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| Iran
History |
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The name "Iran" is originated
from the Aryan tribes who occupied Persia around 1600 BC. In 550 BC Cyrus the Great took over
the throne of 1 of the more powerful tribes, the Medes, from which he
founded an empire covering Babylonia, Syria and Asia Minor and,
later on, Thrace, Macedonia and Egypt. Cyrus’ empire was
controlled in the latter part of the 4th century BC by the Greek general Alexander
the Great, and then taken control by the Parthians in the early 3rd century
BC. They in turn were replaced by Ardashir, founder of the Sassanian
empire in the early 3rd century AD. 400 years later, in AD 640,
Persia was overrun by the Arabs, who founded the Islamic religion
in the region.
After a short-term occupation by the Turks, Persia was
taken control by the Mongols and then, in the 1380's, by Timur, better
known as Tamerlane, the Mongol leader of an empire centred in modern
day Uzbekistan. Timur also occupied Azerbaijan and parts of Syria,
Iraq and Turkey before his death during an attack of China at
the turn of the 15th century. Violent turbulence consumed the country
for the next 100 years until the 1st of the Safavid dynasty
annexed at the beginning of the 16th century.
Their power lasted until the beginning of the 18th century, Ardir Shah, a
renowned figure in Iranian history, then
took control of the country for 20 years until ousted from power
in 1747. A new empire of rulers,
the Qajars, founded themselves at the end of the 18th century.
By this time, Persian territory, which included parts of modern
Armenia, Georgia and Afghanistan, was coming under threat from Russia,
then in 1 of its expansionist periods, and Britain, which sought
to unite its already considerable position in south Asia.
The 2 imperial powers invaded Persia during World War I,
after which a senior army officer, Colonel Reza Khan, launched a
successful military coup and, with the blessing of the British and
Russians, overrun the country in 1921. In 1925, Reza Khan
was declared Shah, bringing an end to the Qajar Dynasty. Reza Khan
himself was forced to resign in favour of his son (Reza Pahlavi)
in 1941.
The British and Russians again
ruled Iran effectively for the duration of World War II,
before pulling out in 1946. It was until the early 1960's for the
new Shah to establish effective power over Iran, promising
the country's wealth through industrialisation and modernisation. The discovery of substantial
oil deposits supplied the financial resources to put this into effect.
The government developed close relations with the West, particularly the
United States of America, which saw Iran as a protection against
communism and militant Arab nationalism. However, in pursuing this
political agenda, the Shah ignored the customary power exerted
by the Islamic clergy, and this was the main cause of his loss of position.
The destabilising effects of rapid change on customary Iranian society, and the Shah’s bigotry
of opposition, produced increasing political tension in Iran. By
the late 1970's the increasing dissatisfaction had found a focus in the
fundamentalist preachings of the exiled religious leader Ayatollah
Khomeini. Faced with huge opposition from both Islamic fundamentalists
and worldly liberals, as well as instability within the ranks of
the previously loyal army, by January 1979 the Shah’s position
was not tenable and he fled the country.
Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran in triumph, and in
doing so he efficaciously guaranteed that the Islamic clergy would
triumph over secular elements in founding the new order in Iran.
Over the next 2 years, secular adversaries of the Shah were stably
displaced as the Islamic clergy asserted total political control.
The global revival of Islam since then owes much to the Iranian
revolution, Muslims throughout North Africa and Asia were inspired
by the example of Iran and most countries with a substantial Muslim
population have experienced some political disorder, in many cases
affecting principal upheaval as a result. The reaction in the West
was almost uniformly hostile, and focused on the occupation of the
United States embassy in Tehran in 1979 as a cause célèbre.
By September 1980, the new government in Tehran
had a far more serious situation to handle when Iraq, which was
looking to exploit post-innovative uncertainties
to pursue territorial
and other claims against its ancient foe, launched a large-scale
incursion. The 8 years of fighting which followed, often resembling
the worst excesses of the trench warfare of World War I, came to
an end in August 1988, with next to nothing gained by either side
and with the loss of 100's of 1,000's of lives on both.
While Iran turned inwards after the war, its old opponent decided
to take on the rest of the world in the unfortunate incursion
of Kuwait. Iran was mainly an observer to the conflict,
though it did gain diplomatically from Iraq’s subsequent
defeat. It also gained another surge of refugees fleeing Saddam’s
post-war revenge.
Added to the existing Kurdish, Afghan and Iraqi refugees,
this left Iran host to 1 of the world’s single largest population
of refugees. On the domestic front, the late 1980's saw the rise
to power of the Majlis (parliament) speaker, Hojat-al-Islam Ali
Akbar Hasemi Rafsanjani. While Khomeini was alive, effective political
power was concentrated in his hands. Upon his death in 1989, it
was divided into 2 main posts, the ‘supreme religious leader’
and the elected president of the republic. Conflicts between these
2 centres of power have dominated Iranian politics ever since Khomeini’s
death. In 1989, Rafsanjani alleged the presidency while a close
ally of Khomeini’s, Ayatollah Khamene’i, displaced his
previous mentor.
Rafsanjani was re-elected
in 1993 against insignificant opposition. When Rafsanjani at last step down in 1997, many candidates (authorised by the Council
of Guardians, the religious body headed by Khamene’i) were
approved. Among these, and unknown at the time, was Sayed Muhammad
Khatami, who by virtue of exhaustive campaigning and an appeal to
the liberal parts of Iranian society, won a considerable majority.
Khatami pledged, and has tried to put
into effect, reforms easing the more serious
aspects of Islamic doctrine,
mainly as it has affected social mores, the media and aspects of
economic development. His arguments rest on the clear failings of
the instantaneous post-Khomeini era. He also enjoys the overpowering
support of the population.
Standing for a 2nd term in June 2001, Khatami secured 78 % of the
popular vote. But he has constantly come into conflict with the
conservative clergy and their supporters in key parts of the state
bureaucracy, particularly the police, security services and the judiciary.
The conservatives can also generally depend on the
Council of Guardians, which Khatami can do little to challenge directly,
to block reforms. Crackdowns on prominent reformers and the media
are a general occurrence.
Abroad, the conservatives are very much suspicious of his efforts to
improve connections with the West. These have had some success, especially
in Europe where all the large states, now including the United Kingdom, have re established full diplomatic and
trade links with Tehran. The United States, however, has set itself
in firm opposition to Iran, denouncing it in 2002 as part of a so-called ‘axis of evil’, short of a complete change of regime,
it seems that there is nothing the Iranians can do to placate the
feeling of hatred
of the United States. In
particular, the Americans are deeply suspicious of Iranian influence
over the new government in Afghanistan, with which Iran enjoys ethnic
and historical links.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
Tehran's ultra conservative mayor, won a run-off vote in elections
in June 2005, overpowering his rival, the previous president Akbar
Hashemi Rafsanjani, to become Iran's 1st non cleric president for
24 years. Mr. Ahmadinejad promised to press on with Iran's nuclear
programme. The West strongly suspects Iran of attempting to develop nuclear
arms but Tehran says its ambitions are peaceful. |
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