Iran Facts

Iran Facts and History

Asia

Iran – One of the culturally richest countries

Iran is one of the culturally richest countries on earth. Already 5,000 years ago Zarathustra was walking on his territory, various peoples fought for supremacy: from the Sassanids to the Mongols to the Qajars, who were eventually driven out by the Shah. And all of them left their cultural and architectural traces, which can still be seen today and which, in addition to the natural beauties, make the country so attractive. For example, the city of Isfahan is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and its blue mosque is one of the most beautiful ever.

Persia and Iran were repeatedly a topic in politics and the media and in all epochs it had an influence on world politics

In all political and diplomatic considerations, it must never be overlooked that Iran has the third largest oil reserves and the second largest gas reserves in the world.

Name of the country Islamic Republic of Iran
Form of government Islamic Republic
Geographical location Country in the middle east
Head of state Revolutionary leader and chief legal scholar since June 4, 1989: Seyyed Ali Chamenei
National anthem Sorood-e Jomhoori-e Eslami
Population approximately 75.1 million (Credit: Countryaah: Iran Population)
Ethnicities Persians, Azerbaijanis, Kurds, Arabs, Gilake, Mazandarani, Arabs, Turkomans, Baluch, Christian Armenians, Assyrians, Georgians and others
Religions Shiite Islam (insignificant minorities: Christianity, Zoroastrians, Baha’i and Jews)
Languages Persian (Farsi), Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Kurdish, Lurian, Baluchi, Armenian and Arabic and other minority languages.
Capital Tehran with approx. 8.8 million residents
National currency Rial (1 rial = 100 dinars)
Surface 1,648,200 km²
Highest mountain Damâvand volcanic cone in the Elbursgebirge with an altitude of 5,671 m
Longest river Karun with a length of 850 km
Largest lake Orúmíyeh, depending on the water level, 4,500 km² to 6,000 km²
Time difference to CET + 2.5 h
International phone code 0098
Internet TLD (Top Level Domain) .ir
License plate of Iran IR

Iran: history

Until around the year 1000

The present-day area of Iran was already settled during the Neolithic Age. The Neolithic lasted in Central Europe from about 5600 to about 2200 BC. In the 4th century BC The Indo-Europeans, also known as Aryans, came to Iran. Until the 2nd century BC In BC Iran was populated by different tribes who practiced agriculture and already had town-like settlements.

According to Abbreviationfinder website, during 728-550 BC, the empire of the Medes lasted. During this time the Persians also came to Iran as vassals of the Medes. 612 BC The Assyrian Empire was destroyed by the alliance between Babylon and the Medes. 550 BC The Persian king Cyrus II the Great overthrew the kingdom of the Medes and thus ended their rule. Cyrus came from the Persian family of the Archaimenids. 546 BC Cyrus triumphed over the Lydians and conquered in 539 BC. BC Babylon. Now he was able to found the Persian world empire, which lasted until 331 BC. Lasted. Cyrus’ son, Cambyses, subjugated Egypt, Tire, and Cyprus.

The Zoroastrianism was the dominant religion in Persia before the Arabs brought Islam to the country. The religion goes back to the prophet Zoroaster (Zarathustra), whose teaching was centered on the idea of an omnipotent and invisible God. The basic idea is dualism, i.e. the eternal battle between good and bad, between good thoughts (Vohu Mano) and bad ones (Ahem Nano). These are responsible for day and night, i.e. life and death. Both opposites are contained in the highest being, the Ahura Mazda, as well as in all living things.

Dareios, the successor of Cambyses, subjugated Thrace and started the Persian Wars (500 – 449/448 BC) against the Greek states with his son Xerxes. 333 BC BC took place at Issus, in which Alexander the Great fought against the Persians. 331 BC In BC Alexander the Great finally defeated the Persian Empire. 323-240 BC Chr.: Persia was part of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire.

Middle of the 3rd century BC A horsemen conquered the Seleucid Empire and established the Parthian Empire. In its heyday it extended from the Euphrates to the Indus and lasted until 224 AD. In 224 AD, the Persians rose against the Parthians. Under Ardaschir I. they founded the empire of the Sassanids. In 642 the Sassanid Empire ended in the battle of Nehawend. The Muslim Arabs conquered the empire. The country was Islamized under the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate.

750 – 1258: Iran was under the Abbasid caliphate from Baghdad. During this time various small local dynasties emerged, such as the Tahirids, Samanids, Bujids, Ghasnavids and others.

From the year 1000 to the 17th century

1038 – 1186: the Sedschuks of Turkish descent invaded Persia and conquered almost the entire area.

1220: The Mongols under Genghis Khan invaded Persia and brought it under their rule after a second onslaught under Hülägü. Now the Mongolian Ilkhans ruled until 1256.

1380 until the beginning of the 16th century: rule of the Timurid dynasty (Tartars).

Ismail I founded the Safavid dynasty in 1501. The country was nationally, religiously and politically unified. The Shia (Shiite Islam) became the state religion. The Safavid Empire had its climax between 1588 and 1629 under Shah Abbas I the Great. Under him, the capital was moved to Isfahan in 1598.

In the 18th and 19th centuries

1722: End of the Safavid rule. 1722 – 1736: Afghan dynasty, the country was divided into different areas. 1736 – 1752: rule of the Afsharids. It was not until 1794 that the country was reunited under the Turkmen Qajars. Tehran became the capital. The part of the country that forms today’s Georgia was lost to Russia.

20th century until today

In 1925 Resa Shah (1878-1944) drove out the Qajar dynasty and took over the reign and power in the country.

After the death of the Shah in 1944, his son Mohammed Resa Pahlewi (1919-1980) took over the throne and thus power in the country. Despite a lavish and lavish lifestyle and an authoritarian regime based on military and intelligence agencies, he attempted numerous reforms to bring the country up to Western standards. The emancipation of women also made progress under his reign. A high point of his reign were the sumptuous celebrations in the presence of numerous guests from politics, business and culture to commemorate 2,500 years of the Persian monarchy. The Shah’s visit in 1968 led to serious riots in Berlin and other cities, during the course of which on June 2, 1968 the student Benno Ohnesorg (1940 to June 2, 1967) was shot by the Berlin police officer Karl-Heinz Kurras.

The power of the Shah collapsed with the arrival of longtime oppositionist Khomeini from exile in Paris. The Shah fled into exile and on April 1st 1979 Khomeini proclaimed the “Islamic Republic of Iran”.

In 1980, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq attacked Iran. The war with around 1 million dead did not end until 1988.

On June 4th, 1989 Khomeini died and Ayatollah Khamenei became his successor as “Leader of the Islamic Republic”. He was re-elected to office in 2001. 2003: Iran agreed to cooperate with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), thereby renouncing a nuclear weapons program. November 15th, 2004 the “Paris Agreement” between Germany, France and Iran came into being, in which long-term cooperation on issues relating to the Iranian nuclear program was initiated.

In 2004 Iran celebrated its 25th anniversary as an Islamic State of God.

In August 2005 Mahmud Ahmadinejad (born 1956) was elected 6th President of Iran directly by the people. In 2006, Iran came under increased international pressure because of its changed nuclear policy. It is feared that the resumption of uranium enrichment, for example, could also serve to build an A-bomb.

On June 12, 2009, Ahmadinejad was re-elected president with 63% of the vote, according to official figures.

The supporters of the defeated candidate Hossein Mousavi took to the streets on June 13, especially in Tehran, to protest against the presumed election campaign. There was great hope that the highest religious leader Chatemie would appear at the Friday prayer on June 19th. But Chatemie dashed all hopes that the regime would give in. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets promptly on the following Saturday and were beaten up and sometimes also shot down.

Iran Facts