AFSHARID AND ZAND DYNASTIES (1736-1779) After a disastrous but brief Afghan occupation, the country was united under the power of Tahmasb Qoli, a chief of the Afshar tribe. He expelled…

MONGOL RULERS OF IRAN (1219-1353) 1201-1274  : The life of Nasir al-Din Tusi, the great Persian astronomer and philosopher 1206 : Ghenghis Khan begins his attempt at world conquest 1207-1273 : The life of…

GHAZNAVID DYNASTY (962-1186) 962-1186  : The Ghaznavid dynasty in Iran967-1049 : The life of Abu Said Abilkheir, the celeberted Persian mystic971-1030 : The rule of Mahmud Ghaznavid973-1048 : The life of Biruni, rhw Persian astronomer…

PARTHIAN EMPIRE (247 B.C.-224 A.D.) 129 BC : Phrates II finally defeats the Seleucids92 BC : Mithradates II makes an alliance with Rome and invades Mesopotamia; Mithradates II concludes the first peace…

SELEUCID PERIOD (323-141 B.C.) 333 BC : Alexander wins the Battle of Issus over the Persians331 BC : The Battle of Arbela (Gaugamela) in northern Mesopotamia gives Alexander the Great teh decisive…

MEDIAN KINGDOM (728-550 BC) 825 BC : Rise of the Medes776 BC : Greece's first recorded Olympi games are held728 BC : Deioces founds the Median Empire675-653 BC : The rule of Phraortes, the…

ARYAN TRIBES IN IRAN (3000-1000 B.C.) The beginning of the Iron Age in Iran is marked by major dislocations of cultural and historical patterns, caused by the Aryans' arrival. Most…

EARLY CIVILIZATIONS IN IRAN Man's presence on the Iranian plateau during the Paleolithic and Meso­lithic ages has not yet been properly studied. Life during the Neolithic period, however, is much…