History of Iran

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Template:Iran Iran is one of the world's oldest continuous major civilizations. The history of Iran covers thousands of years, from the ancient civilization on the Iranian plateau, Mannaeans civilization in Azerbaijan, Shahr-i Sokhta (Burned City) in Zabol and ancient Kingdom of Jiroft followed by the kingdom of Elam and the Achaemenid, the Parthian, the Sassanian and following Empires to the modern Islamic Republic of Iran.

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Ancient history

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Iranian history before the Aryans

Main article: Iran before Aryans

There are records of numerous ancient and technologically advanced 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 Persian prehistory at middle paleolithic times (100,000 years ago).[1] The earliest sedentary cultures date from 18,000-14,000 years ago. In 6000 BCE 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 a dynasty 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 (2) 5000 years ago. At the end of second millennium, the Aryan nomads from central Asia settled in Persia.

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Persian Empire

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Image:Achaemenid Empire.jpg Image:Rython boz.jpg The ancient 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 is used to describe the nation of Iran, its people, or its ancient empire. 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, 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.

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Islamic Conquest

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Its consist of an intermediate era of nearly 150 years between the dissoloution of Sassanid dynasty of Persia and establishment of first native dynasty of Persia after Islam in which Iran was ruled by Caliphates of Umayyads and continued with Abbassids.

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Iran after arrival of Islam

Image:Knight-Iran.JPG Following the defeat of Sassanids and reign of Caliphates of Umayyads and Abbasids, Iranians sought to regain their lost independence, beginning with semiautonomous Tahirid dynasty, Persians fought consistently for their full independence. The following three Persian dynasties Saffarid dynasty, Ziyarid dynasty and Samanid dynasty slowly recaptured those provinces of Iran which were still under Abbasid rule. The gradual decline of Abbasids speeded this progress, reaching to a point where Shi'ite Buwayhid dynasty of Persia subsequent of capture of whole mainland Iran thus completing the Persia's goal of full independence. They even invaded Khvarvaran (Iraq) (Aragh-e-Arab) and took the city of Baghdad, the Abbasids capital, and imprisoned the Caliph.

Culturally, all of intial dynasties tried more or less to re-establish Persian culture and language. Samanids and Buwayhids were the most steadfast in this restoration process. During these two dynasties many of ancient Persian traditions and festivals reappeared from the ashes, and Persian culture found a new life.

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The Middle Ages

Persia's next ruling dynasties descended from Central Asian Turkic-speaking warriors who had been moving out of Central Asia into Transoxiana for more than a millennium. The Abbasid caliphs began enlisting these people 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 independent and indigenous dynasties rose in various parts of Persia, some with considerable influence and power. Among the most important of these overlapping dynasties were the Tahirids in Khorasan (820-872); the Saffarids in Sistan (867-903); and the Samanids (875-1005), originally at Bukhara. The Samanids eventually ruled an area from central Persia to India. In 962 a Turkish slave governor of the Samanids, Aluptigin, conquered Ghazna (in present-day Afghanistan) and established a dynasty, the Ghaznavids, that lasted to 1186. Image:Napoleon-Kashan.jpg Several Samanid cities had been lost to another Turkish group, the Seljuks, a clan of the Oghuz (or Ghuzz) Turks, who lived north of the Oxus River (present-day Amu Darya). 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.

A serious internal threat to the Seljuks, however, 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 assassins derive from these killers. While some argue that this developed from a European corruption of the name applied to them in Syria, hashishiyya, because folklore had it that they smoked hashish before their missions, a more plausible explanation is that assassin comes from the Persion Hassassin, meaning a follower of Hassan - the leader of these killers.

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Before the First World War

Image:Persia1808.JPG Persia underwent a revival under the Safavid dynasty (1502-1736), the most prominent figure of which was Shah Abbas I. The conqueror Nadir Shah and his successors were followed by the Zand dynasty, founded by Karim Khan, and later the Qajar (1795-1925) and the Pahlavi dynasties (1925-1979).

By the 17th century, European countries, including Portugal, 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 Turkmanchai treaty, Gulistan Treaty, and others.

Modern Iranian (Persian) history began with the Constitutional Revolution of Iran against the Shah (who remained in power) in 1905, the granting of a limited constitution in 1906 (making the country a constitutional monarchy), and the discovery of oil in 1908. The first Majlis (parliament) was convened on October 7, 1906. The key to the region was the British discovery of oil, see William Knox D'Arcy and Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (now BP). Control of the region was disputed between the United Kingdom and Russia, codified in an agreement of 1907 dividing the region into spheres of influence. The Constitutionalist movement of Gilan ended with the rise of Reza Pahlavi and the Pahlavi dynasty in 1921.

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World Wars

Image:Tehran cemetary WW2.jpg 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). 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.

During World War II, Iran was a vital link in the Allied supply line for lend-lease supplies to the Soviet Union. In August, 1941, British and Indian forces from Iraq and Soviet forces from the north occupied Iran. In September, the British forced Reza to abdicate in favour of his 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 People's Republic of Azerbaijan 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.

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United States and the Shah

Image:28mordad1332.jpg Arnaud de Borchgrave wrote:

Several U.S. administrations, beginning in 1953 with a CIA-engineered coup to oust Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh and bring back Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi from a brief exile in Rome, to the U.S. betrayal of the shah in 1978, interfered directly in the country's internal affairs. [2]

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 Mohammad Mossadegh, a nationalist, 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 which caused real hardship, the nationalization continued. Mossadegh was briefly forced from power in 1952 but was quickly re-elected by an overwhelming majority, returned, and forced the Shah to flee. Mossadegh then declared a republic, but a few days later the Shah returned and again forced Mossadegh from office on August 19 with U.S. CIA and government support — Operation Ajax. Mossadegh was arrested and a new prime minister was appointed.

In return for the US support the Shah agreed, in 1954, to allow an international consortium of British (40%), American (40%), French (6%), and Dutch (14%) companies to run the Iranian oil facilities for the next 25 years, with profits shared equally. 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 Arvand 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.

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Islamic Revolution

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After many months of popular protests against the rule of the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was forced to flee the nation on January 16, 1979. After a period of internal competition over the future of Iran, the contest was eventually won by the alliance led by the Ayatollah Khomeini who supported making Iran a theocratic state. On February 1, 1979, Khomeini returned from France (after 15 years in exile in France, Turkey, and Iraq) overthrowing the shah's government on February 11 and becoming Iran's Supreme Leader.

The new government was extremely conservative. It nationalized industry and restored Islamic traditions in culture and law. Western influences were banned and the existing pro-West elite was quick to join the shah in exile. There were clashes between rival religious factions and brutal repression quickly became commonplace.

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The Islamic Republic

Image:Jang.jpg Supported by Mujaheddin-e-Khalq, militant Iranian students seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979 and held it until January 20, 1981 (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 Ronald Reagan ended the crisis on the day of his inauguration, agreeing to nearly all the Iranian terms.

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. Ironically, members of the Reagan Administration covertly sold weapons and parts to Iran in what became known as the Iran-Contra affair. Iran finally agreed to UNSC Resolution 598 in 1988 ending the bloody war.

Severe fighting occurred from 1979 until 1990s (and even to the present, but on a smaller scale [3]) between Kurdish (nationalist and communist) forces and the Iranian government. At times, large parts of the western Iran were without government control[4].

In 1981, 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 Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti (chief Justice), Mohammad Ali Rajai (President), and Mohammad Javad Bahonar (Prime Minister).

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 more modest 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. This led the country into a dangerous rift between a government seeking reform and moderate liberalization against a clergy still extremely conservative. This rift reached a climax in July of 1999, when 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 of 2001 but his efforts were repeatedly blocked by the religious Guardian Council.

After Khatami's reelection, 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.[5] [6]

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.

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2005-2006 Nuclear Program Conflict

See the main article 2005-2006 US-Israeli threats to attack Iran

During 2005 and 2006, both the United States and Israel threatened to militarily attack Iran, possibly using nuclear weapons. Several different motivations, some uncontroversial, some controversial, for the possible attacks have been reported. The reason stated by US and Israeli officials was that Iran was attempting to develop nuclear weapons through its nuclear program and that force remained an option to prevent Iran's fulfillment of this alleged goal. Iran, for its part, continuously denied these allegations. 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. [7] [8] However, this fatwa did little to convince the West that Iran's nuclear program was only for peaceful purposes.

Other reasons stated by analysts for the threats include the petroeuro, control of crude oil resources, electoral reasons in the USA, electoral reasons in Iran and increasing democracy in the Middle East.

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2005-2006 alleged violation of Iranian territory

See the main article 2005-2006 US-Israeli threats to attack Iran#2003-2006_US_violations_and_alleged_violations_of_Iranian_sovereignty

Claims were made by Scott Ritter, Seymour Hersh and Raw Story that US military incursions into Iranian territory started by June 2005 and continued for at least a year, either by US troops themselves or by retrained, ex-members of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) acting on behalf of the US security forces, carrying out acts of violence and gathering information.

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