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Ancient Persia and the East

by 이덕휴-dhleepaul 2020. 3. 9.

Middle East Kingdoms 중동 왕국

Ancient Persia and the East 고대 페르시아와 동


Persia / Parsua 페르시아 / 파수 아
Incorporating the Daoi, Derousiaioi, Dropikoi, Maraphioi, Mardoi, Maspioi, Panthialaioi, & Pasargadoi Daoi, Derousiaioi, Dropikoi, Maraphioi, Mardoi, Maspioi, Panthialaioi 및 Pasargadoi 통합

The Persians (or Parsu, Parsua, Parsuash, Parsumash, from which the modern Fārs gained its name) were a later grouping of Indo-Europeans who migrated, probably along the River Oxus for part of its length, into Iran. 페르시아인 (또는 파수 아, 파수 아, 파수 아시, 파수 마시, 현대 파르가 그 이름을 얻음)은 나중에 아마도 옥스 강을 따라 길이의 일부로이란으로 이주한 인도-유럽인의 그룹입니다. They settled to the east of ancient Elam during the period of instability and migration which occurred throughout the Middle East between 1200-900 BC. 그들은 기원전 1200 년에서 900 년 사이에 중동 전역에서 일어난 불안정과 이주의시기에 고대 엘람 의 동쪽으로 정착했다. During this same period other tribal groups such as the Aramaeans and the Sea Peoples were causing chaos further west. 같은시기에 아람 사람바다 민족 과 같은 다른 종족 그룹은 서쪽으로 혼란을 야기하고있었습니다.

Despite occasional theories which have them descending from the Caucuses, the Persians were clearly of Indo-Iranian stock, an Indo-European grouping which formed in Central Asia , somewhere between modern Kazakhstan and Afghanistan . 페르시아인들은 Caucuses에서 내려 오는 이론들에도 불구하고, 현대 카자흐스탄과 아프가니스탄 사이의 중앙 아시아 에서 형성된 인도-유럽 그룹 인 인도-이란의 주식에 관한 것이었다. This origin has some support in the similarity of names towards the eastern side of the Caspian Sea, and the resemblance noted between Old Persian and Sogdian languages. 이 기원은 카스피해의 동부쪽에 대한 이름의 유사성에 약간의지지를 주며 구 페르시아어와 소그 다어 사이의 유사점을 지적했습니다. They drifted into what is now Iran from the east alongside other similar groups which included the Alani , Mannaeans, and Medians , probably via Sogdiana and Transoxiana, not long after Indo-Aryan groups had started to enter India . 그들은 인도-아리아 그룹이 인도 에 입국하기 시작한 지 얼마되지 않아 아마 Sogdiana와 Transoxiana를 통해 Alani , MannaeansMedians 를 포함하는 다른 유사한 그룹과 함께 동쪽에서 이란 으로 이동했다. That heritage would appear to make them descendants of Indo-Europeans who had bordered and integrated themselves into the Bronze Age culture known as the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex, or Oxus Civilisation (centred on the later provinces of Bactria and Margiana ). 이 유산은 그들이 Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex 또는 Oxus Civilization (나중에 BactriaMargiana 지방에 집중되어 있음)으로 알려진 청동기 시대 문화에 접해 들어간 인도 유럽인의 후손으로 보일 것입니다. This had emerged between roughly 2200-1700 BC in Central Asia in modern Turkmenistan and towards the Oxus. 이것은 현대 투르크 메니스탄의 중앙 아시아에서 기원전 약 2200-1700 년 사이에 그리고 Oxus를 향해 나타났습니다. Although this was originally an indigenous culture, it was almost certainly subject to a slow 'invasion' of Indo-European tribes in much the same way as the Pelasgians of Greece were largely subsumed by the Mycenaeans . 비록 이것이 본래 토착 문화 였지만 그리스의 그리스인들이 미케네 족에 의해 지배되는 것과 거의 같은 방식으로 인도 유럽 부족의 느린 '침략'의 대상이되었다.

The semi-mythical early Persian 'kings' seem to rule their people in those Central Asian areas already mentioned, between the Oxus and parts of eastern Iran, but with a westwards drift towards Iran. 반 신화적인 초기 페르시아의 '왕들'은 옥소와 동부이란의 일부 사이에서 이미 언급 한 중앙 아시아 지역에서 사람들을 지배하는 것처럼 보이지만 서쪽으로이란을 향하고 있습니다. In fact, one of the names given by the Thiruvalangadu copperplate grant of the Chola family in India, Aryaman (shortly after around 1000 BC), is the source of the name 'Iran'. 실제로, 인도의 콜라 (Chola) 가족에 대한 Thiruvalangadu 동판 교부금에 의해 주어진 이름 중 하나 인 Aryaman (BC 1000 년 후)은 '이란'이라는 이름의 원천입니다. This particular Aryaman was not the one who gave his name to that land, but either another (Persian) Indo-Iranian who also bore the name did just that, or the word originates in the name which the Indo-Iranians had for themselves - Aryans. 이 특별한 아리아 만은 그 땅에 자신의 이름을 지어 준 사람이 아니라, 그 이름을 딴 또 다른 (페르시아) 인도-이란 사람들이 그랬거나, 그 단어는 인도-이란 사람들이 스스로 지었던 이름에서 유래했습니다-아리아스 . 'Arya' meant the 'civilised' or 'respectable' (although the rather tainted 'Aryan' term has been replaced by modern scholars with the more accurate 'Indo-Aryan'). '아리아 (Arya)'는 '문명화 된 (civilized)'또는 '존중 한 (respectable)'을 의미했다 (오염 된 '아리아'(Aryan)라는 용어는 현대의 학자들이 더 정확한 '인도-아리아 (Indo-Aryan)'로 대체되었지만). This rather elitist naming was presumably a reaction to the apparently barbarous people they encountered, although as a probable extension of its original meaning - the word could be seen as the verb 'to be', used as a noun instead of a verb. 이 오히려 엘리트주의적인 이름은 아마도 원래의 의미의 가능한 확장으로 단어가 동사 대신 명사로 사용되는 동사로 볼 수 있었지만, 그들이 겪은 명백한 야만적 인 사람들에 대한 반응 일 것입니다.

The early Persians were better known by the civilisations of the west as Parsua. 초기 페르시아인들은 서방 문명에 의해 파수 아로 더 잘 알려졌다. Seemingly arriving in multiple groups, some of them initially spread into the Zagros Mountains alongside the Medians, before these groups were expelled or absorbed by their more numerous Median cousins. 여러 그룹에 도착한 것으로 보이는 이들 중 일부는 초기에 메디안과 함께 자 그로스 산맥으로 퍼져 나갔습니다.이 그룹은 더 많은 메디 언 사촌에 의해 추방되거나 흡수되었습니다. A large group also began to settle in southern Iran, in an area to the immediate east of the kingdom of Elam which became known as Persis. 페르 시스 (Fersis)로 알려진 엘람 (Elam) 왕국의 동쪽 동쪽에있는이란 남부에 큰 무리가 정착하기 시작했다. The capital of the Parsua until 559 BC was Pasargadae in Fārs, in the heartland of ancient Persis. 기원전 559 년까지 파수 아의 수도는 고대 페르 시스의 심장부에있는 파르의 파 사르 가다 (Fusaradae)였다. Increasing dominance in the sixth century BC saw them move that capital to the former Elamite capital at Susa . 기원전 6 세기에 지배력이 높아짐에 따라 그 수도를 수사 에있는 이전의 엘람 파 수도로 옮겼습니다. In effect, they were Elam's successors, inheriting its language and culture but infusing it with a good deal of their own. 사실상 그들은 엘람의 후계자로서 언어와 문화를 물려 받았지만 많은 양의 언어로 문화를 주입했습니다.

The Parsua which were settling in southern Iran consisted of ten 'clans' (gene). 이란 남부에 정착 한 파수 아 (Parsua)는 10 개의 씨족 (유전자)으로 구성되었다. Noted later by Herodotus (and therefore given with the Greek forms of their names alone), these ten clans existed around the mid-sixth century, when the Parsua were fighting to end Median vassalage. 후에 헤로도투스 (그리스어 형태의 이름만으로도 주어짐)에 의해 언급 된 것처럼,이 열 개의 씨족은 파수 아가 중앙 혈관 경련을 끝내기 위해 싸우고 있던 6 세기 중반 경에 존재했다. The three clans which turned up to aid Cyrus were the Maraphioi , Maspioi , and Pasargadoi , the latter being the noblest of all and the clan which included the Achaemenids themselves. 키루스를 돕기 위해 등장한 세 씨족은 마라 피오이 , 마스 피오이 , 파 사르 가도이였으며 , 후자는 모두 가장 귀족 이며, 아케 메니 드 자신을 포함한 씨족이었다. The other clans were dependant upon these three. 다른 씨족은이 세 가지에 의존했습니다. Four of those were nomadic pastoralists, the Daoi , Mardoi (with a bad reputation as predatory folk), Dropikoi , and Sagartioi (who seem to have had a tribal homeland in Drangiana ). 그 중 4 명은 유목민 목가, Daoi , Mardoi (약탈자 라고 불리한 ), Dropikoi , Sagartioi (Drangiana에 부족의 고향이 있었던 것)였다. Two of those are known from other sources. 그중 두 가지는 다른 출처에서 알려져 있습니다.

The final three clans were sedentary cultivators, the Germanioi (clearly meaning Carmanians ), Panthialaioi , and Derousiaioi . 마지막 세 종족은 좌식 경작자, 게르 마니 오이 ( Carmanians ), 판 티아라이 오이 (Panthialaioi ), 데루시 아이 오이 (Derousiaioi ) 였다 . With the Sagartioi residing in Drangiana, the Karmana in Carmania, and the remaining Parsua in Persis, a clear migratory path onto Iran can be discerned. Sagartioi가 Drangiana, Carmania의 Karmana, Persis의 나머지 Parsua에 상주하면서이란으로의 명확한 이동 경로를 식별 할 수 있습니다. A basic study of Iran from the Roman itineraries by Tomaschek noted Pantyene/Pathienas as the first station (at sixty parasangs , 322 kilometres, two hundred miles) on the route from Persepolis to the Ichthyophagi (Fish-Eaters, on the Persian Gulf coastline). Tomaschek의 로마 여정에서이란에 대한 기본 연구에 따르면 Pantyene / Pathienas는 페르 세 폴리스에서 Ichthyophagi (페르시아만 해안선의 물고기 -Eaters )까지의 경로에서 첫 번째 역 (60 개의 파라 상 , 322km, 2 백마 일)으로 Pantyene / Pathienas를 언급했습니다. . He convincingly fixed it at Sirjan on the western border of the modern Kerman Province. 그는 현대 Kerman 지방의 서쪽 경계에있는 Sirjan에서 확실하게 수정했습니다. If Pathienas can be equated with the Panthialaioi then it would place another of the clans pretty far to the east of Persis, settling down along the migration route from Central Asia. 만약 Pathienas가 Panthialaioi와 동일하다면 Persis의 동쪽에 또 다른 씨족을 배치하여 중앙 아시아에서 이주 경로를 따라 정착 할 것입니다.

(Additional information by Jo Amdahl and Edward Dawson, from Empire of Gold: Foundations , Jo Amdahl, from The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World , David W Anthony, from Central Asia: A Historical Overview , Edward A Allworth (Duke University Press, 1994), from The Paths of History , IM Diakonoff (Cambridge University Press, 1999), from Islamic Reference Desk , Emeri 'van' Donzel (Brill Academic Publishers, 1994), from The Persian Empire , JM Cook (1983), from The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia , Trevor Bryce, from The Histories , Herodotus (Penguin, 1996), from Zur historischen Topographie von Persien. II. Die Wege durch die Persische Wüste , Wilhelm Tomaschek (1885), from Farāmarz, the Sistāni Hero: Texts and Traditions of the Farāmarznāme and the Persian Epic Cycle , Marjolijn van Zutphen, from External Links : Encyclopaedia Iranica , and Iranians & Turanians in the Avesta ( 골드 제국의 Jo Amdahl 및 Edward Dawson, Foundations , Jo Amdahl, The Horse, Wheel 및 Language의 추가 정보 : 유라시아 대초원의 청동기 시대 라이더가 현대 세계를 형성 한 방법 , David W Anthony, Central) 아시아 : 역사 개요 , Edward A Allworth (1994 년 Duke University Press, 1994), IM Diakonoff (Cambridge University Press, 1999), 이슬람 참조 데스크 , Emeri 'van'Donzel (Brill Academic Publishers, 1994) , 페르시아 제국 , JM 쿡 (1983), 고대 서아시아의 사람들과 장소에 대한 Routledge 핸드북 , 트레버 브라이스 (Trevor Bryce), 히로도 투스 의 역사 (Penguin, 1996), Zur historischen Topographie von Persien의 II. 다이. Wege durch die Persische Wüste, Wilhelm Tomaschek (1885), Farāmarz, Sistāni Hero : Farāmarznāme 과 Persian Epic Cycle 의 텍스트와 전통 , Marjolijn van Zutphen, External Links의 백과 사전 : 백과 사전 , 이란, 투 라니아 인 , and The Cities of the Medes (full text), Mordechai Cogan & Israel Eph'al (Eds, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, and in reference to a further number of original and secondary sources included in the 'Persia and Eastwards' section of the Sources page.)Medes의 도시 (전체 텍스트), Mordechai Cogan 및 Israel Eph'al (Eds, 히브리 대학교, 예루살렘) 및 '페르시아 및 동방'섹션에 포함 된 추가 원본 및 보조 소스와 관련하여 소스 페이지.)

c.1000 - 900 BC 기원전 1000 년 ~ 900 년

The Parsua begin to enter Iran , probably by crossing the Iranian plateau to the north of the great central deserts (through Hyrcania , probably skirting to the north of neighbouring Parthia ) but also by working round to the south of the deserts. 파수 아는 아마도이란 고원을 대 중앙 사막의 북쪽으로 ( 아르헨티나를 통해 인근 파르티아 북쪽으로 갈아 타고) 사막의 남쪽으로 둥글게함으로써 이란 으로 들어가기 시작합니다. Already separated during their journey, Parsua groups head in two main directions. 여행 중 이미 분리 된 Parsua 그룹은 두 가지 주요 방향으로 향합니다. In time the northern groups find themselves in the Zagros Mountains alongside their cousins, the Mannaeans and Medians . 시간이지나면서 북부 그룹은 사촌 인 MannaeansMedians 와 함께 Zagros Mountains에서 자신을 발견합니다. They are attested there during the ninth and eighth centuries but disappear afterwards. 그들은 9 세기와 8 세기 동안 그곳에서 증명되었지만 나중에 사라졌습니다. The southern groups, perhaps more numerous, trickle in through Drangiana and Carmania , towards southern Iran and begin to settle there. 아마도 더 많은 남부 그룹이 DrangianaCarmania 를 통해이란 남부로 흘러 들어가 그곳에 정착하기 시작합니다.

Located in the Fārs region of Iran, these Parsua come under the overlordship of their once-powerful western neighbour, the kingdom of Elam . 이란의 파스 (Fārs) 지역에 위치한이 파수 아는 한때 강력한 서부 지역 인 엘람 (Elam) 왕국의 지배 아래 있습니다. In the later stages of Persian settlement, Assyria and Media also claim some control over the region. 페르시아 정착의 후기 단계에서 아시리아 와 미디어는 또한이 지역에 대한 통제권을 주장하고있다. As Elam's influence weakens, the Persians begin to assert their own authority in the region, although they remain subjugated by more powerful neighbours for quite some time. 엘람의 영향력이 약 해짐에 따라 페르시아인들은이 지역에서 자신의 권위를 주장하기 시작하지만, 그들은 훨씬 더 강력한 이웃에 의해 지배 당하고 있습니다.

옥시 우스 강 / 아뮤 다리아
The River Oxus - also known over the course of many centuries as the Amu Darya - was used as a demarcation border throughout history - it was also a hub of activity in prehistoric times, providing a home to the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex, or Oxus Civilisation 수세기 동안 Amu Darya로 알려진 Oxus 강은 역사 전반에 걸쳐 경계 경계로 사용되었습니다. 또한 선사 시대의 활동의 중심지였으며 Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex 또는 Oxus의 집이되었습니다. 문명

c.843 BC 기원전 843 년

The Parsua receive their first mention in history. 파수 아는 역사상 처음 언급되었습니다. The Assyrian king, Shalmaneser III, records their existence on the Black Obelisk, which covers his campaign of about this year. 앗시리아 왕 샬 마네 서 3 세는 올해 블랙 벨 리스크에 자신의 존재를 기록하고있다. Their position is not precisely fixed but 'Pasua' seems to lay in what is now Iranian Kurdistan (immediately east of Kurdistan in northern Iraq ), far to the north of Persis and the heart of Persian settlement. 그들의 입장은 정확히 고정되어 있지는 않지만 '파수 아'는 현재이란 쿠르드 스탄 ( 이라크 의 쿠르드 스탄 바로 동쪽), 페르 시스 북쪽과 페르시아 정착지의 중심에있는 것으로 보인다. They also occupy territory which stretches back into the east, seemingly along the Great Khorasan Road which follows the southern edge of the Elburz Mountains on the south coast of the Caspian Sea (largely within the later province of Hyrcania ). 그들은 또한 동쪽으로 다시 뻗어있는 영토를 차지하고 있으며, 카스피해의 남쪽 해안 (대부분의 히 르시 아니 아 지역)에있는 엘 버즈 산맥의 남쪽 가장자리를 따라가는 그레이트 코라 산로드를 따라 보인다.

It may be the case that there are two (or perhaps even three) distinctive groups of 'Parsua' at this time, primarily in the Zagros Mountains to the east and south-east of the Assyrians. 현재 아시리아 인의 동쪽과 남동쪽에있는 자 그로스 산맥에는 두 개의 (또는 아마도 세 개의) 구별되는 '파수 아'그룹이있을 수 있습니다. This is apart from a larger body which is settling the land immediately to the east of Elam (and focussed around the city of Persis). 이것은 엘람 ( Elam) 의 동쪽으로 땅을 즉시 정착시키고있는 큰 몸과는 거리가 멀다 (그리고 페르 시스 (Persis) 도시를 중심으로). Those groups in the Zagros seem to drop out of the historical record towards the end of the eighth century BC (after 714 BC), perhaps pushed south by the greater numbers of the Medes or absorbed by them. 자 그로스의 그 그룹들은 기원전 8 세기 말 (기원전 714 년 후)을 향한 역사적 기록에서 빠져 나간 것 같습니다. 아마도 더 많은 수의 메디아에 의해 남쪽으로 밀려 났거나 그들에게 흡수되었을 것입니다.

8th cent BC 기원전 8 세기

Later myth ascribes a dynasty of rulers to this period, as described in the Shahnameh ( The Book of Kings ), a poetic opus which is written about AD 1000 but which accesses older works and perhaps elements of an oral tradition. 후기 신화는이시기에 AD 1000 년경에 쓰여졌지만 오래된 작품들과 구전 전통의 요소들에 접근하는 시적인 작품 인 샤나 메나 ( 왕국 )에 묘사 된 바와 같이이시기에 통치자들의 왕조를 일으킨다 . The Kayanian dynasty of kings are also the heroes of the Avesta , which forms the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism. 카야 니아 왕의 왕조도 아베스타 의 영웅으로 조로아스터 교의 성스러운 텍스트를 형성합니다. This faith itself is founded along the banks of the River Oxus, which probably also forms part of the migratory route used by the Indo-European Parsua as they enter Iran. 이 신앙 그 자체는 옥수 스 강 유역을 따라 세워졌으며, 아마도 인도-유럽 파수 아가이란에 입국 할 때 사용하는 철로의 일부를 형성하고있을 것입니다.

The earliest of these rulers is Fereydun, king of a 'word empire' which is apparently centred on the land of Tūr. 이 통치자들 중 가장 초기에는 투르 땅에 중심을 둔 '단어 제국'의 왕인 페레 이둔 (Fereydun)이있다. This can be equated to territory in the heartland of Indo-Iranian southern Central Asia and South Asia, focused mainly on the later provinces of Bactria and Margiana , along with the Kopet Dag region, the Atrek valley, and the eastern Alborz Mountains. 이것은 인도-이란 남부 중앙 아시아와 남아시아의 심장부 지역과 동일하며, 코펫 다그 (Kopet Dag) 지역, 애 트렉 계곡 (Atrek valley), 동부 알 보르 즈 산맥 (Alborz Mountains)과 함께 주로 바트 리아마르기 아나 ( Vactria and Margiana) 지방에 중점을두고있다. This would appear to place it on the northern border of another ancient region, that of Ariana . 이것은 다른 고대 지역의 북쪽 경계 인 Ariana 의 북쪽 경계에 배치 된 것으로 보입니다.

Fereydun becomes the father of Tūr, Salm, and Iraj. Fereydun은 Tūr, Salm, Iraj의 아버지가되었습니다. A descendant of the first of these (possibly a seven-times grandson) is Afrasaib, who still rules the kingdom of Turan during the lifetime of Kai Kavoos of the seventh century (see below). 이들 중 첫 번째의 후손 (아마도 일곱 번 손자)은 7 세기 카이 카 보스의 생애 동안 여전히 투란 왕국을 지배하는 아프 라사 이브 (Afrasaib)입니다 (아래 참조).

Fereydun / Faridun / Fareidun 페레 이둔 / 파리 둔 / 파이 레이 둔

Ruled a 'world empire'. '세계 제국'을 지배했다. Abdicated in favour of Manuchehr. Manuchehr에 찬성하여 철폐.

Iraj 이라 즈

Son. 아들. Gifted Iran. 재능있는이란. Killed by Tūr of Turan . 투란의 투르에 의해 사망.

Manuchehr 마누 케르

Grandson. 손자. First of the legendary kings or shahs of Iran. 이란의 전설적인 왕 또는 샤.

Thanks to the murder of Iraj by Tūr and Salm, the Parsua retaliate under the command of Iraj's grandson, Manuchehr. Tūr and Salm이 Iraj를 살해 한 덕분에 Parsua는 Iraj의 손자 인 Manuchehr의 지휘하에 보복했습니다. One of the leading warriors under his command may be Garshāsp (possibly also known as Karšāsp), a figure of the Shahnameh or Shahnama , the Book of Kings and a possible descendant of the mythical Indo-Iranian King Jamshid. 그의 지휘하에있는 주요한 전사 중 하나는 샤 샤프 (Shashahnameh) 또는 샤나 마 (Shahhanama)의 인물 인 가샤 스프 (Karshāsp), 아마도 신권과 신화적인 인도-이란 왕 잠 쉬드의 후손 일 수 있습니다. Tūr and Salm cross the Oxus to face Manuchehr's army on the border between Iran and Turan . 투르와 살름은 옥소를 가로 질러이란과 투란 의 국경에있는 마누 셰르 군대와 대면한다. The ensuing battle results in heavy casualties for the Turanians, and Tūr is later ambushed and beheaded. 그 결과 전투는 투 라니아 인들에게 큰 사상자를 낳았으며, 후에 투르는 매복되어 참수 당했다. Salm is later captured and also beheaded. Salm은 나중에 체포되어 참수당했습니다.

중앙 아시아 및 인도의지도 c.700 BC
Following the climate-change-induced collapse of indigenous civilisations and cultures in Iran and Central Asia between about 2200-1700 BC, Indo-Iranian groups gradually migrated southwards to form two regions - Tūr (yellow) and Ariana (white), with westward migrants forming the early Parsua kingdom (lime green), and Indo-Aryans entering India (green) (click or tap on map to view full sized) 기원전 220 년에서 1700 년 사이에이란과 중앙 아시아의 기후 변화로 인한 토착 문명과 문화의 붕괴로 인도-이란 그룹은 점차 남쪽으로 이주하여 서부 이주민과 함께 투르 (노란색)와 아리아나 (백색)의 두 지역을 형성했습니다. 초기 파수 아 왕국 (라임 그린) 및 인도-아리아 인이 인도에 들어옴 (녹색) (지도를 클릭하거나 탭하면 전체 크기로 볼 수 있음)

744 BC 기원전 744 년

The Medes to the west of the Gizilbunda Mountains (part of the Zagros range) have enjoyed a respite in the past few years. 기질 분다 산맥 (자 그로스 산맥의 일부) 서쪽에있는 메디아 (Medes )는 지난 몇 년 동안 휴식을 취했습니다. Now a new Assyrian advance begins when the king invades Parsuai and turns it into an Assyrian province (also known as Nikur, after its capital). 이제 왕이 파르 수 아이를 침공하여 수도를 쫓아 앗수르 지방 (니 쿠르라고도 함)으로 전환하면 새로운 아시리아 전진이 시작됩니다. This refers to Parsua, but not those of southern Iran . 이것은 파르 수아를 말하지만 이란 남부의 것은 아니다. This is one of the northern groups which had settled in the Zagros Mountains. 자 그로스 산맥에 정착 한 북부 그룹 중 하나입니다. Nikur may not be too far to the west from the later city of Ecbatana. 니쿠 르는 후기 도시 엑 바타 나에서 서쪽으로 너무 멀지 않을 수 있습니다.

Possibly in the same year the Assyrians make a raid farther to the east, reaching Arazias, and a Median fortress called Zakruti. 아마도 같은 해에 아시리아 사람들은 동쪽으로 더 먼 곳을 향해 가다가 아라시 아스와 Zakruti라는 중앙 요새를 공격 할 것입니다. Tiglath-Pileser demands that in the whole country of the mighty Medes as far as Mount Bikni (possibly Mount Demavend close to modern Tehran), the 'lords of townships' should pay him regular tribute of nine metric tons of lapis lazuli and fifteen tons of bronze artefacts, an impossible order to fulfil. Tiglath-Pileser는 Bikni 산 (현대 테헤란에 가까운 Demavend 산)까지 강력한 미드 국가 전체에서 '마을 군주'에게 9 미터 톤의 청금석과 15 톤의 정기적 인 공물을 지불해야한다고 요구합니다. 청동 가공품, 주문 처리가 불가능합니다.

Nowzar 노우 자르

Son and early king. 아들과 초기 왕. Killed by Afrasiab of Turan . Turan의 Afrasiab에 의해 살해.

Kai Kobad / Kei Qobád 카이 코 바드 / 케이 코 바드

Kayanian dynasty founder who united the Aryan tribes. 아리아 부족을 연합시킨 카얀 왕조의 창시자.

According to tradition, probably largely oral until it was written down in the eleventh century AD, Kai ('king') Kobad lives in the Alborz Mountains, a range which stretches from the borders of modern Armenia , across northern Iran to the border between modern Turkmenistan and Afghanistan . 전통에 따르면, 아마도 11 세기에 기록 될 때까지는 거의 구두가 될 것입니다. Kai ( 'king') Kobad는 현대 아르메니아 국경에서 이란 북부, 현대 이란 국경에 이르는 알 보르 즈 산맥에 살고 있습니다. 투르크 메니스탄아프가니스탄 . This seems to support the evidence of a Persian migration from further north and east, and may be used to show that they have not yet fully settled in Persis itself. 이것은 더 북쪽과 동쪽에서 페르시아 이주의 증거를 지원하는 것으로 보이고, 아직 페르시아 자체에 완전히 정착하지 않았 음을 보여주는 데 사용될 수 있습니다.

7th cent BC 기원전 7 세기

Kai Kavoos / Kay Kāvus 카이 카 부스 / 케이 카 부스

Mythical early Persian king. 신화 초기 페르시아 왕.

The wife of Kai Kavoos, Sudabeh, attempts to persuade his son, Sijavus, to betray the king in return for sex, but Sijavus refuses and goes into voluntary exile in the 'land of Tur' in Sogdiana . Sudabeh 인 Kai Kavoos의 아내는 그의 아들 Sijavus를 설득하여 왕을 배신하도록 설득하려하지만 Sijavus는 Sogdiana의 'Tur의 나라'에서 자발적으로 추방 당한다. His son, Kai Khosrow, is chosen by Kai Kavoos as his successor as leader of the Parsua. 그의 아들 Kai Khosrow는 Kai Kavoos에 의해 Parsua의 지도자로서 그의 후임자로 선택되었습니다.

Kai Khosrow 카이 코 로우

Son of Sijavus. 시자 부스의 아들. Later king of Parsua. 나중에 파수 아 왕. Reigned for about 60 years. 약 60 년 동안 통치했습니다.

Kai Lohrasb / Luarsab 카이 로라 s / 루아 사브

Chosen successor of Kai Khosrow. Kai Khosrow의 후계자로 선정되었습니다.

Kai Garshasp / Goshtasp 카이 가르 샤프 / 고쉬 타프

Kai Bahman / Wahman 카이 바만 / 와만

Son of Esfandiyar and grandson of Garshasp. 에스 판 디야 르의 아들이자 가르 샤 스프의 손자.

The Bahamani sultanate of the fourteenth century AD, which is located on the Deccan plateau in central India , claims descent from Kai Bahman. 인도 중부 데칸 고원에 위치한 AD 14 세기 바하마 탄산염은 카이 바만으로부터 내려 왔다고 주장했다. Thanks to this supposed connection, they maintain a keen interest in Persian affairs and culture. 이러한 관계 덕분에 그들은 페르시아 문제와 문화에 대한 관심을 계속 유지합니다.

692/691 BC 기원전 692/691

Khumma-Menanu of Elam king leads a coalition of states against Assyrian king Sennacherib at the Battle of Halule on the Tigris. 엘람 왕 쿰마-메 나누 (Khumma-Menanu)는 티그리스의 할룰 전투에서 아시리아 왕 산헤립 (Sennacherib)을 상대로 국가 연합을 이끌고있다. With him is Babylon , the minor kingdom of Ellipi (roughly located in Luristan, to the immediate west of Elam), and the kingdom of Anshan which seems able to be able to call on the Parsua or Parsuash (Persians). 그와 함께 작은 왕국 엘립이 (거의 루리 스탄, 엘람 서부쪽에있는) 바빌론과 파수 아나 파르 사시 (페르시아)를 부를 수있는 안산 왕국이 있습니다. Anshan has often - but not always - been part of Elam itself, but it may be ruled by a subsidiary line at this time. 안산은 종종 (그러나 항상 그런 것은 아님) 엘람 자체의 일부 였지만 지금은 자회사 노선에 의해 지배 될 수있다. The location of the battle suggests a march by the allies towards the heart of Assyrian-dominated territory. 전투의 위치는 아시리아가 지배하는 영토의 중심부를 향한 동맹국의 행진을 시사합니다. The outcome is not decisive, and does not prevent Sennacherib from devastating Babylon, although it does protect Elam itself. 그 결과는 결정적이지 않으며 산헤립이 엘람 자체를 보호하지만 바벨론을 파괴하는 것을 막지는 못합니다.

Kai Darab / Dara 카이 다랍 / 다라

Son. 아들.

675 BC 기원전 675 년

At a time which may fit in with the end of the Kayanian kings, the Parsua begin to unite under the (legendary) founder of their new dynasty. 카야 니아 왕의 종말에 맞는시기에, 파수 아는 새로운 왕조의 (전설적인) 창시자 아래 연합하기 시작합니다. Many scholars of Persian history now believe that Achaemenes is a fictional common ancestor who is used to legitimise the rule of Darius I from 521 BC. 페르시아 역사의 많은 학자들은 이제 아케 메네 스가 기원전 521 년부터 다리우스 1 세의 통치를 정당화하는 데 사용되는 허구의 공통 조상이라고 믿고 있습니다. Darius goes so far as to install inscriptions on the unfinished palace of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae which reads 'I am Cyrus, the king, the Achaemenid.' 다리우스는 Pasargadae의 미완성 된 사이러스 대왕에 비문을 설치하기 위해 '나는 사이러스, 왕, Achaemenid'라고 읽습니다.

No record of Achaemenes can be dated earlier than the reign of Darius I, and there is no indication of how Achaemenes may be related to the earlier, semi-mythical Parsua leaders. 다리우스 1 세의 통치 이전에 아 케메 네스에 대한 기록은있을 수 없으며, 아케 메네 스가 초기 반 신화적인 파수 아 지도자와 어떻게 관련 될 수 있는지에 대한 증거는 없다. Nonetheless, the name 'Achaemenid' has been commonly accepted for the line of Persian kings beginning with Darius I, and Achaemenes is commonly accepted as leading the Parsua to their new home in Persis, ending their slow migration across Iran. 그럼에도 불구하고 다리우스 1 세부터 시작하여 페르시아 왕들에게 '아케 메니 드 (Achaemenid)'라는 이름이 통용되고 있으며, 아 케메 네스 (Achaemenes)는 페르시아의 새로운 고향으로 파수 아를 이끌고이란 전역으로의 느린 이주를 종식시키는 것으로 통용되고 있습니다. Some sources use the term Achaemenid to refer to the entire line of early Persian rulers, including both Cyrus and Cambyses (600 BC). 일부 출처는 Achaemenid라는 용어를 사용하여 Cyrus와 Cambyses (BC 600 년)를 포함하여 초기 페르시아 통치자 전체를 지칭합니다.

c.675 - 640 BC 기원전 675 년-640 년

Achaemenes (Hakhamanish) 아 케메 네스 (하카 마니 쉬)

'King of Anshan'. '안산의 왕'. Vassal of the Medes . MedesVassal .

644 BC 기원전 644 년

Neo-Elamite Period III begins as Elam is devastated by Assyria , although not as badly as had previously been believed from inscriptions left by the Assyrians themselves. 신-엘라 마이트 기간 III은 엘람아시리아 에 의해 황폐화되면서 시작되지만, 이전에는 아시리아 사람들이 남긴 비문에서 믿었던 것만 큼 나쁘지는 않습니다. The populace suffers greatly, but they are not massacred. 대중은 크게 고통 받지만 학살되지 않았습니다. Instead, the fragmented and weakened Elamites rule an increasingly shrinking domain which eventually passes into the hands of the Parsua. 대신에, 파편화되고 약화 된 엘람 인들은 점점 줄어드는 영역을 지배하고 결국에는 파수 아의 손에 들어갑니다. They gain Anshan (Anzan) even while the last seventh century Elamite kings are still claiming it within their title, possibly as a result of the Assyrian attack on the Elamites in this year as it ties in with Achaemenes of the Parsua being acclaimed as the king of Anshan. 그들은 지난 7 세기에 엘람 왕이 여전히 그들의 이름으로 주장하면서 안산 (안잔)을 얻었지만, 아마도 올해에 엘람 사람들에 대한 아시리아의 공격으로 인해 파수 아의 아케 메네 스가 왕으로 호평을 받고있다 안산

With the accession of Achaemenes as leader of the Parsua, seemingly without a link to the previous ruling dynasty, the Kayanians, the accession becomes somewhat confused. 파수 아의 지도자로서 아 케메 네스 (Achaemenes)의 가입으로, 이전의 통치 왕조 인 카얀 (Kayanians)과 관련이없는 것처럼 보이는데, 그 가입은 다소 혼란스러워진다. Achaemenes is thought to complete the Parsua migration into Persis, so perhaps the Kayanians have been left behind in the east, looking after their gains in Turan . Achaemenes는 Parsua로 Persis 로의 이주를 완료 한 것으로 생각되며, 아마도 Kayanians는 Turan 에서 그들의 이익을 보살 피고 동쪽에 남겨졌을 것입니다.

The main line of descent from this point, via Teispes, Cambyses I, Cyrus II, and Cambyses II, is laid down by Babylonian scribes on the Cyrus cylinder of 539/538 BC. 이 시점부터 Teispes, Cambyses I, Cyrus II 및 Cambyses II를 통한 하강의 주요 노선은 BC 539/538의 Cyrus 실린더에 바빌로니아 서기관이 제시합니다. Darius I, from 521 BC, complicates matters with his Behistun inscription. 기원전 521 년의 다리우스 1 세 (Darius I)는 Behistun의 비문으로 문제를 복잡하게한다. He claims a line of descent from Teispes via Ariaramnes, Arsames (both shown below), and Hystaspes (a satrap of Parthawa ). 그는 Ariaramnes, Arsames (아래 참조) 및 Hystaspes ( Parthawa )를 통해 Teispes에서 하강을 주장합니다. Ariaramnes and Arsames have been assumed to be a junior (cadet) line of the royal house, although their spans would seem to be rather long for the age in which they lived. 아리 아람 네스 (Ariaramnes)와 아르 사 미스 (Arsames)는 왕실의 주니어 (cadet) 라인으로 추정되었지만, 그들의 스팬은 그들이 살았던 시대에 비해 다소 길어 보일 것으로 보인다. Darius claims that both Hystaspes and Arsames are alive when he becomes king. 다리우스는 Hystaspes와 Arsames가 왕이되었을 때 살아 있다고 주장합니다. Whilst this is possibly for Hystaspes, could he be speaking figuratively in terms of Arsames? 이것이 Hystaspes를위한 것이지만 Arsames의 관점에서 비 유적으로 말할 수 있었습니까? If he is indeed alive, he would be very old indeed, possibly approaching a hundred. 만약 그가 실제로 살아 있다면, 그는 참으로 아주 나이가 들었을 것이고, 아마도 백에 가까워 질 것입니다.

? ? BC 기원전

Teispes (Chishpish) 테이 스 (Chishpish)

Son. 아들. King of Parsua (Anshan). 파수 아 왕 (안산). Vassal of the Medes . MedesVassal .

c.640 - 600 BC 기원전 640-600 년

Cyrus I (Kurush of Parsua) 사이러스 I (파수 아의 쿠 러쉬)

Son. 아들. King of Parsua (Anshan). 파수 아 왕 (안산). Vassal of the Medes . MedesVassal .

fl c.620s BC 플로리다 c.620s BC

Ariaramnes (Ariyaramna) 아리 아람 네스 (아리 야 람나)

Brother. 동료. Also king, perhaps a sub-king? 또한 왕, 아마도 하위 왕?

Ariaramnes is generally assumed to be the brother of Cyrus I. He becomes the father of Arsames, who becomes the father of Pharnaces, whose son Artabazus becomes the first satrap of Phrygia . 아리 아람 네스는 일반적으로 키루스 1 세의 형제 인 것으로 추정됩니다. 그는 아르나 메스의 아버지가되어 프란 체스의 아버지가되고 아들 아타 바 주스는 프리지아 의 첫 띠가됩니다. The other son of Arsames is Hystaspes, satrap of Parthawa , who is the father of Darius the Great according to Darius' own Behistun inscription. Arsames의 다른 아들은 Darius의 Behistun 비문에 따르면 Darius 대왕의 아버지 인 Parthawa의 덫 인 Hystaspes 입니다.

c.620 BC 기원전 620 년

The Medes (possibly) take control of Parsua (Persis) from the weakening Assyrians who themselves had only recently taken control of the region from Elam . 메디아 (아마도)는 최근에 엘람 에서이 지역을 통제 한 약한 아시리아 인 들로부터 파수 아 (파르 시스)를 지배 할 수있다. According to Herodotus, Media governs all of the tribes of the Iranian steppe. 헤로도투스에 따르면 미디어는이란 대초원의 모든 부족을 지배합니다. This sudden empire may well include territory to the east which covers Hyrcania , Parthia , Drangiana , and Carmania . 이 갑작스런 제국에는 히 르카 니아 , 파르티아 , 랑 지아 나, 카르 마니아 를 덮고있는 동쪽 영토가 포함될 수 있습니다.

c.600 - 559 BC 기원전 600 년-559 년

Cambyses (Kambuzya of Anshan) I 캄 비즈 (안산의 캄 z 자) I

Son of Cyrus. 사이러스의 아들. King of Parsua (Anshan). 파수 아 왕 (안산). Last Median vassal. 마지막 중앙값 vassal.

fl c.570s BC 플로리다 주 c.570 년대

Arsames (Arshama) 아르 사 메스 (아르 샤마)

Son of Ariaramnes. 아리 아람 네스의 아들. Also king, perhaps a sub-king? 또한 왕, 아마도 하위 왕?

559 - 549 BC 기원전 559-549

Before this date, Cambyses has married Mandane, (a) daughter of Astyages of Media . 이 날짜 이전에 Cambyses는 (a) Astyages of Media의 딸인 Mandane과 결혼했습니다. Their son is Cyrus, later known as 'the Great', while Mandane is also the niece of Amyhia, queen of Babylon . 그들의 아들은 나중에 '위대한'로 알려진 사이러스이며, 만다 인은 또한 바빌론의 여왕 인 미아의 조카이기도합니다. The truth of this apparent dynastic connection with the Medes has long been doubted, although there is no real reason to doubt general familial connections between the Indo-Iranian Medes and Parsua. 인도-이란의 미드와 파수 아 사이의 일반적인 가족 관계를 의심 할 실제적인 이유는 없지만, 미드와의이 명백한 왕조 적 연결의 진실은 오랫동안 의심되어왔다.

Cyrus, now king himself, ends the vassalage of the Parsua, or Persians, by defeating the Medes during the course of a four year war between 553-549 BC. 지금 왕 자신 인 사이러스는 기원전 553-549 년 사이 4 년 전쟁 중에 메디아를 물리 치면서 파수 아 (Parsua)의 페르시아인 (vassalage)을 종식시켰다. The braver Parsua sometimes have to yield to the superior numbers of the Medes and eventually have to concentrate their women and children on the mountain of Pasargadai, where they are besieged by the Medes. 용감한 파수 아는 때때로 많은 수의 메디아에게 양보해야하고 결국에는 여자와 아이들을 파 사르가 다이 산에 집중시켜야하는데, 그곳에서 그들은 메디아에 의해 포위되었다. Cyrus is victorious, seemingly after the Medes mutiny against their king and hand him over to the Parsua. 사이러스는 승리를 거두었으며, 미드가 그들의 왕에게 반란을 일으켜 파수 아에게 넘겼습니다. Apparently, according to ancient writers, the defeated Astyages is subsequently granted the position of satrap of Verkâna . 고대 작가들에 따르면, 패배 한 아 스티 게스는 이후 베르 카나 의 덫의 위치에 부여 된다 . With Cyrus now king of the Parsua and Medes, he swiftly creates a great empire. 이제 파수 아 왕과 메디아 왕 사이러스와 함께 그는 위대한 제국을 신속하게 창조합니다.

Achaemenid Persia (Persian Empire) 아케 메니 드 페르시아 (페르시아 제국)
Incorporating the Great Satraps of Pārsa/Persis' (with Ūja) Pārsa / Persis의 위대한 덫 통합하기 (Ūja와 함께)
559 - 330 BC 기원전 559-330

Cyrus the Great built the Persian empire from its small beginnings in south-western Iran by taking over the so-called Median empire (which probably stretched far back towards the east of modern Iran ). 사이러스 대왕은 소위 메디안 제국 (현대 이란 의 동쪽으로 뻗어 있음)을 인수함으로써이란 남서부의 작은 시작에서 페르시아 제국을 건설했습니다. His son consolidated those gains and extended them into Egypt . 그의 아들은 그 이익을 통합하여 이집트 로 확대했다. On the other hand, in some circles Darius I is thought to have been a usurper of the Persian throne, or at least an opportunistic claimant. 한편 다리우스 1 세의 일부 지역에서는 페르시아의 왕좌를 빼앗거나 적어도 기회 주의적 주장을했다고 생각된다. Going back to the titular founder of the dynasty, many scholars of Achaemenid history now believe that the eponymous Achaemenes was a fictional common ancestor who was used to legitimise Darius' rule. 아케 메니 드 역사의 많은 학자들은 왕조의 창시자로 돌아가서 이제는 시인 아키 메네 스가 다리우스의 통치를 정당화하는 데 사용 된 허구의 공통 조상이라고 믿고 있습니다. Darius went so far as to install inscriptions on the unfinished palace of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae which read 'I am Cyrus, the king, the Achaemenid'. 다리우스는 Pasargadae의 미완성 된 사이러스 대왕에 비문을 설치하기 위해 '나는 사이러스, 왕, Achaemenid'라고 쓰여있다. No record of Achaemenes can be dated earlier than the reign of Darius I. Nonetheless, the name 'Achaemenid' has been commonly accepted for the line of Persian kings beginning with Darius I. Some sources use the term to refer to the entire line of early Persian rulers, including both Cyrus and Cambyses. 다리우스 1 세의 통치 이전에 아 케메 네스에 대한 기록은 없다. 그럼에도 불구하고, '아케 메니 드'라는 이름은 다리우스 1로 시작하는 페르시아 왕의 계보에 통용되어왔다. 사이러스와 캄 비제를 포함한 페르시아 통치자. The name is the Latin version of the original Old Persian Haxāmaniš, but this seems not to be used in modern writing. 그 이름은 구 페르시아 학사 마니시 (Old Persian Haxāmaniš)의 라틴어 버전이지만 현대의 글에서는 사용되지 않는 것 같습니다.

During his empire-building phase, Cyrus mounted a campaign to the east of Persis and the former Median territories, marching through much of South Asia outside India and also the southern areas of Central Asia . 그의 제국 건설 단계에서 사이러스는 페르시아의 동쪽과 과거의 중간 영토에 캠페인을 펼쳤으며 인도 이외의 남아시아와 중부 아시아 남부를 가로 질러 행진 했다 . These were his ancestral homelands, the Indo-Iranian melting pot from which the Parsua had migrated in the first place to reach Persis. 이들은 그의 조상의 고향, Parsua 가 처음으로 Persis에 도달하기 위해 이주한 인도-이란의 용광로 였습니다 . There would have been no language barriers for his forces and few cultural differences. 그의 힘에 대한 언어 장벽이 없었고 문화적 차이가 거의 없었을 것입니다. Although details of his conquests are relatively poor, he seemingly experienced few problems in uniting the various tribes under his governance. 정복에 대한 세부 사항은 비교적 열악하지만, 그의 통치하에 다양한 부족을 연합시키는 데 거의 문제가 없었습니다. He was the first to exert any form of imperial control here, although his campaign may have been driven partially by a desire to recreate the semi-mythical kingdom of Turan in the land of Tūr, but now under Persian control. 비록 투르 땅에서 반 신화적인 투란 왕국을 다시 만들고자했으나 현재 페르시아의 통제하에 그의 목표는 부분적으로 추진 되었음에도 불구하고, 그는 이곳에서 모든 형태의 제국 지배를 행사 한 최초의 사람이었다. Curiously the Persians had little knowledge of what lay to the north of their eastern empire, with the result that Alexander the Great was less well-informed about the region than earlier Ionian settlers on the Black Sea coast had been. 흥미롭게도 페르시아 사람들은 동부 제국의 북쪽에 놓인 것에 대해 거의 알지 못했으며, 그 결과 알렉산더 대왕은 흑해 연안의 초기 이오니아 정착민보다 지역에 대해 잘 알려지지 않았습니다.

Each Achaemenid ruler is usually known by the Greek or Latin form of his name simply because it was the Greeks who best recorded this history, and then the Romans inherited this work and enlarged upon it. 각 Achaemenid 통치자는 일반적으로 그리스어 또는 라틴어 형태의 이름으로 알려져 있습니다. 왜냐하면이 역사를 가장 잘 기록한 그리스인 이었기 때문에 로마인 들이이 작품을 물려 받아 확대했습니다. For reasons of accuracy and completion, the original Persian versions are included in parenthesis. 정확성과 완성을 위해 원래 페르시아어 버전이 괄호 안에 포함되어 있습니다. One of the very first acts of Cyrus the Great was to move the Persian capital to the former Elamite capital of Susa. 키루스 대왕의 첫 번째 행동 중 하나는 페르시아 수도를 이전의 엘람 파 수도 인 수사로 옮기는 것이었다. In the later Behistun inscription of Darius the Great this land is known as Uwja or Ūja, and was part of the 'Great Satrapy Pārsa/Persis', or rather Persis and Ūja were two 'main satrapies' which were governed together and from the same place. 다리우스 대왕에 대한 후기 베히 스토의 비문에서이 땅은 우자와 (Uwja) 또는 오자 (Ūja)로 알려져 있으며, '그레이트 사트 라피 파사 / 페르 시스 (Great Satrapy Pārsa / Persis)'의 일부였으며, 오히려 페르 시스 (Persis)와 오자 (Pyja)는 두 개의 '주요 희생자'였으며, 동일하게 관리되었다. 장소.

In fact Persis itself was not a satrapy, although it is sometimes referred to as one. 실제로 페르 시스 자체는 안전하지 않았지만 때로는 하나라고도합니다. As the oldest and most senior province of the empire it was also the heartland of the Persian kingdom and stood above mere subservient satrapies. 제국에서 가장 오래되고 가장 오래된 영토 인 페르시아 왕국의 심장부였으며 단지 복종적인 서사시들 위에 서있었습니다. Those occupants of the senior post in the administration, people who would be termed satraps elsewhere, could probably be best described as chancellors or controller-generals (the former term is used here). 행정부의 고위직에 거주하는 사람들, 다른 곳에서 덫으로 불리는 사람들은 아마도 총리 또는 총재 관장으로 묘사 될 수 있습니다 (이전의 용어는 여기에서 사용됩니다). The precise boundaries of Persis are somewhat anomalous and, confusingly perhaps, it didn't include under its direct administrative control the satrapy of Susa . 페르 시스의 정확한 경계는 다소 변칙적이며, 혼란스럽게도 직접 ​​행정적 통제하에 수사 의 비밀을 포함하지 않았다. Classical authors also provide the names of some of the chancellors of Persis (shown below), with an apparent capital at Pasargadae, scene of the Parsua victory over the Medes. 고전 저술가들은 또한 페르시아 (Persis)의 일부 장관의 이름 (아래 그림 참조)을 파 사르가 대 (Pasargadae)에있는 명백한 자본과 함께 파 데스 아 (Massa)에 대한 파수 아 (Parsua) 승리의 장면으로 제공합니다. Persis also oversaw the minor satrapy of Karmana to its east. 페르 시스는 또한 동쪽에있는 카르마 나의 작은 첩보원 을 감독했다.

(Additional information by Jo Amdahl, from Empire of Gold: Foundations , Jo Amdahl, from The Marshals of Alexander's Empire , Waldemar Heckel, from Alexander the Great and Hernán Cortés: Ambiguous Legacies of Leadership , Justin D Lyons, from A Political History of the Achaemenid Empire , MA Dandamaev, from The Persian Empire , JM Cook (1983), from The Histories , Herodotus (Penguin, 1996), from Nomadism in Iran: From Antiquity to the Modern Era , Daniel T Potts, from Ctesias' Persica in its Near Eastern Context , Matt Waters, from Alexander The Great: In the Realm of Evergetǽs , Reza Mehrafarin, and from External Links : Zoroastrian Heritage , KE Eduljee, and Encyclopaedia Iranica , and with reference to a large number of original and secondary sources that are included in the 'Persia and Eastwards' section of the Sources page.) ( 알렉산더 대제국 원수의 조 암달 (Jo Amdahl), 알렉산더 대왕 (Alexander the Great)과 헤르 난 코르테스의 발데 마르 헤켈 (Waldemar Heckel) 조 암달 (Jo Amdahl)의 추가 정보 Achaemenid Empire , MA Dandamaev, 페르시아 제국 , JM Cook (1983), The Historys, Herodotus (Penguin, 1996), 이란의 유목민 출신 : 고대부터 현대까지 , Daniel T Potts, Ctesias 'Persica 알렉산더 대왕의 동방 문맥 , 매트 워터스 : 에버 겟의 영역 , 레자 메라 파린 및 외부 링크 : 조로아스터 교 유산 , KE에 둘지 및 백과 사전이란 , 그리고 수많은 원본과 이차 자료를 참조 출처 페이지의 '페르시아와 이스트 워드'섹션에 포함되어 있습니다.)

559 - 530 BC 기원전 559-530

Cyrus (Kurush) II the Great 사이러스 (쿠루시) II 대왕

Son of Cambyses. 캄비 세스의 아들. Created the Achaemenid empire. Achaemenid 제국을 만들었습니다.

559 - 549 BC 기원전 559-549

Feature A vigorous ruler, one of Cyrus' very first acts in 559 BC is to move the Persian capital to the former Elamite capital, Susa . 기원전 559 년 사이러스의 첫 번째 행위 중 하나 인 활발한 통치자는 페르시아 수도를 이전의 엘람 파 수도 인 수사 로 옮기는 것입니다. In the later Behistun inscription of Darius the Great this land is known as Uwja or Ūja, and is part of the 'Great Satrapy Pārsa/Persis'. 다리우스 대왕에 대한 후기 베히 스토의 비문에서이 땅은 우자 (Uwja) 또는 오자 (Ūja)로 알려져 있으며 '그레이트 사트 라피 파사 / 페르 시스'의 일부입니다. Then, from 553 BC, he sets about releasing the Persians from vassalage. 그리고 기원전 553 년부터 페르시아인을 혈관에서 풀어 놓기 시작했습니다. Herodotus tells the story of how the Medes lose control of the Persians when Cyrus rebels. 헤로도투스는 사이러스가 반란을 일으켰을 때 메디아 가 페르시아인을 어떻게 통제하지 못하는지 이야기합니다. In 550 BC (or 549 BC) Cyrus wins a decisive victory and Astyages of the Medes is captured by his own nobles and handed over. 기원전 550 년 (기원전 549 년) 사이러스는 결정적인 승리를 거두었고 메디아의 어스 티지 즈 (Astyages of the Medes)는 자신의 귀족들에 의해 점령되어 양도되었습니다.

바빌론에서 Achaemenid 궁전 장식
This Achaemenid (Persian empire) palace decoration stood in the city of Babylon and was transported to Berlin upon being rediscovered by archaeologists in the twentieth century 이 Achaemenid (페르시아 제국) 궁전 장식은 바빌론 도시에 서 있었고 20 세기에 고고학자들이 재발견 할 때 베를린으로 옮겨졌습니다.

The sources conflict when it comes to explaining the precise relationship between Cyrus and Astyages. Cyrus와 Astyages의 정확한 관계를 설명 할 때 소스가 충돌합니다. According to some, Cyrus is his son-in-law, while others state that he is his grandson and the legal heir of Media. 일부에 따르면 사이러스는 그의 사위이고 다른 사람들은 그가 그의 손자이며 미디어의 법적 상속자라고 말합니다. The two versions are not necessarily in conflict with each other. 두 버전이 반드시 서로 충돌하지는 않습니다. Cyrus is Astyages' grandson through the latter's marriage to a Persian princess. 사이러스는 후자의 페르시아 공주와의 결혼을 통해 Astyages의 손자입니다. In addition, Cyrus has also married his aunt, Astyages' daughter, Amyhia (not to be confused with his sister of the same name!), in order to cement his claim to the Median throne. 또한 사이러스는 아 스티 게스의 딸 아미 히아 (동생과 같은 이름의 동생과 혼동하지 말 것)와 결혼하여 중간 왕위에 대한 주장을 확고히했다.

559 - ? 559-? BC 기원전

Sybares / Soebaris Sybares / Soebaris

First chancellor of Pārsa/Persis. Pārsa / Persis의 첫 번째 총리.

559 BC 기원전 559

The Persian Sybares had been released from Median slavery by Cyrus the Great and became the king's companion in his undertakings. 페르시아의 Sybares는 키루스 대왕에 의해 중간 노예 제도에서 풀려 났고 그의 사업에있어서 ​​왕의 동반자가되었다. Now, at the beginning of the reign of Cyrus, he appoints Sybares to the position of satrap of Persis. 이제 키루스 통치가 시작될 때 그는 시바 레스를 페르 시스의 덫의 위치로 임명합니다.

549 - 540 BC 기원전 549-540

The defeat of the Medes opens the floodgates for Cyrus with a wave of conquests, beginning with Cilicia in 549 BC. Medes 의 패배는 기원전 549 년 Cilicia 로 시작하여 정복의 물결로 사이러스의 수문을 엽니 다. Harpagus, a Median of the royal house and the main cause of Astyages' defeat, commands Cyrus' army in Anatolia, conquering it between 547-546 BC. 왕실의 중앙값이자 Astyages의 패배의 주요 원인 인 Harpagus는 아나톨리아에있는 Cyrus의 군대에게 기원전 547-546 년 사이에 정복했다. Taken during this campaign are Armenia , Caria , Lycia , Lydia , Paphlagonia , Phrygia , and Tabal (Cappadocia), and Harpagus and his descendants reign thereafter in Caria and Lycia (and apparently Cilicia too) as satraps. 이 캠페인 기간 동안 아르메니아 , 카 리아 , 리시아 , 리디아 , 파프라고 니아 , 프리지아 , 타발 (카파도키아), 하르 파구 스와 그의 후손들이 카 리아와 리시아 (그리고 Cilicia도 마찬가지)에서 함정으로 통치합니다. Harpagus also takes on the satrapy of Sparda following the death of its satrap. 하프 파트 (Harpagus)는 또한 덫이 죽은 후 스파 다 ( Sparda )의 덫을 취한다.

Cyrus next moves his army to the Tigris, below Arbela, where he marches against the land of Lu-[?], kills [?], its king, takes its booty, and sets up a garrison there. 다음으로 키루스는 군대를 아르 벨라 아래 티그리스로 옮기고 그곳에서 루-[?] 땅을 향해 행진하고 왕 [?]을 죽이고 전리품을 취해 수비대를 세웁니다. Unfortunately the name of the land is not quite legible. 불행히도 그 땅의 이름은 읽기 쉽지 않습니다. Various guesses have been taken, most of them improbable, with the most likely target in fact being Lydia, perhaps after an initial campaign which did not cross the River Halys. 다양한 추측이 이루어졌으며, 그 중 대부분은 불가능합니다. 아마도 가장 가능성이 높은 표적은 리디아 일 것입니다.

Eastern Iran falls during a more drawn-out campaign between about 546-540 BC, which may be when Maka is taken (presumed to be the southern coastal strip of the Arabian Sea). 동부이란은 기원전 546-540 년 사이에 마카 ( Maka )를 앗아 갈 때 (아라비안 해의 남쪽 해안 지역으로 추정 됨)에 더 많이 뽑힌 캠페인에 빠진다. Further eastern regions now fall, namely Arachosia , Aria , Bactria , Carmania , Chorasmia , Drangiana , Gandhara , Gedrosia , Hyrcania , Margiana , Parthia , Saka (at least part of the broad tribal lands of the Sakas ), and Thatagush - all added to the empire, although records for these campaigns are characteristically sparse. 동부 지역, 즉 Arachosia , Aria , Bactria , Carmania , Chorasmia , Drangiana , Gandhara , Gedrosia , Hyrcania , Margiana , Parthia , Saka (적어도 Sakas 의 광범위한 부족 지의 일부 ) 및 Thatagush가 추가되었습니다. 이러한 캠페인에 대한 기록은 특징적으로 희박하지만 제국.

The heartland of Sogdiana (or Sogdia) is also drawn into the empire where it is also named Huvarazmish in some Persian inscriptions. Sogdiana 의 심장부 (또는 Sogdia)는 페르시아어 비문에서 Huvarazmish라고도 불리는 제국으로 끌려갑니다. The neighbouring region of Ferghana , which gains a defensive fort or city of its own is administered from the Sogdian capital, Marakand, and is not a separate province in itself. 페르가나 인근 지역은 방어 요새 나 도시를 소유하고 있으며, 소피아 수도 마라 칸드 (Marakand)에서 관리하고 있으며 그 자체가 별도의 지방이 아닙니다. The fortress and town of Cyropolis is established in Ferghana to provide a defensive chain which will keep out the Massagetae to the north of the River Jaxartes. 요새와 도시 Cyropolis는 Ferghana에 설립되어 Jaxartes 강 북쪽의 Massagetae 을 막을 수있는 방어 체인을 제공합니다.

542 - 530 BC 기원전 542-530

Macedonia is taken in 542 BC, and Cyrus is virtually invited into Babylon (539 BC). 기원전 542 년에 마케도니아 가 취해졌고, 키루스는 사실상 바빌론 (539 년)에 초대되었다. This also gains him the remainder of Elam 's territory plus Athura (Ashur, heartland of the former Assyrian empire), Syria , and Phoenicia and the Mediterranean coast are also captured (although Arabaya (Arabia) and Cilicia are subsequently lost). 이것은 또한 엘람 의 나머지 영토와 아투 라 (Ashur, 구 아시리아 제국의 심장부), 시리아 , 페니키아 및 지중해 연안도 포획되었다 (아라비야 (Arabia)와 실리 시아 (Cilicia)는 나중에 잃어 버렸지 만). Typically the end of Cyrus' reign is spent in military activity in Central Asia where, according to Herodotus, he dies in battle in 530 BC fighting the Massagetae . 사이러스의 통치는 일반적으로 중앙 아시아의 군사 활동에 쓰이고 헤로도투스에 따르면 기원전 530 년에 마사지 태 와 싸우다가 죽었다 . The date is probably July or early August, as fast-travelling Persian couriers reach Babylonia with the news between 12-31 August. 8 월 12 일에서 31 일 사이의 뉴스를 통해 빠르게 여행하는 페르시아 택배가 바빌로니아에 도착하면서 날짜는 아마도 7 월 또는 8 월 초일 것입니다.

530 - 522 BC 기원전 530-522

Cambyses (Kambujiya) II 캄 비즈 (캄 부야) II

Son. 아들. Invaded Egypt but failed to secure it. 이집트를 침략했지만 그것을 확보하지 못했습니다.

525 - 522 BC 기원전 525-522

The Persians conquer Egypt in 525 BC, creating the 27th Dynasty, although according to the Behistun inscription of Darius the Great it is known to the Persians as Mudraya. 페르시아인은 기원전 525 년에 이집트 를 정복하여 27 세기를 만들었지 만 다리우스 대왕의 베히 스턴 비문에 따르면 페르시아인은 페르시아인에게 무드 라야로 알려져있다. They add Cyprus to the empire in the same year, along with a host of Greek islands which are known collectively to the Persians (as recorded on the Behistun inscription) as Yauna (Ionia to the Greeks). 그들은 같은 해에 키프로스 를 제국에 추가하고, 페르시아인들에게 (Behistun 비문에 기록 된대로) Yauna (Ionia to the Greeks)라고 통칭하는 그리스의 섬들과 함께.

However, it seems that the uncrowned Pharaoh Psamtik is not immediately captured. 그러나 왕관이없는 바로 Psamtik은 즉시 포획되지 않은 것 같습니다. Instead he, or the bulk of his forces, seek refuge around the Dachla Oasis. 대신에 그는, 또는 그의 군대 대부분이 다 츨라 오아시스 주변을 피난처를 찾습니다. Cambyses follows him with an army of 50,000 men and, according to Herodotus, the entire army disappears in the desert, presumably overcome by a sand storm (around 524 BC). Cambyses는 그를 따라 50,000 명의 군대를 쫓으며 Herodotus에 따르면, 전체 군대는 사막에서 사라지고 아마도 모래 폭풍 (BC 524 년경)에 의해 극복 된 것으로 추정됩니다. A highly favourable modern theory is that this story is created by Cambyses' successor to mask an embarrassing defeat. 매우 유리한 현대 이론은이 이야기는 캄비 세스의 후임자에 의해 창피한 패배를 가리기 위해 만들어 졌다는 것입니다. In this theory, Psamtik manages to reconquer a large part of Egypt and is crowned pharaoh in the capital, Memphis. 이 이론에서 Psamtik은 이집트의 많은 부분을 재건하고 수도 Memphis에서 파라오로 선정됩니다. It is Darius I who ends the Egyptian 'revolt' with a good deal of bloodshed two years after Cambyses' defeat, in 522 BC (or 521 BC). 기원전 522 년 (기원전 521 년) 캄비 세스가 패배 한 지 2 년 만에 이집트의 '반란'을 끝내는 것은 다리우스 1 세입니다.

522 - 521 BC 기원전 522-521

Smerdis / Bardia / Bardiya 스 메르 디스 / 바르 디아 ​​/ 바르 디야

Usurper called Gaumata using a royal name. Usurper는 왕명을 사용하여 Gaumata를 불렀습니다. Murdered by Darius.

522 BC

The usurper Gaumata takes control in Persis. Allegedly backed or used by the magi to gain control (or a magi himself), he is known by a host of names, including 'False Smerdis', Sphendadates, or Vahyazdâta. According to ancient sources, he may be a Mede who gains the throne by impersonating a member of the Achaemenid royal family, presumably the deceased Prince Smerdis, brother of Cambyses II. on the Behistun inscription of Darius the Great, the prince being impersonated is Bardiya (Old Persian), Pirtiya ( Elamite ), or Barziya (Akkadian).

As can be imagined, the story is very popular amongst the Greeks , and various other impostor names are circulated for Gaumata, including Mardos, Mergis, and Tanoxares. For a time he is powerful enough to appoint his own satrap to Harahuwatish (who immediately faces opposition from the current incumbent). All three of the oldest sources (Darius the Great, Herodotus, and Ctesias), agree that Gaumata and the magi are overthrown by Darius and others (normally seven of them) in a coup. However, no one knows whether Gaumata really is an impostor, or whether Darius labels him as one in order to justify seizing the throne himself.

521 - 485 BC

Darius (Darayavahush) I the Great

Son of Hystaspes in Parthawa . First 27th Egyptian dynasty ruler.

521 BC

Immediately after Darius secures the throne he faces several rebellions. The first, in Babirush , is defeated in battle. The Cyaxarid, Fravartiš, tries to restore Media to independence and is defeated and executed. Extensions of the insurrection in Armina , Parthawa , and Verkâna are also crushed. Darius mentions that the revolt arises in Asagarta, which is the land of the Sargatians within the satrapy of Zranka . The Sargatians are one of the ten clans of the Parsua , raising the possibility that it is some of Darius' own people who oppose him (and with not one but two rebellions, the second being under Ciçantaxma of the Sargatians). The 'false' satrap of Harahuwatish is defeated in battle, and another major rebellion, perhaps the last of them, arises in Mergu and is also swiftly put down. Darius must still campaign in Thatagush , however, and seems also to secure the entire region of Hindush .

Thereafter, Darius takes great pains to legitimise his rule by installing an inscription at Pasargadae to record his 'descent' from the legendary founder of the Persian dynasty. He also regulates the system of control within the empire. Instead of a number of polities with different systems of rule, he creates a uniform structure of about twenty provinces (Herodotus lists these). These means merging several peoples into a single province. These are often called satrapies, after the Greek interpretation of the original Persian word for 'protecting the kingdom'.

By this time, the satrapies are as follows:

Arbelitis , Armina, Athura , Babirush, Bakhtrish (soon governed by one of Darius' brothers), Gadara (omitted from the Behistun inscription, possibly for reasons of symmetry), Gedrosia , Harahuwatish, Haraiva , Hindush, Karkâ , Karmana , Katpatuka , Khilakku , Mada , Mergu, Paphlagonia , Parthawa, Phrygia (Greater and Hellespontine), Pārsa/Persis (with Ūja), Sittacene , Sparda (with a necessary change of satrap required around 520 BC, and another of Darius' brothers there from 513 BC), Suguda , Susa , Thatagush, Uwarazmiy , Verkâna, and Zranka. It is also Darius who is largely responsible for extending the satrapy of Egypt to include Cyrene , 'Put' (probably Punt, which is usually equated with Nubia ), and Kush (also Nubia, but sometimes equated with Ethiopia , suggesting Nubia's southern regions which were centred around Meroë). It may be he too who adds Skudra to the empire (possibly areas of Thrace , and possibly also areas of Macedon - the latter being dominated from 542 BC).

516 - 515 BC

Darius embarks on a military campaign into the lands east of the empire. He marches through Haraiva and Bakhtrish , and then to Gandara and Taxila . By 515 BC he is conquering lands around the Indus Valley to incorporate into the new satrapy of Hindush before returning via Harahuwatish and Zranka . A subsequent cuneiform inscriptions set up by Darius lists the nations which comprise the Persian empire. They include three nations using Saka as a prefix to their names: Saka Haumavarga, Saka Tigrakhauda, and Saka Paradraya.

Sakas on a frieze at Persepolis
Saka Tikrakhauda (otherwise known as 'Scythians' who in this case can be more precisely identified as Sakas) depicted on a frieze at Persepolis in Achaemenid Persia, which would have been the greatest military power in the region at this time - very similar people could be found in the Persian satrapies, such as Haraiva

513 - 512 BC

The Persians enter northern Greece, with Darius conquering Thrace south of the Danube. They hold onto it for about fifty years, possibly until they are forced out of Macedonia by Alexander I. This territory is subjoined as a minor satrapy to the great satrapy of Sparda . Colchis on the eastern shore of the Black Sea is taken during the same campaign and is created a minor satrapy under the oversight of Armina . Darius' campaign against the Scythians proves to be an embarrassing failure, however. one bonus from the point of view of historians is the mention of various other, more northerly groups, such as the 'Scythian farmers' (proto-Slavs), and the Androphagi, Budini, Melanchlaeni, and Neuri .

fl c.500 BC

Bagapāna

Chancellor of Pārsa/Persis?

500 BC

Few of the Persis 'chancellors' are known to have been recorded, which seems strange as it is at the centre of the empire. The Persepolis Fortification Archive (or tablets) notes one Bagapāna who may be satrap around this time. At the same time, Darius oversees the completion of a canal connecting the Nile to the Red Sea.

499 - 493 BC

The Ionian Greeks of western Anatolia and the islands of the eastern Aegean who are under Persian hegemony now rise in the Ionian Revolt . The Carians join in and, with the Ionians being led by Aristagoras, tyrant of Miletus , they inflict heavy losses on the Persians. Similar revolts arise in Aeolis, Salamis , and Doris as the Greeks see a chance for freedom. Athens sends troops to aid the Ionian islands but the Persians gradually gain the upper hand and the revolt crumbles.

The name - and perhaps the notion - of the province of Yauna (the Persian interpretation of Ionian) is perhaps quietly allowed to fade from Persian administrative documents. Yauna is not mentioned on the Egyptian lists of satrapies of the early 490s. However, Darius' tomb at Naksh-i Rustam lists twenty-nine subject lands or peoples, including a Yauna takabara ('bearing shields' on their heads, meaning 'sun-hatted'), plus the land (islands) of Yauna, and the Karkâ (Carians). Perhaps he is not quite so willing to forget Yauna as are his bureaucrats.

? ? - 497 BC

Pharnakes (Parnaka)

Son of Arshama. Darius' uncle? Chancellor of Pārsa/Persis.

Pharnaces (Pharnakes, or Old Persian Parnaka) is the father of Artabazus, satrap of Phrygia , and brother of Hystaspes, satrap of Parthawa and father of Darius the Great according to Darius' own Behistun inscription. In 521 BC, Darius kills the usurper Gaumata (Smerdis) and seizes control of the Persian empire. Hystaspes and Pharnaces are the sons of Arsames (Arshama), son of Ariaramnes, son of Teispes, son of Achaemenes, founder of the Parsua dynasty in Persis.

Ariaramnes and Arsames have been assumed to be a junior (cadet) line of the royal house, although their spans would seem to be rather long for the age in which they lived. Darius claims that both Hystaspes and Arsames are alive when he becomes king (as is Pharnaces). Whilst this is possibly for Hystaspes, could he be speaking figuratively in terms of Arsames? If he is indeed alive, he would be very old indeed, possibly approaching a hundred.

490 BC

In response to the Athenian support of the Ionian Revolt , Darius the Great invades mainland Greece. Athens is sacked, but only after its citizens withdraw safely, and subsequently the Persian invaders are defeated by Athens and Plataea at the Battle of Marathon in August or September of the year. During this period, Callimachus and Miltiades are strategoi for Athens who lead the Greek defence.

485 - 465 BC

Xerxes (Xshayarsha) I

Son. 아들. Murdered by Artabanus.

486 - 482 BC

All is not well in Egypt . Rebels from Nubia are a constant threat to caravans and barges, necessitating guards to be posted on the more important transports. In the autumn, Egypt revolts. The satrapy, previously happy with the rule of Darius, is far less so now in the twilight of his reign, with the burden of tribute and Persian exploitation seemingly increasing.

With Darius dead at the end of 486 BC, it falls to his son, Xerxes to deal with the situation. Afterwards, Xerxes installs his brother, Achaemenes, as satrap. Two more revolts in Babylonia are dealt with similarly, removing the title of kingdom from Babylonia and reducing it to a mere province.

465 BC

Darius 다리우스

Son and heir. Murdered (by Artabanus?).

fl 480s - 470s BC

Artatakhma

Chancellor of Pārsa/Persis.

480 - 479 BC

Feature Invading Greece in 480 BC, the Persians subdue the Thracian tribes (except for the Satrai, precursors to the Bessoi ) and the Macedonians . Then the vast army of Xerxes makes its way southwards and is swiftly engaged by Athens and Sparta in the Vale of Tempe. The Persians are subsequently stymied by a mixed force of Greeks - which includes Athenians, Corinthians , Helots, Mycenaeans , Thebans, and Thespians - led by Sparta under King Leonidas at Thermopylae. (These events are depicted somewhat colourfully - but no less impressively for that - in the 2007 film, 300 .) The Persian army is held up long enough for the Athenians to prepare their navy for a seaborne engagement with the Persian fleet.

Athens, as the leader of the coalition of city states known as the Delian League, fights the Persian navy at the battles of Artemisium and Salamis , the latter being a resounding Greek victory. It leaves much of the Persian navy destroyed and Xerxes is forced to retreat to Asia, leaving his army in Greece under Mardonius (with the naval battles being shown to superb graphic effect in the 2014 sequel film, 300: Rise of an Empire , although it does contain a great many historical inaccuracies). As a reward for his support of Xerxes during the war, the exiled Demaratus of Sparta is granted a satrapy of his own in Pergamum , whilst Queen Artemisia I of Halicarnassus in Karkâ is sent to Ephesus to care for the sons of Xerxes. The following year, Mardonius meets the Greeks in a final battle. The Spartans, now at full strength, lead a pan-Greek army at the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC which decisively defeats the Persians and ends the Greco-Persian War .

The Persian forces retreat back into Asia Minor, but Colchis has probably also been lost to them by now, along with the Persian fleet. Subsequently, one of Xerxes' generals in the Greek campaign, Artabazus, grandson of Persian sub-king Arsames (see above) is made satrap of Phrygia . Xerxes is soon murdered along with his son and heir, Darius. Whether he is responsible or not, Xerxes' chief officer, Artabanus, takes control of the empire until he too is killed, this time by Artaxerxes I.

479 - 465 BC

Xerxes apparently adds two new regions to the empire during his reign, neither of which are very descriptive or clear in their location. The first is Daha, from 'daai' or 'daae', meaning 'men', perhaps in the sense of brigands. Daha or Dahae would appear to be the region on the eastern flank of the Caspian Sea, bordered by the Saka Tigraxauda to the north, and the satrapies of Mergu , Uwarazmiy , and Verkâna to the north-east, south-east, and south respectively. It contains a confederation of three tribes, the Parni , the Pissuri, and the Xanthii . With the latter, the 'x' in Xanthii has a 'ks' sound which is interchangeable with 'sk' in place of the 'x', possibly providing 'skanth'. The Xanthii may be a branch of the Sakas and Scythians .

Map of Scythian Lands around 500 BC
This map shows the Scythian lands at their greatest extent, and Persian efforts to contain and dominate them were largely fruitless (click or tap on map to view full sized)

Feature Some interchange has been found to exist between the letters 'h' and 's' in the Sanskrit Avesta and the Vedas . For example, in the Avesta , 'hepta hindu' is the 'sapta sindhu' of the Vedas , 'homa' in the Avesta is the 'soma' of the Vedas , and 'daha' is the 'dasas'. Other examples exist. Dasa or das in Sanskrit can also be found in Indo-Aryan texts such as Rigveda and Arthasastra . It usually means either 'enemy' or 'servant', which would gel with the sense given by the use of Dahae as the name of a conquered region. The thing to keep in mind here is that the 's' is not really an 's' just before it becomes an 'h'. The actual mutation pattern is: 's' < > 'sh' < > 'h'. This can be a shift in how it is spoken by a people, or it can result from how another people pronounce it.

The other new region is Akaufachiya, meaning 'mountain men'. Other than being placed in the north-west of the empire, nothing more is known about this, but tying the north-west with 'mountain men' would strongly intimate Thracians of the mountainous Balkans. Whether it is in fact Xerxes or his father who conquers these regions (this is uncertain), they are not retained in the lists of subsequent Persian kings.

fl 460s - 450s BC

Artasyras

Chancellor of Pārsa/Persis.

469 - 468 BC

Athens attacks Persian strongholds in Karkâ as far as Phaselis on the border with Pamphylia . The response from Xerxes is to send an army under Pherendates to Pamphylia and a joint fleet from Khilakku and Phoenicia (rebuilt after the loss of the Persian fleet in 479 BC) under the command of Tithraustes, a bastard son of Xerxes. The new fleet is destroyed and captured, and the Persian army is utterly defeated.

465 - 464 BC

Artabanus / Artabanos / Artapanos

Hyrcanian regent or usurper. Former chief officer under Xerxes I.

465 - 464 BC

Artabanus the Hyrcanian kills Xerxes in collusion with the eunuch of the bedside and subsequently takes control of the empire, ostensibly as a regent for Xerxes' three sons. Artabanus has the murder pinned on the eldest of these, Darius, and has him killed by the youngest son, Artaxerxes. Artaxerxes accedes to the throne before Artabanus attempts to murder him too. In the end, it is Artabanus who dies, but Artaxerxes is forced to defeat the second of Xerxes' sons, Hystaspes, satrap of Bakhtrish and his own brother. This brief civil war is ended when Artaxerxes defeats the forces of Hystaspes in battle during a sandstorm.

464 - 424 BC

Artaxerxes (Artaxshassa) I Longimanus

Son of Xerxes I.

460 - 454 BC

Satrap Achaemenes of Mudrāya is killed at the Battle of Pampremis in 460 or 459 BC. His opponents are Inarus (or Inaros), son of a Psamtik and leader of the Second Rebellion, and his Athenian allies. It is generally assumed that Psamtik is a member of the dispossessed Saite dynasty. The Greek threat is finally ended in 454 BC when Megabyzus, former satrap of Ebir-nāri , arrives with a fresh army. Inarus is hauled off to Susa where he is reported to be crucified.

446 BC

Artaxerxes appoints Nehemiah, his Jewish cup-bearer, as the governor of Judea . With the king fully supporting him, there can be no open opposition to Persian control of this fractious region. At some point after his accession, he also appoints his own (illegitimate) son, Ochus, as satrap of Verkâna .

424 BC

Xerxes II

Son. 아들. Murdered.

424 - 423 BC

After forty-five days on the throne, Xerxes II is murdered in his bed after a drinking session by Sogdianus. Diodorus gives Sogdianos as an alternative variation of the name, from which an Old Persian version of Sugdyana can be extrapolated. Another claimant for the throne is Ochus in Verkâna , who is married to Xerxes' half-sister, Parysatis. She may be able to call upon considerable followers from her considerable estates in Babylonia, and the couple are joined by the satrap of Mudrāya and the commander of the household cavalry in their resistance against Sogdianus. Six and-a-half months after usurping the throne, Sogdianus has to surrender to the forces being led by Ochus. He is put to death, while Ochus ascends the throne as Darius II.

424 - 423 BC

Sogdianus / Sekyndianos

Illegitimate brother. Usurper. Put to death.

423 - 404 BC

Darius II

Illegitimate brother. Last 27th Egyptian Dynasty ruler.

c.417 BC

A few years after securing the throne (probably after 417 BC) Darius II has to contend with a revolt by his full brother, Arsites. The driving force here is Artyphios, son of Megabyzus, possible successor to his father as satrap in Ebir-nāri . Darius suffers two reverses before he is finally able to put down the revolt by seducing the Greek mercenaries of Artyphios. Both rebel leaders are put to death.

Another (undated) problem is Teritoukhames (tentatively placed as satrap of Zranka ). Ctesias reports the plot by Teritoukhames to rid himself of his unwanted royal wife so that he can marry his own sister, Rhoxane. Darius has Teritoukhames attacked and killed and Darius' queen, Parysatis, takes violent action against the rest of Teritoukhames' family. There appear to be no survivors other than Stateira, wife of Arsakes (eventually to be Artaxerxes II). Many years later, Parysatis also arranges her death.

411 - 409 BC

The Cypriot city state of Salamis breaks away from Persian control under the leadership of Evagoras. He quickly unifies the entire island and rules it in its entirety. Two years later a Median rebellion against Darius II is less successful, being very short-lived.

404 BC

Egypt breaks away from Persian control.

404 - 359 BC

Artaxerxes II Mnemon

Son. 아들.

401 - 395 BC

Cyrus, satrap of Asia Minor , attempts to revolt, mobilising an army and ten thousand Greek mercenaries to attack his brother. Defeat leads to his death in October 401 BC at the Battle of Cunaxa. Along with his wife, Epyaxa, the client king of Khilakku , Syennesis, has supported the rebel army of Cyrus, primarily to protect his own lands from looting. Now his position may be untenable. Khilakku is reorganised as a formal satrapy within about a decade and its native kings are either removed or entirely sidelined, not to be mentioned again. The 'Ten Thousand' Greeks make their way home via Eastern Armina , Western Armina (where they skirmish against the untrustworthy satrap, Tiribazos), and the Black Sea coast.

In 395 BC, Artaxerxes initially backs the Greek city states of Thebes, Athens , Corinth , and Argos against Sparta in the Corinthian War .

Presumably also during this period, Mitradates opposes the royal court and also his own father and attempts to establish the independent rule of the city of Zaris (Zarin). This is assumed to be within the satrapy of Zranka . The prevailing chaos in the Persian court and the great distance between it and Zaris allows the rebellion to establish itself for a short time, forming an independent Achaemenid state.

391 - 381 BC

Persia regains control of Salamis in 381 BC after ten years of effort, but Salamis continues to be governed by Evagoras as client king, apparently ruling the entire island.

387 BC

Persia recaptures Lycia from Athens .

385 BC

The Kadousioi to the north-east of Media have been in revolt for about thirty years, and Artaxerxes II decides to take to the field in person to resolve the problem. The campaign is a fiasco, but the retreat shows the king in his best light, as a leader of his men, fighting for their survival and mindful of their care. Satrap Camissares of Khilakku is killed during the campaign.

367 - 358 BC

Ariobarzanus, satrap of Phrygia , joins Datames, satrap of Khilakku and Katpatuka , in revolt against Artaxerxes II. Autophradates, satrap of Sparda , is ordered to suppress the rebellion and he manages to expel Ariobarzanes from the greater part of his satrapy. In 365 BC, Athens sends thirty ships and 8,000 mercenaries to aid Ariobarzanus. He rewards Athens with the gift of Sestos and Crithote, cities on the Thracian Chersonesus.

In 364 BC, Mithridates (sometimes shown as Mehrdad), a son of Ariobarzanus, occupies Heracleia, the most important Greek city on the Black Sea coast. Soon all of Asia Minor (Anatolia) revolts against Artaxerxes II and, in 362 BC, even Autophradates is driven to join the rebels. At the same time, the patience of the redoubtable Tiribazos with the king has run out. He conspires with Darius, the crown prince, to remove Artaxerxes II but the plot is discovered. Darius is executed and Tiribazos goes down fighting. Sparta , and also Takhôs, pharaoh of Egypt , send substantial help to the rebels. Two years later, in 360 BC, Ariobarzanes is betrayed by his son, Mithridates and is executed. In 359-358 BC the satrapal revolt is finally suppressed.

c.362 BC

Darius 다리우스

Son and heir. Conspired to rebel. Executed.

359 - 338 BC

Artaxerxes III Ochus

Brother. Bloodthirsty killer of his rivals. Murdered.

358 BC

The Phoenician subject city of Sidon on the Mediterranean coast rebels, but the rebellion is crushed in the same year.

351 - 350 BC

Very shortly after his accession as dynastic satrap of Karkâ , Idrieus is required to assemble troops for an invasion of Cyprus . once again the Cypriot king has rebelled against Persian authority. Despite not quite having the iron nerve of his late brother, Idrieus and an Athenian general work together to stifle the uprising.

In the following year, 351 BC, an attempt in Assyria to assert independence ends in failure and retribution by the Persians.

343 BC

Artaxerxes re-conquers Egypt , after one or more campaigns which at least in part have been all-but catastrophic in their ineptness. Even this second Persian occupation of the country is short-lived. The next campaign finally sees the Kadousioi brought to heel after decades of being in revolt.

By this time there exists near Persis a minor satrapy called Elymais. Containing the territory of the 'Uxians of the Mountains', it is autonomous, or a 'free' territory, as the sources like to put it. Instead it is subordinate to an indigenous 'prefect'. Despite the acknowledgement of autonomy the (probably) Indo-Iranian inhabitants are obliged to perform military service for the satrap of the superior main satrapy of Persis. It does seem to suggest, however, that the Achaemenids are beginning to lose their grip on power if an autonomous tribal area can exist in their own back yard.

338 - 336 BC

Artaxerxes IV Arses (Arsha)

Son, and puppet of Bagoas. Killed by Bagoas.

336 BC

Artaxerxes IV plots to kill his father's vicious regicide, the new power behind the throne, Bagoas, but Bagoas detects his plot and murders him too. Artashata, son of Arsames and otherwise known as Kodomannos, is a former satrap of Armina who had already been promoted to the position of royal courier. Now he is offered the chance by Bagoas to succeed his uncle as king. Forewarned of Bagoas' intention to kill him and remove another rival, he turns the tables and forces Bagoas to drink from a poisoned cup.

336 - 330 BC

Darius III Codomannus

Nephew. Murdered by Bessus, satrap of Bactria .

334 - 331 BC

In 334 BC Alexander of Macedon launches his campaign into the Persian empire by crossing the Dardanelles. The first battle is fought on the River Graneikos (Granicus), eighty kilometres (fifty miles) to the east. The Persian defeat forces Satrap Arsites of Daskyleion to commit suicide. Sparda surrenders but Karkâ 's satrap holds out in the fortress of Halicarnassus with the Persian General Memnon. The fortress is blockaded and Alexander moves on to fight the Lycian mountain folk during the winter when they cannot take refuge in those mountains.

The campaigning season of 333 BC sees Darius III and Alexander miss each other on the plain of Cilicia and instead fight the Battle of Issos on the coast. Darius flees when the battle's outcome hangs in the balance, gifting the Greeks Khilakku and Cappadocia , although pockets of Persian resistance remain in parts of Anatolia.

Alexander proceeds into Syria during 333-332 BC to receive the submission of Ebir-nāri , which also gains him Harran , Judah , and Phoenicia (principally Byblos and Sidon , with Tyre holding out until it can be taken by force). Athura , Gaza , and Egypt also capitulate (not without a struggle in Gaza's case). Now, in 331 BC, he is ready for the expected confrontation with Darius III in the heartland of Persian territory.

? ? - 331 BC

Ariobarzanes

Son of Artabazus II of Phrygia . Chancellor of Pārsa/Persis.

331 BC

The name 'Ariobarzanes' is the Greek form of the Old Iranian original, *Ārya-bṛzāna-, perhaps signifying 'exalting the Aryans'. (See the introduction for Aria for a detailed exploration of this root.)

At the Battle of Gaugamela (thought to be in northern Iraq ), Ariobarzanes leads some Persian units, perhaps two thousand men in total, with the concentration of these being in the centre. They take heavy casualties, but Ariobarzanes is able to leave the battlefield with his king. Darius flees eastwards and the defence of each province is left to its satrap. Alexander seizes Babylon and Susa and, having gathered intelligence on Persis, he sets out with a picked force of 17,000 men for Persepolis.

Seeing that the Macedonian army is unbeatable on the plain, Ariobarzanes blocks its path on the way to Persepolis in a gorge known as the Persian Gate or Susian Gate in order to deprive it of battle formation, diverse arms, and superior numbers. The first Greek attack is a failure, so Alexander handsomely bribes some prisoners to lead him around the defensive line and attack the Persian camp from behind. The Persians are defeated in ferocious hand-to-hand fighting and Ariobarzanes falls. The Uxians are similarly dispatched at the Battle of the Uxian Defile.

330 - 329 BC

Artaxerxes V (Bessus)

Claimed the throne after killing Darius, but failed to hold it.

334 - 330 BC

Persia has been conquered by the Greek empire under Alexander the Great. The eastern province of Bakhtrish is used as the base for resistance by Bessus after he murders Darius III. As well as being Bactria's former satrap, he now styles himself Artaxerxes V, king of Asia, and it takes Alexander two more years to fully conquer the region.

Argead Dynasty in Persis

The Argead were the ruling family and founders of Macedonia who reached their greatest extent under Alexander the Great and his two successors before the kingdom broke up into several Hellenic sections. Following Alexander's conquest of central and eastern Persia in 331-328 BC, the Greek empire ruled the region until Alexander's death in 323 BC and the subsequent regency period which ended in 310 BC. Alexander's successors held no real power, being mere figureheads for the generals who really held control of Alexander's empire. Following that latter period and during the course of several wars, Persia was left in the hands of the Seleucid empire from 305 BC.

(Additional information from External Links : Encyclopćdia Britannica , and Appian's History of Rome: The Syrian Wars at Livius.org .)

330 - 323 BC

Alexander III the Great

King of Macedonia . Conquered Persia .

323 - 317 BC

Philip III Arrhidaeus

Feeble-minded half-brother of Alexander the Great.

317 - 310 BC

Alexander IV of Macedonia

Infant son of Alexander the Great and Roxana.

324 BC

Alexander holds an event in Susiana which has become known as the 'Susa Weddings'. His intention is to unite Persians and Macedonians symbolically by carrying out a mass joining of prospective couples in a single ceremony. He takes a Persian wife himself and arranges many Persian wives for his officers. Persian custom allows multiple wives, so the fact that Alexander is already married to Roxana of Sogdiana is not a hindrance. His second wife is Stateira II, eldest daughter of the late Darius. Alexander may also have taken a third wife at the same ceremony, Parysatis, youngest daughter of Artaxerxes III (the late great-uncle of Darius and a former Persian king in his own right).

Map of Central Asia & Eastern Mediterranean 334-323 BC
The route of Alexander's ongoing campaigns are shown in this map, with them leading him from Europe to Egypt, into Persia, and across the vastness of eastern Iran as far as the Pamir mountain range (click or tap on map to view full sized)

Following Alexander's premature death in 323 BC, Roxana murders Stateira, and possibly her sister, primarily to remove competition in the succession. All of the surviving Macedonian officers also divorce their own Persian wives, ending any pretence at Macedonian-Persian unity.

323 - 320? BC

The administration of the former Persian empire is replaced by a Greek one, although in some cases the previous post holders are allowed to remain in office. The Parthian satrapy is governed by the Greek general, Phrataphernes, Babylonia and northern Mesopotamia by Arcesilas and Archon, and Susiana by Antigenes, while the other provinces each receive their own satraps.

323 - 320 BC

Peucestas

Greek satrap of Persis.

320 - 305 BC

Alexander's general, Seleucus, governs Persia during the period of the Wars of the Diadochi , although the Empire of Antigonus captures areas of his rule between 315-312 BC.

315 - 312 BC

Eumenes is defeated in Asia and is murdered by his own troops, and Seleucus is forced to flee Babylon by Antigonus. The result is that Cassander controls the European territories (including Macedonia ), while the Empire of Antigonus controls those in Asia (Asia Minor, centred on Phrygia and extending as far as Susiana ), and also temporarily some of the eastern territories, including Aria , Drangiana , and Parthia , where Stasander is removed from office and replaced by Euitus.

305 BC

The Fourth War of the Diadochi sees Media and Persia ruled by the Hellenic Seleucid empire from Babylon and then Antioch, in Syria . The satraps of Media and Persia or Persis (the region as opposed to the former empire) answer directly to the Seleucid ruler, although precisely how much control is wielded from Antioch is unclear. In essence the satraps in the eastern regions operate as they see fit, within certain limits.

256 BC

Index of Greek Satraps Andragoras, the Greek satrap of Parthia , declares independence from Seleucid Greek rule at the same time as Bactria .

? ? - 220 BC

Alexander

Seleucid satrap of Persis. Brother of Molon of Media .

223 - 221 BC

Antiochus III sets about rebuilding the Seleucid empire which is shown to be very weak at this time. Media and Persis immediately stage a joint rebellion in 223 BC under their satraps, the brothers Molon and Alexander. Ill-advised in the matter, Antiochus sends generals east to deal with them while he embarks on a farcical attack on Egypt to regain lost territory in the south. Both campaigns end in utter defeat. In the north, Achaeus, Antiochus' cousin, records the only immediate success by forcing Pergamum back to its original borders.

Antiochus deals personally with the eastern rebellion in 221 BC. It collapses in the face of his advance, with Molon's forces deserting him. Lesser Media under another rebel, Artabazanes, also buckles and Atropatene in north-western Media is captured.

206 - 205 BC

Seleucid ruler Antiochus III returns from his expedition into the eastern regions by passing through the provinces of Arachosia , Drangiana , and Carmania . He arrives in Persis in 205 BC and receives tribute of five hundred talents of silver from the citizens of Gerrha, a mercantile state on the east coast of the Persian Gulf. Having re-established a strong Seleucid presence in the east which includes an array of vassal states, Antiochus now adopts the ancient Achaemenid title of 'great king', which the Greeks copy by referring to him as 'Basileus Megas'.

164 BC

The Arsacids have been gradually extending their control over the eastern lands of former Persia, and Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV now campaigns against them. He recovers lost income from the region and forces the defector, Artaxias of Armenia , to recognise his suzerainty. Then he founds the city of Antioch on the Persian Gulf, sets out on an expedition to the Arabian coast and, at the end of 164 BC, dies of illness at Tabae (or Gabae, probably modern Isfahan) in Persis.

c.AD 213 - 216

After perhaps five-or-so years of relative peace Parthian king Vologeses has to fight his younger brother, Artabanus in yet another royal rebellion. In AD 216, Rome 's Emperor Caracalla asks Artabanus for the hand of his daughter in marriage, in itself clear evidence of the fact that the latter is then regarded as being the ruling monarch, even though the coinage of Vologeses continues to appear in Seleucia until at least 221/2. It would seem that Vologeses is ousted from the heartland of Parthian territory by his brother, but is still strong enough to secure a rival kingdom at Seleucia.

The fractured Parthian empire is breaking down now. With the claim to rule it already dividing the empire in two on official lines, other minor kingdoms have already started emerging or will soon do so. For the moment they probably acknowledge Parthian overlordship in name, but essentially they are probably all but independent states in their own right. At least two are known - Margiana (ruled by one Ardashir) and Persis (ruled by one Papak of the Sassanids ).

Sassanid Persia (Ērānšahr)
AD 224 - 642

A nobleman from the Iranian Highlands named Ardashir or Ardašīr began around AD 220 to subjugate territories within the Parthian empire, both near and further afield. He overthrew the regional control of his masters in AD 224 and became master of the lands of the former Persian empire, although these were much reduced from the days of their glory. Still, the Sassanid empire (or Sasanid or Sasanian) still managed to incorporate a large part of eastern Iran. Ardashir's relationship to the founder of the dynasty is unknown, especially as records covering this period in Iran are conflicting and somewhat sketchy. Some sources claim Sassa as the father of Papak, but he may easily have been a rival or more distant relative.

The terms 'Eranshahr' and 'Eran' were used in Sassanid Iran. Early kings, Ardashir I and Shapur I, used the older Indo-Iranian word 'ērān' which in Parthian was 'aryān', as part of their titles. Essentially they were styling themselves as 'king of the Aryan kings', referring to all of the Indo-Iranian lands under their control which contained a large number of groups and tribes (see the Indo-Iranian introduction for an explanation of the meaning of 'aryan'). Shapur I also introduced a contemporary Middle Persian version of ērān which was shown on his Ka'ba-ye Zartosht inscription at Fars as 'Ērānšahr'. In Middle Persian and Parthian this translates as 'I am the lord of the kingdom of the Aryans' (which could be used to refer to all of the lands that had previously been conquered by the Achaemenid empire). The Greek version replaces 'kingdom' with 'nation', which certainly seems to cover all Indo-Iranians. Ērānšahr was quickly adopted by later kings to refer to the Sassanid empire as a whole, the 'empire of the Iranians'.

In the east, the Sassanids quickly conquered a great swathe of territory. Over a large part of it they established a buffer state which was governed by the Kushanshahs , apparently a cadet branch of the Sassanid imperial family. The Kushanshah rulers bore names that closely resemble the type used by the Sassanid main house itself, but dating for the Kushanshahs is very approximate. Their territory, however, certainly informed the senior Sassanids via cultural production from at least the reign of Shapur II (309-379). The title of kay was adopted by them from the east, although it already had firmly established origins as kai in what had once been the eastern Indo-Iranian domain of Turan and amongst the early Persians in Iran.

(Additional information by Sina Heravi and Edward Dawson, and from The Origin of the Turks and the Turkish Khanate , Gao Yang (Tenth Türk Tarih Kongresi, Ankara 1986), from Türkiye halkının kültür kökenleri: Giriş, beslenme teknikleri , Burhan Oğuz (1976), from The Turks in World History , Carter Vaughin Findley (Oxford University Press 2005), from The Origins of Northern China's Ethnicities , Zhu Xueyuan (Beijing 2004), from Ethnogenesis in the tribal zone: The Shaping of the Turks , Peter Benjamin Golden (2005), from The History of the Medieval World: From the Conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade , Susan Wise Bauer (2010), from The Parthian and Early Sasanian Empires: Adaptation and Expansion , Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis, Michael Alram, Touraj Daryaee, & Elizabeth Pendleton (Eds), from Nomadism in Iran: From Antiquity to the Modern Era , Daniel T Potts (Oxford University Press, 2014), from King of the Seven Climes: A History of the Ancient Iranian World (3000 BCE - 651 CE) , Khodadad Rezakhani (Touraj Daryaee, Ed, Ancient Iran Series Vol IV, 2017), from The Fragmentary Classicising Historians of the Later Roman Empire , RC Blockley (Francis Cairns, Oxford, 1983), from Zāwulistān, Kāwulistān and the Land of Bosi , Domenico Agostini & Sören Stark ( Studia Iranica , Tome 45, Fascicule 1, 2016), and from External Links : University of Leicester , Listverse , and the Encyclopaedia Iranica , and The History of Ancient Iran , Richard Nelson Frye (1983), and The Cambridge History of Iran Vol 4 , Richard Nelson Frye (Ed, 1975), and The Seven Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World, Vol 7: The Sassanian or New Persian Empire , George Rawlinson (1875, now available via Project Gutenberg), and The Sasanian Empire (AD 224-651) , Blair Fowlkes-Childs (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), and Bactrian Chronology (SOAS, University of London).)

? ?

Sassa / Sassan

? ? - 208

Papak / Babak / Pāpağ

King of Persis, under nominal Parthian suzerainty.

208 - 241

Ardashir I

Son. 아들. Governor of Persis. Shah from 224. Kushanshah (c.230).

210 210

Having been all but independent for some time, Carmania is currently ruled by one Balash (although he is sometimes equated with the Parthian King Vologeses). After subduing two of the five regions of Persis, Ardashir I now conquers Carmania (Kirman). He places one of his own sons in command of the province, another Ardashir, while his own fight against the Parthians continues.

223 223

The results of the SOAS's Bactrian chronology project are announced in 2008. The project has determined that the starting point of what is known in ancient documents as the 'Bactrian era', which has its own dating, is the foundation of the Sassanid dynasty in AD 223. In many cases, it is now possible to calculate the exact year of a Bactrian era document, even down to the exact day on which a document was written (simply add 223 to the Bactrian era date).

224 224

Equally independent at this time is Margiana , is currently ruled by one Ardashir who is to be differentiated from Ardashir I of the Sassanids. Following the Sassanid victory over the Parthians at the Battle of Hormozdgān, the Sassanids have become the great power in Persian lands. Ardashir of Margiana now submits to Ardashir I, but is permitted to continue minting his own coinage for now, while the Sassanids are still consolidating their power.

c.230 - c.250

The end of Kushan King Vasudeva's reign in AD 207 apparently coincides with the beginning of the Sassanid invasion of north-western India , although the dating for the main invasion fits with Vashiska and his successor around 230-250. Perhaps there is a first, preliminary invasion followed by a much greater second.

The Kushans are toppled in former Arachosia , Aria , and Bactria (more recently better known as Tokharistan ) and are forced to accept Sassanid suzerainty, being replaced by Sassanid vassals known as the Kushanshahs or Indo-Sassanids. There is a split in Kushan rule, so that a separate, eastern section rules largely independently of the Sassanids, while some of the nobility remain in the west as Sassanid vassals. Even so, Kushan power still gradually wanes in India.

232 - 242

The Sassanids briefly take control of Harran .

238 - 252

Ardashir conquers Armenia and persecutes the Christians there.

241 - 272

Shapur I

Defeated and captured Roman Emperor Valerian in 260.

c.241

A high priest known as Kartir Hangirpe, or Karder, who serves to at least three of the early Sassanid rulers starting with Shapur, begins the process of persecuting non-Zoroastrians throughout the Persian domains. This persecution of religious minorities is ended under the accession of Narses.

c.245

In around this year, Shapur devolves direct rule around the area of Arachosia (within modern Afghanistan ) by creating a buffer state which is governed by the Kushanshahs .

256 256

The Sassanids capture the Roman fortress city of Dura in eastern Syria . Part of their efforts to take the fortress involves digging a deep mine under the city wall and a tower. The Romans tunnel from the other side to intercept them and a shaft is created around the intercept point. The precise outcome is unknown.

In the early 1900s, archaeologist Robert du Mesnil du Buisson discovers a pile of nineteen Roman bodies in the mines. only one Persian body is nearby. In 2009 Simon James of the University of Leicester theorises that the Persians hear the Romans digging and ignite a fire to meet them and the Romans open the shaft between the two mines, possibly to vent the smoke. Sulphur and bitumen is discovered in the mine, possibly making the Roman bodies the earliest victims of chemical warfare to be discovered.

듀라
The city of Dura-Europos had been founded in 300 BC by the Seleucid Greeks, seized by the Arsacids and then by the Romans, and was then destroyed almost six hundred years after its creation by a drawn-out border conflict between Rome and the Sassanids

James believes that the Persians deliberately throw these chemicals onto the fire to create deadly fumes, which become sulphuric acid in the lungs of their enemies. The one dead Persian soldier is probably the fire's starter and is unable to get out in time. once the smoke clears, the Persians quickly pile the bodies like a shield into the countermine and destroy it. Their mining efforts do not collapse the walls, but the Persians eventually get in anyway. They kill some of the residents and deport the rest to Persia. The Seleucid -founded Dura is abandoned forever.

c.260

The vassal kingdom of Margiana is formally annexed to the Sassanid crown by Shapur I. The name of the vassal king here is unknown (unless Ardashir is still alive). Now Shapur places his own son, Narseh, as governor of the province of Hind, Sagistan, and Turgistan. Margiana is part of this broad territory, falling within the Sagistan section which itself is named for the Saka groups which formerly dominated here.

This could also be the point at which Shapur seizes Sogdiana and makes it part of the empire. Much of it is occupied for a time (Marakanda, for instance (modern Samarkand), while part is occupied for a longer period (Bukhara especially). It seems that the new masters of Iran have, at the same time as Kushan power is on the wane, broken through a Kushan barrier that has until now isolated Sogdiana.

272 - 273

Hormizd I

Son. 아들. Not the same as Kushanshah Hormazd (c.270-c.295).

c.270s

A great shift occurs in Kushanshah authority under the rule of Hormazd I. While his early gold issues from Balkh refer to him as 'Hormazd, the Great Kushan King', later issues of gold denars from the same mint switch the king's title to 'Hormazd, the Great Kushan King of Kings'. The change in title is a significant change in Kushanshah political ideology, and perhaps a direct affront to the 'imperial' Sassanid line. It is safe to assume that during the time of Hormazd I, the Kushanshahs assume a new level of independence from the main Sassanid line. Hormazd's successor is someone who may later be a Sassanid king himself, signifying - perhaps - a re-imposition of more direct Sassanid control over the east.

272 - 276

Bahram / Varahran / Wahrām I

Brother.

276 - 293

Bahram / Wahrām II

Son. 아들.

c.280s/290s

The Sassanids build a wall from the southern coast of the Caspian Sea to the mountains near the city of Gorgon in Hyrcania (modern Gonbad-e-Kavus), The wall is named the Qizil-Alan (although later generations refer to it as Alexander's Wall), and it seems to be designed to prevent Alani penetration into Persia via the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea.

293 293

Bahram / Wahrām III

Son. 아들.

294 - 302

Narses / Nerseh / Narseh

Uncle. Defeated by Rome in 298.

296 296

The Sassanids regain Harran and make it a permanent possession. Around this time they seemingly 'overthrow' the Sakas too, although this seems to be more of a check of Saka power which is already beginning to fade.

302 - 309

Hormizd II

Son. 아들. Probably the former Kushanshah (c.295-c.300).

309 - 379

Shapur II

Son. 아들.

325 325

To prevent the territory which later forms Afghanistan from drifting entirely towards separatism, Shapur assumes direct control of the southern areas while the Kushanshahs continue to rule in the north.

359 359

Having only recently been enlarged and strengthened by Constantius II, the Roman frontier city of Amida is besieged by Shapur II now that he has recovered from some brutal fighting against the invading Xionites in eastern Iran. A treaty has been agreed with them which leaves the eastern section of the empire in temporary peace. Amida is captured by the Sassanids after seventy-three days with, it seems, Xionite help (presumably Kidarites , the first of the Xionites to come into contact with the Sassanids). This is not merely in the form of captured warriors forced to fight for a new master but as allied units under the command of a 'King of the Chionitae' known as Grumbates.

c.375

There is no evidence of any Kushans after Kipunada. Having been subjugated by the Gupta kings, the rump eastern Kushan state is soon conquered by the invading Kidarites . They, in turn, claim to be the rightful successors of the Kushans and Kushanshahs . Any possible survivors in the west are probably displaced by the Hephthalites . This is the next wave of barbarians to invade the territory of the Kushanshahs to conquer former Bactria and Gandhara and form their own kingdom.

379 - 383

Ardashir II

383 - 388

Shapur III

387 387

Persia and Rome partition Armenia between them, with Persia gaining the eastern half.

388 - 399

Bahram / Wahrām IV

c.390

Bactrian legends on the Kidarite coins issued around this period declare them to represent the 'King of the Kushan'. The Kidarites consider themselves to be the continuation of rule by Kushans and Kushanshahs . A coin type which shows the king in frontal view and wearing a crown with ram's horn has a legend in Brahmi declaring the authority to be 'Sa Piroysa', meaning 'King Peroz'. This is most likely the Peroz III of Gandhara , the potential rival to Sassanid rule.

399 - 421

Yazdagird I

Assassinated.

c.410

Map Sassanid control of Tokharistan (former Bactria ) and Arachosia is ended by the Hephthalites , who establish a kingdom of their own (see map link, right, for more on the origins of the Hephthalites and Kidarites ).

421 - 439

Bahram / Wahrām V 'Bahram Gor'

Son. 아들.

c.421 - 427

While Bahram has been occupied by the fighting against Rome , the Kidarites and Hephthalites invade and occupy Sassanid territory in eastern Iran, with the Hephthalites at least occupying Merv (precise details are typically lacking). Having agree peace terms with Rome in 422, Bahram quickly assembles a fresh army to take east. Merv, the capital of Margiana , is captured and the Hephthalite ruler is killed. The Sassanid eastern frontier is fully secure by 427 and a pillar of thanks is erected on the banks of the Amy Darya - the northern limits of Sassanid control.

439 - 457

Yazdagird II

457 - 459

Hormizd III

Son. 아들. Seized throne. Opposed by his brother. Captured. 캡처되었습니다.

457 - 459

The death of Yazdagird allows his younger son to seize the throne ahead of the rightful heir, Peroz. The latter is occupying the position of governor in Sakastan at the time, and instantly seeks the protection of the Hephthalites . Their king, Khushnavaz, is happy to take advantage of Sassanid disunity. Other support comes from the House of Mihran which has already provided the Chosroid kings of Caucasian Iberia , and Peroz is soon able to capture Hormizd. Taloqan is ceded to Khushnavaz in thanks, expanding Hephthalite domains westwards by an extra province.

Hephthalite coins
Shown here are both sides of a silver drachm which was issued by the Hephthalites and which imitated issuances of the powerful but unlucky Sassasnid Shah Peroz

459 - 484

Peroz

Brother. Killed by Hephthalites .

c.467

Oguric-speaking tribes have recently been pushed out of the Kazakh steppe by the Sabirs due to population pressures from farther east and a domino effect of tribal movement in a westwards direction. Now they make their presence felt on the Pontic-Caspian steppe. The Saragurs attack the Akatirs and other tribes that had been part of the Hunnic union. Then, perhaps prompted by the Eastern Roman empire, the Ogurics raid Sassanid-held Transcaucasia, ravaging the Georgian kingdoms of Egrisi and Iberia and also Armenia while on their way southwards.

467/468

It is Priscus who reports the name of the current Kidarite king as Kunkhas (see Brockley for details). With the Sassanids suffering a seven year famine between 464-471 and unable to launch a serious military offensive, the Kidarites cease making tribute payments. Then both Kunkhas and Shah Peroz attempt diplomacy through trickery until the latter is finally able to go on the attack, possibly motivated by the help rendered to him by the Hephthalites when fighting for his crown against his brother, Hormuzd III. The Kidarites are permanently driven out, finding refuge in Gandhara . The Sassanids may temporarily control the region but it is soon a Hephthalite possession.

469 469

The Hephthalites apparently betray the trust of Shah Peroz by seizing the Bactrian capital of Bactra which has so recently been restored from Kidarite rule. This triggers the First Sassanid-Hephthalite War , but it does not go well for Peroz. The Sassanids are badly mauled at the third battle in this conflict and Peroz is captured by the Hephthalites. He is forced to pay a hefty ransom to ensure his release.

481 481

A Second Sassanid-Hephthalite War is launched by Peroz, with Vakhtang I Gorgasil of Chosroid Iberia in support. Initially successful by chasing the Hephthalites out of Bactra, the war ends in the capture (again) of Peroz, with him agreeing to the payment of thirty mule packs of silver drachms as a ransom, parts of which he pays through imposing a poll tax. To meet the rest of the demanded sum he leaves his son Kavad as a hostage with the Hephthalites, along with a daughter and the chief priest.

484 484

Peroz again chases the Hephthalites out of Bactra and towards Arion in Aria (Alexandria Ariana, modern Herat). Along the way he destroys the tower built by Bahram V which marks the border between Sassanid and Hephthalite. on the other side of the border, Khushnavaz sets a trap into which Peroz falls (literally - the trap being a deep ditch), along with around thirty of his sons and about 100,000 troops. Their bodies are never recovered by the Sassanids. The eastern empire is overrun and is largely occupied by the Hephthalites until their final fall - this includes regions such as Margiana , with the Hephthalites setting up puppet governors there. In Kabulistan and Zabulistan the Nezak are able to create their own semi-independent dynasty.

Map of Central Asia and India AD 500
By the late 400s the eastern sections of the Sassanid empire had been overrun and to an extent occupied by the Hephthalites (Xionites) after they had killed Shah Peroz (click or tap on map to view full sized)

484 - 488

Valash / Balash

Brother of Peroz. Installed to restore control. Failed & removed.

488 - 496

Kavad I

Son of Peroz.

496 - 498

Zamasp

498 - 531

Kavad I

Restored.

c.520

Around this time it has been claimed that 'some Turk tribes arrive from Asia' and aid the Sassanids in the eventual overthrow of the Hephthalites . If this is accurate then these are amongst the earliest Turks to be seen outside Xinjiang and the Altai Mountains to which they have only recently migrated. These Turks are almost certainly members of the Türük people, the pre-imperial Göktürks .

The significant setbacks experienced by the Sassanids in the latter part of the fifth century - directly caused by the Hephthalites - are a prime motivator for reforms that are undertaken by Kavad and Khosrow I. Most significantly, the creation of four major defensive, and presumably administrative, zones in the Sassanid administration is a direct response to the inefficiency of centralised defence. The north-east and east of the empire are entrusted to an Ispahbed of Khwarasan (Khwarasan being Chorasmia , while this is the first time that 'Ispahbed' appears in history, meaning an army chief).

531 - 579

Khusro I / Chrosroes / Khosrau / Khosrow

Son of Kavad(h).

c.550s

Shortly after the end of the Guptas as a political power in India, the Sassanids make some conquests there. During the same decade, the Western khagans expand their dominion towards Chorasmia and Sogdiana , right up against the borders of Persia's eastern territories.

560s

A people, country, and town with the name in later Arab sources of Belendzher or Balandzhar is mentioned for the first time by the Arab historian at-Tabari in connection with events from the 560s. Sassanid-controlled Armenia is invaded by four peoples - 'abkhaz', 'b-ndzh-r' (Bandzhar), 'bl-ndzh-r' (Balandzhar), and the Alani .

565 565

The Hephthalites are defeated in former Kushanshah territory (in what later becomes Afghanistan ) by an alliance of Göktürks and the Sassanids. Following a great battle near Bukhara , a level of Indo-Sassanid authority is re-established in the region, but the Western Göktürks set up rival states in Bamiyan, Kabul , and Kapisa under the authority of the viceroy in Tokharistan , strengthening their hold on the Silk Road.

Map of Central Asia AD 550-600
As was often the case with Central Asian states that had been created by horse-borne warriors on the sweeping steppelands, the Göktürk khaganate swiftly incorporated a vast stretch of territory in its westwards expansion, whilst being hemmed in by the powerful Chinese dynasties to the south-east and Siberia's uninviting tundra to the north (click or tap on map to view full sized)

The expansionist policy being followed by the Western Göktürks later sees them again cross the Amu Darya, where they come into conflict with their former allies, the Sassanids. Much of Tokharistan (former Bactria , including Balkh) remains a Göktürk dependency until the end of the century.

579 - 590

Hormizd IV

587/8

Nestorian (Christian) bishops from Harev travel to the Sassanid capital of Ctesiphon to attend the synod of Ishoyahb I (during the reign Hormizd IV). In the same year, Harev ( Aria ) is invaded by Bagha İşbara of the eastern Göktürks (who is known as Šāwa, Sāva (Sava), or Sāba (Saba) in medieval Iranian sources). His forces are exaggerated to 300,000 men but he is defeated and killed by Hormizd IV's military commander, Bahram Chobin.

588 - 589

The Göktürk khagan, Çur Bagha, leads his Hephthalite vassals into the First Perso-Turkic War by invading Sassanid territory. The invasion has been threatening for several years as these former allies vied for regional power in the hinterland between their two empires. A senior Sassanid army commander by the name of Bahram Chobin (later to be enthroned as Bahram VI) leads an army of hand-picked Savaran elite troops to ambush a large army of Turks and Hephthalites in April 588, at the Battle of Hyrcanian Rock. Another attack in 589 captures Balkh. Then he crosses Oxus and repulses the Turkic invasion, capturing Hephthalite territory which had been occupied by the Turks. Çur Bagha is killed during this fight.

590 - 591

Bahram / Wahrām VI

Usurped throne. Formerly army commander Bahram Chobin.

591 - 628

Khusro II

Overthrown and executed by his son.

607 - 616

The Sassanids invade and conquer Byzantine Syria , Egypt and Asia Minor.

623 - 628

Now allied with the Western Göktürks , Heraclius attacks the Sassanids as part of the Third Perso-Turkic War (627-630) to regain territory for the Byzantine empire which includes Syria and Palestine - lost for a decade. The defeated Khusro is overthrown by his own nobles and the Sassanids Armenia in the process.

628 628

Kavad II

Son. 아들.

628 - 629

Ardashir III

629 - 630

Boran

630 630

Shahrbaraz

A title, not a name. Killed by his own nobles after 40 days.

630 - 632

Hormizd V

630 - 632

Khusro III

Nephew of Khusro II. Assassinated.

632 - 651

Yazdagird III

637 - 651

Mesopotamia is lost to the Arabs in 637. The Sassanids are defeated at the Battle of Nahāvand by Caliph Umar in 642. Persia is overrun by Islam by 651. Retreating into Margiana , Yazdagird finds few allies and is forced to retreat again. Organising a hurried alliance with the Hephthalites , he advances back towards Margiana, only to be defeated at the Battle of the Oxus. Yazdagird takes refuge in a mill where the owner kills him while his family flee to Tokharistan . There they intermarry with the locals and eventually produce a Yamanid dynasty in the Afghan city of Ghazni. They may also form an ancestral base for the later Shansabani clan in Afghanistan.

651 - 662

Yazdagird's son and heir-apparent, Peroz (Pērōz), is one of those who flees eastwards. He reaches the yabgu , the Göktürk viceroy in Tokharistan . From there he soon turns for support to the Tang court. The date of his first embassy to the Tang is before 661, before the formal submission of the yabgu to the Tang after the downfall of the western Göktürks. A second embassy is received shortly after April 661.

As a result of the 661 embassy, during the largely nominal reorganisation of the former Göktürk dominions into 'area commands' by the Tang in the same year, Peroz is appointed head of the 'Persia area command' which exists on paper only, with a seat that is claimed to be in Zaranj in Sakastan . Finally, in 662, Peroz is formally invested as 'king of Bosi' by the Tang.

665 - c.706

Increasingly frequent embassies sent by Peroz between 665-671 show his increasing desperation at being able to hold back the encroaching Islamic armies in Sakastan . By 673-675 his position has become untenable and he flees to the Tang court. In 679 his son, Narse, returns west to Tokharistan until about 705-706. He may be coordinating his efforts with the kingdoms of Kabulistan and Zabulistan, which staunchly resist the Islamic advance for a century.

651 - 945

Persia is conquered by the Islamic empire and remains under its control until the Buwayid amirs seize power. By 821, the eastern Persian lands are governed by the Tahirids .

c.900 - 1000

A large area of eastern Persia falls under the control of the Samanid emirate.

The Buwayid (Buyid) Amirs of Iraq
AD 945 - 1055

Although they failed to gain control of much of eastern Persia from the Samanid emirate, based in the Transoxiana region, the Buwayids took over in the west and in Mesopotamia (and seemingly also in the nearer eastern provinces such as Carmania ).

The Buwayids were Shiite princes of a Deylamite Persian tribal confederation from the shores of the Caspian Sea who dominated the Abbasid Caliphs for a century in Mesopotamia and south-western Persia, reducing the caliph to little more than a figurehead. The Buwayids were notable for being Iranian natives of what would layer be known as Iran, a marked difference from just about all ruling dynasties between the Islamic invasion of the seventh century and the Timurids of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

They also eventually contributed to a weakening of the Samanids. Although they fostered a flourishing of Shiite scholarship and theology, they never tried to suppress the Orthodox caliphs altogether, so the Abbasids continued to exercise their minimal religious authority under the regime. Nevertheless, the caliphs and the Orthodox were not too happy about this and so, at least initially, they welcomed the coming of the Orthodox Seljuqs who overthrew the Buwayids.

(Additional information from Al-Hind: The Making of the Indo-Islamic World , Vol 2, André Wink (Brill, 2002).)

945 - 967

Ahmad ibn Buya

967 - 978

Bakhtiyar

978 - 983

Fana Khusraw

983 - 987

Marzuban

987 - 989

Shirzil I

989 - 1012

Firuz

995 995

Khwarazm achieves independence from Persia.

999 - 1000

Thanks to pressure from the Buwayids and their allies, the Karakhanids, the Samanids decline in eastern Persia, and a revolt by the Afghan Ghaznavids sees them conquered and their territory captured.

1012 - 1021

Abu Shuja

1021 - 1025

Hasan

1025 - 1044

Shirzil II

1044 - 1048

Marzuban

1048 - 1055

Khusraw Firuz

1055 1055

The Buwayid amirs are defeated by Tughril-Beg of the Seljuq Turks when he conquers Baghdad. With the Buwayids using the Abbasid caliph as the titular head of their empire, the Seljuqs continue the practice.

Seljuq Dynasty / Great Sultans
AD 1055 - 1194

Originating from Mongolia, the Seljuq Turks (or Seljuk) were part of a larger wave of Turkic tribes which erupted from the Asian Steppes above the Volga, north of the Caspian Sea, invading Persia and Mesopotamia from 1021 onwards.

(Additional information from Al-Hind: The Making of the Indo-Islamic World , Vol 2, André Wink (Brill, 2002).)

c.990

Seljuk / Seljuq

Dynasty Founder.

c.1020 - 1037

Alp Arslan ('Lion')

Son. 아들. Led Transoxianian invasion.

1037 - c.1060

Chagri-Beg

Ruled Khorasan . Nephew of Arslan.

1037 - 1063

Tughril-Beg

Nephew of Arslan.

1040 - 1046

Tughril-Beg defeats the Afghan Ghaznavids in 1040 and takes control of western Ghaznavid territories, including Khwarazm and Seistan . Between 1041-1046 he establishes his rule over Isfahan. From 1044-1055 he invades Armenia and takes Baghdad. He restores the Abbasid Caliph and is created sultan of Persia.

1059 1059

Zahir-ud-Dawlah Ibrahim re-establishes a truncated Ghaznavid empire after the unstable two decades preceding his rule. He agrees peace terms with the Seljuqs and restores cultural and political links, although apparently is not able to restore Ghaznavid dominance of Seistan . However, the empire is increasingly sustained by riches gained in raids across northern India , and the Rajput rulers there offer stiff resistance.

1063 - 1072

Alp Arslan ('Heroic Lion')

Son of Chagri. Won the power struggle.

1071 1071

By 1071 a splinter group of Seljuqs has defeated the Byzantines to create a ruling dynasty in Anatolia which is initially subservient to the Persian Seljuqs. Jerusalem is also conquered. The leader of this group, Kutulmush, vies for power with Alp Arslan.

Seljuq cavalry
A stone relief of Seljuq cavalry, which swept through Persia, northern Mesopotamia, Syria, and Anatolia in the eleventh century

1072 - 1092

Malik Shah I

Son. 아들. Also sultan of Aleppo . Died of unknown causes.

Rum becomes independent.

1076 - 1078

Turkic invasions see Syria conquered fairly rapidly. Abaaq al-Khwarazmi is a general under the command of Malik Shah I, but Damascus quickly becomes the capital of a newly independent state (either an emirate or the more grand sultanate) under the general, making him the first Seljuq to gain independence from his overlord. Following his short reign, Malik Shah's brother, Tutush, succeeds him in Damascus, and it is he who captures the rest of Syria from Malik Shah, becoming sultan of Aleppo .

1092 - 1094

Mahmud I 마흐무드 전

1094 - 1105

Berk Yaruq (Barkiyaruq)

1096 1096

Before the forces of the First Crusade are ready to depart, Peter the Hermit leads, against all good advice, a motley band of civilians and soldiers into Anatolia. They are almost wiped out in a running battle with Seljuq Turks at Civetot. By the middle of the year, the main force is ready to leave the Byzantine capital of Constantinople, and the Crusades begin in earnest.

1098 - 1099

The First Crusade finds a divided Islamic empire governed by the Seljuq Turks , and quickly and forcefully carves a large swathe of territory out of it, with loses including Edessa (on the Euphrates), and Jerusalem . Rather than unite, the various local rulers all end their internecine squabbles and return home to defend their own domains.

1105 1105

Malik Shah II

1105 - 1118

Muhammad I Tapar

1118 - 1157

Ahmad Sanjar

Ruled Khwarazm (1097-1157) with a local governor in place.

1118 1118

The death of the Ghaznavid ruler, Masud, in 1115 had triggered a period of instability in his empire to the east. Now Bahram Shah wins the internecine fight with his brothers, but only as a vassal of the Seljuqs.

1127 1127

The sultan appoints the Zangid atabegs to govern recaptured eastern Edessa as part of Syria.

1146 1146

Upon the assassination of the Zangid atabeg at the hands of a slave, his sons divide the state between them, with Nur ad-Din gaining Aleppo and the elder Ghazi gaining Mosul (although not until he has won support to ward off the threat of Ahmad Sanjar's son, Arslan Shah, being installed in Mosul). Breaking up the state into small rival principalities means that the Crusaders are able to recapture Edessa for two months in the immediate aftermath of the division.

1157 1157

Upon the death of Sanjar the Seljuq territories break up into several smaller states. The rump of Seljuq territory is Iraq, where they remained in power as the Khwarazm shahs conquer the rest of Persia.

1162 - 1163

A year after recapturing Seistan from the Seljuqs, the death of Sa'if ud-Din Muhammad appears to cause fractures within the Ghurid sultanate, with two rulers appearing, one each in Firuzkuh and Ghazni.

1118 - 1131

Mahmud II 마흐무드 II

Ruled Iraq.

1131 - 1132

Dawud

Ruled Iraq.

1132 - 1134

Tughril II

Ruled Iraq.

1134 - 1152

Masud

Ruled Iraq.

1152 - 1153

Malik Shah III

Ruled Iraq.

1153 - 1160

Muhammad II

Ruled Iraq.

1157 1157

The Great Sultanate breaks up.

1160 - 1161

Sulayman Shah

Ruled Iraq.

1161 - 1176

Arslan Shah

Ruled Iraq.

1176 - 1194

Tughril III

Ruled Iraq. Last Seljuq sultan. Died on the battlefield.

1194 - 1219

The Khwarazm emirate gains independence from the Persian Seljuq Turks by overthrowing them and occupying much of the rest of Greater Khorasan, including Seistan and the heartland of Persia itself.

1218 1218

Tiring of the Chinese campaign, Mongol Great Khan Chingiz sends his general, Chepe, westwards to overthrow the empire of the Qara-Khitaď and annexe its territory. This defeat also opens the way towards Mongol interaction with Khwarazm and Persia.

1219 - 1256

Following two attacks by the Mongols in 1219 and 1221 which secures eastern Persia for them, the Khwarazm shahs are finally conquered in 1231 and Persia is controlled directly by the Golden Horde until 1256. Then the descendents of Chingiz Khan divide up the Mongol empire. The Il-Khans control Persia.

Il-Khan Dynasty (Persia)
AD 1221 - 1336

In Transoxiana in 1219-1221 the Mongols attacked the Khwarazm emirate which controlled Persia, and finally overran it in 1221. When the descendents of Chingiz Khan divided up the Mongol empire, the Il-Khans (as they became known) inherited Persia, eastern Anatolia, and the bulk of now Il-Khan Khwarazm , ruling from Baghdad. While they did so, the Ottoman Turks focused on conquering and securing western Anatolia and Byzantine Greece. The rulers were known by their traditional Mongol title of khan.

The Il-Khanate was officially founded by Hulagu in 1260, following the death of Great Khan Mongke. It faired poorly at the start, struggling with relatively mundane issues such as the economy but also with an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Mameluke Bahris of Egypt . However, under Ghaza Il-Khan, the Il-Khanate regained its military superiority and began an economic recovery that continued until the reign of Abu Said. At its height, the khanate encompassed territory which included modern eastern Turkey , Iran , Iraq , the Transcaucus, and western Turkistan (an ill-defined region which included areas of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan ), which formed the border with Mughulistan .

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from Tamerlane and the symbolism of sovereignty , Beatrice Forbes Manz (Iranian Studies 21 (1-2), 1988), from The Mongol Empire: Genghis Khan: His Triumph and his Legacy , Peter Brent (Book Club Associates, 1976), from The Mongols: A Very Short Introduction , Morris Rossabi (Oxford University Press, 2012), and from the BBC documentary, The Secret History of Genghis Khan , broadcast 28 December 2011.)

1221 - 1256

Tolui

Son of Chingiz Khan. Held Khwarazm & Persia in his name.

1227 1227

The Mongol empire is effectively divided into four sections, or ulus (inheritances), each governed by one of the sons of Chingiz. They remain politically united under the great khan, but their existence establishes the basis of future independent Mongol kingdoms. Ogedei is the selected successor to Chingiz, and is officially proclaimed as such in 1229. While he and his successors still control the entire empire, they largely concentrate their attention on Mongolia and China . The rest is divided into three portions to be governed by the other sons of Chingiz. The north-western section is handed to Jochi and it is Jochi's son, Batu Khan, who inherits the westernmost section of this ulu as the Blue Horde , with Orda leading the eastern section as the White Horde (collectively known as the Golden Horde). Chagatai Khan (the second son) inherits Mughulistan , while Tolui governs Persia.

Hulegu Khan
Inheriting the Persian section of the Mongol empire through his father, Tolui, Hulegu Khan led the devastating attack which ended the Islamic caliphate at Baghdad, but he also brought the eastern Persian territories under his firm control (he is seen here with his wife)

1253 - 1256

Tolui's son, Hulegu, begins a campaign which sees him enter the Islamic lands of Mesopotamia on behalf of Great Khan Mongke. Ismailis (assassins) have been threatening the Mongol governors of the western provinces, so Mongke has determined that the Abbasid caliphs must be brought to heel. Hulegu takes Khwarazm , and quickly establishes dominion over Mosul , and Badr ad Din Lu'lu is allowed to retain governance of the city as he aids the Mongols in other campaigns in Syria .

1256 - 1265

Hulegu

Son. 아들. First Il-Khan ruler from 1259. Also in Khwarazm .

1258 1258

Despite being nominally dominated by the Mongols under the Great Khan Mongke, the actions in Syria and against Egypt of Sultan an Nasir II Yusuf of Damascus force a Mongol invasion of Mesopotamia. Mongke decides to conquer the region as far as the Nile and sends a vast force under Hulegu against Baghdad in 1258. The Abbasid caliph and his family are massacred when Yusuf fails to produce an army to defend them.

1260 1260

The Mongol army under Hulegu marches on Aleppo and it quickly falls (within a week). This time, most of the inhabitants are killed or sold into slavery and the Great Mosque and the defensive Citadel are razed. When the army arrives at Damascus the city surrenders immediately as Nasir II Yusuf has already fled to Gaza. Samaria is captured, with the garrison of Nablus being put to the sword, and Gaza is taken. Yusuf is captured and killed while a prisoner.

Hulegu withdraws from Syria once he learns of Great Khan Mongke's death, leaving behind a minor force. Baybars of Egypt sends a Mameluke army against this and defeats it at the Battle of Ain Jalut. Damascus is freed five days later and within a month most of Syria is in Baybars' hands. With the political climate in the Mongol empire becoming unstable, Hulegu settles in Persia as the first independent ruler of the Il-Khanate.

At Karakorum, there is disagreement about the choice of successor as great khan. The two claimants, Kublai Khan and Ariq-Boke, engage in civil war which lasts four years. During this period, Hulegu's slaughter of so many thousands of Muslims at Baghdad has enraged Berke Khan of the Blue Horde . War erupts between the two, with the side-effect that Berke is forced to cancel a planned invasion of Europe.

1262 1262

Rukn ad Din Ismail of Mosul sides with the Mamelukes against the Mongols , precipitating Mongol retribution. Mosul is destroyed by them and its surrounding territory is integrated into the Il-Khan dominions, ending Zangid rule of the region.

Mameluke troops
Mamelukes aided Shajar ad Durr in seizing the Ayyubid sultanate of Egypt and establishing a Mameluke sultanate with Aybak al Turkumani at its head

In the same year, following several battles between Alughu of the Chaghatayids , who has sided with Kublai Khan, and Orqina and one Masud Beg, who are fighting on the side of Ariq-Boke, the latter arranges peace negotiations between the two sides. Alughu then takes advantage of the unstable situation by revolting against Ariq-Boke's rule of the west and gaining the allegiance of the governors of Khwarazm . He also ends up marrying Orqina, and Masud Beg is appointed viceroy of Central Asia, probably with a seat in Transoxiana as the very governor that Alughu needs to support him. With a Chaghatayid governor in place in Khwarazm it seems likely that this is the point at which Il-Khan control there ends.

1265 - 1282

Abaqa / Abaga / Abagha Khan

Son. 아들.

1276/77

After regaining Seistan from the Kartids of Herat, enforcing his authority over several rebellious towns, and putting down a rebellion by his own chamberlain, the Mihrabanid malik of Seistan, Nasruddin, still finds that relations with the Il-Khans are rather rocky. Abaqa Khan now invades Seistan, but his army is met by Nasruddin's own veteran forces. The Mihrabanids successfully defend their territory.

1281 1281

The sultan of Egypt is faced with an invasion of Syria through Homs under the leadership of Abaqa Khan. The threat is overcome after the bloody Second Battle of Homs produces no clear outcome and Abaqa withdraws.

1282 - 1284

Ahmad Teguder / Tekuder

Brother.

1284 - 1291

Arghun

Son of Abaqa.

1291 - 1295

Gaykhatu

Brother.

1294 1294

With the death of Kublai Khan, the Yuan dynasty survives under his successor, but the Mongol empire effectively ceases to exist. There are no further Khakhans (great khans), and command of the empire's territory is now permanently divided into four distinct and fully independent kingdoms: the Golden Horde (made up of the Blue Horde and White Horde ), the Il-Khanate, Mughulistan , and Yuan China.

1295 1295

Baydu / Baidu

Cousin.

1295 - 1304

Mahmud Ghazan / Casanus

Son of Arghun. Led a golden age as Ghaza Il-Khan.

1295 1295

Following his accession, Mahmud Ghazan accepts Islam, marking a departure in the politics of Mongol Persia. From this point onwards, despite Ghazan maintaining strong links with the Yuan , the Il-Khanate becomes increasingly Islamicised, turning away from its Mongol origins.

Mongol horse warrior
The Mongols in China, such as this horse archer (a typical Mongol warrior) gradually became more and more Sinicised, and more distanced from their cousins in Central Asia

1299 - 1303

Mahmud Ghazan marches on Syria, taking Aleppo . He is joined there by his vassal, King Hethoum II of the kingdom of Lesser Armenia . Together they defeat the Mameluke Bahrids of Egypt and Damascus at the Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar on 23 or 24 December. The Bahrids are pushed back into Egypt and Damascus quickly falls to the invaders. The Il-Khans then withdraw, perhaps due to a lack of supplies. The attack is renewed in 1301, but it degenerates into a scattering of inconclusive battles and politicking. In the end, Ghazan's forces are defeated by the Mamelukes of Egypt at the Battle of Marj al-Saffar in April 1303 and withdraw, never to return.

1301 1301

Thanks to the support of Kaidu of Mughulistan for the opposing faction in the White Horde dynastic conflict, Buyan has won support both from Great Khan Temur and Mahmud Ghazan. Temur now organises a response against Kaidu, ending with the latter's defeat at the bloody Battle of the River Zawkhan. Kaidu dies shortly afterwards.

1304 - 1306

The Chaghatayids under Du'a and Chapar, son of Kaidu, the Golden Horde under Toqta, and the Il-Khanate under Mahmud Ghazan negotiate peace with Temur Khan so that trade and diplomatic relations are not harmed by constant bickering and fighting. The Yuan emperor is also accepted as the nominal overlord of the three junior Mongol states. As is customary (but not always observed in recent times), Temur designates Öljeytu as the new Il-Khan. Soon afterwards, the former allies Du'a and Chapar fall out over the territory they control within Mughulistan, so Temur backs the rightful ruler, Du'a, and sends a large army into the region in 1306, forcing Chapar to surrender.

1304 - 1316

Muhammad Khudabanda Öljeytu

Brother.

1316 - 1335

Abu Said Ala ad Dunya wa dDin

Son. 아들. No heir.

1335 1335

Abu Said is the last of the Il-Khans to be descended from Hulegu, the first Il-Khan ruler in 1256. His death in 1335 (or 1336) weakens the khanate, but the same date is sometimes used to mark the birth of a Turkic -Mongol by the name of Tîműr-i Lang (Tamerlane). This Chaghatayid prince will one day attempt to reform the Mongol empire as a Timurid possession, although his birth most likely takes place in the late 1320s.

Mongols of the Golden Horde
The Chaghatayids controlled a large swathe of Central Asia between the Great Khans to the east and the Il-Khans in thwe west, and they became increasingly involved in Central Asia's affairs

1335 - 1336

Arpa Keun

Married Sati Beg, sister of Abu Said. Captured and killed.

1335 - 1353

Almost immediately in 1335, Arpa Keun faces an invasion by the Golden Horde under Ozbeg Khan. This is defeated, but the following year he is attacked by Oirat 'Ali Padsah, the governor of Baghdad. Padsah defeats him on 10 April 1336 near Maraga and soon afterwards he is captured and killed. Oirat 'Ali Padsah immediately places an Il-Khan Puppet on the throne which he rules from Baghdad. This triggers a period in which several rival Mongol successor states, such as the Chobanids and the Jalayirids , jostle for control. The latter seize Baghdad and rule south-western Persia from there. The entire region undergoes a period of anarchy and civil war.

Il-Khan Post-Dynasty Puppets (Persia)
AD 1336 - 1357

The Il-Khan (or Ilkhan) dynasty was of Mongol origin. They had been based in the ancient city of Uruk in Mesopotamia since 1231, apparently giving the region a new name based on their capital - Iraq - although this is hotly disputed. one alternative put forward is that the name originates for the Persian word for lowlands, 'eraq'.

In 1336 Oirat 'Ali Padsah, the governor of Baghdad, attacked and killed Arpa Keun, the last Il-Khan. Padsah immediately placed a puppet on the throne which he ruled from Iraq, but the khanate broke up almost immediately with a period of anarchy and misrule hitting Persia as several Mongol successor states jostled for control. The main ones were the Jalayirids in south-western Persia and the Chobanids in north-western Persia. Many of the eastern subjects threw off Il-Khan domination and pursued their own ambitions, such as the Mihrabanids of Seistan and the Kartids of Herat. The Il-Khans found themselves contained in Iraq, under the domination of their successors. Few of them remained long on the throne and their claim appears to have died out after the little-known Ghazan II in 1357.

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from The Isma'ilis: Their History and Doctrines , Farhad Daftary, from The History of the Saffarids of Sistan and the Maliks of Nimruz , CE Bosworth (1994), from The Secret History of Iran , Hamad Subani, from EJ Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam 1913-1936 , Martijn Theodoor Houtsma (Brill, 1987), and from External Links : Encyclopaedia Britannica: Timur , and Encyclopaedia Iranica .)

1336 1336

Musa 무사

First Il-Khan puppet, of 'Ali Padsah of Baghdad. Fled.

1336 1336

Musa is the grandson of Baydu, and the great-great grandson of Hulegu, the second Il-Khan , but his right to the throne is challenged by the Jalayirid , Hasan Buzurg. Oirat 'Ali Padsah is killed and Musa flees after being defeated at the Battle of Qara Darra on 24 July 1336. Hasan Buzurg maintains his own puppet on the Il-Kahn throne, the child Muhammad Khan, a descendant of Hulegu.

Il-Khan Musa coin
Shown here are two sides of a rare coin that was issued during the brief 'reign' of Musa, a direct descendant of the powerful Il-Khan ruler, Hulegu, but himself a puppet

1337 - 1338

Muhammad Khan

Jalayirid puppet (south-western Persia). A child. 아이. Executed.

1338 - 1339

The Chobanid, Hasan Kucek, fights Hasan Buzurg and Muhammad at the Battle of Alataq on 16 July 1338, defeating them. Buzurg flees but Muhammad is captured and executed.

Sati Beg, the widow of the final ruling Il-Khan , Arpa Keun, had initially been a supporter of Hasan Buzurg, but when he is defeated by Kucek, Sati Beg's own step-grandson, she defects. She is raised to the throne as a figurehead, although her authority does not extend beyond the Chobanid borders. Kucek grows suspicious of her by 1339 so he deposes her and marries her to his next candidate for the throne, Suleiman Khan.

1338 - 1339

Sati Beg

Chobanid figurehead (north-western Persia). Died after 1345.

1339 1339

Togha Temur

Jalayirid puppet who briefly interrupted Chobanid superiority.

1339 - 1343

Suleiman Khan / Sulayman

Chobanid puppet. m Sati Beg. Claimed title until 1345.

1339 - 1340

Following the withdrawal of Jalayirid support from Togha Temur, the next candidate put forward by Hasan Buzurg of the Jalayirids is Jahan Temur. He and Buzurg meet the Chobanids in battle on the Jaghatu in 1340 and are defeated. Buzurg gives up on the idea of puppet claimants to the throne and now establishes his own Jalayirid Sultanate in Baghdad.

1339 - 1340

Jahan Temur

Grandson of Gaykhatu. Jalayirid puppet. Defeated in battle.

1341 - 1343

Suleiman Khan is also recognised by the Sarbadars in western Khorasan as they attempt to begin an alliance with the Chobanids. However, when Hasan Kucek of the Chobanids is murdered in 1343, Suleiman appeals to Hasan Buzurg of the Jalayirids to intervene in the ensuing Chobanid succession struggle, Both claimants, together with Suleiman, are forced to flee to Diyarbakr, where Suleiman maintains his claim until 1345. The Chobanids renew their control of the Il-Khans.

Anushirwan coin
A relatively obscure Il-Khan puppet, Anushirwan may have been a minor member of the family when he was raised to the throne as the Chobanid puppet in 1343, but he survived there for a remarkable thirteen years with coins being minted in his name

1343 - 1356

Anushirwan

Origins obscure. Chobanid puppet.

1356 - 1357

Ghazan II

Known only through numismatic evidence.

1357 - 1401

The Il-Khans collapse even as a puppet 'dynasty'. As a result the Mihrabanids of Seistan gain independence by default and manage to hold onto it for almost half a century. Southern and eastern Persia and Iraq are controlled directly by the Jalayirids until 1401, when Iraq becomes a province of the Timurids after their founder, Timur, conquers Baghdad - the last of a series of conquests which gives him all of Persia.

Timurid Dynasty (Persia)
AD 1384 - 1500

The great eastern imperial lands of ancient Persia were the location for a long period of unrest between about 1336-1387. In the west, the surviving Il-Khans were being used as puppets by the Chobanids and the Jalayirids for the right to claim control of all of Persia. In the east Chaghatayid khans were attempting to quell the various tribes and cities of Transoxiana but were eventually unsuccessful, despite two invasions of the region in the 1360s. The death of their khan ended Chaghatayid hopes of restoring control of western Mughulistan which included Transoxiana. Instead, two tribal leaders, Amir Husayn and Tîműr-i Lang (Timur) contested for control of Transoxiana.

The latter was ultimately successful, taking Transoxiana and Greater Khorasan (with its focus on Samarkand at this time) in the name of the Chaghatyids. In effect, though, he was forming his own Timurid khanate. Samarkand fell to him in 1366, Balikh in 1369, and Timur was recognised as the region's ruler in 1370. He placed a figurehead Mongol on the throne to legitimise his rule there while he governed from behind the throne as amir and his increasingly Persian and Turkic -influenced Timurid descendants succeeded him. His rise to power may also have been the trigger which sparked Shaibanid expansion around Bukhara.

Timur extended his new-found empire by taking southern and western Persia from 1380. He entered Persia proper in 1382 and an ambitious attack on the Chobanids and the disputed Caucuses region by the Golden Horde allowed Timur to fill the power vacuum and found his own Timurid dynasty. At its height, Timurid Persia governed all the territory between the eastern edge of the Black Sea, down through Mesopotamia and Iran, eastwards to the Aral Sea, through Samarkand, and halfway into modern Pakistan . However, so many people were killed by his wars (estimated by some to have reached seventeen million), that the seat of Persian culture and influence moved further east, to Samarkand.

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from Timurids , The Columbia Encyclopaedia (Sixth Ed, Columbia University), from The Encyclopaedia of War: Timur ('the Lame') (1336-1405) , Timothy May, from The Art of War: Great Commanders of the Ancient from Medieval World: Tamerlane , Justin Marozzi (Andrew Roberts, Ed, Quercus Military History, 2008), from Tamerlane and the symbolism of sovereignty , Beatrice Forbes Manz (Iranian Studies 21 (1-2), 1988), from The Secret History of Iran , Hamad Subani, from EJ Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam 1913-1936 , Martijn Theodoor Houtsma (Brill, 1987), and from External Links : Encyclopaedia Britannica: Timur , and Encyclopaedia Iranica .)

1370 - 1405

Tîműr-i Lang / Tamerlane

Mongol conqueror from Mughulistan . In Herat & Samarkand .

1382 - 1383

Having secured his conquests around Khorasan and Transoxiana , Timur has begun the expansion of his territory into Southern Khorasan and Persia. He forces the Kartid dynasty of Herat into submission and demands a hostage from Seistan to symbolise the subservience of the Mihrabanids . Malik Qutbuddin sends a relative named Tajuddin.

However, in 1383, despite agreeing a hostage, Timur still turns up at Seistan with his army. The two sides fail to come to agreement so Timur defeats the Mihrabanids in open battle. Qutbuddin is soon captured, imprisoned, and deported to Samarkand . He is executed three years later. Timur appoints Shah-i Shahan as governor of Seistan and proceeds to ravage the province.

Map of the Timurid empire AD 1400
Timur effectively recreated the ancient Persian empire through his various conquests over the course of almost forty years, subduing many competing clans and khanates that would begin competing again after his death (click or tap on map to view full sized)

1386 - 1394

Timur invades the Caucuses and eastern Anatolia, winning the support of the nascent White Sheep emirate along the way. Greater Armenia is conquered and Timur massacres a large part of its population.

1393 1393

The Muzaffarids have been bickering amongst their regional peers for superiority while also trying to organise a coalition to oppose Timur. Timur now removes the Muzaffarids from their control of Shiraz (and southern Iran) by killing the last of them, Shah Mansur.

1395 1395

The Golden Horde is beaten, allowing Timur to claim complete control of the Caucuses, which probably includes the Alani to its north. The horde's capital at Sarai is sacked by Timur - along with the city of Astrakhan - while the horde itself is forced to accept vassalage and a puppet ruler.

1398 1398

Timur subjugates Multan (in modern Pakistan ) through the efforts of Pir Muhammad, his grandson through his son, Jahangir. Subsequently, Dipalpur (in India ) falls, causing destruction in Delhi .

1400 - 1402

Jalayirid Iraq becomes a province of Timur's Persia when he conquers Baghdad. Timur also defeats the Black Sheep emirate in eastern Anatolia, and captures Damascus . The following year he also defeats, captures, and imprisons Ottoman ruler Bayezid I at the Battle of Ankara, making Anatolia another province. Now fully secure in Persia, the figurehead Chaghatayid khans become completely unimportant. The subject Ak Qoyunlu Turkmen in eastern Anatolia are granted (or conquer) Diyar Bakir on the banks of the Tigris (now one of the largest cities in south-eastern Turkey ).

1405 - 1407

Pîr Muhammad ibn Jahangir

Grandson. In Kandahar (modern Afghanistan ). Murdered.

1405 1405

on his deathbed, Timur names Pir Muhammad as his successor. None of his own sons are suitable for the position. Miran Shah suffers from mental problems, and Shah Rukh seems to be more interested in his religion, while the other two, Jahangir and Umar Shaikh have already died.

After Timur's death, none of the Timurid royalty accept his decision and Pir Muhammad is unable to enforce his rule in Transoxiana, splitting the empire in two (or even three). The western portion is ruled by Shah Rukh from Herat (also in modern Afghanistan ), and his wife, Goharshad moves the capital there from Samarkand (now in Uzbekistan ). The eastern portion of Transoxiana is ruled from Samarkand. The confusion also acts as a prompt for the Ottomans to re-invade Greater Armenia and annexe it to their own empire while the subservient Golden Horde fractures into separate states.

Timurid troops
Timurid troops included people from all over his conquered territories, including Turks, Persians, and Indo-Iranian central Asians, all of whom were organised into a decimal system of units

1407 1407

Pir Muhammad is murdered by his vizier and from Herat , around 1409, Shah Rukh is able to secure the role of overall ruler of the empire when he recaptures Transoxiana . From this point, Herat remains the heart of the Timurid empire which still covers Persia and Greater Khorasan.

1409 - 1447

Shah Rukh / Shahrukh

In Herat (1405-1409). In Transoxiana (1409-1447).

1410 1410

The Black Sheep emirate captures Baghdad, reducing the Timurids to Iran in the west, and Herat and Transoxiana in the east. The turbulent Timurids are on the back foot and decline is setting in.

1447 1447

Upon Shah Rukh's death, his wife, Goharshad, becomes the de facto ruler of the Timurid empire. She elevates her favourite grandson to the throne and is the power behind that throne.

1447 - 1449

Ulugh Beg / Mīrza Mohammad Taregh

Son. 아들. Viceroy in Transoxiana (1409-1447).

1447 - 1457

Goharshad

Mother. In Persia and Herat . Executed in Transoxiana .

1448 - 1449

Ulugh Beg of Samarkand , unpopular and unsuccessful in battle, is beheaded by his own son after he massacres the people of Herat , which is then conquered by another Timurid rival, Babur Ibn-Baysunkur. Sultan Muhammad, a grandson of Shah Rukh, claims control of central Persia (which includes Iran in the west), while Ulugh Beg's son, Abd al Latîf, is left with Transoxiana .

1449 - 1451

Sultan Muhammad

Grandson of Shah Rukh. In Central Persia. Executed.

1450 - 1451

Sultan Muhammad invades the Herat region of Khorasan, defeating Babur at the Battle of Mashad in March 1450. After initially ceding territory, Babur recovers in 1451 and turns the tables, taking his rival prisoner and executing him. Central Persia becomes his, reuniting two portions of the empire.

1451 - 1453

Babur Ibn-Baysunkur / Abu'l-Qasim

Grandson of Shah Rukh. In Khorasan . Persia taken from him.

1451 - 1453

Jahan Shah ends the loyalty of the Black Sheep emirate with the fracturing Timurids. He besieges Qum and Sava with overwhelming forces which the dominant Timurid ruler, Babur Ibn-Baysunkur at Herat , is unable to face. Most of Persia is taken by 1452, including Ray, with the last section, Abarquh, falling in 1453. Khorasan and the Timurids are never able to recapture Persia.

1461 - 1469

Abu Sa'id of Transoxiana completes his conquest of much of Khorasan, including the Herat region, and eastern Iran, agreeing with the Black Sheep emir, Jahan Shah, to divide Iran (Central Persia) between the two of them. The Timurids lose Iran permanently to the White Sheep emirate following Abu Sa'id's death in 1469.

Map of Anatolia and Persia c.AD 1475
The White Sheep emirate, or Ak Qoyunlu confederation, at its height controlled a great area of territory, stretching from Azerbaijan in the north to the Persian Gulf and eastern Iran (click or tap on map to view full sized)

1469 - 1501

Subsequently, Uzun Hassan of the White Sheep emirate is able to capture Baghdad, along with territories around the Persian Gulf. He expands his emirate into Iran as far east as Herat in Southern Khorasan , replacing the Black Sheep emirs as the main regional power. The emirate is not a single entity, though, having been formed through uniting several clans and tribes in the form of a confederation. Unfortunately, around this time, the Ottomans are also seeking an eastwards expansion. This poses a serious threat to the White Sheep, and Uzun is forced to seek an alliance with the Karamanids of central Anatolia.

Persia's eastern territories regain their independence as the former Timurid empire finally fragments irreversibly. This independence also includes the Mihrabanids , but their sudden freedom from overlords generates a fresh wave of regional conflicts as local rulers jostle for supremacy.

1501 1501

The Turkic -speaking Iranian Safavid shah begins a purposeful conquest of Persia. Bearing kinship with the White Sheep emirate as well as the native Iranians, he establishes a nationalist Persian monarchy on the basis of Shiite (Twelver) ideology.

Safavid Shahs of Iran
AD 1501 - 1736

Feature The Safavids were a Turkic -speaking Iranian dynasty which was descended from Sheykh Safi ad Din (1253-1334) of Ardabil, head of the Sufi order of Safaviyeh (Safawiyah). They also bore a direct relationship to Uzun Hassan of the White Sheep emirate of the Ak Qoyunlu , but around 1399 they exchanged their Sunnite affiliation for Shi'ism (see feature link, right for an explanation of the Islamic divide). The Safavids established Shi'ite Islam as the state religion of Persia, and it was this which became a major factor in the emergence of a unified national consciousness amongst the various ethnic and linguistic elements of the country. For the first time since the Islamic invasion of the seventh century, Iran would be ruled as a country in its own right, by local imported dynasties which were at least undergoing the process of becoming natives, instead as part of someone else's empire to the east or west of Iran proper.

As head of the sufis of Ardabil the founder of the dynasty, Esmail or Ismail, won enough support from the local Turkmen and other disaffected heterodox tribes to enable him to mount a challenge to the White Sheep emirate. The White Sheep still ruled a substantial chunk of western and central Iran after defeating the Black Sheep emirate in their fight for regional dominance and their subsequent seizure much of Iran in 1467-1469. Now, though, Ismail defeated them at the Battle of Nakhchivan (in modern Azerbaijan ), forcing them to withdraw from the heartland of Iran and relinquish Tabriz (on the Iranian side of the modern Azerbaijani border). Esmail was enthroned as shah of Azerbaijan in July 1501. Despite his family connections to the former White Sheep emir, Uzun Hassan, he was still intent on building his own empire centred on Iran, and by May the following year he was shah of Iran. After that he was faced with the task of properly subjugating and pulling together all of the disparate elements which had settled or taken over Iran's regions in the century and-a- half since the Il-Khans had fallen.

His Iranian empire would go on to control all of Iran, plus the various territories that would eventually coalesce into modern Afghanistan , Armenia , Azerbaijan, a good deal of what is now Georgia , Iraq , Kuwait , the North Caucasus region (now part of Russia ), and also areas of what are now Pakistan , Syria , Turkey , Turkmenistan , and Uzbekistan . This was a far greater swathe of territory than that controlled by modern Iran of course, but the country's borders had always been somewhat fluid, and would remain so until the twentieth century.

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Anar R Guliyev, from History of the Mongols: From the 9th to the 19th Century , Henry H Howarth (1880), and from External Links : Iran Chamber Society , and History of Khiva , and Encyclopaedia Iranica .)

1501 - 1524

Esmail / Ismail I

Grandson of Uzun Hasan of the White Sheep emirate.

1501 - 1511

Esmail spends a decade subjugating much of greater Iran, also annexing Baghdad and Mosul on the way. However to the east in 1501, the Shaibanid Turks conquer Transoxiana and Southern Khorasan (including the Herat region). The former region includes a small Timurid principality at Ferghana which is ruled by Babur, the Timurid son of Umar Sheikh Mirza. The Uzbek conquest forces him into exile where he captures Kabul in 1504. Esmail aids him in recapturing Samarkand in 1511 following the death of Shaibanid ruler Mohammed Shaibani. However, Babur is unable to retain it. The Shaibanids re-conquer the city just eight months later.

Map of the Tartar Khanates AD 1500
The territories to the north of Iran at this time were a complex and shifting set of small states, many of which had been created out of the break-up of the Mongol empire (click or tap on map to view full sized)

1511 - 1514

The Şahkulu Rebellion is a widespread pro-Safavid rebellion in southern Anatolia by the Takkalu Qizilbash tribe. The Ottomans send an army to quell it but this is defeated. This and a large-scale incursion into eastern Anatolia by Safavid ghazis under the leadership of Nūr-'Alī Ḵalīfa results in Sultan Selim I invading Iran two years after his accession (1514). Selim eventually defeats Ismail at the Battle of Chaldiran in 1514, despite the Safavid ruler having a more mobile, better prepared army. In the end he cannot match the modern equipment carried by the Ottomans - musketry and canon especially. Fortunately for Iran, the Ottomans suffer a mutiny amongst the troops in their army and have to withdraw after briefly occupying the Safavid capital at Tabriz.

1520 1520

King David X, the Georgian king of Kartli , is defeated by Kakheti at the Battle of Kiziki, and is hereafter recognised solely as the king of Kartli. He goes on to defeat a large Iranian occupying force at Tiflis, conquers Aghjakala, and massacres all the Turkomans who have settled there.

1520 - 1521

Following the death of Ottoman Sultan Selim I and the accession of his successor, Suleyman I the Magnificent, Governor Djanbirdi al-Ghazali of Damascus rebels. He seeks to restore Mameluke suzerainty over Syria and goes so far as to declare himself sultan. Hama, Hims, and Tripoli join his rebellion, but both Khair Bey of Egypt and Shah Esmail himself refuse to support him. Eventually, the Ottomans destroy both him and his army.

1524 - 1576

Tahmasp I / Tahmash

Son. 아들. Weak ruler.

1529 1529

Ubayd Allah Sultan Khan of Shaibanid Bukhara is at war against Shah Tahmasp, and the Uzbeks of Khwarazm support Bukharan attacks by advancing to Pil Kupruki. The border cities of Khodjend (in Khorasan) and Asferain (near Astarabad) are also stormed. As Tahmasp also has to face the Ottomans , he negotiates with the Khwarizmi Uzbeks and effectively hands them Khwarazm.

1537 1537

Having previously regained Seistan , Sultan Mahmud now recognises the authority of the Safavids and hands over control of Seistan to Shah Tahmasp. From the sixteenth century, the former emirate at Seistan generally forms part of an eastern province of Persia. The province continues to be referred to as Khorasan even though it has formed only a small part of the greater emirate of Khorasan and the subsequent region of Greater Khorasan.

1543 - 1545

The exile Moghul emperor of northern India , Humayun, seeks refuge with the sympathetic Tahmasp, until he is able to strike out and recapture his empire. In 1545 he receives a Persian army with which to conquer Kabul . In 1554-1556 he is able to re-conquer Delhi from the Suris , reuniting the Moghul empire's territories in India. His time in Persia creates a subsequent shift in Moghul influence in India, from Central Asian to Persian.

Humayun's tomb
Humayun's tomb in New Delhi marks the end point of a remarkable reign which saw him accede and then submit to exile after a decade of opposition, primarily from the Afghan adventurer, Sher Shah Suri, only to reclaim his throne fifteen years later then to die the following year in an accident

1576 1576

Haydar Mirza

Son. 아들. Announced himself as the new shah.

1576 1576

When Tahmasp dies in 1576, Haydar Mirza is the only viable successor to be present in the palace. He takes the opportunity to declare himself shah. His half-brother, Esmail, who is favoured by perhaps the majority of the royal court, is still in jail twenty years after being arrested on falsified charges of conspiracy to seize the throne. Haydar Mirza is almost immediately seized by guards loyal to Esmail (dressed as a woman and hiding in the harem, no less), and is beheaded. Esmail's sister, Pari Khan Khanum, becomes the effective head of state during the forty-five days or so that it takes to sort out the dynastic squabble and for Esmail to reach the capital.

1576 1576

Pari Khan Khanum

Half-sister. Interim head of state. Supported Esmail.

1576 - 1578

Esmail / Ismail II

Half-brother. Previously governor of Khorasan .

1576 - 1578

From 1576 the Safavid shahs begin to encroach upon Afghan territory, putting pressure on Kabul to defend itself. Unfortunately, Esmail has offended many with his cold and haughty attitude, inherited from his time in prison. He has even alienated Pari Khan Khanum, and one day in 1578 he drops dead unexpectedly. The court doctors suspect poison, although no action is taken against Pari.

1578 - 1587

Sultan Mohammad Khodabanda

Half-brother. Nearly blind. Overthrown by a Qizilbash leader.

1578 1578

Pari Khan Khanum

Half-sister. De facto ruler. Strangled.

1578 - 1587

The reign of Mohammad Khodabanda (otherwise known as Sultan Mohammad) is weak and relatively ineffective. Factionalism takes place amid the various tribes and infighting is the result, with the country suffering from periods of civil war. At the start of his reign Pari Khan Khanum is clearly in control as the accepted de facto ruler, even holding court and attending to state business. Mohammad's influential wife has her murdered just two months and a few days later and herself becomes the de facto head of state. She too is murdered, this time by the powerful Qizilbash tribes and the country remains chaotic, with even the early Safavid capital of Tabriz being captured by the Ottomans in 1585 as part of the Ottoman-Safavid War (1578-1590) .

1587 - 1629

Abbas I the Great

Son of Mohammad. Established Safavids as a major power.

1588 - 1598

Abbas addresses the country's decline and manages to reverse it. However, in 1588, in the name of Abdullah II of Bukhara , his son, Abdul-Mu'min, leads his Uzbek forces in an attack on the important Persian city of Mashhad (Maixhad). After four months of being besieged, the city surrenders and the systematic looting that follows does not spare the sacred tombs. The Uzbek Shaibanids retain the city for almost a full decade, but Shah Abbas regains it for the Safavids upon Abdullah's death in Samarkand .

Shah Abbas I in Mashhad
The reign of Shah Abbas was one that involved a restoration of Iranian regional greatness, although he did have to wait eleven years to be able to retake the city of Mashhad where he is pictured in this illustration (click or tap on image to view full sized)

1603 - 1618

The Ottoman-Safavid War (1603-1618) is the result of Abbas rebuilding Iran and ending the chaos of his father's reign. Abbas reverses the losses suffered during the previous war and increases Iran's territories even beyond their traditional borders at Dagestan in the north (which includes a scorched earth policy being pursued in Armenia ). The Ottomans are roundly defeated and out-manoeuvred by the shah. After recapturing the Caucuses, in 1615 Abbas deposes the king of Kartli for attempting to make the most of the chaos of war to attempt to unify Georgia, and also has his eldest son killed, Mohammed Baqir Mirza, after suspecting him of conspiracy.

1623 1623

Taking advantage of a revolt by Shah Jahan, son of the Moghul emperor, the Persians capture Kandahar . The attempt has taken quite some time, with Isfandiyar, son of Khan Arab Muhammad I of Khwarazm , also aiding them in 1621. In return, he is granted five hundred troops to aid him against his rebel brothers in the khanate.

1629 - 1642

Safi I / Sam Mirza

Grandson (son of Mohammed Baqir Mirza).

1642 1642

Having lived a profligate life of alcoholic excess, losing his grip on Baghdad to the Ottomans in 1638, Safi I dies young, leaving his nine year-old son to succeed him. The boy continues his education while his mother and the grand vizier govern the state with a firm, fair hand. However, the drive by Abbas to stamp out corruption makes him plenty of enemies, with some of them being involved in the murder of Saru Taqi.

1642 - 1666

Abbas II / Soltan Mohammad Mirza

Son. 아들. Succeeded aged 9.

1642 - c.1648

Anna Khanum

Mother and regent. Stepped down once Abbas was of age.

1642 - 1645

Saru Taqi

Grand vizier and regent. Assassinated by army officers.

1648 1648

Ten years after it is temporarily retaken by the Moghul emperor Shah Jahan, Ghazni is again captured by the Iranians. This time they hold onto it, despite a concerted Mughal effort to recapture it and Kandahar. Both cities remain in Iranian hands until the formation of the Afghan state under the Duranni dynasty.

1651 - 1653

The Russo-Persian War sees Safavid troops and their allies in Dagestan attacking Russian fortifications along the Sunzha. The Dagestani units are led by Khan of Derbent, the governor of the region, who is possibly also the instigator of the violence. The intention is to strengthen the Persian position in the North Caucasus. Alexis sends an embassy to Persia to conclude a peaceful settlement of the conflict, which succeeds in August 1653.

1666 - 1694

Safi II / Solayman I / Suleiman

Son of Abbass II.

1694 - 1722

Hosayn I

Son. 아들. Overthrown by Hotaki Afghans.

1709 1709

In his role as governor of the Kandahar province of Afghanistan, which he has held since 1704, Georgian King Giorgi XI of Kartli is committed to leading a Persian force against rebel Ghilzai Afghan tribes under Mirwais Khan Hotak. The latter is creating a kingdom of his own, and he manages to defeat and kill Giorgi.

1722 - 1729

Shah Hosayn surrenders the Persian capital of Isfahan to Afghan rebels after a seven month siege. The Ghilzai Afghans of Kandahar's new Hotaki dynasty occupy much of Iran, including the capital at Estfahan. However, they are seen as usurpers by much of the population, and hold effective power only in the east. In 1725, they order the massacre of all captured Safavid princes except for Hosayn himself, although Hosayn manages to have the lives of his two sons spared as well.

Mahmud Shah Hotaki coin
Two sides of a coin issued under Mahmud Shah of the Hotaki dynasty of early Afghanistan, the ruler of a new, centrist Afghan ruling elite who managed to defeat the Safavids and occupy large areas of Iran for seven years

Sensing the weakness of the Safavid empire, Czar Peter the Great of Russia launches the Russo-Persian War of 1722-1723 . Otherwise known as the ' Persian Expedition of Peter the Great ', the war is designed to increase Russian influence in the Caucuses and prevent the Ottoman empire from increasing its own regional authority. Astrabad, Baku, Derbent, Gilan, Mazandaran, and Shirvan are all successfully won (only to be subsequently leased back to Persia between 1732-1735 now that the two states are allies).

1722 - 1732

Tahmasp II / Tahmash

Hotaki puppet until 1729. Deposed by Nadir Kuli. Killed 1740.

1728 1728

The khanate of Khiva emerges from another period of obscurity and uncertain rulers with the accession of Ilbars III. He is a Kazakh, with no known connections to the traditional ruling clan. He refuses to submit to Iran, setting the two states on a collision course.

1729 - 1731

In alliance with Tahmasp II, the Afshar warlord, Nadir Kuli, liberates the country from the Afghans at the Battle of Damghan in 1729, and restores the Safavids to full control by 1730. However, having been recognised both by the Ottomans and the Russians , Tahmasp launches an ill-advised campaign against the former in 1731. He attempts to seize back territories in the Caucuses which are now in Ottoman hands. Not only is he defeated - he also loses all of the gains made by Nadir Kuli in the previous year. Nadir quickly returns from campaigning in the east, deposes Tahmasp in 1732, assumes the position of regent and de facto ruler of Iran, and places Tahmasp's infant son on the throne as a figurehead.

1732 - 1736

Nadir Kuli

Took title of regent and full control. Afsharid shah (1736).

1732 - 1736

Abbas III

Infant son of Tahmasp II. Deposed by Nadir Kuli. Killed 1740.

1732 - 1735

Astrabad, Baku, Derbent, Gilan, Mazandaran, and Shirvan, all of which had been won by Russia in the war of 1722-1723, are leased back to Persia now that the two states are allies. The Treaty of Resht in 1732 secures Astrabad, Gilan, and Mazandaran, whilst the rest are returned under the terms of the Treaty of Ganja in 1735. The agreement is the result of a shared desire to prevent Ottoman expansion in the region.

1736 1736

Not content with leading as regent, Nadir Kuli claims the title of shah and founds the short-lived Afsharid dynasty. The Safavids are not entirely done, though. one claimant appears in Mashad (see below for details) and a second is used as a puppet in 1750-1765 by Karim Khan's Zand dynasty.

Afsharid Shahs of Iran
AD 1736 - 1750

Between 1729 and 1730, the Afshar warlord, Nadir Kuli liberated the country from the Hotaki dynasty of Persia's eastern border regions. His efforts culminated in victory at the Battle of Damghan in 1729, after which he was able to restore the Safavid shah to the throne. However, while he was away fighting to regain lost territory in the west, Shah Tahmasp II proved incapable of defending the east. Incensed, Nadir deposed him and occupied the position of regent for the infant Abbas III. He held all the power so, once secure in his position, Shah Abbas III was removed from the throne in 1736. Nadir now declared himself to be shah, forming his own, brief, Afsharid dynasty. Despite this briefness, Nadir Kuli was a skilled commander. He managed to extend the Persian empire to its greatest extent in centuries. By the 1740s it held Afghanistan, Armenia , Azerbaijan , Bahrain , Chechnya (in part), Dagestan, Georgia , India (northern areas of formerly Moghul empire territory), Iraq (in part), Kabardino-Balkaria, Khiva , Oman, Pakistan , and even parts of Ottoman Turkey.

The Afsharids originated in the form of the Afshar tribe, thirteenth century Turkic migrants from Azerbaijan who were now located in the north-east, in the province of Khorasan (southern areas of the former emirate of Khorasan - now northern and western Afghanistan ). Now that region formed a borderland with the newly-founded Afghan empire, and warfare there (and across the empire) was a way of life. This gave the Afshar tribe a good grounding in battle tactics and a fighting mentality which Nadir Kuli found sadly lacking in the Safavids.

Unfortunately, Nadir Shah made enemies during his rise to power and his subsequent descent into paranoia. His assassination led to the weakening of the Afsharids amid speculation about his death. The Afghans (now under new leadership themselves) claimed that he was killed by Iranian Shias because he was Sunni, and also because he was from Khorasan, and had close ties with the Afghan tribes. In return, Iranians were of the mind that he was killed because the Afghans had a plan to gain independence, and they pointed the finger at Ahmad Shah Abdali, who was very close to Nadir Shah.

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Abhijit Rajadhyaksha, from Travels Through Arabia and Other Countries in the East , Carsten Niebuhr, 1792, from First Light , Al Khalifa, from the History of Torbat-e-Heydariye , Mohammad Qaneii, The Sword of Persia: Nader Shah, from Tribal Warrior to Conquering Tyrant , Michael Axworthy (IB Tauris Language, 2006), The Cambridge History of Iran , William Bayne Fisher, P Avery, GRG Hambly, & C Melville (Cambridge University Press), and from External Link : Encyclopaedia Iranica .)

1736 - 1747

Nadir Shah / Nader Kuli

Former general, and regent (1732-1736). Assassinated.

1738 - 1740

Nadir Shah marches his army through Afghanistan in 1738, destroying the ruling Hotaki dynasty at Kandahar and capturing that city along with Ghazni, Kandahar, Kabul , and Lahore. Alongside him is his vassal, the future King Erekle II of Kakhetia , and a contingent of Georgian troops. The following year Nadir loots Delhi, heart of the Moghul empire, humiliating the emperor, looting his treasures and causing the empire to fragment into a loose association of states. In 1740 he occupies the khanate of Khiva , reducing it to the status of a dependency during this period. Bukhara is also forced to submit.

Nadir Shah
Nadir Shah rose spectacularly from his early life as the son of a maker of sheepskin coats to the leading general and then ruler of the Persian empire, although he showed little compassion towards the poor people who formed part of his origins

1738 - 1741

Reza Qoli Mirza

Son and viceroy. m sister of Safavid Tahmasp II. Blinded.

1741 1741

Nader had previously lost his brother, Ebrahim Qoli, during a campaign in Dagestan. Now while progressing north to fight the Dagestanis, an assassin takes a shot at him, lightly wounding him. His relationship with his somewhat high-handed son has been rocky of late, and Nadir suspects he is behind the attempt. Reza is confined to Tehran. Much of Dagestan is subsequently captured but the Persians face a Dagestani guerrilla war led by the Lezgins. Across the northern Caucuses, Nadir is also opposed by Avars and Laks. After trying to hold his position there for a few years, Nadir is forced to withdraw.

1745 1745

Khiva remains a troubled state. Now Persia's General Ali Kuli goes on the offensive, defeating the Turkmen yomuts in battle close to Old Urgench, these being the main supporters of the rebel khan. Abu al-Ghazi remains the figurehead for the rebels but Ali Kuli appoints Ghaib as the 'official' khan. He is the son Batir or Batyr Khan of the Kazakh Lesser Horde and, with the support of the Uzbek Karakalpak, he is also a rival to Nurali, son of Abu l-Khayr, for control of the horde.

1747 1747

Increasing paranoia has blighted Nadir's later years. His blinding of courtiers who had witnessed his hasty and regretted decision to blind Reza Qoli Mirza for his supposed part in the attempted assassination of 1741 seems to have set him on a downward spiral. Now Nadir Shah is assassinated.

In the east, his former general, Ahmad Shah Abdali, is appointed king by loya Jirga and establishes the Durrani empire in Afghanistan. In addition, Iran appears to lose direct control of Bahrain from this point, with Nasr Al-Madhkur, governor of Bushire (Bushehr) and Bahrain exercising semi-independent control of the island. The territories in the Caucuses break away as independent khanates, whilst the Georgian kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti also reclaim their independence under the energetic Erekle II.

1747 1747

Adel Shah

Nephew of Nadir Shah. 'The just king'. Blinded and executed.

1747 1747

Amid the chaos of the fragmenting empire, Adel Shah seizes the throne and immediately begins murdering all of Nadir's sons and grandsons other than the son of Reza Qoli Mirza, one Shah Rukh, aged thirteen. He makes the fatal mistake of sending his own brother, Ebrahim, to seize Isfahan. Ebrahim does so, sets himself up as a rival ruler, and then defeats Adel in battle and has him blinded.

1748 1748

Ebrahim

Brother, rival, and usurper. Captured and died.

1748 1748

In October 1748, Shah Rukh is freed from prison by members of the army. Ebrahim is quickly defeated and later dies in captivity. The unfortunate Adel Shah is also put to death. Shah Rukh governs a reduced empire and is briefly threatened in 1750 by a Safavid rival called Solayman II. Much of the Afsharid action is now focussed on eastern Iran, around the province of Khorasan .

1748 - 1750

Shah Rukh / Shahrokh

Lost Persia 'proper' to Zands . In Khorasan 1750 & 1755-96.

1748 - 1750

The increasing instability in the Persian lands allows several groups of tribal Arabs attempt the occupation of Bushire (Bushehr) in the south, although they fail. To strengthen their hand they later side with Dutch - German trading companies and attack the city again. It takes a year for a two-thousand-man mounted army to get rid of all of the invaders.

Isfahan 1700s
Isfahan was the capital of Iran in the 1700s, and this German print from the early years of the century shows the central and residential areas of the city (click or tap on image to view full sized)

1750 - 1751

In alliance with 'Ali-Mardān Khan Baḵtiāri, Karim Khan of the Zand tribe captures Esfahan (Isfahan) in opposition to the ruling Afsharids. There he installs a Safavid puppet ruler, Shah Esmail III (the son of a court official and his wife, the daughter of Safavid Shah Hosayn I), and the two allies initially rule central Persia together in the name of their puppet.

Blinded by Solayman II, Shah Rukh is largely pushed towards the east and the province of Khorasan which now forms Persia's eastern boundary territory. In 1751 Karim Khan defeats a bid for sole control by his former ally and then pacifies most of western and central Persia from the Caspian littoral and Azerbaijan to Kerman and Lār. He rules from Shiraz as the Zand regent for Esmail III, while the Afsharids are left to command what they can in the east. Unfortunately for them, eastern Khorasan is now disputed territory with the Afghan Durranis . It is soon annexed to the new Afghan empire.

Zand Shahs of Iran
AD 1750 - 1794

Having forced the preceding Afsharids out of power, the Zand shahs ruled much of Persia from their southern capital at Shiraz. The Afsharids held on at the eastern edge, in the eastern province of Khorasan . Now that region formed a borderland with the newly-founded Afghan empire, and warfare there (and across the empire) was a way of life. In their brief half a century in power, the Zands never did manage to conquer Khorasan. Instead they allowed the Afghans to annexe it themselves and the task of reconquest was left to the succeeding Qajars .

Moḥammad Karim Khan had been born as Ināq Khan of the Bagala branch of the Zand. This was a pastoral tribe of the Lak branch of Lors (perhaps originally Kurds according to Minorsky). Nadir Shah (1736-1747) had deported much of the tribe (including Karim Shah) from the slopes of the Zagros Mountains in the west of Persia to Khorasan in the east. When Nadir Shah was assassinated it was Karim Khan who led his people back to their home in the west. In alliance with 'Ali-Mardān Khan Baḵtiāri, he then proceeded to capture Isfahan and install a Safavid puppet ruler, Shah Esmail III (the son of a court official and his wife, the daughter of Safavid Shah Hosayn I). In 1751 he defeated a bid by his ally for sole power, and then adopted his rival's title of wakil-al-dowla or vakil ('deputy of the state', or regent). Usually best known as Karim Khan, he never took the title of shah, preferring his title of regent instead. He persisted with this even when the puppet shah had been removed from the throne in 1765 and after Esmail's death in 1773 (the removal in 1765 is uncertain, as some sources fail to show this date at all).

None of Karim Khan's successors used the title of regent, but neither did they call themselves shah. As a side note, this adherence by Karim Khan to the title of regent instead of adopting 'shah' is the reason for his name - and that of Lutf Ali Khan Zand (1789-1794) - remaining in place on street signs following the Islamic Revolution of 1979. The names of the shahs were removed, but a regent was seen as being much less of a threat to the new revolution.

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from Travels Through Arabia and Other Countries in the East , Carsten Niebuhr, 1792, from The Ismāʿīlīs: Their History and Doctrines , Farhad Daftary (1990), from The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol 7: From Nadir Shah to the Islamic Republic , Gavin RG Hambly (1991), from The Encyclopaedia of Islam , Thomas Bois & Vladimir Minorsky (1986), and from External Links : Historical Iran Blogspot , and Encyclopaedia Iranica .)

1751 - 1779

Karim Khan

Regent for Esmail III (1750-1773). Died following illness.

1751 - 1765

Esmail III

Puppet Safavid shah for Karim Khan's regency. Died 1773.

1751 1751

Karim Khan defeats a bid by his former ally, 'Ali-Mardān Khan, for sole power. It is at this point that he adopts the title of wakil-al-dowla or vakil ('deputy of the state', or regent). After defeating other contestants for power, including the leading Afsharid , Shah Rukh, he pacifies most of western and central Persia from the Caspian littoral and Azerbaijan to Kerman and Lār. He rules from Shiraz as the Zand regent for Esmail III of the Safavids , while the Afsharids are left to command what they can in the east. Unfortunately for them, eastern Khorasan is now disputed territory with the Afghan Durranis and the region is soon annexed to their empire.

Karin Khan Zand
Karim Khan was a tribal leader from the Zagros Mountains region who grasped the opportunity during a power vacuum to seize power across much of Persia, although his newfound-dynasty would be short-lived after his death

1753 1753

When the news of the attack on Bushire (Bushehr) of 1748-1750 reaches the governing Al-Madhkur clan, they and their allies leave the city for good and migrate to the island of Bahrain where they set up an all-but-independent governorship. Successive invasions of the island have left it vulnerable and chaotic. The German geographer, Carsten Niebuhr, states that the Sunni Persians of Bushire under the Al-Madhkurs are one of southern Persia's three major governing forces in the 1760s, so clearly not all of them migrate.

Niebuhr's statements are sometimes used to assert that the governorship of Bushire and Bahrain is really an independent sovereign state, but this seems unlikely as the claim is not repeated elsewhere. Instead, as is usual at times of instability, the governors probably exercise a good deal of independent authority without actually being independent in name.

1779 1779

Following a period of about six months of illness, Karim Khan dies. His long term 'guest' (or hostage) is Agha Mohammad of the Qajar tribe of Azerbaijan . Upon hearing the news, and having up until now acted as a perfect 'guest' with not a word of rebellion, Mohammad collects together his immediate loyal followers and proceeds to his home province. once there he quickly defeats his two brothers and assumes command of his tribe. Now he is in a position to begin his armed opposition to a Zand nobility that is still fighting itself for the throne. Mohammad effectively rules as the first Qajar shah in the north (including Tehran), while the Zands govern the centre (around Esfahan) and the south (Shiraz).

1779 1779

Mohammad Ali Khan

Son. 아들. In Shiraz ('City of Roses', in the south).

1779 1779

Zaki Khan

Brother of Karim Khan, and the true power in the south. Killed.

1779 1779

Both candidates for the Zand throne are still young, and are also brothers. Mohammad Ali Khan is under the power of the ruthless Zaki Khan, brother of the late Shah Karim Khan. Keen to secure his hold on power, he also appoints Abdul Fath as co-ruler. Then he dispatches an army under the command of his nephew, Ali Morad Khan, against Agha Mohammad. It soon becomes apparent that Ali Morad is using the army to take Esfahan for himself, setting up a rival Zand lordship there. Zaki Khan marches on Esfahan where he is killed by his own men before he can mount an attack.

1779 1779

Abul Fath

Young brother of Mohammad Ali and 'co-ruler'. In Shiraz.

1779 1779

With Zaki Khan's death, his surviving brother, Mohammad Sadiq, returns to Shiraz from Kerman with his own army. He has Abul Fath proclaimed sole shah - otherwise his puppet ruler - and governs the south himself. Two months later Sadiq deposes the young 'ruler' and takes the throne, clearly not content with being the power behind it. Abul Fath is blinded. Ali Morad Khan remains in Shiraz and continues the fight in the north against the Qajars .

1779 - 1781

Mohammad Sadiq Khan

Brother of Karim Khan. In Shiraz. Killed by Ali Morad.

1781 - 1785

Ali Morad Khan

Nephew of Zaki Khan. In Esfahan (central Iran). Overthrown.

1782 - 1783

War breaks out between the Bani Utbah federation on Zubarah and the Al-Madhkurs. The battle of Zubarah in 1782 between the Bani Utbah and the army of Nasr Al-Madhkur must result in the defeat of the latter, as Governor Nasr Al-Madhkur loses the islands of Bahrain to the Bani Utbah tribe the following year.

Bahrain Fort
Freed of Persian dominance, by the early part of the twentieth century, Bahrain was one of the region's fastest-developing states, although it still managed to maintain a good deal of its historical heritage

1785 1785

Upon successfully invading Shiraz in 1781, Ali Morad Khan had murdered Mohammad Sadiq Khan and all of his sons bar one - Jafar Khan Zand. Now, while Ali Morad is in northern Iran (presumably fighting the Qajars ), Jafar Khan snatches the chance to besiege Esfahan. Ali Morad marches his forces towards the city in order to relieve it, but he dies along the way, on 11 February 1785.

Jafar takes the throne for himself, at Esfahan, but almost immediately the Qajar shah of northern Iran, Agha Mohammad, arrives with an army. Jafar sends out a small force to hold him off but this backs away without even offering battle. A larger force is sent but this is defeated in battle near Kashan. Jafar has little choice but to flee southwards to Shiraz, allowing Agha Mohammad to take Esfahan and a large chunk of central Iran. Suddenly the Qajar shah is the dominant force in the Persian empire.

1785 - 1789

Jafar Khan Zand

Son of Mohammad Sadiq. Seized Esfahan, then Shiraz. Killed.

1789 1789

After four years of inconclusive war against the Qajar shah, Jafar Khan is murdered by the son of Ali Morad Khan, one Sayed Murad Khan. Instead of being able to seize the throne himself (although he is sometimes shown as a ruling Zand shah), he and the rest of the Zand nobility are engulfed in four months of bitter in-fighting. When a victor emerges it is Lutf Ali Khan, the son of Jafar Khan.

1789 1789

Sayed Murad Khan

Attempted to seize the throne. Executed after the civil war.

1789 - 1794

Lutf Ali Khan

Son of Jafar Khan. In Shiraz.

1794 1794

Luft Ali has proven himself to be one of the more redoubtable members of the Zand dynasty. However, the reigns of his squabbling predecessors have alienated many of the regional governors and increased the momentous task of reclaiming all of Iran. Defeat in battle near Persepolis in 1792 makes him a virtual fugitive while Agha Mohammad now holds Shiraz. In the end, despite valiant resistance, his last stronghold of Kerman is besieged and captured. He flees, but is betrayed, handed over to Ahga Mohammad, and tortured for almost three years before being killed. The Qajar shah now rules Iran unopposed.

Qajar Shahs of Iran
AD 1794 - 1925

The founder of the line of Qajar shahs was Agha Mohammad, the son of Mohammad Hasan Khan Qajar, a chieftain of the Qoyunlu division of the Qajar tribe. The Qajars (with a multiplicity of variations on this spelling) were (and still are) Turkic Oghuz in origin. Intermixed with many other tribes, they occupied a swathe of territory that covered parts of southern Armenia , Azerbaijan , and north-western Iran. Safavid interference in the South Caucuses and their attempts to fully subjugate the region in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries had resulted in the Qajars or Kajars resisting them and creating the Karabakh khanate by 1750 out of the Persian province of the same name. The Safavids fractured soon afterwards, allowing the Kajars to enjoy half a century of relative security.

In general the Qajars are classed as being Azerbaijani (they still form a significant population within modern Iran ), at a time in which this area was a maze of Persian possessions rather than a single coherent state in its own right. Agha Mohammad was able to overthrow the Zand dynasty of shahs in Iran, initially reducing their area of control to Esfahan and Shiraz, and then Shiraz alone, before extinguishing them in 1794.

Under Agha Mohammad, Iran was fully reunited as a strong and centrally-dominated kingdom. In 1789 he was confirmed as shah of Iran. He went on to reconquer many of Persia's lost territories, especially those in the South Caucuses, and he re-subjugated Georgia , displaying astonishing cruelty in the act. He was also the first Persian ruler to switch the capital to Tehran. This city had been built up and expanded by the Safavids and the Zands, but Agha's own war with the Zands had shown the importance of having a more northerly focus for the empire. Although his official coronation did not take place until March 1796, this was merely a rubber stamp for almost two decades of strong rule, and it took place a little over a year before he was assassinated.

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empire , James Stuart Olson, Lee Brigance Pappas, and Nicholas Charles Pappas (1994), from The Ismāʿīlīs: Their History and Doctrines , Farhad Daftary (1990), from The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol 7: From Nadir Shah to the Islamic Republic , Gavin RG Hambly (1991), and from the History of Torbat-e-Heydariye , Mohammad Qaneii.)

1779 - 1797

Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar

In the north 1779. United Iran in 1794. Assassinated.

1779 1779

Following a period of about six months of illness, Zand Shah Karim Khan dies. His long term 'guest' (or hostage) is Agha Mohammad of the Qajar tribe of Azerbaijan . Upon hearing the news, and having up until now acted as a perfect 'guest' with not a word of rebellion, Mohammad collects together his immediate loyal followers and proceeds to his home province. once there he quickly defeats his two brothers and assumes command of his tribe. Now he is in a position to begin his armed opposition to a Zand nobility that is still fighting itself for the throne. Mohammad effectively rules as the first Qajar shah in the north (including Tehran), while the feuding Zands govern the centre (around Esfahan) and the south (Shiraz).

Askeran Fortress
Askeran Fortress (also known as Mayraberd) - located on the banks of the River Qajar in what today is the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh - was built by the rulers of the Karabakh khanate, Agha Mohammad's homeland

1785 1785

Upon successfully invading Shiraz in 1781, the Zand shah of southern and central Iran, Ali Morad Khan, had murdered his rival, Mohammad Sadiq Khan and all of his sons bar one - Jafar Khan Zand. Now, while Ali Morad is in northern Iran (presumably fighting Agha Mohammad), Jafar Khan snatches the chance to besiege Esfahan. Ali Morad marches his forces towards the city in order to relieve it, but he dies along the way, on 11 February 1785.

Jafar takes the Zand throne for himself, at Esfahan, but almost immediately Agha Mohammad arrives with an army. Jafar sends out a small force to hold him off but this backs away without even offering battle. A larger force is sent but this is defeated in battle near Kashan. Jafar has little choice but to flee southwards to Shiraz, allowing Agha Mohammad to take Esfahan and a large chunk of central Iran. Suddenly the Qajar shah is the dominant force in the Persian empire.

1789 1789

After four years of inconclusive war against Agha Mohammad, Jafar Khan, the Zand shah of southern Iran, is murdered by the son of Ali Morad Khan, one Sayed Murad Khan. Instead of being able to seize the throne himself (although he is sometimes shown as a ruling Zand shah), he and the rest of the Zand nobility are engulfed in four months of bitter in-fighting. When a victor emerges it is Lutf Ali Khan, the son of Jafar Khan.

1794 1794

Shah Luft Ali of the Zand dynasty has proven himself to be one of the more redoubtable members of his family. However, the reigns of his squabbling predecessors have alienated many of the regional governors and increased the momentous task of reclaiming all of Iran. Defeat in battle near Persepolis in 1792 makes him a virtual fugitive while Agha Mohammad now holds Shiraz. In the end, despite valiant resistance, his last stronghold of Kerman is besieged and captured. He flees, but is betrayed, handed over to Ahga Mohammad, and tortured for almost three years before being killed. The Qajar shah now rules Iran unopposed.

1795 - 1796

Agha Mohammad invades the Durrani Afghan province of Khorasan and annexes it back to Iran (the Zands having let it go after 1750). In the same year, he mounts a campaign to re-strengthen Persian positions in Dagestan, Azerbaijan , and Armenia . He also launches a devastating attack on Georgia which sees Tiblisi destroyed and from which the kingdom never recovers.

However, Georgia's agreement with Russia means that Catherine the Great launches the Persian Expedition of 1796. Georgia is cleared of Persians with little trouble, but with Azerbaijan also seemingly captured, the empress' sudden death means that her son, Paul, is free to cancel the expedition (resulting in a sense of injustice amongst many officers involved). This lucky escape for Persia allows Agha Mohammad - in 1796 - torture and kill Afsharid ruler Shah Rukh in his attempt to find the treasure of Nadir Shah (former shah of Iran).

1797 - 1834

Fath Ali Shah Qajar

Nephew.

1804 - 1813

King Solomoni is attempting to enlist Ottoman and Persian support for Imeretia in preparation for the anticipated Russian encroachment on his borders. The Russian commander in the region is Prince Pavel Tsitsianov. He marches his army into Imereti and forces Solomoni to accept vassalage under the terms of the convention of Elaznauri, on 25 April 1804. This effectively triggers a Russo-Persian War (1804-1813) which sees some early Persian victories followed by defeats, stalemate, and the effective loss of Dagestan, Georgia , and Azerbaijan .

1805 1805

The Persians have been attempting to intrude small units of troops into Afghanistan in a bid to conquer the city of Herat while the Afghans are fighting one another for domination of their kingdom. Unfortunately for the Persian forces, that very instability undermines their own efforts and forces the plan's abandonment.

Mullahs meet the shah
In a painting that exhibits a markedly Qajari style, visiting mullahs are entertained by the shah himself (on the far right)

1818 1818

In a tumultuous Afghanistan , war with Persia is inconclusive following another attack on Herat . Mohamman Vali Mirza, son of the Persian shah, is defeated at the Battle of Kafir Qala in 1818. However, internal fighting continues until the Afghan Durrani dynasty is utterly defeated.

1826 - 1828

The Russo-Persian War is the last major military conflict between the Russian and Persian empires, and the first time the two have fought each other since the Treaty of Gulistan of 1813. Shah Fath Ali is still desperate for increased foreign subsidies, and is advised by British agents to reconquer the territories that have been lost to Russia. on 28 July 1826, a 35,000-strong Persian army is led across the border by Abbas Mirza, invading the khanates of Talysh and Karabakh. The khans surrender their main cities to the Persians. However, Russian military power proves too much for them and eastern Armenia is taken before Persia agrees peace terms, bolstered in part by the start of the Russo- Turkish War .

1832 - 1833

The Qajar shahs move into the province of Khorasan, and then threaten Herat yet again. The Afghans are forced to defend the city but manage to repel the invaders, only to lose Peshawar to the Sikhs almost immediately.

1833 1833

Abbas Mirza

Son and crown prince. Predeceased his father.

1834 - 1848

Mohammad Mirza

Son, and grandson of Fath Ali Shah Qajar. Died of gout.

1834 1834

Having been named as the crown prince following the death of his brother, and only a year or so before the death of his father, Mohammad Mirza ascends the throne. Almost immediately, one of his many brothers, Ali Mirza, seizes control in opposition to him. Ali Mirza lasts for around forty days before being removed by Mirza Abolghasem Ghaem Magham Farahani, politician, scientist, and poet. Mohammad Mirza is returned as shah.

1834 1834

Ali Mirza

Brother and usurper. Quickly removed and pardoned.

1848 - 1896

Naser al-Din

Son of Mohammad Mirza. Assassinated.

1856 - 1857

The Anglo–Persian War is triggered on 1 November 1856 during a further - and this time largely successful - attempt by Persia to capture the Afghan city of Herat , a long-standing ambition to compensate them for the loss of the south Caucuses. However, they have taken too long, and now Afghanistan is generally within the British sphere of operations from their base in India . Herat has already declared independence as a city state with its own emir, in alliance with the emirate of Kabul , and has accepted British protection. A two-pronged British attack on Iran's southern coast and also in southern Mesopotamia drives Naser al-Din to sign the Treaty of Paris in 1857, in which he relinquishes control over and any claim to Herat.

1867 - 1868

Relations between Qatar and Bahrain have gradually deteriorated during the course of the decade. A series of minor disputes escalates when Bahrain arrests a Qatari Bedouin on the Qatari mainland. The Qataris waste no time in expelling the Bahraini forces from the mainland, and in response Abu Dhabi and Bahrain join in attacking Qatar. The Qatari-Bahraini War is a brief affair but it leaves about a thousand dead and many of Bahrain's deployed vessels destroyed. Britain responds by appointing Hakim Muhammad's brother, Ali, to replace him as ruler of Bahrain, and any remaining Iranian influence or control over Bahrain is severed.

1896 - 1907

Muzaffar al-Din

Son. 아들. A poor ruler. Died of heart attack.

1906 1906

Muzaffar al-Din leads an extravagant life of pleasure-seeking and spending money that his country can ill afford, especially in the face of debts incurred by the Qajar court with both Britain and Russia . In various bids to access more money he has regularly granted national concessions to foreign business, taking chunks of Persia out of state control. The country's nobility has been growing more and more anxious about this trend, and in 1906 the shah is forced to accept the imposition (to him) of a national consultative assembly named the Majles. Forty days later the shah dies of a heart attack.

1907 - 1909

Mohammad Ali

Son. 아들. Deposed and fled. Died 5 Apr 1925 in exile.

1907 - 1909

Mohammad Ali dissolves parliament and abolishes the constitution that had been ratified during his father's reign. With support from Britain and Russia he bombards the Majles to underline its termination. Two years later, in July 1909, pro-Constitution forces march on Tehran, led by Sardar As'ad, Sepehdar A'zam, Sattar Khan, Bagher Khan, and Yeprem Khan. Mohamman Ali is forcibly deposed and the constitution is restored. on 16 July 1909, parliament votes to place Mohammad Ali's eleven year-old son on the throne.

1909 - 1925

Ahmad 아마드

Son. 아들. A minor at accession. Deposed and exiled.

1909 - 1910

Ali Reza Khan 'Azod al-Molk'

Uncle and regent. Lived lavishly and died in 1910.

1913 1913

Britain and the Ottoman government sign a treaty recognising the independence of Bahrain . The country remains under British protection and is rapidly developing itself into a thoroughly modern state. It is quickly becoming a business centre for the gulf and India . Iran claims sovereignty over Bahrain through its previous links to the Islamic empire.

Shah Ahmad Qajar
Ahmad Shah Qajar came to the throne at the tender age of eleven, attempted to govern a land that was suffering increased levels of turmoil thanks partly to the First World War, and was deposed just shy of his twenty-eighth birthday

1916 - 1918

The British -backed Arab Revolt is proclaimed with an attack on Medina (where the Prophet Mohammed had died in AD 632). The revolt liberates much of the Middle East from Ottoman control, but the two sides also battle each other inside Persia's borders, leading to a movement against the weak shah. The effect is worsened when Britain in 1917 attempts to launch an attack from Persia on Soviet Russia in order to reverse the revolution. The Soviet government responds by annexing some northern portions of Persian territory to use as a buffer zone and extracting further concessions from Shah Ahmad.

1920 - 1925

By 1920 Ahmad's authority in his own country extends barely beyond the confines of Tehran itself. A bloodless coup d'etat led by Colonel Reza Pahlevi a year later removes Ahmad from power. The country is in such a state of disarray that peace must quickly be restored by a strong leader, and Reza Pahlevi has the appearance of being that man, although he is not officially enthroned until 1925 as the first shah of the Pahlevi dynasty.

Pahlevi Shahs of Iran
AD 1925 - 1979

The previous ruling dynasty of Persia, the Qajars , were seemingly unable to prevent encroachment by the British and the Soviet Russians. Much of Iran apart from the capital was outside their control. The country's military elite were not impressed and overthrew them in a coup. They were exiled, eventually ending up in France . The nation's parliament, the majilis , met on 12 December 1925 where it voted to formally remove the Qajars and replace them with the Pahlevis, in the form of Reza Khan. Born in 1878, he was the son of a major in the 7th Savadkuh Regiment. and had himself risen to the position of minister of war and commander of the Iranian army following his part in the coup of 1921.

Persia had been one of the world's great non-maritime empires, especially in the ancient world. The country had long maintained a distinct cultural identity within the Islamic world by retaining its own language and adhering to the Shia interpretation of Islam . Reza Khan ruled the country with a strong hand, introducing various reforms including a leaning towards a Westernised way of life, complete with everything from emancipated women to modern department stores. Additionally, in 1935 ancient Persia became officially known as Iran whereas previously this had been a regional title. Reza's successor qualified this in 1959 by announcing that both Iran and Persia were acceptable names.

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from A History of Iran: Empire of the Mind , Michael Axworthy (Basic Books, 2008), Iran in World History , Richard Foltz (Oxford University Press, 2016), from External Link : BBC Country Profiles .)

1925 - 1941

Reza (Rida) Pahlevi

Military colonel. Persia officially renamed Iran. Deposed.

1941 1941

The shah's pro-Axis allegiance during the Second World War makes Iran a target. The shah encourages Nazi German economic involvement in the country while attempting to play off Britain and Russia against each other. The policy falls apart when Britain and Russia become allies in the war and occupy Iran to use it as a conduit for supplies. The shah is deposed in favour of his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

1941 - 1979

Mohammed Reza

Son. 아들. Honoured 2500th anniv. of Persian empire. Died 1980.

1950 - 1951

Ali Razmara becomes prime minister and is assassinated less than nine months later. He is succeeded by the nationalist, Mohammad Mossadeq. In April of the following year parliament votes to nationalise the oil industry, which is dominated by the British -owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. Britain imposes an embargo and a blockade, halting oil exports and hitting the economy. A power struggle ensues between the shah and Mossadeq and the shah flees the country in August 1953. This sets a precedent.

1953 1953

Mossadeq is overthrown in an August coup that has been engineered by the British and American intelligence services. General Fazlollah Zahedi is proclaimed prime minister and the shah is able to return.

1963 1963

In January the shah announces the 'White Revolution', a programme of social and political reform and privatisation. He is vociferously opposed by the leading cleric, Ayatollah Khomeini, but following several brushes with authority, Khomeini is exiled to Iraq the following year.

Ayatollah Khomeini addresses the crowd in Tehran
Ayatollah Khomeini addresses the crowd in Tehran in 1979, soon after his rise to power in Rian, having seen off the modernising shah of Iran

1970 1970 년

In May, Iran renounces its claim to sovereignty over Bahrain after a United Nations report shows that Bahrainis want to remain independent.

1978 - 1979

The shah's modernisation policies have alienated the conservative clergy. Coupled with this problem is his authoritarian rule, which leads to riots, strikes, and mass demonstrations. Martial law is imposed on the country but in January 1979 the shah is forced to lead his family into exile. Ayatollah Khomeini steers the course of the Iranian Revolution from his base, which is now in France for a short period before he returns to Iran in February 1979. Shah Mohammed Reza is the last emperor in Europe, the Mediterranean, or the Middle East. An Islamic republic is declared in place of the shahdom and Khomeini rules over an oppressive hard-line regime.

Modern Iran
AD 1979 - Present Day

The modern Islamic republic of Iran is a good deal smaller than historic Persia , although those historic borders have fluctuated wildly over the centuries. The republic was created in 1979, after ending the Iranian shahdom which had existed for almost five hundred years. With its capital at Tehran in the northern central region, close to the Caspian Sea, the country is neighboured by Turkmenistan to the north-east, Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait across the Persian Gulf to the south, Iraq and Turkey to the west, and Armenia and Azerbaijan to the north-west.

While the modern state itself is known as Iran, the geographical region in which it sits can still be labelled Persia, as can Iranian cultural and historic matters. The ancient Greeks used 'Persia' to describe the land of the Persians (or Parsu), a grouping of Indo-Europeans of the Indo-Iranian branch who had arrived in the region after the twelfth century BC. The official modern use of 'Iran' began in 1935, at the request of Reza Shah of the Pahlevis , although in 1959 it was accepted that both this and 'Persia' were valid. The name originates in the proto-Iranian 'Aryānā', meaning 'land of the Aryans'. The country also incorporates the region of Elam , one of the world's earliest emergent civilisations.

Following the revolution, the 'Grand Ayatollah' became the supreme leader in the new 'Islamic Republic of Iran', with the position being embodied by the leader of the revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini. Essentially he ruled in a style which was similar to that of the ancient priest-kings, with a prime minister to govern the day-to-day running of the state. Beneath him was a twelve-man 'Guardian Council' which was created with the power to veto any laws passed by the Majlis (the parliament), and the power to reject any candidate who presented himself for election (only Islamists qualified). In the first years of the twenty-first century, the council persistently sided with extremists and hard-liners, using its veto powers very aggressively to block any moderates. By the early 2010s the moderates gained a stronger foothold, and a marginally more inclusive administration was inaugurated.

Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from A History of Iran: Empire of the Mind , Michael Axworthy (Basic Books, 2008), Iran in World History , Richard Foltz (Oxford University Press, 2016), from External Link : BBC Country Profiles .)

1979 - 1989

Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini / Khumayni

Leader of the Iranian Revolution.

1980 - 1988

Saddam Hussein of Iraq claims that the new revolutionary government of Iran is attempting to topple him from power. He declares war and the border between the two countries is a permanent battlefield for nearly a decade. Iraq is supported strategically and financially by Kuwait . Hussein occasionally employs chemical weapons on his enemy, but the two sides are evenly matched and the war ends in stalemate.

Iran-Iraq War
In places the Iran-Iraq War was a regional recreation of the First World War, with hopeless charges against enemy lines of trenches, and the death toll was suitably immense

1989 - Present

Ali Khamenei

Previously president of Iran.

2009 2009 년

Disputed election results on 12 June, which see the return to office of the hard line president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, brings tens of thousands of ordinary Iranians onto the streets in protest. Khamenei allows the Guardian Council to deal with the election dispute, but instead of fully backing the result, the council announces that it may recount ten per cent of the votes amid admissions that there may be some basis for the claims of voting irregularities.

Mass protests continue, despite bans being issued, and a public speech by Khamenei on 19 June in which he fully backs the results simply inflames his growing opposition. When a young female student named Neda Agha-Soltani is shot dead by a sniper while taking part in a peaceful demonstration, the opposition have a martyr behind which to rally, and the future of the regime begins to look shaky. It survives the protests however, although in a weakened state.

2013 2013 년

Hopes for more fruitful engagement with the rest of the world rise with the election of self-proclaimed moderate Hassan Rouhani to the presidency. A deal to restrict the country's highly controversial uranium enrichment programme in November sees the lifting of some international sanctions, but the domestic political divide remains deep. Young people are continually arrested for allegedly flouting strict Islamic rules and regulations, including dancing in public and even women attending basketball matches.


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