Important Events in the History of Iran

Compiled by: Syed Ali Shahbaz

Armenia was an integral part of Iran, beginning from the 6th century BC till the 19th century
On September 23, 1991 AD, Armenia became independent from the Soviet Union. Armenia was an integral part of Iran and the successive Persian Empires, beginning from the 6th century BC till the 19th century, when it was seized from Qajarid Iran by the Russians.
In 1918, following the Russian Revolution, Armenia asserted its independence, but was suppressed by the Soviets. In early 1990 upon referendum, over 90% of Armenians voted for independence, which was accordingly achieved. Armenia is situated in West Asia in the Caucasus region, and covers an area of almost 30,000 sq km. It shares borders with Iran, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Georgia.

The Battle of Dandanaqan
On 8th of the Islamic month of Ramadhan in 431 AH, Toghril Beg won the Battle of Dandanaqan, and seized Khorasan from the Ghaznavid Empire, thereby heralding the rise of the Seljuq Turks of Central Asia as a new power in Iran, and eventually Anatolia (Turkey), Syria, Iraq, and the Persian Gulf parts of the Arabian Peninsula. Highly Persianized in culture and language, the Seljuqs who ruled for over a century-and-a-half, played an important role in the development of the Turko-Persian tradition, even exporting Persian culture to Anatolia.

Sultan Hussain Bayqarah, the Timurid ruler of Herat
On 12th of the Islamic month of Jamadi as-Sani in 1506 AD, Sultan Hussain Bayqarah, the Timurid ruler of Herat died at the age of 68 years, after a rule of 38 years during which he patronized Persian art, architecture and literature. For a time, he was involved in struggle for supremacy with other Timurid princes and the Aq Qoyunlu Turkish tribe for domination of Khorasan and eastern Iran. His boundary with the Aq Qoyunlu started on the southern edge of the Caspian Sea, running south, then east across the north of the Dasht-e Lout, ending at Lake Hamun. His border with the Timurids was the Oxus River. Sultan Hussain Bayqara was viewed as "a good king, a lover of peace and justice", and he built numerous structures including a famous school. His vizier was the famous scholar and patron of Persian literature, Ali Shir Navaie.

Shah Abbas, the Great, defeats the Ottomans
On 25th of the Islamic month of Sha’ban in 993 AH, the Ottomans, taking advantage of the power vacuum in Iran, breached the treaty of peace with the Safavids to occupy the Iranian city of Tabriz. The occupation lasted 18 years until Shah Abbas, after assuming power, inflicted a shattering defeat on the Ottomans to liberate Tabriz, the Caucasus, and eventually Iraq, where he reconstructed the holy shrines in Najaf, Karbala, and Kazemain on a grand scale.

For over two hundred years the Ottomans and the Safavids fought over Iraq
On 16th of the Islamic month of Sha’ban in 1048 AH, Ottoman Grand Vizier, Tayyar Mohammed Pasha was killed by a bullet fired by Iranian defenders during the siege of Baghdad. Tayyar was the fourth Ottoman Grand Vizier to be killed on the battlefield. Incidentally, his father Ogar Mustafa Pasha had also lost his life near Baghdad during the Ottoman-Safavid battle over the city, which was won by the Iranians. For over two hundred years the Ottomans and the Safavids fought over Iraq, which exchanged hands many times.

The Portuguese occupation of the Iranian Island of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf
On May 3 in 1515 AD, the Portuguese fleet occupied the Iranian Island of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. In the next few years they seized more Iranian islands including Bahrain in 1521. The brutality of the Portuguese occupation forces enraged the people of Iran. Finally, upon establishment of a strong Iranian navy by the Safavid Dynasty, Shah Abbas the Great liberated Bahrain in 1602 and Hormuz in 1622.

The Afghan usurper of Iran, Mahmoud Hotaki
On 8th of the Islamic month of Sha’ban in 1137 AH, the Afghan usurper of Iran, Mahmoud Hotaki, died at the age of 28 years after ruling the Safavid Empire for three years, during which he killed tens of thousands of Iranian people, including nobles, ministers and governors through deceit, as well as family members of the deposed Safavid king, Shah Sultan Hussain Safavi.
Son of Mirwais Hotaki, the Qandahar chieftain who rebelled against the Safavids, Mahmoud was able to conquer Iran because of disunity among the Iranians and lack of decisiveness among the rulers. During his siege and subsequent capture of Isfahan, as many as 80,000 Iranians died. He also destroyed some 500 mosques and madrasahs in and around Isfahan, which forced most of the ulema to migrate to other parts of the country, especially to the shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala in Iraq.
He soon became mad and is believed to have been murdered by his cousin, Ashraf, who seized the throne of Iran and unleashed a 4-year reign of terror, brutally killing the imprisoned Shah Sultan Hussain Safavi, until he was defeated and driven out by Nader Qoli Afshar, who later seized power from Shah Tahmasp II and declared himself Nader Shah.