Articles on Iran and Iranian history
The area that comprises modern-day Iran has one of the longest continuous histories in the world. Persia was once considered one of the world's great super powers and the civilizations that ruled the area have both invaded and been invaded on numerous occasions.
This series of articles on Persia begins with pre-historic Iran and the so-called Fertile Crescent and encompasses the rise and fall of succeeding civilizations including the Elamites, the Medes, and the Achaemenids, through Greek domination post Alexander the Great under the Seleucids, before the great empires of the Parthians and Sassanids followed by the Arab Conquest and the coming of Islam.
Later, the history of Persia was dominated by the Abbasids and their successors, the Turks and the Seljuks before the invasion of the Mongols and the coming of Timur (Tamerlane).
The Safavids were to dominate from the early 16th century to the early 18th cntury before the establishment of the Qajar dynasty in 1795 once again united the territory of Persia after the divisions of the Zand kings.
Iranian History
Pre-historic Iran - The Fertile Crescent
The Beginning of the Historical Period
Persian Dynasties under the Abbasids
The Pahlavis - The Last of the Shahs