JSTOR612582.S2CID177504456.
^Lawrence Davidson, Arthur Goldschmid,A Concise History of the Middle East, Westview Press, 2006, p. 153
^Fisher, William Bayne (1991).The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 7. Cambridge University Press. pp. 128–129.Agha Muhammad Khan remained nine days in the vicinity of Tiflis. His victory proclaimed the restoration of Iranian military power in the region formerly under Safavid domination.
^Miller, Aleksei; Rieber, Alfred J. (1 January 2004).Imperial Rule. Pasts Incorporated. CEU Studies in the Humanities. Vol. 1. Central European University Press. p. 204 n. 48.ISBN978-963-9241-98-5.
^Mansoori, Firooz (2008). "17".Studies in History, Language and Culture of Azerbaijan (in Persian). Tehran: Hazar-e Kerman. p. 245.ISBN978-600-90271-1-8.
^"Griboedov not only extended protection to those Caucasian captives who sought to go home but actively promoted the return of even those who did not volunteer. Large numbers of Georgian and Armenian captives had lived in Iran since 1804 or as far back as 1795."Fisher, William Bayne;Avery, Peter; Gershevitch, Ilya; Hambly, Gavin; Melville, Charles.The Cambridge History of Iran Cambridge University Press, 1991. p. 339.
^Arakel of Tabriz.The Books of Histories; chapter 4. Quote: "[The Shah] deep inside understood that he would be unable to resist Sinan Pasha, i.e. the Sardar of Jalaloghlu, in a[n open] battle. Therefore he ordered to relocate the whole population of Armenia - Christians, Jews and Muslims alike, to Persia, so that the Ottomans find the country depopulated."
^Azizi, Mohammad-Hossein. "The historical backgrounds of the Ministry of Health foundation in Iran." Arch Iran Med 10.1 (2007): 119-23.
^Okazaki, Shoko (1 January 1986). "The Great Persian Famine of 1870–71".Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.49 (1):183–192.doi:10.1017/s0041977x00042609.JSTOR617680.S2CID155516933.
^according toEncyclopædia Iranica it was targeted at officials who were in power and actually had a role in controlling the government — the cabinet and others who had a role in governing Iran.Shambayati, Niloofar (2015) [1993]."Coup D'Etat of 1299/1921".Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. VI/4. pp. 351–354.
^Michael P. Zirinsky; "Imperial Power and Dictatorship: Britain and the Rise of Reza Shah, 1921–1926", International Journal of Middle East Studies 24 (1992), 639–663, Cambridge University Press
^"Reza Shah Pahlevi".The Columbia Encyclopedia (Sixth ed.). 2007 [2001]. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009.
^Tahavolat, 98-138; Economic Trends, no. 23 (Tehran: Central Bank, 2000-2001); and Iran: Interim Assistance Strategy (Washington: The World Bank, April 2001).
^Shirin Ebadi (2007). Azadeh Moaveni (ed.).Iran Awakening: One Woman's Journey to Reclaim Her Life and Country. Random House. p. 256.ISBN978-0-8129-7528-4.
^Weinberg, Bill (12 August 2005)."Iran issues anti-nuke fatwa". Counter Vortex.Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved30 September 2020.
^"Stuxnet : A worm which targets SCADA systems".CERT-IST Computer Emergency Response Team. 8 September 2010. Retrieved7 June 2025.Stuxnet was discovered on June 17, 2010 by the Belarusian Company VirusBlokAda (a company that develops antivirus products). At that time most of the attention of the analysts was caught by the fact that this worm uses a previously unknown vulnerability in Windows (a "0-day" flaw): the ". LNK" vulnerability which led Microsoft to release early in August the out-of-band patch MS10-046. This is only after further analysis that analysts found that Stuxnet was in fact designed to target SCADA systems.
^Fassihi, Farnaz; Gladstone, Rick (15 November 2019)."Iran Abruptly Raises Fuel Prices, and Protests Erupt".Iran Watch.Archived from the original on 9 December 2019.The changes increased the price of gas to 15,000 rials per liter (approximately 13 cents) from 10,000 rials, while limiting private cars to 60 liters per month with a price of 30,000 rials per liter for additional purchases.
^Filkins, Dexter (18 May 2020)."TheTwilight of the Iranian Revolution".The New Yorker.Archived from the original on 16 March 2021. Retrieved7 June 2020.The regime struck back brutally. 'It happened very fast,' a Western diplomat in Tehran told me. 'The government switched off the phones and the Internet and responded massively—and the whole thing was over in three days. I think the regime was genuinely afraid.'
Van Gorde, A. Christian.Christianity in Persia and the Status of Non-Muslims in Iran (Lexington Books; 2010) 329 pages. Traces the role of Persians in Persia and later Iran since ancient times, with additional discussion of other non-Muslim groups.
Benjamin Walker,Persian Pageant: A Cultural History of Iran, Arya Press, Calcutta, 1950.
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