Iran has one of the oldest histories in the world, extending more than 5000 years, and throughout history, Iran has been of geostrategic importance because of its central location in Eurasia and Western Asia. Iran is a founding member of the UN, NAM, OIC, OPEC, and ECO. Iran as a major regional power occupies an important position in the world economy due to its substantial reserves of petroleum and natural gas, and has considerable regional influence in Western Asia. The name Iran is a cognate of Aryan and literally means "Land of the Aryans." (Full article...)
Relief with Naram-Sin of Akkad's portrait. Naram-Sin, who reigned between 2254 and 2218 BC, created the title of King of the Four Corners of the World. Relief today housed at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. King of the Four Corners of the World (Sumerian: lugal-an-ub-da-limmu-ba, Akkadian: šarru kibrat arbaim, šar kibrāti arbaʾi, or šar kibrāt erbetti), alternatively translated as King of the Four Quarters of the World, King of the Heaven's Four Corners or King of the Four Corners of the Universe and often shortened to simply King of the Four Corners, was a title of great prestige claimed by powerful monarchs in ancient Mesopotamia. Though the term "four corners of the world" does refer to specific geographical places within and near Mesopotamia itself, these places were (at the time the title was first used) thought to represent locations near the actual edges of the world and as such, the title should be interpreted as something equivalent to "King of all the known world", a claim to universal rule over the entire world and everything within it.
The engagement at Thermopylae occurred simultaneously with the naval Battle of Artemisium: between July and September 480 BC. The second Persian invasion under Xerxes I was a delayed response to the failure of the first Persian invasion, which had been initiated by Darius I and ended in 490 BC by an Athenian-led Greek victory at the Battle of Marathon. By 480 BC, a decade after the Persian defeat at Marathon, Xerxes had amassed a massive land and naval force, and subsequently set out to conquer all of Greece. In response, the Athenian politician and general Themistocles proposed that the allied Greeks block the advance of the Persian army at the pass of Thermopylae while simultaneously blocking the Persian navy at the Straits of Artemisium. (Full article...)
Vardanes I was a king of the Parthian Empire from 40 to 46 AD. He was the heir apparent of his father Artabanus II (r. 12–40), but had to continually fight against his brother Gotarzes II, a rival claimant to the throne. Vardanes' short reign ended when he was assassinated while hunting at the instigation of a party of Parthian nobles . (Full article...)
Nebuchadnezzar III (Babylonian cuneiform: Nabû-kudurri-uṣur, meaning "Nabu, watch over my heir", Old Persian: Nabukudracara), alternatively spelled Nebuchadrezzar III and also known by his original name Nidintu-Bêl (Old Persian: Naditabaira or Naditabira),' was a rebel king of Babylon in late 522 BC who attempted to restore Babylonia as an independent kingdom and end the rule of the Persian Achaemenid Empire in Mesopotamia. A Babylonian noble of the Zazakku family and the son of a man by the name of Mukīn-zēri or Kîn-Zêr, Nidintu-Bêl took the regnal name Nebuchadnezzar upon his accession to the Babylonian throne and claimed to be a son of Nabonidus, Babylon's last independent king. ('Full article...)
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António de Jesus (died c. 1722) was a Portuguese figure who flourished in late 17th and early 18th century Safavid Iran. Originally an Augustinianfriar and missionary, he converted to Shia Islam during the early reign of Shah (King) Sultan Husayn (r. 1694–1722) and took the name Aliqoli Jadid-ol-Eslam. He subsequently became an apologist of Shi'ism as well as a major polemicist against Christianity, Sufism, Judaism, Sunnism, philosophers and antinomians. In addition, after conversion, he served as an official interpreter (also known as a dragoman) at the royal court in Isfahan. Aliqoli Jadid-ol-Eslam was one of the late 17th century converts in Iran who "helped reaffirm the Majlesi brand of conservatism". (Full article...)
The first Persian invasion was a response to Greek involvement in the Ionian Revolt, when the Eretrians and Athenians had sent a force to support the cities of Ionia in their attempt to overthrow Persian rule. The Eretrian and Athenian force had succeeded in capturing and burning Sardis (the regional capital of Persia), but was then forced to retreat with heavy losses. In response to this raid, the Persian king Darius I swore to have revenge on Athens and Eretria. (Full article...)
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A long list of supplies disbursed, dated the seventh year of Alexander the Great's reign, 324 BC
The documents, written in Imperial Aramaic, likely originated from the historical city of Balkh and all are dated between 353 BC to 324 BC, mostly during the reign of Artaxerxes III. The most recent of the documents was written during the early part of Alexander the Great's reign in the region. These letters use in Aramaic the original Greek form Alexandros (spelled Lksndrs) instead of the Eastern variant Iskandar (spelled Lksndr). The collection also includes eighteen tally sticks recording transfers of goods during the reign of Darius III. The collection's letters, administrative records, and military documents are significant for the linguistic study of the Official Aramaic language and of daily life in the Achaemenid empire. (Full article...)
Vologases V (Parthian: 𐭅𐭋𐭂𐭔Walagash) was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 191 to 208. As king of Armenia (r. 180–191), he is known as Vologases II. Not much is known about his period of kingship of Armenia, except that he put his son Rev I (r. 186–216) on the Iberian throne in 189. Vologases succeeded his father Vologases IV as king of the Parthian Empire in 191; it is uncertain if the transition of power was peaceful or if Vologases took the throne in a civil war. When Vologases acceded the Parthian throne, he passed the Armenian throne to his son Khosrov I (r. 191–217).
Vologases' reign was marked by war with the Roman Empire, lasting from 195 to 202, resulting in the brief capture of the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon, and reaffirmation of Roman rule in Armenia and northern Mesopotamia. At the same time, internal conflict took place in the Parthian realm, with the local Persian prince Pabag seizing Istakhr, the capital of the southern Iranian region of Persis. (Full article...)
The Saint Thaddeus Monastery, also known as Kara Kilise, is an ancient Armenian monastery located in the mountainous area of Iran's West Azarbaijan Province, about 20 km from the town of Maku. In July 2008, the St. Thaddeus Monastery was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List, along with the St. Stepanos monastery and the chapel of Dzordzor as a part of The Armenian Monastic Ensemble in Iran.
...that the nearly completed Sivand Dam project in Fars Province, Iran will flood 130 archaeological sites and hasten the destruction of the ancient Persian city of Pasargadae?
The 1953 Iranian coup d'état, known in Iran as the 28 Mordad coup d'état (Persian: کودتای ۲۸ مرداد), was the U.S.- and British-instigated, Iranian army-led overthrow of the elected Prime MinisterMohammad Mosaddegh in favor of strengthening the monarchical rule of the shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, on 19 August 1953, with one of the significant objectives being to protect British oil interests in Iran. It was aided by the United States (under the name TP-AJAX (Tudeh Party) Project or Operation Ajax) and the United Kingdom (under the name Operation Boot).
Mosaddegh had sought to audit the documents of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC), a British corporation (now part of BP), to verify that AIOC was paying the contracted royalties to Iran, and to limit the company's control over Iranian oil reserves. Upon the AIOC's refusal to cooperate with the Iranian government, the parliament (Majlis) voted to nationalize Iran's oil industry and to expel foreign corporate representatives from the country. After this vote, Britain instigated a worldwide boycott of Iranian oil to pressure Iran economically. Initially, Britain mobilized its military to seize control of the British-built Abadan oil refinery, then the world's largest, but Prime Minister Clement Attlee (in power until 1951) opted instead to tighten the economic boycott while using Iranian agents to undermine Mosaddegh's government. Judging Mosaddegh to be unamenable and fearing the growing influence of the communistTudeh, UK prime minister Winston Churchill and the Eisenhower administration decided in early 1953 to overthrow Iran's government. The preceding Truman administration had opposed a coup, fearing the precedent that Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) involvement would set, and the U.S. government had been considering unilateral action (without UK support) to assist the Mosaddegh government as late as 1952. British intelligence officials' conclusions and the UK government's solicitations to the US were instrumental in initiating and planning the coup. (Full article...)
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Shah Abbas I in a 16th or 17th century portrait
Abbas I (Persian: عباس یکم, romanized: ʿAbbās yekom; 27 January 1571 – 19 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (Persian: عباس بزرگ, romanized: ʿAbbās-e Bozorg), was the fifth shah of Safavid Iran from 1588 to 1629. The third son of Shah Mohammad Khodabanda, he is generally considered one of the greatest rulers of Iranian history and the Safavid dynasty.
Although Abbas would preside over the apex of Safavid Iran's military, political and economic power, he came to the throne during a troubled time for the country. Under the ineffective rule of his father, the country was riven with discord between the different factions of the Qizilbash army, who killed Abbas' mother and elder brother. Meanwhile, Iran's enemies, the Ottoman Empire (its archrival) and the Uzbeks, exploited this political chaos to seize territory for themselves. In 1588, one of the Qizilbash leaders, Murshid Qoli Khan, overthrew Shah Mohammed in a coup and placed the 16-year-old Abbas on the throne. However, Abbas soon seized power for himself. (Full article...)
Greater Iran or Greater Persia (Persian: ایران بزرگIrān-e Bozorg), also called the Iranosphere or the Persosphere, is an expression that denotes a wide socio-cultural region comprising parts of West Asia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, South Asia, and East Asia (specifically Xinjiang)—all of which have been impacted, to some degree, by the Iranian peoples and the Iranian languages. It is defined by having been long-ruled by the dynasties of various Iranian empires, under whom the local populaces gradually incorporated some degree of Iranian influence into their cultural and/or linguistic traditions; or alternatively as where a considerable number of Iranians settled to still maintain communities who patronize their respective cultures, geographically corresponding to the areas surrounding the Iranian plateau. It is referred to as the "Iranian Cultural Continent" by Encyclopædia Iranica.
Iran has been lauded as one of the best exporters of cinema in the 1990s. Some critics now rank Iran as the world's most important national cinema, artistically, with a significance that invites comparison to Italian neorealism and similar movements in past decades. A range of international film festivals have honoured Iranian cinema in the last twenty years. Many film critics from around the world have praised Iranian cinema as one of the world's most important artistic cinemas. (Full article...)
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Reza Shah in uniform, c. 1931
Reza Shah Pahlavi (15 March 1878 – 26 July 1944) was an Iranian military officer and the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty. As a politician, he previously served as minister of war and prime minister of Qajar Iran and subsequently reigned as Shah of Pahlavi Iran from 1925 until he was forced to abdicate after the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in 1941. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Mohammad Reza Shah. A modernizer, Reza Shah clashed with the Shia clergy, but also introduced many social, economic, and political reforms during his reign, ultimately laying the foundation of the modern Iranian State. Therefore, he is regarded by many as the founder of modern Iran.
At the age of 14 he joined the Persian Cossack Brigade, and also served in the army. In 1911, he was promoted to first lieutenant, by 1912 he was elevated to the rank of captain and by 1915 he became a colonel. In February 1921, as leader of the entire Cossack Brigade based in Qazvin province, he marched towards Tehran and seized the capital. He forced the dissolution of the government and installed Zia ol Din Tabatabaee as the new prime minister. Reza Khan's first role in the new government was commander-in-chief of the army and the minister of war. (Full article...)
As part of the Iranian Economic Reform Plan, the government has proposed income tax increases on traders in gold, steel, fabrics and other sectors, prompting several work stoppages by merchants. In 2011, the government announced that during the second phase of the economic reform plan, it aims to increase tax revenues, simplify tax calculation method, introduce double taxation, mechanize tax system, regulate tax exemptions and prevent tax evasion. (Full article...)
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Oy is the third studio album by the Iranian singer-songwriter Mohsen Namjoo after Toranj and Jabr-e Joghrafiyaei. Released on 6 October 2009 this was Namjoo's first album produced and published outside Iran.
During the late 20th and early 21st centuries in Iran, women's rights have been severely restricted, compared with those in most developed nations. The World Economic Forum's 2017 Global Gender Gap Report ranked Iran 140, out of 144 countries, for gender parity. In 2017, in Iran, females comprised just 19% of the paid workforce, with seven percent growth since 1990. In 2017, the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Index ranked Iran in the bottom tercile of 153 countries. Compared to other South Asian regions, women in Iran have a better access to financial accounts, education, and cellphones. Iran was ranked 116, out of the 153 countries, in terms of legal discrimination against women.
In Iran, women's rights have changed according to the form of government ruling the country, and attitudes towards women's rights to freedom and self-determination have changed frequently. With the rise of each government, a series of mandates for women's rights have affected a broad range of issues, from voting rights to dress code.[better source needed] (Full article...)
During his 40-year tenure, Rafsanjani amassed a large amount of power serving as the speaker of parliament, Commander-in-Chief during the Iran–Iraq War, President, and chose Ali Khamenei as the supreme leader of Iran. (Full article...)
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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