# The Chronicle of Iran: From Cyrus the Great's first world empire to the Islamic Republic. History of Iran: From Cyrus the Great's first world empire to the Islamic Republic. 6 eras and 35 sourced events, every claim traceable to a named… Canonical: https://terralore.co/country/IRN/chronicle Updated: 2026-06-13 Founding: Founding of the Achaemenid (Persian) Empire by Cyrus the Great — c. 550 BCE. Around 550 BCE Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II) overthrew the Median king Astyages and forged the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire and the largest the world had yet seen. After capturing Babylon in 539 BCE he issued the famous Cyrus Cylinder, often cited as an early charter of tolerance. Persia's long imperial story passed through Hellenistic, Parthian, Sasanian, Islamic, Turkic, Mongol and Safavid phases before the Pahlavi monarchy fell to the Islamic Revolution of 1979, which on 1 April 1979 established the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran is heir to one of the world's oldest civilisations. On the south-western plateau the kingdom of Elam flourished from the early third millennium BCE, but it was Cyrus the Great's founding of the Achaemenid (Persian) Empire around 550 BCE that created history's first true world empire, stretching from the Aegean to the Indus. Persia outlasted conquest by Alexander, was reborn under the Parthians and Sasanians, and after the Arab conquest of the seventh century became a heartland of the Islamic golden age. The Safavids made Iran a Twelver Shia state in 1501; the Qajar and Pahlavi shahs wrestled with modernity and foreign power; and in 1979 a revolution swept away the monarchy and established the Islamic Republic of Iran under Ayatollah Khomeini. This file carries the chronicle's sourced event record — every event with its year, summary and source keys (resolved under References below). The full reading narrative lives on the canonical page. ## Elam and the Achaemenid Empire — c. 3200 BCE – 330 BCE From the ancient kingdom of Elam to Cyrus the Great's first world empire, the Iranian plateau gave rise to one of antiquity's most powerful and tolerant states. - c. 3200 BCE: **The kingdom of Elam and the city of Susa** — Elam, one of the earliest civilisations of the region, flourishes around its capital Susa in south-western Iran, trading and warring with Mesopotamia until Susa is sacked by the Assyrians around 647 BCE. [britannica-elam, worldhistory-susa] - c. 550 BCE: **Cyrus the Great founds the Achaemenid Empire** — Cyrus II overthrows the Median king Astyages and unites the Medes and Persians, founding the Achaemenid (Persian) Empire — the first Persian world empire. [worldhistory-cyrus, britannica-cyrus] - 6th century BCE: **Pasargadae, the first Achaemenid capital, is founded in Fars** — Cyrus the Great founds Pasargadae as the earliest capital of the Achaemenid Empire, in the heartland of the Persians, today the province of Fars in south-western Iran. UNESCO lists it as a World Heritage Site. [unesco-pasargadae, worldhistory-cyrus] - 539 BCE: **Conquest of Babylon and the Cyrus Cylinder** — Cyrus captures Babylon and issues the Cyrus Cylinder, a Babylonian cuneiform document recording his restoration of temples and return of deported peoples, often hailed as an early charter of tolerance. [britishmuseum-cyruscylinder, worldhistory-cyrus] - c. 518 BCE: **Darius I builds Persepolis** — Darius the Great organises the empire into satrapies, builds the Royal Road and standardised coinage, and begins the magnificent ceremonial capital of Persepolis, today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. [unesco-persepolis, worldhistory-cyrus] - c. 490 BCE: **Darius I calls himself 'a Persian, an Aryan' at Naqsh-e Rostam** — The inscription on Darius I's tomb at Naqsh-e Rostam (DNa) styles him in Livius.org's translation as 'a Persian, son of a Persian, an Aryan, having Aryan lineage'. It gives two self-descriptions: Persian, after the homeland of Pārsa in Fars, and Aryan, the old word for the Iranians. [livius-dna] - 330 BCE: **Alexander conquers Persia and burns Persepolis** — After defeating Darius III at Gaugamela (331 BCE), Alexander the Great enters and burns Persepolis and the last Achaemenid king is killed, ending the empire in 330 BCE. [worldhistory-persepolis-burning, britannica-cyrus] Figures: - Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II) (reigned c. 559–530 BCE) — Founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Founder of the first Persian Empire, who united the Medes and Persians and built a realm stretching from Anatolia to Central Asia. Remembered for the comparatively tolerant administration recorded on the Cyrus Cylinder and revered in Iran as the father of the nation. - Darius I (Darius the Great) (reigned 522–486 BCE) — Achaemenid king of kings. Consolidator of the empire who created the satrapy system, the Royal Road and a standard coinage, and built Persepolis. Under him the Achaemenid realm reached its greatest extent, from the Aegean to the Indus valley. ## Hellenistic, Parthian and Sasanian Persia — 330 BCE – 651 CE After Alexander, Persia revived under the Parthians and reached new heights of culture and statecraft under the Sasanians, the last great pre-Islamic empire of Iran. - 247 BCE: **The Parthian (Arsacid) Empire** — Arsaces I founds the Parthian Empire in north-eastern Iran, reviving Persian traditions and becoming Rome's chief rival in the East for nearly five centuries. [britannica-parthia, worldhistory-sasanian] - 224 CE: **Ardashir I founds the Sasanian Empire** — Ardashir I overthrows the last Parthian king and establishes the Sasanian Empire, the last great pre-Islamic Persian state, with its capital at Ctesiphon. [worldhistory-sasanian, britannica-sasanian] - 3rd century CE: **Sasanian kings style themselves rulers of Ērān, the Iranians** — Sasanian royal inscriptions of the 3rd century CE name their kings as king of kings of the Ērān, the Iranians: at Naqsh-e Rajab in Fars, Shapur I is 'the king of kings in Iran and abroad' in Livius.org's translation. Encyclopaedia Iranica's entry, as cited by Wikipedia, dates the first attestation of the word to Ardashir I's relief at Naqsh-e Rostam and reads the later term Ērānšahr, 'realm of the Iranians', as the empire's own name for itself. [livius-shapur-naqsh-e-rajab, wikipedia-iran-word] - 3rd century CE: **Zoroastrianism as state religion** — The Sasanian kings establish Zoroastrianism, the faith attributed to the prophet Zoroaster, as the official religion of Iran, supported by a powerful priesthood and network of fire temples. [worldhistory-zoroastrianism, britannica-sasanian] - 602–628 CE: **Exhausting wars with Byzantium** — The last great Byzantine–Sasanian war drains both empires militarily and economically, leaving Persia dangerously weakened on the eve of the Arab conquest. [worldhistory-sasanian] - 642 CE: **Battle of Nahavand — the 'Victory of Victories'** — Arab Muslim forces crush the Sasanian army at Nahavand, breaking organised Persian resistance; the empire finally collapses with the death of Yazdegerd III in 651 CE. [britannica-nahavand, worldhistory-sasanian] Figures: - Ardashir I (reigned 224–242 CE) — Founder of the Sasanian Empire. A ruler of Persis who defeated the last Parthian king and founded the Sasanian dynasty, casting it as the rightful heir of the Achaemenids. He centralised the state and elevated Zoroastrianism as its official religion. ## The Arab Conquest and Islamic Persia — the Golden Age — 651 – 1219 CE Conquered by the Arabs, Persia gradually embraced Islam yet preserved its language and identity, becoming a powerhouse of science, philosophy and poetry in the Islamic golden age. - 651 CE: **Islamisation of Persia begins** — With the Sasanian state destroyed, Iran is incorporated into the Islamic caliphate; over the following centuries most of its people convert to Islam while retaining the Persian language and much of their culture. [britannica-nahavand, thecollector-arabconquests] - 750 CE: **Abbasid Revolution and the rise of Baghdad** — Backed by support from Persian Khorasan, the Abbasids overthrow the Umayyads and found Baghdad, drawing heavily on Persian administrative and intellectual traditions. [wikipedia-houseofwisdom, thecollector-arabconquests] - 9th–11th centuries CE: **Persia at the heart of the Islamic golden age** — In the House of Wisdom and beyond, Persian scholars such as Avicenna, al-Khwarizmi and Omar Khayyam advance medicine, mathematics and astronomy during the Islamic golden age. [wikipedia-avicenna, wikipedia-houseofwisdom] - c. 1010 CE: **Ferdowsi completes the Shahnameh** — The poet Ferdowsi finishes the Shahnameh, the 'Book of Kings', an epic of some 50,000 couplets that preserves Iran's mythic and pre-Islamic history and anchors the Persian language. [britannica-ferdowsi, wikipedia-avicenna] Figures: - Avicenna (Ibn Sina) (c. 980–1037 CE) — Persian physician and philosopher. One of the foremost thinkers of the Islamic golden age, whose Canon of Medicine remained a standard medical text in Europe and the Islamic world for centuries. His philosophical works profoundly shaped both later Islamic and European thought. - Ferdowsi (c. 940–1020 CE) — Persian epic poet. Author of the Shahnameh, the national epic of Iran, whose verse preserved the heroic legends of pre-Islamic Persia and helped ensure the survival and prestige of the Persian language. ## Turkic and Mongol Rule and the Safavids — 1219 – 1736 CE After devastating Mongol invasions, Iran was reborn under the Safavids, who in 1501 made Twelver Shia Islam the state religion and forged the modern Iranian nation. - 1219 CE: **Mongol invasion of Iran** — Genghis Khan's armies invade Iran, devastating its cities; his grandson Hulagu completes the conquest, taking Alamut in 1256 and destroying Baghdad in 1258, and founds the Ilkhanate. [worldhistory-ilkhanate, britannica-mongolinvasion] - 1370 CE: **Timur and the Timurid era** — Timur (Tamerlane) conquers the lands of the former Ilkhanate, founding the Timurid empire whose courts become celebrated centres of Persianate art and learning. [worldhistory-ilkhanate] - 1501 CE: **Ismail I founds the Safavid dynasty and Shia Iran** — Ismail I captures Tabriz, proclaims himself shah, and declares Twelver Shia Islam the state religion, setting Iran apart from its Sunni neighbours and shaping its identity to the present day. [britannica-safavid, wikipedia-safavid] - 1598 CE: **Shah Abbas moves the capital to Isfahan** — At the height of Safavid power, Shah Abbas the Great relocates the capital to Isfahan and builds the grand Naqsh-e Jahan (Imam) Square, a UNESCO World Heritage masterpiece of urban design. [unesco-isfahan, britannica-safavid] - 1722 CE: **Afghan sack of Isfahan and Safavid decline** — Afghan invaders besiege and sack Isfahan, shattering Safavid power; the dynasty formally ends in 1736, opening a period of instability before the rise of the Qajars. [britannica-safavid, wikipedia-safavid] Figures: - Ismail I (reigned 1501–1524) — Founder of the Safavid dynasty. Founder of the Safavid state who at fourteen seized Tabriz and proclaimed Twelver Shia Islam the religion of Iran, an act that decisively shaped the country's religious and national identity. - Shah Abbas I (the Great) (reigned 1588–1629) — Safavid shah. The greatest Safavid ruler, who reorganised the army and administration, drove back the Ottomans and Uzbeks, and made Isfahan a dazzling imperial capital celebrated as 'half the world'. ## The Qajars, Constitutional Revolution and the Pahlavi Shahs — 1789 – 1979 CE Under the Qajars Iran lost ground to Russia and Britain, won a pioneering constitution in 1906, and then under the Pahlavi shahs pursued forced modernisation that ended in revolution. - 1906 CE: **Persian Constitutional Revolution** — After mass protests, Mozaffar al-Din Shah grants a constitution and the first Majles (parliament), a pioneering experiment in constitutional government in the Middle East. [wikipedia-constitutionalrev, britannica-iran] - 1908 CE: **Discovery of oil** — Oil is struck in south-western Iran, making the country a strategic prize and tying its economy to foreign-controlled concessions for decades to come. [britannica-iran] - 1925 CE: **Reza Khan founds the Pahlavi dynasty** — Having seized power in a 1921 coup, Reza Khan deposes the last Qajar shah and is crowned Reza Shah Pahlavi, launching an authoritarian drive to modernise and centralise Iran. [wikipedia-pahlavi, britannica-iran] - 21 Mar 1935: **Iran asks the world to say 'Iran', not 'Persia'** — On 25 December 1934 the Persian Foreign Ministry circulated a memorandum to the diplomatic missions in Tehran asking that 'Iran' and 'Iranian' be used in official correspondence and conversation from 21 March 1935 instead of 'Persia' and 'Persian'. Britain's Foreign Secretary told the Commons that its minister had been instructed to accede; US State Department records note that the name 'Iran' came into official use on 22 March 1935. [hansard-1935-persia, frus-1935-iran] - 1953 CE: **The CIA-backed coup against Mosaddegh** — Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, who had nationalised the oil industry, is overthrown in August 1953 in a coup organised by the CIA and British intelligence, restoring the shah's power. [britannica-1953coup, wikipedia-1953coup] - 1959 CE: **A committee proposes undoing the 1935 name request** — In the summer of 1959 a committee of statesmen and scholars reported to the government proposing that the change of name be reversed. According to the scholar Ehsan Yarshater, a Foreign Ministry circular then made the use of either name, Persia or Iran, optional. [yarshater-persia-or-iran] - 30 November 1971: **Iranian forces land on Abu Musa and the Tunbs a day before the federation is born** — As British forces left the Gulf, Iranian forces landed on Abu Musa, where a memorandum with Sharjah left sovereignty unsettled, and on the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, claimed by Ras al-Khaimah. The islands are administered by Iran and claimed by the UAE, which was founded on 2 December; Iran says it has never renounced them. [washingtoninstitute-threeislands, gulfnews-gargash-2019] Figures: - Reza Shah Pahlavi (reigned 1925–1941) — Founder of the Pahlavi dynasty. A Cossack officer who rose through a 1921 coup to found the Pahlavi monarchy. He modernised Iran's infrastructure, army and law along secular, centralising lines, and in 1935 asked foreign governments to call the country Iran rather than Persia. - Mohammad Mosaddegh (1882–1967) — Prime minister of Iran. A nationalist statesman who nationalised the British-controlled oil industry in 1951, becoming a symbol of Iranian sovereignty. His overthrow in the 1953 coup deepened resentment of foreign interference that fed the 1979 revolution. ## The Islamic Republic — 1979 – present The 1979 revolution swept away the monarchy and created the Islamic Republic of Iran, a theocratic state that has reshaped the country and the wider Middle East. - Feb 1979: **The Islamic Revolution** — The shah flees in January 1979 and Ayatollah Khomeini returns from exile; the monarchy collapses on 11 February, ending some 2,500 years of Iranian kingship. [britannica-iranianrevolution, wikipedia-republicreferendum] - 1 Apr 1979: **Proclamation of the Islamic Republic** — After a referendum on 30–31 March approves the change by an overwhelming majority, Khomeini proclaims the Islamic Republic of Iran on 1 April 1979. [wikipedia-republicreferendum, britannica-iranianrevolution] - Nov 1979: **US embassy seized and hostage crisis** — Militant students storm the US embassy in Tehran, holding 52 Americans for 444 days and setting the new republic on a long course of confrontation with the West. [britannica-iranianrevolution] - 1980–1988: **The Iran–Iraq War** — Iraq invades in September 1980, igniting a devastating eight-year war; Iran accepts UN Security Council Resolution 598 and a ceasefire takes effect on 20 August 1988. [britannica-iraniraqwar, wikipedia-unscr598] - 3 July 1988: **Iran Air Flight 655 is shot down over the Strait of Hormuz** — The USS Vincennes fired two missiles at an Iran Air Airbus A300 flying from Bandar Abbas to Dubai, killing all 290 aboard. The United States said the crew mistook it for a fighter; Iran called it a deliberate act. Iran took the case to the International Court of Justice in 1989 and it was discontinued in 1996 after a settlement. [icj-case-79] - 2 March 2026: **Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz collapses** — After strikes on Iran on 28 February, the Revolutionary Guards announced restrictions on the strait. According to Al Jazeera's shipping analysis, daily transits fell from over a hundred vessels to about five. [aljazeera-hormuz-2026] Figures: - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1902–1989) — Founder and first Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. A Shia cleric whose opposition to the shah from exile made him the figurehead of the 1979 revolution. He returned to lead the new Islamic Republic, enshrining clerical rule through the doctrine of velayat-e faqih. Machine-readable claims — every event above as an addressable claim ID (TL:IRN:event::) with its sources and a ready citation string: https://terralore.co/country/IRN/chronicle.claims.json ## References - [britannica-elam] Elam — ancient region, Iran — Encyclopaedia Britannica · https://www.britannica.com/place/Elam - [worldhistory-susa] Susa — World History Encyclopedia · https://www.worldhistory.org/susa/ - [worldhistory-cyrus] Cyrus the Great — World History Encyclopedia · https://www.worldhistory.org/Cyrus_the_Great/ - [britannica-cyrus] Cyrus the Great — Encyclopaedia Britannica · https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cyrus-the-Great - [britishmuseum-cyruscylinder] The Cyrus Cylinder — The British Museum · https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1880-0617-1941 - [unesco-persepolis] Persepolis — UNESCO World Heritage List — UNESCO World Heritage Centre · https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/114/ - [worldhistory-persepolis-burning] Alexander the Great & the Burning of Persepolis — World History Encyclopedia · https://www.worldhistory.org/article/214/alexander-the-great--the-burning-of-persepolis/ - [britannica-parthia] Ancient Iran — The Hellenistic and Parthian periods — Encyclopaedia Britannica · https://www.britannica.com/place/ancient-Iran/The-Hellenistic-and-Parthian-periods - [worldhistory-sasanian] Sasanian Empire — World History Encyclopedia · https://www.worldhistory.org/Sasanian_Empire/ - [britannica-sasanian] Sāsānian dynasty — Encyclopaedia Britannica · https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sasanian-dynasty - [worldhistory-zoroastrianism] Zoroastrianism — World History Encyclopedia · https://www.worldhistory.org/zoroastrianism/ - [britannica-nahavand] Battle of Nahāvand — Encyclopaedia Britannica · https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Nahavand - [thecollector-arabconquests] The Phases, History, and Legacy of the Arab Conquests (632–750 CE) — TheCollector · https://www.thecollector.com/arab-conquests-history-legacy/ - [wikipedia-houseofwisdom] House of Wisdom — Wikipedia · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Wisdom - [wikipedia-avicenna] Avicenna (Ibn Sina) — Wikipedia · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avicenna - [britannica-ferdowsi] Ferdowsī — Persian poet — Encyclopaedia Britannica · https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ferdowsi - [worldhistory-ilkhanate] Ilkhanate — World History Encyclopedia · https://www.worldhistory.org/Ilkhanate/ - [britannica-mongolinvasion] Iran — The Mongol invasion — Encyclopaedia Britannica · https://www.britannica.com/place/Iran/The-Mongol-invasion - [britannica-safavid] Safavid dynasty — Encyclopaedia Britannica · https://www.britannica.com/topic/Safavid-dynasty - [wikipedia-safavid] Safavid Iran — Wikipedia · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safavid_Iran - [unesco-isfahan] Meidan Emam, Esfahan — UNESCO World Heritage List — UNESCO World Heritage Centre · https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/115/ - [wikipedia-constitutionalrev] Persian Constitutional Revolution — Wikipedia · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Constitutional_Revolution - [britannica-iran] Iran — history — Encyclopaedia Britannica · https://www.britannica.com/place/Iran - [wikipedia-pahlavi] Pahlavi dynasty — Wikipedia · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pahlavi_dynasty - [britannica-1953coup] 1953 coup in Iran — Encyclopaedia Britannica · https://www.britannica.com/event/1953-coup-in-Iran - [wikipedia-1953coup] 1953 Iranian coup d'état — Wikipedia · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat - [britannica-iranianrevolution] Iranian Revolution — Encyclopaedia Britannica · https://www.britannica.com/event/Iranian-Revolution - [wikipedia-republicreferendum] 1979 Iranian Islamic Republic referendum — Wikipedia · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_Iranian_Islamic_Republic_referendum - [britannica-iraniraqwar] Iran–Iraq War — Encyclopaedia Britannica · https://www.britannica.com/event/Iran-Iraq-War - [wikipedia-unscr598] United Nations Security Council Resolution 598 — Wikipedia · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_598 - [unesco-pasargadae] Pasargadae — UNESCO World Heritage List — UNESCO World Heritage Centre · https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1106/ - [livius-dna] DNa: the tomb inscription of Darius I at Naqsh-e Rostam — Livius.org · https://www.livius.org/sources/content/achaemenid-royal-inscriptions/dna/ - [livius-shapur-naqsh-e-rajab] Naqsh-e Rajab, equestrian relief of Shapur I — Livius.org · https://www.livius.org/articles/place/naqs-e-rajab/naqs-e-rajab-equestrian-relief-of-shapur-i/ - [wikipedia-iran-word] Iran (word) — Wikipedia · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_(word) - [hansard-1935-persia] Persia (Official Name), HC Deb 20 February 1935 vol 298 cc350-1 — UK Parliament, Hansard · https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1935/feb/20/persia-official-name - [frus-1935-iran] Foreign Relations of the United States, 1935, vol. I, doc. 338 (footnote on the name Iran) — US Department of State, Office of the Historian · https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1935v01/d338 - [yarshater-persia-or-iran] Communication: Iran or Persia? (Iranian Studies 22:1, 1989) — Ehsan Yarshater, Iranian Studies · https://derbentonline.com/?p=85 - [wikipedia-achaemenid] Achaemenid Empire — Wikipedia · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achaemenid_Empire - [wikipedia-parthian] Parthian Empire — Wikipedia · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthian_Empire - [wikipedia-muslim-conquest-persia] Muslim conquest of Persia — Wikipedia · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_conquest_of_Persia - [wikipedia-buyid] Buyid dynasty — Wikipedia · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buyid_dynasty - [washingtoninstitute-threeislands] Analysis of the three-island dispute (Abu Musa, Greater and Lesser Tunb) — The Washington Institute for Near East Policy · https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/persian-gulfs-occupied-territory-three-island-dispute - [gulfnews-gargash-2019] UAE statement on the islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunb — Gulf News · https://gulfnews.com/uae/government/uae-slams-irans-occupation-of-its-islands-1.62447727 - [icj-case-79] Aerial Incident of 3 July 1988 (Islamic Republic of Iran v. United States of America) — International Court of Justice · https://icj-cij.org/case/79 - [aljazeera-hormuz-2026] How a 95 percent drop in Hormuz traffic changed global shipping — Al Jazeera · https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/27/how-a-95-percent-drop-in-hormuz-traffic-changed-global-shipping Citation template: Terralore, "The Chronicle of Iran: From Cyrus the Great's first world empire to the Islamic Republic.", terralore.co/country/IRN/chronicle, retrieved .