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Showing posts from March 22, 2026

HISTORY136 - Iran Part 1: Thousands of Years of Dynastic Rule

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  It seems like Iran has been in the news for years with constant provocations and chants of “Death to America.”  At the time of this writing, the United States and Israel are pulverizing the leadership and military infrastructure of Iran with continuous airborne assaults.   It might be useful to review the impressive history of Iran before …   I’m going to divide this story into two parts.   In this blog (Part 1), after an introduction, I will discuss the prehistory of Iran, and then its key ruling dynasties, up to the year 1979 when Iran became a republic.   In Part 2, I will discuss the history of Iran as a republic, from 1979 to the present, leading up to the current military crisis. At the end of both parts, I will list my principal sources.   Introduction       Iran, historically known as Persia, is a major Middle Eastern nation, and is home to one of the world's oldest continuous major civilizations, dating b...