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Period: 3200 BCE to 539 BCE
Elamite Civilization Emerges
Elam was an ancient country in the southwestern part of Iran and is one of the first civilizations on record. While there are older civilizations such as the Mani and Shar-e sookhteh, Elam is widely considered the starting point for the history of Iran. Historians were able to gather that it was closely tied to Mesopotamia and Elam consisted of kingdoms on the Iranian plateau. -
678 BCE
Median Empire
Medes from the north of Iran rises to power and prominence due to the collapse of the Assryian empire. -
550 BCE
Iran is unified as a region
Cyrus the Great - remembered by Persians as the "father of the people" and a very tolerant and just monarch. He was a conqueror who is known in the bible as the liberator of the Jewish people who were held in captivity in Babylonia. -
480 BCE
Battle of Thermopylae
This is Sparta!! Famously recreated in the movie 300. King Xerxes of Iran sent 100,000 men to conquer all of Greece. King Leonidas suggested that they fight off the Persians at Thermoplyae, which was wide enough for only a carriage to cross. The Greek army had only 7000 men. The Greeks were able to successfully fight off the persian army for two days suffering light losses while dealing catastrophic blows to the Persian army. Ephialtes, betrayed Greece and showed a way around Thermoplyae. -
331 BCE
Battle of Gaugamela
The battle of Guagamela showed that the persians could be defeated. Alexander The Great led the Greeks to this decisive victory. Alexander was able to seize the Persian capital of Babylon which made Alexander the ruler of southwest Asia -
312 BCE
The Seleucid Empire
After Alexander the Great died in 323 B.C. a lot of chaos ensued and resentment between rivals. The Seleucid Empire was established by one of Alexander's leading generals Selecuid. He was able to conquer and consolidate his power. It ruled much of the region until it was overthrown by the Roman empire -
140 BCE
Parthian Empire
The Parthian Empire or also known as the Arsacid Empire was one of the most enduring empires of the ancient near east. The empire however was not very centralized. There were several languages, nations, and economic systems. It's important to note that this decentralized network posed valuable when areas were captured by the Romans (three times). The empire was able to survive because it had other centers -
224
Rise of the Sassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire is noted to be the last pre-Islamic Persian empire. The power of the Sassanid empire was long - over 400 years. Differing religious ideologies were present with some Sassanid nobility marrying Christian or Jewish women. The Sasasian Empire was also considered to be the major power in the region and had great relations with the Chinese Tang Dynasty and several Indian Kingdoms -
421
Bahram V becomes King
Bahram V is a widely known and remembered king in Iran. He is famous due to his bold and boisterous nature and more importantly his cancellation of taxes and public debt at celebratory events. The downside however is that his reign is considered as the start of the demise of the Sasanian empire. -
661
Muslim conquest of Persia
The Muslim conquest of Persia is also known as the Arab conquest of Iran marked the end of the Sassian empire. The region was invaded by Khālid ibn al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah al-Makhzūmī and the Sassian empire conquered. They brought the islamic religion to the region and islam rule -
977
Ghaznavid dynasty take over
The Ghaznavid dynasty was large - at it's peak it stretched from Tehran to northern India. It was founded by a Turkish slave Aptigin. He had swift and decisive conquests -
1220
Mongol invasion of Iran
Inalchuq was a governor in the city of Otrar. He's famous for indirectly being responsible for the mongol invasion. Genghis Khan sent a trade caravan of 450 to Otrar to establish relations. However, Inalchuq accused them of being spies and had them arrested. Genghis Khan sent over a muslim diplomat and two mongolian dignitaries demanding Inalchuq be punished. Inalchuq executed the muslim diplomat and shaved the beard of the mongolian dignitaries. genghis responded by invading many cities -
1350
Black Death
In around 1350 - bubonic plague caused wide spread chaos and death. This destruction caused wide casualties in all of europe as well. In total the black plague killed around 30 percent of the iranian population -
1381
Timur conquers Iran
Timur conquers and invades Iran in 1381.Timurs armies were multi ethnic and feared throughout most of asia, africa, and europe. His military conquests caused approximately 20 million deaths which was around 5 percent of the world population during this period. -
1502
Safavid Empire established
The Safavid empire was established by Shah Ismail. His rule in a way revitalized the Iranian economy as an economic stronghold in the region and reasserted the iranian cultural identity. -
Shah Abbas I the Great becomes king of the Safavid Empire
Abbas the Great is considered to be one of the strongest rulers of the Safavid Empire. The empire under his rule establishes it self as a prominent world power. -
Treaty of Zuhab
The Treaty of Zuhab was signed between the Ottoman empire and the Safavid. The treaty ended over one hundred years of territorial disputes. While this treaty had great promise - it did not end the disputes. Between 1555 - 1918 the Ottomans and the Persians signed over 18 such treaties. -
Qajar Dynasty established
The Qajar dynasty was established after a civil war in 1796. -
Russo-Persian War
The Russo-Persian war was fought between Russia and Persian due to disputes over territories around the southwestern coast of the Caspian sea. In the end Russia was victorious. Persia ceded yerevan and all territory up to the Aras river and paid a 20 million ruble indemnity -
Period: to
The great Persian famine of 1870–1872
The great Persian famine lasted from 1870 - 1872. The famine killed over 1 million people in Iran. A period of mass starvation and disease. Over wide areas of the country no rain fell during the winter of 1869 - 1870. The drought caused a lot of shortages in crops and prices to skyrocket. -
The Persian Constitutional Revolution occurs
A parliamentary government is created. The parliament is called the Majlis which means "a place of sitting". -
Oil is discovered
Oil is discovered in 1908 -
World War I begins
Iran remains neutral to the war. However, the country is occupied by various and numerous forces including such as those as Great Britain, Russia, and the Ottomans -
Reza Khan captures Iran
Reza Khan captures Tehran and seizes power. His legacy remains quite controversal. He will be made prime minister in 1923 and Shah of Iran in 1925. He brings modernization to Iran, but is resented by devout Muslims. -
Official country name change
The country name is officially changed from Persia to Iran on Nowruz (iranian new year of 1935). Reza Shah had asked foreign delegates to use the term Iran. Persian/Iranian is still used interchangeably to this day however it is still debated. -
WWII Begins
Iran once again remains neutral however is friendly with the axis powers -
Anglo Soviet Invasion of Iran
Iran is invaded by the Soviet Union and British forces to ensure an oil supply for allies. -
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi rise to power
A new Shah is established in 1941, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Pahlavi was the last Shah of Iran until he was overthrown by the Islamic revolution -
The Iranian parliament nationalizes the oil industry
This movement began when parliament wanted to move to seize the control of Iran's oil industry which had in the past been controlled by private companies controlled by foreign assets. -
Iranian Revolution
The revolution was a series of events resulting in the Shah Pahlavi being forced into exile and Islamic leader Ayatollah Khomeini takes over. The Islamic Republic of Iran is declared. -
Hostage crisis
This was an extreme standoff between the United States and Iran. After Pahlavi was overthrown in 1979 he was admitted to the U.S for cancer treatment. Iran demanded his return to face the crimes he has committed however the United States denied the request. 55 american diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of iranian college students who supported the revolution took over the U.S embassy in Iran. -
Shah Pahlavi passes away
Shah Pahlavi passes away from Cancer in Cairo, Egypt where he was granted asylum. -
Period: to
Iran-Iraq war
The Iran-Iraq war began in 1980 - when Iraq wanted to capitalize on the Iranian revolution and the weakened state of the country. However, Iraq made limited progress and quickly was repelled. Iran gained back all lost territory by by 1982 and went on the offensive until the end of the war when Iran accepted the UN brokered ceasefire. -
US Hostages Released
The US hostages are released after 444 days -
Iran begins construction of it's first Nuclear reactor
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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad becomes president
Mahmoud is a politican and statesman who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 - 2013. He was very controversial worldwide and within Iran. He was criticized for his economic policies and lack of empathy for human rights. -
United States Imposes new sanctions on Iran
In October of 2007, the United States imposed new sanctions on Iran - targeting two Iranian military groups and a number of Iranian banks. Condoleezza Rice accused Iran of pursuing nuclear technologies that could lead into a weapon. -
Iran release 15 Britons held
Iran released 15 British sailors and marines when they crossed into Iranian territorial waters. They were captured for two weeks -
Iranian first expendible launch vehicle
The Safir was able to place a satellite in orbit. The first successful orbital launch took place in 2009 -
Iranian Presidential election protests
Widely disputed victory by Mahmoud ahmadinejad resulted in protests across the country. The protests were interestingly called "Iranian Green movement" by it's proponents reflecting a Persian awakening, persian spring, or green revolution. -
Hossein Marashi jailed
Hossein Marashi (former vice president) was jailed in 2010 for spreading propaganda against the ruling clerical establishment -
Iranian Green movement
Mehdi Karroubi is placed under house arrest by the supreme leader of Iran. He was one of the leaders of the green movement who demanded Ahmadinejad's removal from office -
Green Movement protests
inaccuracies exist with the number of those participating in the protests but safe approximations are in the 20-30,000s -
Iran Oil sanctions
The United States tightens up the Iranian oil sanctions. Aimed at convincing Iran to give up it's Nuclear program. -
Hassan Rouhani wins the Iranian presidential election
Rouhani won the iranian presidential election with over 50 percent of the vote. He is the current Iranian president today. -
Nuclear deal reached
Iranians celebrate as a nuclear deal is reached. The deal was signed under president Barack Obama. The deal would provide billions of dollars of relief to the country in exchange Tehran committed to a 10 year restriction on nuclear production. In May 2018 - there was broad consensus that Iran has held it's end of the bargain. Israel disagreed. On may 8th 2018 - president Donald Trump reimposed Iranian sanctions -
Oil waivers
President Donald trump will end Iran Oil waivers - which allowed nations to buy Iranian oil without facing sanctions. This move is to reduce the exports of Iran.
