Post by Iran on Mar 7, 2013 11:55:57 GMT -5
My Reflection
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Nation: Islamic Republic of Iran (formerly known as Persia)
Name: Shireen Azadi
Gender: Female
Appearance Age: 26
Actual Age: :1,362 (dating from the Islamic Conquest)
Appearance
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Green
Height: 5’7
Weight: 140lbs
Appearance: It’s difficult to discern her shape due to the long, duster-style black coat she wears over her other clothes, (all the time) and she’s usually careful that her hijab doesn’t slip back to reveal her hair. But under several layers of clothing she has a body in reasonable shape for a woman of her age, if a bit pale due to lack of exposure. As a result of that lack of exposure, her hands and her face are a little darker than the rest of her body, but not much. She’s proud of her body (especially Zagros and Alborz *winkwinknudgenudge*), even if it has some painful scars from her fights with her neighbours. She has a faint dusting of freckles on her face that most people only notice if they’re looking for them. She has all her teeth but they are definitely a little coffee-stained. Her eyebrows tend to want to grow together and she plucks them infrequently, hoping her bosses won’t notice either way. She wears makeup sometimes but is careful to keep it understated.
Defining Features: Her unexpectedly green eyes tend to make an impression on people who might otherwise write her off as ‘Arab’.
Who Am I?
Personality:
In part due to her age, Shireen is a very complicated lady. She is happy to talk to people about her culture, art, history- and equally happy to talk about that time that she gave Iraq the smackdown he so richly deserved, or the time she stole UAE’s islands because they were hers anyway, or… yes. She’s energetic and emphatic most of the time but if she’s feeling under the weather the self-doubt, self-pity and bad memories start up with a vengeance. She can be unpredictable in many aspects but you can be sure that she’ll deny that, if it’s convenient for her.
Shireen tries to be a good administrator for her various regions, and she definitely knows them all well, but some tend to be more difficult than others to manage. Sistan and Baluchistan in particular give her headaches and have on more than one occasion tried to kill her boss, so she takes a very hard line with them.
In her interactions with her bosses, she’s respectful but secretly resents that they resent her for being a female-gendered nation. While she’ll say all the right things to appease them, and while she is almost ferociously territorial, her leaders may mistake that for adherence to their particular code of beliefs. This isn’t always the case but she won’t fight that interpretation.
Likes:
Dislikes:
Fears:
Fun Facts:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Your History
637-674 The death of Mama Persia, via the Islamic conquest of Iran, ends the Sassanid Empire and leads to the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion in Persia. Most Iranians gradually converted to Islam.
692- During the Umayyad Caliphate, the Pahlavi script on the coinage was replaced with Arabic alphabet. Furthermore, the Arab conquerors imposed Arabic throughout their empire. People who would not speak or write Arabic were sometimes killed.
743- Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik died, the Islamic world plunged into civil war.
750- Abu Muslim became leader of the Abbasid army and defeated the Umayyads at the Battle of the Zab and several important successive battles. The Abbasid army had both Iranian and Arab support, and the Abbasids overthrew the Umayyads.
820-1055 Several important overlapping dynasties (Tahirids, Saffarids, Samnids) controlled various parts of Iran as the Abbasids gradually fell apart.
930-Abbasid empire requires all bureaucrats and government workers to be Muslim. There is an uptick in conversions to Islam.
9th-11th centuries- Shu'ubiyyah Movement led by non-Arab members of the Muslim world (Persians prominent amongst them) called for equality among all followers of Islam. Persian language and cultural revival ensues, with some interest/assistance by Turks and Arabs. The Islamic Golden Age of science, discovery and literature is contemporaneous.
1219- Mongol invasion of Iran began.
1220–21 Bukhara, Samarkand, Herat, Tus, and Nishapur were leveled to the ground and all inhabitants were killed.
1258- The Mongol invasion definitively ended the Abbasid dynasty and the Golden Age of Islam in Iran. Millions died, libraries were burned and irrigation systems were destroyed, resulting in further deaths due to famine. Hulagu Khan killed the last Abbasid caliph.
1295-1304- Ghazan Khan made Islam the state religion of the Ilkhanate (which included Iran). Ghazan and Rashid al-Din improved Iran's economy by lowering taxes, promoting agriculture, rebuilding irrigation works, and fighting banditry on Iran's trade routes. With these improvements, trade improved and grew between Iran, India, and China.
1335- Civil war, following the death of Ghazan's heir Abu Said died. Several dynasties bickered over control of Iran(Jalayirids, Muzaffarids, Sarbadars and Kartids).
1381-Invasion of divided Iran by Timur/Tamerlane. Although he was brutally destructive he also included Iranians in administrative roles and was a patron of architecture and poetry.
1452- Timurid rule ends.
1468- Uzun Hasan and successors rule Iran until the advent of the Safavids.
1501-1722- Safavid dynasty. Of Kurdish-Azeri roots, this dynasty established Shia Islam as the dominant sect in Iran.
1502- Shah Ismail I conquers Tabriz and goes on to conquer and unify most of Iran and Afghanistan.
1587-1629- Rule of Shah Abbas I, the greatest Safavid Shah, who recaptured the eastern cities of Herat and Mashhad from the Uzbeks in 1598 and then went on to fight the Ottomans, recapturing Baghdad, eastern Iraq and the Caucasian provinces by 1622. He then went on to kick the Portuguese from Bahrain and the English navy from Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. He came to business agreements with the English East India Company and the Dutch East India Company. With the sole exception of Shah Abbas II, Safavids after Abbas I were a let down and spent a lot of money, while simultaneously failing to defend their territory.
1722 an Afghan army led by Mahmud, son of Mir Wais' crosses into eastern Iran, and takes Esfahan. Mahmud proclaims himself 'Shah' of Persia. Meanwhile,the Ottomans and the Russians, grab territory for themselves.
1736- Nader Shah, after defeating both Afghans and Ottomans, and reinstalling the Safavids to the throne and forcing a Russian withdrawl, finally decides that he ought to depose the Safavids and have himself crowned shah instead. Nader Shah then went on to claim Kandahar and later Delhi in 1739.
1747- Nader Shah is assassinated and anarchy follows this in Iran as rival army commanders fight for power. Places Nader Shah conquered later in life regain their independence as a result, including the region that will become Afghanistan.
1779- Karim Khan, who had kept the peace in the city of Shiraz while the rest of Iran was falling into bloody civil war, finally dies. His death results in further civil war which the Qajar dynasty eventually wins.
1796–1925- Qajar dynasty. Not a very good time for Iran, as England, Russia, and France, via the Treaty of Turkmenchay, the Treaty of Gulistan, and others, take control of various Iranian provinces.
1870–1871- Things get worse when famine ensues and approximately 2 million people die.
1906- Following the Constitutional Revolution against the Shah, the Shah makes concessions to stay in power, including granting a limited constitution, resulting in the first Majlis or parliament was convened on October 7, 1906.
1907- Anglo-Russian Convention. As part of the 'Great Game' these two powers divide Iran into spheres of influence- no one asks Iran about this, of course.
1908- The British discover oil in Khuzestan, making the Great Game even more interesting.
1914-1918- Iran occupied by English, Ottoman and Russian forces though essentially neutral
1919- Russian revolution results in their withdrawal from Iran. England unsuccessfully attempts to establish a protectorate in Iran.
1921- military coup targetting the Qajari officials establishes Reza Khan, as the dominant figure for the next 20 years. Reza Khan starts off as prime minister.
1925- The weak Qajar government causes a power vaccum. This plus the constitutionalist movement of Gilan result in Reza Shah Pahlavi's rise to power. Reza goes from prime minister to Shah, ruling for almost sixteen years.
1935- Popular uprising in Mashhad against the Shah for his sweeping attempts at reform throughout Iran. Although Reza Shah successfully introduced economic reforms, and reorganized not only the army, but also the government administration, and finances. Things Iran desperately needed, such as schools, trains, buses, radios, cinemas, and telephones were forthcoming, however the extremely personal nature of the Shah's attempts at modernization resulted in them being uneven, unsustainable and occasionally unwelcome.
In particular, Reza Shah had alienated the Islamic clergy by things such as requiring mosques to use chairs, requiring men to wear brimmed hats, supporting women who were discarding their hijabs, permitting the intermingling of men and women in society etc.,Bazaaris and villagers revolted in Mashhad, resulting in the deaths of dozens of protestors. Hundreds were injured, but the army managed to quell the rebellion.
1941- September 16, Reza Shah forced to abdicate due to the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. Until that time he had established an authoritarian government which promoted nationalism, militarism, secularism and anti-communism as well as censorship and propaganda.
Pro-British Reza Shah's son Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, was permitted to take control, when British and Indian forces from Iraq and Soviet forces from the north occupied Iran.
1943- Tehran Declaration guaranteed the post-war independence and boundaries of Iran, which were later violated by Soviet troops.
1945- Soviet troops stationed in northwestern Iran refused to withdraw and instead backed revolts establishing pro-Soviet separatist national states in Azerbaijan and Iranian Kurdistan.
1946- With the promise of oil concessions, Soviet troops withdraw from Iran, however the Soviet republics in the north were soon overthrown and the oil concessions were revoked.
1947-1951- While Mohammad Reza Pahlavi initially permitted parliament to hold most of the power in the country, there were hopes of forming a constitutional monarchy. Some corrupt elections were held and Parliament destablized. Six prime ministers came and went in swift succession.
1951- Democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddeq nationalized the then British-owned oil industry, during the Abadan Crisis. British outrage and an economic blockade followed but the nationalization continued.
1953- Mohmmad Reza briefly ousted from power by Colonel Nematollah Nassiri.
August 19- Operation Ajax, a more successful coup spearheaded by the CIA and MI6, forces Mossaddeq from office. He is then arrested, tried for treason, found guilty, and sentenced to house arrest for the remainder of his life. The less fortunate foreign minister, Hossein Fatemi, is executed. Zahedi succeeds Mossaddeq as prime minister, and violently suppresses all opposition to the Shah, particularly the opposition from the National Front and Communist Tudeh Party.
1957- martial law ends after 16 years and Iran joins the Baghdad Pact, strengthening West-leaning ties and receiving military and economic aid from the US.
In 1961- Shah Mohammed Reza begins the 'White Revolution' a sweeping series of economic, social, agrarian and administrative reforms designed to modernize the country. Land reform was pivotal in this, as modernization and economic growth proceeded at an unprecedented rate, fueled by Iran's oil reserves. Unfortunately, the White Revolution did not manage to improve economic conditions and the liberal pro-Western policies alienated certain Islamic religious and political groups.
1963-Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini arrested after a speech attacking the Shah. Mass protests follow.
1964- Khomeini exiled to France.
1965- Premier Hassan Ali Mansur was assassinated, resulting in the internal security service, SAVAK, taking a more active role in the pacification of Iran, killing, arresting and/or torturing members of the opposition. Iran also increased military expenditure and the defence budget, becoming a significant, modernized regional power.
1971- November. Iran seizes three disputed islands in the Persian Gulf.
1973- the Shah returns oil industry to national control. Following the Arab-Israeli War of October 1973, Iran does not join the Arab oil embargo against the West and Israel, rather Iran uses the situation to raise oil prices, gaining money for modernization and further defense spending.
1975- Algiers Accord between Iran and Iraq settles a border dispute.
1978- first major demonstrations kicking off the Iranian Islamic Revolution begin.
1979- January- Mohammad Reza Pahlavi flees the country after strikes and demonstrations continue.
1979- February- Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Tehran and is greeted warmly by Iranians. On Feburary 11th the military of Iran declared itself neutral after being defeated in street fighting with opposition groups.
1979- April- Referrendum finds the majority of Iranians in favour of the creation of an Islamic theocracy.
1979- December. Theocratic Constitution ratified, Ayatollah Khomeini becomes Supreme Leader of the country. The revolutionary government upholds the values of populism, nationalism and most importantly, Shi'a Islamic, as guarded by Islamic jurisprudence. A theocratic republic results as all opposition is quashed.
1979-1989- Khomeini rules as Supreme Leader in Iran, taking the modernising, growing capitalist economy and replacing it with a populist and Islam-centric economic system and cultural policies. Industry was largely nationalized, laws and schools Islamicized, and Western influences banned.
1979 November- 1981 January. Iranian students violate international law and seize US embassy personnel, holding 52 hostages for 444 days.
1980- September 22nd- Iraq, seeking to exploit Iran's weakened regional position, unstable government and recently purged military, invades Iran at Khuzestan, surprising Iran rather spectacularly, and bragging that Iraqi forces will reach the Iranian capital in three days.
1988- Iran-Iraq war ends. Neither side makes truly significant gains and horrific casulties resulted on both sides. Iraq, financially backed by just about everyone (NATO countries, Warsaw Pact countries and the Gulf States), ended the war with more equipment than they started with. They also used chemical weapons in their attacks on Iranian military and civilian targets, according to the UN, which caused the deaths of more than 100,000 people. Total Iranian casualties of the war were estimated to be between 500,000 and 1,000,000.
1988-July-December. The Iranian government systematically executes thousands of political prisoners across Iran, mainly but not exclusively targeting members of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran. Other targeted prisoners included atheists and members of the Communist party. Between 1,400 and 30,000 are killed.
1989- Ayatollah Khomeini appoints the Constitutional Reform Council which names Ali Khamenei as the next Supreme Leader, and makes a number of changes to Iran's constitution. Ayatollah Khomeini dies in June. Khamenei garners a network of supporters within Iran's armed forces and its powerful religious foundations. Ali Rafsanjani becomes president at the same time and serves a total of 8 years, focusing on rebuilding Iran's economy and war-damaged infrastructure despite low oil prices globally. Under his guidance, relations with neighboring countries, such as Saudi Arabia, normalized.
1991-Persian Gulf War. Iran remains neutral, condemns US actions, and allows Iraqi refugees into the country.
1997- Rafsanjani is succeeded by reformist Mohammad Khatami. Tensions rise between the reform-minded government and conservative clergy.
1999-July. Massive anti-government protests erupted in Tehran for more than a week before order is restored by government forces.
2001- Khatami is re-elected but conservative elements in the parliament continue to oppose him and the reform movement at ever turn, by banning liberal newspapers and disqualifying candidates for parliamentary elections. Political apathy increases in the Iranian youth.
2003- Anti-government protests spark again in Tehran.
2005- Ahmadinejad, mayor of Tehran, becomes the president. Concurrent with this is the ongoing American invasion of Iraq, the toppling of its regime and infrustructure, which cements Iran's position as a regional power, including in the majority Shia south of Iraq. Shia Iraqis, possibly backed by Iran, push for an autonomous region within Iraq. Concerns grow in western circles about Iran's nuclear energy program, although Khamenei issues a fatwa forbidding the production, stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons.
2006- More mass human rights protests.
2009- Ahmadinejad reelected, despite persistent allegations of vote-fraud and massive unrest amongst the population of Iran. Reformist opponents Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Karroubi persist in citing voting irregularities. At least 1000 people had been arrested and 20 killed in rioting in the streets. Government officials blame western powers for encouraging the protests.
2012- Iran declares the ability to close the Strait of Hormuz if threatened and reacts negatively to Israeli airstrike in Syria against government forces.
Sample Post
Shireen didn't have to look down at the paper. She'd memorized its contents in a few short hours since she'd first seen it. Iraq was practically admitting his mistake. It wasn't a perfect, grovelling apology, which is what she would have really preferred, but it was definitely a start. Iraq's boss was willing to make a cease-fire agreement which would respect their original, pre-conflict boundaries. Good. It wasn't ideal though. Ideally, Mohammad would have had to come see her personally and admit his mistakes and those of his bosses and beg on bended knee that she would stop attacking him. Still, it was a start, and one she was more than satisfied with.
Two hours later, in a closed cabinet meeting, Shireen's private hopes of a quick settlement were dashed. Her generals agreed with her- attacks on Iraqi soil would be unsustainable and dangerous. Her foreign minister and her president agreed with her. The only person who did not agree with her, unfortunately, was the Supreme Leader.
The only person that really matters. It comes to this. We have a one-man point of failure. Didn't we practically just have a revolution to avoid this sort of thing? Shireen adjusted her hijab forward a little more when she realised that the Ayatollah was looking at her for a moment, before he redirected his attention to the men of the group. That was another thing that irritated her to no end- that he'd talk to Tehran or Qom, rather than her. SHE was the nation, they were her cities. But that didn't matter to him. Nor apparently, did the lives of her own people.
The decision was made with her in the room, but without a glance in her direction. After the Supreme Leader and the ministers left, Qom followed them but Tehran stayed where he was. "This isn't going to be good, is it?" he asked.
Shireen sighed. "No, Javid. It's not. I think it's going to be worse than not good, but what can we do? His mind is made up and there's no changing that."
The Player
Name: Nina
Age: Older
Fun Fact: Extremely adverse to having to buy new watches. Relearning all the settings is a pain.
Art concept credit goes to the lady of Ask-Iran, although in my headcanon Shireen has green eyes. Otherwise it's all good.
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[/align]Nation: Islamic Republic of Iran (formerly known as Persia)
Name: Shireen Azadi
Gender: Female
Appearance Age: 26
Actual Age: :1,362 (dating from the Islamic Conquest)
Appearance
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Green
Height: 5’7
Weight: 140lbs
Appearance: It’s difficult to discern her shape due to the long, duster-style black coat she wears over her other clothes, (all the time) and she’s usually careful that her hijab doesn’t slip back to reveal her hair. But under several layers of clothing she has a body in reasonable shape for a woman of her age, if a bit pale due to lack of exposure. As a result of that lack of exposure, her hands and her face are a little darker than the rest of her body, but not much. She’s proud of her body (especially Zagros and Alborz *winkwinknudgenudge*), even if it has some painful scars from her fights with her neighbours. She has a faint dusting of freckles on her face that most people only notice if they’re looking for them. She has all her teeth but they are definitely a little coffee-stained. Her eyebrows tend to want to grow together and she plucks them infrequently, hoping her bosses won’t notice either way. She wears makeup sometimes but is careful to keep it understated.
Defining Features: Her unexpectedly green eyes tend to make an impression on people who might otherwise write her off as ‘Arab’.
Who Am I?
Personality:
In part due to her age, Shireen is a very complicated lady. She is happy to talk to people about her culture, art, history- and equally happy to talk about that time that she gave Iraq the smackdown he so richly deserved, or the time she stole UAE’s islands because they were hers anyway, or… yes. She’s energetic and emphatic most of the time but if she’s feeling under the weather the self-doubt, self-pity and bad memories start up with a vengeance. She can be unpredictable in many aspects but you can be sure that she’ll deny that, if it’s convenient for her.
Shireen tries to be a good administrator for her various regions, and she definitely knows them all well, but some tend to be more difficult than others to manage. Sistan and Baluchistan in particular give her headaches and have on more than one occasion tried to kill her boss, so she takes a very hard line with them.
In her interactions with her bosses, she’s respectful but secretly resents that they resent her for being a female-gendered nation. While she’ll say all the right things to appease them, and while she is almost ferociously territorial, her leaders may mistake that for adherence to their particular code of beliefs. This isn’t always the case but she won’t fight that interpretation.
Likes:
- Persian food (even if the rest of the world might be classifying the same sort of food as Greek or Turkish, it’s totally hers)
- Persian literature (particularly Rumi and Hafez but if pressured she might admit to liking some more modern writers)
- Cats (definitely not a dog person)
- Islam (at least publically)
- Technology (especially the kinds she isn’t allowed to have)
- The colour green
- The Caspian Sea (vacation time!!)
- The Persian Gulf (income!)
- Her friends (especially Russia, China and North Korea, but anyone who’s willing to talk to her/listen to her side of the story is at least a potential friend)
- Skiing (surprisingly good at it, all things considered)
- Shopping (particularly in Dubai, but her allowance is getting smaller and smaller)
- the underground music scene in Tehran (but this is definitely a Very Secret Like)
Dislikes:
- Her bosses (a Very Secret Dislike)
- Bad roads (she has a fair few of these)
- The United States (messy, messy breakup)
- Dogs
- Technology failing
- Earthquakes
- Israel
- The English language
- Iraq
- The UK (but not as much as the US)
- People thinking she’s an Arab
- Sanctions (this is a more recent dislike)
Fears:
- Being ignored
- Being invaded
- Forgetting a Persian word for something and using the Arabic word instead
- Forgetting Mama Persia
- Going completely broke (her currency at present is _the_ most devalued in the world)
- A catastrophic earthquake hitting Tehran
- Israel spying on her
- Syria going completely insane and not talking to her any more
- Hitting the wrong button at her powerplant
- Internal revolt
- her bosses finding out that she hasn’t completely given up Zoroastrianism
Fun Facts:
- Despite who her neighbours are, Iran is not an Arab country and Shireen will fight anyone who says she is until she gets an apology at least
- Iran’s closest relatives are her sisters, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Their relationships are not always the best, but they have language in common…sorta-kinda.
- Although Tehran is currently her capital city, Shireen has a soft spot for Shiraz and Esfahan. She tolerates Qom but doesn’t like him.
- Although she is not supposed to drink alcohol, she has been known on occasion to make moonshine strong enough to lay out Russia. She also has fond memories of Shiraz wine.
- If neither Farsi nor Arabic has a good word for a thing, Shireen will find and use a French word
- Shireen can be abrasive, but then at other times she can be excessively polite, because no matter how much you dislike someone, one of the fun ways to frighten them is excessive politeness or formality.
Strengths:
- Determination. If Shireen sets her mind to something, it will happen, and the converse is also true: if she digs in her heels, they stay dug in. This determination may cost her dearly at times, a reckoning done in the blood of her people, but it has also saved her from certain death. Determination is a fundamental part of who she is.
- Love of her people. No matter who’s in charge of her government, Shireen is very close to her people. In her long history, Shireen has seen governments and rulers come and go, but fundamentally, she is convinced that people don’t change, for better or worse.
- Creativity. Shireen will never throw out something she could repurpose, and rarely gives up on equipment that could possibly be reused. The resulting creations aren’t always pretty but they work- at least for a while. If she finds out she cannot borrow, beg or steal something, she will make it on her own.
Weaknesses:
- Abrasiveness. If, after exhausting her not inconsiderable reserves of meaningless polite chatter, Shireen is still stuck talking to someone she doesn’t like, she won’t hesitate any more about letting them know what she thinks. She won’t go out of her way to get along with others, they can get along with her, or they can put up with her disliking them. She’s not afraid to be unpopular and in fact considers that a bit admirable.
- (bouts of Extreme) Paranoia. Shireen is convinced (sometimes with good reason and sometimes not so much) that certain other nations are out to get her, particularly the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and of course, Israel. She has a number of pet conspiracy theories, ranging from an earthquake machine pointed at her (she has lots of active fault lines, but there’s _gotta_ be an earthquake machine out there somewhere), to Israel spying on her with birds and squirrels. Her responses to such threats range from angry speeches to anyone who will listen, to shooting squirrels. Because they are spies…
- Alcohol. Although her bosses are strict, and alcohol-related offenses are punishable by death in her country, Shireen occasionally has a drink when she meets with other nations, if it would be too impolite not to decline. Because she doesn’t drink very often at all, it tends to go straight to her head with unpredictable results.
Your History
637-674 The death of Mama Persia, via the Islamic conquest of Iran, ends the Sassanid Empire and leads to the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion in Persia. Most Iranians gradually converted to Islam.
692- During the Umayyad Caliphate, the Pahlavi script on the coinage was replaced with Arabic alphabet. Furthermore, the Arab conquerors imposed Arabic throughout their empire. People who would not speak or write Arabic were sometimes killed.
743- Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik died, the Islamic world plunged into civil war.
750- Abu Muslim became leader of the Abbasid army and defeated the Umayyads at the Battle of the Zab and several important successive battles. The Abbasid army had both Iranian and Arab support, and the Abbasids overthrew the Umayyads.
820-1055 Several important overlapping dynasties (Tahirids, Saffarids, Samnids) controlled various parts of Iran as the Abbasids gradually fell apart.
930-Abbasid empire requires all bureaucrats and government workers to be Muslim. There is an uptick in conversions to Islam.
9th-11th centuries- Shu'ubiyyah Movement led by non-Arab members of the Muslim world (Persians prominent amongst them) called for equality among all followers of Islam. Persian language and cultural revival ensues, with some interest/assistance by Turks and Arabs. The Islamic Golden Age of science, discovery and literature is contemporaneous.
1219- Mongol invasion of Iran began.
1220–21 Bukhara, Samarkand, Herat, Tus, and Nishapur were leveled to the ground and all inhabitants were killed.
1258- The Mongol invasion definitively ended the Abbasid dynasty and the Golden Age of Islam in Iran. Millions died, libraries were burned and irrigation systems were destroyed, resulting in further deaths due to famine. Hulagu Khan killed the last Abbasid caliph.
1295-1304- Ghazan Khan made Islam the state religion of the Ilkhanate (which included Iran). Ghazan and Rashid al-Din improved Iran's economy by lowering taxes, promoting agriculture, rebuilding irrigation works, and fighting banditry on Iran's trade routes. With these improvements, trade improved and grew between Iran, India, and China.
1335- Civil war, following the death of Ghazan's heir Abu Said died. Several dynasties bickered over control of Iran(Jalayirids, Muzaffarids, Sarbadars and Kartids).
1381-Invasion of divided Iran by Timur/Tamerlane. Although he was brutally destructive he also included Iranians in administrative roles and was a patron of architecture and poetry.
1452- Timurid rule ends.
1468- Uzun Hasan and successors rule Iran until the advent of the Safavids.
1501-1722- Safavid dynasty. Of Kurdish-Azeri roots, this dynasty established Shia Islam as the dominant sect in Iran.
1502- Shah Ismail I conquers Tabriz and goes on to conquer and unify most of Iran and Afghanistan.
1587-1629- Rule of Shah Abbas I, the greatest Safavid Shah, who recaptured the eastern cities of Herat and Mashhad from the Uzbeks in 1598 and then went on to fight the Ottomans, recapturing Baghdad, eastern Iraq and the Caucasian provinces by 1622. He then went on to kick the Portuguese from Bahrain and the English navy from Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. He came to business agreements with the English East India Company and the Dutch East India Company. With the sole exception of Shah Abbas II, Safavids after Abbas I were a let down and spent a lot of money, while simultaneously failing to defend their territory.
1722 an Afghan army led by Mahmud, son of Mir Wais' crosses into eastern Iran, and takes Esfahan. Mahmud proclaims himself 'Shah' of Persia. Meanwhile,the Ottomans and the Russians, grab territory for themselves.
1736- Nader Shah, after defeating both Afghans and Ottomans, and reinstalling the Safavids to the throne and forcing a Russian withdrawl, finally decides that he ought to depose the Safavids and have himself crowned shah instead. Nader Shah then went on to claim Kandahar and later Delhi in 1739.
1747- Nader Shah is assassinated and anarchy follows this in Iran as rival army commanders fight for power. Places Nader Shah conquered later in life regain their independence as a result, including the region that will become Afghanistan.
1779- Karim Khan, who had kept the peace in the city of Shiraz while the rest of Iran was falling into bloody civil war, finally dies. His death results in further civil war which the Qajar dynasty eventually wins.
1796–1925- Qajar dynasty. Not a very good time for Iran, as England, Russia, and France, via the Treaty of Turkmenchay, the Treaty of Gulistan, and others, take control of various Iranian provinces.
1870–1871- Things get worse when famine ensues and approximately 2 million people die.
1906- Following the Constitutional Revolution against the Shah, the Shah makes concessions to stay in power, including granting a limited constitution, resulting in the first Majlis or parliament was convened on October 7, 1906.
1907- Anglo-Russian Convention. As part of the 'Great Game' these two powers divide Iran into spheres of influence- no one asks Iran about this, of course.
1908- The British discover oil in Khuzestan, making the Great Game even more interesting.
1914-1918- Iran occupied by English, Ottoman and Russian forces though essentially neutral
1919- Russian revolution results in their withdrawal from Iran. England unsuccessfully attempts to establish a protectorate in Iran.
1921- military coup targetting the Qajari officials establishes Reza Khan, as the dominant figure for the next 20 years. Reza Khan starts off as prime minister.
1925- The weak Qajar government causes a power vaccum. This plus the constitutionalist movement of Gilan result in Reza Shah Pahlavi's rise to power. Reza goes from prime minister to Shah, ruling for almost sixteen years.
1935- Popular uprising in Mashhad against the Shah for his sweeping attempts at reform throughout Iran. Although Reza Shah successfully introduced economic reforms, and reorganized not only the army, but also the government administration, and finances. Things Iran desperately needed, such as schools, trains, buses, radios, cinemas, and telephones were forthcoming, however the extremely personal nature of the Shah's attempts at modernization resulted in them being uneven, unsustainable and occasionally unwelcome.
In particular, Reza Shah had alienated the Islamic clergy by things such as requiring mosques to use chairs, requiring men to wear brimmed hats, supporting women who were discarding their hijabs, permitting the intermingling of men and women in society etc.,Bazaaris and villagers revolted in Mashhad, resulting in the deaths of dozens of protestors. Hundreds were injured, but the army managed to quell the rebellion.
1941- September 16, Reza Shah forced to abdicate due to the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. Until that time he had established an authoritarian government which promoted nationalism, militarism, secularism and anti-communism as well as censorship and propaganda.
Pro-British Reza Shah's son Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, was permitted to take control, when British and Indian forces from Iraq and Soviet forces from the north occupied Iran.
1943- Tehran Declaration guaranteed the post-war independence and boundaries of Iran, which were later violated by Soviet troops.
1945- Soviet troops stationed in northwestern Iran refused to withdraw and instead backed revolts establishing pro-Soviet separatist national states in Azerbaijan and Iranian Kurdistan.
1946- With the promise of oil concessions, Soviet troops withdraw from Iran, however the Soviet republics in the north were soon overthrown and the oil concessions were revoked.
1947-1951- While Mohammad Reza Pahlavi initially permitted parliament to hold most of the power in the country, there were hopes of forming a constitutional monarchy. Some corrupt elections were held and Parliament destablized. Six prime ministers came and went in swift succession.
1951- Democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddeq nationalized the then British-owned oil industry, during the Abadan Crisis. British outrage and an economic blockade followed but the nationalization continued.
1953- Mohmmad Reza briefly ousted from power by Colonel Nematollah Nassiri.
August 19- Operation Ajax, a more successful coup spearheaded by the CIA and MI6, forces Mossaddeq from office. He is then arrested, tried for treason, found guilty, and sentenced to house arrest for the remainder of his life. The less fortunate foreign minister, Hossein Fatemi, is executed. Zahedi succeeds Mossaddeq as prime minister, and violently suppresses all opposition to the Shah, particularly the opposition from the National Front and Communist Tudeh Party.
1957- martial law ends after 16 years and Iran joins the Baghdad Pact, strengthening West-leaning ties and receiving military and economic aid from the US.
In 1961- Shah Mohammed Reza begins the 'White Revolution' a sweeping series of economic, social, agrarian and administrative reforms designed to modernize the country. Land reform was pivotal in this, as modernization and economic growth proceeded at an unprecedented rate, fueled by Iran's oil reserves. Unfortunately, the White Revolution did not manage to improve economic conditions and the liberal pro-Western policies alienated certain Islamic religious and political groups.
1963-Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini arrested after a speech attacking the Shah. Mass protests follow.
1964- Khomeini exiled to France.
1965- Premier Hassan Ali Mansur was assassinated, resulting in the internal security service, SAVAK, taking a more active role in the pacification of Iran, killing, arresting and/or torturing members of the opposition. Iran also increased military expenditure and the defence budget, becoming a significant, modernized regional power.
1971- November. Iran seizes three disputed islands in the Persian Gulf.
1973- the Shah returns oil industry to national control. Following the Arab-Israeli War of October 1973, Iran does not join the Arab oil embargo against the West and Israel, rather Iran uses the situation to raise oil prices, gaining money for modernization and further defense spending.
1975- Algiers Accord between Iran and Iraq settles a border dispute.
1978- first major demonstrations kicking off the Iranian Islamic Revolution begin.
1979- January- Mohammad Reza Pahlavi flees the country after strikes and demonstrations continue.
1979- February- Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Tehran and is greeted warmly by Iranians. On Feburary 11th the military of Iran declared itself neutral after being defeated in street fighting with opposition groups.
1979- April- Referrendum finds the majority of Iranians in favour of the creation of an Islamic theocracy.
1979- December. Theocratic Constitution ratified, Ayatollah Khomeini becomes Supreme Leader of the country. The revolutionary government upholds the values of populism, nationalism and most importantly, Shi'a Islamic, as guarded by Islamic jurisprudence. A theocratic republic results as all opposition is quashed.
1979-1989- Khomeini rules as Supreme Leader in Iran, taking the modernising, growing capitalist economy and replacing it with a populist and Islam-centric economic system and cultural policies. Industry was largely nationalized, laws and schools Islamicized, and Western influences banned.
1979 November- 1981 January. Iranian students violate international law and seize US embassy personnel, holding 52 hostages for 444 days.
1980- September 22nd- Iraq, seeking to exploit Iran's weakened regional position, unstable government and recently purged military, invades Iran at Khuzestan, surprising Iran rather spectacularly, and bragging that Iraqi forces will reach the Iranian capital in three days.
1988- Iran-Iraq war ends. Neither side makes truly significant gains and horrific casulties resulted on both sides. Iraq, financially backed by just about everyone (NATO countries, Warsaw Pact countries and the Gulf States), ended the war with more equipment than they started with. They also used chemical weapons in their attacks on Iranian military and civilian targets, according to the UN, which caused the deaths of more than 100,000 people. Total Iranian casualties of the war were estimated to be between 500,000 and 1,000,000.
1988-July-December. The Iranian government systematically executes thousands of political prisoners across Iran, mainly but not exclusively targeting members of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran. Other targeted prisoners included atheists and members of the Communist party. Between 1,400 and 30,000 are killed.
1989- Ayatollah Khomeini appoints the Constitutional Reform Council which names Ali Khamenei as the next Supreme Leader, and makes a number of changes to Iran's constitution. Ayatollah Khomeini dies in June. Khamenei garners a network of supporters within Iran's armed forces and its powerful religious foundations. Ali Rafsanjani becomes president at the same time and serves a total of 8 years, focusing on rebuilding Iran's economy and war-damaged infrastructure despite low oil prices globally. Under his guidance, relations with neighboring countries, such as Saudi Arabia, normalized.
1991-Persian Gulf War. Iran remains neutral, condemns US actions, and allows Iraqi refugees into the country.
1997- Rafsanjani is succeeded by reformist Mohammad Khatami. Tensions rise between the reform-minded government and conservative clergy.
1999-July. Massive anti-government protests erupted in Tehran for more than a week before order is restored by government forces.
2001- Khatami is re-elected but conservative elements in the parliament continue to oppose him and the reform movement at ever turn, by banning liberal newspapers and disqualifying candidates for parliamentary elections. Political apathy increases in the Iranian youth.
2003- Anti-government protests spark again in Tehran.
2005- Ahmadinejad, mayor of Tehran, becomes the president. Concurrent with this is the ongoing American invasion of Iraq, the toppling of its regime and infrustructure, which cements Iran's position as a regional power, including in the majority Shia south of Iraq. Shia Iraqis, possibly backed by Iran, push for an autonomous region within Iraq. Concerns grow in western circles about Iran's nuclear energy program, although Khamenei issues a fatwa forbidding the production, stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons.
2006- More mass human rights protests.
2009- Ahmadinejad reelected, despite persistent allegations of vote-fraud and massive unrest amongst the population of Iran. Reformist opponents Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Karroubi persist in citing voting irregularities. At least 1000 people had been arrested and 20 killed in rioting in the streets. Government officials blame western powers for encouraging the protests.
2012- Iran declares the ability to close the Strait of Hormuz if threatened and reacts negatively to Israeli airstrike in Syria against government forces.
Sample Post
Shireen didn't have to look down at the paper. She'd memorized its contents in a few short hours since she'd first seen it. Iraq was practically admitting his mistake. It wasn't a perfect, grovelling apology, which is what she would have really preferred, but it was definitely a start. Iraq's boss was willing to make a cease-fire agreement which would respect their original, pre-conflict boundaries. Good. It wasn't ideal though. Ideally, Mohammad would have had to come see her personally and admit his mistakes and those of his bosses and beg on bended knee that she would stop attacking him. Still, it was a start, and one she was more than satisfied with.
Two hours later, in a closed cabinet meeting, Shireen's private hopes of a quick settlement were dashed. Her generals agreed with her- attacks on Iraqi soil would be unsustainable and dangerous. Her foreign minister and her president agreed with her. The only person who did not agree with her, unfortunately, was the Supreme Leader.
The only person that really matters. It comes to this. We have a one-man point of failure. Didn't we practically just have a revolution to avoid this sort of thing? Shireen adjusted her hijab forward a little more when she realised that the Ayatollah was looking at her for a moment, before he redirected his attention to the men of the group. That was another thing that irritated her to no end- that he'd talk to Tehran or Qom, rather than her. SHE was the nation, they were her cities. But that didn't matter to him. Nor apparently, did the lives of her own people.
The decision was made with her in the room, but without a glance in her direction. After the Supreme Leader and the ministers left, Qom followed them but Tehran stayed where he was. "This isn't going to be good, is it?" he asked.
Shireen sighed. "No, Javid. It's not. I think it's going to be worse than not good, but what can we do? His mind is made up and there's no changing that."
The Player
Name: Nina
Age: Older
Fun Fact: Extremely adverse to having to buy new watches. Relearning all the settings is a pain.
Art concept credit goes to the lady of Ask-Iran, although in my headcanon Shireen has green eyes. Otherwise it's all good.
