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    From The Medes to the Mullahs A History Of Iran
    From The Medes to the Mullahs A History Of Iran
    From The Medes to the Mullahs A History Of Iran
    Ebook76 pages1 hour

    From The Medes to the Mullahs A History Of Iran

    By Anne Davison

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    About this ebook

    Mention of Iran may bring to mind images of turbaned Mullahs and nuclear weapons. On the other hand Persia may provoke other images; of Persian Gardens, romantic poetry or the beautiful wives of the last Pahlavi Shah.

    But this in no way does justice to the people of Iran, or its rich and complex history. For much of the ancient period Iranian empires ruled vast areas from Afghanistan in the East to Egypt in the West. Starting around 600 BCE with the Medes and ending with the modern Islamic Republic of Iran this book traces the key events of this history.

    It is aimed at the general reader who is looking for a short, accessible history of Iran. Rather than giving detailed accounts of particular events this book offers the big picture, an outline of the history. It is rather like building a house; starting with the frame, then dividing the interior into different rooms and finally putting the furniture in place.

    Occasionally you will find events that may not perhaps be central to Iranian history, for example the Battle of Marathon or the meeting of Anthony and Cleopatra at Tarsus in modern Turkey. Such events have been included in order to enable the reader make links between what might be familiar within Western European history to that of Iran.

    It is hoped that this book might provide an introduction to a complex country that is central to understanding the wider issues of the Middle East today.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAnne Davison
    Release dateSep 6, 2013
    ISBN9781301323401
    From The Medes to the Mullahs A History Of Iran
    Author

    Anne Davison

    Canon Doctor Anne Davison has had a lifelong interest in history and the religions of the world. Her journey into understanding other cultures began in her early 20s when she lived in Lagos, Nigeria. Later, a job with British Airways gave her the chance to travel the world more widely.When she became aware of a global increase in religious intolerance she felt the need to better understand our world, past and present. She was particularly interested in how ‘religion’ interacts with politics. This led her to study for a Degree in History and Comparative religion, followed by a PhD in inter religious relations.Whilst living in Switzerland in the 1990s Anne took on the role of Vice Moderator of the World Council of Churches in Geneva, before moving back to London to work with the Church of England as an Adviser in Inter Religious Relations.In addition to organising pilgrim groups to Israel and Lebanon, Anne co-ordinated a Youth Exchange Programme for 16 to 18 year- old Jews, Christians and Muslims between Jerusalem and East London. In recognition of her work in inter-religious relations Anne was made a Lay Canon of the Church of England.Since retiring from the Church of England she has lectured on many cruise ships and in the UK for the Arts SocietyIt was in response to people asking for her lecture notes, that in 2013 Anne decided to write her first book: From the Medes to the Mullah: A History of Iran. She has just published her ninth book on A History of China.She remains convinced that many of the problems facing the world today are the result of an ignorance that can lead to intolerance at best and hatred at worst.She firmly believes that one way to combat this ignorance is to promote a better understanding of our diverse world. Anne likes to think that by offering lectures and writing short, accessible books, she is playing her part in a small way.

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      Book preview

      From The Medes to the Mullahs A History Of Iran - Anne Davison

      FROM THE MEDES TO THE MULLAHS

      A History of Iran

      Part of the ‘In Brief’ Series: Books for Busy People

      by Anne Davison

      Smashwords Edition

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

      Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author

      Copyright 2013 Anne Davison

      Cover designed by Karen Turner

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      PREFACE

      INTRODUCTION

      CHAPTER 1 ANCIENT EMPIRES

      The Medes and Achaemenids

      The Graeco/Persian Wars

      Philip II and Alexander of Macedon

      Zoroastrianism

      CHAPTER 2 FROM HELLENISM TO ISLAM

      The Seleucids and Parthians

      The Roman/Parthian Wars

      The Sassanids

      The Islamic Conquest

      The Sunni/Shi'a Schism

      CHAPTER 3 MUSLIM MONARCHIES

      The Abbasids

      The Islamic Golden Age

      The Mongols

      The Safavids

      The Qajars

      World War I

      CHAPTER 4 THE MODERN PERIOD

      The Pahlavi Dynasty

      The Iranian Revolution

      The Iran-Iraq War

      A Nuclear Threat?

      EPILOGUE

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      OTHER BOOKS in the ‘In Brief’ Series by Anne Davison

      Preface

      The content of this short book began as a series of lectures. At the time I was often asked if I had ever written on the subject and over a period of time I was encouraged by others to bring the material together as a book.

      What follows is an overview of the history of Iran, starting around 670 BCE with the period of the Medes and ending with the modern Islamic Republic of Iran. The book is aimed at the general reader rather than the academic. I start with the big picture, the outline, and then fill in some, but not all, of the detail. It is rather like building a house; beginning with the frame, then dividing the interior into different rooms and finally putting the furniture in place.

      Occasionally I will include events that are not perhaps central to Iranian history, for example the Battle of Marathon or the meeting of Anthony and Cleopatra in Tarsus, modern Turkey. The reason for their inclusion is because I have tried to make links between events that are familiar to readers of European history with the history of Iran. In other words, fitting the pieces of 'Western' history into the larger jigsaw of world history. My hope is that the reader may be encouraged to furnish the rooms, or discover some other pieces of the jigsaw for themselves.

      A word about dating: I have used BCE (Before the Common/Current Era) rather than BC and I have retained the more familiar AD. However from Chapter Three onwards I have dropped the use of AD since by this time the period should be obvious to the reader and repeated, unnecessary use could be irritating.

      The book was first published in 2013. This version provides an extended Epilogue in order to bring the situation in Iran in relation to the current Syrian crisis and changes in world politics, up to date.

      Introduction

      Throughout much of its history the country has also been referred to as Persia. Both names have been used at various times to describe this region of central Asia and both names will be used throughout according to context. The name Iran takes its roots from the word Aryan and from about 600 BCE the region was known as the 'Land of the Aryans'. The word Persia was used by the Greeks to describe the tribal people who lived in the area of Pars, or Fars in South Western Iran. In common with the Greeks, the Biblical writers also spoke of Persia. The language Farsi, or Parsee, is also derived from the region of Pars, as are the Parsees of India. Since the 1979 AD Revolution the country has been officially known as the Islamic Republic of Iran and most people of the country refer to themselves as Iranians.

      In order to understand the history of any country it is helpful to look first at its geography. Geography determines trade and

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