Iran’s Historical Timeline

1
Irans Historical Timeline

• By Shafa B.

2
Early Iran (3000 BC-625 BC)

• At the end of the second millennium BC, small
  groups of nomadic peoples speaking Indo-European
  languages began moving into Irans cultural area.
  There were three major groups, the Scythians, the
  Medes, and the Persians (Achaemenids). The
  Persians established themselves in modern Shiraz,
  which would be their eventual settling place.
  They were led by Hakamanish, ancestor of the
  Achaemenid dynasty, and his descendent Cyrus II
  led the forces of Medes and Persians to establish
  the most extensive empire known in the ancient
  world.

Chogha Zanbil (Outside Mesopotamia) Area where
early Persians settled
3
Sassanid Empire (224-651 AD)

• The first Shah of this empire, Ardashir I,
  reformed the country both economically and
  militarily. The empires territory encompassed
  much of the middle east including Iraq, Turkey,
  Egypt, Afghanistan, and more. The Sassanid Era is
  considered to be the most influential historical
  periods of Iran. This was the greatest
  achievement in Persian culture with influences
  extending to the formation of many countries such
  as China, Africa, and India. Much of Islamic
  culture, art, and customs also originated from
  this period of Iranian history.

4
Islamic Conquest of Iran (636 AD)

• Muslims invaded Iran and ended the reign of the
  Sassanid Empire in 636 AD. The Prophet Mohammad,
  started the Islamic religion in his hometown of
  Mecca, and after his death his successor Abu Bakr
  took up the mission of spreading the religion of
  Islam. After Abu Bakr defeated the Sassanid army,
  Iran was left open to the Muslim invaders. The
  residents of Iran at the time eventually
  succumbed to their invaders and immersed
  themselves into the Islamic religion.

5
Safavid Empire (1501-1736)

• The Safavids were an Iranian dynasty led by Shah
  Ismail I. After many years of low Iranian
  nationalism this empire brought back the Iranian
  identity of the region. In this era Iran had a
  variety of settled peoples in addition to
  Persians it had Kurds, Arabs, Turkmans and
  Baluchis. Safavid's power over various tribes was
  not strong enough to consolidate an absolute
  supremacy, however, the Safavids laid claim to
  authority over all that had been Persia.
  Unfortunately, in 1722 the Afghan army invades
  Iran and in 1736 Nadir Shah becomes monarch which
  marked the end of Safavid dynasty.

6
Constitutional Revolution of Iran (1906-1911)

• In the early 1900s Iran realized that a written
  code of laws was necessary for the success of the
  country. The Laws approved in 1907 provided,
  within limits, for freedom of press, speech,
  association, while limiting the absolutist powers
  of rulers. The Constitutional Revolution marked
  the end of the medieval period in Iran. The hopes
  for constitutional rule were not realized,
  however, and the new shah, Mohammad Ali Shah was
  set on crushing the constitution. But in 1909,
  pro-constitutional forces deposed the shah and
  reestablished the constitution.

Freedom Forces responsible for implementation of
constitution
7
Era of Reza Shah Pahlavi (1921-1941)

• Military commander Reza Shah Pahlavi seized power
  in February of 1941. Reza Shah had many ambitious
  plans for Iran including large scale industries
  and infrastructure projects including building a
  railroad system. He believed in a strong central
  government that by the mid 1930s was despised by
  many living in Iran. In 1935 Reza Shah dictated
  that the country should be called Iran, not
  Persia. Reza Shah Pahlavi was forced into exile
  by the British and was replaced by his son
  Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.

8
World War II and Iran (1941-1945)

• Iran served to be a valuable oil source in the
  Allied Lend- Lease Act during WWII. However Reza
  Shah Pahlavis pro-German sympathies led to
  British and Soviet occupation of Iran. The
  British, despising Irans Foreign policy towards
  Germany, eventually forced out Reza Shah for his
  pro-British son Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. In
  the Tehran Conference Iran was granted postwar
  independence from its occupiers but Soviet troops
  in northwestern Iran refused to leave and backed
  many pro-Soviet revolutions in Iran. The Soviet
  Union did not officially withdraw from Iran until
  1946.

9
Oil Nationalization (1949-1951)

• From 1949 on, public sentiment for the
  nationalization of Irans oil industry grew. The
  British government a the time had an agreement
  with Iran that granted them more profit from
  Irans oil than Iran itself with the
  British-owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. In light
  of this, Dr. Mohammad Mosaddeq came into power as
  Prime Minister with the intention of
  nationalizing Irans oil. In 1951 he succeeded
  with Parliament voting pro-nationalization, but
  Britain imposed an embargo and blockade of
  Iranian exports soon after. A power struggle
  between Mosaddeq and the Shah erupted and the
  Shah fled Iran in 1953.

10
British-US Coup of Iran (1953)

• As Mosaddeqs success as Prime Minister grew,
  Britain and the United States formulated a coup
  to reestablish the Shah into power in Iran. The
  CIA worked hand in hand with royalist Iranian
  officials planning who would replace the prime
  minister. The coup almost failed, with CIA agents
  ready to flee the country, but US hired Iranian
  officers took command and seized the government.
  Days later the Iranian government received five
  million dollars in funds from the US to help take
  control of the country. The Shah returned to
  power in August, 1953.

Dr. Mohammad Mosaddeq, and Dr. Donald N. Wilber,
a CIA spy
11
The Shahs White Revolution (1963)

• In January of 1963 Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi
  embarked on a campaign to modernize Iran with
  land reform, better political representation, the
  right to vote for women and economic
  modernization. He called this the White
  Revolution, and it was praised by everyone with
  a 99 acceptance rating. These reforms achieved
  success in backing by the population but it did
  not immediately gain success economically. A
  religious leader at the time, Ayatollah Khomeini,
  gave an anti-Shah speech that resulted in his
  arrest and then riots all over Iran.

12
The Shahs Exile and Ayatollah Khomeinis Return
(1979)

• Despite some economic growth, there was still
  much opposition to the Shahs rule in Iran. Most
  of his economic reforms were poorly implemented
  and caused much inflation and economical unrest.
  Also, a lot of western culture had leaked into
  the Iranian culture. This foreign presence made
  the population believe that the Shahs
  modernization was threatening the old cultural
  values of Iran. All of this was intensified by
  Ayatollah Khomeini, who had been sending in
  propaganda through music cassettes during his
  exile in Iraq. The Shah left Iran in January of
  1979 and opened the door to Khomeinis return in
  February of 1979.

13
The Islamic Revolution (1979)

• After the Shah left Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini
  seized power in Iran. He implemented a new
  Islamic Constitution with many extreme changes.
  Subsequently many demonstrations were held in
  protest to the new rules, like extreme
  regulations on women's code of dress. On November
  4, 1979 Iranian Islamic Students stormed the US
  embassy, taking 66 people, mostly Americans, as
  hostages. The Islamic revolution was an extreme
  time in Iranian history, with protests, riots,
  and even executions of leaders of the old regime.
  

Student led revolutionaries storming the US
embassy
14
Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988)

• On September 22, 1980 Iraq invaded Iran believing
  it could take over a weak government in
  revolution. Iraq and Iran had engaged in border
  clashes for many years, and Saddam Hussein
  believed that the new revolutionary government
  would threaten Iraq. Iraq had a large
  technological advantage, with Soviet weapons and
  tanks, and a more organized military. But Irans
  determination and willingness for a battle of
  attrition kept them in the war. Eventually after
  many years of casualties Iran accepted a
  ceasefire agreement with Iraq following
  negotiations in Geneva.

15
Mohammad Khatami (1997-2004)

• Mohammad Khatami was elected president of Iran in
  1997, defeating the conservative elite with 70
  of the votes. His campaign was based on greater
  freedom of expression, and better ways to help
  tackle unemployment. His victory was largely
  based on the young people who were very much
  impressed by his liberal views. In 1998 he
  addressed the American nation saying that Iran
  was no threat to the United States.
  Unfortunately, the conservative elite made it
  difficult for Khatami to pass any bills and
  because of this student led protests called for
  his resignation along with the conservative
  elites.

16
Mahmoud Almadinejad and the Nuclear Crisis
(2005-Present)

• In 2005, due to a conservative resurgence,
  Mahmoud Almadinejad is elected President of Iran.
  He is considered to have very a confrontational
  foreign policy but he was still backed by the
  conservatives who took over two-thirds of the
  seats in the parliamentary elections in 2007.
  President Almadinejad has made many various
  claims regarding Irans nuclear program but he
  has stayed constant on his anti-Israeli
  mentality. In 2007 Almadinejad claims that Iran
  can produce nuclear fuel on an industrial scale.
  In December of 2007 a new US intelligence report
  plays down the perceived nuclear threat posed by
  Iran, and currently Iran intentions regarding
  Nuclear Weapons are unclear.

17
Works Consulted

• "Historical Setting of Iran." Pars Times.
  12/1987. Pars Times. 1 Feb 2009
  lthttp//www.parstimes
  .com/history/historicalsetting.htmlRezaShahgt.
• "History of Iran." Iran Chamber Society. Iran
  Chamber Society. 1 Feb 2009 lthttp//www.irancha
  mber.com/history/historic_periods.phpgt.
• "History of Iran." Wikipedia. 2009. 1 Feb 2009
  lthttp//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Ira
  ngt.
• Stumpf, Bruce G.. "Timeline of Persian / Iranian
  History." On the Matrix . 2007. On the Matrix. 1
  Feb 2009 lthttp//www.on-the-matrix.com/mide
  ast/IranTimeline.aspxgt. 
• "Timeline Iran." BBC News. 06/Jan/2009. BBC . 1
  Feb 2009 lthttp//news.bbc.co.
  uk/2/hi/middle_east/806268.stmgt.

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• This is a 1970s pro-nuclear ad from the US.