(Redirected from Iranian history)
:''See Also:
Persian Empire''
'History of Iran' and '
Greater Iran' (also referred to as the "Iranian Cultural Continent" by the
Encyclopedia Iranica)—- consistig areas from
Euphrates in the west to
Indus River and
Syr Darya in the east and from
Caucasus,
Caspian sea and
Aral Sea in the north to
Persian gulf and
Gulf of Oman in the south which includes the modern nations
Iran,
Azerbaijan,
Afghanistan,
Turkmenistan,
Tajikistan,
Uzbekistan, eastern part of
Turkey and
Iraq Pakistan and surrounding regions which is one of the world's oldest continuous major
civilizations. — covers thousands of years, from the ancient civilization on the
Iranian plateau,
Mannaeans civilization in
Azarbaijan,
Shahr-i Sokhta (''Burned City'') near
Zabol in Sistan va Baluchestan, and the ancient
Kingdom of Jiroft in Kerman followed by the
kingdom of
Elam and the
Median,
Achaemenid, the
Parthian, the
Sassanian dynasties and following Empires to the modern
Islamic Republic of Iran.
So significant is the role of Iran in history that
Georg Hegel considers Iranians to be ''"the first historic people"'' and states:
:''"In Persia first arises that light which shines itself and illuminates what is around...The principle of development begins with the history of Persia; this constitutes therefore the begining of history"''.
[1]
And
Richard Nelson Frye further verifies:
:''"Few nations in the world present more of a justification for the study of history than Iran."''
[2]
Ancient history
Iranian history before the Aryans
There are records of numerous ancient civilizations on the
Iranian plateau before the arrival of
Aryan tribes from the north, many of whom are still unknown to historians today.
Archeological findings place knowledge of Iranian prehistory at
Lower Paleolithic times (800,000 years ago). These evidence are in form of stone tools made on
quartz which have been found at
Kashafrud.
[3] There are more cultural remains of
Neanderthal man in Iran which mainly have been found in the Zagros region and fewer in central Iran. Some of these important Neandertal sites are
Bisetun,
Kunji,
Warwasi,
Qaleh Bozi [4].
Evidence for
Upper Paleolithic and
Epipaleolithic periods are known mainly from the
Zagros region in the caves of
Kermanshah and
Khoramabad. The earliest sedentary cultures date from 10,000-7,000 years ago. This evidence comes from archaeological sites such as
Ganj Dareh,
Sarab,
Mushki,tepe
Chaxmaq.
In
6000 BC the world saw a fairly sophisticated agricultural society and proto-urban population centers. The south-western part of Iran was part of the
Fertile Crescent where most of humanity's first major crops were grown. 7000 year old
jars of
wine excavated in the
Zagros Mountains (now on display at The University of Pennsylvania) and ruins of 7000 year old settlements such as
Sialk are further testament to this.
Many
dynasties have ruled Persia throughout the ages. Scholars and archeologists are only beginning to discover the scope of the independent, non-Semitic
Elamite Empire and
Jiroft civilizations [5] 5000 years ago. At the end of second millennium, the
Aryan nomads from central Asia settled in Persia.
These are some of the civilizations in Iran before the Aryans:
Zayandeh Rud civilization,
Ganj Dareh,
Teppe Sialk,
Shahr-e Sukhteh,
Marlik culture,
Luristan culture,
Mannaeans kingdom,
Kassites,
Kingdom of Jiroft,
Elamite kingdom.
Persian Empire
★ '
Main articles: Persian Empire'
The modern nation of
Iran was historically known to the
West as
Persia until
March 21,
1935. The name was used in the West due to the ancient
Greek name for Iran, ''Persis''. Persia was used to describe the nations of the Middle East, its people, or its ancient empires. The Persians have called their country Iran/ Iranshahr since the
Sassanian period.
The name ''Persia'' comes from a region in the south of Iran, called ''
Fars'' or ''Pars'' in the
Persian language. ''Persis'' is the
Hellenized form of Pars, based on which other European nations termed it ''Persia''.
Eratosthenes however does make mention of the word "Iran" in his writings. This region was the core of the original Persian Empire. Westerners referred to the state as Persia until
March 21,
1935, when
Reza Shah Pahlavi formally asked the international community to call the country by its
native name,
Iran, which means ''Land of the
Aryans'' but because of some Persian
scholars' protests the government announced in 1959 that both ''Persia'' and ''Iran'' could be used. (see
Iran/Persia naming controversy). For the geography of Persia, see
Geography of Iran.
Once a major empire of
superpower proportions
[6] [7], Persia has been overrun frequently and has had its territory altered throughout the centuries. Invaded and occupied by
Arabs,
Turks,
Mongols,
British and
Russians, and others -- and often caught up in the affairs of larger powers -- Persia has always reasserted its
national identity and has developed as a distinct political and cultural entity.
The first true empire of global proportions of Persia blossomed under the
Achaemenids in (559 - 330 BC). The dynasty was founded by
Cyrus the Great, who merged the various tribes and kingdoms into one unified entity. Following the
Hellenistic period (300 - 250 BC) came the
Parthian (250 BC - AD 226 ) and the
Sassanid (226 - 651) dynasties.
Early history and the Median and Achaemenian Empires (3200 BCE – 330 BCE)
Main articles: Median Empire,
Achaemenid Empire
Iran has been inhabited by
humans since
pre-historic times and recent discoveries have begun to shed light upon what these ancient cultures were like in Iran, centuries before the earliest civilizations arose in nearby
Mesopotamia.
[8]
The written history of Persia (Iran) begins in about 3200 BCE with the
Proto-Iranian civilization, followed by the
Elamites. The arrival of the
Aryans (
Indo-Iranians) in the third and second
millennium BCE and the establishing of the
Median dynasty (728–550 BCE) culminated in the first Iranian Empire. The Medes are credited with the foundation of Iran as a nation and empire, and established the first Iranian empire, the largest of its day until
Cyrus the Great established a unified empire of the Medes and
Persians leading to the
Achaemenian Empire (648–330 BCE).
Cyrus the Great created the
Cyrus Cylinder, considered to be the first declaration of human rights. He was the first king whose name has the suffix "Great" and the first
Shah of Iran to be known by that title. Cyrus also banned slavery in all of the conquered areas that became the Persian Empire. Cyrus' seminal ideas greatly influenced later human civilizations; Cyrus' principles of ruling – advocating "''love''" rather than "''fear''" – influenced the original
U.S. Constitution.
[9]
After Cyrus' death, his son
Cambyses ruled for seven years (531-522 BCE) and continued his father's work of conquest, making significant gains in Egypt. A power struggle followed Cambyses' death and, despite his tenuous connection to the royal line,
Darius was declared king (ruled 522-486 BCE). He was to be arguably the greatest of the ancient Persian rulers.
The
Arg-e Bam citadel, built before 500 BC. A great example of Iranian castles of the time.
Darius' first capital was at
Susa, and he started the building programme at
Persepolis. He built a canal between the
Nile and the
Red Sea, a forerunner of the modern
Suez Canal. He improved the extensive
road system, and it is during his reign that mention is first made of the
Royal Road (shown on map), a great highway stretching all the way from Susa to
Sardis with posting stations at regular intervals.
Major reforms took place under Darius.
Coinage, in the form of the ''daric'' (gold coin) and the ''shekel'' (silver coin) was introduced to the world,
[10] and administrative efficiency was increased. The
Old Persian language appears in royal inscriptions, written in a specially adapted version of
cuneiform.
Under
Cyrus the Great and
Darius the Great, the Persian Empire eventually became the largest and most powerful empire in human history up until that point, ruling and administrating over most of the then known world.
[11]Their greatest achievement was the empire itself. The Persian Empire represented the world's first global superpower
[6] [7], and was based on a model of tolerance and respect for other cultures and religions.
[14]
Alexander of Macedon, also known in the
Zoroastrian ''Arda Wiraz Nâmag'' as "the accursed Alexander" (due to his conquest of the
Persian Empire and the destruction of its cities, including the capital
Persepolis), conquered Persia in 333 BCE only to be followed shortly by two more vast and unified Iranian empires that shaped the pre-Islamic identity of Iran and
Central Asia: the
Parthian (250 BCE-226 CE) and
Sassanian (226-650 CE) dynasties. The latter dynasties also defeated the Roman empire at the height of its power on several occasions.
The
Silk Road, connecting Persia with China was significant not only for the development and flowering of the great civilizations of
China,
ancient Egypt,
Mesopotamia,
Persia,
India and
Rome but also helped to lay the foundations of our modern world.
Parthian Empire (248 BCE – 224 CE)
Main articles: Parthian Empire
Parthia was led by the
Arsacid dynasty, who reunited and ruled over the Iranian plateau, after defeating the
Greek Seleucid Empire, beginning in the late
3rd century BCE, and intermittently controlled
Mesopotamia between ca 150 BCE and 224 CE. It was the second native dynasty of ancient Iran (
Persia). Parthia was the arch-enemy of the
Roman Empire in the east; and it limited Rome's expansion beyond
Cappadocia (central
Anatolia).
The Parthian armies included two types of
cavalry: the heavily-armed and armoured
cataphracts and lightly armed but highly-mobile
mounted archers. For the Romans, who relied on heavy
infantry, the Parthians were too hard to defeat, as both types of cavalry were much faster and more mobile than foot soldiers. On the other hand, the Parthians found it difficult to occupy conquered areas as they were unskilled in
siege warfare. Because of these weaknesses, neither the Romans nor the Parthians were able to completely
annex each other.
The Parthian empire lasted five centuries, longer than most Eastern Empires. The end of this long lasted empire came in 224 CE, when the empire was loosely organized and the last king was defeated by one of the empire's vassals, the Persians of the
Sassanian dynasty.
Zoroastrianism
Main articles: Zoroastrianism
The
Faravahar, one of the primary symbols of Zoroastrianism, is the depiction of a Fravashi (guardian spirit). The ancient Iranian religion of wisdom is one of the first monotheistic religions, founded by the Prophet
Zarathushtra over 3000 years ago. It may have profoundly influenced Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Western and Eastern culture.
Before the Islamic conquest of Persia,
Zoroastrianism was the state religion of the
Sassanian Empire of Persia (224-651 AD) and played an important role in the earlier
Median,
Achaemenian and
Parthian dynasties. The Iranian
Prophet Zoroaster is considered by numerous scholars as the founder of the earliest religion based on revealed scripture. Many scholars point out that
Judaism and subsequently,
Christianity and
Islam have borrowed from
Zoroastrianism in regards to the concepts of
Eschatology,
Angelology and
Demonology, as well as the fallen angel Satan, as the ultimate agent of evil.
''The foundation of human existence is the cosmic struggle between Asha, 'The Truth', and Druj, 'The Lie'''
[15]
Zoroastrian monotheism has had major influence on the religions of the Middle Eastern monotheisms in adaptations of such concepts as heavens, hells, judgment day and messianic figures. These concepts, amongst many others reflect the extreme
dualism of
Persian culture which has influenced
Eastern and
Western civilization. According to Professor
Mary Boyce, who was the world's leading of
Zoroastrian studies and
Iranology, Zoroastrianism is the oldest of the revealed credal religions, and it has probably had more influence on mankind, directly and indirectly, than any other single faith.
Despite its persecution of certain "Christians" during the
fourth century,
fifth century Zoroastrian Iran became a haven for
Nestorians fleeing Christian territories that supported the
Council of Ephesus. As a result, the
Assyrian Church of the East was formed.
Sassanian Empire (224 – 651 CE)
Main articles: Sassanian Empire
The first Shah of the
Sassanian Empire,
Ardashir I, started reforming the country both economically and militarily. The empire's territory encompassed all of today's Iran,
Iraq,
Armenia,
Afghanistan, eastern parts of
Turkey, and parts of
Syria,
Pakistan,
Caucasia,
Central Asia and
Arabia. During
Khosrau II's rule in 590-628,
Egypt,
Jordan,
Palestine and
Lebanon were also annexed to the Empire. The Sassanians called their empire ''Erânshahr'' (or ''Iranshahr'', "Dominion of the Aryans", i.e. of
Iranians).
[16]
A chapter of Iran's history followed after roughly six hundred years of conflict with the
Roman Empire. According to historians, the war-exhausted Persians lost the Battle of al-Qâdisiyah (632 CE) in
Hilla, (present day
Iraq). The Persian general
Rostam Farrokhzad had been criticised for his decision to face the Arabs on their own ground, suggesting that the Persians could have prevailed if they had stayed on the opposite bank of the
Euphrates. The first day of battle ended with Persian advances and the Arab force appeared as though it would succumb to the much larger
Sassanian army. In particular, the latter's elephants terrified the Arab cavalry. By the third day of battle, Arab veterans arrived on the scene and reinforced the Arab army. In addition a clever trick whereby the Arab horses were decorated in costume succeeded in frightening the Persian elephants. When an Arab warrior succeeded in slaying the lead elephant, the rest fled into the rear, trampelling numerous Persian fighters. At dawn of the fourth day, a sandstorm broke out blowing sand in the Persian army's faces resulting in total disarray for the
Sassanian army and paving way for the
Islamic conquest of Persia.
The Sassanian era, encompassing the length of the
Late Antiquity period, 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 constituted the last great Iranian Empire before the adoption of Islam. Persia influenced Roman civilization considerably during Sassanian times,
[17] their cultural influence extending far beyond the empire's territorial borders, reaching as far as Western Europe,
[18] Africa,
[19] China and India
[20] and also playing a prominent role in the formation of both European and Asiatic medieval art.
[21] This influence carried forward to the
Islamic world. The dynasty's unique and aristocratic culture transformed the Islamic conquest and destruction of Iran into a Persian Renaissance.
[18] 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.
[23]
Caliphate and Sultanate era
Main articles: Caliphate,
Sultanate
Islamic Conquest
★ '
Main articles: Islamic conquest of Iran'
Stages of Islamic conquest
Muslims invaded to Iran in the time of
Umar (637 CE) and conquered it after several great battles.
Yazdegerd III fled from one district to another until a local miller killed him for his purse at
Merv in
651[24]. By
674, Muslims had conquered
Greater Khorasan (which included modern Iranian Khorasan province and modern
Afghanistan,
Transoxania, and
Balochistan). The
Islamic conquest of Persia led to the end of the
Sassanid Empire and the eventual decline of the
Zoroastrian religion in
Persia. The majority of Iranians gradually converted to Islam. However, the most of the achievements of the previous Persian civilizations were not lost, but were absorbed by the new
Islamic polity.
As
Bernard Lewis has quoted
[25] "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."
Umayyad dynasty
Main articles: Umayyad
After the fall of
Sasanian dynasty in
651, the
Umayyad Arabs adopted many of the Persian customs especially the administrative and the court mannerisms. Arab provincial governors were undoubtedly either Persianized
Arameans 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,
[26] when in
692 minting began at the caliphal capital,
Damascus. The new Islamic coins evolved from imitations of Sasanian coins (as well as
Byzantine), and the
Pahlavi script on the coinage was replaced with Arabic.
During the reign of the
Ummayad dynasty, the
Arab conquerors imposed
Arabic as the primary language of the subject peoples throughout their empire.
Hajjāj ibn Yusuf, who was not happy with the prevalence of the
Persian language in the
divan, ordered the official language of the conquered lands to be replaced by Arabic, sometimes by force.
[27] In
Biruni's ''From The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries'' for example it is written:
"When Qutaibah bin Muslim under the command of Al-Hajjaj bin Yousef was sent to Khwarazmia with a military expedition and conquered it for the second time, he swiftly killed whomwever 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." [28]
There are a number of historians who see the rule of the Umayyads as setting up the "
dhimmah" to increase taxes from the ''
dhimmis'' to benefit the Arab Muslim community financially and by discouraging conversion.
[29] Governors lodged complaints with the caliph when he enacted laws that made conversion easier, depriving the provinces of revenues.
In the
7th century AD, when many non-Arabs such as
Persians entered Islam were recognized as
Mawali and treated as second class citizens by the ruling Arab elite, until the end of the
Umayyad dynasty. During this era Islam was initially associated with the ethnic identity of the Arab and required formal association with an Arab tribe and the adoption of the client status of ''
mawali''.
The half-hearted policies of the late
Umayyads to tolerate non-Arab Muslims and
Shi'as had failed to quell unrest among these minorities. With the death of the
Umayyad Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik in 743, the Islamic world was launched into civil war.
Abu Muslim was sent to Khorasan by the Abbasids initially as a propagandist and then to revolt on their behalf. He took
Merv defeating the
Umayyad governor there
Nasr ibn Sayyar. He became the
de facto Abbasid governor of Khurasan. In
750, Abu Muslim became leader of the Abbasid army and defeated the Umayyads at
Battle of the Zab. Abu Muslim stormed
Damascus, the capital of the Umayyad caliphate, later that year.
Abbasid dynasty and Iranian Semi-independent governments
Main articles: Abbasid,
Tahirid,
Saffarid,
Ziyarid,
Samanid,
Buwayhid
The Abbasid army consisted primarily of Khorasanians and was led by an Iranian general,
Abu Muslim Khorasani. It contained both Iranian and Arab elements, and the Abbasids enjoyed both Iranian and Arab support. The Abbasids, who overthrew the Umayyads in 750CE.
[30]
One of the first changes the Abbasids made after taking power from the Umayyads was to move the empire's capital from
Damascus, in
Levant, to
Iraq. The latter region was influenced by Persian history and culture, and moving the capital was part of the Persian mawali demand for less Arab influence in the empire. The city of
Baghdad was constructed on the
Tigris River, in 762, to serve as the new Abbasid capital. The Abbasids established the position of
vizier like
Barmakids 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 to the Umayyads.
[31]
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.
The Abbasid caliphs began enlisting Turkic-speaking warriors who had been moving out of Central Asia into Transoxiana as slave warriors as early as the ninth century. Shortly thereafter the real power of the Abbasid caliphs began to wane; eventually they became religious figureheads while the warrior slaves ruled. 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 the
Tahirids in
Khorasan (820-72); the
Saffarids in
Sistan (867-903); and the
Samanids (875-1005), originally at
Bokhara. The Samanids eventually ruled an area from central Iran to
Pakistan.
By the early 10th century, the Abbasids almost lost control to the growing Persian faction known as the
Buwayhid dynasty(934-1055). Since much of the Abbasid administration had been Persian anyway, the Buwayhid were quietly able to assume real power in Baghdad. The Buwayhid were defeated in the mid-11th century by the
Seljuk Turks, 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.
During the
Abbassid period an enfranchisement was experienced by the ''mawali'' and a shift was made in political conception from that of a primarily Arab empire to one of a Muslim empire
[32] and c. 930 a requirement was enacted that required all bureaucrats of the empire be Muslim.
[29]
===Conversion to Islam,
Shu'ubiyya movement and
Persianization process===
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
Abassid 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 approx. 40% in the mid 9th century to close to 100% by the end of 11th century.
suggests that the rapid increase in conversion was aided by the Persian nationality of the rulers.
[34]
Although Persians adopted the religion of their conquerers, over the centuries they worked to protect and revive their distinctive language and culture, a process known as
Persianization.
[35] [36]
In the
9th and
10th centuries, non-Arab subjects of the
Ummah created a movement called
Shu'ubiyyah in response to the privileged status of Arabs. Most of those behind the movement were Persian, but references to
Egyptians,
Berbers and
Aramaeans are attested
[37]. 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 most notable effect of the movement was the survival of the
Persian language to the present day.
The
Samanid dynasty was the first fully native dynasty to rule Iran since the Muslim conquest, and led the revival of Persian culture. 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, the
Ghaznawids, who were of non-Iranian Turkic origin, also became instrumental in the revival of Persian.
[38]
The culmination of the
Persianization movement was the
Shahname, 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 to
Bernard Lewis:
"Iran was indeed Islamized, but it was not Arabized. Persians remained Persians. And after an interval of silence, Iran reemerged 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 endeavor, 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..."
Turkish dynasties
In
962 a Turkish slave governor of the Samanids,
Alptigin, conquered
Ghazna (in present-day Afghanistan) and established a dynasty, the
Ghaznavids, that lasted to
1186.
The Ghaznavid empire grew by taking all of the Samanid territories south of the
Amu Darya in the last decade of the 10th century, and eventually occupied much of present-day
Iran,
Afghanistan,
Pakistan and northwest
India. The Ghaznavids are generally credited with launching Islam into Hindu-dominated India. The invasion of India was undertaken in
1000 by the Ghaznavid ruler,
Mahmud, and continued for several years. They were unable to hold power for long, however, particularly after the death of Mahmud in 1030. By 1040 the Seljuks had taken over the Ghaznavid lands in Iran.
The
Seljuks, who like the Ghaznavids were Turks, slowly conquered Iran over the course of the 11th century.
The dynasty had its origins in the
Turcoman tribal confederations of Central Asia and marked the beginning of
Turkic power in the
Middle East. They established a
Sunni Muslim dynasty that ruled parts of
Central Asia and the
Middle East from the
11th to
14th centuries. They set up an empire known as Great Seljuk Empire that stretched from
Anatolia to
Pakistan and was the target of the
First Crusade. Today they are regarded as the cultural ancestors of the Western
Turks, the present-day inhabitants of
Azerbaijan,
Turkey, and
Turkmenistan, and they are remembered as great patrons of
Persian culture,
art,
literature, and
language[39][40][41].
Their leader,
Tughril Beg, turned his warriors 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 where
Omar Khayyám did much of his experimentation for a new calendar, and they built
religious schools in all the major towns. They brought
Abu Hamid Ghazali, one of the greatest Islamic theologians, and other eminent scholars to the Seljuk capital at Baghdad and encouraged and supported their work.
When Malikshāh I died in
1092, the empire split as his brother and four sons quarrelled over the apportioning of the empire among themselves. In Anatolia, Malikshāh I was succeeded by
Kilij Arslan I who founded the
Sultanate of Rûm and in
Syria by his brother
Tutush I. In
Persia he was succeeded by his son
Mahmud I whose reign was contested by his other three brothers
Barkiyaruq in
Iraq,
Muhammad I in
Baghdad and
Ahmad Sanjar in
Khorasan. As Seljuk power in Iran weakened, other dynasties began to step up in its place, including a resurgent Abbasid caliphate and the
Khwarezmshahs. The Khwarezmid Empire was a Sunni Muslim dynasty that ruled in Central Asia. Originally vassals of the Seljuks, they took advantage of the decline of the Seljuks to expand into Iran.
[42] In
1194 the Khwarezmshah
Ala ad-Din Tekish defeated the Seljuk sultan
Tugrul III in battle and the Seljuk empire in Iran collapsed. Of the former Seljuk Empire, only the
Sultanate of Rüm in
Anatolia remained.
Seljuq empire at the time of its greatest extent
A serious internal threat to the Seljuks during their reign came from the
Ismailis, a secret sect with headquarters at
Alamut between
Rasht and
Tehran. 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 word ''
assassin'' derive from these killers.
Mongol invasions and local governments
Main articles: Mongol invasion of Central Asia,
Mongol Empire,
Ilkhanate,
Timurid dynasty
The Khwarezmid Empire only lasted for a few decades, until the arrival of the
Mongols.
Genghis Khan had unified the Mongols, and under him the
Mongol Empire quickly expanded in several directions, until by
1218 it bordered Khwarezm. At that time, the Khwarezmid Empire was ruled by
Ala 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 caliph
an-Nasir. When the caliph rejected his claim, Ala ad-Din Muhammad proclaimed one of his nobles caliph and unnsuccessfully tried to depose an-Naisr.
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, and
Neyshabur were razed, and the whole populations were slaughtered. The Khwarezm-Shah fled, to die on an island off the Caspian coast.
[43]
Before his death in
1227, he had reached western Azarbaijan, pillaging and burning cities along the way.
The Mongol invasion was disastrous to the Iranians. Although the Mongol invaders were eventually converted to Islam and accepted the culture of Iran but the Mongol destruction of the Islamic heartland marked a major change of direction for the region. By destroying the Islamic empires that existed before they came. Much of the six centuries of Islamic scholarship, culture, and infrastructure was destroyed as the invaders burned libraries, replaced mosques with Buddhist temples.
[44]
The Mongols killed many civilians. Just in
Merv and
Urgench(Gorganj) about 2.5 civilians were slaughtered.
[45]
Destruction of
qanat irrigation systems destroyed the pattern of relatively continuous settlement, producing numerous isolated oasis cities in a land where they had previously been rare (see Water, ch. 3). A large number of people, particularly males, were killed; between
1220 and
1258, the total population of Iran may have dropped from 2,500,000 to 250,000 as a result of mass
extermination and
famine.
[46]
After Genghis' death, Iran was ruled by several Mongol commanders. Genghis' grandson,
Hulagu Khan, was tasked with expanding the Mongol empire in Iran in
1255. Arriving with an army, he established himself in the region and founded the
Ilkhanate, which would rule Iran for the next eighty years. He seized Baghdad in
1258 and put the last Abbasid caliph to death. The westward advance of his forces was stopped by the
Mamelukes, however, at the
Battle of Ain Jalut in
Palestine in
1260. Hulagu's campagains against the Muslims also enraged
Berke, khan of the
Kipchak Khanate 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 Khan (
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 new 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 nephew
Abu Said died in
1335, however, the Ilkhanate lapsed into civil war and was divided between several petty dynasties - most prominently the
Jalayirids,
Muzaffarids,
Sarbadars and
Kartids.
Iran remained divided until the arrival of
Timurlane, who is variously described as of Mongol or Turkic origin. After establishing a power base in Transoxiana, he invaded Iran in
1381 and conquered it piece by piece. Timerlane's campaigns were known for their brutality; many people were slaughtered and several cities were destroyed. His regime was characterized 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 to
Black Sheep Turkmen. The Black Sheep Turkmen were conquered by the
White Sheep Turkmen under
Uzun Hasan in
1468; Uzun Hasan and his successors were the masters of Iran until the rise of the Safavids.
[47]
Iran and the Islamic culture and civilization
Photo taken from medieval manuscript by
Qotbeddin Shirazi (1236–1311), a Persian Astronomer. The image depicts an epicyclic planetary model.
The
Islamization of Iran was to yield deep transformations within the cultural, scientific, and political structure of Iran's society: The blossoming of
Persian literature,
philosophy,
medicine and
art became major elements of the newly-forming Muslim civilization. Inheriting a heritage of thousands of years of civilization, and being at the "crossroads of the major cultural highways",
[48] 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 during
the Renaissance.
[49]
The most important scholars of almost all of the Islamic sects and schools of thought were Persian or live in Iran including most notable and reliable Hadith collectors of
Shia and
Sunni like
Shaikh Saduq,
Shaikh Kulainy,
Imam Bukhari,
Imam Muslim and
Hakim al-Nishaburi, the greatest
theologians of Shia and Sunni like
Shaykh Tusi,
Imam Ghazali,
Imam Fakhr al-Razi and
Al-Zamakhshari, the greatest
physicians,
astronomers,
logicians,
mathematicians,
metaphysicians,
philosophers and
scientists like
Al-Farabi,
Avicenna, and
Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī, the greatest
Shaykh of Sufism like
Rumi,
Abdul-Qadir Gilani.
Ibn Khaldun narrates in his
Muqaddimah [50]:
''It is a remarkable fact that, with few exceptions, most Muslim scholars…in the intellectual sciences have been non-Arabs, thus the founders of grammar were Sibawaih and after him, al-Farsi and Az-Zajjaj. All of them were of Persian descent they invented rules of (Arabic) grammar. Great jurists were Persians. Only the Persians engaged in the task of preserving knowledge and writing systematic scholarly works. Thus the truth of the statement of the prophet (Muhammad) becomes apparent, "If learning were suspended in the highest parts of heaven the Persians would attain it"…The intellectual sciences were also the preserve of the Persians, left alone by the Arabs, who did not cultivate them…as was the case with all crafts…This situation continued in the cities as long as the Persians and Persian countries, Iraq, Khorasan and Transoxiana (modern Central Asia), retained their sedentary culture.''
Sunnis in Iran
Sunnism was dominant form of Islam in most part of Iran from the beginning until rise of Safavids empire. According to
Mortaza Motahhari the majority of Iranian scholars and masses remained Sunni till the time of the Safawids.
[51]
Nizamiyyas were the medieval institutions of
Islamic higher education established by
Khwaja Nizam al-Mulk in the eleventh century. Nizamiyyah institutes were the first well organized
universities in the
Muslim world. The most famous and celebrated of all the nizamiyyah schools was
Al-Nizamiyya of Baghdad (established
1065), where Khwaja Nizam al-Mulk appointed the distinguished philosopher and theologian,
al-Ghazali, as a professor. Other nizamiyyah schools were located in
Nishapur,
Balkh,
Herat and
Isfahan.
Shiism in Iran
The domination of Sunnis doesn't mean Shia was rootless in Iran. The writers of
The Four Books of Shia were Iranian as well as many other great Shia scholars.
Mortaza Motahhari has quoted
:
The majority of Iranians turned to Shi'ism from the Safawid period onwards. Of course, it cannot be denied that Iran's environment was more favourable to the flourishing of the Shi'ism as compared to all other parts of the Muslim world. Shi'ism did not penetrate any land to the extent that it gradually could in Iran. With the passage of time, Iranians' readiness to practise Shi'ism grew day by day. Had Shi`ism not been deeply rooted in the Iranian spirit, the Safawids (907-1145/ 1501-1732) would not have succeeded in converting Iranians to the Shi'i creed and making them follow the Prophet's Ahl al-Bayt sheerly by capturing political power.
Shiaism in Iran before Safawids
The domination of the Sunni creed during the first nine Islamic centuries characterizes the religious history of Iran during this period. There were however some exceptions to this general domination which emerged in the form of the
Zaydīs of
Tabaristan, the
Buwayhid, the rule of
Sultan Muhammad Khudabandah (r. Shawwal 703-Shawwal 716/1304-1316) and the
Sarbedaran. Nevertheless, apart from this domination there existed, firstly, throughout these nine centuries, Shia inclinations among many Sunnis of this land and, secondly, original
Imami Shiism as well as
Zaydī Shiism had prevalence in some parts of Iran. During this period, Shia in Iran were nourished from
Kufah,
Baghdad and later from
Najaf and
Hillah.
[52] Shiism were dominant sect in
Tabaristan,
Qom,
Kashan,
Avaj and
Sabzevar. In many other areas merged population of Shia and Sunni lived.
The first Zaidi state was established in
Daylaman and
Tabaristan (northern
Iran) in 864 C.E. by the
Alavids[53]; it lasted until the death of its leader at the hand of the
Samanids in 928 C.E. Roughly forty years later the state was revived in
Gilan (north-western Iran) and survived under Hasanid leaders until 1126 C.E. After which from the 12th-13th centuries, the Zaidis of
Daylaman,
Gilan and
Tabaristan then acknowledge the Zaidi Imams of Yemen or rival Zaidi Imams within Iran.
[54]
Twelvers came to Iran from Arab regions in the course of four stages. First, through the
Asharis tribe at the end of the first(AH)/seventh(CE) and during the second(AH)/eighth(CE) century. Second through the pupils of
Sabzevar, and especially those of
Shaykh Mufid, who were from
Ray and
Sabzawar and resided in those cities. Third, through the school of
Hillah under the leadership of
Allama Hilli and his son
Fakhr al-Muhaqqiqin. Fourth, through the scholars of
Jabal Amel residing in that region, or in Iraq, during the 10th(AH)/16th(AH) and 11th(AH)/17th(AH) centuries who later migrated to Iran.
[55]
On the other hand
Ismailis sent
Da'i (missioners) during
Fatimid caliphate 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 captured
Alamut in
1090 CE. Nizaris used this fortress until Mongol raid in
1256CE.
After the Mongol raid and fall of the Abbasids Sunni hierarchies suffered a lot. Not only did they loose the caliphate but also Sunni was not official madhab for a while. Furthermore many libraries and
Madrasahs were destroyed and some of the Sunni scholars migrated to other Islamic lands like
Anatolia,
India and
Egypt. On the other hand Shia whose center wasn't in Iran at that time didn't suffered and for the first time it could invite other Muslims openly. Even several local Shia dynasties like
Sarbadars were established during this time.
Sufism played a major role in spread of Shiism in this time.
Hossein Nasr has quoted:
After the Mongol invasion Shiims and Sufism once again formed a close association in many ways. Some of the Ismailis whose power had broken by the Mongols, went underground and appeared later within Sufi orders or as new branches of already existing orders. In Twelve-Imam Shiism also from Seventh(AH)/thirteenths(CE) to the tenth(AH)/sixteenth(CE) century Sufism began to grow within official Shiite circles.[56]
Nasr insists on the role of
Sufis orders on spread of Shiism.
The extremist sects of the Hurufis and Shasha'a grew directly out of a background that is both Shiite and Sufi. More important in the long run than these sects were the Sufi orders which spread in Persia at this time and aided in the preparing the ground for the Shiite movement of Safavids. Two of these orders are of particular significance in this question of the relation of Shiism and Sufism:The Nimatullahi order and Nurbakhshi order.[57]
Shiaism in Iran after Safawids
Ismail I initiated a religious policy to recognize Shi'a Islam as the official religion of the
Safavid Empire, and the fact that modern Iran remains an officially Shi'ite state is a direct result of Ismail's actions. Unfortunately for Ismail, most of his subjects were Sunni. He thus had to enforce official Shi'ism violently, putting to death those who opposed him. Under this pressure, Safavid subjects either converted, or pretended to convert, but it is safe to say that the majority of the population was probably genuinely Shi'ite by the end of the Safavid period in the 18th century, and most Iranians today are Shi'ite, although small Sunni populations do exist in that country.
[58]
Safavids has done systematic efforts to establish Shiism as the religion of its state.
Immediately following the establishment of Safavid power the migration of scholars began and they were invited to Iran... By the side of the immigration of scholars, Shi'i works and writings were also brought to Iran from Arabic-speaking lands, and they performed an important role in the religious development of Iran... In fact, since the time of the leadership of Shaykh Mufid and Shaykh Tusi, Iraq had a central academic position for Shi'ism. This central position was transferred to Iran during the Safavid era for two-and-a-half centuries, after which it partly returned to Najaf. Until before the Safavid era Shi'i manuscripts were mainly written in Iraq, and with the establishment of the Safavid rule these manuscripts were transferred to Iran.
This led to a wide gap between Iran and its Sunni neighbors until 20th century.
During the early days of the
Islamic Revolution,
Ayatollah Khomeini endeavored to bridge the gap between Shiites and Sunnis by forbidding criticizing the Caliphs who preceded
Ali — an issue that causes much animosity between the two sects. Also, he declared it permissible for Shiites to pray behind Sunni imams.
[59]
The birth of Modern Iran
Persia underwent a revival under the
Safavid dynasty (1502-1736), the most prominent figure of which was
Shah 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'').
Safavid Empire (1502-1736)
The Safavid Empire at its
1512 (beginning) borders.
The Safiviyeh came to be led by a fifteen-year old
Ismail I. To establish political legitimacy, the Safavid rulers claimed to be descended from
Imam Ali and his wife
Fatima (the daughter of
Prophet Muhammad) through the seventh
Imam Musa al-Kazim. To further legitimize his power, Ismail I also added claims of royal
Sassanian heritage after becoming
Shah.
Persia underwent a revival under the
Safavid dynasty (1502-1736), the most prominent figure of which was
Shah 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'').
Shah Ismail soon conquered and unified Iran under his rule. Soon after, the new Iranian Empire conquered most of the modern day Afghanistan and Iraq.
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, recapturing
Herat and Mashhad in 1598. Then he turned against the Ottomans recapturing Baghdad, eastern Iraq and the Caucasian provinces by 1622. He also used his new force to dislodge the Portuguese from
Bahrain (1602) and the English navy from
Hormuz (1622), in the
Persian Gulf (a vital link in Portuguese trade with India). He expanded commercial links with the
English East India Company and the
Dutch East India Company. 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 soon became a major power in the world and started the promotion of tourism in Iran. Under their rule Persian Architecture flowered again and saw many new monuments.
Civil wars and impermanent governments
A faltering Safavid court eventually gave way to the conqueror
Nadir Shah who restored order and implemented policies for safekeeping the territorial integrity of Iran. He was one of the last great conquerors of Asia and in a short period conquered Afghanistan and India and giving a huge boost to Iran's economy. The
Afsharids were then followed by the
Zand dynasty, founded by
Karim Khan.
Zand dynasty was a period a peace for Iranians specially under the rule of Karim Khan.
Qajar dynasty (1795-1925) and colonial era
Amin-o-Dowleh, head of the Persian Royal envoy to the court of Napoleon III.
By the 17th century, European countries, including
Great Britain,
Imperial Russia, and
France, had already started establishing colonial footholds in the region. Iran as a result lost sovereignty over many of its provinces to these countries via the
Treaty of Turkmenchay, the
Treaty of Gulistan, and others.
A new era in the History of Persia dawned with the
Constitutional Revolution of Iran against the Shah in the late 19th and early 20th century. The Shah managed to remain in power, granting a limited constitution in 1906 (making the country a
constitutional monarchy). The first Majlis (parliament) was convened on October 7, 1906.
The discovery of
oil in 1908 by the British in
Khuzestan spawned intense renewed interest in Persia by the
British Empire (''see
William Knox D'Arcy and
Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, now
BP''). Control of Persia remained contested between the
United Kingdom and
Russia, in what became known as
The Great Game, and codified in the
Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907, which divided Persia into spheres of influence, regardless of her national sovereignty.
Finally, the
Constitutionalist movement of Gilan and the central power vacuum caused by the instability of the
Qajar government resulted in the rise of
Reza Shah Pahlavi and the
Pahlavi dynasty in 1921.
During
World War I the country was occupied by British and Russian forces but was essentially neutral. In 1919, Britain attempted to establish a
protectorate in Iran, aided by the Soviet Union's withdrawal in 1921. In that year a military coup established
Reza Khan, a Persian officer of the Persian Cossack Brigade, as dictator and then hereditary
Shah of the new Pahlavi dynasty (1925).
Pahlavi dynasty(1925-1979)
Reza Shah Pahlavi ruled for almost 16 years, at the beginning mostly secretly aided by the British, installed the new Pahlavi dynasty, thwarted the British attempt at control, and pushed to have the country developed. Under his reign, Persia (Iran) began to modernize and to secularize politics, and the central government reasserted its authority over the tribes and provinces.
World War II
During
World War II, Iran was a vital oil-supply source and link in the Allied supply line for
lend-lease supplies to the Soviet Union. The then-Shah's tacit pro-German sympathies led to British and Indian forces from
Iraq and Soviet forces from the north
occupying Iran in August 1941. In September, the British forced Reza to abdicate in favour of his pro-British son
Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who ruled until 1979.
At the
Tehran Conference of 1943, the
Tehran Declaration 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 and
Kurdistan, the
Azerbaijan People's Government and the
Republic of Kurdistan in late 1945, both effective Soviet puppet regimes.
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 soon overthrown and the oil concessions were revoked.
United States and the Shah
Soldiers surround the Parliament building in
Tehran on August 19, 1953.
Initially there were hopes that post-occupation Iran could become a
constitutional monarchy. The new, young Shah
Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi initially took a very hands-off role in government, and allowed
parliament 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.
In 1951 Prime Minister
Mohammed Mosaddeq received the vote required from the parliament to nationalize the British-owned oil industry, in a situation known as the
Abadan Crisis. Despite British pressure, including an economic blockade, the nationalization continued. Mossadegh was briefly removed from power in 1952 but was quickly re-appointed by the shah, due to an overwhelming majority in parliament supporting him, and he, in turn, forced the Shah into a brief exile in August 1953. A military coup headed by his former minister of the Interior and retired army general
Fazlollah Zahedi, with the active support of the intelligence services of the British (MI6) and US (CIA) governments - including mass propaganda leaflet dropping (slogans such as; "Up with Communism, Down with Ala" and "Down with Islam, up with Communism" – designed specifically to turn the population against Mossadegh, as well as the agents of CIA and MI6 (dressed as Mossadegh supporters) spurting machine guns into crowds (known as
Operation Ajax), forced Mossadegh from office on
August 19. Mossadegh was arrested and tried for treason by an un-official military tribunal, (Mossadegh was imprisoned and his officials decapitated in public) while Zahedi succeeded him as prime minister, and turned the country into a Police State with Martial Law.
In return for the US support the Shah agreed, in 1954, to allow an international consortium of British (40% of shares), American (40%), French (6%), and Dutch (14%) companies to run the Iranian oil facilities for the next 25 years. The international consortium agreed to a fifty-fifty split of profits with Iran but would not allow Iran to audit their accounts to confirm the consortium was reporting profits properly, nor would they allow Iran to have members on their board of directors. There was a return to stability in the late 1950s and the 1960s. In 1957 martial law was ended after 16 years and Iran became closer to the West, joining the
Baghdad Pact and receiving military and economic aid from the US. The Iranian government began a broad program of reforms to modernize the country, notably changing the quasi-feudal land system.
However the reforms did not greatly improve economic conditions and the liberal pro-Western policies alienated certain
Islamic religious and political groups. From the mid-1960s the political situation was becoming increasingly unstable, with organisations such as
Mujaheddin-e-Khalq (MEK) emerging. In 1961, Iran initiated a series of economic, social, and administrative reforms that became known as the Shah's White 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.
The Premier Hassan Ali Mansur was assassinated in 1965 and the internal security service,
SAVAK, became more violently active. It is estimated that 13,000-13,500 people were killed by the SAVAK during this period of time, and thousands more were arrested and tortured. The Islamic clergy, headed by the Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini (who had been exiled in 1964), were becoming increasingly vociferous.
International relations with
Iraq fell into a steep decline, mainly due to a dispute over the
Shatt al-Arab waterway which a 1937 agreement gave to Iraq. Following a number of clashes in April, 1969, Iran abrogated the 1937 accord and demanded a renegotiation. Iran greatly increased its defense budget and by the early 1970s was the region's strongest military power. In November, 1971 Iranian forces seized control of three islands at the mouth of the
Persian Gulf, in response Iraq expelling thousands of Iranian nationals.
In mid-1973, the Shah returned the oil industry to national control. Following the
Arab-Israeli War of October 1973, Iran did not join the Arab oil embargo against the West and Israel. Instead it used the situation to raise oil prices, using the money gained for modernization and to increase defense spending.
In the early 1970s, the
Mujaheddin-e-Khalq organisation assassinated Tehran-based US military personnel and US civilians involved in military contracts, seeking to weaken the regime and remove foreign influence.
A border dispute between Iraq and Iran was resolved with the signing of the
Algiers Accord on
March 6,
1975.
However the economic improvements tended to only benefit a very small group and succeeded in disaffecting the vast majority of the population, culminating in widespread religious led protests throughout the late 1970s. There was widespread religious and political opposition to the
Shah's rule and programs--especially
SAVAK, the hated internal security and intelligence service. Martial law was declared in September 1978 (see
Black Friday (1978)) for all major cities but the Shah recognized the erosion of his power-base and fled Iran on
January 16,
1979.
Islamic Revolution
Main articles: Iranian Revolution
The 'Iranian Revolution' also known as the 'Islamic Revolution'
[ Islamic Revolution, Iran Chamber.] was the
revolution that transformed
Iran from a
monarchy under
Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, to an
Islamic republic under
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution and founder of the Islamic Republic.
[ Encyclopædia Britannica.] Its time span can be said to have begun in January 1978 with the first major demonstrations,
[60] and concluded with the approval of the new
theocratic Constitution — whereby Ayatollah Khomeini became
Supreme Leader of the country — in December 1979. In between,
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi left the country for exile in January 1979 after strikes and demonstrations paralyzed the country, and on February 1, 1979 Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Tehran to a greeting of several million Iranians.
[ Ruhollah Khomeini, Encyclopedia Britannica.] The final collapse of the
Pahlavi dynasty occurred shortly after on
February 11 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
April 1,
1979 when Iranians overwhelmingly approved a national referendum to make it so.
[61]
The new government acted revolutionary. It nationalized industry and started establishing Islamic traditions in culture and law. Western influences were banned and many of the pro-West migrated. There were also clashes between
Marxist parties and Iranian armed forces after
referendum of
April 1,
1979 which continued for almost four years in various provinces.
The Islamic Republic
Main articles: History of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Supported by the
Mujaheddin-e-Khalq , militant Iranian students seized the
U.S. embassy in
Tehran on
November 4,
1979, holding 52 embassy employees hostage for a 444 days (see
Iran hostage crisis). The
Carter administration severed diplomatic relations and imposed
economic sanctions on
April 7,
1980 and later that month attempted a rescue. A commando mission was aborted on
April 25 after mechanical problems grounded rescue helicopters and eight American troops were killed in a mid-air collision. On
May 24 the
International Court of Justice called for the
hostages' release. Finally the hostages were released Jan 20 1981, by Agreement of the Carter Administration, see
Algiers Accords Jan 19,1981.
On
September 22,
1980 Iraq invaded Iran. Official U.S. policy sought to isolate Iran, and the U.S. and its allies supplied Iraq with weapons and technology to maintain a balance in the war. Iraq obtained most of its weaponry from the
Soviets,
China, and
France. Members of the
Reagan Administration covertly sold anti-tank missiles and spare parts to Iran in what became known as the
Iran-Contra affair.
In 1981, the
Mujaheddin-e-Khalq detonated bombs in the head office of the
Islamic Republic Party and the Premier's office, killing 70 high-ranking Iranian officials, including Iranian President
Mohammad Ali Rajai, Prime Minister
Mohammad Javad Bahonar, and Chief Justice
Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti.
On the 14th of April, 1988, an American guided missile frigate, the
Samuel B. Roberts, was damaged after Iran had mined parts of the
Persian Gulf. On the 18th of April, the US responded in
Operation Praying Mantis by attacking two Iranian
oil platforms. In the ensuing battle, two Iranian warships and several armed speedboats were sunk.
On
July 3, 1988 the
USS ''Vincennes'' shot down
Iran Air Flight 655 en route to UAE killing all 290 people on board.
After eight years of war with great losses on each side (including bombing of civilians and use of
chemical weapons by Iraq)
Iran finally agreed to
UN Security Council Resolution 598 in August 1988 to end the bloody war. Nonetheless, severe fighting continued into the 1990s and even to the present on a smaller scale
[62] as
Kurdish (
nationalist and
communist) forces fought the Iranian government. At times, large parts of the
western Iran were without government control.
[63]
Following Khomeini's death on
June 3, 1989, the
Assembly of Experts — an elected body of senior clerics — chose the outgoing president of the republic,
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to be his successor as national religious leader in what proved to be a smooth transition.
During the
Persian Gulf War in 1991 the country remained
neutral, restricting its action to the condemnation of the U.S. and allowing fleeing Iraqi aircraft and refugees into the country.
President
Rafsanjani was re-elected in 1993 with a less resounding majority; some Western observers attributed the reduced voter turnout to disenchantment with the deteriorating economy. Rafsanjani was succeeded in 1997 by the moderate
Mohammad Khatami. His presidency was soon marked by tensions between the reform-minded government and an increasingly conservative and vocal clergy. This rift reached a climax in July 1999 with massive anti-government protests erupted in the streets of
Tehran. The disturbances lasted over a week before police and pro-government vigilantes dispersed the crowds.
Khatami was re-elected in June 2001 but his efforts were repeatedly blocked by the religious
Guardian Council. 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.
In June 2003, anti-government protests by several thousand students took place in Tehran.
[64][65] Several
human rights protests also occurred in 2006.
The ultraconservative mayor of Tehran,
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was elected president in 2005 in an election that saw the disqualification of over 1,000 candidates by the
Guardian Council.
Chatham House think-tank told in August 2006 that Iran views Iraq as its own backyard and has now superseded the US as the most influential power there; this affords it a key role in Iraq's future. An unlikely conclusion considering that the US is currently the occupying power Iraq. It also said that Tehran had an unparalleled ability to affect stability and security across most of the country. Analysts have pointed out in September 2006 that Iran's increasing influence in post-war Iraq since the empowerment of its
Shi'a majority. This influence, analysts say, is particularly strong in the mainly Shia south, where a top Shia leader in the week of
September 3 2006 renewed demands for an autonomous Shia region.
[66]
2005-2006 US-Iran tensions
During 2005 and 2006, there were claims that
the United States and
Israel were planning to attack
Iran, including the threat of attack
with nuclear weapons by the United States, for many different claimed reasons, including
Iran's civilian nuclear energy program which the United States and some other states fear could lead to
a nuclear weapons program,
crude oil and other strategic reasons (including the
Iranian Oil Bourse),
electoral reasons in the USA and in
Iran.
P.R. China and
Russia oppose military action of any sort and oppose
economic sanctions.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a
fatwa forbidding the production, stockpiling and use of
nuclear weapons. The fatwa was cited in an official statement by the Iranian government at an August 2005 meeting of the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in
Vienna.
[67][68]
Notes
1. Georg Hegel in ''The philosophy of history'', (trans.) J. Sibree, Buffalo, 1991, p.173
2. Richard Nelson Frye in ''The Golden Age of Persia''.
3. http://http://hjem.get2net.dk/paleolithic-archaeology/
4. http://www.paleoanthro.org/pdfs/PSOC07PROGRAM4.pd
5. (2)
6. http://anthropology.net/user/kambiz_kamrani/blog/2006/12/05/engineering_an_empire_the_persians
7. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-155920057.html
8. "Iranian Pottery"
9. http://www.spentaproductions.com/cyruspreview.htm "In Search of Cyrus the Great", movieclip 11:23.
10. http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/forgottenempire/persia/darius.html
11. The Persians
12. http://anthropology.net/user/kambiz_kamrani/blog/2006/12/05/engineering_an_empire_the_persians
13. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-155920057.html
14. http://web.utk.edu/~persian/benevolent.htm
15. http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/z/zoroastrianism.html
16. Garthwaite, Gene R., ''The Persians'', p. 2
17. J. B. Bury, p.109.
18. Durant.
19. Transoxiana 04: Sassanians in Africa
20. Sarfaraz, pp.329-330.
21. Iransaga: The art of Sassanians
22. Durant.
23. Zarinkoob, p.305.
24. Iran
25. Iran in history
26. Hawting G., ''The First Dynasty of Islam. The Umayyad Caliphate AD 661-750'', (London) 1986, pp. 63-64
27. Cambridge History of Iran, by Richard Nelson Frye, Abdolhosein Zarrinkoub, et al. Section on The Arab Conquest of Iran and . Vol 4, 1975. London. p.46
28. 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
29. Fred Astren pg.33-35
30. Islamic Conquest
31. Applied History Research Group, University of Calagary, "[http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/islam/fractured/ The Islamic World to 1600", Last accessed August 26, 2006
32. Tobin 113-115
33. Fred Astren pg.33-35
34. Nasr, Hoseyn; Islam and the pliqht of modern man
35. Richard Frye, The Heritage of Persia, p. 243.
36. Rayhanat al- adab, (3rd ed.), vol. 1, p. 181.
37. Enderwitz, S. "Shu'ubiyya". ''Encyclopedia of Islam''. Vol. IX (1997), pp. 513-14.
38. Samanid Dynasty
39. O.Özgündenli, ''"Persian Manuscripts in Ottoman and Modern Turkish Libraries"'', Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition, (LINK)
40. Encyclopaedia Britannica, ''"Seljuq"'', Online Edition, (LINK): ''"... 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 ..."''
41. M. Ravandi, ''"The Seljuq court at Konya and the Persianisation of Anatolian Cities"'', in Mesogeios (Mediterranean Studies), vol. 25-6 (2005), pp. 157-69
42. Encyclopædia Britannica
43. Mongol invasion of Iran
44. The Il-khanate]
45. 
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