HISTORY

Historical Introduction

History is a book which one has to start from the middle, particularly that of the most ancient civilizations such as China, India, and Iran. Though the history of Iran is long and complex, its shape is determined by the rise and fall of successive dynasties - with intervals of chaos and confusion - until its latest stage, victory of the Islamic Revolution and rising of an Islamic Republic.

In the past, and until the second half of the 20^th century, when it came to telling the story of their country's origin, most Iranians used to take the side of myths, or mix myths with actual history. This was a true reflection of the influence of great literary works such as Shahnameh on the people. More than a dozen of royal dynasties ruled Iran each for period of longer than 2,000 years on average, according to national legends. Details of these dynasties are given in the Avesta, the sacred scripture of the Zoroastrian faith, which according to Islamic sources had been written on 12,000 pieces of cow skin. Apart from the Avesta, and Shahnameh names of legendary kinds and dynasties are given in Vedas and Mahabharata, as well.

Early Persians

What follows is a brief sketch of the history of the ancient Persian Empire, in which the present Iran has its roots. The speakers of Iranian languages may have migrated into this part of southwest Asia as early as 1,500 BC. They apparently managed to subjugate people already living there and mingle with them, but their dominance of particular areas is recorded in the derived place names of Parsua and Parsumash. The Assyrian rulers were by the 9^th century BC sending expeditions against them, and the resources of those campaigns are evidences of the Early Persians.

The Medes

In striking contrast to the history of Mesopotamia of we often have a clear knowledge from cuneiform texts and excavations, the proto-history of the Iranian Plateau remains amazingly obscure. Who were the people that occupied it before the arrival of the Aryans? How did the Medes, who were mentioned in 836 BC, establish a Median Empire occupying generally what is now West Iran and South Azarbaijan with its capital at Ecbatana- the present Hamadan - in the 7^th century? There are no explicit sources nor, as yet, any adequate archaeological data providing a definite answer to these questions. Our knowledge remains very scanty up to the point when the people of the plateau began to conquer countries with a written tradition. Median Empire extended from the Caspian Sea to the Zagros Mountains. The Medes were an Indo-European people who spoke an Iranian language closely akin to the Old Persian. Some scholars claim they were an Aryanized people from Turan. Since there are no median records, Assyrian and Greek sources must be relied upon for Median history. The Medes extended their rule over Persia during the reign of Sargon (died in 705 BC), were united under a tribal chief named Diocese in 673 BC and under Cyaxares captured Nineveh in 612 BC putting an end to the Assyrian Empire as well as centuries of war against the Assyrians; they were the first people subject to Assyria to secure their freedom. The dynasty continued until the rule of Astyages, when it was overthrown (550BC) by Cyrus the Great and united with the Persian Empire. In the 2^nd century BC Media became part of the Parthian kingdom.

The Achaemenians

The 6^th century BC was witness to the establishment of these Persians in the present-day region of Fars (or Persis to the Greeks) was recognizable district of the Assyrian Empire like the neighboring but greater Media. Persian rulers, claiming descent from one Achaemenes (or Hakhamanesh), took over the rule of Media from Astyages in the middle of the 6^th century BC. In an amazingly short time Cyrus could extend his conquests from Elam and Media west and north. He pushed into Asia Minor and, upon defeating the Lydians, established the greatest Persian Empire, which was to endure long under his successors, the Achaemenians.

Cyrus made Ecbatana, the seat of Median Kingdom, his capital, while retaining his Persian capital at Susa and creating and embellishing his new residence at Pasargadae. Today the first lies buried under the modern city of Hamadan, but Pasargadae, 130 km to the northeast of Shiraz, remains one of the most evocative sites in the country.

The dynamic new state was, however, disturbed almost from the start by dynastic troubles. Cambyses II, son of Cyrus, did away with Smerdis, another son of Cyrus, in order to have unchallenged power, but when Cambyses was absent on a successful raid into Egypt, an imposter claiming to be Smerdis appeared, and usurped the throne.

A civil war ensued, and after Cambyses died, a new claimant, Darius I, descended from another line of Achaemenians could carry out his claims, and after putting down disorders and suppressing all opposition, molded the administration of the empire into the centralized system that was remarkable for its efficiency. Darius was a dynamic personality who extended the empire to its farthest limits, in the course of which he first challenged the Greeks in a contest continued by his successors. The palatial precinct of Persepolis, which he erected on the lowest slope of Rahmat Mountain in mid-Fars near Shiraz, displays a magnificent image of imperial grandeur with its portrayal of the subject peoples bringing their tributes to the King.

He founded a centralized system supported by an intricate and excellent system of communication. Thus, the Persians were the first important ancient people to use the horse efficiently for communication and transport. Darius also continued and broadened Cyrus's policy of encouraging the local cultures within the empire, allowing the people to worship their own gods and keep their own customs so long as their practices did not conflict with the necessities of Persian administration. Despite this tolerance there were rebellions by the Egyptians, Lydians and Babylonians, all of which were ruthlessly suppressed by Darius.

The religion of Persia itself was Zoroastrianism, and the unity of Persia may be attributed in part to the unifying effect of that broadly established faith. Darius was a patron of arts, as can be seen from the magnificent palaces standing on high terraces beautifying the capitals of Susa and Persepolis.

Darius was also a conqueror. Persian rule was pushed far eastward past the Arius (Hari Rud) river into modern Afghanistan and Pakistan. Egypt had already been attacked by Cambyses, and although it was to prove recalcitrant and rebellious, succeeding Persian Kings were to maintain hegemony there. Darius pushed as far north as the Danube in his exploits.

At the beginning of the 5^th century BC, however, the Ionian cities were involved in trouble with the great king. Darius put down the rebellion, then organized an expedition to punish the city-states in Greece proper that had lent aid to the rebellious cities. The expedition was the beginning of the Persian Wars. Ultimately Darius' army was defeated at Marathon, and his son Xerxes I, who succeeded to the throne in 486 BC, fared no better at Salamis.

The Greeks had successfully defied the power of the great king. The effects of the Greek victory were, however, confined to Greece itself and had no consequences in Persia. Nor did the Greek triumph exclude Persia from taking part in the affairs of the Greek world. Persian influence was strong, and Persian gold was poured out to aid one Greek City State or another in the interminable struggle for power.

In the time of Artaxerxes the difficulties of maintaining so wide an empire began to appear. Some of the governors (satraps) showed ambitions to rule, and the Egyptians, helped by the Athenians, undertook a long rebellion. Violence against the great King himself was a disturbing factor. The most celebrated of the dynastic troubles occurred in the rebellion of Cyrus of the Younger against Artaxerxes II, which came to an end with the death of Cyrus in battle of Cunaxa (401 BC). Cyrus' defeat was recorded in Xenophon's Anabasis, and although the importance of Cyrus' revolt may be exaggerated it cannot be denied that there were signs of decay in the empire.

In 334 BC, Alexander the Great and his Macedonian army of about 40,000 men crossed the Hellespont and routed the Persians on the Granicus. The battle of Issus followed in 333, and in 331 the battle of Gaugamela brought an end to the Achaemenian Empire. Darius II, last of the great Kings, fled east before the conqueror to the remote province of Bactria, where he was assassinated by his own cousin, Bessus. Alexander also came east and, defeating Bessus, had the whole empire in his grasp. Before this, he had reached Persepolis, where as the climax of a "drunken carouse, he burnt down the great palace of the king of kings. This he afterwards declared was the revenge of Greece for the burning of Athens by Xerxes. Ghirshman gives some convincing reasons (without coming to any definite conclusion) for thinking that Persepolis caught fire as a result of an accident. Whatever the truth, it is a strange irony that there is still plenty to show for the past glories of Persepolis, while Susa, which Alexander preserved, is little but moldering mounds of earth.

During the Achaemenian period, Iran had managed to create one of the most advanced civilizations of the world. Paved roads were built for horse-drawn traffic from the shores of the Mediterranean to Indian. Rest houses and stables known as the caravansaries were built at distances not exceeding 30 km. The first courier service of the world was established in Iran to dispatch the mail throughout the vast Achaemeniam Empire. A canal was built from the Red Sea to the Nile. Guards were posted along the roads. Travelers were searched and inspected. Exploitation of mines and development of agriculture were encouraged; chemistry, cloth weaving, embroidery, as well as carpet weaving were initiated; Iranians were accustomed to eating at table and sleeping on wooden beds.

Seleucids

Alexander went on to India and created the greatest empire the world had yet seen. It lasted, however, only for the brief period of his life and then was torn apart by the quarrels of his successors (the Diadochi).

Persia fell for the most part to Seleucus I, who appeared as the master of Alexander's Eastern. Dominions and married an Iranian wife. The grasp of Alexander's successors (the Seleucids) on the vast territories of Iranian Empire was weak administratively although they did introduce a vital Hellenistic Culture, mingling Greek with Persian elements. The process was by no means one-sided. Large numbers of Greek civilians were settled in the cities founded along the northern, western and southern edges of the country - in Bactria, at Hecatompylos (Damghan), Rhages (Rey), Kangavar and Nahavand in the Zagros. In and around these cities, Greeks and Iranians were fused by intermarriage, bilingualism, and a mingling of Greek oriental religious cults.

Yet the end came, not primarily because the Greeks succumbed to oriental influences or were overwhelmed by sheer numbers, but from external causes - the rise of the Roman Empire in the west, and the first of the many nomad invasions, that of the Parthians, in the east.

The Parthians

Media Atropatene (Azarbaijan) was never really under Seleucid rule. The rulers of Bactria from the beginning were at least quasi-independent and in the middle of the 3^rd century revolted and established absolute independence. At the same time Parthia under the leadership of the Arsacids cast off Seleucid rule and established a Parthian Empire as a sort of successor to the old Persian Empire. Although even under the greatest of the Parthians (Tiridates, Mithradates I, and Mithradates II) the realm did not have the old extent, it was formidable and was a rival to Rome.

The Romans in almost continuous warfare failed to halt the Persian drives to the west, which were often supported by local ambitious or frightened rulers under Rome. The Parthians' capital was the city of A Hundred Gates near Damghan, afterwards Rey near Tehran, and later on Hamadan, and in winter Ctesiphon near Baghdad. The Parthians ruled from 256 BC until 226 AD. The frontiers of Iran during the Parthians were Transcaucasia in the north, India in the east, and the Tigris in the west. Parthians established their own customs duties, collecting 5% on imports.

The Sassanians

Only in the 2^nd century AD did the Parthian rule begin to wane. The Parthian dynasty fell, not to external assault from Rome of the East, but as a result of a national uprising in Fars, the cradle of Iranian civilization, the home of the Achaemenians, the province least touched by Greek colonization. Parthians were replaced (c 226 AD) by the more vigorous Sassanian dynasty, when Ardashir (Artaxerxes) I ousted and killed the last Parthian ruler and built a new empire out of the ruins of Parthian and Selecid power. The Sassanians were the true heirs of the Achaemenians.

In four centuries of Sassanian rule there were two periods of glory. In the first, which lasted into the fifth century, the outstanding kings (remarkable for their longevity) were Ardashir I (226-255), Shapur I (255-271), and captor of Valerian, Shapur II (309-379) conqueror of Armenia and persecutor of Christians, and Bahram V, or Bahram-e Gur (421-438), famous in history and legend for his hunting exploits. In the second period, the great figures were Khosrow I (531-579), perhaps the most illustrious of all the Sassanian kings, and Khosrow Parvis (590-628), conqueror of Jerusalem, invader of Egypt glorified in legend for his amours but in fact brutal, cowardly and fairly incompetent.

Ardashir I was the founder of the Sassanian dynasty. He declared war on Rome and seized Armenia, restored the Zoroastrian religion to its former influence. His successor Shapur I invaded Syria, cut to pieces a Roman army and captured the Emperor Valerian, the record of this brilliant triumph still being visible in the celebrated reliefs near Persepolis.

Ctesiphon became the center of a magnificent state that persisted while the Roman Empire was whittled away. The Byzantine was unable to match the Sassanians. In 531 AD Anushirvan the Just (or Khosrow I) who was one of the most illustrious monarchs of Iran ascended the throne. The White Huns during the past century had been invading the Oxus provinces and had inflicted more than one defeat on the Iranian army.

Anushirvan made peace with Rome and turned with such effect on this eastern invader that he crushed the White Huns and divided up their territories with his new ally, the Illkhan of the Turks. But the achievements of Anushirvan as an administrator outweighed his great fame as a soldier. He instituted a carefully graded tax payable in cash and kind, created a regular army that was better equipped and better disciplined than at any previous date. He reformed the laws and kept a careful watch on their implementation, and made the caravan routes safe. Thanks to his patronage of learned men of his countries as well as his interest in history and philosophy, Iran became the center for the exchange of ideas during this period, which stands out as one of the most glorious periods in Iranian history.

Under Khosrow II (or Khosrow Parviz, whose affairs were linked with those of the Byzantine) the Sassanian court was legendary in its splendor. Ctesiphon and Firuzabd were magnificent cities, the administration of the empire was efficient, the productivity of the cities was efficient, the productivity of the cities was remarkable, and the art in metalwork, in architecture, in sculpture, and in textiles was superb. Persia developed a strong centralized state, based on a revived Zoroastrian religion and a class society.

Khosrow Parviz invaded the Roman Empire, captured Jerusalem, and carried off the "True Cross" which was considered to be the most sacred treasure throughout the Christendom. Egypt next fell to the Persian army, and finally Chalcedony, which was situated opposite Constantinople. So desperate was the situation that Heraclius decided to desert the capital, and fled to Africa. However, Heraclius finally defeated Khosrow, and both empires were utterly exhausted in 652. In other words, shortly after the death of Khosrow II, the old Sassanian power toppled.

Arab Conquest and Islam

The third decade of the seventh century was a turning point in Iranian history, in which the pattern of the country'' religious, cultural and psychological development was determined up to the present age. For anyone wanting an insight into modern Iran, the events of this period are extremely important, immensely exciting, and still rather mysterious. They were certainly totally unexpected; in 614 when Khosrow Parviz had a twenty-year career of successful conquest behind him, no one could possible have foreseen that within twenty-five years not merely his dynasty but the whole fabric of Iranian life would have been engulfed and overwhelmed.

After centuries of relative immobility, events moved with startling rapidity. It was not until 614 Mohammad claimed to be a divinely inspired prophet. For eight years after that he was on exile from his native Arabia. He died in 632 within two years of entering Mecca. The Arab Conquests started only after his death, with an attack on Mesopotamia in 633. Yazdgird III, the last of Sassanian kings, was invited to embrace Islam. He contemptuously refused, pouring scorn on the Arabs for eating lizards and the practice of infanticide.

The invading Arabs succeeded in taking Ctesiphon in 637, and inflicting a crushing defeat on the Iranians at the Battle of Nahavand in 642. This brought to an end the last national Iranian dynasty for nearly a thousand years. The Arab Conquest permeated far deeper into the structure of Iranian civilization than any other before or since. It provided the country with a new religion and a new script; it influenced its language and revolutionized its art. Yet it did not destroy utterly or absorb completely, what was indigenous in Iranian character and customs was driven underground and emerged in new and complex forms.

The rise of Islam as a religion replacing Zoroastrianism is one of the greatest events in world history. Various reasons can be adduced for the success of this invasion. It was more spiritual than material; the birth of a crusading religion in Arabia coincided with the exhaustion of a dynasty in Iran; Islam was democratic while Zoroastrianism was exclusive and feudal; four centuries of independence under autocratic rule had sapped initiative and reduced the will to resist. But none of these considerations fully explain the completeness with which Iran apparently succumbed to Islam. Islam soon became the dominant religion in Iran, as a result of which the subsequent revolts lost their religious character and turned into political turmoils.

The broad sweep of history of this period is fascinating, but its details are tedious in the extreme. It is enough to say here that, from the middle of the ninth century onwards, the power of the Abbasid Caliphate steadily declined. In Iran there sprang up a number of small semi independent dynasties, some of which are just worth mentioning by name. There were, for example, the Saffarids, or coppersmiths, founded by a highway robber and based on Sistan; and Samanids, mainly centered on modern Afghanistan. The Ghaznavids, who spread from Afghanistan to India and also made various incursions into Persia in the early eleventh century were rather more important since they maintained themselves in power locally for over two centuries and had left substantial architectural remain in Afghanistan.

The Seljuks

Iran, like Western Europe, emerged at the beginning of the first millennium AD from a period of major disorder into one of minor discord; the promise of relative stability engendered a great age of building. And it is with the name of this and the succeeding dynasties that Islamic architecture in Iran is associated.

The Seljuks, like their successors, came from the northeast. They were members of a Turkish-speaking tribe from Turkistan, known as Ghuzz, and were early converted to orthodox Muhammedanism, that is to say Sunnism. Their first act of conquest was to seize Marv from the Ghaznavids, and by 1043 they were firmly established in Khorassan. Twelve years later their leader, Toghrol Beg, entered Baghdad and was named "Vice-regent of the successor of the Prophet and Lord of all the Muslims" by the Caliph. His successors were Alp Arsalan (1063-72), Malik Shah (1072-92), and Sultan Sanjar (1096-1157).

Alp Arsalan conquered Asia Minor and made several successful expeditions against the Greeks; he is said to have had such long mustaches that they had to be tied back when he was shooting. Both he and his son Malik Shah owed much to the wise counsel and energy of their vizier, Nizam ol-Molk, the patron of Omar Khayyam.

Order was never completely established in the Seljuk dominions. The family itself was rent by internal strife - there were separate and sometimes rival dynasties in Kerman and Iraq. They completely failed to check the growing power of the Assassins, who were responsible for the murder of Nizam ol-Molk and possibly also of Malik Shah.

The Mongols

In 1221 the Mongols invaded Iran, leaving death and destruction in the wake of their armies. Once again, six hundred years before, events moved with startling rapidity. Between 1219 and 1227, Mongol hordes had overrun and largely destroyed Bohkara, Samarqand, Marv, Neishabur, and all of northern Iran. The loot, murder, rapes and destruction, which attended these conquests, was without parallel in history; the loss to art and learning in northern Iran was incalculable. Fortunately the south escaped, and this greatly assisted eventual recovery.

Chingiz Khan (1165-1227) left to his grandson Hulagu Khan to establish the Mongol rule in Iran. A quarter of a century later, Iran became the center of a new Mongol dynasty called the Illkhans by the historians. The second wave of Mongol invasion started from 1251 when Hulagu Khan set out to destroy the Assassins in their mountain fortress and to extinguish the Caliphate in Baghdad. He was successful in both - at the price of further extensive bloodshed and destruction.

The later Mongols, however, as though to amend for the shortcomings of their forebears, really went in for Civilization, and even Culture. The Mongols also encouraged tourism; having been indefatigable travelers themselves, this was no doubt a form of public relations, which came to them naturally. Marco Polo was their most famous beneficiary. His route across Iran is an indication of the important centers of that time: Tabriz (soon to become the Mongol capital), Saveh, Kashan, Yazd, Kerman, Hormoz, Sirjan, Kerman again, Tabas and Neishabur. As they settled down the Mongols initiated another era of great building.

Ghazan Khan established magnificent religious and educational institutions at Tabriz, and built, on the outskirts of that city, a tomb for himself. Oljaitu (1304-16) completed the city of Sultanieh, including the great mausoleum, which still stands and bears his name.

After Oljaitu's death in 1316 the dynasty broke down through domestic squabbles and a period of chaos ensued, in which the only relatively stable element was provided by the Muzaffarid dynasty in southern Iran, one of whom, Shah Shoja, is famous in history as the patron of the poet Hafez. The collapse of organized central government meant that the way lay open to the next wave of invasion from central Asia - that of Timur Lang.

The Timurids

Timur (Tamerlane) appeared on the scene with the dream of restoring the great Mongol Empire. In the north he sacked and plundered Moscow in 1382. In 1398 he invaded India. In 1402 he defeated and captured the Ottoman Sultan Bayazid. All in all, he has left less to show for himself in Iran than his reputation would warrant - not even an orgy of destruction. Nor did Timur's successors leave any mark in Iran proper. They were for the most part absentee monarchs who preferred to reside to the northeast.

Shahrokh (1408-1447) removed his capital from Samarqand to Herat, which he did much to beautify; his wife, Gowhar Shad, was responsible for building the great mosque in the heart of the shrine at Mashhad; his son, Ulugh Beg, was a renowned astronomer, a poet and a patron of literature. After the middle of the 15^th century a state of chaos and confusion, perhaps more complete than ever before or since, was the order of the day.

At this point, Iranian history again takes a strange return. For out of this welter of disorder, following upon eight and a half centuries of alien rule emerged a dynasty more truly national than any since the Sassanians, and certainly comparable to it in splendor and renown.

The Safavids

The Safavid dynasty (1500-1736), founded by Shah Ismail (1499-1524), restored internal order in Iran and established the Shiite sect as the state religion. After fighting his way to the throne, Shah Ismail marched off eastward to attack the Uzbeks, who annually raided the rich province of Khorassan. He was entirely successful in his expedition. But Shah Ismail was unfortunate in having Sultan Salim the Grim, one of the greatest warriors of the house of Osman, as his enemy. Determined to extirpate the Shiite monarchy before it took root, Salim lead the most formidable army of the time against the horsemen of Shah Ismail.

As the result of their victory, the Turks annexed the western provinces of Iran and held them for many years. Shah Ismail died 1502 AD.

His son, Shah Tahmasp, reigned for over fifty years (1524-1575) - a period notable chiefly for protracted and dingdong struggles with the Turks, which resulted in the loss Mesopotamia; the removal of the capital from the exposed Tabriz to more secure Qazvin; and the courting of the Iranian monarchy by Western monarchs, hoping to exploit Ottoman-Iranian rivalry and Shiite-Sunnite discord to the disadvantage of the Safavid court and the exotic and Oriental aspect of a largely unknown country. For the first time since the Achaemenians, an Iranian dynasty won international fame.

The Safavid dynasty reached its height during the reign (1578-1629) of Shah Abbas I (Abbas the Great). He defeated not only the Uzbeks, but also the Turks and thereby regained the western provinces of Iran. He drove out the Portuguese, who had established colonies on the Persian Gulf early in the 16^th century. But his success in war, great as this was, was surpassed by his achievements in the arts of peace. He removed the seat of government from Qazvin to Esfahan; established trade relations with Great Britain and reorganized the army. Moreover, he restored safety to the caravan routes, built bridges and caravansaries which today, although in decay, testify to the encouragement he gave to merchants and travelers. Superb bridges and stately avenues in Esfahan led to the magnificent Royal Square (now Imam Square), surrounded by great buildings, chief of which was the Royal Mosque (now the Imam Mosque).

Europeans of various nationalities visited and described the glories of Iran. Among them were the Shirley brothers, as well as Chardin whose works reveal a deep knowledge of Iran, its history, art, and architecture.

Unhappily, for all Abbas the Great's outstanding qualities the Iranian Renaissance was of short duration. The Safavid dynasty struggled on for a hundred years after his death, sustained more by the glories of its past than by any merit in his successors. Shah Safi (1628-41), Abbas II (1641-68), Suleiman (1668-94) and Hossein (1694-1729) represented a sad degeneration from the saintly race from which they sprang.

The marvel is not that the Safavid dynasty collapsed when it did, but that it took so long to do it. Unrest spread rapidly after about 1715 fostered by the Afghans and the Uzbeks in the northeast, the Kurds in the west and the Arabs in the south. In 1722, a small but highly trained force of Afghans appeared before Esfahan, routed a large Iranian army, captured and looted the city and massacred many of the inhabitants. The Russians and Turks stepped in to seize what they could of the spoils in the north and west; Hossein was captured and abdicated, and his Tahmasp became Shah in exile and established himself in Mazandaran, where members of the Qajar and Afshar tribes rallied to his banner. It was one of the latter, Nader Quli, who took command of the armies, defeated the Afghans, and in 1730 largely cleared the country.

The Afshars

In 1736 Nader himself assumed the title of Shah, immediately upon which he waged a war against the Afghans and captured Kandahar, the home of the Ghilizai Afghans. In 1738 he invaded India, and in a single campaign captured an incredible wealth, including the legendary Peacock Throne and the Kuh-e Nur diamond. He seems to have continued a career of conquest for lack of anything better to do. He made Mashhad his capital and - apparently for the sake of conciliating the Afghans - favored his Sunni subjects at the expense of the Shi'ites.

Being a despotic ruler, he was assassinated in 1747, and for the next fifty years Iranian history is well nigh unintelligible. There was in essence a three-sided struggle between the descendants of Nader Shah, the Zand family and the Qajars. For much of the time Shahrokh, grandson both of Nader and Shah Hossein, remained nominally on the throne at Mashhad, but, blinded and intermittently imprisoned, he exercised no effective power.

The Zands

The Afshar dynasty was followed by the Zand dynasty (1750-94), founded by Karim Khan Zand, best known as Vakil (Regent), who established his capital at Shiraz, adorned the city with many fine buildings, and honored her poets.

His twenty-year long rule (1759-79) brought a period of peace and renewed prosperity throughout Iran, except to the province of Khorassan. He is about the only character during this period from which one does not recoil in disgust.

Despite having control over much of Iran Karim Khan never assumed the title of Shah. With his death at the age of eighty (in 1779), the Qajars fought desperately for fifteen years to gain the upper hand. Their leader, Agha Mohammad, who had been castrated long before by Nader's descendants, assailed the Zands in battle, with treachery, and finally by wholesale massacre, first at Kerman and later at Bam. Their Lutf-Ali Khan, the young Zand chief, was finally captured, leaving the Qajars in undisputed possession of the bloodstained throne in 1794.

The Qajars

Agha Mohammad had been proclaimed Shah in 1787 at the conclusion of a successful campaign against Russia; thereafter he established his capital in Tehran, where it since remained. Later he recaptured Khorassan, though only after perpetrating the most horrible atrocities upon the person of Shahrokh.

Most brutal and hated of all Iranian monarchs, Agha Mohammad at least succeeded in bringing the period of anarchy to an end; he fought successful campaigns against extern al enemies, and reconstituted the Shi'ite faith as the state religion. He was murdered in camp by his personal attendants in 1797.

Under his successors Fath Ali Shah (1798-1834), Mohammad Shah (1834-48), Nasser ad-Din Shah (1848-96), Muzaffar od-Din Shah (1896-1907), Mohammad Ali Shah (1907-09) and Ahmad Shah (1909-25), the whole context of Iranian history changes; we emerge from the Middle Ages into recent times, in which the interest of Iran lay not in her own civilization or splendor or mystery, but in her possibilities as a field for expansion among rival great powers - or rather, to be more precise, as a field in which expansion of one great power should be limited by a rival power, and it was precisely this rivalry, rather than any inherent strength in the Qajar monarchy, which together with a nation-wide resistance enabled Iran to preserve her endangered independence.

This long period saw Iran steadily lose territory to neighboring countries and fall under the increasing pressure of European nations, particularly Czarist Russia and the Great Britain. Under Fath Ali Shah (1797-1834) Persian claims in the entire Caucasian area (present republics of Azarbaijan, Caucasus, Armenia, and Daghestan) were challenged by the Russians in a long struggle that ended with the Treaty of Gulistan (1813) and the Treaty of Turkamanchai (1828), by which Iran was forced to give up the above Caucasian lands.

Herat, the rice valley on the Hari Rud, which had been part of the ancient Persian Empire, was taken by the Afghans. A series of campaigns to reclaim it ended with the intervention of the British on behalf of Afghanistan and resulted in the recognition of Afghan independence by Iran in 1857.

The discovery of oil in early 1900s intensified the rivalry of Great Britain and Russia for power over the nation. Internally, the early 20^th century saw the rise of the constitutional movement and a Constitution establishing a Parliament (Majlis) was accepted by Muzaffar od-Din Shah (1853-1907), in 1906. He was a weak ruler who borrowed money from Russia and failed to oppose the encroachments of Russia and Great Britain on Persian sovereignty. Much disaffection arose among the people. After the revolutionary outburst of 1906, he was forced to agree to the convocation of a national assembly. He died soon after signing the long-awaited constitution. Meanwhile, the British-Russian rivalry continued and in 1907 resulted in an Anglo-Russian agreement (annulled after World War I) that divided Iran into spheres of influence.

The period preceding World War I was one of political and financial difficulty. In 1911, Morgan Shuster, an American financier, was engaged as financial adviser and treasurer general of Iran. Some reforms were made, but conflicts with the Russians led to the failure and termination of the mission in 1920. During the war Iran was admitted to the League of Nations as an original member. In 1919, Iran made a trade agreement with Great Britain, in which Britain formally re-affirmed Iran's independence but actually attempted to establish a complete protectorate over it. After Iranian recognition of the (former) Soviet Union in a treaty of 1921, the latter renounced Czarist imperialistic policies toward Iran, canceled all debts and concessions, and withdrew occupation forces from Iranian territory.

The Pahlavis

In 1921, Reza Khan, an army officer, effected a coup d'etat and established a military dictatorship. He was subsequently elected hereditary Shah, thus ending the Qajar dynasty and founding the new Pahlavi dynasty. In 1941, two months after the German invasion of the Russia, British and Russian forces occupied Iran. On 16^th of September Reza Shah abdicated in favor of his son Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. American troops later entered Iran to handle the delivery of war supplies to the Russians.

At the Tehran Conference in 1943 the Tehran Declaration, signed by the United States, Great Britain, and Russia, guaranteed the independence and territorial integrity of Iran. However, the Russians, dissatisfied with the refusal of the Iranian government to grant oil concessions, formed a revolt in the north which led to the establishment of puppet governments called the People's Republic of Azarbaijan and the Kurdish People's Republic (December 1945), headed by Russian controlled leaders.

When Russian troops remained in Iran following the expiration of a wartime treaty (January 1946) that also allowed presence to American and British troops, Iran protested to the United Nations. The Russians finally withdrew (May 1946), after receiving a promise of oil concessions from Iran subject o the approval by the Parliament.

The Russian-established governments in the north, lacking popular support, were deposed by Iranian troops late in 1946, and the Parliament subsequently rejected the oil concessions. In 1951, the National Front Movement, headed by Premier Musaddiq, a militant nationalist, forced the Parliament to nationalize the oil industry and form the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). Although a British blockade led to the virtual collapse of oil industry and serious internal economic problems, Musaddiq continued his nationalization policies.

Openly opposed by the Shah, Musaddiq was ousted in 1952 but quickly regained power. The Shah fled the country but returned when the apparently monarchist American-British supported elements forced Musaddiq from office in August 1953. In 1954, Iran allowed an international consortium of British, American, French, and Dutch oil companies to operate its oil facilities, with profits equally shared between Iran and the consortium. After 1953, a succession of Premiers restored a measure of order to Iran; in 1957 marital law was ended after 16 years in force.

Iran established closer relations with the West, joining the Baghdad Pact (later called the Central Treaty Organization), and received large amounts of military and economic aid from the United States until the late 1960s. Starting in 1960s and continuing into the 1970s, the Iranian government undertook an apparently broad program (The White Revolution) designed to improve economic and social conditions. Land reform was a major priority. In an effort to transform the feudal peasant-landlord agricultural system, the government purchased estates and sold the land to the people; it also distributed large tracts of crown land. In January 1963 an extensive plan was approved for further land redistribution, compulsory education, and a system of profit sharing in industry; the program was financed by the selling of government-owned factories to private investors. The Shah was doing everything, even establishing a government-backed political party, in order to ready Iran for an allegedly democratic political set-up.

However, the various reform programs and the continuing poor economic conditions alienated some of the major religious and political groups; there were riots in mid-1963.

In 05 June 1963 Iran's most important religious nation-wide uprising led by the late Ayatollah Khomeini, took place in protest to the so-called White Revolution. The general political instability was reflected by the assassination of Premier Hassan Ali Mansur and an unsuccessful attempt on the Shah's life in January 1965. Amir Abbas Hoveida succeeded as Premier and was in power until 1977. In October 1971, Iran commemorated the 2,500^th anniversary of the Persian Achaemenian Empire of Cyrus the Great with an elaborate celebration in the desert at Persepolis.

Iran's pro-Western policies continued into the 1970s, although improved relations, especially in the economic sphere, were established with the communist countries, including the former Soviet Union. However, relations with Iraq were strained for much of the late 1960s and early 1970s and there were a number of armed clashes along the entire length of the border. In April 1969 Iran voided the 1937 accord with Iraq on the control of Arvand Rud (Shat al-Arab) and demanded that the treaty, which had given Iraq virtual control of the river, be renegotiated. In 1971, Britain withdrew its military forces from the Persian Gulf.

Concerned that Soviet-backed Arab nations might try to fill the power vacuum created by the British withdrawal, Iran increased its defense budget and emerged as the region's strongest military power.

Although Iran renounced all claims to Bahrain in 1970, it regained control of three of its former small islands at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, which were under British occupation until November 1971. Iraq protested Iran's action by expelling thousands of Iranian nationals. In March 1973, short after the termination of the 25-year 1954 agreement with the international oil producing consortium, Iran established the NIOC's full control over all aspects of Iran's oil industry, and the consortium agreed (May 1973) to act merely in an advisory capacity in return for favorable long-term oil supply contracts.

In the aftermath of the October 1973 War in the Middle East, Iran, reluctant to use oil as a political weapon, did not participate in the oil embargo against the West and Japan. However, it used the situation to become a leader in the raising of oil prices in disregard of the Tehran Agreement of 1971. Iran utilized the revenue generated by price rises to bolster its position abroad as a creditor, to initiate domestic programs of modernization and economic development, and to further increase its military power. It is a common knowledge that during the whole period of Mohammad Reza Shah's rule in Iran (1941-1979) the United States was given a free hand to all aspects and national resources of the land.

Islamic Revolution

The Shah's autocratic rule and his extensive used of the secret police led to widespread popular unrest throughout 1978. The religious -based protests were conservative in nature, directed against the Shah's policies. Imam Khomeini, who was expelled from Iraq in Feb 1978, called for the abdication of the Shah. Martial law was declared for all major cities. As governmental controls faltered, the Shah fled Iran on 16 Jan 1979. Imam Khomeini returned to Iran in 01 Feb 1979 and took over the leadership of religious revolutionaries. The coalition which had united against the monarchy, composed of different social classes each with its own political aims, collapsed as soon as the latter was abolished, leaving two main forces in confrontation: the Army, which the Bakhtiar's government was unable to control; and the clergy. Imam Khomeini's return to Tehran, marks the beginning of the last phase in the formation of an Islamic Government. On 09 February, clashes broke out between the imperial guard and units of the air forces faithful to Imam Khomeini. This was followed by two days of insurrection during which the inhabitants of Tehran took over several strategic buildings in the capital. On 12 February, a provisional Islamic government was named with Mahdi Bazargan as Prime Minister. The Islamic Republic was proclaimed by Ayatollah Khomeini during the night of 01 April 1979.

For nearly fifteen years following the victory of the Islamic Revolution (11 February 1979) Iran had been going through a period of ordeal in order to take the first steps toward the finale establishment of an Islamic government. The basic measures to organize the Islamic system of administration were taken quite soon after the Revolution. But Islamic Government as it is, took shape gradually over the last few years.

A referendum to decide the type of regime was held on 1 April 1979, only 50 days after the revolutionary takeover. According to official reports, 98.2% of electorate voted for an Islamic Republic in preference to the previous monarchical regime. A draft Constitution was prepared before the summer of 1979 and a 72-member Assembly of Experts approved it after lengthy deliberations. The Constitution was subsequently ratified by the leader of the Islamic Republic, the late Ayatollah Khomeini, as well as by a direct vote on 3 December 1979. This time, according to official sources, 98.5% of the voters cast their votes for the Constitution. The general framework of the Islamic system of government was therefore decided upon, but many details had yet to be worked out.

The first general election on 28 May 1980 and the convening of the first Parliament (Majlis) were the subsequent steps in that direction. Ever since, the laws passed by the Majlis have brought the founders of the Islamic Republic step by step closer to their objectives. Nevertheless, Iranian leaders and officials are unanimous that there is still a long way to go to achieve the ultimate goal.

The government's proclaimed aim is to create a fully-fledged Islamic system of government based on the teachings of the Prophet Mohammad and his successors, which has never been in operation anywhere during the 14^th century history of Islam. This makes the Iranian government perhaps the only existing example of theocratic government in the late 20^th century.

As to the secular aspects of the country's administration, one might say that the new Constitution has followed the Western Democracies and the former regime's Constitution - as far as the separation of the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judiciary powers is concerned.

The Iran-Iraq War

The new government was trying to restore peace and prosperity to the country when it faced a sudden and unexpected overall land and air attack against the country's western frontiers by the Iraqi armed forces on 22 September 1980. This Imposed War, which was defined as an aggression on Iran and a just defense by the Iranians, developed into a war of attrition for eight years and ended in mid 1988 following Iran's acceptance of the UN Resolution 598. But instead of causing the immediate collapse of the Iranian government, the Iraqi attack served to unite most of the political and religious groups around the new government and the Iranian resistance proved much more effective than Iraq had expected.

Post-War Reconstruction

The post-war era will witness a stupendous release of energies that had been pent up during the wartime conditions. The country's political, industrial, agricultural, and principal social combinations are being totally reorganized in the ongoing reconstruction effort.

Condemnation of Iraq as the aggressor prepared the way for Iran to make a spectacular entrance onto the international stage. In compliance with the implementation of the First and the Second five-year Development Plans, remarkable increases are being achieved in the production of raw materials, manufacture and export of industrial good and handicrafts, as well as the acceleration of heavy industry towards maturity. Iran is also expanding sales of manufactured goods to Asian, African, and other international markets. Despite the fact that the country's population has nearly doubled during the last 15 years, Iran is already exporting many of its agricultural products, while reducing imports of some essential goods.

Setbacks caused by the Iraqi imposed war are serving only as a spur to redouble the nation's efforts by diversifying the heavy industry into machine-making, metallurgical, and chemical sectors. Most of the previously government-owned factories are being sold to private shareholders. Thus dynamism has appeared in the country's free enterprise system which is due in no small way to the government's generous support for private industry. Help takes the form of tax advantages and exemptions, loan facilities, subsidies, and high import tariffs on competitive foreign goods.

At the same time, top priority is being given to the modernization of Iran's admittedly underdeveloped rural economy - by any effective means. This has opened the way for major scientific, technological, and commercial exchanges with the rest of the world.

In this short account of Iranian history, the subject was not treated from the beginning and we didn't go into details - which would require a dozen of volumes at least. There are many other aspects of Iranian civilization that you as the foreign tourist will discover for yourself - when you are here in Iran.