Notes on Iran

    IRAN

Iran, officially known as the Islamic Republic of Iran, was known as "Persia" until 1935. After the ruling monarchy was overthrown and the Shah was forced into exile, Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979. US - Iranian relations have been strained since a group of Iranian students seized the US embassy in Tehran on 4 Nov 1979 and held it until 20 Jan 1981.

Iran fought a bloody, indecisive war with Iraq from 1980 to 1988 that extended into the Persian Gulf and led to top clashes between the US Navy and Iranian military forces between 1987 and 1988.                                                                                                                                                                            
       

‌Official Name	Islamic Republic of Iran.
‌Capital City	Tehran
‌Currency	Rial
‌National anthem	Sorude Melliye Jomhuriye Eslamiye Iran
‌Language	Persian
‌Government Type	Unitary theocratic - presidential republic
‌Supreme Leader	Ali Khamenei
‌President	Hassan Ruhani
‌1st Supreme Leader	Ayatollah Sayyid Rouhollah Khomeni
‌1st President	Sayyed Abolhassan
‌Legislature	Parliament
‌Parliament	Majles
‌Established	24 Oct 1979
‌Constitution	24 Oct 1979
‌latest constitution	28 July 1989
‌Ethnic group	1.Persians 2.Azerbaijan 3.Kurds 4.Baloch 5.Arab 6.Turkic tribes
‌Religion	Officially Muslims
‌Area	1,648,195 sq km
‌Population	84.50 Million (2020)
‌Continent	South Central Asia
‌Script	Arabic
‌Language family	Indo-European
‌Epic	Shahnama written by " Firdausi "
‌Motto	Independence, Freedom, Islamic Republic
‌News Agency	Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)
‌Independence	1st April 1979
‌National Bird	Common Nightingale
‌Intelligence Agency	SAVAK
‌Desert	Kavir Desert, Lut Desert
‌Highest point	Damavand (5610m)
‌Lowest point	Caspian sea (-28m)
‌Unification	1.Median empire 678 BC 2.Achaemenid empire 550 BC 3.Parthian empire 247 BC 4.Sasanian empire 224 AD 5.Safavid Empire 1501 6.Islamic republic 1979

 

                                   

Description of Flag

1. The Iran flag is known as Three coloured flag.
2. The national flag has three horizontal colours - Green, White, and Red with a national emblem in the middle of the white colour
3. The flag was adopted on 29 July 1980.

 RIVERS and SEA

• The Karan River is the only navigable river in Iran that flows into the Persian Gulf.

Water bodies

•    Persian gulf
•    Caspian sea
•    Strait of Hormuz
•    Gulf of Oman

HISTORY

• One of the earliest civilisations, it began with the formation of the Eslamiye kingdom in the fourth millennium BC.
• Cyrus the Great founded the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian Empire.It was also the world's first empire to connect 40% of the world's population.
• As a result of the Muslim conquest of Persia, the Aasaman Empire fell in 651 and the Zoroastrian religion eventually declined.
• In ancient Persia, which included parts of Iraq, Iran had a long, creative, and glorious history.
• Throughout much of its history, Iran managed to remain independent, unlike many other Middle Eastern countries.
• Mahmood Ahmadinejad was Tehran's ultra-conservative mayor before becoming Iran's first non-cleric president for 24 years after winning a run-off vote in 2006.
• In 2002, US President George W Bush declared Iran a member of the 'axis of evil'.
• Safavid reunified Iran as an independent state in 1501.
• Iran remained a monarch from 1501 until the 1979 Iranian revolution.            

    GREEK EMPIRE and SELEUCID EMPIRE (312 BCE to 248 BCE)

• Darius III was destroyed at the Battle of Granicus, Issus and Gaugamela by Alexander the Great (last king of the Achaemenid Empire).    

    PARTHIAN EMPIRE:- (248 BCE to 224 AD)

•    It is also known as Arsacid Empire.

    SASANIAN EMPIRE:- (224 TO 651 AD)

•   Ardeshir, also known as the unifier, founded the Sasanian Empire.

   
   UMAYYAD ERA and MUSLIM INCURSION:-

•   The capital of the Umayyad Caliphate is Damascus.
•   The Arabic language was imposed.
•   The Umayyad era came to an end after battle of the Zab.

    ABBASID PERIOD:-

• The capital was moved from Damascus to the Levant.
• The city of Baghdad was constructed on the Tigris River in 762 to serve as the new capital of the Abbasid Caliphate.
• In 1219, the Mongols invaded Iran.

  Timurid Empire (1370-1507).

  SAFAVID EMPIRE:-  (1501-1736)

• The ruling dynasty was founded by Ismail, who styled himself Shah Ismail I.
• Peter the great launched the Russo-Persian war (1722-1723) by capturing Iran's Caucasian territories.
• On 24 June 1724, the treaty of Constantinople was signed between Russians and Ottoman dividing Iranians territories among themselves.
•  Nader Shah (1736 - 1747).
•  Qajar Dynasty (1796 - 1925).

  IRANIAN CIVILISATION

• In the 6th century BC a powerful empire -  Achaemenid Empire arose in Iran. Cyrus founded this Empire.
• He was succeeded by Darius 1 and he built a new capital at Persepolis.
• Iran's Sassanid Empire rose in the third century AD, founded by Ardashir in 226 AD.
• Achaemenid introduced the use of money as coins of Golds and Silver.
• The main religion of Iranians was Zoroastrianism. it was founded by Zarathustra is the holy book of  Parsis.
• The Achaemenid emperor built a new capital at Persepolis and spoke Aramaic, but Persian is the language of the Sassanid Empire.

 ALPHABET and SCRIPT:-

1.  Iranian is an Indo-European language spoken in Western Iran.
2. Iran, Tajikistan, and Pakistan speak it.
3. The Persian alphabet is derived from the Arabic script and is officially used in Iran and Afghanistan.
4.  The modern Persian alphabet has 32 letters.
5.  Around 60 % of students are female in the Iranian University.

 

GEOGRAPHY.

In the Middle East, Iran is bordered by Turkmenistan and the Caspian Sea to the north, Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east, the Persian Gulf to the south, and the Gulf of Oman to the west.The Center and east of the country are largely desert with qanats and green oases. Mountainous areas can be found along with Turkey and Iraqi borders as well as in the north where the Elburz mountains rise sleepily from a fertile belt surrounding the Caspian sea.

• In terms of lands, its position is 17th in the world.
• The total moans borders are 5894 km.
• The total coastline is 2815 km.

Foreign Relation

On July 14, 2015, Tehran and the P5+1 came to a historic agreement to end economic sanctions after demonstrating a peaceful nuclear research project that meets International Atomic Energy Agency standards.

Iran is a member of international organizations such as G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, IDA, IDB, IFC, ILO, IMF, International Maritime Organization, Interpol, OIC, OPEC,[213] the United Nations, WHO, and is the member of World Trade Organization.

Tourism

The most popular tourist destinations in Iran are Isfahan, Mashhad, and Shiraz, in addition to the capital. In the early 2000s, the industry faced serious limitations in terms of its infrastructure, communications, industry standards, and personnel training. In 2003, most of the 300,000 tourist visas were granted to Asian Muslims visiting important pilgrimage sites in Mashhad and Qom.

Music

In the 1940s, Rouhollah Khaleghi established Iran's first national music society, and the School of National Music was established in 1949. There are three main orchestras in Iran today: the National Orchestra, the Nations Orchestra, and the Symphony Orchestra of Tehran.

The artists of this period are Hayedeh, Faramarz Aslani, Farhad Mehrad, Googoosh, and Ebi.

Cinema

Mirza Ebrahim Khan (Akkas Bashi), the official photographer of Mozaffar od Din Shah of Qajar, was the first Iranian filmmaker. He obtained a camera and recorded the Shah's visit to Europe. Following the Revolution of 1979, Khosrow Sinai was followed by many other directors, such as Abbas Kiarostami and Jafar Panahi.

Iranian director Asghar Farhadi won a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, 2012 & 2016

Border Countries

Land Borders

Iraq (1599km)

Turkmenistan (1148km)

Pakistan (959km)

Afghanistan (921km)

Turkey (534km)

Azerbaijan (432km)

Armenia (44km)

Maritime Boundaries

1. Azerbaijan

2. Bahrain

3. Iraq

4. Kuwait

5. Oman

6. Pakistan

7. Qatar

8. Saudi Arabia

9. Turkmenistan

10. the United Arab Emirates

Books and Author 

Gulistan Dostan	Sheikh Saadi
Shahnama	Firdausi
Rubaiyat	Omar Khayyam

 NOTE:- Shirin Ebadi is the only Iranian to win the noble prize in peace in 2003.

National Animal	Asiatic Lion and Persian Leopard
National Bird	Common Nightingale
National Sports	Freestyle Wrestling
National Flower	Tulipa Pulchella

 Food

1. Pache is a popular traditional dish.
2. Abgoosht (Dizi)
3. Ash Reshe
4. Khoresht Gheimeh
5. Zereshk polo North
6. Fesenjan
7. Baghali polo
8. Tahdig
9. Ghormeh Sabzi
10. Kashke Bademjan

 National Holiday

 

Nowruz	Persian New Year
Islamic Republic Day	1st April
Sizdah Bedar	On the 13th day of the first month of the Iranian calendar
Death of Khomeini	June 4
Anniversary of Islamic Revolution	Feb11

 Festivals

Nowruz	1st day of the new calendar year
Sizdah Bedar	Festival of Joy and Solidarity
Mehregan	A day of Thanksgiving
Sepandarmazgan	Day of love and friendship

 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

    There are 24 sites in Iran. 

1.   Meidan Emam, Isfahan, Persepolis and Tchogha Zanbil.
2.   Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran (2008)
3.   Persian Qanat (2016)
4.   The historical city of Yazd (2017)
5.   The Ensemble of Historical Sasanian cities in Far Province.
6.   In 2019, the Caspian Hyrcanian Mixed forest was added.