History

Iran was settled some 3500 to 4000 years ago by Aryan people who migrated from the region around the Aral sea.

During 1000 years of Iranian history, several kingdoms rose and fell.
In the 6th century B.C., King Cyrus the Great, of Persian Achaemenid dynasty, defeated the rival Medes in northern Iran and united the Iranian people.

Under Cyrus rule, Persian armies conquered all of the present Middle East and central Asia as far as what is now Pakistan.

Persepolis was built and a capital, Pasargadae was founded in the region of Fars.

Cyrus the Great died in 529 B.C. and he was buried at Pasargadae, not far from Persepolis.

The next emperor was Darius, who developed the heritage of Cyrus.
His dream of capturing Athens failed also his son Xerexes attempted to conquer Athens but was defeated.

The great empire founded by Cyrus flourished for over 2 centuries until it was overthrown in the 4th century B.C. by Alexander the Great, who burned down Persepolis.

Alexander and his successors established a new dynasty and extended Greek cultural influence throughout the area.

Greek rule lasted until the 2nd century B.C., when the Parthians (a people related to the Iranians) gained control.

The Parthians considered themselves heirs of the Achaemenids and adopted Zoroastrianism as the official religion.

After 350 years of rule, the Parthians were defeated by the Sasanids who established another Persian dynasty and ruled for 4 centuries until the Arab conquest of Persia.

While the Sasanids were busy rebuilding Persia, Hazrat-e-Mohammad the prophet, was preaching Islam in Arabia.

In the 7th century Arab warriors swept across the Iranian plateau and toppled the Sasanid dynasty.

The Arab conquerors introduced the Islamic religion, which replaced Zoroastrianism as the principal faith of the Iranians.

Arab domination continued for several centuries, until the Islamic empire began to fall apart.

The Arabs were followed by other foreign invaders.

Over a period of 5 centuries (1040-1500) Iran witnessed successive waves of intruders.

Following a mainly peaceful movement into the area by Saljug Turks, the Mongols and the Tartars overran the country and Iran’s cities were plundered.

The Safavid dynasty restored Iran’s former greatness. Shah Abbas the first restored the cities, built new roads and stabilized the government. He had a passion for fine architecture. Esfahan his capital received special attention and was made into one of the world's most beautiful cities. The magnificent royal square he created there still exists, as well as mosques and places. Shah Abbas established the Shiite sect of the Islamic faith as the state religion. The Safavid dynasty crumbled after an invasion by the Afghans.

For a brief period under Nader Shah (1736-1747) Iran became a military power. Persian armies conquered and reached as far as India.

Among the treasures brought back after these conquests was the famed jewel-studded Peacock Throne. It is now preserved in the museum in Tehran, which became Iran’s capital in 1788. Following Nader Shah's death, Iran plunged into a civil war between two rival dynasties.

In the 1790`s the Qajar dynasty emerged victorious and ruled Iran until after World War the First.

During the centuries after Arab rule, Iran had little contact with the west. By the 1800`s the country had been greatly weakened by the wars and invasions. Taking advantage of this weakness, former U.S.S.R., Great Britain, and other western powers became involved in Iranian affairs.

Former U.S.S.R. gained control of all Iranian land north of the Aras River. in the early 1900`s, Britain acquired commercial rights to the major Iranian oil fields. The Iranian Government was virtually powerless.

To defend their threatened independence, the Iranian people began a movement for internal reform. The constitution of 1906 provided for representative government and modernization efforts increased after World War the first, when Reza Shah Pahlavi founded a dynasty. The Pahlavi dynasty lasted until 1979.

Since the Great Islamic Revolution of February 1979, Iran is an Islamic Republic (officially declared on the 1st of April 1979).

The founder of the Republic and the Leader of the revolution was Imam Khomeini, who passed away in June 1989 when the Assembly of the Experts elected Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei as the Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Later Hojjatol-Eslam Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was elected President of the Republic by the vote of the public taken on the 19th Aug. 1989. And after 8 years (2 period), Seyyed Mohammad Khatami was elected President of the Islamic Republic by the over 20 millions votes of the public taken on 1997.