Editing History of Iran (section)

==Classical antiquity==
===Median and Achaemenid Empire (678–330 BC)===
{{Main|Medes|Achaemenid Empire}}
{{see also|Greco-Persian Wars}}
<gallery mode="packed">
Pasargad Tomb Cyrus3.jpg|The tomb of [[Cyrus the Great]]
Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.jpg|Ruins of the [[Gate of All Nations]], Persepolis
Persepolis001.jpg|Ruins of the [[Apadana]], Persepolis
Medes and Persians at eastern stairs of the Apadana, Persepolis.JPG|Depiction of united [[Medes]] and [[Persian people|Persians]] at the [[Apadana]], Persepolis
Persepolis - Tachara 01.jpg|Ruins of the [[Tachara]], Persepolis
</gallery>

In 646 BC, [[Assyria]]n king [[Ashurbanipal]] sacked [[Susa]], which ended Elamite supremacy in the region.<ref name=MMA3>{{cite web |url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/04/wai/ht04wai.htm |title=Iran, 1000 BC–1 AD |access-date=2008-08-09 |work=The Timeline of Art History |publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art |date=October 2000 |archive-date=2021-01-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125012421/http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/04/wai/ht04wai.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> For over 150 years Assyrian kings of nearby Northern [[Mesopotamia]] had been wanting to conquer [[Medes|Median tribes]] of Western Iran.<ref name=bnet>{{cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SBL/is_16/ai_n13810181 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080328003303/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SBL/is_16/ai_n13810181  |archive-date=2008-03-28 |title=The Rise and Fall of Media |access-date=2008-08-10 |work=International Journal of Kurdish Studies |publisher=BNET |date=January 2002 |first=I.N. |last=Medvedskaya }}</ref> Under pressure from Assyria, the small kingdoms of the western Iranian plateau coalesced into increasingly larger and more centralized states.<ref name=MMA3/>
[[File:Median Empire.png|thumb|left|The Medes at the time of their maximum expansion]]
In the second half of the seventh century BC, the Medes gained their independence and were united by [[Deioces]]. In 612 BC, [[Cyaxares]], [[Deioces]]' grandson, and the [[Babylonia|Babylon]]ian king [[Nabopolassar]] invaded Assyria and laid siege to and eventually destroyed [[Nineveh]], the Assyrian capital, which led to the fall of the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]].<ref name=Nineveh>{{cite book |title=The pre-Islamic Middle East |last=Sicker |first=Martin |year=2000 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-275-96890-8 |pages=68/69 }}</ref> [[Urartu]] was later on conquered and dissolved as well by the Medes.<ref>[http://www.starspring.com/ascender/urartu/urartu.html Urartu – Lost Kingdom of Van] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702205257/http://www.starspring.com/ascender/urartu/urartu.html |date=2015-07-02 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allaboutturkey.com/urartu.htm|title=Urartu Civilization – All About Turkey|access-date=2015-06-18|archive-date=2015-07-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701005402/http://www.allaboutturkey.com/urartu.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The Medes are credited with founding Iran as a nation and empire, and established the first Iranian empire, the largest of its day until [[Cyrus the Great]] established a unified empire of the Medes and Persians, leading to the [[Achaemenid Empire]] (c.550–330 BC).

[[File:Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent according to Oxford Atlas of World History 2002.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent]]

[[Cyrus the Great]] overthrew, in turn, the [[Medes|Median]], [[Lydia]]n, and [[Neo-Babylonian Empire|Neo-Babylonian]] empires, creating an empire far larger than Assyria. He was better able, through more benign policies, to reconcile his subjects to Persian rule; the longevity of his empire was one result. The Persian king, like the [[Assyria]]n, was also "[[King of Kings]]", ''xšāyaθiya xšāyaθiyānām'' (''shāhanshāh'' in modern Persian) – "great king", [[Basileus|Megas Basileus]], as known by the [[Greeks]].

Cyrus's son, [[Cambyses II]], conquered the last major power of the region, [[ancient Egypt]], causing the collapse of the [[Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt]]. Since he became ill and died before, or while, leaving [[Egypt]], stories developed, as related by [[Herodotus]], that he was struck down for impiety against the [[ancient Egyptian deities]]. After the death of Cambyses II, Darius ascended the throne by overthrowing the legitimate Achaemenid monarch [[Bardiya]], and then quelling rebellions throughout his kingdom. As the winner, [[Darius I]], based his claim on membership in a collateral line of the Achaemenid Empire.

Darius' first capital was at Susa, and he started the building program at [[Persepolis]]. He rebuilt a canal between the [[Nile]] and the [[Red Sea]], a forerunner of the modern [[Suez Canal]]. He improved the extensive road system, and it is during his reign that mentions are first made of the [[Royal Road]] (shown on map), a great highway stretching all the way from Susa to [[Sardis]] with posting stations at regular intervals. Major reforms took place under Darius. [[Coin]]age, in the form of the ''daric'' (gold coin) and the [[shekel]] (silver coin) was standardized (coinage had already been invented over a century before in Lydia c. 660 BC but not standardized),<ref>{{Cite web| url = http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/forgottenempire/persia/darius.html | title= Forgotten Empire— the world of Ancient Persia| publisher= The British Museum | year = 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070423012310/http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/forgottenempire/persia/darius.html |archive-date=2007-04-23 |access-date=2023-03-16}}</ref> and administrative efficiency increased.

The [[Old Persian]] language appears in royal inscriptions, written in a specially adapted version of the [[cuneiform script]]. Under Cyrus the Great and [[Darius I]], the Persian Empire eventually became the largest empire in human history up until that point, ruling and administrating over most of the then known world,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MESO/PERSIANS.HTM |title=The Persians |year=1996 |first=Richard |last=Hooker |access-date=2006-08-20  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060829110727/http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MESO/PERSIANS.HTM |archive-date=2006-08-29 }}</ref> as well as spanning the continents of [[Europe]], Asia, and Africa. The greatest achievement was the empire itself. The Persian Empire represented the world's first [[superpower]]<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=http://anthropology.net/user/kambiz_kamrani/blog/2006/12/05/engineering_an_empire_the_persians |title=Engineering an Empire: The Persians &#124; Anthropology.net |access-date=2007-03-13  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070110020201/http://anthropology.net/user/kambiz_kamrani/blog/2006/12/05/engineering_an_empire_the_persians |archive-date=2007-01-10 }}</ref><ref name="encyclopedia.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-155920057.html|title=Greek-Persian Wars (490 bce–479 bce) - Gale Encyclopedia of World History: War - Encyclopedia.com|access-date=2007-03-13|archive-date=2009-09-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090904162341/http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-155920057.html|url-status=live}}</ref> that was based on a model of tolerance and respect for other cultures and religions.<ref>[http://web.utk.edu/~persian/benevolent.htm Benevolent Persian Empire<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050907204041/http://web.utk.edu/~persian/benevolent.htm |date=2005-09-07 }}</ref>

[[File:Map Greco-Persian Wars-en.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|Map showing key sites during the Persian invasions of Greece.|alt=]]
In the late sixth century BC, Darius launched his European campaign, in which he defeated the [[Paeonia (kingdom)|Paeonians]], conquered [[Thrace]], and subdued all coastal Greek cities, [[European Scythian campaign of Darius I|as well as defeating]] the European [[Scythians]] around the [[Danube]] river.{{sfn|Roisman|Worthington|2011|p=345}} In 512/511 BC, [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedon]] became a [[vassal]] kingdom of Persia.{{sfn|Roisman|Worthington|2011|p=345}}

In 499 BC, [[Classical Athens|Athens]] lent support to a revolt in [[Miletus]], which resulted in the sacking of [[Sardis]]. This led to an Achaemenid campaign against mainland Greece known as the [[Greco-Persian Wars]], which lasted the first half of the 5th century BC, and is known as one of the most important wars in [[European history]]. In the [[First Persian invasion of Greece]], the Persian general [[Mardonius (general)|Mardonius]] re-subjugated Thrace and made Macedon a full part of Persia.{{sfn|Roisman|Worthington|2011|p=345}} The war eventually turned out in defeat, however. Darius' successor [[Xerxes I]] launched the [[Second Persian invasion of Greece]]. At a crucial moment in the war, about half of mainland Greece was overrun by the Persians, including all territories to the north of the Isthmus of [[Corinth]],<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Carey|first1=Brian Todd|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3OSfBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT32|title=Warfare in the Ancient World|last2=Allfree|first2=Joshua B.|last3=Cairns|first3=John|date=2006-01-19|publisher=Pen and Sword|isbn=978-1-84884-630-2|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Aeschylus, Burian2009">{{cite book|author1=Aeschylus|author2=Peter Burian|author3=Alan Shapiro|title=The Complete Aeschylus: Volume II: Persians and Other Plays|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0kTiBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT18|date=17 February 2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-045183-7|page=18|access-date=12 September 2016|archive-date=23 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923003450/https://books.google.com/books?id=0kTiBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT18|url-status=live}}</ref> however, this was also turned out in a Greek victory, following the battles of [[Battle of Plataea|Plataea]] and [[Battle of Salamis|Salamis]], by which Persia lost its footholds in Europe, and eventually withdrew from it.{{sfn|Roisman|Worthington|2011|pp=135–138, 342–345}} During the Greco-Persian wars, the Persians gained major territorial advantages. They [[Achaemenid destruction of Athens|captured and razed Athens twice]], once in 480 BC and again in 479 BC. However, after a string of Greek victories the Persians were forced to withdraw, thus losing control of [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia]], [[Thrace]] and [[Ionia]]. Fighting continued for several decades after the successful Greek repelling of the Second Invasion with numerous Greek city-states under the Athens' newly formed [[Delian League]], which eventually ended with the [[peace of Callias]] in 449 BC, ending the Greco-Persian Wars. In 404 BC, following the death of [[Darius II]], Egypt rebelled under [[Amyrtaeus]]. Later [[pharaoh]]s successfully resisted Persian attempts to reconquer Egypt until 343 BC, when Egypt was reconquered by [[Artaxerxes III]].
[[File:Persépolis, Irán, 2016-09-24, DD 64-68 PAN.jpg|thumb|800px|center|{{center|A panoramic view of [[Persepolis]]}}]]

===Greek conquest and Seleucid Empire (312 BC–248 BC)===
{{Main|Seleucid Empire}}
[[File:Seleucid-Empire 200bc.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The [[Seleucid Empire]] in 200 BC, before Antiochus was defeated by the Romans]]

From 334 BC to 331 BC, [[Alexander the Great]] defeated [[Darius III]] in the battles of [[Battle of the Granicus|Granicus]], [[Battle of Issus|Issus]] and [[Battle of Gaugamela|Gaugamela]], swiftly conquering the Achaemanid Empire by 331 BC. Alexander's empire broke up shortly after his death, and Alexander's general, [[Seleucus I Nicator]], tried to take control of Iran, [[Mesopotamia]], and later [[Syria]] and [[Anatolia]]. His empire was the [[Seleucid Empire]]. He was killed in 281 BC by [[Ptolemy Keraunos]].

===Parthian Empire (248 BC–224 AD)===
{{Main|Parthian Empire}}
{{See also|Roman–Parthian Wars}}
[[File:BagdatesI290-280BCEPersia.jpg|thumb|[[Bagadates I]], first native Persian ruler after Greek rule]]

The [[Parthian Empire]]{{Emdash}}ruled by the Parthians, a group of northwestern Iranian people{{Emdash}}was the realm of the Arsacid dynasty. This latter reunited and governed the Iranian plateau after the [[Parni conquest of Parthia]] and defeating the Seleucid Empire in the late third century BC. It intermittently controlled Mesopotamia between {{Circa|150 BC and 224 AD}} and  absorbed [[Eastern Arabia]].

Parthia was the eastern arch-enemy of the [[Roman Empire]] and it limited Rome's expansion beyond [[Cappadocia]] (central Anatolia). The Parthian armies included two types of [[cavalry]]: the heavily armed and armored [[cataphract]]s and the lightly armed but highly-mobile [[mounted archery|mounted archers]].

For the Romans, who relied on heavy [[infantry]], the Parthians were too hard to defeat, as both types of cavalry were much faster and more mobile than foot soldiers. The [[Parthian shot]] used by the Parthian cavalry was most notably feared by the Roman soldiers, which proved pivotal in the crushing Roman defeat at the [[Battle of Carrhae]]. On the other hand, the Parthians found it difficult to occupy conquered areas as they were unskilled in [[siege]] warfare. Because of these weaknesses, neither the Romans nor the Parthians were able completely to [[annexation|annex]] each other's territory.

The Parthian empire subsisted for five centuries, longer than most Eastern Empires. The end of this empire came at last in 224 AD, when the empire's organization had loosened and the last king was defeated by one of the empire's vassal peoples, the Persians under the Sasanians. However, the Arsacid dynasty continued to exist for centuries onwards in [[Arsacid dynasty of Armenia|Armenia]], the [[Arsacid dynasty of Iberia|Iberia]], and the [[Arsacid Dynasty of Caucasian Albania|Caucasian Albania]], which were all eponymous branches of the dynasty.

===Sasanian Empire (224–651 AD)===
{{Main|Sasanian Empire}}
{{see also|Roman–Iranian relations|Byzantine–Sasanian wars|Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628}}
[[File:Naqsh i Rustam. Shapour.jpg|thumb|Rock-face relief at [[Naqsh-e Rustam]] of Iranian emperor [[Shapur I]] (on horseback) capturing Roman emperor [[Valerian (emperor)|Valerian]] (kneeing) and [[Philip the Arab]] (standing).]]
[[File:ChosroesHuntingScene.JPG|thumb|Hunting scene on a [[gilded silver]] bowl showing king [[Khosrau I]].]]
The first shah of the Sasanian Empire, [[Ardashir I]], started reforming the country economically and militarily. For a period of more than 400 years, Iran was once again one of the leading powers in the world, alongside its neighbouring rival, the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] and then [[Byzantine Empire]]s.<ref>Norman A. Stillman ''The Jews of Arab Lands'' pp 22 Jewish Publication Society, 1979 {{ISBN|0827611552}}</ref><ref>International Congress of Byzantine Studies ''Proceedings of the 21st International Congress of Byzantine Studies, London, 21–26 August 2006, Volumes 1–3'' pp 29. Ashgate Pub Co, 30 September 2006 {{ISBN|075465740X}}</ref> The empire's territory, at its height, encompassed all of today's Iran, [[Iraq]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Armenia]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Abkhazia]], [[Dagestan]], [[Lebanon]], [[Jordan]], [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], [[Israel]], parts of [[Afghanistan]], [[Turkey]], [[Syria]], parts of [[Pakistan]], [[Central Asia]], [[Eastern Arabia]], and parts of [[Egypt]].

Most of the Sasanian Empire's lifespan was overshadowed by the frequent [[Byzantine–Sasanian wars]], a continuation of the [[Roman–Parthian Wars]] and the all-comprising [[Roman–Persian Wars]]; the last was the longest-lasting conflict in human history. Started in the first century BC by their predecessors, the Parthians, and Romans, the last Roman–Persian War was fought in the seventh century. The Persians defeated the Romans at the [[Battle of Edessa]] in 260 and took emperor [[Valerian (emperor)|Valerian]] prisoner for the remainder of his life.

Eastern Arabia was conquered early on. During [[Khosrow II]]'s rule in 590–628, [[Egypt]], [[Jordan]], [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] and [[Lebanon]] were also annexed to the Empire. The Sassanians called their empire ''Erânshahr'' ("Dominion of the Aryans", i.e., of [[Iranian peoples|Iranians]]).<ref>Garthwaite, Gene R., ''The Persians'', p. 2</ref>

A chapter of Iran's history followed after roughly six hundred years of conflict with the Roman Empire. During this time, the Sassanian and Romano-Byzantine armies clashed for influence in Anatolia, the western Caucasus (mainly [[Lazica]] and the [[Principality of Iberia|Kingdom of Iberia]]; modern-day [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] and [[Abkhazia]]), [[Mesopotamia]], Armenia and the Levant. Under Justinian I, the war came to an uneasy peace with payment of tribute to the Sassanians.

However, the Sasanians used the deposition of the Byzantine emperor [[Maurice (emperor)|Maurice]] as a ''casus belli'' to attack the Empire. After many gains, the Sassanians were defeated at Issus, Constantinople, and finally Nineveh, resulting in peace. With the conclusion of the over 700 years lasting Roman–Persian Wars through the climactic [[Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628]], which included the very [[Siege of Constantinople (626)|siege of the Byzantine capital of Constantinople]], the war-exhausted Persians lost the [[Battle of al-Qādisiyyah]] (632) in [[Hilla]] (present-day [[Iraq]]) to the invading Muslim forces.

The Sasanian era, encompassing the length of [[Late Antiquity]], is considered to be one of the most important and influential historical periods in Iran, and had a major impact on the world. In many ways, the Sassanian period witnessed the highest achievement of Persian civilization and constitutes the last great Iranian Empire before the adoption of Islam. Persia influenced Roman civilization considerably during Sassanian times,<ref>J. B. Bury, p.109.</ref> their cultural influence extending far beyond the empire's territorial borders, reaching as far as Western Europe,<ref name="autogenerated2">Durant.</ref> Africa,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.transoxiana.com.ar/0104/sasanians.html|title=Compareti – Sasanians in Africa – Transoxiana 4|access-date=2007-03-05|archive-date=2008-05-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528203821/http://www.transoxiana.com.ar/0104/sasanians.html|url-status=live}}</ref> China and India<ref>Sarfaraz, pp. 329–330.</ref> and also playing a prominent role in the formation of both European and Asiatic medieval art.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.artarena.force9.co.uk/sass2.htm|title=Iransaga – Persian Art, The Sassanians|access-date=2007-03-05|archive-date=2019-11-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191123010249/http://www.artarena.force9.co.uk/sass2.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

This influence carried forward to the [[Muslim world]]. The dynasty's unique and aristocratic culture transformed the Islamic conquest and destruction of Iran into a Persian Renaissance.<ref name="autogenerated2" /> Much of what later became known as Islamic culture, architecture, writing, and other contributions to civilization, were taken from the Sassanian Persians into the broader Muslim world.<ref>Zarinkoob, p.305.</ref>
[[File:Piero della Francesca 021.jpg|thumb|700px|center|{{center|Battle between [[Heraclius]]' army and Persians under [[Khosrow II]]. Fresco by [[Piero della Francesca]], c. 1452.}}]]