A History Of Iran
Long before people were ruled by elderly men donning the costumes of Shi'a clerics
, the land of the Iranian plateau existed in a world of mystics, kings and warriors. The history of these ancient peoples dates back for thousands of years. Estimates go back to 4000 BC when the first settlements were established. Dating back to around 3000 BC, the civilization of Elam survived in what is now southwest Iran. Scattered across the plateau were numerous kingdoms constantly warring amongst themselves for power. By around 1200 BC the Elamite Empire reached its zenith of power. These people are believed to have worshiped numerous gods and goddesses, perhaps even sharing their theology with that of India.
Over the millennia the land was always contentious amongst tribes and ruling factions. It was not until 625 BC when the Medes unified the land and created the Iranian nation. Following this the Achaemenid Empire expanded the Persian nation well across the region making it the most powerful and feared empires to rule the lands. It was under this empire that Cyrus the Great led his armies to defeat the Babylonian, Lydian and Median empires and move well into Egypt and Asia. For centuries under successive kings the peoples followed Zoroastrianism and its God Zhura Mazda. The lands were ruled imperial armies and where soldiers could not stay, the king would always employ his "King's ears" to spy on the many villages and tribes.
Much of this came to an end by 334BC when the Macedonian Alexander the Great swept across the lands and defeated the Persian emperor Darius III. This brought forth the end of the Achaemenids and gave rise to the Seleucid Empire. This, however, was short lived as after Alexander's death as no true successor was capable of holding Persia. The Greek Parthians eventually became rulers over Persia after defeating the Seleucids in the third century.
The reign of Shah's gave rise in the Sassanid Empire in 224 CE and unlike today, the Persian empire still ruled the lands in today's Afghanistan, Iraq, Armenia, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Central Asia, and parts of Turkey. For centuries this empire provided some of the most culturally rich heritage to its kingdoms that eventually shaped those societies as they stand today.
However, as most empires do after long periods of decay, its defenses were weakened to the point that by 637 Iran was conquered by the Muslims after numerous battles. This effectively ended the Sassanid Empire and began the slow fall of Zoroastrianism into obscurity. For many centuries Iran fell under the successive Caliphates that ruled over the Muslims.
As 1219 came, Iran found itself in its darkest of days. Genghis Khan and his Mongol hoards swept across the Persian lands, massacring everyone in his path. Not only were millions killed, but much of the Islamic-era antiquity was burned and destroyed. Even though the Mongols eventually converted to Islam themselves, Iran was fundamentally changed.
As the centuries passed, so too did the successive dynasties. The Persian revival started in 1502 with the Safavid dynasty under Shah Abbas I and power was then passed onto the Afsharids, Zands, Qajars and then the Pahlavis. Throughout this time Iran had a great deal of interaction with the outside powers. This was particularly the case under the Qajars in the 17th centuries when Iran began to be colonized by the British, Russians and the French. This was known as the Great Game at which Russia and Great Britain sought to compete over land throughout Central Asia. Iran was caught right in the middle of this, eventually having to fight wars against these great powers.
The last dynasty came with the Pahlavis from 1925-1979. Reza Shah Pahlavi ruled Iran until 1941 when he was forced out by the British and Soviet invasion during World War II. His son Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi was put in power as a replacement and for his first few years he did not involve himself too much in political affairs.
By 1951 the much popular Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddeq took an initiative to the parliament to nationalize the oil industry. This caused a major uproar by the fact that the British had effectively owned the Iranian oil industry and unlike the Americans that provided a 50-50 royalty sharing deal with their contracts in Saudi Arabia, the Iranians were only given 10 percent. After multiple unsuccessful attempts to negotiate a more fair and equitable deal with the British, Mosaddeq nationalized the industry. This eventually brought the British to complain to the Americans that Mosaddeq was pro-Communist and would eventually give Iran over to the Soviets to take the strategic ownership of oil. America at the time was in the height of McCarthism Red-Scare, President Eisenhower did not need much convincing to do something about this.
In 1953, CIA officer Kermit Roosevelt was under orders to carry out Operation Ajax, which was the removal of Mosaddeq and the resumption of power of the Shah Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. Working with some assistance from the British MI6, this operation was a success. The Shah then took full power and in order to suppress any dissent he created a secret police force with the help of the British elite Special Air Service and the CIA known as the SAVAK. For decades this regime ruled Iran with an iron fist.
Eventually as the economy decayed and public patience with the Shah eroded to nothing, people took to the streets in revolution. Led by the voice of Imam Ruhollah Khomeini, millions demonstrated and clashed with the Shah's security services. Eventually people began taking over police stations and armories, they became armed and the army and police began defecting once orders were passed to fire on their own people. The first demonstrations started in early 1978 and after months and months of building momentum, critical mass was reached in February 1979 when the Pahlavi regime collapsed. The Islamic Republic was established in April of the same year.
Khomeini's regime established a system of government in which the people could vote for elected officials, but true power would always reside with one cleric. From 1979 until 1989 when he died, this cleric was Khomeini himself. His successor was one of his closest advisers and sitting President Ali Khameini. Though he never received the appropriate credentials required as a cleric for the position of Supreme Leader, Khomeini chose him nonetheless due to their close relationship.
As this became a theocracy, the system of law that existed was replaced by Sharia and all of the same human rights abuses that existed under the Shah were not only left intact, but in many ways worsened substantially. Today Iran maintains a vibrant population of whom the majority of are under the age of 30. In the eyes of many Iranians the regime has lost its credibility to lead. Reform movements have grown and with the advent of the internet and social media they continue to grow larger and louder. The government has done everything to try to suppress this dissent, but has largely been unsuccessful. Many Iranians have left Iran for better lives elsewhere leaving the country with not only the largest diaspora of exiles, but also the largest brain drain of educated individuals who would be needed to build the country's economy.
The current president is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who has held the post since 2005. In many ways he has grown more powerful than any president before him. This has become a major sticking point with the Supreme Leader Khamenei. After a very contentious election in 2009, many Iranians do not believe he was legitimately re-elected. These legitimacy issues have also spread not only to the President and the Supreme Leader, but the establishment as a whole.
by: Nicholas Parker
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