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Middle East Kingdoms

Persia and the East

 

 

 

Persia

The Persians (or Parsu) were a grouping of Indo-Europeans who settled east of ancient Elam. Their capital until 559 BC was Pasargadae, before increasing dominance saw them move it to the former Elamite capital at Susa. In effect, they were Elam's successors, inheriting their language and culture, especially during the Achaemenid period.

c.1000 - 559 BC

The Persians are under the overlordship of Elam. As Elam's influence weakens, the Achaemenid Persians begin to assert their own authority in the region.

675 BC

The Persians begin to unite under the (legendary) founder of their new dynasty.

Achaemenid Persia (Persian Empire)
675 - 330 BC

Darius I is thought to have been a usurper of the Persian throne, and many scholars of Achaemenid history now believe that Achaemenes was a fictional common ancestor used to legitimise Darius' rule. Darius went so far as to install inscriptions on the unfinished palace of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae that read "I am Cyrus, the king, the Achaemenid." No record of Achaemenes can be dated earlier than the reign of Darius I. Nonetheless, the name "Achaemenid" has been commonly accepted for the line of Persian kings beginning with Darius I. Some sources use the term Achaemenid to refer to the entire line of early Persian rulers, including both Cyrus and Cambyses.

675 - 640 BC

Achaemenes Teispes

644 BC

Assyria devastates Elam and only a fragmented kingdom survives.

640 - 600 BC

Cyrus I

c.620 BC

Media gains a level of control in the region as Assyria is destroyed.

600 - 559 BC

Cambyses

Last Media-controlled Persian king.

559 - 530 BC

Cyrus (Kurush) II the Great

Shahs of Persia

559 - 530 BC

Cyrus moves the capital to the former Elamite capital, Susa (559 BC), throws off the Medes (550 BC), captures Lydia and Phrygia (547 BC) and Macedonia (542 BC), and is invited into Babylon (539 BC), which also gains him the remainder of Elam's territory, plus Phoenicia and the Mediterranean coast. He also adds the Khwarazm region to the empire. Media itself is conquered in 530 BC. Cyprus is added to the empire in 525 BC.

530 - 523 BC

Cambyses (Kambujiya) II

Son. Conquered Egypt 525 BC.

525 BC

The Persians conquer Egypt, creating the 27th Dynasty.

522 - 521 BC

Smerdis (Bardia)

Possible usurper using a royal name. Murdered by Darius.

521 - 485 BC

Darius (Darayavahush) I the Great

First 27th Egyptian Dynasty ruler.

513 - 512 BC

The Persians enter northern Greece, conquering Thrace south of the Danube.

500 BC

Darius oversees the completion of a canal connecting the Nile to the Red Sea.

485 - 465 BC

Xerxes (Xshayarsha) I

Son.

480 - 479 BC

Invading Greece in 480 BC, Xerxes is swiftly engaged by Athens and Sparta in the Vale of Tempe, and then stymied by a mixed force of Greeks led by Sparta at Thermopylae. Athens then defeats the Persian navy at Salamis, and after Xerxes returns home, his army is decisively defeated at the battle of Plataea and kicked The Battle of Thermopylaeout of Greece.

465 - 464 BC

Artabanus the Hyrcanian

464 - 424 BC

Artaxerxes (Artaxshassa) I Longimanus

424 - 423 BC

Xerxes II

Claimant.

424 - 423 BC

Sogdianus

Claimant.

423 - 404 BC

Darius II

Last 27th Egyptian Dynasty ruler.

404 BC

Egypt breaks away from Persian control.

404 - 359 BC

Artaxerxes II Mnemon

395 BC

Artaxerxes initially backs the Greek city states of Thebes, Athens, Corinth, and Argos against Sparta in the Corinthian War.

391 - 381 BC

Persia recovers Cyprus in 381 BC following the short-lived Ionian revolt.

359 - 338 BC

Artaxerxes III Ochus

Temporarily re-conquered Egypt in 343-336 BC.

358 BC

The Phoenician subject city of Sidon on the Mediterranean coast rebels, but the rebellion is crushed in the same year.

350 BC

An attempt in Assyria to assert independence ends in failure and retribution by the Persians.

338 - 336 BC

Artaxerxes IV Arses (Arsha)

336 - 330 BC

Darius III Codomannus

Temporarily re-conquered Egypt in 335-332 BC.

334 - 330 BC

Persia (including the eastern province of Bactria) is conquered by the Greek Empire under Alexander the Great.

323 - 320? BC

The Parthian section of conquered Persia is governed by the Greek general, Phrataphernes, while Peucestas governs Persis, Tlepolemus governs Carmania, Atropates governs northern Media, Archon rules Babylonia, and Arcesilas rules northern Mesopotamia.

320 - 305 BC

Alexander's general, Seleucid, governs Persia during the period of the Diadochi Wars.

305 BC

Persia is ruled by the Hellenic Seleucid Empire from Babylon and then Antioch, in Syria.

248 - 126 BC

Persia is slowly liberated from Seleucid Greek rule by tribesmen who have drifted down to Parthia and Bactria. They emerge out of obscurity on the Iranian Plateau and take over north-eastern and central Persia while the Seleucids crumble in the West. By 130 BC they conquer all of Persia, and in 126 BC they take Babylonia.

Arsacid (Parthian) Persia
248 BC - AD 224

The dating of the Arsacids is uncertain, as is the sequence in some cases, and is largely known from coins. Not all pretenders and temporary rulers are mentioned in this list, though a fair number of overlapping reigns do seem to be mentioned.

c.250 - ?211 BC

Arsaces I of the Parni People

248 BC

Parthia gains independence from Seleucid Persia.

? - 211 BC

Tiridates

c.211 - 191 BC

Artabanus I (?)

c.211 - 191 BC

Arsaces II (?)

c.191 - 176 BC

Phriapitius

c.191 - 176 BC

Priapatius

185 BC

The Parthians expand into eastern Iran.

c.176 - 171 BC

Phraates I

171 - 139 BC

Mithridates I

(Not the same as the king of Pontus.)

141 - 139 BC

Mithridates takes Media (141 BC) and Iran (139 BC).

c.139 - 129 BC

Phraates II

c.128 - 124 BC

Artabanus II (I)

138 - 128 BC

Phraates II

Son of Mithradates.

129 - 126 BC

The Parthians invade and conquer Mesopotamia and Babylonia, dethroning and killing the Seleucid king.

124 - 87 BC

Mithridates II the Great

Cousin of Phraates II.

92 BC

A treaty is formed with Rome.

c.90 - 80 BC

Gotarzes I

c.80 - 78 BC

Orodes I

c.77 - 70 BC

Sinatruces

c.70 - 58 BC

Phraates III

c.58 - 39 BC

Orodes II

55 BC

Parthian pressure on the Macedonian kingdom of Bactria becomes too great to be held back, and the kingdom disappears.

53 BC

The Battle of Carrhae. Triumvir Crassus is killed and 34,000 legionnaires are captured or killed. Some captured Romans may later be used to fight against China.

c.57 - 55 BC

Mithridates III

Pacorus I

(d.38 BC)

c.40 - 3 BC

Phraates IV

Son of Orodes.

c.30 - 25 BC

Tiridates

3 BC - AD 3

Phraates V

2 - 4

Queen Musa

c.4

The empire gradually breaks into smaller kingdoms that remain loosely united for 200 years.

4 - 7

Orodes III

c.7 - 12

Vonones I

Became king of Armenia 15-16.

c.10 - 38

Artabanus III (II)

His son became king of Armenia 34-35.

c.39 - 45

Vardanes I

c.43 - 50

Gotarzes II

c.50 - 76

Vologeses I

Vologeses I is brother to Pacorus of Media, and Tiridates II of Armenia. He is also the father of Tiridates I of Armenia.

77 - 78

Vologeses II

77 - 86

Pacorus II

79 - 80

Artabanus IV (III)

89 - 90

Vologeses II

89 - 90

Oroses

92 - 95

Pacorus II

108 - 127

Oroses

Restored?

111 - 146

Vologeses III

114 - 117

The Romans under Trajan occupy Mesopotamia right up to the former Elamite capital at Susa (now the Parthian capital), but the conquests are given up following the emperor's death.

113 - 114

Pacorus II

c.130 - 147

Mithridates IV

148 - 190

Vologeses IV

190 - 206

Vologeses V

207 - 221

Vologeses VI

c.213 - 227

Artbanus V (IV)

224

Weakened by decades of war with Rome, the Parthians are overthrown by a nobleman called Sassa, from the Iranian Highlands.

c.226 - 227

Artavasdes

Sassanid Persia
AD 224 - 642

A nobleman from the Iranian Highlands overthrew the regional control of his masters in AD 224 and became shah of Persia.

?

Sassa

? - 208

Papak

King of Persis.

208 - 241

Ardashir I

Shah from 224.

238 - 252

Ardashir conquers Armenia and persecutes the Christians there.

241 - 272

Shapur I

Defeated and captured Roman Emperor Valerian in 260.

c.250

The Kushan of India are toppled by the Sassanids.

272 - 273

Hormizd I

272 - 276

Bahram I (Varahran I)

276 - 293

Bahram II

293

Bahram III

294 - 302

Narses (Nerseh)

Defeated by Rome in 298.

302 - 309

Hormizd II

309 - 379

Shapur II

379 - 383

Ardashir II

383 - 388

Shapur III

387

Persia and Rome partition Armenia between them, with Persia gaining the eastern half.

388 - 399

Bahram IV

399 - 421

Yazdagird I

421 - 439

Bahram V

439 - 457

Yazdagird II

457 - 459

Hormizd III

459 - 484

Peroz

Killed by White Huns.

484

The Persian Empire is temporarily overrun by White Huns who maintain puppet rulers on the throne.

484 - 488

Valash

488 - 496

Kavad I

496 - 498

Zamasp

498 - 531

Kavad I

Restored.

c.520

Some Turk tribes arrive from Asia and aid in the overthrow of the White Huns.

531 - 579

Khusro I (Chrosroes / Khosrau)

Son of Kavad(h).

579 - 590

Hormizd IV

591 - 628

Khusro II

607 - 616

The Sassanids invade and conquer Byzantine Syria, Egypt & Asia Minor.

623 - 628

Khusro is defeated by Byzantine emperor Heraclius, and overthrown by the nobles. Persia loses Armenia in the process.

628

Kavad II

628 - 629

Ardashir III

629 - 630

Boran

630 - 632

Hormizd V

630 - 632

Khusro III

632 - 651

Yazdagird III

637 - 651

Mesopotamia is lost to the Arabs in 637. The Sassanids are defeated by Caliph Umar in 642. Persia is overrun by Islam by 651.

 651 - 945

Persia is part of the Islamic Empire until the Buwayid amirs seize control.

 c.900 - 1000

A large area of eastern Persia falls under the control of the Samanid Emirate.

The Buwayid (Buyid) Amirs of Iraq
AD 945 - 1055

Although they had lost control of much of eastern Persia to the Samanid Emirate which was based in the Transoxiana region, the Buwayids continued to rule in the west and in Mesopotamia.

945 - 1055

The Buwayids rule from Mesopotamia.

995

Khwarazm achieves independence from Persia.

c.1000

Areas of eastern Persia are conquered by the Afghan Ghaznavids.

1055

The Buwayid Amirs are defeated by and fall to the Seljuq Turks.

Seljuq (Great Sultans) Dynasty
AD 1055 - 1194

Originating from Mongolia, the Seljuq Turks were part of a larger wave of Turkic tribes which erupted from the Asian Steppes above the Volga, north of the Caspian Sea, invading Persia and Mesopotamia from 1021 onwards.

c.990

Seljuk

Dynasty Founder.

c.1020 - 1037

Arslan ("Lion")

Son. Led Transoxianian invasion.

1037 - c.1060

Chagri-Beg

Ruled Khurasan. Nephew of Arslan.

1037 - 1063

Tughril-Beg

Nephew of Arslan.

1040 - 1046

Tughril-Beg defeats the Afghan Ghaznavids and takes control of Afghanistan and eastern Persia in 1040. Between 1041-1046 he establishes his rule over Isfahan. From 1044-1055 he invades Armenia and takes Baghdad. He restores the Abbasid Caliph and is created Sultan of Persia.

By 1071 a splinter group of Seljuqs has defeated the Byzantines to create a ruling dynasty in Anatolia which is initially subservient to the Persian Seljuqs. The leader of this group, Kutulmush, vies for power with the Seljuq leader, Alp Arslan.

1063 - 1072

Alp Arslan ("Heroic Lion")

Son of Chagri. Won the power struggle.

1071 - 1099

Jerusalem is conquered by Seljuq Turks.

1072 - 1092

Malik Shah I

Son. Died of unknown causes. Rum became independent.

1092 - 1094

Mahmud I

1094 - 1105

Berk Yaruq (Barkiyaruq)

1098 - 1099

The First Crusade seizes Edessa (on the Euphrates), and Jerusalem.

1105

Malik Shah II

1105 - 1118

Muhammad I Tapar

1118 - 1157

Ahmad Sanjar

Ruled Khurasan (1097-1157).

1127

The sultan appoints the Zangid Atabegs to govern recaptured eastern Edessa as part of Syria.

1157

Upon the death of Sanjar the Seljuq territories break up into several smaller states. The rump of Seljuq territory is Iraq, where they remained in power as the Khwarazm shahs conquer the rest of Persia.

1118 - 1131

Mahmud II

Ruled Iraq.

1131 - 1132

Dawud

Ruled Iraq.

1132 - 1134

Tughril II

Ruled Iraq.

1134 - 1152

Masud

Ruled Iraq.

1152 - 1153

Malik Shah III

Ruled Iraq.

1153 - 1160

Muhammad II

Ruled Iraq.

1157

The Great Sultanate breaks up.

1160 - 1161

Sulayman Shah

Ruled Iraq.

1161 - 1176

Arslan Shah

Ruled Iraq.

1176 - 1194

Tughril III

Ruled Iraq. Last Seljuq sultan. Died on the battlefield.

1194

Conquered by the Khwarazm shahs.

1219 - 1222

The Khwarazm shahs are conquered by the Mongols.

1255 - 1260

Il Khan Mongols invade and take over the Middle East, controlling it until 1338.

1338 - 1387

A period of several rival successor states, such as the Anatolian Jalayirids, causes anarchy and civil war in Persia. The Il-Khan Mongols are relegated to governing Iraq only.

1387

Western and Southern Persia taken by Mongols under Tamerlane, and controlled through his Timurid descendants.

Timurid Dynasty
AD 1384 - 1500

1370 - 1405

Tīmūr-i Lang / Tamerlane

Mongol conqueror.

1386 - 1394

Timur conquers Greater Armenia and massacres a large part of the population.

1402

He defeats, captures and imprisons the Ottoman ruler Bayezīd I at the Battle of Ankara.

1405 - 1407

Pīr Muhammad

in Kandahar (modern Afghanistan).

1405 - 1409

Khalīl Sultan

in Samarkand. d.1411.

1405 - 1447

Shah Rukh

in Khurasan (1405-1409). In Transoxiana (1409-1447).

1447 - 1449

Ulugh Beg

in Transoxiana & Khurasan.

1449 - 1450

Abd al Latīf

in Transoxiana.

1450 - 1451

Abdallah

1451 - 1469

Abū Sa'īd

in Transoxiana & Western Persia.

1469 - 1494

Sultan Ahmad

in Transoxiana.

1494 - 1495

Mahmud

1495 - 1500

Baysonqur

in Transoxiana.

1495 - 1500

Masud

in Transoxiana.

1495 - 1500

Alī

in Transoxiana.

1500

The Özbeg (Uzbek) Turks conquer Transoxiana & Farghana. The latter region includes a small Timurid principality. The Özbeg conquest forces its heir, Babur, to move to Kabul (1514) and India (1526), where he founds the Moghul Empire.

1501

Shah Esmail conquers Persia, and establishes a nationalist Persian monarchy on the basis of Shiite (Twelver) ideology.

Safavid Shahs of Iran
AD 1501 - 1736

The Safavids were a Turkic-speaking Iranian dynasty which was descended from Sheykh Safi ad Din (1253-1334) of Ardabil, head of the Sufi order of Safaviyeh (Safawiyah), but in about 1399 they exchanged their Sunnite affiliation for Shi'ism. The Safavids established Shi'ite Islam as the state religion of Persia, which became a major factor in the emergence of a unified national consciousness among the various ethnic and linguistic elements of the country.

The founder of the dynasty, Ismail I, as head of the Sufis of Ardabil, won enough support from the local Turkmens and other disaffected heterodox tribes to enable him to capture Tabriz from Ak Koyunlu / Ak Qoyun, an Uzbek confederation (otherwise known as the White Sheep Emirate). In July 1501 Ismail was enthroned as Shah of Azerbaijan. By May the following year he was shah of Iran.

(Additional material by Anar R Guliyev.)

1501 - 1524

Esmail / Ismail I

Grandson of Uzun Hasan of the White Sheep Emirate.

1501 - 1511

Esmail spends a decade subjugating much of greater Iran. He also annexes Baghdad and Mosul.

1520

A Persian occupying force in Georgia is wiped out by the Georgian King of Kartli.

1524 - 1576

Tahmasp I

Son. Weak ruler.

1576 - 1578

Esmail II

1578 - 1587

Mohammad Khodabanda

1587 - 1629

Abbas I, the Great

Established Safavids as a major power.

1615

Abbas deposes the king of Kartli for attempting to unify Georgia.

1629 - 1642

Safi I

1642 - 1666

Abbas II

1666 - 1694

Safi II / Solayman I

1694 - 1722

Hosayn I

1722 - 1729

The Ghilzai Afghans from Kandahar occupy much of Iran, including the capital at Estfahan.

1722 - 1725

Mahmun

Afghan ruler.

1725 - 1729

Ashraf

Afghan ruler.

1729 - 1730

The general, Nadir Kuli, liberates the country from the Afghans and restores the Safavids.

1722 - 1732

Tahmasp II

Killed 1740.

1732 - 1736

Abbas III

Killed 1740.

1736

Abbas leaves no heir to the throne so Nadir Kuli claims the title and founds the short-lived Afsharids. Two minor Safavid claimants almost outlast the Afsharids by ruling small pockets of eastern territory.

1750

Solayman II

At Mashhad.

1750 - 1765

Esmail III

In Esfahan (d.1773).

Afsharid Shahs of Iran
AD 1736 - 1750

1736 - 1747

Nadir Shah

Regent (1732-1736).

1739

Nadir Shah loots Delhi within the Moghul Empire, fragmenting the empire into a loose association of states.

1747

Adel Shah

1748

Ebrahim

1748 - 1750

Shah Rukh

In Khorasan 1750 & 1755-1796.

1750 - 1803

As the Zands take political control of Persia, the Afsharids become increasingly marginalised and end their rule in eastern Khorasan.

1750

Mir Sayyed Mohammed

In Khorasan.

1750 - 1773

Esmail / Ismail III

In Khorasan.

1796 - 1803

Nader Mirza

In Mashhad.

Zand Shahs of Iran
AD 1750 - 1794

1751 - 1779

Karim Khan

Regent for Esmail III (1751-1769).

1779

Abul Fath

In Shiraz (City of Roses, in Persia).

1779

Mohammad Ali

In Shiraz.

1779 - 1781

Mohammad Sadiq

In Shiraz.

1781 - 1785

Ali Morad

In Esfahan.

1785 - 1789

Jafar

In Esfahan, then Shiraz.

1789 - 1794

Lutf Ali

In Shiraz.

Qajar Shahs of Iran
AD 1794 - 1925

1779 - 1797

Agha Mohammad

Southern Persia 1794. Khorasan 1796.

1797 - 1834

Fath Ali

1834 - 1848

Mohammad

1848 - 1896

Naser od Din

1896 - 1907

Muzaffar od Din

1905 - 1908

The Persian revolution sweeps the country.

1907 - 1909

Mohammad Ali

1909 - 1925

Ahmad

A coup d'etat replaces the Qajars with the Pahlevis.

1913 - 1970

Upon the independence of Bahrain from the Ottoman Empire, Persia claims sovereignty through its previous links to the Islamic Empire.

Pahlevi Shahs of Iran
AD 1925 - 1979

1925 - 1941

Reza (Rida) Pahlevi

Persia is officially renamed as Iran, previously a regional title.

1941 - 1979

Mohammed Reza

Celebrated 2500th anniversary of Persian Empire (d.1980).

1979

A revolutionist government forces the shah into exile. He is the last emperor in the Europe, the Mediterranean, or the Middle East. An Islamic Republic is declared.