Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
History
Iran has been home to organised urban settlements since at least 4000 BC and even from
those times the history of Iran has been intertwined with the history of the region as a
whole. Initially the Elamites and Medes paid tribute to the greater Mesopotamian powers of
Sumeria and Neo-Assyria. But for about 1100 years from 550 BC a succession of Iranian
empires were the superpowers that dominated the region from Egypt, the Mediterranean
and the borders of Europe in the west to the Indus River in the east. It began with the
Achaemenids, was interrupted by Alexander the Great and the Seleucids, and continued
with the Parthian and Sassanid dynasties.
The arrival of the Arabs in AD 633 was a
turning point in Iranian history. The Zoroastrian
religion was soon replaced by Islam, but the
more advanced arts, sciences and administration
that had defined Persian civilisation were ab-
sorbed into Islamic life. What followed was a
pattern that would recur for hundreds of years: a
strong ruler creates an empire, his death begins the slow fragmentation of control and an-
other strong ruler sweeps the weakened state aside to begin his own empire. The players in-
cluded the Arabs, several local and Turkish dynasties and the Mongols. Through it all the
Persian national, political and cultural identity survived and, indeed, was largely adopted
by the invader.
In 1502 the Safavid dynasty reestablished Iran as an independent state, adopted Shi'a
Islam as the official religion and expanded the empire across much of the region. Their de-
mise in 1722 led to another round of short-term dynasties before the Qajars, and later the
Pahlavis, continued royal rule until the 1979 revolution brought with it the Islamic Repub-
lic.
Ancient Persia,
by Josef Wiesehöfer, is a study of
the country's origins and why it collapsed so dra-
matically after the Arab invasions of the 7th cen-
tury.
The Elamites & Medes
Elam was the lowland region in what is now Khuzestan province and the first organised
settlements appeared as far back as 2600 BC. Elam was close enough to Mesopotamia and
the great Sumerian civilisation to feel its influence and the two were regular opponents on
the battlefield. The Elamites established their capital at Susa (Shush) and derived their
strength through an enlightened federal system of government that allowed states to ex-
change natural resources unique to each region.
