Filter

Year range

60 of 60 events · showing 1–20

The Story of

Iran

3100 BCE – 2026

Country in Western Asia

  1. Proto-Elamite period

    3100 BCE – 2700 BCE

    The Proto-Elamite period, also known as Susa III, is a chronological era in the ancient history of the area of Elam, dating from c. 3100 BC to 2700 BC. In archaeological terms this corresponds to the late Banesh period. Proto-Elamite sites are recognized as the oldest civilization in Iran.

  2. Medo-Persian conflict

    553 BCE – 550 BCE

    The Medo-Persian conflict was a campaign led by the Median king Astyages against Persis in the mid 6th-century BCE. Classical sources claim that Persis had been a vassal of the Median kingdom that revolted against Median rule, but this is not confirmed by contemporary evidence. After some battles the Persians led by Cyrus the Great emerged victorious, subsequently conquering Median territories and establishing the Achaemenid Empire.

  3. Battle of the Persian Gate on the Mountain

    20 January 330 BCE

    The Battle of the Persian Gate took place as part of the Wars of Alexander the Great. In the winter of 330 BC, Ariobarzanes of Persis led a last stand with his outnumbered Persian army at the Persian Gate, near Persepolis, and held back the Macedonian army for approximately a month.

  4. Battle of Hormozdgan

    28 April 224

    The Battle of Hormozdgan (also spelled Hormizdagan and Hormozgan) was the climactic battle between the Arsacid and the Sasanian dynasties that took place on 28 April 224. The Sasanian victory broke the power of the Parthian dynasty, effectively ending almost five centuries of Parthian rule in Iran, and marking the official start of the Sasanian era.

  5. Battle of Avarayr

    26 May 451

    The Battle of Avarayr (Armenian: Ավարայրի ճակատամարտ, romanized: Avarayri chakatamart) was fought on 26 May 451 on the Avarayr Plain in Vaspurakan between a Christian Armenian army under Vardan Mamikonian and Sassanid Persia. It is considered one of the first battles in defense of the Christian faith.

  6. Battle of Nahāvand

    642

    The Battle of Nahavand (Arabic: معركة نهاوند Maʿrakah Nahāwand, Persian: نبرد نهاوند Nabard-e Nahâvand), also spelled Nihavand or Nahawand, was fought in 642 between the Rashidun Muslim forces under An-Numan ibn Muqarrin and Sasanian army under King Yazdegerd III. Yazdegerd escaped to the Merv area, but was unable to raise another substantial army. The battle ended in a victory for the Rashidun Caliphate and the Sasanids consequently lost the surrounding cities including Spahan (Isfahan).

  7. Battle of Marj Ardabil

    9 December 730

    The Battle of Marj Ardabil was a military engagement between the Umayyads and the Khazars in AD 730. A Khazar army led by Barjik, the Khazar Khagan, inflicted a catastrophic defeat on the Umayyads, killing the majority of the army and its leader, al-Jarrah ibn Abdallah.

  8. 856 Damghan earthquake

    22 December 856

    The Damghan earthquake or the Qumis earthquake occurred on 22 December 856 (242 AH) in Khorasan province, Abbasid Caliphate. The earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 7.9, and a maximum intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale.

  9. Zanj Rebellion

    869–883

    The Zanj Rebellion (Arabic: ثورة الزنج Thawrat al-Zanj / Zinj) was a major revolt against the Abbasid Caliphate, which took place from 869 until 883. Begun near the city of Basra in present-day southern Iraq and led by one Ali ibn Muhammad, the insurrection involved both enslaved and freed Africans (collectively termed "Zanj" in this case) exported in the Indian Ocean slave trade and transported to slavery in the Abbasid Caliphate in the Middle East, principally to drain the region's salt marshes.

  10. Mongol campaign against the Nizaris

    1253–1270

    The Mongols launched a campaign against the Nizari Ismaili state in 1253 after invading the Khwarazmian Empire and a series of Nizari–Mongol conflicts. The campaign was ordered by the Great Khan Möngke and was led by his brother, Hülegü.

  11. Battle of Chaldiran

    23 August 1514

    The Battle of Chaldiran (Persian: جنگ چالدران; Turkish: Çaldıran Savaşı) took place on 23 August 1514 and ended with a decisive victory for the Ottoman Empire over the Safavid Empire. As a result, the Ottomans annexed Eastern Anatolia and Upper Mesopotamia from Safavid Iran.

  12. Battle of Gulnabad

    8 March 1722

    The Battle of Gulnabad (Pashto: د ګلون اباد جګړه, romanized: Dh Gulonābād Jaghrha; Persian: نبرد گلون‌آباد, romanized: Nabard-e Golūnābād) was fought between the military forces from the Hotak dynasty and the army of the Safavid Empire on Sunday, March 8, 1722. It further cemented the eventual fall of the Safavid dynasty, which had been declining for decades.

  13. Persian Constitutional Revolution

    1905–1911

    The Persian Constitutional Revolution (Persian: مشروطیت, romanized: Mašrutiat, or انقلاب مشروطه Enqelâb-e Mašrute), also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911 during the Qajar era. The revolution led to the establishment of a parliament in Iran (Persia), and has been called an "epoch-making episode in the modern history of Persia".

  14. Jungle Movement of Gilan

    October 1915 – 5 June 1920

    The Jangal (Forest or Jungle) Movement (Persian: جنبش جنگل) was a rebellion against the monarchist central government of the Sublime State of Iran in Gilan, which lasted from 1915 to 1921.

  15. insurgency in Balochistan

    1948

    An ongoing insurgency in Pakistan's Balochistan province and Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan province is fought between Baloch nationalist separatist groups, Islamist militants, and the governments of Pakistan and Iran. The conflict is rooted in long-standing grievances over political marginalisation, economic underdevelopment, enforced disappearances, and the control of Balochistan's natural resources.

  16. White Revolution

    1963–1979

    The White Revolution (Persian: انقلاب سفید, romanized: Enqelâb-e Sefid) or the Shah and People Revolution (Persian: انقلاب شاه و مردم, romanized: Enqelâb-e Šâh o Mardom) was a series of reforms to modernize the Imperial State of Iran launched on 26 January 1963 by the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and ended with his overthrow in 1979. Among the elements of the Revolution were land reform where landlords were compensated for their land by shares of privatized state-owned factories, expanded road, rail, and air network, dam and irrigation projects, work to eradicate diseases such as malaria,…

  17. Iranian Revolution

    1970s – February 1979

    The Iranian Revolution, also known as the Islamic Revolution, culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Imperial State of Iran by the Islamic Republic of Iran, as the monarchical government of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was superseded by Ruhollah Khomeini, an Islamist cleric who had headed one of the rebel factions, and became the country’s supreme leader.The ousting of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, formally marked the end of Iran's historical monarchy.

  18. International Women's Day in 1979 in Iran

    8 March 1979

    On International Women's Day on 8 March 1979, a women's march took place in Tehran, Iran. The march was originally intended to celebrate the International Women's Day, but transformed into massive protests against the changes taking place in women's rights during the Iranian Revolution, specifically the introduction of mandatory hijab (veiling), which had been announced the day before.

  19. Iranian Islamic Republic referendum, March 1979

    31 March 1979

    A referendum on establishing an Islamic republic was held in Iran on 30 and 31 March 1979. It took place in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution, which led to the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty on 11 February 1979 and the rise of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as Iran's de facto leader.

  20. Iran Air Flight 291

    21 January 1980

    Iran Air Flight 291 was a charter flight from Mashad Airport to Tehran-Mehrabad Airport. On 21 January 1980, the Boeing 727-86 during its approach crashed on the Tehran-Mehrabad runway 29 in foggy and snowy weather conditions, killing all 128 people on board.