**Etymology and Historical Background:**
– The term ‘Iran’ derives from Middle Persian Ērān, first attested in a third-century inscription.
– Iran has been historically referred to as Persia by the West.
– Ancient Iranian peoples arrived in Iran from the Eurasian Steppe.
– Elamites were the first civilization in ancient Iran in the fourth millennium BC.
– Median Empire was founded in 625 BC by unifying Median tribes.
– Cyrus the Great founded the Achaemenid Empire in 550 BC, which became the largest empire at that time.
– Sasanian Empire existed from 224 to 651 AD.
– Arab invasion in the seventh century led to state-imposed Islamization in Iran.
– Various Iranian dynasties rose after two centuries of Arab rule.
– The Islamic Golden Age in Iran peaked in the 10th and 11th centuries.
**Geography and Demographics:**
– Iran is bordered by Iraq, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, the Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Gulf of Oman, and the Persian Gulf.
– Iran ranks 17th in the world in both geographic size and population.
– The country is divided into five regions with 31 provinces.
– Tehran is the capital and most populous city, with around 16 million people in its metropolitan area.
– Iran is home to a multicultural population comprising a wide variety of ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups.
**Government and Political History:**
– Iran is officially governed as an Islamic Republic with a presidential system.
– Ultimate authority is vested in a theocratic supreme leader, currently Ali Khamenei.
– The Iranian government is authoritarian and has attracted widespread criticism for human rights violations.
– The monarchy was overthrown in 1979, establishing the Islamic Republic of Iran.
– Ruhollah Khomeini became the country’s first supreme leader.
**Cultural Heritage and Achievements:**
– Iran is home to 27 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
– Iran ranks 5th globally in the number of inscriptions of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
– Iran is a major center of Islamic culture and learning.
– Iranian culture, language, and customs have spread across the Muslim world.
– The Achaemenid Empire is noted for releasing Jewish exiles and building infrastructures.
– The Sasanian Empire influenced ancient Rome, Africa, China, and India.
**Empires and Dynasties in Iran:**
– Safavid Empire was founded in the 1500s by Ismail I, converting Iran from Sunni to Shia Islam.
– Nader Shah expanded Iranian territory to its greatest extent since the Sasanian Empire.
– Zand dynasty saw prosperity and peace under Karim Khan.
– Qajar Empire was founded by Agha Mohammad Khan, who centralized and unified Iran.
– Persian Constitutional Revolution in the early 20th century led to the establishment of the first national Iranian Parliament.
This article may be too long to read and navigate comfortably. When this tag was added, its readable prose size was 15,600 words. (January 2024) |
Iran, also known as Persia and officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Iraq to the west and Turkey to the northwest, Azerbaijan, Armenia, the Caspian Sea and Turkmenistan to the north, Afghanistan to the east, Pakistan to the southeast, the Gulf of Oman & the Persian Gulf to the south. With almost 90 million people in an area of 1.648 million square kilometres (0.64 million square miles), Iran ranks 17th in the world in both geographic size and population. The country is divided into five regions with 31 provinces. The nation's capital and most populous city is Tehran, with around 16 million people in its metropolitan area, other major urban centres include Mashhad, Isfahan, Karaj, and Shiraz.
Islamic Republic of Iran | |
|---|---|
| Motto: استقلال، آزادی، جمهوری اسلامی Esteqlâl, Âzâdi, Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi "Independence, freedom, the Islamic Republic" (de facto) | |
| Anthem: سرود ملی جمهوری اسلامی ایران Sorud-e Melli-ye Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Irân "National Anthem of the Islamic Republic of Iran" | |
.svg) _-_IRN_-_UNOCHA.svg) | |
| Capital and largest city | Tehran 35°41′N 51°25′E / 35.683°N 51.417°E |
| Official languages | Persian |
| Recognised regional languages | |
| Ethnic groups (2003 estimate) | |
| Demonym(s) | Iranian |
| Government | Unitary presidential theocratic Islamic republic |
| Ali Khamenei | |
| Ebrahim Raisi | |
| Mohammad Mokhber | |
| Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf | |
| Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i | |
| Ahmad Jannati | |
| Hossein Amir-Abdollahian | |
| Legislature | Islamic Consultative Assembly |
| Establishment history | |
| c. 3200 BC | |
| c. 678 BC | |
| 550 BC | |
| 247 BC | |
| 224 AD | |
| 819 | |
| 934 | |
| 1501 | |
| 1736 | |
| 1751 | |
| 1796 | |
| 15 December 1925 | |
| 11 February 1979 | |
| 3 December 1979 | |
| 28 July 1989 | |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi) (17th) |
• Water (%) | 1.63 (as of 2015) |
| Population | |
• 2024 estimate | 89,658,000 (17th) |
• Density | 55/km2 (142.4/sq mi) (132nd) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2023 estimate |
• Total |  $1,808 trillion (19th) |
• Per capita | $19,942 (78th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2023 estimate |
• Total | 366.4 billions (41nd) |
• Per capita | $4,234 (120th) |
| Gini (2019) | 40.9 medium |
| HDI (2022) | 0.780 high (78th) |
| Currency | Iranian rial (ریال) (IRR) |
| Time zone | UTC+3:30 (IRST) |
| Date format | yyyy/mm/dd (SH) |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +98 |
| ISO 3166 code | IR |
| Internet TLD | |
Iran is one of the world's oldest civilizations, beginning with the Elamites in the fourth millennium BC. It was first unified by the Medes in the seventh century BC and reached its territorial height in the sixth century BC, when Cyrus the Great founded the Achaemenid Empire, one of the largest empires in antiquity. Alexander the Great conquered the empire in the fourth century BC, and it was subsequently divided into several Hellenistic states. An Iranian rebellion established the Parthian Empire in the third century BC, which was succeeded in the third century AD by the Sasanian Empire. Arab Muslims conquered the region in the seventh century AD, leading to its Islamization. Iran became a major centre of Islamic culture and learning, and its culture, language, and customs spread across the Muslim world. A series of native Iranian Muslim dynasties ruled the country until the Seljuk and the Mongol conquests of the 11th to 14th centuries. In the 16th century, the native Safavids re-established a unified Iranian state with Twelver Shia Islam as the official religion, marking the beginning of modern Iranian history.
Under Nader Shah Afshar in the 18th century, Iran was a leading world power, though by the 19th century, it had lost significant territory through a series of conflicts with the Russian Empire. The early 20th century saw the Persian Constitutional Revolution, the establishment of the Pahlavi dynasty, and efforts at modernization. Attempts to nationalise the country's vast fossil fuel supply led to an Anglo-American coup in 1953. After the Iranian Revolution, the monarchy was overthrown in 1979 and the Islamic Republic of Iran was established by Ruhollah Khomeini, who became the country's first supreme leader. Iran is officially governed as an Islamic Republic with a presidential system, albeit with ultimate authority vested in a theocratic supreme leader (rahbar), currently Ali Khamenei since Khomeini's death in 1989. The Iranian government is authoritarian and has attracted widespread criticism for its constraints and violations of human rights.
Iran is a major emerging, middle and regional power, due to its large reserves of fossil fuels, including the world's second largest natural gas supply, third largest proven oil reserves, its strategic location in the Asian continent, its military capabilities, its regional influence, and its role as the world's focal point of Shia Islam. It is a founding member of the United Nations, the ECO, the OIC, the OPEC, the G77, the SCO, and a member of BRICS. Owing it to its long history and rich cultural legacy, Iran is home to 27 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the 10th highest number in the world, and ranks 5th globally in the number inscriptions of Intangible Cultural Heritage, or human treasures. The people of Iran are multicultural and comprise a wide variety of ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups.