Human settlements existed on the Iranian plateau in the 4th millennium BC. e., long before the heyday of the civilizations of Mesopotamia. Some of the tribes (Persians, Medes, Bactrians, Parthians) settled in the western part of the plateau; Cimmerians, Sarmatians, Alans, and Baluchi settled in the east and along the coast of the Gulf of Oman.
The first Iranian state was the Kingdom of Media, founded in 728 BC. e. with its capital in Hamadan (Ecbatana). The Medes quickly established control over all of western Iran and part of eastern Iran. Together with the Babylonians, the Medes defeated the Assyrian Empire, captured northern Mesopotamia and Urartu, and later the Armenian Highlands.
Achaemenids
In 553 BC. e. young Persian king of Anshan and Parsa Cyrus from the Achaemenid clan opposed the Medes. Cyrus captured Ecbatana and declared himself king of Persia and Media. At the same time, the Median king Ishtuvegu was captured, but later released and appointed governor of one of the provinces. Until his death in 529 BC. e. Cyrus II the Great subjugated the entire Western Asia from the Mediterranean and Anatolia to the Syr Darya to the Achaemenid Empire. Earlier, in 546 BC. e., Cyrus founded the capital of his kingdom in Fars - Pasargadae, where he was buried. Cyrus' son Cambyses II expanded his father's empire to Egypt and Ethiopia.
Western Iran. Bas-relief on the rock. 22 meters long
After the death of Cambyses and the ensuing civil strife in his inner circle and riots throughout the country, he came to power Darius Hystasp. Darius quickly and harshly brought order to the empire and began new campaigns of conquest, as a result of which the Achaemenid Empire expanded to the Balkans in the west and to the Indus in the east, becoming the largest and most powerful state that had ever existed at that time. Cyrus also carried out a number of internal reforms. He divided the country into several administrative units - satrapies, and for the first time in history the principle of separation of powers was implemented: the troops were not subordinate to the satraps and at the same time the military leaders had no administrative power. In addition, Darius carried out a monetary reform and introduced the gold darik into circulation. Combined with the construction of a network of paved roads, this contributed to an unprecedented leap in trade relations.
Darius patronized Zoroastrianism and considered priests to be the core of Persian statehood. Under him, this first monotheistic religion became the state religion in the empire. At the same time, the Persians were tolerant of the conquered peoples and their beliefs and culture.
The heirs of Darius I began to violate the principles of internal structure introduced by the king, as a result of which the satrapies became more independent. There was a rebellion in Egypt, and unrest began in Greece and Macedonia. Under these conditions, the Macedonian commander Alexander began a military campaign against the Persians, and by 330 BC. e. defeated the Achaemenid Empire.
Parthia and Sassanids
After the death of Alexander II in 323 BC. e. his empire broke up into several separate states. Most of the territory of modern Iran went to Seleucia, but the Parthian king Mithridates soon began campaigns of conquest against the Seleucids and included Persia, as well as Armenia and Mesopotamia, into his empire. In 92 BC. e. a border was drawn between Parthia and Rome along the bed of the Euphrates, but the Romans almost immediately invaded the western Parthian satrapies and were defeated. In a return campaign, the Parthians captured the entire Levant and Anatolia, but were driven back to the Euphrates by the troops of Mark Antony. Soon after this, civil wars broke out in Parthia one after another, caused by Rome's intervention in the struggle between the Parthian and Greek nobility.
In 224, Ardashir Papakan, the son of the ruler of the small town of Kheir in Pars, defeated the Parthian army of Artaban IV and founded the second Persian Empire - Iranshahr ("Kingdom of the Aryans") - with its capital at Firuzabad, becoming the founder of a new dynasty - the Sassanids. The influence of the aristocracy and the Zoroastrian clergy increased, and persecution of non-believers began. Administrative reform has been carried out. The Sassanids continued to fight the Romans and the nomads of Central Asia.
Under King Khosrow I (531-579), active expansion began: Antioch was captured in 540, and Egypt in 562. The Byzantine Empire became tax dependent on the Persians. The coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula, including Yemen, were occupied. At the same time, Khosrow defeated the Hephthalite state on the territory of modern Tajikistan. Khusrow's military successes led to a flourishing of trade and culture in Iran.
The grandson of Khosrow I, Khosrow II (590-628) resumed the war with Byzantium, but suffered defeat after defeat. Military expenses were covered by exorbitant taxes on merchants and levies on the poor. As a result, uprisings began to break out throughout the country, Khosrow was captured and executed. His grandson, Yezigerd III (632-651) became the last Sasanian king. Despite the end of the war with Byzantium, the collapse of the empire continued. In the south, the Persians faced a new enemy - the Arabs.
Arab and Turkic conquests. Abbasids, Umayyads, Tahirids, Ghaznavids, Timurids.
Arab raids into Sasanian Iran began in 632. The Persian army suffered its most crushing defeat at the Battle of Qadisiyah in 637. The Arab conquest of Persia continued until 652, and it was incorporated into the Umayyad Caliphate. The Arabs spread Islam to Iran, which greatly changed Persian culture. After Islamization, literature, philosophy, art, and medicine developed rapidly. The flourishing of Persian culture marked the beginning of the Golden Age of Islam.
In 750, the Persian general Abu Moslem-Khorasani led the Abbasid campaign against the Umayyads to Damascus, and then to the capital of the Caliphate, Baghdad. In gratitude, the new caliph granted the Persian governors a certain autonomy, and also took several Persians as viziers. However, in 822, Tahir ben-Hussein ben-Musab, the governor of Khorasan, declared the independence of the province and declared himself the founder of a new Persian dynasty - the Tahirids. Already by the beginning of the Samanid reign, Iran had practically restored its independence from the Arabs.
Despite the adoption of Islam by Persian society, Arabization in Iran was not successful. The introduction of Arab culture met resistance from the Persians and became the impetus for the struggle for independence from the Arabs. The revival of the Persian language and literature, which peaked in the 9th-10th centuries, played an important role in restoring the national identity of the Persians. In this regard, Ferdowsi's epic “Shahnameh”, written entirely in Farsi, became famous.
In 977, the Turkmen commander Alp-Tegin opposed the Samanids and founded the Ghaznavid state with its capital in Ghazni (Afghanistan). Under the Ghaznavids, Persia's cultural flourishing continued. Their Seljuk followers moved the capital to Isfahan.
In 1218, the northeast of Iran, which was part of the Khorezm kingdom, was attacked by Genghis Khan. The whole of Khorasan was devastated, as well as the territories of the eastern provinces of modern Iran. About half the population was killed by the Mongols. As a result of famine and wars, by 1260 the population of Iran had decreased from 2.5 million to 250 thousand people. Genghis Khan's campaign was followed by the conquest of Iran by another Mongol commander - Hulagu, the grandson of Genghis Khan. Timur founded the capital of his empire in Samarkand, but he, like his followers, chose to abandon the implantation of Mongol culture in Persia.
The centralization of the Iranian state resumed with the rise to power of the Safavid dynasty, which put an end to the rule of the descendants of the Mongol conquerors.
Islamic Iran: Safavids, Afsharids, Zends, Qajars, Pahlavis.
Shia Islam was adopted in Iran as the state religion under Shah Ismail I of the Safavid dynasty in 1501. In 1503, Ismail defeated Ak-Koyunlu and built a new state on its ruins with its capital in Tabriz. The Safavid Empire reached its peak during Abbas I, defeating the Ottoman Empire and annexing the territories of modern Iraq, Afghanistan, parts of Pakistan, the territories of modern Azerbaijan, parts of Armenia and Georgia, as well as the provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran on the Caspian Sea. Thus, Iran's possessions already extended from the Tigris to the Indus.
The capital was moved from Tabriz to Qazvin and then to Isfahan. The conquered territories brought wealth and prosperity to Iran. Culture began to flourish. Iran became a centralized state, and the armed forces were modernized. However, after the death of Abbas the Great, the empire fell into decline. Mismanagement led to the loss of Kandahar and Baghdad. In 1722, the Afghans raided Iran, immediately taking Isfahan, and installed Mahmud Khan on the throne. Then Nadir Shah, the commander of the last Safavid ruler, Tahmasp II, killed him along with his son and established Afsharid rule in Iran.
First of all, Nadir Shah changed the state religion to Sunnism, and then defeated Afghanistan and returned Kandahar to Persia. Retreating Afghan troops fled to India. Nadir Shah urged the Indian Mogul, Mohammed Shah, not to accept them, but he did not agree, then the Shah invaded India. In 1739, Nadir Shah's troops entered Delhi, but an uprising soon broke out there. The Persians carried out a real massacre in the city, and then returned to Iran, completely plundering the country. In 1740, Nadir Shah made a campaign in Turkestan, as a result of which the borders of Iran advanced to the Amu Darya. In the Caucasus, the Persians reached Dagestan. In 1747, Nadir Shah was assassinated.
In 1750, power passed to the Zend dynasty, led by Karim Khan. Karim Khan became the first Persian in 700 years to become the head of state. He moved the capital to Shiraz. The period of his reign is characterized by a virtual absence of wars and cultural flourishing. The power of the Zends lasted only three generations, and in 1781 it passed to the Qajar dynasty. The founder of the dynasty, the blind Agha Mohammed Khan, carried out reprisals against the Zends and the descendants of the Afsharids. Having strengthened the power of the Qajars in Iran, Mohammed Khan organized a campaign against Georgia, defeating Tbilisi and killing more than 20 thousand residents of the city. The second campaign against Georgia in 1797 did not take place, since the Shah was killed by his own servants (Georgian and Kurdish) in Karabakh. Shortly before his death, Mohammad Khan moved the capital of Iran to Tehran.
As a result of a series of unsuccessful wars with Russia, Persia under the Qajars lost almost half of its territory. Corruption flourished, control over the outskirts of the country was lost. After prolonged protests, the country experienced a Constitutional Revolution in 1906, resulting in Iran becoming a constitutional monarchy. In 1920, the Gilan Soviet Republic was proclaimed in Gilan, which would exist until September 1921. In 1921, Reza Khan Pahlavi overthrew Ahmed Shah and in 1925 was declared the new Shah.
Pahlavi coined the term “Shakhinshah” (“king of kings”). Under him, large-scale industrialization of Iran began and the infrastructure was completely modernized. During World War II, the Shaheenshah refused British and Soviet requests to station troops in Iran. Then the Allies invaded Iran, overthrew the Shah and took control of the railways and oil fields. In 1942, Iran's sovereignty was restored, and power passed to the Shah's son, Mohammed. However, the Soviet Union, fearing possible aggression from Turkey, kept its troops in northern Iran until May 1946.
After the war, Mohammad Reza pursued a policy of active Westernization and de-Islamization, which did not always find understanding among the people. Numerous rallies and strikes took place. In 1951, Mohammed Mossadegh became the Chairman of the Government of Iran, who was actively engaged in reform, seeking a revision of agreements on the distribution of profits of the British Petroleum company. The Iranian oil industry is being nationalized. However, in the United States, a coup plan was immediately developed, with the active participation of British intelligence services, carried out in August 1953 by the grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt, Carmit Roosevelt. Mossadegh was removed from his post and imprisoned. Three years later he was released and placed under house arrest, where he remained until his death in 1967.
In 1963, Ayatollah Khomeini was expelled from the country. In 1965, Prime Minister Hassan Ali Mansour was mortally wounded by members of the Fedayan Islam group. In 1973, all political parties and associations were banned, and a secret police was founded. By the end of the 1970s, Iran was engulfed in mass protests that resulted in the overthrow of the Pahlavi regime and the final abolition of the monarchy. In 1979, the Islamic Revolution took place in the country and an Islamic republic was founded.
The internal political consequences of the revolution were manifested in the establishment of a theocratic regime of the Muslim clergy in the country and the increasing role of Islam in absolutely all spheres of life.
Meanwhile, the President of neighboring Iraq, Saddam Hussein, decided to take advantage of internal instability in Iran and its strained relations with Western countries. Iran has been (not for the first time) made territorial claims over areas along the Persian Gulf coast east of the Shatt al-Arab River. In particular, Hussein demanded the transfer to Iraq of western Khuzestan, where the majority of the population were Arabs and there were huge oil reserves. These demands were ignored by Iran, and Hussein began preparing for a large-scale war. On September 22, 1980, the Iraqi army crossed the Shatt al-Arab and invaded Khuzestan, which came as a complete surprise to the Iranian leadership.
Although Saddam Hussein achieved considerable success in the first months of the war, the advance of the Iraqi army was soon stopped, Iranian troops launched a counteroffensive and by mid-1982 drove the Iraqis out of the country. Khomeini decided not to stop the war, planning to “export” the revolution to Iraq. This plan relied primarily on the Shiite majority of eastern Iraq. However, after another 6 years of unsuccessful offensive attempts on both sides, a peace agreement was signed. The Iran-Iraq border remains unchanged.
In 1997, Mohammed Khatami was elected President of Iran, proclaiming the beginning of a policy of tolerant attitude towards culture and the establishment of closer ties with Western countries.
From 2005 to 2013 - President of Iran, elected for two consecutive terms, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
- OK. 1300 BC e. - Medes and Persians founded their settlements.
- OK. 700-600 BC e. - creation of the Median and Persian kingdoms.
- Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BC);
- 559-530 BC e. - reign of Cyrus II in Persia.
- 550 BC e. — Cyrus II defeats the Medes.
- 522-486 BC e. - reign of Darius I in Persia. The rise of the Persian Empire.
- 490-479 BC e. - Persians are at war with Greece
- 486-465 BC e. - reign of Xerxes I in Persia.
- 331-330 BC e. - conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great. Surrender of Persepolis to the fire.
- Parthian Kingdom or Arsacid Empire (250 BC - 227 AD).
- Sassanid State or Sassanid Empire (226-651 AD). Material from the site
Persia is the ancient name of the country that we now call Iran. Around 1300 BC e. two tribes invaded its territory: the Medes and the Persians. They founded two kingdoms: the Median - in the north, the Persian - in the south.
In 550 BC. e. The Persian king Cyrus II, having defeated the Medes, captured their lands and created a colossal power. Years later, during the reign of King Darius I, Persia becomes the largest state in the world.
For many years, Persia waged war with Greece. The Persians won several victories, but in the end their army was defeated. After the death of Darius' son, Xerxes I, the power lost its former strength. In 331 BC. e. Persia was conquered by Alexander the Great.
Darius I
Policy
King Darius I, collecting taxes from conquered peoples, became fabulously rich. He allowed the population to adhere to their beliefs and way of life, as long as they paid tribute regularly.
Darius divided the huge state into regions, which were to be governed by local rulers, satraps. The officials who looked after the satraps ensured that the latter remained loyal to the king.
Construction
Darius I built good roads throughout the empire. Now the messengers could move faster. The Royal Road stretched 2,700 km from Sardis in the west to the capital city of Susa.
Darius spent some of his wealth building a magnificent palace at Persepolis. During the New Year celebrations, officials from all over the empire came to the palace with gifts for the king. The main hall, where the king received his subjects, could accommodate 10 thousand people. Inside, the front hall was decorated with gold, silver, ivory and ebony (black) wood. The tops of the columns were decorated with bull heads, and the staircase was decorated with carvings. During the gathering of guests for various holidays, people brought gifts to the king: vessels with golden sand, gold and silver cups, ivory, fabrics and gold bracelets, lion cubs, camels, etc. Those who arrived were waiting in the courtyard.
The Persians were followers of the prophet Zarathustra (or Zoroaster), who taught that there is only one god. The fire was sacred, and therefore the priests did not allow the sacred fire to go out.
The territory of Persia, before the formation of an independent state, was part of the Assyrian Empire. VI century BC. became the heyday of ancient civilization, which began with the kingdom of the ruler Persia Cyrus II the Great. He managed to defeat the king named Croesus of the richest country of antiquity, Lydia. It went down in history as the first state entity in which silver and gold coins began to be minted in the history of the world. This happened in the 7th century. BC.
Under the Persian king Cyrus, the borders of the state were significantly expanded and included the territories of the fallen Assyrian Empire and the powerful. By the end of the reign of Cyrus and his heir, Persia, which had received the status of an empire, occupied the area from the lands of Ancient Egypt to India. The conqueror honored the traditions and customs of the conquered peoples and accepted the title and crown of the king of the conquered states.
Death of King Cyrus II of Persia
In ancient times, the Persian Emperor Cyrus was considered one of the most powerful rulers, under whose skillful leadership numerous successful military campaigns were carried out. However, his fate ended ingloriously: the great Cyrus fell at the hands of a woman. Near the northeastern border of the Persian Empire lived Massagetae. Small tribes were very savvy in military affairs. They were ruled by Queen Tomiris. She responded to Cyrus' marriage proposal with a decisive refusal, which extremely angered the emperor and he launched a military campaign to capture the nomadic peoples. The queen's son died in the battle, and she promised to force the king of the ancient civilization to drink blood. The battle ended in the defeat of the Persian troops. The emperor's head was brought to the queen in a leather fur filled with blood. Thus ended the time of despotic rule and conquests of the king of Persia, Cyrus II the Great.
Darius's rise to power
After the death of the mighty Cyrus, his direct heir came to power Cambyses. A militia began in the state. As a result of the struggle, Darius I became the emperor of Persia. Information about the years of his reign has reached our days thanks to Behistunskaya inscriptions, which contains historical data in Old Persian, Akkadian and Elamite. The stone was found by British officer G. Rawlinson in 1835. The inscription indicates that during the reign of Darius the Great, a distant relative of Cyrus II, Persia turned into an eastern despotism.
The state was divided into 20 administrative units, which were governed by satraps. The regions were called satraps. Officials were in charge of management and their responsibilities included monitoring the collection of taxes into the main treasury of the state. The money was spent on infrastructure development, in particular, roads were built connecting areas throughout the empire. Postal posts were established to carry messages to the king. During his reign, extensive urban construction and the development of crafts were noted. Gold coins – “dariks” – are introduced into monetary use.
Centers of the Persian Empire
One of the four capitals of the ancient civilization of Persia was located on the territory of former Lydia in the city of Susa. Another center of social and political life was in Pasargadae, established by Cyrus the Great. The Persian residence was also located in the conquered Babylonian kingdom. Emperor Darius I was enthroned in a city specially established as the capital of Persia Persepolis. Its wealth and architecture amazed the rulers and ambassadors of foreign countries who came to the empire to bring gifts to the king. The stone walls of Darius's palace in Persepolis are decorated with paintings depicting the immortal army of the Persians and the history of the existence of the "six nations" living as part of the ancient civilization.
Religious beliefs of the Persians
In ancient times in Persia there was polytheism. The adoption of a single religion came with the teaching of the struggle between the god of good and the creation of evil. The name of the prophet Zarathustra (Zoroaster). In the Persian tradition, unlike the religiously strong Ancient Egypt, there was no custom of erecting temple complexes and altars for performing spiritual rites. Sacrifices were made on hills where altars were built. God of light and goodness Ahura-Mazda depicted in Zoroastrianism as a solar disk decorated with wings. He was considered the patron saint of the kings of the ancient civilization of Persia.
The Persian state was located on the territory of modern Iran, where ancient architectural monuments of the empire were preserved.
Video about the creation and fall of the Persian Empire
In ancient times, Persia became the center of one of the greatest empires in history, stretching from Egypt to the Indus River. It included all previous empires - the Egyptians, Babylonians, Assyrians and Hittites. The later empire of Alexander the Great included almost no territories that had not previously belonged to the Persians, and it was smaller than Persia under King Darius.
Since its inception in the 6th century. BC. before the conquest by Alexander the Great in the 4th century. BC. for two and a half centuries, Persia occupied a dominant position in the Ancient World. Greek rule lasted about a hundred years, and after its fall the Persian power was reborn under two local dynasties: the Arsacids (Parthian Kingdom) and the Sassanids (New Persian Kingdom). For more than seven centuries they kept first Rome and then Byzantium in fear, until in the 7th century. AD The Sassanid state was not conquered by Islamic conquerors.
Geography of the empire.
The lands inhabited by the ancient Persians only approximately coincide with the borders of modern Iran. In ancient times, such borders simply did not exist. There were periods when the Persian kings were the rulers of most of the then known world, at other times the main cities of the empire were in Mesopotamia, to the west of Persia proper, and it also happened that the entire territory of the kingdom was divided between warring local rulers.
A significant part of the territory of Persia is occupied by a high, arid highland (1200 m), intersected by mountain ranges with individual peaks reaching 5500 m. In the west and north are the Zagros and Elborz mountain ranges, which frame the highlands in the shape of the letter V, leaving it open to the east. The western and northern borders of the highland approximately coincide with the current borders of Iran, but in the east it extends beyond the country, occupying part of the territory of modern Afghanistan and Pakistan. Three regions are isolated from the plateau: the coast of the Caspian Sea, the coast of the Persian Gulf and the southwestern plains, which are the eastern continuation of the Mesopotamian lowland.
Directly west of Persia lies Mesopotamia, home to the world's most ancient civilizations. The Mesopotamian states of Sumer, Babylonia and Assyria had a significant influence on the early culture of Persia. And although the Persian conquests ended almost three thousand years after the heyday of Mesopotamia, Persia in many ways became the heir to Mesopotamian civilization. Most of the most important cities of the Persian Empire were located in Mesopotamia, and Persian history is largely a continuation of Mesopotamian history.
Persia lies on the routes of the earliest migrations from Central Asia. Slowly moving west, the settlers skirted the northern tip of the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan and turned south and west, where through the more accessible areas of Khorasan, southeast of the Caspian Sea, they entered the Iranian plateau south of the Alborz Mountains. Centuries later, the main trade artery ran parallel to the earlier route, connecting the Far East with the Mediterranean and ensuring the administration of the empire and the movement of troops. At the western end of the highlands it descended onto the plains of Mesopotamia. Other important routes linked the southeastern plains through rugged mountains to the highlands proper.
Off the few main roads, thousands of agricultural communities were scattered along long, narrow mountain valleys. They led a subsistence economy; due to their isolation from their neighbors, many of them remained aloof from wars and invasions, and for many centuries they carried out an important mission to preserve the continuity of culture, so characteristic of the ancient history of Persia.
STORY
Ancient Iran.
It is known that the most ancient inhabitants of Iran had a different origin than the Persians and related peoples, who created civilizations on the Iranian plateau, as well as the Semites and Sumerians, whose civilizations arose in Mesopotamia. During excavations in caves near the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, human skeletons dating back to the 8th millennium BC were discovered. In the north-west of Iran, in the town of Goy-Tepe, skulls of people who lived in the 3rd millennium BC were found.
Scientists have proposed calling the indigenous population Caspians, which indicates a geographical connection with the peoples who inhabited the Caucasus Mountains to the west of the Caspian Sea. The Caucasian tribes themselves, as is known, migrated to more southern regions, to the highlands. The "Caspian" type appears to have survived in a greatly weakened form among the nomadic tribes of the Lurs in modern Iran.
For the archeology of the Middle East, the central question is the dating of the appearance of agricultural settlements here. Monuments of material culture and other evidence found in the Caspian caves indicate that the tribes inhabiting the region from the 8th to the 5th millennium BC. engaged mainly in hunting, then switched to cattle breeding, which, in turn, approx. IV millennium BC replaced by agriculture. Permanent settlements appeared in the western part of the highlands before the 3rd millennium BC, and most likely in the 5th millennium BC. The main settlements include Sialk, Goy-Tepe, Gissar, but the largest was Susa, which later became the capital of the Persian state. In these small villages, mud huts were crowded together along winding narrow streets. The dead were buried either under the floor of the house or in the cemetery in a crouched (“uterine”) position. The reconstruction of the life of the ancient inhabitants of the highlands was carried out on the basis of the study of utensils, tools and decorations that were placed in the graves to provide the deceased with everything necessary for the afterlife.
The development of culture in prehistoric Iran occurred progressively over many centuries. As in Mesopotamia, large brick houses began to be built here, objects were made from cast copper, and then from cast bronze. Seals made of stone with a carved pattern appeared, which were evidence of the emergence of private property. The discovery of large jars for storing food suggests that supplies were made for the period between harvests. Among the finds from all periods there are figurines of the mother goddess, often depicted with her husband, who was both her husband and son.
The most remarkable thing is the huge variety of painted clay products, the walls of some of them are no thicker than the shell of a chicken egg. The figurines of birds and animals depicted in profile testify to the talent of prehistoric artisans. Some clay products depict the man himself, engaged in hunting or performing some kind of rituals. Around 1200–800 BC painted pottery gives way to monochromatic ones - red, black or gray, which is explained by the invasion of tribes from as yet unidentified regions. Ceramics of the same type were found very far from Iran - in China.
Early history.
The historical era begins on the Iranian plateau at the end of the 4th millennium BC. Most of the information about the descendants of the ancient tribes who lived on the eastern borders of Mesopotamia, in the Zagros Mountains, is drawn from the Mesopotamian chronicles. (There is no information in the annals about the tribes that inhabited the central and eastern regions of the Iranian plateau, because they had no connections with the Mesopotamian kingdoms.) The largest of the peoples inhabiting the Zagros were the Elamites, who captured the ancient city of Susa, located on the plain at the foot of Zagros, and founded the powerful and prosperous state of Elam there. The Elamite records began to be compiled ca. 3000 BC and lasted for two thousand years. Further to the north lived the Kassites, barbarian tribes of horsemen, who by the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. conquered Babylonia. The Kassites adopted the civilization of the Babylonians and ruled southern Mesopotamia for several centuries. Less important were the Northern Zagros tribes, the Lullubei and the Gutians, who lived in the area where the great Trans-Asian trade route descended from the western tip of the Iranian plateau onto the plain.
Invasion of the Aryans and the Kingdom of Media.
Starting from the 2nd millennium BC. The Iranian plateau was hit one after another by waves of tribal invasions from Central Asia. These were Aryans, Indo-Iranian tribes who spoke dialects that were the proto-languages of the current languages of the Iranian Plateau and Northern India. They gave Iran its name (“homeland of the Aryans”). The first wave of conquerors arrived ca. 1500 BC One group of Aryans settled in the west of the Iranian plateau, where they founded the state of Mitanni, another group - in the south among the Kassites. However, the main flow of Aryans passed Iran, turned sharply to the south, crossed the Hindu Kush and invaded Northern India.
At the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. along the same route, a second wave of aliens, Iranian tribes themselves, arrived on the Iranian plateau, and much more numerous. Some of the Iranian tribes - the Sogdians, Scythians, Saks, Parthians and Bactrians - retained a nomadic lifestyle, others went beyond the highlands, but two tribes, the Medes and Persians (Parsians), settled in the valleys of the Zagros range, mixed with the local population and adopted their political , religious and cultural traditions. The Medes settled in the vicinity of Ecbatana (modern Hamadan). The Persians settled somewhat further south, on the plains of Elam and in the mountainous region adjacent to the Persian Gulf, which later received the name Persida (Parsa or Fars). It is possible that the Persians initially settled northwest of the Medes, west of Lake Rezaie (Urmia), and only later moved south under pressure from Assyria, which was then experiencing the peak of its power. On some Assyrian bas-reliefs of the 9th and 8th centuries. BC. battles with the Medes and Persians are depicted.
The Median kingdom with its capital in Ecbatana gradually gained strength. In 612 BC. the Median king Cyaxares (reigned from 625 to 585 BC) entered into an alliance with Babylonia, captured Nineveh and crushed the Assyrian power. The Median kingdom extended from Asia Minor (modern Türkiye) almost to the Indus River. During just one reign, Media turned from a small tributary principality into the strongest power in the Middle East.
Persian Achaemenid state.
The power of the Medes did not last longer than two generations. The Persian dynasty of the Achaemenids (named after its founder Achaemen) began to dominate Pars even under the Medes. In 553 BC Cyrus II the Great, the Achaemenid ruler of Parsa, led a revolt against the Median king Astyages, son of Cyaxares, which created a powerful alliance of Medes and Persians. The new power threatened the entire Middle East. In 546 BC King Croesus of Lydia led a coalition directed against King Cyrus, which, in addition to the Lydians, included the Babylonians, Egyptians and Spartans. According to legend, an oracle predicted to the Lydian king that the war would end in the collapse of the great state. The delighted Croesus did not even bother to ask which state was meant. The war ended with the victory of Cyrus, who pursued Croesus all the way to Lydia and captured him there. In 539 BC Cyrus occupied Babylonia, and by the end of his reign expanded the borders of the state from the Mediterranean Sea to the eastern outskirts of the Iranian plateau, making Pasargadae, a city in southwestern Iran, the capital.
Organization of the Achaemenid state.
Apart from a few brief Achaemenid inscriptions, we draw the main information about the Achaemenid state from the works of ancient Greek historians. Even the names of the Persian kings entered historiography as they were written by the ancient Greeks. For example, the names of the kings known today as Cyaxares, Cyrus and Xerxes are pronounced in Persian as Uvakhshtra, Kurush and Khshayarshan.
The main city of the state was Susa. Babylon and Ecbatana were considered administrative centers, and Persepolis the center of ritual and spiritual life. The state was divided into twenty satrapies, or provinces, headed by satraps. Representatives of the Persian nobility became satraps, and the position itself was inherited. This combination of the power of an absolute monarch and semi-independent governors was a characteristic feature of the country's political structure for many centuries.
All provinces were connected by postal roads, the most significant of which, the “royal road,” 2,400 km long, ran from Susa to the Mediterranean coast. Despite the fact that a single administrative system, a single currency and a single official language were introduced throughout the empire, many subject peoples retained their customs, religion and local rulers. The period of Achaemenid rule was characterized by tolerance. The long years of peace under the Persians favored the development of cities, trade and agriculture. Iran was experiencing its Golden Age.
The Persian army differed in composition and tactics from earlier armies, which were characterized by chariots and infantry. The main striking force of the Persian troops were horse archers, who bombarded the enemy with a cloud of arrows without coming into direct contact with him. The army consisted of six corps of 60,000 warriors each and elite formations of 10,000 people, selected from members of the noblest families and called “immortals”; They also constituted the king’s personal guard. However, during the campaigns in Greece, as well as during the reign of the last king from the Achaemenid dynasty, Darius III, a huge, poorly controlled mass of horsemen, chariots and infantrymen went into battle, unable to maneuver in small spaces and often significantly inferior to the disciplined infantry of the Greeks.
The Achaemenids were very proud of their origins. The Behistun inscription, carved on the rock by order of Darius I, reads: “I, Darius, the great king, the king of kings, the king of the countries inhabited by all peoples, have long been the king of this great land, extending even further, son of Hystaspes, Achaemenid, Persian, son Persians, Aryans, and my ancestors were Aryans.” However, the Achaemenid civilization was a conglomeration of customs, culture, social institutions and ideas that existed in all parts of the Ancient World. At that time East and West came into direct contact for the first time, and the resulting exchange of ideas was never interrupted thereafter.
Hellenic dominion.
Weakened by endless revolts, uprisings and civil strife, the Achaemenid state could not resist the armies of Alexander the Great. The Macedonians landed on the Asian continent in 334 BC, defeated Persian troops on the Granik River and twice defeated huge armies under the command of the mediocre Darius III - at the Battle of Issus (333 BC) in southwest Asia Minor and under Gaugamela (331 BC) in Mesopotamia. Having captured Babylon and Susa, Alexander headed to Persepolis and set it on fire, apparently in retaliation for Athens burned by the Persians. Continuing east, he found the body of Darius III, killed by his own soldiers. Alexander spent more than four years in the east of the Iranian plateau, founding numerous Greek colonies. He then turned south and conquered the Persian provinces in what is now West Pakistan. After this, he went on a campaign to the Indus Valley. Back to 325 BC in Susa, Alexander began to actively encourage his soldiers to take Persian wives, cherishing the idea of a unified state of Macedonians and Persians. In 323 BC Alexander, aged 33, died of fever in Babylon. The vast territory he conquered was immediately divided between his military leaders, who competed with each other. And although Alexander the Great’s plan to merge Greek and Persian culture was never realized, the numerous colonies founded by him and his successors maintained the originality of their culture for centuries and had a significant influence on local peoples and their art.
After the death of Alexander the Great, the Iranian plateau became part of the Seleucid state, which received its name from one of its generals. Soon the local nobility began to fight for independence. In the satrapy of Parthia, located southeast of the Caspian Sea in the area known as Khorasan, the nomadic Parni tribe rebelled and expelled the Seleucid governor. The first ruler of the Parthian state was Arshak I (ruled from 250 to 248/247 BC).
Parthian state of the Arsacids.
The period following Arsaces I's revolt against the Seleucids is called either the Arsacid period or the Parthian period. There were constant wars between the Parthians and the Seleucids, ending in 141 BC, when the Parthians, under Mithridates I, took Seleucia, the Seleucid capital on the Tigris River. On the opposite bank of the river, Mithridates founded a new capital, Ctesiphon, and extended his rule over most of the Iranian plateau. Mithridates II (ruled from 123 to 87/88 BC) further expanded the boundaries of the state and, taking the title “king of kings” (shahinshah), became the ruler of a vast territory from India to Mesopotamia, and in the east to Chinese Turkestan.
The Parthians considered themselves the direct heirs of the Achaemenid state, and their relatively poor culture was supplemented by the influence of Hellenistic culture and traditions introduced earlier by Alexander the Great and the Seleucids. As before in the Seleucid state, the political center moved to the west of the highlands, namely to Ctesiphon, so few monuments testifying to that time have been preserved in good condition in Iran.
During the reign of Phraates III (ruled from 70 to 58/57 BC), Parthia entered a period of almost continuous wars with the Roman Empire, which lasted almost 300 years. The opposing armies fought over a vast area. The Parthians defeated an army under the command of Marcus Licinius Crassus at Carrhae in Mesopotamia, after which the border between the two empires lay along the Euphrates. In 115 AD Roman Emperor Trajan took Seleucia. Despite this, the Parthian power held out, and in 161 Vologes III devastated the Roman province of Syria. However, long years of war bled the Parthians, and attempts to defeat the Romans on the western borders weakened their power over the Iranian plateau. Riots broke out in a number of areas. The Fars (or Parsi) satrap Ardashir, the son of a religious leader, declared himself ruler as a direct descendant of the Achaemenids. After defeating several Parthian armies and killing the last Parthian king, Artabanus V, in battle, he took Ctesiphon and inflicted a crushing defeat on the coalition attempting to restore Arsacid power.
Sassanid State.
Ardashir (reigned 224 to 241) founded a new Persian empire known as the Sassanid state (from the Old Persian title "sasan", or "commander"). His son Shapur I (reigned 241 to 272) retained elements of the previous feudal system, but created a highly centralized state. Shapur's armies first moved east and occupied the entire Iranian plateau up to the river. Indus and then turned west against the Romans. At the Battle of Edessa (near modern Urfa, Turkey), Shapur captured the Roman Emperor Valerian along with his 70,000-strong army. The prisoners, who included architects and engineers, were forced to work building roads, bridges and irrigation systems in Iran.
Over the course of several centuries, the Sassanid dynasty changed about 30 rulers; often successors were appointed by the higher clergy and feudal nobility. The dynasty waged continuous wars with Rome. Shapur II, who ascended the throne in 309, fought three wars with Rome during the 70 years of his reign. The greatest of the Sassanids is recognized as Khosrow I (ruled from 531 to 579), who was called the Just or Anushirvan (“Immortal Soul”).
Under the Sassanids, a four-tier system of administrative division was established, a fixed rate of land tax was introduced, and numerous artificial irrigation projects were carried out. In southwest Iran, traces of these irrigation structures still remain. Society was divided into four classes: warriors, priests, scribes and commoners. The latter included peasants, traders and artisans. The first three classes enjoyed special privileges and, in turn, had several gradations. Governors of the provinces were appointed from the highest rank of class, sardars. The capital of the state was Bishapur, the most important cities were Ctesiphon and Gundeshapur (the latter was famous as a center of medical education).
After the fall of Rome, the place of the traditional enemy of the Sassanids was taken by Byzantium. Violating the treaty of perpetual peace, Khosrow I invaded Asia Minor and in 611 captured and burned Antioch. His grandson Khosrow II (reigned 590 to 628), nicknamed Parviz ("Victorious"), briefly restored the Persians to their former Achaemenid glory. In the course of several campaigns, he actually defeated the Byzantine Empire, but the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius made a bold move against the Persian rear. In 627, the army of Khosrow II suffered a crushing defeat at Nineveh in Mesopotamia, Khosrow was deposed and stabbed to death by his own son Kavad II, who died a few months later.
The powerful Sassanid state found itself without a ruler, with a destroyed social structure, exhausted as a result of long wars with Byzantium in the west and with the Central Asian Turks in the east. Over the course of five years, twelve half-ghost rulers were replaced, unsuccessfully trying to restore order. In 632, Yazdegerd III restored central power for several years, but this was not enough. The exhausted empire could not withstand the onslaught of the warriors of Islam, who were uncontrollably rushing north from the Arabian Peninsula. They struck their first crushing blow in 637 at the Battle of Kadispi, as a result of which Ctesiphon fell. The Sassanids suffered their final defeat in 642 at the Battle of Nehavend in the central highlands. Yazdegerd III fled like a hunted animal, his assassination in 651 marking the end of the Sassanid era.
CULTURE
Technology.
Irrigation.
The entire economy of ancient Persia was based on agriculture. Rainfall in the Iranian Plateau is insufficient to support extensive agriculture, so the Persians had to rely on irrigation. The few and shallow rivers of the highlands did not provide the irrigation ditches with enough water, and in the summer they dried up. Therefore, the Persians developed a unique system of underground canals. At the foot of the mountain ranges, deep wells were dug, passing through hard but porous layers of gravel to the underlying impervious clays that form the lower boundary of the aquifer. The wells collected meltwater from mountain peaks, which were covered with a thick layer of snow in winter. From these wells, underground water conduits as tall as a man broke through, with vertical shafts located at regular intervals, through which light and air were supplied to the workers. Water conduits reached the surface and served as sources of water all year round.
Artificial irrigation with the help of dams and canals, which originated and was widely used on the plains of Mesopotamia, spread to the territory of Elam, similar in natural conditions, through which several rivers flow. This region, now known as Khuzistan, is densely cut by hundreds of ancient canals. Irrigation systems reached their greatest development during the Sasanian period. Today, numerous remains of dams, bridges and aqueducts built under the Sassanids are still preserved. Since they were designed by captured Roman engineers, they closely resemble similar structures found throughout the Roman Empire.
Transport.
The rivers of Iran are not navigable, but in other parts of the Achaemenid Empire water transport was well developed. So, in 520 BC. Darius I the Great reconstructed the canal between the Nile and the Red Sea. During the Achaemenid period, there was extensive construction of land roads, but paved roads were constructed mainly in swampy and mountainous areas. Significant sections of narrow, stone-paved roads built under the Sassanids are found in the west and south of Iran. The choice of location for the construction of roads was unusual for that time. They were laid not along valleys, along river banks, but along mountain ridges. Roads descended into valleys only to make it possible to cross to the other side in strategically important places, for which massive bridges were built.
Along the roads, at a distance of a day's travel from one another, post stations were built where horses were changed. There was a very efficient postal service, with postal couriers covering up to 145 km per day. The center of horse breeding since time immemorial has been the fertile region in the Zagros Mountains, located adjacent to the Trans-Asian trade route. Iranians began using camels as beasts of burden from ancient times; This “type of transport” came to Mesopotamia from Media ca. 1100 BC
Economy.
The basis of the economy of Ancient Persia was agricultural production. Trade also flourished. All the numerous capitals of the ancient Iranian kingdoms were located along the most important trade route between the Mediterranean and the Far East or on its branch towards the Persian Gulf. In all periods, the Iranians played the role of an intermediate link - they guarded this route and kept part of the goods transported along it. During excavations in Susa and Persepolis, beautiful items from Egypt were found. The reliefs of Persepolis depict representatives of all satrapies of the Achaemenid state presenting gifts to the great rulers. Since Achaemenid times, Iran has exported marble, alabaster, lead, turquoise, lapis lazuli (lapis lazuli) and carpets. The Achaemenids created fabulous reserves of gold coins minted in various satrapies. In contrast, Alexander the Great introduced a single silver coin for the entire empire. The Parthians returned to a gold currency, and during the Sasanian times silver and copper coins predominated in circulation.
The system of large feudal estates that developed under the Achaemenids survived into the Seleucid period, but the kings of this dynasty significantly eased the situation of the peasants. Then, during the Parthian period, the huge feudal estates were restored, and this system did not change under the Sassanids. All states sought to obtain maximum income and established taxes on peasant farms, livestock, land, introduced per capita taxes, and collected fees for travel on roads. All these taxes and fees were levied either in imperial coin or in kind. By the end of the Sasanian period, the number and magnitude of taxes had become an intolerable burden for the population, and this tax pressure played a decisive role in the collapse of the social structure of the state.
Political and social organization.
All Persian rulers were absolute monarchs who ruled their subjects according to the will of the gods. But this power was absolute only in theory; in fact, it was limited by the influence of hereditary large feudal lords. The rulers tried to achieve stability through marriages with relatives, as well as by taking as wives the daughters of potential or actual enemies - both domestic and foreign. Nevertheless, the reign of the monarchs and the continuity of their power were threatened not only by external enemies, but also by members of their own families.
The Median period was distinguished by a very primitive political organization, which is very typical for peoples transitioning to a sedentary lifestyle. Already among the Achaemenids the concept of a unitary state appeared. In the Achaemenid state, satraps were fully responsible for the state of affairs in their provinces, but could be subject to unexpected inspection by inspectors, who were called the eyes and ears of the king. The royal court constantly emphasized the importance of administering justice and therefore continuously moved from one satrapy to another.
Alexander the Great married the daughter of Darius III, retained satrapies and the custom of prostrating himself before the king. The Seleucids adopted from Alexander the idea of merging races and cultures in the vast expanses from the Mediterranean Sea to the river. Ind. During this period, rapid urban development occurred, accompanied by the Hellenization of the Iranians and the Iranianization of the Greeks. However, there were no Iranians among the rulers, and they were always considered outsiders. Iranian traditions were preserved in the Persepolis area, where temples were built in the style of the Achaemenid era.
The Parthians tried to unite the ancient satrapies. They also played an important role in the fight against nomads from Central Asia advancing from east to west. As before, the satrapies were headed by hereditary governors, but a new factor was the lack of natural continuity of royal power. The legitimacy of the Parthian monarchy was no longer indisputable. The successor was chosen by a council composed of nobles, which inevitably led to endless fighting between rival factions.
The Sasanian kings made a serious attempt to revive the spirit and original structure of the Achaemenid state, partly reproducing its rigid social organization. In descending order were vassal princes, hereditary aristocrats, nobles and knights, priests, peasants, and slaves. The state administrative apparatus was led by the first minister, to whom several ministries were subordinate, including military, justice and finance, each of which had its own staff of skilled officials. The king himself was the supreme judge, and justice was administered by the priests.
Religion.
In ancient times, the cult of the great mother goddess, a symbol of childbirth and fertility, was widespread. In Elam she was called Kirisisha, and throughout the Parthian period her images were cast on Luristan bronzes and figurines made of terracotta, bone, ivory and metals.
The inhabitants of the Iranian plateau also worshiped many Mesopotamian deities. After the first wave of Aryans passed through Iran, Indo-Iranian deities such as Mithra, Varuna, Indra and Nasatya appeared here. In all beliefs, a pair of deities was certainly present - the goddess, personifying the Sun and Earth, and her husband, personifying the Moon and natural elements. Local gods bore the names of the tribes and peoples who worshiped them. Elam had its own deities, most notably the goddess Shala and her husband Inshushinak.
The Achaemenid period marked a decisive turn from polytheism to a more universal system reflecting the eternal struggle between good and evil. The earliest inscription from this period, a metal tablet made before 590 BC, contains the name of the god Agura Mazda (Ahuramazda). Indirectly, the inscription may be a reflection of the reform of Mazdaism (the cult of Agura Mazda), carried out by the prophet Zarathushtra, or Zoroaster, as narrated in the Gathas, ancient sacred hymns.
The identity of Zarathushtra continues to be shrouded in mystery. Apparently he was born ca. 660 BC, but perhaps much earlier, and perhaps much later. The god Ahuramazda personified the good principle, truth and light, apparently, in contrast to Ahriman (Angra Mainyu), the personification of the evil principle, although the very concept of Angra Mainyu could have appeared later. Darius' inscriptions mention Ahuramazda, and the relief on his tomb depicts the worship of this deity at a sacrificial fire. The chronicles give reason to believe that Darius and Xerxes believed in immortality. Worship of the sacred fire took place both inside temples and in open places. The Magi, originally members of one of the Median clans, became hereditary priests. They supervised the temples and took care of strengthening the faith by performing certain rituals. An ethical doctrine based on good thoughts, good words and good deeds was revered. Throughout the Achaemenid period, rulers were very tolerant of local deities, and starting with the reign of Artaxerxes II, the ancient Iranian sun god Mithra and the fertility goddess Anahita received official recognition.
The Parthians, in search of their own official religion, turned to the Iranian past and settled on Mazdaism. Traditions were codified, and magicians regained their former power. The cult of Anahita continued to enjoy official recognition, as well as popularity among the people, and the cult of Mithra crossed the western borders of the kingdom and spread throughout most of the Roman Empire. In the west of the Parthian kingdom, Christianity, which became widespread there, was tolerated. At the same time, in the eastern regions of the empire, Greek, Indian and Iranian deities united in a single Greco-Bactrian pantheon.
Under the Sassanids, continuity was maintained, but there were also some important changes in religious traditions. Mazdaism survived most of Zarathushtra's early reforms and became associated with the cult of Anahita. To compete on equal terms with Christianity and Judaism, the holy book of the Zoroastrians was created Avesta, a collection of ancient poems and hymns. The Magi still stood at the head of the priests and were the guardians of the three great national fires, as well as the holy fires in all important settlements. Christians by that time had long been persecuted, they were considered enemies of the state, since they were identified with Rome and Byzantium, but by the end of the Sassanid reign, the attitude towards them became more tolerant and Nestorian communities flourished in the country.
Other religions also emerged during the Sasanian period. In the middle of the 3rd century. preached by the prophet Mani, who developed the idea of unifying Mazdaism, Buddhism and Christianity and especially emphasized the need to liberate the spirit from the body. Manichaeism demanded celibacy from priests and virtue from believers. Followers of Manichaeism were required to fast and offer prayers, but not to worship images or perform sacrifices. Shapur I favored Manichaeism and may have intended to make it the state religion, but this was sharply opposed by the still powerful priests of Mazdaism and in 276 Mani was executed. Nevertheless, Manichaeism persisted for several centuries in Central Asia, Syria and Egypt.
At the end of the 5th century. preached by another religious reformer, a native of Iran, Mazdak. His ethical doctrine combined both elements of Mazdaism and practical ideas about non-violence, vegetarianism and communal life. Kavad I initially supported the Mazdakian sect, but this time the official priesthood turned out to be stronger and in 528 the prophet and his followers were executed. The advent of Islam put an end to the national religious traditions of Persia, but a group of Zoroastrians fled to India. Their descendants, the Parsis, still practice the religion of Zoroaster.
Architecture and art.
Early metal products.
In addition to the colossal number of ceramic objects, products made from such durable materials as bronze, silver and gold are of exceptional importance for the study of Ancient Iran. A huge number of so-called Luristan bronzes were discovered in Luristan, in the Zagros Mountains, during illegal excavations of the graves of semi-nomadic tribes. These unique examples included weapons, horse harnesses, jewelry, as well as objects depicting scenes from religious life or ritual purposes. Until now, scientists have not come to a consensus as to who and when they were made. In particular, it was suggested that they were created in the 15th century. BC. to 7th century BC, most likely by the Kassites or Scythian-Cimmerian tribes. Bronze items continue to be found in the Azerbaijan province in northwestern Iran. They differ significantly in style from the Luristan bronzes, although they both appear to belong to the same period. Bronzes from Northwestern Iran are similar to recent finds from the same region; for example, the finds of an accidentally discovered treasure in Ziviya and a wonderful golden cup found during excavations in Hasanlu Tepe are similar to each other. These items date back to the 9th–7th centuries. BC, Assyrian and Scythian influence is visible in their stylized ornaments and depictions of deities.
Achaemenid period.
Architectural monuments of the pre-Achaemenid period have not survived, although reliefs in Assyrian palaces depict cities on the Iranian plateau. It is very likely that for a long time, even under the Achaemenids, the population of the highlands led a semi-nomadic lifestyle and wooden buildings were typical for the region. Indeed, the monumental structures of Cyrus at Pasargadae, including his own tomb, which resembles a wooden house with a gabled roof, as well as Darius and his successors at Persepolis and their tombs at nearby Naqshi Rustem, are stone copies of wooden prototypes. In Pasargadae, royal palaces with columned halls and porticos were scattered throughout a shady park. In Persepolis under Darius, Xerxes and Artaxerxes III, reception halls and royal palaces were built on terraces raised above the surrounding area. In this case, it was not arches that were characteristic, but columns typical of this period, covered with horizontal beams. Labor, construction and finishing materials, as well as decorations were brought from all over the country, while the style of architectural details and carved reliefs was a mixture of artistic styles then prevailing in Egypt, Assyria and Asia Minor. During excavations in Susa, parts of the palace complex were found, the construction of which began under Darius. The plan of the building and its decorative decoration reveal a much greater Assyro-Babylonian influence than the palaces at Persepolis.
Achaemenid art was also characterized by a mixture of styles and eclecticism. It is represented by stone carvings, bronze figurines, figurines made of precious metals and jewelry. The best jewelry was discovered in a chance find made many years ago known as the Amu Darya treasure. The bas-reliefs of Persepolis are world famous. Some of them depict kings during ceremonial receptions or defeating mythical beasts, and along the stairs in the large reception hall of Darius and Xerxes the royal guard lined up and a long procession of peoples is visible, bringing tribute to the ruler.
Parthian period.
Most of the architectural monuments of the Parthian period are found west of the Iranian plateau and have few Iranian features. True, during this period an element appeared that would be widely used in all subsequent Iranian architecture. This is the so-called ivan, a rectangular vaulted hall, open from the entrance. Parthian art was even more eclectic than the art of the Achaemenid period. In different parts of the state, products of different styles were made: in some Hellenistic, in others Buddhist, in others Greco-Bactrian. Plaster friezes, stone carvings and wall paintings were used for decoration. Glazed pottery, the forerunner of ceramics, was popular during this period.
Sasanian period.
Many structures from the Sasanian period are in relatively good condition. Most of them were made of stone, although baked brick was also used. Among the surviving buildings are royal palaces, fire temples, dams and bridges, as well as entire city blocks. The place of columns with horizontal ceilings was taken by arches and vaults; square rooms were crowned with domes, arched openings were widely used, and many buildings had ivans. The domes were supported by four trumpos, cone-shaped vaulted structures that spanned the corners of the square rooms. Ruins of palaces remain at Firuzabad and Servestan, in southwestern Iran, and at Qasr Shirin, on the western edge of the plateau. The largest palace was considered to be in Ctesiphon, on the river. The tiger known as Taki-Kisra. In its center there was a giant ivan with a vault 27 meters high and a distance between supports equal to 23 m. More than 20 fire temples have survived, the main elements of which were square rooms topped with domes and sometimes surrounded by vaulted corridors. As a rule, such temples were erected on high rocks so that the open sacred fire could be seen from a great distance. The walls of the buildings were covered with plaster, onto which a pattern made using the notching technique was applied. Numerous rock-cut reliefs are found along the banks of reservoirs fed by spring waters. They depict kings facing Agura Mazda or defeating their enemies.
The pinnacle of Sassanian art are textiles, silver dishes and cups, most of which were made for the royal court. Scenes of royal hunting, figures of kings in ceremonial attire, and geometric and floral patterns are woven onto thin brocade. On the silver bowls there are images of kings on the throne, battle scenes, dancers, fighting animals and sacred birds made using the technique of extrusion or appliqué. The fabrics, unlike the silver dishes, are made in styles that came from the West. In addition, elegant bronze incense burners and wide-necked jugs were found, as well as clay products with bas-reliefs covered with shiny glaze. The mixture of styles still does not allow us to accurately date the found objects and determine the place of manufacture of most of them.
Writing and science.
The oldest written language of Iran is represented by as yet undeciphered inscriptions in the Proto-Elamite language, which was spoken in Susa ca. 3000 BC The much more advanced written languages of Mesopotamia quickly spread to Iran, and in Susa and the Iranian plateau the population used the Akkadian language for many centuries.
The Aryans who came to the Iranian plateau brought with them Indo-European languages, different from the Semitic languages of Mesopotamia. During the Achaemenid period, royal inscriptions carved on rocks were parallel columns in Old Persian, Elamite and Babylonian. Throughout the Achaemenid period, royal documents and private correspondence were written either in cuneiform on clay tablets or in writing on parchment. At the same time, at least three languages were in use - Old Persian, Aramaic and Elamite.
Alexander the Great introduced the Greek language, his teachers taught about 30,000 young Persians from noble families the Greek language and military science. On his great campaigns, Alexander was accompanied by a large retinue of geographers, historians and scribes, who recorded everything that happened day after day and became acquainted with the culture of all the peoples they met along the way. Particular attention was paid to navigation and the establishment of sea communications. The Greek language continued to be used under the Seleucids, while the Old Persian language was preserved in the Persepolis region. Greek served as the language of trade throughout the Parthian period, but the main language of the Iranian Highlands became Middle Persian, which represented a qualitatively new stage in the development of Old Persian. Over many centuries, the Aramaic script used to write in the Old Persian language was transformed into the Pahlavi script with an undeveloped and inconvenient alphabet.
During the Sasanian period, Middle Persian became the official and main language of the inhabitants of the highlands. Its writing was based on a variant of the Pahlavi script known as the Pahlavi-Sassanian script. The sacred books of the Avesta were written in a special way - first in Zenda, and then in the Avesta language.
In ancient Iran, science did not rise to the heights that it reached in neighboring Mesopotamia. The spirit of scientific and philosophical search awakened only in the Sasanian period. The most important works were translated from Greek, Latin and other languages. That's when they were born Book of Great Feats, Book of ranks, Iran countries And Book of Kings. Other works from this period survive only in later Arabic translations.
Often these days we can hear a story about a country in the southwestern part of Asia called Persia. What country now has replaced it with Since 1935, Persia began to be officially called Iran.
In ancient times, this state was the center of a huge empire, the territory of which extended from Egypt itself to the Indus River.
Geography
It is worth saying that at one time the state of Persia did not have clear boundaries. It is quite problematic to determine which country is located on these lands now. Even modern Iran is only approximately located on the territory of Ancient Persia. The fact is that in certain periods this empire was located over most of the world known at that time. But there were worse years, when the territory of Persia was divided among themselves by local rulers who were hostile to each other.
The relief of most of the territory of present-day Persia is a high (1200 m) highland, which is crossed by a chain of stone ridges and individual peaks rising up to 5500 m. In the northern and western parts of this area there are the Elbrus and Zagros mountain ranges. They are arranged in a "V" shape, framing the highlands.
To the west of Persia was Mesopotamia. This is the homeland of the most ancient civilizations on Earth. At one time, the states of this empire significantly influenced the culture of the still nascent country of Persia.
Story
Persia (Iran) is a country with the greatest past. Its history includes wars of conquest and defense, uprisings and revolutions, as well as brutal suppression of all political uprisings. But at the same time, Ancient Iran is the homeland of the great people of that time, who led the country’s art and culture to flourish, and also built buildings of amazing beauty, the architecture of which still amazes us with its splendor. The history of Persia has a large number of ruling dynasties. It is simply impossible to count them. Each of these dynasties put into effect its own laws and rules, which no one simply dared to break.
Historical periods
Persia experienced a lot on the path of its formation. But two periods are considered the main milestones of its development. One of them is pre-Muslim, and the second is Muslim. The Islamization of Ancient Iran caused fundamental changes in its political, social and cultural sphere. However, this does not at all mean the disappearance of former spiritual values. Not only were they not lost, but they also significantly influenced the new culture that arose in the country at the turn of two historical periods. In addition, many pre-Muslim rituals and traditions have been preserved in Iran to this day.
Achaemenid rule
As a state, Ancient Iran began its existence with Cyrus II. This ruler became the founder of the Achaemenid dynasty, which was in power from 550 to 330 AD. BC e. Under Cyrus II, the two largest Indo-Asian tribes, the Persians and the Medes, were united for the first time. This was the period of greatest power of Persia. Its territory extended to the Central and Indus Valley and Egypt. The most important archaeological and historical monument of the Achaemenid era are the ruins of the capital of Persia - Persepolis.
Here is the tomb of Cyrus II, as well as the inscription carved by Darius I on the Behistun rock. At one time, Persepolis was burned by Alexander the Great during his campaign to conquer Iran. This conqueror put an end to the great Achaemenid Empire. Unfortunately, no written evidence of this era has survived. They were destroyed by order of Alexander the Great.
Hellenistic period
From 330 to 224 BC e. Persia was in a state of decline. Along with the country, its culture also deteriorated. During this period, Ancient Iran was under the rule of the then ruling Greek Seleucid dynasty, being part of the state of the same name. The culture and language of Persia changed. They were influenced by the Greeks. At the same time, Iranian culture did not die. She influenced the settlers from Hellas. But this happened only in those areas where there were no self-sufficient and large Greek communities.
Parthian Kingdom
Years passed, the power of the Greeks in Persia came to an end. The history of Ancient Iran has entered its new stage. The country became part of the Parthian kingdom. The Arsacid dynasty ruled here, considering themselves descendants of the Achaemenids. These rulers liberated Persia from Greek rule and also protected it from Roman invasion and nomadic raids.
During this period, the Iranian folk epic was created, and a large number of stories with heroic characters appeared. One of them was Rustema. This Iranian hero is in many ways similar to Hercules.
During the Parthian period, the feudal system was strengthened. This weakened Persia. As a result, it was conquered by the Sassanids. A new stage in the history of Ancient Iran began.
Sassanid State
Between 224 and 226 AD. e. The last Parthian king Artaban V was overthrown from the throne. The Sassanid dynasty seized power. During this period, the borders of Ancient Iran were not only restored, but also expanded to the western regions of China, including Punjab and Transcaucasia. The dynasty waged a constant struggle with the Romans, and one of its representatives, Shapur I, even managed to capture their emperor Valerian. The Sassanid dynasty waged constant wars with Byzantium.
During this period, cities developed in Persia, and the central government strengthened. At the same time, Zoroastrianism arose, which became the official religion of the country. During the Sassanid era, a four-stage system of the existing administrative division and stratification of all layers of society into 4 estates was developed and approved.
During the Sassanid era, Christianity penetrated into Persia, which was negatively greeted by the Zoroastrian priests. At the same time, some other oppositional religious movements appeared. Among them are Mazdakism and Manichaeism.
The most famous representative of the Sassanid dynasty was Shah Khosrow I Anushirvan. The literal translation of his name means "with an immortal soul." His reign lasted from 531 to 579. Khosrow I was so famous that his fame continued for many centuries after the fall of the Sassanid dynasty. This ruler remained in the memory of posterity as a great reformer. Khosrow I showed great interest in philosophy and science. Some Iranian sources even compare him with Plato’s “philosopher king.”
The Sassanids were significantly weakened by constant wars with Rome. In 641 the country lost a major battle to the Arabs. The Sasanian stage of Iranian history ended with the death of the last representative of this dynasty - Yazdegerd III. Persia entered the Islamic period of its development.
Rule by local dynasties
The Arab Caliphate gradually expanded to the east. At the same time, his central government in Baghdad and Damascus could no longer maintain strict control over all provinces. This led to the emergence of local dynasties in Iran. The first of them is the Tahirids. Its representatives ruled from 821 to 873. in Khorasan. This dynasty was replaced by the Saffarids. Their dominance over the territories of Khorasan, southern Iran and Herat lasted throughout the second half of the ninth century. Then the throne was captured by the Samanids. This dynasty proclaimed itself to be the descendants of the Parthian military commander Bahram Chubin. The Samanids held the throne for more than fifty years, extending their power over large territories. During their reign, the country of Iran ran from the eastern edges of the highlands to the Aral Sea and the Zagros ridge. The center of the state was Bukhara.
Somewhat later, two more families ruled in the territory of Persia. In the second half of the tenth century these were the Ziyarids. They controlled the territory of the Caspian Sea coast. The Ziyarids became famous for their patronage of art and literature. During the same period, the Bund dynasty was in power in central Iran. They conquered Baghdad and Fors, Khuzistan and Kerman, Rey and Hamadan.
Local Iranian dynasties achieved power in the same way. They seized the throne, raising an armed rebellion.
Ghaznavid and Seljuk dynasties
Beginning in the eighth century, Turkic nomadic tribes began to penetrate. Gradually, the lifestyle of these people became sedentary. New settlements arose. Alp-Tegin, one of the Turkic tribal leaders, began to serve the Sassanids. In 962, he came to power and ruled the newly created state, the capital of which was the city of Ghazni. Alp-Tegin founded a new dynasty. The Ghaznavites held power for a little over a hundred years. One of its representatives, Mahmud Ghaznavi, kept the territory from Mesopotamia to India under constant control. The same ruler settled the Oghuz Turkic tribe in Kharasan. Subsequently, their leader Seljuk rebelled and overthrew the Ghaznavid dynasty. The city of Rey was declared the capital of Iran.
The Seljuk dynasty belonged to the devout Muslims. She subjugated all the local rulers, but fought constant wars for many years to maintain her dominance.
During the years of Seljuk rule, architecture flourished. During the reign of the dynasty, hundreds of madrassas, mosques, public buildings and palaces were built. But at the same time, the reign of the Seljuks was hampered by constant uprisings in the provinces, as well as invasions of other Turkic tribes that were moving towards the western lands. Constant wars weakened the state, and by the end of the first quarter of the twelfth century it began to disintegrate.
Mongol dominance
The invasion of Genghis Khan's troops did not escape Iran either. The history of the country tells us that in 1219 this commander managed to capture Khorezm, and then, moving west, plundered Bukhara, Balkh, Samarkand, Nashapur and Merv.
His grandson, Hulagu Khan, again plunged into Iran in 1256 and, taking Baghdad by storm, destroyed the Abbasi Caliphate. The conqueror took the title of Ilkhan, becoming the founder of the Hulaguid dynasty. He and his successors adopted the religion, culture and way of life of the Iranian people. Over the years, the Mongols' position in Persia began to weaken. They were forced to wage constant wars with feudal rulers and representatives of local dynasties.
Between 1380 and 1395 the territory of the Iranian plateau was captured by Amir Timur (Tamerlane). They also conquered all the lands adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea. Descendants maintained the Timurid state until 1506. Then it was subordinated to the Uzbek Sheybanid dynasty.
History of Iran from 15th to 18th centuries
Over the following centuries, wars for power continued to be waged in Persia. So, in the 15th century, the Ak-Koyundu and Kara-Aoyundu tribes fought among themselves. In 1502, Ismail I seized power. This monarch was the first representative of the Safavids, the Azerbaijani dynasty. During the reign of Ismail I and his successors, Iran revived its military power and became an economically prosperous country.
The Safavid state remained strong until the death of its last ruler, Abbas I, in 1629. In the east, the Uzbeks were expelled from Kharasan, and in the west, the Ottomans were defeated. Iran, whose map pointed to impressive territories belonging to it, subjugated Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. It existed within these boundaries until the nineteenth century.
On the territory of Persia, wars were fought against the Turks and Afghans, who sought to conquer the country. These were the times when the Afshar dynasty was in power. The southern lands of Iran from 1760 to 1779 were under the rule of the dynasty founded by Zendov Kerim Khan. She was then overthrown by the Turkic Qajar tribe. Under the leadership of its leader, it conquered the lands of the entire Iranian plateau.
Qajar Dynasty
At the very beginning of the nineteenth century, Iran lost provinces located on the territory of modern Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. This was the result of the fact that the Qajar dynasty was never able to create a strong state apparatus, a national army and a unified tax collection system. The power of its representatives turned out to be too weak and could not resist the imperial desires of Russia and Great Britain. In the second half of the nineteenth century, the lands of Afghanistan and Turkestan came under the control of these great powers. At the same time, Iran unwittingly began to serve as an arena for Russian-British confrontation.
The last of the Qajar family was a constitutional monarch. The dynasty was forced to accept this main law under pressure from the strikes taking place in the country. Two powers opposed the constitutional regime of Iran - Russia and Great Britain. In 1907 they signed an agreement to divide Persia. Its northern part went to Russia. Great Britain exerted its influence in the southern lands. The central part of the country was left as a neutral zone.
Iran at the beginning of the 20th century
The Qajar dynasty was overthrown by a coup d'etat. It was headed by General Reza Khan. A new Pahlavi dynasty came to power. This name, which translated from Parthian means “noble, brave,” was intended to emphasize the Iranian origin of the family.
During the reign of Reza Shah Pahlavi, Persia experienced its national revival. This was facilitated by numerous radical reforms carried out by the government. Industrialization had begun. Large investments were allocated for the development of industry. Highways and railways were built. Oil development and production was actively carried out. Sharia courts were replaced by legal proceedings. Thus, extensive modernization began in Persia at the beginning of the 20th century.
In 1935, the state of Persia changed its name. Which country is its legal successor now? Iran. This is the ancient self-name of Persia, which means “country of the Aryans” (the superior white race). After 1935, the pre-Islamic past began to be revived. Small and large cities in Iran began to rename. Pre-Islamic monuments were restored in them.
Overthrow of the Tsar's power
The last Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty ascended the throne in 1941. His reign lasted for 38 years. In pursuing his foreign policy, the Shah was guided by the opinion of the United States. At the same time, he supported the pro-American regimes that existed in Oman, Somalia and Chad. One of the most prominent opponents of the Shah was the Islamic priest Kma Ruhollah Khomeini. He led revolutionary activities against the existing government.
In 1977, the US President forced the Shah to ease repression against the opposition. As a result of this, numerous parties criticizing the existing regime began to appear in Iran. The Islamic revolution was preparing. The activities carried out by the opposition aggravated the protest sentiments of Iranian society, which opposed the country's internal political course, oppression of the church and pro-American foreign policy.
The Islamic Revolution began after the events of January 1978. It was then that the police shot down a demonstration of students protesting against a slanderous article about Khomeini published in a state newspaper. The unrest continued throughout the year. The Shah was forced to introduce martial law in the country. However, it was no longer possible to keep the situation under control. In January 1979, the Shah left Iran.
After his escape, the country held a referendum. As a result, on April 1, 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran emerged. In December of the same year, the updated constitution of the country saw the light. This document established the supreme power of Imam Khomeini, which after his death was to be transferred to his successor. The President of Iran, according to the constitution, stood at the head of political and civil power. Together with him, the country was ruled by the Prime Minister and an advisory council - the Menjlis. The President of Iran was by law the guarantor of the adopted constitution.
Iran today
Persia, known since time immemorial, is a very colorful state. What country today can so accurately correspond to the saying “The East is a delicate matter”? This is confirmed by the entire existence and development of the state in question.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is, without any doubt, unique in its identity. And this sets it apart from others. The capital of the Republic is the city of Tehran. This is a huge metropolis, one of the largest in the world.
Iran is a unique country with a large number of attractions, cultural monuments and its own peculiarities of way of life. The republic has 10% of the world's reserves of black gold. It is thanks to its oil fields that it is among the top ten exporters of this natural resource.
Persia - what country is it now? Highly religious. Its printing houses produce more copies of the Holy Quran than in all other Muslim countries.
After the Islamic Revolution, the republic set a course for universal literacy. The development of education here is proceeding at an accelerated pace.
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