History of Iran

                  Iran is the country located in Western Asia parting its borders with the                countries

named Afghanistan, Turkey, P

akistan, Armenia, Iraq, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan.

Iran is an Islamic republic country with a population of around 80 million

people and is listed under the 18 largest countries of the world.

The capital of the country is Tehran and the common groups residing there

include Kurds, Lurs, Mazandaranis, Gilaks, Azerbaijanis, and much more.

Although about 90% of the population in Iran

belongs to the Muslim community, the remaining

10% population contributes to the religion of Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Jews.

The Shia Muslims are mainly found in the Country

but Sunni’s are also residing in the same.

The name of Iran

During the historical period, Iran was popularly

called as Persia (a small region of Iran) by

the people living outside the country and the

people residing in the country termed it Iran.

In the use of Government papers and dealing with the other countries, the name Persia

was commonly used and hence was considered as the official name of the country.

During 1934, a military officer of Iran requested the other countries

and Non-Iranians to call the country by its original name i.e., Iran.

His main motive behind the same was to clarify the fact that

Iran was the country of Persians as well as the non-Persians.

The country was named Iran and was often considered as the

place of Aryans (means noble people in Iranian language).

The term Aryan was used in several regions including Europe.

They call the Indo-Europeans as Aryan.

Moreover, the term was also used by Hitler to define his superiority and perfection.

After World War 2

The Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was the king of

Iran and ruled the country for a period of

1 year and after that, the prime minister named

Mosaddegh became the famous ruler of Iran.

However, his existence does not last for a

long time and got eliminated from the country.

Mosaddegh tried to conquer the entire oil

industries of Iran after getting leadership.

Since Great Britain was highly dependent on Iran for the oil

supply, the country did not like the opinion of Mosaddegh.

Great Britain put all the possible efforts to

snatch the powers of the Prime Minister Mosaddegh.

However, their attempt failed.

Great Britain then persuaded the United States

against the harmful signs of Mossadegh leadership.

After certain wars and hindrances, the United States and Great Britain

finally decided to allow Reza Pahlavi to rule the country again

and ultimately the country was converted and renamed as the Islamic Republic Iran.

Iran developed a positive relationship with the United States but

the same connection got over when the United States suspected that

the Iranians are planning against Israel and are supporting

the countries that want to invade the same country.

According to Iran, Israel does not deserve the status of a republic country

and that was the major reason why Iran desired to fight against Israel.

Iran and Iraq war

After some time, Iran and Iraq collided with each other

and the result was a war between the two countries.

Iraq attacked Iran in 1980 and created a battle which sustained for eight years.

However, several major and developed countries including the United States

supported Iraq by providing the country with technological and military help.

The west against Iran

The western countries then claimed that Iran

was secretly developing the nuclear weapons.

However, the claim did not hold water as Iran was the part of Nuclear Non-Proliferation

Treaty and according to the IAEI (International Atomic Energy Agency) reports,

there was no evidence stating that the country was developing a nuclear weapon.

In 2007, the CIA report clarified that Iran did not continue the production

of a nuclear weapon from 2003 and is not capable of doing so for many years.

Prehistory of Iran

During the Iron Age, the Persian Empire took place in Iran and at the same time,

the country faced and suffered the attacks of Greeks, Arabs, Turks, and Mongols

still it managed to reframe its identity and become a republic state.

The prehistory of Iran involves several ages and periods that are:

Paleolithic period

Neolithic period

Chalcolithic period

Bronze age

Early iron age

Median and Achaemenid Empire

Seleucid Empire

Parthian Empire

Sasanian Empire

Caliphate and sultanate era

Paleolithic period

During the Paleolithic period, the people of Iran were trained for the rock arts.

This art includes the pictographs, carving in rock, rock reliefs, and much more.

The common tools used for designing the rocks

were flint, metal, and thigh bones of died prey.

100,000 years back the archeologists observed the initial

evidence of the rock art in the Kashafrud and Ganj par.

Neolithic to Chalcolithic

Around this period, the groups named Chogha Golan

and Chogha Bonut became popular in western Iran.

At the same time, the first clay vessel was produced in the regions of Ganj Dareh.

Another modification is related to the south-western regions of Iran which got

linked with Fertile Crescent (a village used for agricultural production and crops)

and commenced growing crops in the agricultural fields.

Archaeologists have discovered the wine jars of 7000

years ago and the destroyed products of the same era.

During the Neolithic period, the major changes took

place in the Zayandeh river culture and Ganj Dareh.

Bronze Age

Bronze Age supported the most important

change that occurred in the city named Susa.

The archeologists proved that the Susa is a

very old region and were formed around 4396 BC.

Although the country was earlier considered as the part of Uruk, later on,

it was well-known as the capital of Elam (country formed in 4000 BC).

In this era, various objects were discovered in the place named Jiroft.

These objects include the engravings of animals, mythological

figures, motifs made of chlorite, a green-colored soft stone.

Some objects were also prepared of copper, bronze, terracotta, and much more.

In the same period, the Iranians learned writing and the

cities of Iran were developed and became the organized cities.

Early Iron Age

The Assyrian Empire ruled Iran in this era.

According to the several historical records of Iran,

the Iranian people started reaching the plateau

of Iran and compelled the Elam to sacrifice

that region and move to their own native place.

The Elamites constructed their shelters in Elam but some

of the Elamites joined the Iranian people in the plateau.

The Medes, Persians, and Parthians were the most

popular people that lived in the Iranian plateau.

Hellenic conquest and Seleucid Empire (312 BC-248 BC)

During 334 BC, the wars of Granicus, Gaugamela, and Issus held

and resulted in the debacle of Persians by Alexander the Great.

Alexander then ruled the country and his kingdom was known as Seleucid Empire.

However, his Empire did not last for a long period

and got concluded after his death in 281 BC.

Parthian Empire (248 BC-224 AD)

The Parthian Empire vanquished the Seleucid Empire and started ruling the Persia.

Parthia desired to conquer the Rome by defeating

the country in the battle of Carrhae.

At that time, The Parthian had two Sabers including:

1. Heavy-armed cataphracts

2. Light-armed and largely mobile archers

This became the major hurdle for the Romanians as they were dependent on the foot

soldiers which were less effective and not

powerful than that of the Parthian cavalries.

However, the similar tension held among the Parthians

as they believed that they were not trained

enough to use the siege warfare and thus both the

Empires could not conquer any of the regions.

The Parthian dynasty was concluded in 224 AD when

the ruling king lost the battle and his powers.

Sasanian Empire (224 AD-651 AD)

Ardashir then governed the country for several

years and modified it to a great extent.

Under his leadership, Iran not only developed

economically but also its military powers enhanced.

The period of Sasanian Empire was ended because of the

continuous wars held between the Romans and Parthians.

Islamic conquest of Persia (633-651)

In 633, Iran was ruled by the Sasanian king named Yazdegerd.

The Muslims attacked Iran following the instructions of Umar and

the battle resulted in a civil war killing thousands of people.

Most of the Iranians including King Dinar and Kanarangiyans

supported Umar and stood against the Sasanian Empire.

At the same time, the Mihrans were following Yazdegerd

but received a betrayal from their own group of people.

The war continued until the king Yazdegerd died and

the country was taken over by the Muslim ruler.

During this period, most of the Iranians converted their religion from Zoroastrianism

to Islam and the Arabic language was considered as the official language of Iran.

Economy of Iran

In the present era, Iran has become the part

of OPEC and exports oil to diverse countries.

It also produces and exports various essential products

that are rice, carpets, handicrafts, and crocus.

Iran is considered as the largest and the most-efficient manufacturer of Caviar.

The recent currency of Iran is Rial.

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