Historical site of Bagheera - secrets of history, mysteries of the universe. Secrets of great empires and ancient civilizations, the fate of lost treasures and biographies of people who changed the world, the secrets of special services. Chronicle of the war, description of battles and battles, reconnaissance operations of the past and present. world traditions, modern life Russia, the unknown USSR, the main directions of culture and other related topics - all that official science is silent about.

Learn the secrets of history - it's interesting ...

Reading now

Our publication has already talked about the participation of animals in World War II. However, the use of our smaller brothers in military operations dates back to time immemorial. And dogs were among the first to be involved in this harsh business ...

Who is destined to burn, he will not drown. This gloomy proverb perfectly illustrated the vicissitudes of the fate of astronaut Virgil Grissom, who was part of the crew of the American spaceship"Apollo 1".

Implemented since 1921, the GOELRO plan brought Soviet Union to the industrialized nations. The symbols of this success were the Volkhovskaya HPP, which opened the list of large-scale construction projects, and the largest Dnieper HPP in Europe.

The world's first cable car appeared in the Swiss Alps in 1866. It was something like a two-in-one attraction: a short but breathtaking trip over the abyss and at the same time transporting tourists to the observation deck with a magnificent view from there.

... A loud rolling noise did what seemed impossible - it made me stick my head out of the sleeping bag, and then completely crawl out of the warm tent into the cold. It was as if thousands of drums were beating at the same time. Their echo reverberated through the valleys. The fresh cold morning air touched my face. Everything around was icy. A thin layer of ice covered the tent and the grass around it. Now my dwelling clearly resembled an Eskimo igloo.

The variety and originality of Masonic orders and their rituals is sometimes simply amazing. Freemasons are ready to use almost all religious rites in their ministries. One of these original orders, for example, used Islamic and Arabic flavor.

June 1917 was marked by a sensation: on the Russian-German front, as part of Russian army there were female military units with the frightening name "death battalions".

As you know, the participants in the speech on December 14, 1825 on Senate Square in St. Petersburg were mostly young officers of the guard or fleet. But among the members secret society, which operated at Moscow University in early 1831 - almost all freethinkers were listed as students of the oldest university. The “case”, which was conducted by the gendarmes from June 1831 to January 1833, remained in the archives. Otherwise, the history of Moscow State University would have been enriched with information about students who opposed the "Nikolaev despotism."

A centuries-old period in the history of mankind, states ancient east once formed on the territory of Mesopotamia and Mesopotamia - all this is the history of Iran. At the same time, modern history is usually divided into two main time periods: the pre-Muslim period, when the descendants of the formidable Achaemenids, who included in their empire not only Ancient Egypt, but also part of the territory of Ethiopia, dominated this territory in the 6th century BC, and the Muslim period.

Ancient history of Iran

It was in the pre-Islamic period, history of iran simply overflowing with various significant events, and the state itself developed rapidly and dynamically. Here you can say about literature, architecture and even mathematics. However, after many civil strife waged among themselves by the heirs of the last kings of Persia, Ancient Iran and its vast territories fell under the rule of the Arabs, who, having defeated the army of the young Yazdegerd III in 651, completely enslaved the state and began to plant Islam among its inhabitants. At the same time, the Arabs dealt quite harshly with everyone who tried to resist their domination.

Capital of Iran

Tehran is the capital and also the largest city of Iran. It has over thirteen million inhabitants. It was she who became the ancestor of the so-called Persian dialect, which later became common to all of Ancient Iran. Initially, Tehran was just a small village near the city of Rey. But after it was destroyed and plundered by the Mongols, the inhabitants rushed to the untouched village. A millennial history of this city made Tehran a reason for the pride of Iran. As incredible and astonishing as the architecture of Tehran is, the experience will be just as amazing.

Iranian population

According to the latest 2006 census data, there are 78,868,720 people. Most of the Persians and almost all of them belong to Muslims - Shiites. There are also several large ethnic groups in the country: Azerbaijanis, Kurds, Turkmens and other Turkic tribes. The Baluch live in the Southeast. In the South-West there are Bakhtiars and Lurs.

State of Iran

Since April 1, 1979 it has been officially considered a republic. The constitutional monarchy is considered a form of state government. Full name of the state: Islamic Republic Iran. The constitution and laws secure striking advantages for the Persians in comparison with other nationalities. Minority rights were recognized only among non-Islamic groups. According to this constitution, the Shah is the ruler of the country. Iran has a bicameral parliament: the Senate is the upper house and the Majlis is the lower house.

Iranian politics

The Iranian constitution was created over 60 years ago and is already outdated in many respects. With this in mind, its laws are still class in nature and give many privileges to the upper class. Ordinary workers cannot be elected to any of the Houses of Parliament.

Iranian language

The official language is Persian (Farsi), which belongs to the group of Indo-European languages, which largely determines such a concept as ancient Iranian culture. Over time, the New Persian language was formed, which mainly consists of Arabic words using Arabic script. It is Farsi that serves the Iranians for interethnic communication. The Persian alphabet is used for all other languages ​​in the country, except for Armenian and Hebrew. There are languages ​​of the Turkic group in Iran. Arabic is widely used - its study is mandatory in schools.

Section - I - Descriptions of ancient Iran
Section - II - Religion of ancient Iran
Section - III - Culture of ancient Iran
Section - IV - Art of ancient Iran
Section - V - Architecture of ancient Iran
Section - VI - Ancient cities of Iran
Section - VII - Writing of ancient Iran
Section - VIII - Ancient founders of Iran
Section - IX - Scientific discoveries ancient Iran
Section - X - Rulers of ancient Iran

Descriptions of ancient Iran

• Ancient Iran has one of the oldest histories in the world. During the course of history, the states that existed here periodically changed, as well as their names. However, the whole of Iran can be conditionally divided into Muslim and pre-Muslim periods. When Islam came here, serious changes in worldview and culture took place in the life of the local population, but many values ​​brought from ancient times remained in demand. It is the pre-Islamic period that is considered by historians as Ancient Iran.

• First public education Elam became on the territory of Iran. This small state was located east of the Tigris River, beyond which the possessions of Babylon were located. This state had considerable weight among the states of Western Asia, and was able to compete with the Sumerians, Assyrians and Babylonians. The eastern part of Iran at the same time remained under the influence of the peoples of the Indus Valley.

• Between 2000 and 1500 B.C. (historians cannot say more precisely) Iran was inhabited by Aryan tribes. Elam resisted its western neighbors for a long time, but at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. This state has lost its independence. The new state on the territory of modern Iran was Media, which occupied where big lands than Elam. The country was founded by the tribes of the Medes, who lived east of Assyria, and gained independence in the 7th century BC. The influence of Media remained so strong that even when the power in the state in the 6th century BC. was actually usurped by the Persian king Cyrus, and the whole country was called Persia, the Greeks called them Medes until the end of the 5th century BC.

• At the turn of the 5th and 6th centuries BC. the period known as the Achaemenid Empire began, named after the dynasty to which King Cyrus the Great belonged. This state became the greatest in the entire Middle East, and soon began to undertake campaigns in Europe against Greece. The response of the Greeks can be called the campaign of Alexander the Great, who managed to break all the power of this state and stop the existence of the Achaeminid dynasty.

• After the Greek conquest in the 4th century BC. for one century, the Seleucid Empire ruled Iran, but in the 3rd century BC. Persia and other territories were taken away by the young state of the Parthians, ruled by King Mithridates I. He declared himself the ruler of all of Persia. Since then, Parthia has waged periodic wars with Armenia and ancient Rome. In the 3rd century AD There was an uprising during which the Sassanid dynasty came to power. During the period of their rule, the state expanded to unprecedented limits - the Persians occupied the entire Arabian Peninsula, advanced north and west and captured Egypt. However, in the 7th century the state was greatly weakened, a struggle for power began in it, which was used by the Arab Caliphate. In 651, Ancient Iran finally entered a new phase of its existence.

Religion of ancient Iran

The separation of the tribes of ancient Iran from the Indo-European root occurred in the second millennium BC. This was enough for the religious ideas of the Iranians to acquire their own identity, but they also retained many of the beliefs of their ancestors. The religion of ancient Iran was separated into a separate movement, called Mazdaism.....

Culture of ancient Iran

The culture of ancient Iran remains little known to modern scholars. Most of the information about it was obtained during excavations, when analyzing the found religious buildings and objects of fine art......

Art of ancient Iran

The art of ancient Iran is represented by multiple written sources and works of art. Ruins have also been unearthed, making it possible to appreciate their architectural style.....

Architecture of ancient Iran

The architecture of ancient Iran combines the achievements of the Elamites, Medes and Persians in architectural art. All these peoples and the states they create have common history which preceded the formation of modern Iran. People have lived on the northern coast of the Persian Gulf since ancient times, the oldest settlements here date back to the 8th millennium BC, one of them is the city of Susa, which managed to survive to our times....

Ancient cities of Iran

Although the Arab conquest erased almost all traces of the ancient Iranian civilization,

archaeologists and researchers still managed to find out about the ancient cities of Iran. At the same time, many cities, having received new names from the Arabs, have survived to our time .....

Writing of ancient Iran

Often today we can hear a story about a country in the southwestern part of Asia called Persia. What country has now replaced it with Since 1935, Persia has officially become known as Iran.

In ancient times, this state was the center of a huge empire, the territory of which stretched from Egypt itself to the Indus River.

Geography

It is worth saying that at one time the state of Persia did not have clear boundaries. It is rather problematic to determine which country is now located on these lands. Even modern Iran is only approximately located on the territory of Ancient Persia. The fact is that in certain periods this empire was located in most of the world known at that time. But there were also worse years, when the territory of Persia was divided among themselves by local rulers who were hostile to each other.

The relief of most of the territory of present-day Persia is a high (1200 m) highland, which is crossed by a chain of stone ridges and individual peaks rising up to 5500 m. In the northern and western parts of this area are the Elbrus and Zagros mountain ranges. They are located in the form of the letter "V", framing the highlands.

West of Persia was Mesopotamia. This is the birthplace of the most ancient civilizations on Earth. At one time, the states of this empire largely influenced the culture of the still nascent country of Persia.

History

Persia (Iran) is a country with a great past. Its history includes aggressive and defensive wars, uprisings and revolutions, as well as brutal suppression of all political speeches. But at the same time, Ancient Iran is the birthplace of the great people of that time, who led the art and culture of the country to flourish, and also built buildings of amazing beauty, the architecture of which still amazes us with its magnificence. The history of Persia has a large number of ruling dynasties. It is simply impossible to count them. Each of these dynasties introduced its own laws and rules, which no one simply dared to break.

Historical periods

Persia experienced a lot on the way of its formation. But the main milestones of its development are two periods. One is pre-Muslim and the other is Muslim. The Islamization of Ancient Iran was the cause of fundamental changes in its political, social and cultural sphere. However, this does not mean the disappearance of the old spiritual values. Not only were they not lost, but they also largely influenced the new culture that originated in the country at the turn of two historical periods. In addition, many pre-Muslim rituals and traditions have been preserved in Iran to this day.

Achaemenid rule

As a state, Ancient Iran began its existence with Cyrus II. This ruler became the founder of the Achaemenid dynasty, which was in power from 550 to 330 BC. BC e. Under Cyrus II, the two largest Indo-Asiatic tribes, the Persians and the Medes, were united for the first time. This was the period of the greatest power of Persia. Its territory extended to the Central and Indus Valley and Egypt. The most important archaeological and historical monument of the Achaemenid era are the ruins of the capital of Persia - Persepolis.

Here is the tomb of Cyrus II, as well as an inscription carved by Darius I on the Behistun rock. At one time, Persepolis was burned by Alexander the Great during his campaign to conquer Iran. It's the conqueror who put an end great empire Achaemenids. Unfortunately, there is no written evidence of this era. They were destroyed by order of Alexander the Great.

Hellenistic period

From 330 to 224 BC e. Persia was in a state of decline. Along with the country, its culture also degraded. During this period, Ancient Iran was under the rule of the Greek Seleucid dynasty ruling at that time, being part of the state of the same name. The culture and language of Persia have changed. They were influenced by the Greeks. At the same time, Iranian culture did not die. She influenced the settlers from Hellas. But this happened only in those areas where there were no self-sufficient and large Greek communities.

Parthian Kingdom

Years passed, the power of the Greeks in Persia came to an end. The history of ancient Iran entered its new stage. The country became part of the Parthian kingdom. The Arshakid dynasty ruled here, considering themselves the descendants of the Achaemenids. These rulers liberated Persia from Greek rule and also protected it from Roman invasion and nomadic raids.

During this period, the Iranian folk epic was created, a large number of plots with heroic characters appeared. One of them was Rustem. This Iranian hero is in many ways similar to Hercules.

During the Parthian period, the feudal system was strengthened. This weakened Persia. As a result, it was conquered by the Sassanids. A new stage in the history of ancient Iran began.

Sassanid state

Between 224 and 226 AD. e. the last Parthian king Artaban V was overthrown from the throne. The power was seized by the Sassanid dynasty. During this period, the borders of Ancient Iran were not only restored, but also expanded to the western regions of China, including the Punjab and Transcaucasia. The dynasty waged a constant struggle with the Romans, and one of its representatives - Shapur I - even managed to capture their emperor Valerian. Constant wars were waged by the Sassanid dynasty with Byzantium.
During this period, cities developed in Persia, and the central government was strengthened. Then Zoroastrianism arose, which became the official religion of the country. In the era of the Sassanids, a four-stage system of the existing administrative division and stratification of all strata of society into 4 estates.

In the era of the Sassanids, Christianity penetrated into Persia, which was negatively met by the Zoroastrian priests. At the same time, some other oppositional religious movements appeared. Among them are Mazdakism and Manichaeism.

by the most famous representative The Sassanid dynasty was Shah Khosrov I Anushirvan. The literal translation of his name means "with an immortal soul." His reign lasted from 531 to 579. Khosrow I was so famous that his fame survived for many centuries after the fall of the Sassanid dynasty. This ruler remained in the memory of posterity as a great reformer. Khosrow I showed great interest in philosophy and science. In some Iranian sources, there is even a comparison with Plato's "king-philosopher".

The Sassanids were significantly weakened by constant wars with Rome. In 641, the country lost a major battle to the Arabs. The Sasanian stage of Iranian history ended with the death of the last representative of this dynasty, Yazdegerd III. Persia entered the Islamic period of its development.

Rule of local dynasties

The Arab caliphate gradually expanded to the east. At the same time, his central authority in Baghdad and Damascus could no longer maintain strict control over all the provinces. This led to the emergence of local dynasties in Iran. The first of these is the Tahirides. Its representatives ruled from 821 to 873. in Khorasan. This dynasty was replaced by the Saffarids. Their dominance in the territory of Khorasan, southern Iran and Herat lasted throughout the second half of the ninth century. Then the throne was seized by the Samanids. This dynasty proclaimed itself the descendants of the Parthian military leader Bahram Chubin. The Samanids held the throne for more than fifty years, having extended their power over large territories. The country of Iran during the years of their reign ran from the eastern outskirts of the highlands to the Aral Sea and the Zagros ridge. The center of the state was Bukhara.

A little later, two more clans ruled on the territory of Persia. In the second half of the tenth century, these were the Ziyarids. They controlled the territory of the coast of the Caspian Sea. The Ziyarids became famous for their patronage of art and literature. During the same period, the Bund dynasty was in power in central Iran. They conquered Baghdad and Force, Khuzistan and Kerman, Ray and Hamadan.

Local Iranian dynasties achieved power in the same way. They seized the throne, raising an armed rebellion.

Ghaznavid and Seljuk dynasties

Starting from the eighth century, Turkic nomadic tribes began to penetrate. Gradually, the way of life of this people became sedentary. New settlements sprang up. Alp-Tegin - one of the Turkic tribal leaders - began to serve the Sassanids. In 962, he took power and ruled over the newly created state, the capital of which was the city of Ghazni. Alp-Tegin founded a new dynasty. The Ghaznavits held power for a little over a hundred years. One of its representatives - Mahmud Ghaznevi - kept the territory from Mesopotamia to India under vigilant control. The same ruler settled in Kharasan a tribe of Oghuz Turks. Subsequently, their leader Seljuk rebelled and overthrew the Ghaznavid dynasty. Rey was declared the capital of Iran.

The Seljuk dynasty belonged to the orthodox Muslims. She subjugated all the local rulers, but for many years she waged constant wars for her dominance.
During the years of the Seljukids' rule, architecture flourished. During the reign of the dynasty, hundreds of madrasas, mosques, public buildings and palaces were erected. But at the same time, the reign of the Seljukids was hampered by constant uprisings in the provinces, as well as invasions of other tribes of the Turks, who were moving towards the western lands. Constant wars weakened the state, and by the end of the first quarter of the twelfth century it began to disintegrate.

Mongol domination

The invasion of Genghis Khan's troops did not pass Iran either. The history of the country tells us that in 1219 this commander managed to capture Khorezm, and then, moving to the west, plundered Bukhara, Balkh, Samarkand, Nashapur and Merv.

His grandson, Hulagu Khan, again plunged into Iran in 1256 and, taking Baghdad by storm, destroyed the Abbas Caliphate. The conqueror took the title of ilkhan, becoming the ancestor of the Khulaguid dynasty. He and his successors adopted the religion, culture and way of life of the Iranian people. Over the years, the position of the Mongols in Persia began to weaken. They were forced to wage constant wars with feudal rulers and representatives of local dynasties.

Between 1380 and 1395 the territory of the Iranian Highlands was captured by Amir Timur (Tamerlane). He also conquered all the lands that were adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea. Descendants until 1506 kept the state of the Timurids. Further, it was subordinated to the Uzbek Sheibanid dynasty.

History of Iran from 15th to 18th centuries

Over the following centuries, wars for power continued to be waged in Persia. So, in the 15th century, the Ak-Koyundu and Kara-Aoyundu tribes fought among themselves. In 1502, Ismail I seized power. This monarch was the first representative of the Safavids, an Azerbaijani dynasty. During the reign of Ismail I and his successors, Iran revived its military power and became an economically prosperous country.

The Safavid state remained strong until the death of its last ruler, Abbas I, in 1629. In the east, the Uzbeks were expelled from Kharasan, and in the west, the Ottomans were defeated. Iran, whose map pointed to the impressive territories belonging to it, subjugated Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. It existed within these boundaries until the nineteenth century.

On the territory of Persia, wars were fought against the Turks and Afghans, who sought to conquer the country. These were the times when the Afshar dynasty was in power. The southern lands of Iran from 1760 to 1779 were ruled by the dynasty founded by Zendov Kerim Khan. Then she was overthrown by the Turkic tribe of Qajars. Under the leadership of its leader, it conquered the lands of the entire Iranian highlands.

Qajar dynasty

At the very beginning of the nineteenth century, Iran lost the provinces that were located on the territory of modern Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. This was the result of the fact that the Qajar dynasty was never able to create a strong state apparatus, a national army and single system tax fees. The power of its representatives turned out to be too weak and could not resist the imperial desires of Russia and Great Britain. The lands of Afghanistan and Turkestan came under the control of these great powers in the second half of the nineteenth century. At the same time, Iran unwittingly began to serve as an arena for Russian-British confrontation.

The last of the Qajar family was a constitutional monarch. The dynasty was forced to adopt this main law under the pressure of the strikes held in the country. Two powers - Russia and Great Britain - opposed the constitutional regime of Iran. In 1907 they signed an agreement to partition Persia. Its northern part went to Russia. Great Britain exerted its influence in the southern lands. The central part of the country was left as a neutral zone.

Iran at the beginning of the 20th century

The Qajar dynasty was overthrown in a coup d'état. It was led by General Reza Khan. A new Pahlavi dynasty came to power. This name, which in Parthian means "noble, brave", was intended to emphasize the Iranian origin of the family.

During the reign of Reza Shah Pahlavi, Persia experienced its national revival. This was facilitated by numerous radical reforms carried out by the government. The beginning of industrialization was laid. Large investments were allocated for the development of industry. Highways were built and railways. The development and production of oil was actively carried out. Sharia courts have been replaced by legal proceedings. Thus, in the early 20th century, extensive modernization began in Persia.

In 1935, the state of Persia changed its name. Which country is now its successor? Iran. This is the ancient self-name of Persia, which means "the country of the Aryans" (the highest white race). After 1935, the pre-Islamic past began to revive. Small and large cities of Iran began to be renamed. They restored pre-Islamic monuments.

The overthrow of royal power

The last Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty came to the throne in 1941. His reign lasted for 38 years. In conducting its foreign policy Shah was guided by the opinion of the United States. At the same time, he supported the pro-American regimes that existed in Oman, Somalia and Chad. One of the most prominent opponents of the Shah was the Islamic priest Kma Ruhollah Khomeini. He led revolutionary activity against the current government.

In 1977, the US President forced the Shah to ease his repressions against the opposition. As a result, numerous parties of critics of the existing regime began to appear in Iran. The Islamic Revolution was being prepared. The activities carried out by the opposition aggravated the protest moods of the Iranian society, which opposed the country's domestic political course, the oppression of the church and foreign pro-American policy.

The Islamic revolution began after the events of January 1978. It was then that the police shot down a demonstration of students who opposed a slanderous article about Khomeini published in the state newspaper. The unrest continued throughout the year. The Shah was forced to introduce martial law in the country. However, it was no longer possible to keep the situation under control. In January 1979, the Shah left Iran.
After his flight, a referendum was held in the country. As a result, on April 1, 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran emerged. In December of the same year, the country's updated constitution saw the light of day. This document approved the supreme authority of Imam Khomeini, which, after his death, was to be transferred to his successor. The President of Iran, according to the constitution, stood at the head of political and civil power. Together with him, the country was ruled by the prime minister and an advisory council - the Mejlis. The President of Iran, by law, was the guarantor of the adopted constitution.

Iran today

Persia, known from time immemorial, is a very colorful state. What country today can so accurately correspond to the saying "the East is a delicate matter"? This is confirmed by the entire existence and development of the state in question.

The Islamic Republic of Iran, without any doubt, is unique in its identity. And this distinguishes it from others. The capital of the Republic is the city of Tehran. This is a huge metropolis, which is one of the largest in the world.

Iran is a unique country with a large number of sights, cultural monuments and its own way of life. The republic has 10% of the world's black gold reserves. It is thanks to its oil fields that it is in the top ten exporters of this natural resource.

Persia - what country is it now? Highly religious. Her printing houses publish large quantity copies of the Holy Quran than in all other Muslim countries.

After the Islamic Revolution, the republic headed for universal literacy. The development of education here is going at an accelerated pace.

Around the VI century BC. Persians appeared on the arena of world history. With phenomenal speed, they managed to turn from an unknown tribe into a formidable empire that lasted several hundred years.

Portrait of ancient Persians

What the ancient Iranians were like can be judged by the ideas of the peoples who lived next to them. For example, Herodotus wrote that initially the Persians wore clothes made of skins, as well as felt caps, which they called tiaras. They didn't drink wine. They ate as much as they had. Gold and silver were treated with indifference. They differed from neighboring peoples in high growth, strength, courage and incredible solidarity.

It is interesting that the Persians, even having become a great power, tried to follow the precepts of their ancestors.

For example, during the coronation ceremony, the newly-made king had to put on simple clothes, eat some dried figs and drink sour milk with them.

At the same time, the Persians could take as wives as many women as they saw fit. And this is without taking into account the concubines and slaves. It is also interesting that the laws did not forbid marrying even close relatives, whether they were sisters or nieces. In addition, there was a custom according to which a man did not show his women to outsiders. Plutarch wrote about this, pointing out that the Persians hid from prying eyes not only wives, but even concubines and slaves. And if they needed to be transported somewhere, then closed wagons were used. This custom is reflected in art. So, for example, in the ruins of Persepolis, archaeologists have not been able to find a single relief with a female image.

Achaemenid dynasty

The era of Persian omnipotence began with King Cyrus II, who belonged to the Achaemenid family. He managed to quickly subjugate the once mighty Media and several smaller states. After that, the eyes of the king fell on Babylon.

The war with Babylon was just as quick. In 539 BC. Cyrus set out with his army and fought the enemy army near the city of Opis. The battle ended with the complete defeat of the Babylonians. Then large Sippar was captured, and soon Babylon itself.

After this triumph, Cyrus decided to curb the wild tribes in the east, who, with their raids, could disturb the borders of his state. The king fought with the nomads for several years, until he himself died in 530 BC.

The next kings - Cambyses and Darius - continued the work of their predecessor and further expanded the territory of the state.

So, Cambyses managed to capture Egypt and make it one of the satrapies.

By the time of the death of Darius (485 BC), the Persian Empire occupied a vast territory. In the west, its borders rested on the Aegean Sea, in the east - in India. In the north, the power of the Achaemenids extended to the deserted deserts Central Asia, and in the south - to the rapids of the Nile. It is safe to say that Persia at that time subjugated almost the entire civilized world.

But like any empire that had such vast territory, she was constantly tormented by internal unrest and uprisings of conquered peoples. The Achaemenid dynasty collapsed in the 4th century BC, unable to withstand the test of the army of Alexander the Great.

Sasanian power

The Persian Empire was destroyed, and its capital, Persepolis, was plundered and burned. The last of the kings of the Achaemenid dynasty, Darius III, with his retinue, went to Bactria, hoping to gather a new army there. But Alexander managed to catch up with the fugitive. In order not to be captured, Darius ordered his satraps to kill him, and themselves to flee further.

After the death of the king in conquered Persia, the era of Hellenism began. For ordinary Persians, it was like death.

After all, there was not just a change of ruler, they were captured by the hated Greeks, who quickly and harshly began to replace the original Persian customs with their own, and therefore completely alien.

Even the arrival of the Parthian tribe, which occurred in the 2nd century BC. didn't change anything. The nomadic Iranian tribe managed to expel the Greeks from the territory of ancient Persia, however, it itself fell under the influence of their culture. Therefore, even under the power of the Parthians on coins and in official documents, it was used exclusively Greek language.

But the worst thing was that the temples were built in the Greek image and likeness. And most Persians considered this blasphemy and sacrilege.

After all, Zarathushtra bequeathed to their ancestors that it was impossible to worship idols. As a symbol of God, only an unquenchable flame should be considered, but he should have made sacrifices. But the Persians were unable to change anything.

Therefore, out of impotent malice, they called all the buildings of the Hellenic period "the buildings of the Dragon."

The Persians tolerated Greek culture until 226 AD. But in the end, the cup overflowed. The uprising was raised by the ruler of Pars Ardashir, and he managed to overthrow the Parthian dynasty. This moment is considered to be the birth of the second Persian state, headed by representatives of the Sassanid dynasty.

Unlike the Parthians, they did their best to revive the very ancient culture of Persia, the beginning of which was laid by Cyrus. But this was not easy to do, since the Greek dominance almost completely erased the legacy of the Achaemenids from memory. Therefore, as a "guiding star" for the resurrected state, a society was chosen, about which the Zoroastrian priests spoke. And it so happened that the Sassanids tried to revive a culture that in reality never existed. Religion was at the forefront.

But the people of Persia enthusiastically accepted the ideas of the new rulers. Therefore, under the Sassanids, the entire Hellenic culture began to quickly dissolve: the temples were destroyed, and the Greek language ceased to be official. Instead of statues of Zeus, the Persians began to build altars of fire.

Under the Sassanids (3rd century AD), another clash with the hostile Western world, the Roman Empire, took place. But this time this confrontation ended with the victory of the Persians. In honor of the significant event, King Shapur I ordered a bas-relief carved on the rocks, which depicted his triumph over the Roman emperor Valerian.

The capital of Persia was the city of Ctesiphon, once built by the Parthians. That's just the Persians significantly "combed" it to match their newfound culture.

Persia began to develop rapidly due to the competent use of the irrigation system. Under the Sassanids, the territory of ancient Persia, as well as Mesopotamia, became literally permeated with underground water pipes made of clay pipes (kariz). Their cleaning was carried out with the help of wells dug at intervals of ten kilometers. Such modernization allowed Persia to successfully grow cotton, sugar cane and develop winemaking. At the same time, Persia became almost the main world supplier of a wide variety of fabrics: from woolen to silk.

The death of an empire

The history of the Sasanian dynasty ended after a fierce and bloody war with the Arabs, which lasted for almost twenty years (633-651). It is difficult to blame the last king Yazdeget III for anything. He fought with the invaders to the very end, and was not going to give up. But Yazdeget died ingloriously - near Merv, a miller stabbed him in a dream, encroaching on the king's jewels.

But even after the official victory, the Persians now and then raised uprisings, however, unsuccessful. Even internal unrest in the Caliphate did not allow ancient people gain freedom. Only Gugan and Tabaristan, the last fragments of the once great power, lasted the longest. But they were also captured by the Arabs in 717 and in the 760s, respectively.

And although the Islamization of Iran was successful, the Arabs could not assimilate the Persians, who managed to preserve their identity. Closer to the 900s, under the new Samanid dynasty, they managed to gain independence. True, to become again great power Persia could no longer do this.