History

Iran was an early centre of civilisation and its dynasties included the aggressive Sassanids (from 3rd century) and its first royal house, the Achaemenids (from 7th century. It was ruled by the Arabs, Turks and Mongols until the Safavid Dynasty in the 16-18th century and the Qajar Dynasty in the 19-20th century.

A military coup in 1921 led to independence in 1925 under Reza Shah Pahlavi, who abdicated and was succeeded as Shah by his son Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1941. Protests against the Shah's regime in the 1970s led to a revolution in 1978. The Shah went into exile and an Islamic Republic was proclaimed under Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979.

The Iran-Iraq War took place in 1980-8, claiming possibly one million Iranian lives. On Khomeini's death in 1989, the president, Sayed Ali Khamena, became Ayatollah. During the Gulf War, Iran remained neutral, and gave refuge to about 1.5 million Kurdish and Shia people fleeing Iraq. During the 1990s, relations between Iran and the West, particularly the USA, became strained due to its alleged abuses of human rights, its lack of cooperation during the Middle East peace process, its expansion of its military resources, and its rumoured involvement in both inter-national terrorism and the development of nuclear weapons.

Pre-Aryan History

There are records of numerous ancient and technologically advanced civilisations on the Iranian plateau before the arrival of Aryan tribes from the north, many of whom are still unknown to historians today. Archaeological findings place knowledge of Iranian prehistory at Lower Palaeolithic times (800,000 years ago). Evidence for this is in form of stone tools made on quartz which have been found at Kashafrud. There are more cultural remains of Neanderthal man in Iran which mainly have been found in the Zagros region and some in central Iran. Some of these important Neandertal sites are Bisetun, Kunji, Warwasi, Qaleh Bozi. Evidence for Upper Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic periods are known mainly from the Zagros region in the caves of Kermanshah and Khoramabad.

The earliest sedentary cultures date from 10,000-7,000 years ago. This evidence comes from archaeological sites such as Ganj Dareh, Sarab, Mushki,tepe Chaxmaq. In 6000 BC, the world saw a fairly sophisticated agricultural society and proto-urban population centres. The south-western part of Iran was part of the Fertile Crescent where most of humanity's first major crops were grown. 7,000 year old jars of wine excavated in the Zagros Mountains (now on display at The University of Pennsylvania) and ruins of 70,000 year old settlements such as Sialk are further testament to this.

Persian Empire

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.

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 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 (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.

3200 BC-648 BC: Median Empire

The written history of Persia (Iran) begins in about 3200 BC with the Proto-Iranian civilisation, followed by the Elamites. The arrival of the Aryans (Indo-Iranians) in the third and second millennium BC and the establishing of the Median dynasty (728-550 BC) culminated in the first Iranian Empire. The Medes are credited with the foundation of Iran as a nation and empire, and established the first Iranian empire, the largest of its day until Cyrus the Great established a unified empire of the Medes and Persians leading to the Achaemenian Empire (648-330 BC).

648-330 BC: Achaemenian Empire

Cyrus the Great created the Cyrus Cylinder, considered to be the first declaration of human rights. Cyrus also banned slavery in all of the conquered areas that became the Persian Empire. After his death, his son Cambyses ruled for seven years (531-522 BC) and 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 BC). He was to be arguably the greatest of the ancient Persian rulers.

Darius' first capital was at Susa, and he started the building programme at Persepolis. He built a canal between the Nile and the Red Sea, a forerunner of the modern Suez Canal. He improved the extensive road system, and it is during his reign that mention is first made of the Royal Road, a great highway stretching all the way from Susa to Sardis with posting stations at regular intervals.

Major reforms took place under Darius. Coinage, in the form of the daric (gold coin) and the shekel (silver coin) was introduced to the world, and administrative efficiency was increased. The Old Persian language appears in royal inscriptions, written in a specially adapted version of cuneiform.

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, ruling and administrating over most of the then known world. Their greatest achievement was the empire itself. The Persian Empire represented the world's first global superpower, and was based on a model of tolerance and respect for other cultures and religions.

Alexander of Macedon conquered Persia in 333 BC only to be followed shortly by two more vast and unified Iranian empires that shaped the pre-Islamic identity of Iran and Central Asia: the Parthian (250 BC-226 AD) and Sassanian (226-650 AD) dynasties. The latter dynasties also defeated the Roman Empire at the height of its power on several occasions.

248 BC-224 AD: Parthian Empire

Parthia was led by the Arsacid dynasty, which reunited and ruled over the Iranian plateau, after defeating the Greek Seleucid Empire, and intermittently controlled Mesopotamia between 150 BC and 224 AD. It was the second native dynasty of ancient Iran (Persia). Parthia was the arch-enemy of the Roman Empire in the east; and it limited Rome's expansion beyond Cappadocia (central Anatolia). The Parthian armies included two types of cavalry: the heavily-armed and armoured cataphracts and lightly armed but highly-mobile mounted archers. For the Romans, who relied on heavy infantry, the Parthians were hard to defeat, as both types of cavalry were much faster and more mobile than foot soldiers. On the other hand, the Parthians found it difficult to occupy conquered areas as they were unskilled in siege warfare. Because of these weaknesses, neither the Romans nor the Parthians were able to annex each other completely.

The Parthian empire lasted five centuries, longer than most Eastern Empires. The end of this long lasted empire came in 224 AD, when the last king was defeated by one of the empire's vassals, the Persians of the Sassanian dynasty.

224-651 AD: Sassanian Empire

The first Shah of the Sassanian Empire, Ardashir I, started reforming the country both economically and militarily. The empire's territory encompassed all of today's Iran, Iraq, Armenia, Afghanistan, eastern parts of Turkey, and parts of Syria, Pakistan, Caucasia, Central Asia and Arabia. During Khosrau II's rule in 590-628, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon were also annexed to the Empire. The Sassanians called their empire Eranshahr (or Iranshahr, 'Dominion of the Aryans', i.e. of Iranians).

637-1231: Caliphate and Sultanate Era

637: Islamic Conquest

Muslims invaded Iran in the time of Umar and conquered it after several great battles. By 674, Muslims had conquered Greater Khorasan (which included modern Iranian Khorasan province and modern Afghanistan, Transoxania, and Balochistan). The Islamic conquest of Persia led to the end of the Sassanid Empire and the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion in Persia. The majority of Iranians accepted Islam. However, the achievements of the previous Persian civilisations were not lost, but were to a great extent absorbed by the new Islamic polity.

651-750: Umayyad Dynasty

After the fall of Sasanian dynasty in 651, the Umayyad Arabs adopted many of the Persian customs especially the administrative and the court mannerisms. Arab provincial governors were undoubtedly either Persianized Arameans or ethnic Persians; certainly Persian remained the language of official business of the caliphate until the adoption of Arabic toward the end of the 7th century, when in 692 minting began at the caliphal capital, Damascus. The new Islamic coins evolved from imitations of Sasanian coins (as well as Byzantine), and the Pahlavi script on the coinage was replaced with Arabic.

With the death of the Umayyad Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik in 743, the Islamic world was launched into civil war. Abu Muslim was sent to Khorasan by the Abbasids initially as a propagandist and then to revolt on their behalf. He took Merv, defeating the Umayyad governor there Nasr ibn Sayyar. He became the de facto Abbasid governor of Khurasan. In 750, Abu Muslim became leader of the Abbasid army and defeated the Umayyads at Battle of the Zab. Abu Muslim stormed Damascus, the capital of the Umayyad caliphate, later that year.

750-1258: Abbasid Dynasty

The Abbasid army consisted primarily of Khorasanians and was led by an Iranian general, Abu Muslim Khorasani. It contained both Iranian and Arab elements, and the Abbasids enjoyed both Iranian and Arab support.

By the 9th century, Abbasid control began to wane as regional leaders sprang up in the far corners of the empire to challenge the central authority of the Abbasid caliphate. The Abbasid caliphs began enlisting Turkic-speaking warriors who had been moving out of Central Asia into Transoxiana 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 dynasties rose in various parts of Iran, some with considerable influence and power. Among the most important of these overlapping dynasties were the Tahirids in Khorasan (820-72); the Saffarids in Sistan (867-903); and the Samanids (875-1005), originally at Bokhara. The Samanids eventually ruled an area from central Iran to India. By the early 10th century, the Abbasids almost lost control to the growing Persian faction known as the Buwayhid dynasty (934-1055). Since much of the Abbasid administration had been Persian anyway, the Buwayhid were quietly able to assume real power in Baghdad. The Buwayhid were defeated in the mid-11th century by the Seljuk Turks, who continued to exert influence over the Abbasids, while publicly pledging allegiance to them. The balance of power in Baghdad remained as such - with the Abbasids in power in name only - until the Mongol invasion of 1258 sacked the city and definitively ended the Abbasid dynasty.

962-1231: Turkish Dynasties

In 962, a Turkish slave governor of the Samanids, Alptigin, conquered Ghazna (in present-day Afghanistan) and established a dynasty, the Ghaznavids, that lasted to 1186. The Ghaznavid empire grew by taking all of the Samanid territories south of the Amu Darya in the last decade of the 10th century, and eventually occupied much of present-day Iran, Afghanistan, and northwest India and Pakistan. The Ghaznavids are generally credited with launching Islam into Hindu-dominated India. The invasion of India was undertaken in 1000 by the Ghaznavid ruler, Mahmud, and continued for several years. They were unable to hold power for long, however, particularly after the death of Mahmud in 1030. By 1040 the Seljuks had taken over the Ghaznavid lands in Iran.

The Seljuks, who like the Ghaznavids were Turks, slowly conquered Iran over the course of the 11th century. The dynasty had its origins in the Turcoman tribal confederations of Central Asia and marked the beginning of Turkic power in the Middle East. They established a Sunni Muslim dynasty that ruled parts of Central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries. They set up an empire known as Great Seljuk Empire that stretched from Anatolia to Punjab and was the target of the First Crusade. Today they are regarded as the cultural ancestors of the Western Turks, the present-day inhabitants of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Turkmenistan, and they are remembered as great patrons of Persian culture, art, literature and language. 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.

Under Tughril Beg's successor, Malik Shah (1072-1092), Iran enjoyed a cultural and scientific renaissance, largely attributed to his Iranian vizier, Nizam al Mulk. These leaders established the observatory where Omar Khayyam 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.

When Malikshah I died in 1092, the empire split as his brother and four sons quarrelled over the apportioning of the empire among themselves. In Anatolia, Malikshah I was succeeded by Kilij Arslan I who founded the Sultanate of Rum and in Syria by his brother Tutush I. In Persia he was succeeded by his son Mahmud I whose reign was contested by his other three brothers Barkiyaruq in Iraq, Muhammad I in Baghdad and Ahmad Sanjar in Khorasan.

As Seljuk power in Iran weakened, other dynasties began to step up in its place, including a resurgent Abbasid caliphate and the Khwarezmshahs. The Khwarezmid Empire was a Sunni Muslim dynasty that ruled in Central Asia. Originally vassals of the Seljuks, they took advantage of the decline of the Seljuks to expand into Iran. In 1194, the Khwarezmshah Ala ad-Din Tekish defeated the Seljuk sultan Tugrul III in battle and the Seljuk Empire in Iran collapsed. Of the former Seljuk Empire, only the Sultanate of Rum in Anatolia remained.

1219: Mongol Invasion

The Khwarezmid Empire only lasted for a few decades, until the arrival of the Mongols. Genghis Khan had unified the Mongols, and under him the Mongol Empire quickly expanded in several directions, until by 1218 it bordered Khwarezm. At that time, the Khwarezmid Empire was ruled by Ala ad-Din Muhammad (1200-1220). Muhammad, like Genghis, was intent on expanding his lands and had gained the submission of most of Iran. He declared himself shah and demanded formal recognition from the Abbasid caliph an-Nasir. When the caliph rejected his claim, Ala ad-Din Muhammad proclaimed one of his nobles caliph and unsuccessfully tried to depose an-Naisr.

The Mongol invasion of Iran began in 1219, after two diplomatic missions to Khwarezm sent by Genghis Khan had been massacred. During 1220-21 Bukhara, Samarkand, Herat, Tus and Neyshabur were razed, and the whole populations were slaughtered. The Khwarezm-Shah fled, to die on an island off the Caspian coast.

1256-1353: Ilkhanate

After Genghis' death, Iran was ruled by several Mongol commanders. Genghis' grandson, Hulagu Khan, was tasked with expanding the Mongol empire in Iran in 1256. Arriving with an army, he established himself in the region and founded the Ilkhanate, which would rule Iran for the next 80 years. He seized Baghdad in 1258 and put the last Abbasid caliph to death. The westward advance of his forces was stopped by the Mamelukes, however, at the Battle of Ain Jalut in Palestine in 1260.

The rule of Hulagu's great-grandson, Ghazan Khan saw the establishment of Islam as the state religion of the Ilkhanate. Ghazan and his famous Iranian vizier, Rashid al-Din, brought Iran a partial and brief economic revival. The Mongols lowered taxes for artisans, encouraged agriculture, rebuilt and extended irrigation works, and improved the safety of the trade routes. As a result, commerce increased dramatically. Items from India, China, and Iran passed easily across the Asian steppes, and these contacts culturally enriched Iran.

After Ghazan's nephew Abu Said died in 1335, however, the Ilkhanate lapsed into civil war and was divided between several petty dynasties - most prominently the Jalayirids, Muzaffarids, Sarbadars and Kartids.

1370-1506: Timurid Dynasty

Iran remained divided until the arrival of Timurlane, who is variously described as of Mongol or Turkic origin. After establishing a power base in Transoxiana, he invaded Iran in 1381 and conquered it piece by piece. Timerlane's campaigns were known for their brutality; many people were slaughtered and several cities were destroyed. His regime was characterised by its inclusion of Iranians in administrative roles and its promotion of architecture and poetry. His successors, the Timurids, maintained a hold on most of Iran until 1452, when they lost the bulk of it to Black Sheep Turkmen. The Black Sheep Turkmen were conquered by the White Sheep Turkmen under Uzun Hasan in 1468; Uzun Hasan and his successors were the masters of Iran until the rise of the Safavids.

1502-1735: Safavid Empire

The Safiviyeh came to be led by a fifteen-year old Ismail I. To establish political legitimacy, the Safavid rulers claimed to be descended from Imam Ali and his wife Fatima (the daughter of Prophet Muhammad) through the seventh Imam Musa al-Kazim. To further legitimise his power, Ismail I also added claims of royal Sassanian heritage after becoming Shah.

Shah Ismail soon conquered and unified Iran under his rule. Soon after, the new Iranian Empire conquered most of the modern day Afghanistan and Iraq.

The greatest of the Safavid monarchs, Shah Abbas I the Great came to power in 1587 aged 16. Abbas I first fought the Uzbeks, recapturing Herat and Mashhad in 1598. Then he turned against the Ottomans recapturing Baghdad, eastern Iraq and the Caucasian provinces by 1622. He also used his new force to dislodge the Portuguese from Bahrain (1602) and the English navy from Hormuz (1622) in the Persian Gulf (a vital link in Portuguese trade with India). He expanded commercial links with the English East India Company and the Dutch East India Company. Thus Abbas I was able to break the dependence on the Qizilbash for military might and therefore was able to centralise control.

1736-1802: Afshar Dynasty

The defeat of Shah Sultan Hossein by Afghan rebels marked the start of the downfall of the Safavid era in 1722. One year after 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.

1750-1794: Zand Dynasty

The Afsharid 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 dynasty however did not last more than three generations, and Lotf Ali Khan (who became king in 1789) was captured and brutally killed in the fortress of Bam in 1795 by Aga Muhammad Khan (chief of Qajar tribe), putting an effective end to the Zand Dynasty and marking the dawn of the Qajar dynasty.

1781-1925: Qajar Dynasty

The Qajar dynasty was founded in 1781 by Agha Muhammad Khan, of Iranian Turkmen descent, who set out to reunify Iran. By 1794, he had eliminated all his rivals, including Lotf Ali Khan, the last of the Zand dynasty, and had reasserted Iranian sovereignty over the former Iranian territories in Georgia and the Caucasus. In 1796 he was formally crowned as shah, or emperor. Agha Mohammad was assassinated in 1797 in Shusha, the capital of Karabakh khanate, and was succeeded by his nephew, Fath Ali Shah Qajar.

Fath Ali Shah's reign saw increased diplomatic contacts with the West and the beginning of intense European diplomatic rivalries over Iran. His grandson Mohammad Shah, who fell under the influence of Russia and made two unsuccessful attempts to capture Herat, succeeded him in 1834. When Mohammad Shah died in 1848 the succession passed to his son Nasser-e-Din, who proved to be the ablest and most successful of the Qajar sovereigns.

When Nasser-e-Din Shah was assassinated by Mirza Reza Kermani in 1896, the crown passed to his son Mozaffar-e-din, who turned out to be a weak and ineffectual ruler. The Constitutional Revolution of Iran against Mozaffar-e-din Shah took place in the late 19th and early 20th century. The Shah managed to remain in power, granting a limited constitution in 1906, making the country a constitutional monarchy. The first Majlis (parliament) was convened on October 7, 1906.

Soltan Ahmad Shah succeeded to the throne in 1910 at age 11. However, the occupation of Iran during World War I (1914-18) by Russian, British and Ottoman troops was a blow from which he never effectively recovered. With a coup d'état in February 1921, Reza Khan (ruled as Reza Shah Pahlavi, 1925-41) became the pre-eminent political personality in Iran; Ahmad Shah left Iran in 1923 for Europe never to return. He was formally deposed by the Majlis (national consultative assembly) in October 1925 while in Europe, and that assembly declared the rule of the Qajar dynasty to be terminated. Sultan Ahmad Shah died later on 21 February 1930 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.

17th - 20th Century: Colonialism

By the 17th century, European countries, including Great Britain, Imperial Russia and France, had already started establishing colonial footholds in the region. As a result, Iran lost sovereignty over many of its provinces to these countries via the Treaty of Turkmenchay, the Treaty of Gulistan, and others.

The discovery of oil in 1908 by the British in Khuzestan spawned intense renewed interest in Persia by the British Empire. Control of Persia remained contested between the United Kingdom and Russia, in what became known as The Great Game, and codified in the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907, which divided Persia into spheres of influence, regardless of her national sovereignty.

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.

1925-1979: Pahlavi Dynasty

Reza Shah Pahlavi ruled for almost 16 years. Under his reign, Persia (Iran) began to modernise and to secularise politics, and the central government reasserted its authority over the tribes and provinces. Reza Shah sought to balance the influence of Russia and Britain by seeking out assistance and technology from European powers traditionally not involved in Iranian affairs, but when World War II started his closeness to Germany alarmed allied powers Russia and Britain, Germany's enemies.

In summer of 1941, Britain and the USSR invaded Iran to prevent Iran from allying with the Axis powers. The Allies occupied Iran, and the country became a vital oil-supply source and link in the Allied supply line for lend-lease supplies to the Soviet Union. In September, the British forced Reza to abdicate in favour of his pro-British 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 Azerbaijan People's Government 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.

1946-1979: Post-War Iran

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, a nationalist politician, Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh rose to prominence in Iran and was elected Prime Minister. As Prime Minister, Mossadegh became enormously popular in Iran by nationalising the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (later British Petroleum, BP) which controlled the country's oil reserves. In response, Britain embargoed Iranian oil and began plotting to depose Mossadegh. In 1953, President Eisenhower authorised Operation Ajax, and the CIA took the lead in overthrowing Mossadegh and supporting a US-friendly monarch. The operation was successful in triggering a coup, and within days, pro-Shah tanks stormed the capital and bombarded the Prime Minister's residence. Mossadegh surrendered, and was arrested on 19 August 1953. He was tried for treason, and sentenced to three years in prison.

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi returned to power greatly strengthened and his rule became increasingly autocratic in the following years. With strong support from the US and UK, the Shah further modernised Iranian industry, but simultaneously crushed all forms of political opposition with his intelligence agency, SAVAK (Organisation for Intelligence and National Security).

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini became an active critic of the Shah's White Revolution and publicly denounced the government. Khomeini, who was popular in religious circles, was arrested and imprisoned for 18 months. After his release in 1964, Khomeini publicly criticised the United States government. The Shah was persuaded to send him into exile by General Hassan Pakravan. Khomeini was sent first to Turkey, then to Iraq and finally to France. While in exile, he continued to denounce the Shah.

1979: Iranian Revolution

The Iranian Revolution (also known as the Islamic Revolution) transformed Iran from a monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, to an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution and founder of the Islamic Republic.

The revolution began in January 1978 with the first major demonstrations against the Shah. After strikes and demonstrations paralysed the country, the Shah fled the country in January 1979. On February 1, 1979 Ayatollah Khomeini returned from exile to Tehran, enthusiastically greeted by millions of Iranians. The Pahlavi dynasty collapsed ten days later on February 11 when Iran's military declared itself "neutral" after guerrillas and rebel troops overwhelmed troops loyal to the Shah in armed street fighting.

Iran officially became an Islamic Republic on April 1, 1979 when Iranians overwhelmingly approved a national referendum to make it so. In December 1979 the country approved a theocratic constitution, whereby Khomeini became Supreme Leader of the country. The speed and success of the revolution surprised many throughout the world, as it had not been precipitated by a military defeat, a financial crisis or a peasant rebellion. It produced profound change at great speed. It overthrew a regime thought to be heavily protected by a lavishly financed army and security services.

The new government nationalized industry and started establishing Islamic traditions in culture and law. Western influences were banned and many of the pro-West migrated. There were also clashes between Marxist parties and Iranian armed forces after the referendum of April 1, 1979 which continued for almost four years in various provinces.

1979 - Present: The Islamic Republic

1979-1980: Iran Hostage Crisis

Iran's relations with the United States became deeply antagonistic during the revolution. On November 4, 1979, Iranian students seized US embassy personnel, labelling the embassy a "den of spies". They accused its personnel of being CIA agents plotting to overthrow the revolutionary government, as the CIA had done to Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953. While the student ringleaders had not asked for permission from Khomeini to seize the embassy, Khomeini nonetheless supported the embassy takeover after hearing of its success. While most of the female and African American hostages were released within the first months, the remaining fifty-two hostages were held for 444 days. 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

The students demanded the handover of the Shah in exchange for the hostages, and following the Shah's death in the summer of 1980, that the hostages be put on trial for espionage. Subsequent attempts by the Jimmy Carter administration to negotiate or rescue were unsuccessful until January 1981 when the Algiers declaration was agreed upon, which stated (amongst other things) that the US would not intervene in Iranian internal affairs, and would remove a freeze on Iranian assets and trade sanctions on Iran. The hostages were released January 20 1981.

1980-1988: Iran-Iraq War

The war began when Iraq invaded Iran on 22 September 1980 following a long history of border disputes and demands for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime. Although the Iraqis attacked without formal warning, they failed to make progress and were soon repelled by the Iranians. Despite several calls for a ceasefire by the United Nations Security Council, hostilities continued until 20 August 1988; the last prisoners of war were exchanged in 2003.

Tens of thousands of Iranian civilians and military personnel were killed when Iraq used chemical weapons in its warfare. Iraq was financially backed by Egypt, the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact states, the United States (beginning in 1983), France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil, and the People's Republic of China (which also sold weapons to Iran). All of these countries provided intelligence, agents for chemical weapons as well as other forms of military assistance to Saddam Hussein. Iran's principal allies during the war were Syria, Libya and North Korea. Members of the Reagan Administration covertly sold anti-tank missiles and spare parts to Iran in what became known as the Iran-Contra affair.

1989 - Present: Post-Khomeini Era

In 1989, Khomeini died and was succeeded by Iran's president, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The presidency was soon filled by Ali Akbar Rafsanjani, who sought improved relations and with Western nations while somewhat diminishing the influence of revolutionary factions and embarking on a military buildup.

When Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, Iran adhered to international sanctions against Iraq. However, Iran condemned the use of US-led coalition forces against Iraq during the Persian Gulf War (1991). As a result of the war and its aftermath, more than one million Kurds crossed the Iraqi border into Iran as refugees.

Rafsanjani was re-elected president in 1993. The United States suspended all trade with Iran in 1995, accusing Iran of supporting terrorist groups and attempting to develop nuclear weapons. In 1997, Mohammad Khatami, a moderately liberal Muslim cleric, was elected president. Also in 1997, several European Union countries began renewing economic ties with Iran; the United States, however, continued to block more normalised relations, arguing that the country had been implicated in international terrorism and was developing a nuclear weapons capacity.

In 1999, as new curbs were put on a free press, pro-democracy student demonstrations erupted at Tehran University and other urban campuses. These were followed by a wave of counter demonstrations by conservative factions.

Reformers won a substantial victory in the February 2000 parliamentary elections, securing about two thirds of the seats, but conservative elements in the government forced the closure of the reformist press. Attempts by parliament to repeal restrictive press laws were forbidden by Khamenei. Despite these conditions, President Khatami was overwhelming re-elected in June, 2001. Tensions between reformers in parliament and conservatives in the judiciary and the Guardian Council, over both social and economic changes, increased after Khatami's re-election.

In January 2002, in his State of the Union Address, US President George W. Bush labelled Iran, along with Iraq, and North Korea as an 'Axis of evil' This speech sparked widespread demonstrations all across Iran.

Tensions with the United States increased after the Anglo-American freeing of Iraqis in March, 2003, as US officials increasingly denounced Iran for pursuing the alleged development of nuclear weapons. In October, however, Iran agreed, in negotiations with several west European nations, to toughen international inspections of its nuclear installations. Concern over Iran's nuclear program nonetheless continued. Meanwhile, an earthquake, centred on Bam in southeast Iran, killed more than 26,000 people in December 2003.

In the February 2004, elections, conservatives won control of parliament, securing some two thirds of the seats. Many Iranians, however, were unhappy with the failure of the current parliament to achieve any significant reforms or diminish the influence of the hardliners. In mid-2004, Iran began resuming the processing of nuclear fuel as part of its plan to achieve self-sufficiency in civilian nuclear power production, stating the negotiations with European Union nations had failed to bring access to the advanced nuclear technology that was promised. The action was denounced by the United States as one which would give Iran the capability to develop nuclear weapons. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that there was no evidence that Iran was seeking to develop such arms. However, the IAEA also called for Iran to abandon its plans to produce enriched uranium. Iran agreed to do this in November 2004, but subsequently indicated that it would not be held to the suspension if the negotiations the EU nations failed.