Iran

Women, Life, Freedom

Iranian women have always been present in national uprisings, but this time they are leading them.

The Fall of Isfahan

In March 1722 rebellious Afghan forces laid siege to the Safavid capital. Was the great Iranian empire on the brink of collapse?

The First Tanker War with Iran

If tensions between the US and Iran in the Persian Gulf lead to war, it will not be the first time. In 1987 and 1988, the US intervened to protect shipping from Iranian attacks.

Iran and the ‘Old Enemy’

Relations between Iran and Britain have often been strained. Yet the relationship is an old one, marked by mutual admiration.

Iran: Cold War Crucible

During the Second World War, Britain, the US and the Soviet Union worked together in oil-rich Iran. But cooperation was to degenerate into suspicion and hostility. 

Arab Conquests and Sasanian Iran

Iran, despite its conquest by the armies of Islam, retained its own Persian language and much of its culture. Khodadad Rezakhani examines the process by which a Zoroastrian empire became part of the Islamic world.  

Persepolis: the Monument of Xerxes

The monumental city of Persepolis was the pride of the Persian empire until its destruction by fire. Richard Stoneman revisits its builders, Darius and Xerxes, and their role in its construction.