Iran: A Brief History The Iranian history dates back to over 9,000 years ago and the  country is among the three ancient regions in the world where writing appeared for the first time. Pictorial writings found in the west of Iran date back to over 3200 years before Christ. The first empire was founded in Fars Province by the Iranian Dynasty, the Achamenians over 2500 years ago. The country was ruled under the monarchy ever since until 1979 when the Islamic Revolution occurred and subsequently a new system, the Islamic Republic, was established. Iran is among the few countries in the world which has always maintained its independence and has never been a colony or a protectorate. During the past one 2hundred years, Iran has experienced two coup d'etats and two revolutions. The coup d'etat in 1920 staged by Reza Shah led to establishment of the Pahlavi Dynasty in 1924, and the coup d'etat of 1953 launched by the U.S. in cooperation with Britain and in support of Reza Shah's son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, led to the fall of the national government of Dr. Mohammad Mossadeq. The 1906 Revolution in Iran, which was the vanguard of all the revolutionary movements in the region including the Russian revolution, is known as the Constitutional Revolution. It was regarded a step forward towards changing from absolute despotism to a parliamentary and legal system. The Islamic Revolution of Iran was culminated in 1979 under the leadership of Imam Khomeini, one of the great Iranian clerics. The revolution, which led to the fall of the imperial system in Iran, is considered as a move towards the establishment of democracy based on national-religious beliefs of the people.   The Chronology of Persian History The accurate date for the arrival of Aryans in ancient Persia is not known. The Aryans are the ancestors of Iranians and progenitors of Iranian political systems. The odds are that the milestone dates back to 3000 to 5000 B.C. when, to historians and archeologists, locals in eastern, central and northern Iran were still socially too underdeveloped to set up big administration formations. Merely, in western and southern segments, there was the powerful Ilami regime. Historical relics showcase their association with immigrant newcomers. The similarity of Aryan names to Ilami ones proves this theory. Coincident with Egyptians and Mesopotamians, Ilamis, who are of the earliest civilized and urban populations worldwide, introduced the alphabets and led the globe into a historic era. The Ilamis were followed by different governments established by various Persian communities. One of the most ancient governments was that of Medes. Bringing Persian tribes together in contemporary Hamedan (named after the very event), they pioneered running administration in ancient Persia. Later on, the Achaemenids established the first empire of the world. Next epoches witnessed the ruling of a wide variety of Persian descendants, also domination of foreign powers which assumed Persian identity and pretended safeguarding Persian culture, history and language. They ruled over either the entire Iran or a few regions from time to time. - Proto Literate (3500 B.c) - Proto Elamite (3200-2700 B.C) - Old Elamite (2700-1500 B.C.) - Middle Elamite (1500-900 B.C.) - Neo Elamite (900-646 B.C.) - Mades (708-550 B.C.) - Achaemenid (550-331 B.C.)  The invasion of Alexander the Great 330 B.C. - Selucids (312-250 B.C.) - Partian (250 B.C. - 226 A.D.) - Sasanian (224-652 A.D.)  The arrival of Arabs and introduction of Islam (624 A.D.) - Taherian (820-872 A.D.) - Saffarian (868-930 A.D.) - Alavian of Tabarestan (864-1034 A.D.) - Samanian (874-999 A.D.) - Ale Ziyar (928-1043 A.D.) - Ale Boye (932-1055 A.D.) - Ghaznavian (977-1186 A.D.) - Seljoqs (1037-1194 A.D.) - Kharazmshahian (1127-1231 A.D.)  The invasion of the Mongol (1219 A.D.) - Ilkhanids (1254-1349 A.D.) - Ale Jalayer (1336-1411 A.D.) - Timorids (1369-1500 A.D.) - Safavids (1502-1739 A.D.)  Formation of a national government and recognition of Shia as the     national religion (1502 A.D.) - Afsharian (1735-1803 A.D.) - Zandian (1750-1794 A.D.) - Qajars (1779-1925 A.D.)  The Constitutional Revolution (1906 A.D.) - Pahlavi (1925-1979 A.D.)  The Islamic Revolution (1979 A.D.) - Islamic Republic of Iran (1979-... A.D.)