Iran has one of the oldest histories in the world, extending more than 5000 years, and throughout history, Iran has been ofgeostrategic importance because of its central location inEurasia and Western Asia. Iran is a founding member of theUN,NAM,OIC,OPEC, andECO. Iran as a majorregional power occupies an important position in the world economy due to its substantial reserves ofpetroleum andnatural gas, and has considerable regional influence in Western Asia. The name Iran is acognate of Aryan and literally means "Land of theAryans."(Full article...)
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Mithridates I's portrait on the obverse of atetradrachm, showing him wearing a beard and a royal Hellenisticdiadem on his head
Mithridates I (also spelledMithradates I orMihrdad I;Parthian:𐭌𐭄𐭓𐭃𐭕Mihrdāt), also known asMithridates I the Great, was king of theParthian Empire from 165 BC to 132 BC. During his reign, Parthia was transformed from a small kingdom into a major political power in theAncient Near East as a result of his conquests. He first conqueredAria,Margiana and westernBactria from theGreco-Bactrians sometime in 163–155 BC, and then waged war with theSeleucid Empire, conqueringMedia andAtropatene in 148/7 BC. In 141 BC, he conqueredBabylonia and held an official investiture ceremony inSeleucia. The kingdoms ofElymais andCharacene shortly afterwards became Parthian vassals. Inc. 140 BC, while Mithridates was fighting the nomadicSaka in the east, the Seleucid kingDemetrius II Nicator attempted to regain the lost territories; initially successful, he was defeated and captured in 138 BC, and shortly afterwards sent to one of Mithridates I's palaces inHyrcania. Mithridates I then punished Elymais for aiding Demetrius, and madePersis a Parthian vassal.
Orodes I (also spelledUrud I;Parthian:𐭅𐭓𐭅𐭃Wērōd/Urūd), was king of theParthian Empire from 80 to 75 BC. He was the son and heir ofGotarzes I (r. 91–87/80 BC). His reign is relatively obscure. His throne may have been usurped in 87–80 BC by his supposed uncleMithridates III, however, this has found little support in scholarship. Of his military activities, it is known that Orodes I re-established Parthian rule inElymais in 78 BC, which had been independent since 81/80 BC. Orodes I later lost the throne to the aged Parthian princeSinatruces, who belonged to a different branch of the royal Arsacid family. (Full article...)
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"Alexander executes Janushyar and Mahiyar, the slayers of Darius." Folio from a manuscript ofFerdowsi'sShahnameh ("Book of Kings"), created inShiraz, dated 1482.
A member of the rulingAchaemenid dynasty, Bessus came to power shortly after killing the legitimate Achaemenid rulerDarius III (r. 336–330 BC), and subsequently attempted to hold the eastern part of the empire against theMacedonian kingAlexander the Great (r. 336–323 BC). His realm quickly started to fall apart, including Bactria, which was the main center. Fleeing toSogdia, he was arrested by his own men, who handed him over to Alexander, who had him executed atEcbatana. (Full article...)
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Manuscript of theOpuscula nonnulla orientalia, written inLatin by the Germansinologist Andreas Müller. Banakati'sTarikh-i Banakati is included in the work.
Abu Sulayman Banakati (Persian:ابوسلیمان بناکتی; died 1330), was a historian and poet, who lived during the lateIlkhanate era. He is principally known for his Persianworld history book, theRawdat uli al-albab fi maʿrifat al-tawarikh wa al-ansab, better known asTarikh-i Banakati.
Banakati was also associated with the court of the Ilkhanate. He himself reported that he served as the chief poet at the court of the Ilkhanid rulerGhazan (r. 1295–1304) in 1302. (Full article...)
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1979 Revolution: Black Friday is anadventureinteractive drama video game developed and published by iNK Stories, with assistance from by N-Fusion Interactive. The player controls Reza Shirazi, an aspiring photojournalist, who returns toIran amidst theIranian Revolution. As he becomes more involved in the events of the Revolution, Reza is forced to make decisions in order to survive. The player makes timed responses throughout the game, determining the outcome of the plot. They are tasked with taking in-game photographs of their surroundings, and given historical background of the events.
The game was in development for four years and was created to combine elements from video games and documentaries with an engaging narrative. Game directorNavid Khonsari, who was a child in Iran at the time of the Revolution, developed the game with the intention of making the player understand the moral ambiguity of the situation. The development team conducted extensive research, interviewing historical scholars and Iranians who lived inTehran during the Revolution and gathering numerous archival photos and historical speeches. Cast performances were recorded usingmotion capture and each character was developed with ambiguous attitudes and morals. (Full article...)
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19th-century illustration of Mushegh I Mamikonian.
He was met with considerable challenges during his reign, facing a rebellion in the east led by his brother, theKushano-Sasanian dynastHormizd I Kushanshah, who also assumed the title of King of Kings and possibly laid claims to the Sasanian throne. Another rebellion, led by Bahram II's cousinHormizd of Sakastan inSakastan, also occurred around this period. InKhuzestan, a Zoroastrian factional revolt led by a high-priest (mowbed) occurred. TheRoman emperorCarus exploited the turbulent situation of Iran by launching a campaign into its holdings inMesopotamia in 283. Bahram II, who was in the east, was unable to mount an effective coordinated defense at the time, possibly losing his capital ofCtesiphon to the Roman emperor. However, Carus died soon afterwards, reportedly being struck by lightning. As a result, the Roman army withdrew, and Mesopotamia was reclaimed by the Sasanians. By the end of his reign, Bahram II had made peace with the Roman emperorDiocletian and put an end to the disturbances in Khuzestan and the east. (Full article...)
Hezbollah was founded in 1982 by Lebanese clerics in response to theIsraeli invasion of Lebanon. Inspired by theIranian Revolution of 1979 and AyatollahRuhollah Khomeini's model of Islamic governance, Hezbollah established strong ties withIran and is part of theAxis of Resistance. The group was initially supported by 1,500Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) instructors, who helped unify various Lebanese Shia factions under Hezbollah's leadership. Hezbollah's 1985 manifesto outlinedits key objectives, which include expelling Western influence from the region,destroying Israel, pledging allegiance toIran's supreme leader, and establishing anIslamic government influenced byIran's political ideology. However, the manifesto also emphasized Lebanese self-determination. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Hezbollah fought against Israeli forces and theSouth Lebanon Army (SLA), eventually leading to Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000. Hezbollah also played a prominent role in the2006 Lebanon War and later became involved in theSyrian civil war, where it fought alongside the Syrian government against rebel forces. (Full article...)
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Manuscript of Azar Bigdeli'sAtashkadeh-ye Azar. Copy made inQajar Iran, dated 1824
During theclassical period, theRoman Empire controlled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa. TheRomans conquered most of these territories in the time of theRepublic, and it was ruled by emperors followingOctavian's assumption of power in 27 BC. Over the 4th century AD, the empire split into western and eastern halves. TheWestern Empirecollapsed in 476 AD, while theEastern Empire endured until thefall of Constantinople in 1453.
TheBattle of Manzikert of 1071 is widely regarded as the turning point against the Byzantines in their war against the Seljuks. The battle opened up Anatolia for further Turkish migrations and settlements. TheByzantine military was of questionable quality before 1071 with regular Turkish incursions overrunning the failingtheme system. Even after Manzikert, Byzantine rule over Asia Minor did not end immediately, nor were any heavy concessions levied by the Turks on their opponents – it took another 20 years before the Turks were in control of the entire Anatolian peninsula and not for long either. (Full article...)
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TheLetter of Tansar (Persian:نامه تنسر) was a 6th-centurySassanid propaganda instrument that portrayed the precedingArsacid period as morally corrupt and heretical (toZoroastrianism), and presented the first Sassanid dynastArdashir I as having "restored" the faith to a "firm foundation." The letter was simultaneously a declaration of the unity of Zoroastrian church andIranian state, "for church and state were born of the one womb, joined together and never to be sundered."
The document seems to have been based on a genuine 3rd-century letter written byTansar, the Zoroastrian high priest under Ardashir I, to a certain Gushnasp ofParishwar/Tabaristan, one of vassal kings of the ArsacidArdavan IV. This original missive was apparently written not long after Ardashir had overthrown Ardavan, and Tansar appears to have been responding to charges levelled at Ardashir, and the delay in accepting Ardashir's suzerainty. Representative of those charges is the accusation that Ardashir "had taken away fires from the fire-temples, extinguished them and blotted them out." To this, Tansar replies that it was the "kings of the peoples [i.e. Parthians' vassal kings]" that began the practice of dynastic fires, an "innovation" unauthorized by the kings of old. A similar response appears in Book IV of the 9th centuryDenkard. (Full article...)
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Saffron crocus,Crocus sativus, with its vivid crimson stigmas and styles
Saffron (/ˈsæfrən,-rɒn/ ,Persian: زعفران) is aspice derived from the flower ofCrocus sativus, commonly known as the "saffroncrocus". The vivid crimsonstigma andstyles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as aseasoning andcolouring agent in food. The saffron crocus was slowly propagated throughout much of Eurasia and was later brought to parts of North Africa, North America, andOceania.
Saffron's taste andiodoform-like orhay-like fragrance result from thephytochemicalspicrocrocin andsafranal. It also contains acarotenoid pigment,crocin, which imparts a rich golden-yellow hue to dishes and textiles. Its quality is graded by the proportion of red stigma to yellow style, varying by region and affecting both potency and value. As of 2024,Iran produced some 90% of the world total for saffron. At US$5,000 per kg or higher, saffron has long been the world's costliest spice by weight. (Full article...)
Foreign investors have concentrated their activity in a few sectors of the economy: the oil and gas industries, vehicle manufacture,coppermining,petrochemicals, foods, andpharmaceuticals. Iran absorbed US$24.3 billion of foreign investment from 1993 to 2007 and US$34.6 billion for 485 projects from 1992 to 2009. (Full article...)
Iranian Armed Forces are the largest in theMiddle East in terms of active troops. Iran's military forces are made up of approximately 610,000active-duty personnel plus 350,000reserve and trained personnel that can be mobilized when needed, bringing the country's military manpower to about 960,000 total personnel. These numbers do not include thePolice Command orBasij. (Full article...)
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A map of thePersia at the time of theAchaemenid dynasty, which includes countries within the wider extent or reach of many Iranian empires
The regions which make up Greater Iran are defined by having long been under the rule of variousIranian empires and dynasties, during which the local populacegradually absorbed Iranian influence and assimilated it into their cultural and linguistic traditions; or those where a considerable Iranian population settled and retained their culture, such as in the areas surrounding theIranian plateau. It is referred to as the "Iranian Cultural Continent" byEncyclopædia Iranica. (Full article...)
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Artistic representation of a Median man
TheMedes were anIron AgeIranian people who spoke theMedian language and who inhabited an area known asMedia betweenwestern andnorthern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, they occupied the mountainous region of northwestern Iran and the northeastern and eastern region ofMesopotamia in the vicinity ofEcbatana (present-dayHamadan). Their consolidation in Iran is believed to have occurred during the 8th century BC. In the 7th century BC, all of western Iran and some other territories were under Median rule, but their precise geographic extent remains unknown.
Although widely recognized as playing an important role in the history of theancient Near East, the Medes left no written records to reconstruct their history. Knowledge of the Medes comes only from foreign sources such as theAssyrians,Babylonians,Armenians andGreeks, as well as a few Iranian archaeological sites, which are believed to have been occupied by Medes. The accounts related to the Medes reported byHerodotus convey the image of a powerful people, who would have formed an empire at the beginning of the 7th century BC that lasted until the 550s BC, played a pivotal role in the fall of the Assyrian Empire, and competed with the powerful kingdoms ofLydia and Babylonia. (Full article...)
The office was first established after the adoption of thenew constitution following theIranian Revolution of 1979. Thefirst presidential election was held in 1980. The president is the second in command of theexecutive branch ofgovernment after the supreme leader and chairperson of thecabinet, and is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the government. The president answers to the supreme leader, who functions as the country'sde factohead of state, and executes his decrees. The president appoints the ministers, subject to the approval of Parliament and the supreme leader, who can dismiss or reinstate any of the ministers andvice presidents at any time. The president issuesdecrees, sends and receives foreign ambassadors, signs referendum results and legislation approved by parliament and the judiciary, and signs treaties, protocols, contracts, after parliamentary approval. According to theUnited Nations list of Heads of State, Heads of Government, and Ministers for Foreign Affairs of all Member States, the president is listed as the country's head of state rather than the Supreme Leader. (Full article...)
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Imperial Bank of Persia head office on the eastern side ofToopkhaneh, Teheran, 1902 TheImperial Bank of Persia (Persian:بانک شاهنشاهی ایران,romanized: Bânk-e Šâhanšâhi-ye Irân), sometimes transcribed asBank Shahi, was a British bank that played a central role in the financial history of lateQajar Iran, known in English at the time asPersia. The bank was legally established inLondon and subject to British law, with the bulk of its operations based inTehran under a concession initially granted by the Qajar government toPaul Julius Reuter. It served as the country's mainbank of issue until that role was transferred toBank Melli Iran in 1932, and introduced European financial practices to a country in which they were previously unknown.
Following political changes inPahlavi Iran it was renamed theImperial Bank of Iran in 1935, then theBritish Bank of Iran and the Middle East in 1949 following expansion into other Middle Eastern countries. In 1952, its operations in Iran were terminated, with some of its former business restructured asBank Bazargani. The remaining activity outside Iran was renamedBritish Bank of the Middle East (BBME), which in 1959 was purchased byHSBC and in 1999 was renamedHSBC Bank Middle East. Bank Bazargani in turn was reorganized in 1979 following theIranian Revolution, to become the nucleus ofBank Tejarat. (Full article...)
... that in September 2023,The New York Times publicly confirmed the detention ofJohan Floderus in Iran a year and a half after his arrest?
... that at least 14 people were killed during the1978 Tabriz protests in Iran, which were meant to commemorate the dead in the1978 Qom protest?
... that afterJamal Valizadeh was tortured in Iran, hid for six months, and escaped, he qualified to compete in the Olympics as a member of theRefugee Olympic Team?
... that little has been known of the exact whereabouts of Iranian communist leaderAshraf Dehghani since she escaped prison in 1973?
February 7,1979 - Supporters of Khomeini take over the Iranian law enforcement, courts and government administration; the final session of the IranianNational Consultative Assembly is held.
February 10,1979 - The Iranian army mutinies and joins the Islamic Revolution.
The Persians ruled for a thousand years and did not need us Arabs even for a day. We have been ruling them for one or two centuries and cannot do without them for an hour.
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