Iran: Did you mean...?

The culture of drinking wine was enjoyed throughout the Mediterranean world, and what is true now was true in antiquity, too: wine is always good business. The Hellenistic Period (c. 335-30 BCE), between Alexander the Great and Cleopatra...

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...

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

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...

The Parthian, or Arsacid, Empire (c. 247 BCE–224 CE) was an Iranian imperial state that emerged as Seleucid authority weakened in northeastern Iran. Arsaces I (reign c. 247–211 BCE), leader of the Parni, established the dynasty, but its transformation...

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

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 photograph of the Soviet embassy in Tehran, Iran. This was the location of the Tehran Conference in late 1943 when the leader of the USSR Joseph Stalin (1878-1953), President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), and...

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.