1. Iran

2. Essential Question
How does Iran’s history influence its present day government and economy?

3. Early History Ancient Persia
Roots of Modern Iran traced to Sixth Century B.C.
Islamic religion – Seventh Century Arab invasions

4. Ancient Iran (Persia) Iran was known as Persia until 1925
Throughout history Iran has been known as a crossroads country
Consistently under invasion because of its location
Indo-European-speaking invaders took over in the 15th Century B.C.
Most famous kings of the Persian Empire 6th Century B.C. (Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes)

5. Ancient Iran (Persia)
3rd and 4th Century B.C. – Greek conquest under Alexander the Great
7th Century A.D. – Arab-Islamic Invasion
11th Century A.D. – Turkish Tribes invade
13th Century A.D. – Mongol Invasion

6. Questions What impact has the history of invasion had on Iran?
What other country of study does Iran resemble?
China
Ancient and magnificent civilizations
Both fell into the “sleep of nations” (partly at the hands of outsiders)
Woke up far behind the West (both view West as adversary)
Both struggle moving into modern times

7. Critical Junctures in Iranian History
Safavid Dynasty – 1501 – 1722
Kajar (Qajar) Dynasty – 1795 – 1925
Pahlavi Dynasty – 1925 – 1979
Islamic Republic

8. The Safavids
Practiced a minority version of Islam called Shia or Shiism
Eventually declared Persia’s state religion – most subjects switched from Sunni to Shia and are Shiites to this day
Immediately attacked by bordering Sunni countries and the Ottoman Turks
Invasions by the Ottoman Turks caused Safavid rulers to seek out the assistance from early Dutch, English, and Portuguese sea traders in the late 16th early 17th Century

9. The Kajars (Qajars) Emerged in 1795 out of over 70 years of chaos
Weak state of affairs allowed for Russia and Britain to dominate Persia
Led to Constitutional Revolution
First Constitution and elected Parliament (Majlis)
Led by Muslim clerics and liberals wanting a more Westernized form of gov’t
Nasir-al-Din ( )

10. The Pahlavis Reza Khan – 1st Pahlavi Shah
Illiterate cavalry officer
Renamed the country Iran
Modernizing Tyrant and Westernization
Economic growth through close state supervision and oil
Western style civil service and a national bank
Western style universities and dress

11. The Pahlavis
Reza Khan exiled by the British in 1941 and dies in 1944 – His son Mohammed Reza Pahlavi succeeds him
“White” Revolution 1963 as opposed to “Red” Revolution
Peasant land reforms
Suffrage for women
Literacy
Excellent relations with the U.S.
Oil – Prices soar during 1973 Arab-Israeli War

12. All these factors set the stage for the Islamic Revolution
The Pahlavis
With the rise in oil prices mass amounts of wealth came to Iran and the Shah
New wealth caused disruption
Education
Few got rich, many stayed poor
Corruption
As the rural population migrated to cities they turned to the mosque for guidance – Pahlavis had alienated the Muslim clergy
Ridiculous spending on military 17% of GDP
All these factors set the stage for the Islamic Revolution

13. Islamic Revolution 1975 Resurgence Party
Secular and Religious intellectuals alike were discontent
The Shah’s over ambition made Iran a debtor nation
Ruhollah Khomeini
Exiled in 1964 to Iraq
Forced to leave Iraq for Paris in 1978 – recorded tapes
Jan the Shah had fled
2 ½ millenia of monarchy ended in Iran with the introduction of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a new constitution in 1979

14. Islamic Republic Jurist’s Guardianship
Shari’a – only senior clerics have the competence to understand
97% of 21 million voters endorsed the new Republic
Constitution drawn up by the Assembly of Religious Experts
Theocratic in nature
Much power to Khomeini
Despite being endorsed by 99% of voters, voter participation was down to 75%

15. Islamic Republic
Clerics were able to consolidate power in the first decade after the revolution
Khomeini's popularity and charisma
Iraqi invasion of Iran – 1980
Rise in petroleum price
During this time period modern amenities made a significant appearance in Iran
Ayatollah Khomeini dies in 1989 – His successor is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

16. Islamic Republic
Second decade of the Islamic Republic brought about problems for the clerics
No more Iraq War
No more Khomeini (Khamenei lacked charisma and credentials)
World oil prices drops to under $10 a barrel by 1998 (oil prices were $30 a barrel in 1979)
Ideological Crisis
Some of Khomeini’s followers began to stress the importance of a democracy over theocracy in the 1990’s

17. 9/11 and George Bush Islam is seen by the West as a threat
Clash of civilizations