Belgian Amiga Club - ADF Collection/BS1 part 27.zip/BS1 part 27/WorldAtlas2_d2.adf/TEXTA/70

Text File | 1990-04-02 | 2KB | 29 lines

Iran, once called Persia, was settled in 2nd millennium BC from
the east by an Indo-European group related to the Aryans of
India.  In 549 BC, Cyrus the Great united the Medes and Persians
into the Persian Empire, conquered Babylonia in 538 BC and
restored the Jews in Jerusalem.  Alexander the Great conquered
Persia in 333 BC, but in the next century the Iranians regained
independence.  Arabs brought Islam to Persia in the 7th Century.
Persians contributed to the advance of the Moslems in the arts and science.
The Turks and the Mongols ruled Persia from the 11th Century
to 1502 when a Persian dynasty reasserted itself.
During the 19th Century, Britain and
Russia vied for influence and control.  In 1857 Britain severed
Afghanistan from Iran.  In 1925 Reza Khan founded the Iranian
monarchy and abdicated in 1941.  He was succeeded by his son,
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.  Under the Shah's rule, the oil economy
was nationalized and Iran underwent great social and economic
modernization.  In 1978, growing violence and discontent led to
the establishment of a military government and Martial Law.  The
Shah left Iran on January 16, 1979.  Exiled religious leaders led
by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini created a provisional
government and returned to Iran on January 31, 1979.  The
struggle for complete control over Iran continued, between the
western intellectuals and the religious fundamentalists led by the Ayatollah.
On November 4,1979, Iranian militants seized the United States Embassy and
took 62 Americans hostage.  The militants demanded the return of the
Shah to Iran for trial.  The Shah died on July 27, 1980 and the hostages
were released on January 21, 1981.  On September 22, 1980, Iran
and Iraq went to war over territorial differences on their
borders.  The war continued until August 1988.                    @