people settled in the region in ancient
times. Iran’s capital is Tehran.
Geography
Iran is part of the region called the
Middle East. It shares borders with Iraq,
Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan,
Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Iran has
coastlines on the Caspian Sea, the Persian
Gulf, and the Gulf of Oman.
Iran’s land is high in elevation, except
for narrow regions along the coasts.
Mountain ranges surround a large
central area of rocky highlands and
deserts. Parts of the vast deserts are
sandy, while a crust of salt covers other
parts. The highest point in Iran is
Mount Damavand in the northern
Elburz Mountains. It reaches a height
of 18,606 feet (5,671 meters). Iran has
active volcanoes, and damaging
earthquakes often occur.
The temperatures in Iran vary from very
hot to very cold, depending on location
and season. Most of the country is dry,
except for a region around the Caspian
Sea.
Plants and Animals
Forests cover only a small part of Iran.
The largest forests are in the rainy
Caspian Sea region. Oaks and other
trees grow there and in the
southwestern Zagros Mountains. In the
dry interior the vegetation is shrubby
and grassy. However, a few areas of the
desert, called oases, get water from
underground. Grape vines, oleanders,
date palms, and mulberry trees grow in
the oases.
Iran’s wildlife includes bears, wild boars,
gazelles, wild asses, rabbits, and many
kinds of rodents. Seagulls, ducks, and
geese are common birds.
People
Many ethnic groups live in Iran. Persians
make up the largest group. Azerbaijanis,
Kurds, Lurs, and other peoples form
smaller groups. The main language is
Farsi, or Persian. Each of the ethnic
groups has its own language as well.
Most Iranians live in cities or towns.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Iran 147
About 90 percent of the people belong
to the Shi!ah branch of Islam, which is
the state religion. (In most Muslim
countries, Sunnah is the more common
branch of Islam.) A small percentage of
Iranians practice Zoroastrianism, the
religion of ancient Persia.
Economy
Iran is one of the world’s leading producers
of petroleum (oil). Iran also produces
natural gas, chemicals, metals,
food products, cloth, and machinery.
Iran has been famous for its carpets for
hundreds of years. Traditional carpets
are still an important export. Services—
including government work, banking,
and tourism—are also important to the
economy.
Iran’s crops include grains, sugar beets,
and many kinds of fruits and nuts.
Sheep are the main livestock. Commercial
fisheries operate in the Persian Gulf
and in the Caspian Sea.
History
The Aryan people came from central
Asia to what is now Iran sometime after
2000 BC. The two main groups of Aryans
were the Medes and the Persians.
The Persians took control in about 550
BC. They conquered vast territories. The
Persian Empire soon stretched from
North Africa to the Indus River in south
Asia. The European conqueror Alexander
the Great held Persia for a time
starting in about 330 BC.
about 550 BC AD 640 1502 1925 1979 1980 1989
The Persians
begin building
a great empire.
Arabs bring
Islam to Iran.
The Safavid
dynasty takes
power.
Reza Khan
becomes shah
of Iran.
Iran becomes
an Islamic
republic.
The Iran-Iraq
War begins.
Ali Khamenei
becomes Iran’s
new religious
leader.
T I M E L I N E
A mosque with its welcoming courtyard
stands in the city of Esfahan in western Iran.
148 Iran BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Muslim Rule
Arab conquerors brought Islam to Iran
in 640. For about 850 years non-Iranian
Muslims ruled Iran. Then, in 1502, the
Iranian Safavid dynasty took control.
A weaker dynasty, the Qajars, ruled from
1779 to the early 1900s. During the
Qajars’ rule Russia and Great Britain
won control over parts of Iran.
The Pahlavi Dynasty
In 1921 Reza Khan, an army officer,
seized control of the country. In 1925 he
became shah, or king, and took the
name Reza Shah Pahlavi. His reign
started the Pahlavi dynasty. Reza Shah
built modern schools and a railroad. He
also gave Iranian women more rights.
Reza Shah’s son, Mohammad Reza Shah
Pahlavi, took the throne in 1941. The
new shah continued to make Iran more
modern. However, he also used secret
police to stop those who disagreed with
him.
Many religious leaders felt that the
shah’s ideas went against Islam. The
government threw one of those leaders,
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, out of
the country in 1964.
From outside Iran, Khomeini led a revolution
against the shah. Huge protests
forced the shah to leave Iran in 1979.
The Islamic Republic
Khomeini then returned to Iran. He
declared himself Iran’s political and religious
leader for life. He renamed the
country the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Khomeini’s government enforced strict
Muslim laws. It also bannedWestern
(U.S. and European) influences.
In late 1979 supporters of the revolution
seized the U.S. embassy (a building that
belonged to the U.S. government) in
Tehran. They captured 66 U.S. citizens
and held them for more than a year.
In 1980 Iraq invaded Iran, and the Iran-
IraqWar began. The war ended in 1988.
More than a million people were killed
or injured during the war. However,
neither side won a clear victory.
