Kingdoms of Persia


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
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 out 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	T�m�r-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 Bayez�d I at the Battle of Ankara.
1405 - 1407	P�r Muhammad	in Kandahar (modern Afghanistan).
1405 - 1409	Khal�l 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 Lat�f	in Transoxiana.
1450 - 1451	Abdallah
1451 - 1469	Ab� Sa'�d	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	Al�	in Transoxiana.
1500	The �zbeg (Uzbek) Turks conquer Transoxiana & Farghana. The latter region includes a small Timurid principality. The �zbeg 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.) EXTERNAL LINK: Iran Chamber Society
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.

Middle East Kingdoms

Persia and the East