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Persian Empire

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See Also: History of = Iran=20
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History=20 of Iran
Empires of Persia - = Kings of=20 Persia
edit

The Persian Empire was a series of historical empires that = ruled over=20 the Iranian = plateau, the old=20 Persian homeland, and beyond in Western Asia, = Central=20 Asia and the Caucasus. The Persian = empire=20 has become what we know today as Persia or more = commonly, Iran. The = most=20 widespread entity considered to have been a Persian Empire was the Achaemenid = Empire=20 (648=E2=80=93330 BC) =E2=80=94 famous in antiquity as the foe of the = classical Greek states =E2=80=94 a=20 united Aryan=20 kingdom that originated in the region now known as Pars province of = Iran. It was = formed=20 under Cyrus the = Great, who=20 overthrew the empire of the Medes, and conquered the = entire=20 Middle East, including the territories of the Babylonians, the = Phoenicians, and = the Lydians. Babylonia=20 was the only part of the Assyrian empire that had not been conquered by = Cyrus'=20 Mede grandfather, Astyages. Cyrus' son, Cambyses, continued Cyrus' = conquests by=20 conquering Egypt.

Most of the successive states in Greater Iran = prior to March=20 1935 are collectively called the Persian Empire by Western=20 historians.

Virtually all the successor empires of Persia were major regional and = some major=20 international = powers in their day.

Contents

  • 1 Naming = dispute=20
  • 2 History=20
    • 2.1 Achaemenid = Empire (550=20 BC=E2=80=93330 BC)=20
    • 2.2 Hellenistic = Persia (330=20 BC=E2=80=93250 BC )=20
    • 2.3 Parthian = Empire (250=20 BC=E2=80=93AD 226)=20
    • 2.4 Sassanid = Empire=20 (226=E2=80=93651)=20
    • 2.5 Islam and = Persia=20 (650=E2=80=931037)=20
    • 2.6 Turkic rule = (1037=E2=80=931219)=20
    • 2.7 Mongols and = their=20 successors (1219=E2=80=931500)=20
    • 2.8 Safavid = Dynasty=20 (1500=E2=80=931722)=20
    • 2.9 Persia and = Europe=20 (1722=E2=80=931914)=20
    • 2.10 World War = I and the=20 interbellum (1914=E2=80=931935)
  • 3 Timeline=20
  • 4 Persia in=20 fiction=20
  • 5 See = also=20
  • 6 References=20
  • 7 Notes=20
  • 8 Further = reading=20
  • 9 External = links=20

Naming dispute

Main article: Iran naming=20 dispute

Persia has long been used by the West to describe the nation = of Iran, its = people, and=20 its ancient empires. It derives from the ancient Greek name for Iran's = maritime=20 province, called Fars in the = modern Persian = language, Pars in Middle=20 Persian and P=C4=81rsa in Old = Persian, a word=20 meaning "above reproach". Persis is the Hellenized form = of Pars,=20 and through the Latinized word Persia, the other = European=20 nations came to use this word for the region.

This area was the core of the original Persian Empire. Most = foreigners=20 referred to the state as Persia until March 21, 1935, when Reza Shah Pahlavi = formally=20 asked the international community to call the country Iran, which was = often used=20 by the Aryan tribes=20 who formed the country in the Achaemenid era united the plateau in that=20 region.[citation = needed]

History

Achaemenid Empire (550 BC=E2=80=93330 = BC)

Main article: Achaemenid=20 Empire
=20
3D""
Cyrus the = Great, founder=20 of Persian Empire and first charter of human=20 rights.
3D"Apadana=20
3D""=20
Apadana Hall, Persepolis:=20 Angra=20 Mainyu kills the primeval bull, whose seed is rescued by Mah, the moon, as the = source for all=20 other animals.

The earliest known record of the Persians comes from an Assyrian inscription = from c. 844=20 BC that calls them the Parsu (Parsuash, Parsumash) and mentions = them in=20 the region of Lake Urmia = alongside another=20 group, the Madai (Medes). For the next two = centuries,=20 the Persians and Medes were at times tributary to the Assyrians. The = region of=20 Parsuash was annexed by Sargon of Assyria around 719 BC. Eventually the = Medes=20 came to rule an independent Median Empire, and the Persians were subject = to=20 them.

The Achaemenids were the first to create a centralized state in = Persia,=20 founded by Achaemenes=20 (Hakhamanish), chieftain of the Persians around 700 BC.

Around 653=20 BC, the Medes came under the domination of the Scythians, and Teispes, the son=20 of Achaemenes, seems to have led the nomadic Persians to settle in = southern Iran=20 around this time =E2=80=94 eventually establishing the first organized = Persian state in = the important=20 region of Anshan as = the Elamite = kingdom was=20 permanently destroyed by the Assyrian ruler Ashurbanipal (640 = BC). The=20 kingdom of Anshan and its successors continued to use Elamite as an official = language=20 for quite some time after this, although the new dynasts spoke Persian, = an Indo-Iranian= =20 tongue.

Teispes' descendants may have branched off into two lines, one line = ruling in=20 Anshan, while the other ruled the rest of Persia. Cyrus II the = Great=20 united the separate kingdoms around 559 BC. At this time, = the=20 Persians were still tributary to the Median Empire ruled by = Astyages. Cyrus=20 rallied the Persians together, and in 550 BC defeated the = forces of=20 Astyages, who was then captured by his own nobles and turned over to the = triumphant Cyrus, now Shah of a unified Persian = kingdom.=20 As Persia assumed control over the rest of Media and their large empire, = Cyrus=20 led the united Medes and Persians to still more conquest. He took Lydia in Asia Minor, and = carried his=20 arms eastward into central Asia. = Finally in 539 = BC, Cyrus=20 marched triumphantly into the ancient city of Babylon. After this = victory, he=20 set the standard of the benevolent conqueror by issuing the Cyrus=20 Cylinder. Cyrus was killed in 530 BC during a battle = against=20 the Massagetae or Sakas.

3D"Darius=20
3D""=20
Darius I of=20 Persia.
=20
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Achaemenid empire at its greatest = extent.

Cyrus' son, Cambyses II, = annexed Egypt to = the=20 Achaemenid Empire. The empire then reached its greatest extent under Darius I. = He led=20 conquering armies into the Indus River valley = and into=20 Thrace in Europe.=20 A punitive raid against Greece was halted at = the Battle of = Marathon.=20 His son Xerxes=20 I tried to subdue the Greeks, but his army was defeated at the Battle of = Plataea 479 = BC.

The Achaemenid Empire was the largest and most powerful empire the = world had=20 yet seen. More importantly, it was well managed and organized. Darius = divided=20 his realm into about twenty satrapies (provinces) supervised by satraps, or governors, = many of=20 whom had personal ties to the Shah. He instituted a systematic tribute = to tax=20 each province. He took the advanced postal system of = the=20 Assyrians and expanded it. Also taken from the Assyrians was the usage = of secret=20 agents of the king, known as the King's Eyes = and=20 Ears, keeping him informed.

Darius improved the famous Royal Road and = other ancient=20 trade routes, thereby connecting far reaches of the empire. He may have = moved=20 the administration center from Fars itself to Susa, near Babylon and = closer to=20 the center of the realm. The Persians allowed local cultures to survive, = following the precedent set by Cyrus the Great. This was not only good = for the=20 empire's subjects, but ultimately benefited the Achaemenids, since the = conquered=20 peoples felt no need to revolt.

=20
Persian and Median soldiers with Farvahar in=20 center.

It may have been during the Achaemenid period that Zoroastrianism = reached=20 South-Western Iran, where it came to be accepted by the rulers and = through them=20 became a defining element of Persian culture. The religion was not only=20 accompanied by a formalization of the concepts and divinities of the = traditional=20 (Indo-)Iranian pantheon but also introduced several novel ideas, = including that=20 of free = will, which=20 is arguably Zoroaster's greatest = contribution to religious philosophy. Under the patronage of the = Achaemenid=20 kings, and later as the de-facto religion of the state, = Zoroastrianism=20 would reach all corners of the empire. In turn, Zoroastrianism would be = subject=20 to the first sycretic influences, in particular from the Semitic lands = to the=20 west, from which the divinities of the religion would gain astral and = planetary=20 aspects and from where the temple cult originates. It was also during = the=20 Achaemenid era that the sacerdotal Magi would exert their = influence on=20 the religion, introducing many of the practices that are today = identified as=20 typically Zoroastrian, but also introducing doctrinal modifications that = are=20 today considered to be revocations of the original teachings of the = prophet.

The Achaemenid Empire united people and kingdoms from every major=20 civilization in south west Asia. For the first time in history, people = from very=20 different cultures were in contact with one another under one ruler.

Hellenistic Persia (330 BC=E2=80=93250 BC = )

Main article: Seleucid=20 Empire

The later years of the Achaemenid dynasty were marked by decay and = decadence.=20 The greatest empire of the time collapsed in only eight years, when it = fell=20 under the attack of a young Macedonian king, Alexander the=20 Great.

The Achaemenid Empire's weakness was exposed to the Greeks in 401 = BC, when a=20 rebel prince, Cyrus the = Younger,=20 hired 14,000 Greek mercenaries to help secure his claim to the imperial = throne=20 (see Xenophon, Anabasis). This = exposed the=20 political instability weakness of Achaemenid State during a crisis of=20 succession.

Philip II of=20 Macedon, leader of most of Greece, decided to take advantage of this = weakness when, after the death of Artaxerxes = III=20 Ochus in 338, the Persian Empire had no strong leader. After = Philip's death=20 in 336, his son and successor Alexander = landed in=20 Asia Minor in 334=20 BC. His armies quickly swept through Lydia, Phoenicia, and Egypt, = before=20 defeating all the troops of Darius III at = Gaugamela (331)=20 and capturing the capital at Susa. The last Achaemenid resistance was at = the "Persian=20 Gates" between Susa and near the royal palace at Persepolis. The = Achaemenid=20 Empire was now in Alexander's hands.


=20
Map of Alexander's empire.

Along his route of conquest, Alexander founded many colony cities, = often=20 named "Alexandria". For the next several centuries, these cities served = to=20 greatly extend Greek, or Hellenistic, = culture in=20 Persia.

Alexander's empire broke up shortly after his death, and Alexander's = general,=20 Seleucus I = Nicator,=20 tried to take control of Persia, Mesopotamia, and later Syria and Asia = Minor.=20 His ruling family is known as the Seleucid = Dynasty.=20 However he was killed in 281 BC by Ptolemy = Keraunos before=20 he could conquer Greece and Macedonia.

Greek colonization continued until around 250 BC; Greek language, = philosophy, and art came with the colonists. Throughout Alexander's = former=20 empire, Greek became the common tongue of diplomacy and literature. = Trade with=20 China = had begun in=20 Achaemenid times along the so-called Silk Road; but = during the=20 Hellenistic period it began in earnest. The overland trade brought about = some=20 fascinating cultural exchanges. Buddhism came in from = India,=20 while Zoroastrianism traveled west to influence Judaism. Incredible = statues of=20 the Buddha in=20 classical Greek styles have been found in Persia and Afghanistan, = illustrating=20 the mix of cultures that occurred around this time (See Greco-Buddhism),= although=20 it is possible that Greco-Buddhist art dates from Achaemenid times when = Greek=20 artists worked for the Persians.

Although recently discovered cuneiform evidence (e.g., the Babylonian=20 Chronicles from the Hellenistic Period) show how much continuity = there was=20 in the Eastern civilization, it can not be denied that the Seleucid = kingdom=20 began to decline after about a century. The eastern provinces of Bactria and Parthia broke off=20 in 238 = BC. King=20 Antiochus III's = military=20 leadership kept Parthia from overrunning Persia itself, but when he = tried to=20 intervene in Greece, his successes alarmed the burgeoning Roman=20 Republic. Roman legions began to attack the kingdom. At the same = time, the=20 Seleucids had to contend with the revolt of the Maccabees in Judea = and the=20 expansion of the Kushan Empire to = the east.=20 The empire fell apart and was conquered by Parthia and Rome.

Parthian Empire (250 BC=E2=80=93AD = 226)

Main article: Parthia
<= /DL>
=20
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The Parthian Empire.
=20
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Metallic statue of a Parthian prince = (thought to be=20 Surena), AD 100, kept at = The National=20 Museum of Iran, Tehran.

Its rulers, the Arsacid = dynasty,=20 belonged to an Iranian tribe that had settled there during the time of=20 Alexander. They declared their independence from the Seleucids in 238 = BC, but=20 their attempts to unify Iran were thwarted until after Mithridate= s I=20 advent to the Parthian throne in about 170 BC.

The Parthian Confederacy shared a border with Rome along the upper = Euphrates=20 River. The two polities became major rivals, especially over control of = Armenia.=20 Heavily-armoured Parthian cavalry (cataphracts) = supported by=20 mounted archers proved a match for Roman legions, as in the Battle of = Carrhae in=20 which the Parthian General Surena defeated Marcus = Licinius=20 Crassus of Rome. Wars were very frequent, with Mesopotamia = serving as the=20 battleground. The family of the Persian Empire now goes by the name of=20 Rahbar.

During the Parthian period, Hellenistic customs partially gave way to = a=20 resurgence of Persian culture. However, the empire lacked political = unity. The=20 administration was shared between Seven = Parthian=20 clans who constituted the Dahae = Confederation,=20 each of these clans governed a province of the empire. Suren-Pahlav = Clan, Karen-Pahlav=20 Clan and Mihran=20 Clan were the most influential ones. By the 1st century BC, = Parthia=20 was decentralized, ruled by feudal nobles. Wars = with Rome to=20 the west and the Kushan Empire to the = northeast=20 drained the country's resources.

Parthia, now impoverished and without any hope to recover the lost=20 territories, was demoralized. The kings had to give more concessions to = the=20 nobility, and the vassal kings sometimes refused to obey. Parthia's last = ruler=20 Artabanus = IV had=20 an initial success in putting together the crumbling state. However, the = fate of=20 the Arsacid Dynasty was doomed when in AD 224, the Persian vassal = king Ardashir = revolted.=20 Two years later, he took Ctesiphon, and this = time, it=20 meant the end of Parthia. It also meant the beginning of the third = Persian=20 Empire, ruled by the Sassanid kings. Sassanids were from the province of = Persis,=20 native to the first Persian Empire, the Achaemenids.

Sassanid Empire = (226=E2=80=93651)

Main article: Sassanid=20 Empire
=20
The Sassanid Empire in 610.
=20
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One of the rock reliefs at Naqsh-e Rustam = depicting=20 the triumph of Shapur I over the Roman Emperor Valerian= , and Philip the=20 Arabian

Ardashir=20 I, led a rebellion against the Parthian Confederacy in an attempt to = revive=20 the glory of the previous empire and to legitimize the hellenized form = of Zoroastrianism = practised=20 in south western Iran. In two years he was the Shah of a new Persian = Empire.

The Sassanid = dynasty (also=20 Sassanian) (named for Ardashir's grandfather) was the first dynasty = native to=20 the Pars province since the Achaemenids; thus they saw themselves as the = successors of Darius and Cyrus. They pursued an aggressive expansionist = policy.=20 They recovered much of the eastern lands that the Kushans had taken in = the=20 Parthian period. The Sassanids continued to make war against Rome; a = Persian=20 army even captured the Roman Emperor Valerian= in 260.

The Sassanid Empire, unlike Parthia, was a highly centralized state. = The=20 people were rigidly organized into a caste system: Priests, Soldiers, = Scribes,=20 and Commoners. Zoroastrianism was finally made the official state = religion, and=20 spread outside Persia proper and out into the provinces. There was = sporadic=20 persecution of other religions. The Eastern = Orthodox=20 Church was particularly persecuted, but this was in part due to its = ties to=20 the Roman Empire. = The Nestorian=20 Christian church was tolerated and sometimes even favored by the=20 Sassanids.

The wars and religious control that had fueled The Sassanid empire's = early=20 successes eventually contributed to its decline. The eastern regions = were=20 conquered by the White Huns in the = late 5th=20 century. Adherents of a radical religious sect, the Mazdakites, revolted = around the=20 same time. Khosrau I = was able=20 to recover his empire and expand into the Christian countries of Antioch and Yemen. = Between 605 and 629, Sassanids = successfully annexed=20 Levant and Roman Egypt and = pushed into=20 Anatolia.

However, a subsequent war with the Romans utterly destroyed the = empire. In=20 the course of the protracted conflict, Sassinid armies reached Constantinople, = but could=20 not defeat the Byzantines there. Meanwhile, the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius had=20 successfully outflanked the Persian armies in Asia Minor and attacked = the empire=20 from the rear while the main Iranian army along with its top Eran=20 Spahbods were far from battlefields. This resulted in a crushing = defeat for=20 Sassanids in Northern Mesopotamia. The Sassanids had to give up all = their=20 conquered lands and retreat. This defeat was mentioned in Qur'an as a "victory = for=20 believers," referring to the Romans, who were monotheists, in = contrast to=20 the pagan=20 Sassinids. (Note: The official religion of the Sassanid empire was Zoroastrianism. = It is not=20 an Abrahamic/Semitic religion like Christianity or = Islam, so = it would be=20 classified as "Pagan" by the followers of those religions even though it = was=20 monotheistic).

Following the advent of Islam and collapse of Sassanid = Empire,=20 Persians came under the subjection of Arab rulers for almost two = centuries=20 before native Persian dynasties could gradually drive them out. In this = period a=20 number of small and numerically inferior Arab tribes migrated to inland = Iran.=20 [1]

Also some Turkic tribes = settled in=20 Persia between the 9th and 12th centuries.[2]

In time these peoples were integrated into numerous Persian = populations and=20 adopted Persian = culture and=20 language while Persians retained their culture with minimal influence = from=20 outside.[3]

Islam and Persia = (650=E2=80=931037)

Main article: Islamic = conquest of Persia

The explosive growth of the Arab Caliphate coincided = with the=20 chaos caused by the defeat of Sassanids in wars = with the Byzantine = Empire. Most=20 of the country was conquered between 643 to 650. Persia's conquest by = Islamic Arab armies = marks the=20 transition into "medieval" Persia.

Yazdgerd III, the = last=20 Sasanian emperor, died ten years after he lost his empire to the = newly-formed Muslim = Caliphate. He=20 tried to recover some of what he lost with the help of the Turks, but they were = easily=20 defeated by Muslim armies. Then he sought the aid of the Chinese Tang=20 dynasty. However, the Chinese help did not avail and Arab muslims ultimately = defeated the=20 Chinese forces in the battle of = Talas, a=20 century after Yazdgerd's death. = He is=20 believed to have lived on the borders of Islamic Persia. Some historians = say=20 that he lived inside Islamic Iran.

The Arab empire, ruled = by the Umayyad = Dynasty, was the=20 largest state in history up to that point. It stretched from the Iberian = Peninsula to=20 the Indus=20 River, from the Aral Sea to the = southern tip of=20 the Arabian = Peninsula. The=20 Umayyads borrowed heavily from Persian and Byzantine=20 administrative systems and moved their capital to Damascus, in the = center of=20 their empire. The Umayyads would rule Persia for a hundred years.

The Arab conquest dramatically changed life in Persia. Arabic became = the new lingua=20 franca, Islam eventually replaced Zoroastrianism, and mosques were = built. A=20 new language, religion, and culture were added to the Iranian cultural=20 milieu.

In 750 = the Umayyads=20 were ousted from power by the Abbasid dynasty. By = that time,=20 Persians had come to play an important role in the bureaucracy of the = empire=20 [4]. The=20 caliph Al-Ma'mun, whose = mother was=20 Persian, moved his capital away from Arab lands into Merv in eastern Iran. It = was he who=20 later founded the House of = Wisdom in Baghdad, based on=20 the Iranian Jondishapour.

But political unrest continued. In 819, Samanids carved out an = independent state in eastern Persia to become the = first native=20 rulers after the Arabic conquest. They made Samarqand, Bukhara and Herat their capitals and = revived=20 the Persian = language and=20 culture. Zoroastrian = clerics complied=20 and authored major religious texts, such as the Denkard, in Pahlavi. It = was=20 approximately during this age, when the poet Firdawsi finished the = Shahnameh, an=20 epic poem retelling the history of the Iranian kings. This epic was = completed by=20 1008 = AD.

In 913, = western=20 Persia was conquered by the Buwayhid, a Deylamite tribal = confederation=20 from the shores of the Caspian Sea. They = made the=20 city of Shiraz their = capital. The=20 Buwayhids destroyed Islam's former territorial unity. Rather than a = province of=20 a united Muslim empire, Iran became one nation in an increasingly = diverse and=20 cultured Islamic world.

Turkic rule = (1037=E2=80=931219)

Main article: Seljuq=20 dynasty
=20
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Persian Army- Watercolor by Haydar=20 Hatemi-2002

The Muslim world was shaken again in 1037 with the invasion of the Seljuk=20 Turks from the northeast. The Seljuks created a very large Middle = Eastern=20 empire. The Seljuks built the fabulous Friday=20 Mosque in the city of Isfahan. = The famous=20 Persian mathematician and poet, Omar = Khayy=C3=A1m, wrote=20 his Rubaiyat=20 during Seljuk times.

In the early 13th century the = Seljuks=20 lost control of Persia to another group of Turks from Khwarezmia,=20 near the Aral=20 Sea. The Shahs of=20 the Khwarezmid = Empire=20 later ruled.

Mongols and their successors = (1219=E2=80=931500)

Main articles: Ilkhanate and Timurid=20 dynasty
=20
3D""
Mosques with Persian names and designs in Afghanistan, Tajikistan,=20 Uzbekistan and India illustrate just = how far east=20 Persian culture extended due to their conquests. The actual = architectural domed=20 design of Mosques were borrowed from the Sassanid era, which = then=20 spilled into the Muslim world.

In 1218, Genghis=20 Khan sent ambassadors and merchants to the city of Otrar, on the = northeastern=20 confines of the Khwarizm shahdom. The governor of Otrar had these envoys = executed. Genghis attacked Otrar in 1219, Samarkand and other = cities of=20 the northeast.

Genghis' grandson, Hulagu Khan, = finished the=20 invasions that Genghis had begun when he defeated Khwarzim Empire, = Baghdad, and=20 much of the rest of the Middle East from = 1255 to 1258. Persia temporarily = became the=20 Ilkhanate,=20 a division of the vast Mongol = Empire.

In 1295, after=20 Ilkhan Mahmud Ghazan = converted to=20 Islam, he renounced all allegiance to the Emp= eror=20 Chengzong of Yuan China who had recently succeeded his grandfather = Kublai=20 Khan as Great Khan. The Ilkhans patronized the arts and learning in = the fine=20 tradition of Iranian Islam; indeed, they helped to repair much of the = damage of=20 the Mongol conquests.

In 1335, the death=20 of = Abu=20 Sa'id, the last well-recognized Ilkhan, spelled the end of the = Ilkhanate.=20 Though Arpa Ke'un was = declared=20 Ilkhan his authority was disputed and the Ilkhanate was splintered into = a number=20 of small states. This left Persia vurnerable to conquest at the hands of = Timur=20 the Lame or Tamerlane, a Central Asian conqueror seeking to revive = the=20 Mongol Empire. He ordered the attack of Persia beginning around 1370 and robbed the = region until=20 his death in 1405.=20 Timur was an even greater murderer than Genghis had been. In Isfahan, = for=20 instance, he was responsible for the murder of 70,000 people so that he = could=20 build towers with their skulls. He conquered a wide area and made his = own city=20 of Samarkand rich, but he made no effort to forge a lasting empire. The = Persian=20 Empire was essentially in ruins.

For the next hundred years Persia was not a unified state. It was = ruled for a=20 while by descendants of Timur, called the Timurid emirs. Toward the end of = the 15th=20 century, Persia was taken over by the Emirate of the White Sheep = Turkmen=20 (Ak Koyunlu). But there was little unity and none of the = sophistication=20 that had defined Iran during the glory days of Islam.

Safavid Dynasty = (1500=E2=80=931722)

=20
Naghsh-i = Jahan=20 Square is one of the many monuments built during the Safavid=20 era.
=20
3D""
Persian art and architecture reached an apex during = the reign=20 of the Safavid dynasty.

The Safavid = Dynasty hailed=20 from the town of Ardabil in the region = of Azarbaijan. = The=20 Safavid Shah Ismail I overthrew = the White=20 Sheep (Akkoyunlu) Turkish rulers of Persia to found a new native Persian = empire.=20 Ismail expanded Persia to include all of present-day Azerbaijan, Iran, = and Iraq,=20 plus much of Afghanistan. = Ismail's=20 expansion was halted by the Ottoman Empire = at the Battle of = Chaldiran=20 in 1514, = and war with=20 the Ottomans became a fact of life in Safavid Iran.

Safavid Persia was a violent and chaotic state for the next seventy = years,=20 but in 1588 Shah Abbas I of = Safavid=20 ascended to the throne and instituted a cultural and political = renaissance. He=20 moved his capital to Isfahan, which quickly became one of the most = important=20 cultural centers in the Islamic world. He made peace with the Ottomans. = He=20 reformed the army, drove the Uzbeks out of Iran and = into=20 modern-day Uzbekistan, and = (with English=20 help) recaptured the island of Hormuz from the Portuguese. Abdur = Razzaq was the Persian ambassador to Calicut, India, and wrote vividly = of his=20 experiences there.[5]

The Safavids were followers of Shi'a Islam, and under = them=20 Persia (Iran) became the largest Shi'a country in the = Muslim=20 world, a position Iran still holds today.

Under the Safavids Iran enjoyed its last period as a major imperial = power. In=20 1639, a final border was agreed upon with the Ottoman Empire with the = Treaty of=20 Qasr-e Shirin; which delineates the border between the Republic of Turkey = and Iran and=20 also that of between Iraq and Iran, today.

Persia and Europe = (1722=E2=80=931914)

=20
An 18th-century Persian astrolabe. = Throughout the Middle=20 Ages, the natural = philosophy=20 and mathematics of ancient Greeks = were=20 furthered and preserved within the Muslim world. During this period, = Persia=20 became a centre for the manufacture of scientific=20 instruments, retaining its reputation for quality well into the 19th=20 century.

In 1722, the Safavid state collapsed. That year saw the first = European=20 invasion of Persia since the time of Alexander: Peter the = Great, Emperor = of Imperial = Russia, invaded=20 from the northwest as part of a bid to dominate central Asia. To make = the=20 situation truly hopeless, Ottoman forces accompanied the Russians, = successfully=20 laying siege to Isfahan.

The country was able to weather the invasions; neither the Russians = nor the=20 Turks gained any territory. However, the Safavids were severely = weakened, and=20 that same year (1722), the Afghans launched a = bloody=20 battle in response to the Safavids' attempts on trying to forcefully = convert=20 them from Sunni to=20 Shi'a sect of=20 Islam. The last Safavid shah was executed, and the dynasty came to an = end.

The Persian empire experienced a temporary revival under Nadir Shah=20 in the 1730s and