Iran: Did you mean...?

This article documents and elaborates on the many critical behind-the-scenes events, unknown to the public, before the history leaves us. The author The bulk of the “the land between the two rivers” lies in what we call today the Republic...

Join World History Encyclopedia as they chat with Kaya Şahin about his new book Peerless among Princes, the Life and Times of Sultan Süleyman, published by Oxford University Press. Kelly: Thank you so much for joining me today. It is a pleasure...

This map illustrates the Parthian Kingdom (c. 247 BCE–224 CE), also known as the Arsacid Empire after its ruling dynasty. Emerging on the northeastern fringes of the Seleucid realm, the Parthians expanded their power as Seleucid control weakened...

The Pahlavi Crown, first worn by Reza Shah Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, at his coronation in April 1926. The design reminds of the rulers of the Sassanid dynasty (3rd-7th centuries CE). Made of gold and silver on a red velvet backing. Weighing...

A painting of the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE Iran. Iranian painting, oil on canvas, 19th century. From the Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam

Naqsh-e Jahan Square is a public urban square situated at the centre of Isfahan in Iran. Constructed by Shah Abbas I the Great at the beginning of the 17th century CE, it is now an important historical site and one of UNESCO's World Heritage...

Elamite Ziggurat located in today's Khuzestan Province in Iran. It was constructed in approximately 1250 BCE in a religious city originally called Dur Untash.

The Silk Road was a network of ancient trade routes, formally established during the Han Dynasty of China in 130 BCE, which linked the regions of the ancient world in commerce between 130 BCE-1453 CE. The Silk Road was not a single route...

Mesopotamia (from the Greek, meaning 'between two rivers') was an ancient region located in the eastern Mediterranean bounded in the northeast by the Zagros Mountains and in the southeast by the Arabian Plateau, corresponding to modern-day...

The Ottoman Sultanate (1299-1922 as an empire; 1922-1924 as caliphate only), also referred to as the Ottoman Empire, written in Turkish as Osmanlı Devleti, was a Turkic imperial state that was conceived by and named after Osman (l. 1258-1326...