Iran

Related Topics:
Iranian :: Iranian_Revolution :: Iran-Iraq_War :: Iran_Contra_Affair :: Iran

Iran is a country in Middle East. It has common borders with Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey, and Turkmenistan. Tehran is the capital and the biggest city.

History

Before it was called Iran, this country was called Persia. It is in southwest Asia. People have lived there from about 2000 BC. At that time, it was the centre of the Persian Empire. Then, Alexander the Great took the country by fighting and the Arsacid dynasty of Parthia later ruled.

It was called Persia again by the Sassanian dynasty (AD 224-651). Other people took Persia by fighting like the Arabs (7th century), Turks (10th century) and Mongols (13th century). It was called Iran by the Safavid dynasty (1502-1736). The name Iran is drived from "Aryan" and is also mentioned in the ancient book of the Zoroastrians, called Avesta.

It was called Iran in 1935, and was ruled by the Pahlavi dynasty from 1925. In 1979, there was a revolution and Ayatollah Khomeini created an Islamic republic.

The words "Iran" and "Iraq" are similar only in Latin alphabet.

Countries

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History