Essay On Iran

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Iran, which was also formerly known as Persia, has an interesting history that affects the modern day culture of the region. Iran is known for one of the world’s oldest major civilizations which has roots dating back to 4000 BC. First, the Medes occupied the region; they unified Iran as a nation and major empire. Iran was ruled by a series of empires and dynasties, starting with The Achaemenid Empire which ruled from 550-330 bce all the way to Iran’s last dynasty, The Pahlavi Dynasty, which was in power from 1925-1941 ce. The Iranian Revolution or the Islamic Revolution put an end to the dynasties in Iran after the shahs (kings) started incorporating Western ideals and philosophies into society. This brought sharp objections from religious people and they started viewing the Shahs as anti-Islamic which eventually lead to the Ayatollah regaining power over the nation. In order to have a basic understanding of the issues facing Iran today it is important to look at the past and have an understanding of the modern history of this complex nation.
Let us start by taking a look at the Safavid Empire, which took control in 1502. The Safavid Empire ruled over modern day Iran, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Armenia, Georgia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Caucasus. The Safavid Dynasty is primarily known for establishing Shia Islam as the official religion of Iran. This lead to the decline of the Zoroastrian and Bahai faiths which are ancient religions originating in Iran. Shah Ismail I was the first Shah of the Safavid Dynasty, he was primarily responsible for converting Iran from Sunni to Shia Islam. Ismail served as a spiritual leader to the people of Iran, under his rule anyone who wasn’t part of the Shia Islam faith faced extrem...

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... part of the “axis of evil” in his State of the Union Address, this upset many Iranians. In 2005 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected president in place of Khatami. Ahmadinejad brought back conservative policies. Under his presidency dress codes and persecution of minorities became stricter, many homosexuals were also hanged. Ahmadinejad refused to stop uranium enrichment as demanded by the United Nations. He was re-elected in 2009 in a suspiciously large victory. Opponents claimed obvious fraud and protestors took to the streets, but the government didn’t back down and killed at least 20 demonstrators. The Obama administration currently has a policy of engagement with Iran, but no results can be seen so far.
Iran’s modern history is full of complexities. Iran struggles to this day to achieve a democracy. Hopefully one day I will witness a truly free and democratic Iran.

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