جمهوری اسلامی ايران Jomhūrī-ye Eslāmī-ye Īrān Islamic Republic of Iran
Flag Emblem
Motto: Esteqlāl, āzādī, jomhūrī-ye eslāmī 1  (Persian) "Independence, freedom, Islamic Republic"
Anthem: Sorūd-e Mellī-e Īrān ²
Capital (and largest city)		Tehran 35°41′N, 51°25′E
Official languages		Persian
Demonym		Iranian
Government		Islamic Republic
-	Supreme Leader	Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
-	President	Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Unification
-	Unified by Cyrus the Great	559 BCE
-	Parthian (Arsacid) dynastic empire (first reunification)	248 BCE – 224 CE
-	Sassanid dynastic empire	224–651 CE
-	Safavid dynasty (second reunification)	May 1502
-	First Constitution	1906
-	Islamic Revolution	1979
Area
-	Total	1,648,195 km² (18th) 636,372 sq mi
-	Water (%)	0.7
Population
-	2006 (1385 AP) census	70,472,846³ (18th)
-	Density	42/km² (158th) 109/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2006 estimate
-	Total	$610 billion (2006) note: estimates ranges from $602 billion (2006) by IMF to $735 billion (2006) by EIU (19th)
-	Per capita	$8,700 (2006) note: estimates ranges from $8,624 (2006) by IMF to $10,494 (2006) by EIU (74th)
GDP (nominal)		2005 estimate
-	Total	$212.4 billion (32nd)
-	Per capita	$3,046 (92nd)
Gini (1998)		43.0 (medium)
HDI (2007)		0.759 (medium) (94th)
Currency		Iranian rial (ريال) (IRR)
Time zone		IRST (UTC+3:30)
-	Summer (DST)	not observed (UTC+3:30)
Internet TLD		.ir
Calling code		+98
1	bookrags.com
2	iranchamber.com
3	Statistical Center of Iran. تغییرات جمعیت کشور طی سال‌های ۱۳۳۵-۱۳۸۵ (Persian). Retrieved on 2007-05-16.
4	CIA Factbook

Iran Portal

Iran, (Persian: ايران, (help·info)), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: جمهوری اسلامی ايران, pronounced ), formerly known internationally as Persia, is a country in Central Eurasia. Located in the heart of the Persian Gulf, an important oil-producing area, Iran is bounded by the Gulf of Oman to its south-east and the Caspian Sea to its north. Shi'a Islam is the official religion of the state, while Persian is the official language The 18th largest country in the world in terms of area at 1,648,195 km², Iran has a population of over seventy million. Iran borders Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Russia to the north, Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east, and Turkey and Iraq to the west.

Iran is home to one of the world's oldest continuous major civilizations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to 4000 BCE. Throughout history, Iran has been of geostrategic importance because of its central location in Eurasia. Iran is a founding member of the UN, NAM, OIC, OPEC, ECO, and seeks to join the SCO. The political system of Iran, based on the 1979 Constitution, comprises several intricately connected governing bodies. The highest state authority is the Supreme Leader, currently Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. As a regional power, Iran occupies an important position in international energy security and world economy due to its large reserves of petroleum and natural gas.

The name Iran is a cognate of Aryan, and literally means "Land of the Aryans". "Land of Kindness" (سرزمين مهر) is used as an alternative name for Iran in Persian literature and Iranian media.

Etymology

Main article: Etymology of Iran

The term Iran (ایران) in modern Persian derives from the Proto-Iranian term Aryānām first attested in Zoroastrianism's Avesta tradition. Ariya- and Airiia- are also attested as an ethnic designator in Achaemenid inscriptions. The term Ērān from Middle Persian Ērān, Pahlavi ʼyrʼn, is found at the inscription that accompanies the investiture relief of Ardashir I at Naqsh-e Rustam. In this inscription, the king's appellation in Middle Persian contains the term ērān (Pahlavi: ʼryʼn), while in the Parthian language inscription that accompanies it, Iran is mentioned as aryān. In Ardashir's time ērān retained this meaning, denoting the people rather than the state.

Notwithstanding this inscriptional use of ērān to refer to the Iranian peoples, the use of ērān to refer to the empire is also attested by the early Sassanid period. An inscription of Shapur I, Ardashir's son and immediate successor, apparently "includes in Ērān regions such as Armenia and the Caucasus which were not inhabited predominantly by Iranians." In Kartir's inscriptions the high priest includes the same regions in his list of provinces of the antonymic Anērān. Both ērān and aryān comes from the Proto-Iranian term Aryānām, (Land) of the (Iranian) Aryas. The word and concept of Airyanem Vaejah is present in the name of the country Iran (Lit. Land of the Aryans) where Iran (Ērān), is modern-Persian of the word Aryānā.

Since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the official name of the country is "Islamic Republic of Iran."

In the outside world the official name of Iran from 6th century BC until 1935 was Persia. In this year Reza Shah asked International community to call this country by its native name "Iran". A few years later some Persian scholars protested the government that changing the name has separated the country from its past so in 1959 Mohammad Reza Shah announced both terms can be used interchangeably. Now both terms are common but "Iran" mostly in modern political context and "Persia" in cultural and historical context.

History

Early history and the Median and Achaemenian Empires (3200 BCE–330 BCE)

Main articles: History of Iran, Zayandeh Rud civilization, Jiroft civilization, Elam, Median Empire, and Achaemenid Empire

Dozens of pre-historic sites across the Iranian plateau point to the existence of ancient cultures and urban settlements in the fourth millennium BCE, centuries before the earliest civilizations arose in nearby Mesopotamia.

Proto-Iranians first emerged following the separation of Indo-Iranians, and are traced to the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex, a Bronze Age culture of Central Asia. Aryan, (Proto-Iranian) tribes arrived in the Iranian plateau in the third and second millennium BCE, probably in more than one wave of emigration. Further separation of Proto-Iranians into an "Eastern" and a "Western" groups occurred due to migration. By the first millennium BCE, Medes, Persians, Bactrians and Parthians populated the western part, while Cimmerians, Sarmatians and Alans populated the steppes north of the Black Sea. The Iranian Pashtuns and Baloch began to settle on the eastern edge, on the mountainous frontier of northwestern India and in to what is now Balochistan. Others, such as the Scythian tribes spread as far west as the Balkans and as far east as Xinjiang.

The establishing of the Median dynasty (728–550 BCE) culminated in the first Iranian Empire. The Medes are credited with the foundation of Iran as a nation and empire, the largest of its day, until Cyrus the Great established a unified empire of the Medes and Persians leading to the Achaemenid Empire (648–330 BCE), and further unification between peoples and cultures. After Cyrus's death, his son Cambyses continued his father's work of conquest, making significant gains in Egypt. A power struggle followed Cambyses' death and, despite his tenuous connection to the royal line, Darius was declared king (ruled 522–486 BCE). He was to be arguably the greatest of the ancient Persian rulers.

Under Cyrus the Great and Darius the Great, the Persian Empire eventually became the largest and most powerful empire in human history up until that point. The borders of the Persian empire stretched from the Indus and Oxus Rivers in the East to the Mediterranean Sea in the West, extending through Anatolia (modern day Turkey) and Egypt. In 499BCE Athens lent support to a revolt in Miletus which resulted in the sacking of Sardis. This led to an Achaemenid campaign against Greece known as the Greco-Persian Wars which lasted the first half of the fifth century BC. During the Greco-Persian wars Persia made some major advantages and razed Athens in 480BCE, But after a string of Greek victories the Persians were forced to withdraw. Fighting ended with the peace of Callias in 449BCE.

The Achaemenid's greatest achievement was the empire itself. The rules and ethics emanating from Zorasters teachings were strictly followed by the Achaemenids who introduced and adopted policies based on human rights, equality and banning of slavery. Zoroastrianism spread unimposed during the time of the Achaemenids and through contacts with the exiled Jewish people in Babylon freed by Cyrus, Zoroastrian concepts further propagated and influenced into other Abrahamic religions. The Golden Age of Athens marked by Aristotle, Plato and Socrates also came about during the Achaemenid period while their contacts with Persia and the Near East abounded. The peace, tranquility, security and prosperity that were afforded to the people of the Near East and Southeastern Europe proved to be a rare historical occurrence, an unparalleled period where commerce prospered, and the standard of living for all people of the region improved.

Alexander of Macedon invaded Achaemenid territory in 334 BCE, defeating the last Achaemenid Emperor Darius III at the Battle of Issus in 333 BCE. He left the annexed territory in 328–327. In each of the former Achaemenid territories he installed his own officers as caretakers, which led to friction and ultimately to the partitioning of the former empire after Alexander's death. A reunification would not occur until 700 years later, under the Sassanids (see below). Unlike the diadochic Seleucids and the succeeding Arsacids, who used a vassalary system, the Sassanids—like the Achaemenids—had a system of governors (MP: shahrab) personally appointed by the Emperor and directed by the central government. The new empire led by Alexander became the first, of other, later, foreign ruled Iranian empires that came to promote a Persianate society.

Parthian and Sassanid Empires (248 BCE–651 CE)

Main articles: Seleucid Empire, Parthian Empire, and Sassanid Empire

Parthia was led by the Arsacid dynasty (اشکانیان Ashkâniân), who reunited and ruled over the Iranian plateau, after defeating the Greek Seleucid Empire, beginning in the late third century BCE, and intermittently controlled Mesopotamia between ca 150 BCE and 224 CE. These were the third native dynasty of ancient Iran (Persia) and lasted five centuries. After the conquests of Media, Assyria, Babylonia and Elam, the Parthians had to organize their empire. The former elites of these countries were Greek, and the new rulers had to adapt to their customs if they wanted their rule to last. As a result, the cities retained their ancient rights and civil administrations remained more or less undisturbed.

Parthia was the arch-enemy of the Roman Empire in the east, limiting Rome's expansion beyond Cappadocia (central Anatolia). By using a heavily-armed and armored cataphract cavalry, and lightly armed but highly-mobile mounted archers, the Parthians "held their own against Rome for almost 300 years". Rome's acclaimed general Mark Antony led a disastrous campaign against the Parthians in 36 BCE in which he lost 32,000 men. By the time of Roman emperor Augustus, Rome and Parthia were settling some of their differences through diplomacy. By this time, Parthia had acquired an assortment of golden eagles, the cherished standards of Rome's legions, captured from Mark Antony, and Crassus, who suffered "a disastrous defeat" at Carrhae in 53 BCE.

The end of the Parthian Empire came in 224 CE, when the empire was loosely organized and the last king was defeated by Ardashir I, one of the empire's vassals. Ardashir I then went on to create the Sassanid Empire. Soon he started reforming the country both economically and militarily. The Sassanids established an empire roughly within the frontiers achieved by the Achaemenids, referring to it as Erânshahr or Iranshahr, , "Dominion of the Aryans", i.e. of Iranians), with their capital at Ctesiphon. The Romans suffered repeated losses particularly by Ardashir I, Shapur I, and Shapur II. During their reign, Sassanid battles with the Roman Empire caused such pessimism in Rome that the historian Cassius Dio wrote:

In 632AD raiders from the Arab peninsula began attacking the Sassanid Empire Persia was defeated in the Battle of al-Qâdisiyah, paving way for the Islamic conquest of Persia.

During Parthian, and later Sassanid era, trade on the Silk Road was a significant factor in the development of the great civilizations of China, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, Indian subcontinent, and Rome, and helped to lay the foundations for the modern world. Parthian remains display classically Greek influences in some instances and retain their oriental mode in others, a clear expression of "the cultural diversity that characterized Parthian art and life". The Parthians were innovators of many architecture designs such as that of Ctesiphon, which bears resemblance to, and might have influenced, European Romanesque architecture. Under the Sassanids, Persia expanded relations with China, the arts, music, and architecture greatly flourished, and centers such as the School of Nisibis and Academy of Gundishapur became world renowned centers of science and scholarship.

From the fall of the Sassanid Dynasty to the Safavid Empire (652–1501)

Main articles: Islamization in Iran, Abbasid Caliphate, Ilkhanate, Timurid dynasty, Mongol Empire, Khwarezmian Empire, Seljuk dynasty, Buyid Dynasty, and Ghaznavid Empire

After the Islamic conquest of Persia, Persia was annexed into the Arab Umayyad Caliphate. But the Islamization of Iran was to yield deep transformations within the cultural, scientific, and political structure of Iran's society: The blossoming of Persian literature, philosophy, medicine and art became major elements of the newly-forming Muslim civilization. Culturally, politically, and religiously, the Iranian contribution to this new Islamic civilization is of immense importance. Indeed, the culmination of Persia caused the "Islamic Golden Age".

Abu Moslem, a Persian general , expelled the Umayyads from Damascus and helped the Abbasid caliphs to conquer Baghdad. The Abbasid caliphs frequently chose their "wazirs" (viziers) among Persians, and Persian governors acquired a certain amount of local autonomy. Thus in 822 CE, the governor of Khorasan, Tahir, proclaimed his independence and founded a new Persian dynasty of Tahirids. And by the Samanid era, Persia's efforts to regain its independence had been well solidified.

Attempts of Arabization thus never succeeded in Iran, and movements such as the Shuubiyah became catalysts for Persians to regain their independence in their relations with the Arab invaders. The cultural revival of the post-Abbasid period led to a resurfacing of Persian national identity. The resulting cultural movement reached its peak during the ninth and tenth centuries. The most notable effect of the movement was the continuation of the Persian language, the language of the Persians and the official language of Iran to the present day. Ferdowsi, Iran's greatest epic poet, is regarded today as the most important figure in maintaining the Persian language.

After an interval of silence Iran reemerged as a separate, different and distinctive element within Islam. Iranian philosophy after the Islamic conquest, is characterized by different interactions with the Old Iranian philosophy, the Greek philosophy and with the development of Islamic philosophy. The Illumination School and the Transcendent Philosophy are regarded as two of the main philosophical traditions of that era in Persia.

The movement continued well into the eleventh century, when Mahmud-a Ghaznavi founded a vast empire, with its capital at Isfahan and Ghazna. Their successors, the Seljuks, asserted their domination from the Mediterranean Sea to Central Asia. As with their predecessors, the divan of the empire was in the hands of Persian viziers, who founded the Nizamiyya. During this period, hundreds of scholars and scientists vastly contributed to technology, science and medicine, later influencing the rise of European science during the Renaissance.

In 1218, the eastern Khwarazmid provinces of Transoxiana and Khorasan suffered a devastating invasion by Genghis Khan. During this period more than half of Persia's population were killed, turning the streets of Persian cities like Neishabur into "rivers of blood", as the severed heads of men, women, and children were "neatly stacked into carefully constructed pyramids around which the carcasses of the city's dogs and cats were placed". Between 1220 and 1260, the total population of Persia had dropped from 2,500,000 to 250,000 as a result of mass extermination and famine. In a letter to King Louis IX of France, Holaku, one of the Genghis Khan's grandsons, alone took responsibility for 200,000 deaths in his raids of Persia and the Caliphate. He was followed by yet another conqueror, Tamerlane, who established his capital in Samarkand. The waves of devastation prevented many cities such as Neishabur from reaching their pre-invasion population levels until the twentieth century, eight centuries later. But both Hulagu, Timur, and their successors soon came to adopt the ways and customs of that which they had conquered, choosing to surround themselves with a culture that was distinctively Persian.

From the Safavid Empire to the Islamic Revolution (1501–1979)

Main articles: Safavid Empire, Qajar dynasty, Afsharid dynasty, Zand dynasty, and Pahlavi dynasty

Persia's first encompassing Shi'a Islamic state was established under the Safavid dynasty in 1501 by Shah Ismail I. The Safavid dynasty soon became a major political power and promoted the flow of bilateral state contacts. The Safavid peak was during the rule of "Shah Abbas The Great". The Shah swiftly moved to defeat the Uzbeks, Ottomans, and Portuguese, bringing a flow of prosperity into Iranian cities. The Safavids moved their capital from Tabriz to Qazvin and then to Isfahan where their patronage for the arts propelled Persia into one of its most aesthetically productive eras. Under their rule, the state became highly centralized, the first attempts to modernize the military were made, and even a distinct style of architecture developed.

The defeat of Shah Sultan Hossein by Afghan rebels marked the start of the downfall of the Safavid era in 1722. One year later the last Safavid monarch lost his throne in 1735, Nader Shah successfully drove out the Afghan rebels from Isfahan and established the Afsharid dynasty. He then staged an incursion into India in 1738 securing the Peacock throne, Koh-i-Noor, and Darya-ye Noor among other royal treasures. His rule did not last long however, and he was assassinated in 1747. The Mashhad based Afshar dynasty was succeeded by the Zand dynasty in 1750, founded by Karim Khan, who established his capital at Shiraz. His rule brought a period of relative peace and renewed prosperity.

The Zand dynasty lasted three generations, until Aga Muhammad Khan executed Lotf Ali Khan, and founded his new capital in Tehran, marking the dawn of the Qajar dynasty in 1794. The capable Qajar chancellor Amir Kabir established Iran's first modern college system, among other modernizing reforms. Mohammad Khan Qajars successors however gradually transformed Iran into an arena for the rising colonial powers of Imperial Russia and the British Empire, which wielded great political influence in Tehran under the subsequent Qajarid kings. Yet in spite of The Great Game, Iran managed to maintain her sovereignty and was never colonized, unlike neighboring states in the region. Persia suffered several wars with Imperial Russia during the Qajar era, resulting in Persia losing almost half of its territories to Imperial Russia and the British Empire via the treaties of Gulistan, Turkmenchay, and Akhal. Repeated foreign intervention and a corrupt and weakened Qajar rule led to various protests, which by the end of the Qajar period resulted in Persia's constitutional revolution establishing the nation's first parliament in 1906, within a constitutional monarchy.