Table of Contents

  • IRAN ii. IRANIAN HISTORY (2) Islamic period (page 2)

    Ehsan Yarshater

    Formation of local dynasties. The Taherids (821-73). The first of these dynasties came into being when Ṭāher b. Ḥosayn was appointed the governor of Khorasan with full power.

  • IRAN ii. IRANIAN HISTORY (2) Islamic period (page 3)

    Ehsan Yarshater

    The Saljuqids (1040-1194). The plains of Central Asia, northwestern China, and western Siberia were breeding grounds for nomadic people, who kept multiplying and searching for new pastures.

  • IRAN ii. IRANIAN HISTORY (2) Islamic period (page 4)

    Ehsan Yarshater

    The Safavids (1501-1722). The advent of the Safavids constitutes one of the major turning points in Persian history.

  • IRAN ii. IRANIAN HISTORY (2) Islamic period (page 5)

    Ehsan Yarshater

    The Qajar dynasty (1779-1924). The Qajar were a Turkmen tribe who first settled during the Mongol period in the vicinity of Armenia and were among the seven Qezelbāš tribes that supported the Safavids.

  • IRAN ii. IRANIAN HISTORY (2) Islamic period (page 6)

    Ehsan Yarshater

    Moḥammad Reza Shah (1941-79). The long history of Russian and British interventions in Persian affairs had fostered widespread resentment against the two great powers.

  • IRAN ii. IRANIAN HISTORY (3) Chronological Table

    Ehsan Yarshater

    A chronological table of events. This records major happenings of Iranian pre-history and history from the most ancient times to 2005.

  • IRAN ii. IRANIAN HISTORY (4) Index of Proper Names

    Ehsan Yarshater

    Index of proper names that occur in the chronological table.

  • IRAN iii. TRADITIONAL HISTORY

    Ehsan Yarshater

    Before assimilating the results of European research on Persian history, the Iranians were in possession of a historical tradition that combined a mixture of myth, legend, and factual history.

  • IRAN iv. MYTHS AND LEGENDS

    John R. Hinnells

    In the study of religion, myths are seen as narratives which encapsulate fundamental truths about the nature of existence, god(s), God(s), the universe. They explain the origin of the world or of a tribe or of a ritual.

  • IRAN v. PEOPLES OF IRAN (1) A General Survey

    R. N. Frye

    The term “Iranian” may be understood in two ways. It is, first of all, a linguistic classification, intended to designate any society which inherited or adopted, and transmitted, an Iranian language.