Iran, a country study Federal Research Division Iran, a country study Table of Contents Iran, a country study..........................................................................................................................................1 Federal Research Division.......................................................................................................................1 Foreword..................................................................................................................................................5 Preface......................................................................................................................................................5 GEOGRAPHY.........................................................................................................................................6 TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS..............................................................................7 NATIONAL SECURITY........................................................................................................................7 Chapter 1. Historical Setting....................................................................................................................7 Immigration of the Medes and the Persians.............................................................................................9 Alexander the Great, the Seleucids, and the Parthians............................................................................9 Islamic Conquest....................................................................................................................................10 Iran.........................................................................................................................................................12 Foreword................................................................................................................................................12 Acknowledgments..................................................................................................................................13 Preface....................................................................................................................................................13 Country Profile......................................................................................................................................14 GEOGRAPHY.......................................................................................................................................14 ECONOMY...........................................................................................................................................15 TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS............................................................................16 GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS.......................................................................................................16 NATIONAL SECURITY......................................................................................................................17 Introduction............................................................................................................................................17 Chapter 1. Historical Setting..................................................................................................................23 Ancient Iran...........................................................................................................................................24 Immigration of the Medes and the Persians...........................................................................................24 The Achaemenid Empire, 550−330 B.C................................................................................................25 Alexander the Great, the Seleucids, and the Parthians..........................................................................26 The Sassanids, A.D. 224−642................................................................................................................27 Islamic Conquest....................................................................................................................................27 INVASIONS OF THE MONGOLS AND TAMERLANE...................................................................29 THE SAFAVIDS, 1501−1722...............................................................................................................30 THE QAJARS, 1795−1925...................................................................................................................32 The Constitutional Revolution...............................................................................................................33 World War I...........................................................................................................................................34 THE ERA OF REZA SHAH, 1921−41.................................................................................................35 WORLD WAR II AND THE AZARBAIJAN CRISIS.........................................................................36 MOSSADEQ AND OIL NATIONALIZATION..................................................................................37 THE POST−MOSSADEQ ERA AND THE SHAH'S WHITE REVOLUTION..................................39 State and Society, 1964−74...................................................................................................................40 Renewed Opposition..............................................................................................................................44 The Coming of the Revolution..............................................................................................................45 THE BAKHTIAR GOVERNMENT.....................................................................................................48 THE REVOLUTION.............................................................................................................................49 The New Constitution............................................................................................................................52 The Bani Sadr Presidency......................................................................................................................53 Terror and Repression............................................................................................................................57 Consolidation of the Revolution............................................................................................................60 Chapter 2. The Society and Its Environment.........................................................................................62 i Iran, a country study Table of Contents Iran, a country study GEOGRAPHY.......................................................................................................................................63 Topography............................................................................................................................................64 Climate...................................................................................................................................................65 POPULATION......................................................................................................................................65 Major Cities...........................................................................................................................................66 Emigration.............................................................................................................................................67 Refugees.................................................................................................................................................67 PEOPLES AND LANGUAGES............................................................................................................68 The Persian Language............................................................................................................................68 The Persian−speaking People................................................................................................................69 Indo−Iranian−speaking Groups.............................................................................................................70 Baluchis.................................................................................................................................................71 Kurds......................................................................................................................................................71 Other Groups..........................................................................................................................................72 Turkic−speaking Groups........................................................................................................................72 Azarbaijanis...........................................................................................................................................73 Qashqais.................................................................................................................................................73 Other Groups..........................................................................................................................................74 Semitic Language