330 BC, Alexander The Great, a Greek (Macedonian) King, forces the collapse of the Persian Achaemenid Empire.
224 AD, Ardashir founds the Persian Sassanaian Empire whose Capital City is Ctesiphon toward the northeast of the country.
637 AD, The Sassanaian Empire is attacked and destroyed by Muslim Arabs at the battle of Qadisiya.
750 AD - 1258 AD, Caliph rule (Islamic Civil and Religious leadership) known as the Abbasaid Dynasty with the capital city moved to Baghdad (present day Iraq)
1380 AD, Tamerlane (a Mongol leader) conquers Persia.
1501, The Safavid dynasty produce great architecture and artworks. More so under the rule of Abbas I (The Great) 1588 AD - 1629 AD.
1737 AD - 1747 AD, Nadir Shah Afshar deposes the Safavid rule.
1790 AD, The Qajar Dynasty transferred the Capital City from Esfahan in the centre of Iran to Tehran in the north.
19th Century, Russian expansion and influence in the north of the country takes Georgia and Armenia from the Persian Empire area.
1801 AD - 1828 AD, The British Empire influences the south and east of this country and in 1856-1857, engages in conflict with Iran over control of the Herat area of now western Afghanistan, which was then situated under the area of the old Persian Empire.
1906 AD, Revolution, after which a Parliamentary constitution is adopted.
1925 AD, The Qajar dynasty which has become weak and rife with corruption is overthrown. Colonel Reza Khan a nationalist Iranian army cavalry officer is backed by the British Empire and is crowned Shah (meaning, King Of Kings), becoming known as Reza Shah Pahlavi.
Modernisation of the economy and country follows. Along with reforms a new broad policy is launched for the society itself within the country with the aim of moving toward less traditional rigid religious values by instigating new freedoms, but these reforms have the consequence of alienating the more traditionalist supporters.
1935 AD, The name Persia is substituted for the name Iran.
1941 AD, During World War Two Pahlavi Shah abdicates as he is pro Nazi German, and the country is occupied by the Allied forces. His son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi replaces him.
1946 AD, After the end of the Second World War and Nazi Germany, along with it's supporters are defeated, the Allied occupation forces of Britain, America and Soviet Russia leave.
1951 AD, Muhammad Mossadeq, the quite alienated anti British and American prime minister, nationalises the oilfields.
1953 AD, Muhammad Mossadeq is deposed and the nationalisation of oilfields is stopped. The Shah (Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi) takes full control of the government and is backed by the United States. [ More]
Iran history notes
330 BC to 1953 AD
Iran history notes
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