Iran, a land full of courage and history-making saga, a vast country that is always present in the heart of world history, cannot be included in a few lines and writings, because as we move forward in its history, we discover a wider world.
The ancient Varan, which began with the dynasties and empires of Elam, Media and Achaemenid, and ended with large and small dynasties and empires after Islam until today. According to many archeological documents, Iran has a civilization dating back thousands of years BC, which has a rich and fascinating culture and a civilization that is sometimes less known.
But despite this rich and ancient history, the history of Iran is 2500 years old, which generally starts from the Achaemenid period, and after that rich and ancient period, only the dynasties of Elam and the Medes have been able to express the beginning to some extent. From the Achaemenid era. Permanent in the official history of Iran. In this section, we will examine the governments from the beginning to the end of Islam in Iran and introduce the kings of each period.
In fact, the history of Iran is divided into two parts:
- History of Iran before Islam
- History of Iran after Islam
History of Iran before Islam:
This period of history is divided into three parts:
- Iran before the Aryans
- Migration of Aryans to Iran
- Ancient Persia
The history of Iran before the Aryans
Before the Aryans, different tribes lived in different regions of Iran. In the history of Iran before the Aryans, the civilization of the inhabitants of Silk hill (in Kashan), the Kasi civilization (in Kermanshah and Lorestan), the civilizations of Sokhte city (in Sistan), the Jiroft civilization (in Kerman), the Urartu civilization (in Azerbaijan), the Gyan hill (in Nahavand), the Tapurs in Tabaristan (Mazandaran) and the Ilam civilization (in the north of Khuzestan) existed in Iran.
Elam was the largest civilization in the history of Iran, whose land was in the southwest of Iran and roughly corresponds to Khuzestan. Susa was its capital and there were also works related to this civilization. Of course, it can be said that separate governments in the Elam civilization were ruled by different kings over different parts.
These areas were called Shush, Anshan, Ivan and Simesh. Elam was mainly at war with many developed Mesopotamian states such as Babylonia, Akkad, Sumer, and Assyria.
At the time of the emergence of Iranian emperors (550 BC), Elam became one of the tributary lands of Iran. At that time, the city of Susa was very magnificent and rich, and the Elamite language was one of the 3 languages in which the royal writings of Iran were written.
Migration of Aryans to Iran
The Aryans include a large number of white races whose homeland probably extended from the north of the Black Sea and the Caspian to the Sihun and Jihun rivers. Subsequently, a part of the Aryans migrated to Iran and India and another part to Europe, and that is why Asian people and their languages are called Indo-European.
Aryan means noble. The Aryans of Iran and India lived together for a long time and after a long time they were separated. Before the separation, they shared a common language, social organization, and common legends.
In Iranian historical texts, some have attributed the migration of Aryans to Iran in 2000 BC. Registered. And others from the 14th century BC to the 6th century BC, when the Aryans reached the plateau of Iran, they first killed the natives of that region and employed a small number.
After entering Iran, they were divided into several clans, the largest of which were Medes, Parthians and Persians. The name Iran is derived from the name Aryan, which means Aryan land.
History of ancient Iran
They know the history of ancient Iran from the beginning of the formation of the Median state to the end of the Sassanid rule and the Arab invasion of Iran.
females
After choosing the Medes as their capital, they started their rule in Iran. This government was organized under the leadership of a person named Diako. Other people such as Hokhashtra and Azi Dahak were also rulers during the Medes era. The Medes ruled Iran for a long time, but the exact date of this period is not available.
Achaemenians
The rule of the Medes was ended by Cyrus. He then founded a new government called Achaemenid, which was the first civilized government in the whole world at that time. In this period, which was accompanied by the progress of culture and civilization, it can be safely said that the leap of humanity and the leap of the history of Iran and the world took place during the Achaemenid era.
After Cyrus the Great, Cambodge, Geomat, Darius, King Xerxes, Ardashir, King Xerxes II, Sogd Panos or Sogdians, Darius II, Ardeshir II, Ardeshir III, Arses and Darius III ruled the throne of the Achaemenid Empire.
Seleucids
After the death of Alexander the Great, his general Seleucus started his rule by establishing the Seleucid government. The origin of the Seleucids were Greeks, and for this reason they brought the language and culture of the Greeks to Iran. This government was finally extinguished during the time of Antiochus II.
Parthians
After the Seleucids, the Parthians were the Greek civilization that started their rule. This government was established by the kingdom of Ashk I or Arshak, followed by Tirdad, Ordvan, Feri Yapet, Farhad, Mehrdad, Farhad II, Ordvan II, Mehrdad II, Guderz, Ard, Sinatruk, Farhad III, Mehrdad III, Ard II, Farhad 4th, Tirdad 2nd, Farhad 5th, Ard 3rd, Venen, Ordvan 3rd, Vardan, Guders 2nd, Venen 2nd, to Lash, Pakur, Ordvan 4th, Khosrow, to Lash 2nd, to Lash 3rd, to Lash 4th, to Lash 5th and Finally, Ordavan V ruled over Iran.
The Sassanians
Ardeshir Babkan established the Sassanid government after the Parthian rule and made the city of Tisfon near Baghdad the capital of the Sassanid dynasty. This king declared Zoroastrianism as the official religion of the country. After the death of Ardeshir Babakan, his son Shapur I sat on the throne, who was considered one of the great Sassanid kings.
The Sasanian kings were Ardeshir Babakan, Shapur I, Hormuz I, Bahram I, Bahram II, Bahram III, Narsi, Hormuz II, Shapur II, Ardeshir II, Shapur III, Bahram IV, Yazdgerd, Bahram V or Bahram Gur, Yazdgerd II, respectively. Their names were Hormoz III, Pirouz, Behlash, Qabad I, Zamaseb, Anushirvan Dadgar, Hormuz IV, Khosrow Parviz, Qabad II, Ardeshir III, Shiroviyeh, Purandekht Queen, Hormuz V and Yazdgerd III.
Governments of Iran after Islam
After the victory of the Muslim Arabs over the Sasanians, the religion of Islam was established in Iran. During this period, the history of Iran witnessed many changes in the political, social and religious fields. The Muslim domination over Iran was not easy because the cities quickly accepted the Muslim rule, but the villages did not easily submit to their rule and accept the Muslims. The eastern parts of Iran, as well as Tabaristan and Gilan, were captured by Muslims later than the western regions. Muslims had to conquer some places several times.
The people of Iran, who were not satisfied with class differences and discrimination, tried to spread and promote Islam by accepting Islam. However, throughout the history of Iran, they never hid their opposition to the rule of the Umayyads and Abbasids on the Iranian soil, and the independence movements They set up a government that led to the formation of governments such as Taherians (826-881 AD) and Saffarians (866-903 AD).
The Umayyads
After the victory of the Arabs against the Sassanids, the Islamic rule of the Arabs began in Iran, of which the Umayyads were the first. This government declared Damascus as their capital. This government was established in the 40th year of the Hijri by Muawiya bin Abi Sufyan. (Moghdisi, Motahar bin Taher; Creation and History, translated by Mohammad Reza Shafiei Kodkani, Tehran, Agh, 1374, vol. 2, p. 897.)
The Abbasids
After weakening the Umayyad government, Abu Muslim Khorasani founded the Abbasid government and chose Baghdad as its capital. The Abbasids ruled for more than 500 years.
Taherian
The first independent government after the Arab invasion was the Taherian government, which was established by Tahir Dzwaliminin, one of Mamun’s generals. The capital of this government was also Neyshabur. The Taherian rule was ended by Yaqub Leith Safari during the time of Muhammad bin Tahir.
Alevis
Alevis are descendants of Imam Hassan (AS) and started their rule in Tabaristan and Dilam and made their capital Amol. Dai Kabir and Nasser Kabir were two rulers during the Alevi era. Finally, the Alawites were destroyed by the Samanids.
The Safaris
Yaqub Leith created the Safari dynasty by winning over the Taherian government. After Yaqub, Amrolith sat on the throne. This rule ended with 134 years of rule during the reign of Khalaf bin Ahmad by Samani commanders.
The Samanians
The Samanids established their government after the defeat of the Saffarians and ruled for 124 years. Bukhara was the capital of the Samanids and great scientists such as Abu Ali Sina and Abu Rihan Biruni lived in the Samanid period.
Al Ziyar
Al-Ziyar or Ziarians were a small family in the Gilan region that gradually took over the government of the whole of Iran. Mardawij bin Ziyar, the founder of Ziyarian, claimed to be one of the pre-Islamic royal family. This government also ended its work during the reign of Gilan Shah.
Al Boyeh
The Al Boyeh government were actually independence seekers who formed independent governments after the arrival of the Arabs in order to return to the old Iran and gain Iranian dignity. Imad-dollah Ali was the founder of Al-Buyeh government.
This government was started by Imad Doulah Ali. Among the Al Boyeh rulers, Azd al-Dawlah was one of the rulers who played a role in the development of the country and was more famous than other rulers. This rule ended during the reign of King Rahim.
Ghaznavis
The Ghaznavids were one of the powerful governments that started their rule from Afghanistan and conquered India as well. Alp Takin was the founder of the Ghaznavid government and Khosromulek was the last ruler of this era. Rulers like Sultan Mahmud of Ghaznavi and Sultan Masoud were also rulers of this era. Hakim Abouqasem Ferdowsi lived in this era.
The Seljuks
Tughral was the initiator of the Seljuk government and after him Alb Arslan, Malik Shah, Sultan Sanjar and other kings ruled during this period. But in the end, they ended their rule by the Khwarazmshahs.
Khwarazmshahs
The Khwarazmshahs made Neishabur their capital and ruled for 154 years. Nizami Ganjavi and Attar Nishaburi lived during the Khwarazmshah dynasty. Finally, the Mongols defeated the Khwarazmshahi government and ended their reign.
The Mongols
After winning over the Khwarezmshahs, the Mongols ruled for a while under the control of Genghis Khan. During this period, Iran was destroyed.
Patriarchs
Ilkhanan was one of the Mongol governments that was established by Halaku and ended with the rule of Abu Said after 79. Rumi is said to have lived in this period of history. Of course, it should be noted that after the Ilkhanate rule, there were other small governments in different parts of Iran, such as Sarbadarans, Jalairians, Chupanians, Mozaffarians, and other small governments.
Timurians
The origin of the Timurids goes back to the Mongols. Timur Lang, who was a relative of Genghis Mongol, started the Timurian rule. Hafez lived in the Tioryan period. Timurid rule ended after 35 years. Of course, during this period, other governments such as Agh Quyunlu, Marashian and Qaraquyunlu were formed.
Safavian
The Safavid government was founded by Shah Ismail Safavid. Tahmasab I, Ismail II, Muhammad Khodabande, Shah Abbas, Shah Abbas II, Shah Suleiman and Shah Sultan Hussein were among the other rulers of the Safavid government.
During this period, Shia religion was introduced as the official religion of Iran for the first time. Isfahan, Qazvin and Tabriz were the capitals of Safavid era. This rule lasted more than 200 years.
The Afghans
The Afghans ruled for a while by winning over the Safavids. In general, with the attack of Afghans and the capture of Isfahan, the Safavid government became extinct.
Afshariya
After defeating the Afghans and recapturing Iran from them, Nadir Shah Afshar established the Afshar government. The Afshars chose Mashhad as their capital and continued their rule until 46 AD.
Alive
After the Afshariya government, the Zandiyeh government was established by Karim Khan Zand. This government chose Shiraz as its capital. After 34 years during the reign of Lotf Ali Khan Zand, this government also ended its reign.
Qajar
Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar founded the Qajar government. During this reign, kings such as Fath Ali Shah Qajar, Muhammad Shah, Naseruddin Shah, Muzaffaruddin Shah, Muhammad Ali Shah and finally Ahmad Shah Qajar sat on the throne. Tehran was the capital of Qajar rule. This rule ended after 129 years.
Pahlavi
The last monarchy in Iran was the Pahlavi regime, which was established by Reza Shah and ended during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah. The Pahlavi regime lasted 54 years.
The first wife of the king of Iran
“Porandekht” is the first woman who sat on the throne in the history of Iran and was crowned a little beyond the Sasanian capital in “Anshan” located in present-day Khuzestan, which was the center of the Elamian kingdom.
Purandakht did his utmost to improve the condition of the people in his land and when he realized that this dynasty was being destroyed at a speed beyond his control and he was unable to change the conditions and fate of his people, he left the position of king because he thought Maybe his decisions will end up harming the people of Iran.
The most hated kings of Iran:
Naseroddin shah:
This king was the most unworthy king in the history of Iran who, during his 50-year rule, while the world was at the peak of civilization, took Iran 50 years behind civilization. The hated king spent most of his life measuring the length of his mustache and spending time with more than 120 women in his harem.
During his rule, Pakstan, Khiva and Turkmenistan were separated from Iran and England occupied Herat and Afghanistan. It was occupied by England. Naser al-Din Shah did not give the slightest importance to these fragmentations.
At the age of 68, he fell in love with a 12-year-old girl named Mah Rakhsar, who was also his wife’s sister, and married her. This tyrannical, arrogant and arrogant king did many negligences against foreigners.
Fath Ali Shah Qajar:
This king, like Naseruddin Shah, spent most of his time grooming his long beard and having fun with the women of his harem. During his rule, during the war with the Russians, Tbilisi, Armenia, Georgia, Baku and most of the northwest areas of Iran were occupied by the Russians and separated from Iran.
Sultan Mohammad Khwarazmshah:
Sultan Muhammad was a cowardly and incompetent king who during his time Genghis Khan attacked Iran. The Mongols, who found themselves in front of the Iranian people, started massacring and razed Iran to the ground and left nothing but ruins. Sultan Muhammad Khwarazmshah fled to the island of Abskun in the Caspian Lake and it is said that he died because of the fear of the Mongols.
Shah Sultan Hossein Safavi:
According to the culture and art department of Namnak, this king took thousands of wives during his 30 years of rule. Finally, a crazy young man named Mahmud Afghan, who did not have a large army, besieged the capital and took the crown from his incompetent head. When Mahmud Afghan left Afghanistan, he occupied the cities of Bam and Kerman on his way and quickly went to Isfahan in It was movement.
At the same time, Shah Sultan Hossein had ordered that there should be no men in shops and markets for one day every year, and instead of them, their daughters and wives should be present at the place of business of their fathers and husbands, so that according to the king’s fatwa, all women are mahram to him. They were and should not have been taken from him, they were seen by the king.
The king chooses beautiful girls and women from among them and takes them to his harem. Unfortunately, many people of that time believed that the water with which the king washed his hands was healing and if only a drop was given to the patient, it would cure him.
The most popular kings of Iran:
Koresh Kabir (Zulqarnain):
Undoubtedly, the most popular king in the history of Iran is Cyrus the Great. The only person whose name is proudly mentioned in the Quran as Dhul-Qarnain. In the Torah, he is also mentioned as a righteous servant of God. The prophets of Bani Israel considered Cyrus the Achaemenid as the promised Messiah and the savior of the nations.
This great king wrote the charter of freedom for the first time in the history of mankind. Cyrus established the first government whose extent was from the Indus River to the Mediterranean Sea. This king added to his empire by defeating three great empires in that era, but he did not show the slightest disrespect and cruelty to the defeated kings, and in the end, he treated the people of those nations with kindness and compassion.
Cyrus the Great brought about the moral revolution in ancient times. For this reason, he is rightfully the best king in the history of Iran and even the world. One of the most important moral characteristics of Koresh the Great was his interest and love for the family’s continuity and his loyalty to his wife Kasandan. He married only one woman in his whole life and after her death, he never took another wife.
Darius the Great:
Darius was a wise and strong-willed king who re-established the Achaemenid government and created very important organizations in it. So that Alexander and the Seleucids and later the Sasanians ruled in the same way.
Some researchers consider Darius to be the most important king of Iran and consider only Cyrus and Anushirvan to be comparable to him. During his rule, Darius expanded his territory from the Indian Peninsula in Asia to Macedonia and the Danube River in Europe, and on the other hand Egypt and Libya and a part of Sudan in Africa.
Anoushirvan Adel:
Khosrow Anushirvan was the beloved king of the Sasanians, who some historians consider him to be the greatest king of Iran. There is no doubt that he was the greatest king of the Sasanian dynasty because he was a just and strict king, a warrior and resourceful, a general and brave.
It was during his time that the Sassanid government reached the peak of its greatness by defeating the Roman army several times. This king wiped out the Hayatele government from the face of time, put the Turks on the other side of the Jihun River in their place, tamed the wild Khazars, expelled the Abyssinians from Yemen and took possession of this country. On the other hand, his reforms in internal affairs breathed a new spirit into the body of Iran.
Shapur I:
Shapur I defeated three Roman emperors and captured the Roman emperor Valerianus. He was one of the kings of Shakil, with determination and in the name of Sassanid, whom the people of Iran loved very much.
Shapur II (Zol-Aktaf):
This famous king had the longest reign in the history of Iran with 70 years of rule. With his authority and power, Shapur II was able to prevent the brutal Arabs, Huns, and Georgians from invading Iran. He defeated the Roman emperors on several occasions and received compensation from them.
Mehrdad Kabir:
Mehrdad Kabir is one of the great Parthian kings. This king was able to dominate the Scythians and the desert people who were pressing the country from the north and add Armenia to the area of Iran. In addition, he reached the borders of Iran to the Himalayas in Tibet.
First order:
Among the famous Parthian kings of his time, the memory of the defeat of the Romans led by Crassus against the Persians led by Sorena was a source of pride for all Iranians. Because the Iranian army had 10,000 men and the Roman army had 50,000 men in this battle, and the Iranians destroyed the entire Roman army with their skilled shooters. This war is considered one of the most incredible battles of ancient times.
Shah Abbas Kabir:
This famous Safavid king brought Iran to the peak of greatness during his reign and won several times over the Ottoman and Uzbek armies on two different fronts. Shah Abbas removed the port of Gambrun from the Portuguese and later this port was named Bandar Abbas.
This king made reforms in Iran and Iran was considered the cradle of world civilization in his time. As far as Isfahan was called the capital of their territory, that is half of the world. But this famous Iranian king oppressed the people at the end of his life and blinded and killed his children.
Nadir Shah Afshar:
A king who has one of the sweetest lessons in the history of elementary school books that every Iranian child would like to read, Nadir Shah Afshar cut short the hands of Afghan, Russian and Ottoman thugs from Iran and the conqueror of India. This Shah was a powerful and very brave general, but he was not successful in government affairs.
Karim Khan Zand:
This king was popular among the people due to his simplicity, kindness and innate purity, so that he called himself the lawyer of his subjects.
