When it comes to the history of Iran, you will find five distinct stages which shaped the future of the country. Those broad stages often include the early, pre-historic, the pre-Islamic statehood, the Middle Ages, the early modern era, and modern day (recent history).

The early Iran history dates back to 4000 BC. Although much is not known about that time, it is confirmed that there were dozens of pre-historic areas located across the Iranian plateau, which point to ancient cultures and urban settlements that date back to the fourth millennium. Later on, in the third and second millennium, the existence of nomadic people, which lived in the areas, have been found and separated into “Eastern” and “Western” groups. By the first millennium BC, there were several tribes, including the Medes, Persians, Parthians, Sarmatians, and Cimmerians, which were divided among the groups to the East and to the West.

Later, during the pre-Islamic statehood, the Medes began to unify Iran as a nation and an empire. Cyrus the Great, whose tomb can be visited, also worked to join the Medes and the Persians, including their people and their cultures. The support in Athens toward a revolt in Miletus eventually led to the Greco-Persian Wars during the first half of the fifth century BC. Cyrus the Great created the Cyrus Cylinder, which is known as one of the first declarations of human rights in the world. The early Iranians also believed in equality and the banning of slavery. In 334 BC, Alexander the Great invaded and later overtook the area.

By the middle ages, Iran history took a turn toward the Islamization of the country. The belief in Islam began to affect the cultural, structural, scientific, and political aspects of the area, including any literature, philosophy, and medicine that came from the Persian people. Any attempts to make Iran an Arab nation were never successful and Iran was able to regain its national identity and independence.

Under the Safavid Dynasty in the early modern era, which lasted from 1501 to 1722, Iran began living in a Shia Islamic state. In 1735, the Afsharid Dynasty began after Nadar Shah drove out the Afghan rebels that defeated Shah Sultan Hossein, which was later replaced by the Zand Dynasty and many others. Modern day Iran history included elected prime ministers and the Islamic Revolution that led to the Iran-Iraq War and later the 2005 election of conservative populist candidate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

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