FROM PERSIA TO IRAN THE TWENTY MINUTE TOUR

PREDYNASTIC ERA : 8000-550 BC

8OOO BC: Iranian plateau (mainly Iran, Afghanistan , and Pakistan west of the River Indus ) became cradle of one of the oldest civilizations.

1500-800 BC: Aryan nomads, Persians and Medes, migrated to IP from central Asia 1000 BC: Prophet Zoroaster became one of the first prophets to introduce a monotheistic religion Zoroastrianism.

ACHAEMENIAN DYNASTY : 550-334 BC

559-530 BC: Cyrus the Great established Persian Empire in 500 BC (the first world empire). It was the dominant world power for over two centuries.

539 BC: Freed Jews from Babylonia and assisted with their safe journey to Jerusalem and helped build a temple there. Named as “Shepherd of the Lord” in the Book of Isaiah .

MAP OF PERSIAN EMPIRE: 500 BC

Cyrus’ Declaration of Human Rights, a clay cylinder inscribed in Babylonian cuneiform : “…I announce that I will respect the traditions, customs and religions of the nations of my empire and never let any of my governors and subordinates look down on or insult them until I am alive….Until I am the king of Iran, Babylon, and the nations of the four directions, I never let anyone oppress any others….Today, I announce that everyone is free to choose a religion. People are free to live in all regions and take up a job provided that they never violate other's rights….Such traditions [as slavery] should be exterminated the world over.”

522-486 BC: Darius the Great, created infrastructures, such as local and national government (satrapy system), roads, ports, banking houses (word “check” is from Old Persian), underground irrigation systems, and a canal linking the Nile to the Red Sea. He introduced one of the first forms of common coinage—darik. Also standardized weights and measures and codified commercial laws. All these developments stimulated world trade and brought prosperity to the empire.

Darius initiated building of Persepolis palace

ALEXANDER TO PARTHIAN DYNASTY : 334-224 BC

334 BC: Alexander and troops invaded Persia, plundering, raping, executing many Persians and setting fire to Persepolis. 323 BC: Alexander died and the empire was divided among his generals. His legacy was to introduce Persian imperial practices (state administration and the rule of law) to the West. These practices were later adopted by the Roman Empire.

247 BC-224 AD: The Parthians, a tribal kingdom from northeastern Iran defeated the Greek Seleucid Dynasty which had been established by one of Alexander’s generals. Control over all Persia was consolidated.

Parthians become a superpower after defeating the Romans in 53 BC .

SASANIAN DYNASTY 224-642 AD

224: Ardeshir I founded Sasanian Dynasty, reviving Persian culture and Zoroastrianism.

274: Mani founded Manichaeism trying to create new world religion; combination of Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Buddhism.

570: Prophet

Mohammad was born during Sasanian Dynasty.

622: Mohammad migrated from Mecca to Medina marking birth of Islam and beginning of Islamic calendar. Mohammad received visions and revelations from God through the angel Gabriel.

632: Mohammad dies, after which his revelations are gathered and compiled into the Koran.

ARAB CALIPHATE: 642-820

642: After successfully defending itself against the Roman/Byzantine Empires for centuries, the Persian Empire was swiftly vanquished by nomadic Islamic tribesman .

661-750: The Umayyad Caliphate saw Islam as an Arab religion and tried, unsuccessfully to eradicate Persian culture and language.

PERSIA’S CULTURAL GOLDEN AGES: 820-1220

Arab rule diminished and various local Persian monarchs successively ruled. Persians played a major role in the advancement of Islamic civilization. Examples include: 850—Khwarazmi, mathematician and astronomer wrote, The Book of Integration & Equation. Word “algebra” derived from this book and “algorithm” from his own name. He, amongst other Persian scholars produced “Arabic” numerals used today.

980-1037—Ibn Sina (Avicenna) scientist and philosopher writes over 200 books including The Cannon of Medicine, translated into Latin and an authority until the 17 th Century.

1048-1122: Omar Khayyam, mathematician, poet, and astronomer created Persian calendar, wrote The Rubaiyat, among other things. After Rubaiyat was translated by FitzGerald in the 19 th Century, Khayyam became the most famous “oriental” poet in Europe.

940-1020: Ferdowsi,

Iran’s national poet wrote The Shahnameh. Using 50,000 couplets, it took Ferdowsi 30 years to write this Book of Kings. It is filled with mythical stories capturing the pre-Islamic world of Persia. Ferdowsi was a defender of the Persian identity and deeply resented Arab influence.

MONGOL ERA: 1220-1501

1220: Ghengis Khan attacked

Persia with unparalleled brutality, destroying major cities, libraries and hospitals, and slaughtered entire populations. Death toll is estimated to have been in the millions.

1271: Traveling through Persia, Marco Polo writes, “How sad it is, the destruction, waste and death inflicted upon this once mighty, prosperous and beautiful Persia.”

NOTABLE PERSIANS DURING MONGOL ERA: 1207-1273: Rumi elevated Sufism to unprecedented heights. His disciples founded the Whirling Dervish mystic order.

1213-1292: Sa’adi, also a revered poet, emphasized humanity over race or religion.

1320-1390: Hafez, Sufi poet, wrote of love of humanity, beauty and devotion to God.

1405: Timur (Tamerlane) and descendants rule for almost a century.

SAFAVID DYNASTY: 1501-1722

After 9 centuries of foreign or fragmented rule, Persia again united under Iranian leadership. Shi’ism became state religion to differentiate Iran from rest of Islamic world and Sunni Ottomans.

Persian craftsmen and artisans excelled in this period: fine silks, cloths, porcelain, metal work, calligraphy, miniatures, and carpets.

QAJAR DYNASTY: 1795-1925

The Qajar rulers were generally weak and corrupt, conceding too much to the Russians and British who penetrated Iranian affairs and claimed Iranian lands.

In 1906 Qajar corruption and mismanagement led to the Constitutional Revolution and the establishment of Iran’s first parliament or Majles.

PAHLAVI DYNASTY: 1925-1979

1925-1941: Reza Shah Pahlavi, an officer in the army staged a coup and made himself King (Shah). He modernized Iran but took away power from the Majles and freedom of speech rights. In 1935, he officially requested all foreign governments to refer to Persia as Iran.

1941: In need of the Trans-Iranian railway to supply the Soviets with war materials the Allies invaded and occupied Iran for the duration of the war. Reza Shah was forced to abdicate to his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

1951-1953: Dr. Mohammad Mossadeq led a successful campaign to nationalize Iranian oil and take it out of the hands of the British. He becomes the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran.

What happened next has been directly linked as a cause for the Islamic Revolution. Citing a threat of a communist takeover British intelligence and the CIA sponsored a coup to topple Mossadeq and bring the Shah to power.

1962-1963: Shah implemented his “White Revolution” which entailed swift modernization of Iran, some argue at all cost. The masses felt increasingly alienated, inflation was high, there was corruption in the government. The Shah’s secret police, the Savak, were seen as a tool of increasing authoritarianism and oppression.

1979: The Shah’s opponents

united behind Ayatollah Khomeini. The Islamic Revolution took place. After 2,500 years of monarchy, Iran’s government turned into a theocratic republic, an outcome not necessarily desired by all who supported overthrow of the Shah.

MAKING HISTORY NOW: 2009-

30 years after the Islamic Revolution comes The Green Movement. Beginning as the color of opposition candidate Moussavi’s campaign against Ahmadinejad, it is now used to denote the fight for freedom and democracy in Iran. The struggle is ongoing and bloody. Why should the world care?

If for nothing else, then at least for the reason our poet Sa’adi stated:

The children of Adam are limbs of each other Having been created of one essence.

When calamity of time afflicts one limb The other limbs cannot remain at rest.

If thou hast no sympathy for the troubles of others Thou art unworthy to be called by the name of a man.