Iran's Timeline

By Dina Abdel-Mageed

Staff Writer - IslamOnline.net

The history of Iran — one of the oldest civilizations on earth — is an interesting subject that few of us know enough about. As part of our special coverage of Iran, we offer our readers a chronology of major events in Iranian history:

3rd millennium BC
Iran's first settlements are established in Elam, the region known today as Khuzestan.

7th century BC
King Achemenes creates the first Persian Empire, that of the Achaemenids.

333 BC
Alexander the Great defeats Greeks, Egyptians and Persians at Issus.

224-651 AD
Sassanid dynasty rules Persia with Zoroastrianism being the dominant religion.

637 AD
Arabs defeat Sassanids in Qadisyya and most of Persia becomes part of the Islamic Empire.

1051
Seljuk Turks capture Isfahan.

1220
Mongols invade Persia.

1501
Shah Islamil, the first Safavid ruler, declares himself shah and declares Shiism to be the official religion of the state.

1639
The Treaty of Qasr-e Shirin (or Treaty of Zuhab) is signed, ending around 150 years of war against the Ottoman Empire.

1907
Under popular pressure, the Qajars are forced to introduce a constitution that limits the powers of the ruler.

1921
Reza Khan, a colonel in the Cossack Brigade, led his men into Tehran.

1925
Reza Khan crowned Reza Shah Pahlavi and Mohammad Reza, the Shah's eldest son, is proclaimed Crown Prince.

1935
Reza Shah changes the name of the country to Iran, a word that is derived directly from Aryan (meaning "of noble origin").

1936
Iran officially bans the wearing of the veil.

1941
Under pressure from the Allies, Reza Shah abdicates in favor of his son in an attempt to preserve the Pahlavi dynasty.

1944
Reza Shah dies in exile.

1946
Employing the military, Muhammad Reza crushes the Azerbaijan autonomy movement.

1951

Parliament votes to nationalize the oil industry, which is dominated by the British-owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and invites Muhammad Mossadeq to become Prime Minister.

1953
The nationalist Prime Minister Muhammad Mossadeq is removed in a coup organized by the British and American intelligence services.

1963
The Shah, who is increasingly dependent on the secret police (SAVAK), introduces a modernization and Westernization program.

1964
Khomeini — one of the opposition leaders — is exiled to Turkey.

1965
Khomeini is deported to Iraq.

1978
September
In response to the demonstrations against the Shah, martial law is imposed.
October
Khomeini is forced to leave Iraq for France.

1979
January
Fearing the growing popular anger, the Shah and his family flee the country.
February
Ayatollah Khomeini, returns triumphant to Iran after 15 years of exile.
April
Following a referendum, the Islamic Republic of Iran is proclaimed.
November
A number of Iranian students take a group of Americans hostages inside the US embassy in Tehran in what is known as the Iran hostage crisis.

1980
July
The exiled Shah dies in Egypt.
September
Iran-Iraq war starts.

1981
The US hostages are released.

1988
Following negotiations in Geneva, Iran and Iraq accept a ceasefire agreement.

1989
June
Ayatollah Khomeini dies and Ayatollah Khamenei assumes his position as supreme leader.
August
Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani becomes the new president.

1993
Rafsanjani is reelected.

 
1995
Oil and trade sanctions are enforced on Iran by the United States over its alleged funding of terrorism.

1997
The reform-minded Mohammad Khatami wins the presidential election in a landslide.

2000
Khatami's allies win the Majlis elections, extorting control of parliament from conservatives.

2001
President Khatami is re-elected.

2002
January
In his State of the Union speech, President George W. Bush describes Iraq, Iran, and North Korea as an "axis of evil".
September
Russians start constructing Iran's first nuclear reactor at Bushehr.

2003
October
Shirin Ebadi wins the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming Iran's first Nobel Prize winner.
December
An earthquake kills around 40,000 people in south-east Iran.

2004
Conservatives win parliamentary elections.

2005
Tehran's former mayor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, wins presidential elections, beating former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

2006
UN Security Council enforces sanctions on Iran's trade in sensitive nuclear materials.

2007
March
Iran detains 15 British sailors and marines in Shatt Al-Arab, causing a diplomatic crisis.
June
Violence erupts as a result of the government's decision to impose petrol rationing.

Sources:
Cleveland, William L. A History of the Modern Middle East. Colorado: Westview Press, 2000.
Iran. London: Lonely Planet Guidebooks, 2004.
Key events in Iran since 1921. The Online News Hour.
Timeline: Iran. BBC News.

Dina Abdel-Mageed is the editor of the special coverage of Iran on IslamOnline.net's Muslim Affairs section and a freelance journalist. A graduate of the American University in Cairo, she holds a BA in political science with a specialization in public and international law. She has written articles for several online and print publications, including the Edinburgh Middle East Report and the Middle East Times.

Source: www.islamonline.net