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Iran is isolated from most of the outside world due to his mountains who create barriers with their neighbors in the west.

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Iran is isolated from most of the outside world due to his mountains who create barriers with their neighbors in the west.

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Most people in Iran practice Islam and to overwhelming majority of these are Shia Muslims which is one of the two main branches of Islam.

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The vast majority of Iranians are Muslims of the Ithnā ʿAsharī, or Twelver, Shiʿi branch, which is the official state religion. The Kurds and Turkmen are predominantly Sunni Muslims, but Iran's Arabs are both Sunni and Shiʿi. Small communities of Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians are also found throughout the country.

The two cornerstones of Iranian Shiʿism are the promise of the return of the divinely inspired 12th imam- Muḥammad al-Mahdī al-Ḥujjah, whom the Shiʿah believe to be the mahdi-and the veneration of his martyred forebears. The absence of the imam contributed indirectly to the development in modern Iran of a strong Shiʿi clergy whose penchant for status, particularly in the 20th century, led to a proliferation of titles and honorifics unique in the Islamic world. The Shiʿi clergy have been the predominant political and social force in Iran since the 1979 revolution.

There is no concept of ordination in Islam. Hence, the role of clergy is played not by a priesthood but by a community of scholars, the ulama (Arabic ). To become a member of the Shiʿi ulama, a male Muslim need only attend a traditional Islamic college, or madrasah. The main course of study in such an institution is Islamic jurisprudence (Arabic ), but a student need not complete his madrasah studies to become a faqīh, or jurist. In Iran such a low-level clergyman is generally referred to by the generic term (Arabic al-mawlā, "lord"; Persian mullā) or ākhūnd or, more recently, rūḥānī (Persian: "spiritual"). To become a mullah, one need merely advance to a level of scholarly competence recognized by other members of the clergy. Mullahs staff the vast majority of local religious posts in Iran.

An aspirant gains the higher status of mujtahid-a scholar competent to practice independent reasoning in legal judgment (Arabic )-by first graduating from a recognized madrasah and obtaining the general recognition of his peers and then, most important, by gaining a substantial following among the Shiʿah. A contender for this status is ordinarily referred to by the honorific hojatoleslām (Arabic ḥujjat al-Islām, "proof of Islam"). Few clergymen are eventually recognized as mujtahids, and some are honoured by the term ayatollah (Arabic āyat Allāh, "sign of God"). The honorific of grand ayatollah ( āyat Allāh al-ʿuẓmāʾ) is conferred only upon those Shiʿi mujtahids whose level of insight and expertise in Islamic canon law has risen to the level of one who is worthy of being a marjaʿ-e taqlīd (Arabic marjaʿ al-taqlīd, "model of emulation"), the highest level of excellence in Iranian Shiʿism.

There is no real religious hierarchy or infrastructure within Shiʿism, and scholars often hold independent and varied views on political, social, and religious issues. Hence, these honorifics are not awarded but attained by scholars through general consensus and popular appeal. Shiʿis of every level defer to clergymen on the basis of their reputation for learning and judicial acumen, and the trend has become strong in modern Shiʿism for every believer, in order to avoid sin, to follow the teachings of his or her chosen marjaʿ-e taqlīd. This has increased the power of the ulama in Iran, and it has also enhanced their role as mediators to the divine in a way not seen in Sunni Islam or in earlier Shiʿism.

Religious minorities

Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians are the most significant religious minorities. Christians are the most numerous group of these, Orthodox Armenians constituting the bulk. The Assyrians are Nestorian, Protestant, and Roman Catholic, as are a few converts from other ethnic groups. The Zoroastrians are largely concentrated in Yazd in central Iran, Kermān in the southeast, and Tehrān.

Religious toleration, one of the characteristics of Iran during the Pahlavi monarchy, came to an end with the Islamic revolution in 1979. While Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians are recognized in the constitution of 1979 as official minorities, the revolutionary atmosphere in Iran was not conducive to equal treatment of non-Muslims. Among these, members of the Bahāʾī faith-a religion founded in Iran-were the victims of the greatest persecution. The Jewish population, which had been significant before 1979, emigrated in great numbers after the revolution.

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Iran - Religion, Islam, Shia: The vast majority of Iranians are Muslims of the Ithnā ʿAsharī, or Twelver, Shiʿi branch, which is the official state religion. The Kurds and Turkmen are predominantly Sunni Muslims, but Iran's Arabs are both Sunni and Shiʿi. Small communities of Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians are also found throughout the country.

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Iran consists mostly of a central desert plateau. The interior plateau spreads into Central Asia a famous desert in Iran is the Kavir Desert.

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Iran consists mostly of a central desert plateau. The interior plateau spreads into Central Asia a famous desert in Iran is the Kavir Desert.

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The clothing in Iran is often influenced by the patterns of Persian carpets. 

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The clothing in Iran is often influenced by the patterns of Persian carpets. 

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Iran is a country in the Middle East and boarder's Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, and Turkmenistan.

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Iran is a country in the Middle East and boarder's Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, and Turkmenistan.

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Iranian cuisine relies heavily on meat, rice, and various herbs. Many diasporic Iranian communities maintain their cuisine such as those in San Francisco. 

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Iranian cuisine relies heavily on meat, rice, and various herbs. Many diasporic Iranian communities maintain their cuisine such as those in San Francisco. 

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What is traditional food in Iran? What is Persian food similar to? Learn the basics of Iranian cuisine with a special spotlight on rice, bread, and spices!

As the Silk Road came and went and enormous empires rose and fell, Persian cuisine has adapted along with its neighbors and also influenced the world with the gift of foods like pomegranates. Since Iran is uniquely situated between the culinary powerhouses of the Mediterranean Middle East and South Asia, it is no wonder that there is a wide spectrum of flavors and staples in Iran today - from lamb stews to crispy samosas.

In fact, Iranian cuisine is made up of far more than the dishes created by people from the Persian ethnic group. In Iran, you will find Azerbaijani cuisine, Kurdish cuisine, and so much more. And it is all delicious.

But, even with the great diversity of Iranian food, there are some trends that still rise to the surface. So, here are some things to keep in mind before we dive into a few key elements . . .

Main dishes are often combinations of rice or bread with meat, vegetables, beans, nuts, and fruits

Many Iranian dishes feature a distinct sourness that is often achieved through citrus, sumac, sour grape juice, and more

Many Iranian dishes have vibrant colors achieved through herbs and spices

Many Iranian dishes are aromatic from the use of flowers, herbs, spices, and fruits

Okay, so now that you are a little familiar with Iranian cuisine, let's get a snapshot of common meals of the day before we look more specifically at 3 non-negotiable staples in Iran.

Breakfast

Good news, folks - a traditional Iranian breakfast is so quick and easy that you can enjoy it before running out the door for the day! A typical breakfast consists of flatbreads smeared with butter, cheese, sarshir (thick cream often mixed with honey), and a variety of jams and spreads.

If you want to try an Iranian flatbread breakfast at home, here are some classic ingredients you can mix and match:

1. Flatbread (see bread section below for types)

2. Soft white cheese:

3. Sweet or savory toppings:

Sweet: honey, jam / murabba spreads (such as carrot, apricot, sour cherry, quince, rose petal, barberry, and citrus)

Savory: butter, walnuts, pistachios, fresh herbs like parsley and dill, cucumber slices, tomato slices

But, if you want something a little warmer or heartier, pache is also a popular Iranian dish that is a soup made from sheep's head, feet, and other parts!

Lunch and Dinner

Typical Iranian lunch and dinners will be a well-balanced mix of meat, beans, vegetables, herbs, dairy, nuts, and fruits served with rice or bread. The most common animal proteins are poultry, beef, lamb, and fish. Stew over rice is probably the most popular dish throughout the country, but soups, kebabs, and rice dishes are also staple meals.

Now that you can picture some of the common meals enjoyed by Iranians all over the world, it's time to get up to speed on 3 key features of Iranian cuisine that you cannot do without: rice, bread, and spices.

Rice

Rice has not only been a significant staple of Persian food since the first century BCE, it has even been called the "crown jewel of Persian cuisine." It is daily enjoyed as main dishes, side dishes, and desserts throughout Iran.

Although there are many types of rice cultivated in Iran like champa, domsiah, and gerdeh, they aren't always easy to get your hands on outside of Iran. However, rice from India with long and slender grains made its way into Iran long ago, so basmati is a great rice to use when cooking Iranian food outside of Iran.

Methods:

Cooking Iranian rice is like its own art form. It often goes through soaking in salted water, boiling, and steaming before being transformed into its final delicious rendition.

There are 4 primary methods for preparing rice:

Before we move onto bread, it would be remiss to talk about Iranian rice without mentioning tadig! Tadig literally translates to bottom + pot and is a golden, thin, and crunchy layer at - you guess it! - the bottom of the rice pot. This crunchy layer can also be created using elements other than rice, like a thin bread or potato slices that line the pot base.

Bread

Bread is just as important as rice when it comes to Iranian food because basically all meals are eaten with rice or bread. So, it naturally follows that Iran has a wide range of delectable breads that vary regionally to reflect their neighbors in baking methods and flavor profiles.

Spices

If you've been to a Persian restaurant before, one thing that probably comes to the forefront of your memory is the flavor and vibrant color that spices add to your meal. There are many common spices that are widely used in Iranian cuisine like turmeric and cinnamon, but we want to teach you about 5 of the less well-known seasonings that are essential to Iranian cooking so you aren't lost when picking up an authentic Iranian recipe.

Iranian saffron - vibrant red and adds aroma and flavor to rice dishes, marinades, stews, desserts, and more

Rose petals - adds a pop of flavor and aroma to rice dishes, desserts, cold yogurt soup, and more

Easy Recipes to Make at Home

If you want help getting started you can learn how to make our Easy Persian Chicken Thighs with a yogurt-based marinade, fluffy couscous, and fresh cucumber and pomegranate salad. (Plus learn a bit about Persian New Year while you are at it!)

Now that you know a bit more about Iranian cuisine than before, we hope that you'll try your hand at some delicious recipes or plan a visit to a local Persian restaurant. We are always excited to help home cooks bring more excitement to their dinner tables by having recipes like our Persian Turkey Kofta pop up in curated weekly menus.

You can get access to hundreds of quick and easy recipes when you sign up for a free 14-day trial and try out the convenience of streamlined weekly menus!

If you liked learning about some of the basics of Iranian food, make sure to check out our downloadable Indian Pantry and Middle Eastern Pantry guides. You can also stay tuned for more infographics and how-to articles by signing up for our weekly email below.

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What is Iranian Food Like? Learn the Basics of Iranian cuisine!

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What is traditional food in Iran? What is Persian food similar to? Learn the basics of Iranian cuisine with a special spotlight on rice, bread, and spices! As the Silk Road came and went and enormous empires rose and fell, Persian cuisine has adapted along with its neighbors and also influenced the world with the gift of foods like pomegranates.

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Most women in Iran wear a hijab, which is a head covering that Muslim women are required to wear in public. 

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Most women in Iran wear a hijab, which is a head covering that Muslim women are required to wear in public. 

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Saffron is a traditional Persian dish typically used recipes for saffron rice, saffron chicken, soleh zard, and saffron ice cream.

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Masghati is a jelly-like dessert made of starch and sugar as well as spices.

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Salwar pants a traditional item of clothing for men in Iran, which are loose fitting pants that are narrow at the ankle. 

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Salwar pants a traditional item of clothing for men in Iran, which are loose fitting pants that are narrow at the ankle. 

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The clothes of the Bakhtiari nomadic tribe are rather versatile, accounting for the extreme weather conditions they may encounter during migration. Men wear tunics, wide trousers fastened at the ankle, and wool skullcaps. Colorful, layered skirts paired with matching vests are common for women. Their long scarves are embellished with hand-stitched designs or ornaments.

Of Turkic origin, the Qashqai are another nomadic tribe. Women are distinguished by their voluminous, multi-layered, colorful skirts and long headscarves pinned under the chin, which allow loose pieces of hair to frame their face. Men's round hats are made of sheep hair, which is unique to this tribe.

The southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan province borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the traditional clothes of this region therefore resemble the typical shalwar kameez of these neighboring countries. Along with pants and colorful embroidered knee-length dresses, women adorn themselves with gold bracelets, necklaces, and brooches, and a second, longer shawl often covers their head and shoulders. Long pants, loose-fitting shirts, and a turban are customary for men.

Earthy tones dominate the traditional dress of Turkmen men and women. Wearing long dresses with open robes, women often conceal part of their face with a cloth hanging just below the nose. Wool hats, worn to protect against cold weather, are the prominent feature of men's garments.

Kurds have varying styles, as reflected by their residence in different regions. Both men and women tend to wear baggy clothes shaped at the waist by a wide belt. Men wear matching jackets, and women decorate their headscarves with dangling coins and jewels.

In contrast to Lur men, who favor neutral colors in their baggy clothes, women lean towards bright, feminine colors, with the trademark stripes hemmed on the pant cuffs. A vest reveals the sleeves of the long dress worn over the pants. After wrapping the headscarf around the head, neck, and shoulders, a long piece is left hanging down the back.

Worn with long shirts and matching vests, floor-sweeping skirts with colorful horizontal stripes at the bottom are the discerning feature of the traditional Gilak wardrobe in the northern Gilan province. Men are distinguished by the wide cotton belt around the waist.

Mazandarani

With pants worn underneath, the traditional skirts of the northern Mazandaran region are known to be much shorter and puffier than in other regions. Cotton shirts and hunting trousers with the socks and/or boots worn just below the knee are typical for men.

In the village of Abyaneh, the aging population has maintained their traditional clothes. Women continue to don airy, below-the-knee skirts and their signature long, white floral scarves that cover the shoulders. Traditional men dress in wide-legged black pants, colorful vests, and wool skullcaps.

Bandar Abbas and Qeshm

The women in the southern port town of Bandar Abbas and the island of Qeshm are notable for their brightly colored, floral chadors and niqâb, which come in two types. The first gives the impression of thick eyebrows and a mustache from afar, a ruse used in the past to fool potential invaders into mistaking women for men. The other is a rectangular embroidered covering revealing only the eyes. Many women choose not to wear the niqâb today, but it is part of a centuries-old tradition that helped protect the face from the wind, sand, and scorching sun in these areas.

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An Introduction to Iran's Traditional Dress

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The clothes of the Bakhtiari nomadic tribe are rather versatile, accounting for the extreme weather conditions they may encounter during migration. Men wear tunics, wide trousers fastened at the ankle, and wool skullcaps. Colorful, layered skirts paired with matching vests are common for women. Their long scarves are embellished with hand-stitched designs or ornaments.

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The official language spoken in Iran is Farsi, which is a blend of Iran's traditional Persian language and the influence from Arabic cultures. 

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The official language spoken in Iran is Farsi, which is a blend of Iran's traditional Persian language and the influence from Arabic cultures. 

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A minority of Iran speaks Kurdish, which is the language of an ethnic group native to the Kurdistan Region (now made up of Iran, Iraq, and Turkey). 

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A minority of Iran speaks Kurdish, which is the language of an ethnic group native to the Kurdistan Region (now made up of Iran, Iraq, and Turkey). 

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The Kurdish region of Iran is a geographical area in western Iran that has been historically and is presently inhabited by a predominantly Kurdish population. This region includes parts of three Iranian provinces; the Kordestan Province, the Kermanshah Province, and the West Azerbaijan Province. These three Iranian provinces share borders with parts of Iraq and Turkey that are also inhabited by the Kurds.

The Kurdish people have inhabited the northwestern region of Iran for centuries - dating back before the Islamic conquests of the 7th century. It is believed that the Kurdish language was derived from Persian dialects in the early centuries AD, and that the Kurdish people represent a diverse range of tribal and ethnic groups from the region.

The establishment of an early Kurdish state resembling modern-day " Kurdistan " occurred when the first Kurdish dynasties emerged in the 10th-12th centuries AD. By the mid 1500's, however, these early Kurdish principalities became caught between the rise of the Safavid and Ottoman empires and were displaced and marginalized during the ensuing wars between these two empires.

The Republic of Mahabad

During the early 20th century, there was a growing sentiment of Kurdish nationalism and political activism. While Kurdish leaders were unable to secure independence after World War I, a Kurdish state was created with support from the Soviet Union in the city of Mahabad after WWII. However, the so-called Kurdish Republic of Mahabad collapsed after the Soviets pulled out of Iran.

The rule of the Pahlavi dynasty in Iran was particularly brutal for the Kurds, and Kurdish activists were active supporters of a regime change during the 1979 revolution. After the revolution, however, the new Islamic regime of Ayatollah Khomeini viewed the Kurds, with their different language and traditions as outsiders, as dangerous to the new republic. Armed conflict between the new republic and the Kurds broke out as Khomeini tried to establish governmental control in the Kurdish regions.

To this day, the relationship between the Kurds of western Iran and the Iranian government remains tense. As of 2015, the Party for Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK) is an active political and militant organization, based on the Iraq-Iran border, that is pushing for Kurdish autonomy in the Iranian provinces of Kordestan, Kermanshah and West Azerbaijan.

References/Further Reading:

Explore The Kurdish Region of Iran

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Kurdish Region of Iran - Map, History and News | The Kurdish Project

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The Kurdish region of Iran is a geographical area in western Iran that has been historically and is presently inhabited by a predominantly Kurdish population. This region includes parts of three Iranian provinces; the Kordestan Province, the Kermanshah Province, and the West Azerbaijan Province.

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There are many performances showcasing Persian dance and music. Such as the Silk Road Dance Company.

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There are many performances showcasing Persian dance and music. Such as the Silk Road Dance Company.

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Iranian Persian Dance  Sampler Silk Road Dance Company

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Persian music typically has mystical and contemplative melodies. It is also a key component of their history.

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Persian music typically has mystical and contemplative melodies. It is also a key component of their history.

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https://www.songlines.co.uk/the-rough-guide-to-world-music/the-music-of-iran-a-rough-guide

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Persian dance plays a specific role in religious rituals such as Zoroatism. 

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Persian dance plays a specific role in religious rituals such as Zoroatism. 

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https://www.persiansarenotarabs.com/persian-dance/

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Kabab torsh is a dish made with either beef or lamb skewered and marinated with pomegranates and other things often served with vegetables and rice.

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An Iranian ethnic group that is primarily Sunni Muslim. They are also found in Turkey and Iraq.

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Kurd: Kurd, member of an ethnic group concentrated in eastern Turkey, northern Syria, western Iraq, and western Iran.

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18% of the Iranian population speaks Azerbaijani, a Turkish dialect that developed in northern Persia and is very closely related to modern Turkish. 

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18% of the Iranian population speaks Azerbaijani, a Turkish dialect that developed in northern Persia and is very closely related to modern Turkish. 

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Ghormeh sabzi is a herb stew that is very common in Iran and is considered the national dish. It is commonly served with rice and is a very hearty meal.

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The pre-Islamic faith of Iran is considered monotheistic and was started by the prophet Zoroaster.

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When did Zoroastrianism start?

How was Zoroastrianism founded?

Where has Zoroastrianism been practiced?

What are the major beliefs of Zoroastrianism?

Zoroastrianism, ancient pre- Islamic religion of Iran that survives there in isolated areas and, more prosperously, in India, where the descendants of Zoroastrian Iranian (Persian) immigrants are known as Parsis, or Parsees.

The Iranian prophet and religious reformer Zarathushtra (flourished before the 6th century bce)-more widely known outside Iran as Zoroaster (the Greek form of his name)-is traditionally regarded as the founder of the religion. Zoroastrianism contains both monotheistic and dualistic features. It likely influenced the other major Western religions- Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. For a discussion of the context in which Zoroastrianism arose, see ancient Iranian religion.

Nature and significance

The ancient Greeks saw in Zoroastrianism the archetype of the dualistic view of the world and of human destiny. Zarathushtra was supposed to have instructed Pythagoras in Babylon and to have inspired the Chaldean doctrines of astrology and magic. It is likely that Zoroastrianism influenced the development of Judaism and the birth of Christianity. The Christians, following a Jewish tradition, identified Zoroaster with Ezekiel, Nimrod, Seth, Balaam, and Baruch and even, through the latter, with Jesus Christ himself. On the other hand, as the presumed founder of astrology and magic, Zarathushtra could be considered the arch-heretic.

Though Zoroastrianism was never, even in the thinking of its founder, as insistently monotheistic as, for instance, Judaism or Islam, it does represent an original attempt at unifying under the worship of one supreme god a polytheistic religion comparable to those of the ancient Greeks, Latins, Indians, and other early peoples. Its other salient feature, namely dualism, was never understood in an absolute, rigorous fashion. Good and evil fight an unequal battle in which the former is assured of triumph. God's omnipotence is thus only temporarily limited. In this struggle all human beings must enlist because of their capacity for free choice. They do so with soul and body, not against the body, for the opposition between good and evil is not the same as the one between spirit and matter. Contrary to the Christian or Manichaean (from Manichaeism-a Hellenistic dualistic religion founded by the Iranian prophet Mani) attitude, fasting and celibacy are proscribed except as part of the purificatory ritual. The human struggle has a negative aspect, nonetheless, in that it must strive for purity and avoid defilement by the forces of death, contact with dead matter, etc. Thus, Zoroastrian ethics, though in itself lofty and rational, has a ritual aspect that is all-pervading. On the whole, Zoroastrianism is optimistic and has remained so even through the hardship and oppression of its believers.

History

Pre-Zoroastrian Iranian religion

The religion of Iran before the time of Zarathushtra is not directly accessible, for there are no reliable sources more ancient than those composed by or attributed to the prophet himself. It has to be studied indirectly on the basis of later documents and by a comparative approach. The language of Iran is closely akin to that of northern India, and, hence, the people of the two lands probably had common ancestors who spoke a common Indo-Aryan language. The religion of those peoples has been reconstructed by means of common elements contained in the sacred books of Iran and India, mainly the Avesta and the Vedas. Both collections exhibit the same kind of polytheism with many of the same gods, notably the Indian Mitra (the Iranian Mithra), the cult of fire, sacrifice by means of a sacred liquor ( in India, in Iran ), and other parallels. There is, moreover, a list of Indo-Iranian gods in a treaty concluded about 1380 bce between the Hittite emperor and the king of Mitanni. The list includes Mitra and Varuna, Indra, and the two Nāsatyas. All of these gods also are found in the Vedas but only the first one in the Avesta, except that Indra and Nāñhaithya appear in the Avesta as demons; Varuna may have survived under another name. Important changes, then, must have taken place on the Iranian side, not all of which can be attributed to the prophet.

The Indo-Iranians appear to have distinguished from among their gods the (Indo-Iranian and Old Persian equivalent of Avestan daeva and Sanskrit deva, related to the Latin deus), meaning "heavenly," and the , a special class with occult powers. This situation was reflected in Vedic India; later on, asura came to signify, in Sanskrit, a kind of demon, because of the baleful aspect of the asura's invisible power. In Iran the evolution must have been different: the ahuras were extolled to the exclusion of the daeva s, who were reduced to the rank of demons.

The reformation of Zarathushtra

Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) was a priest of a certain ahura (Avestan equivalent of Sanskrit asura) with the epithet mazdā, "wise," whom Zarathushtra mentions once in his hymns with "the [other] ahuras." Similarly, Darius I (522-486) and his successors worshipped Auramazda ( Ahura Mazdā) "and the other gods who exist" or "Ahura Mazdā, the greatest god." The two historically related facts are evidently parallel: on both sides the rudiments of monotheism are present, though in a more elaborate form with the prophet Zarathushtra.

It has not yet been possible to place Zarathushtra's hymns, the Gāthās, in their historical context. Not a single place or person mentioned in them is known from any other source. Vishtāspa, the prophet's protector, can only be the namesake of the father of Darius, the Achaemenid king. All that may safely be said is that Zarathushtra lived somewhere in eastern Iran, far from the civilized world of western Asia, before Iran became unified under Cyrus II the Great. If the Achaemenids ever heard of him, they did not see fit to mention his name in their inscriptions nor did they allude to the beings who surrounded the great god and were later to be called the amesha spentas, or "bounteous immortals"-an essential feature of Zarathushtra's doctrine.

Religion under the Achaemenids was in the hands of the Magi, whom the Greek historian Herodotus describes as a Median tribe with special customs, such as exposing the dead, fighting evil animals, and interpreting dreams. Again, the historical connection with Zarathushtra-whom Herodotus also ignores-is a hazy one. It is not known when Zarathushtra's doctrine reached western Iran, but it must have been before the time of Aristotle (384-322), who alludes to its dualism.

Darius, when he seized power in 522, had to fight a usurper, Gaumata the Magian, who pretended to be Bardiya, the son of Cyrus the Great and brother of the king Cambyses. This Magian had destroyed cultic shrines, āyadanas, which Darius restored. One possible explanation of these events is that Gaumata had adopted Zoroastrianism, a doctrine that relied on the allegiance of the common people, and therefore destroyed temples or altars to deities of the nobility. Darius, who owed his throne to the support of some noblemen, could not help favouring their cult, though he adopted Auramazda as a means of unifying his empire.

Xerxes, successor to Darius, mentioned in one of his inscriptions how at a certain (unnamed) place he substituted the worship of Auramazda for that of the daivas, which does not mean that he opposed the daeva cult as such, as a true Zoroastrian would have done, but only that he eradicated somewhere-probably in Babylon-the cult of deities alien to the religion of the ahuras. It points to a change of attitude, compared with Cyrus's tolerance of alien religions, such as the Babylonian or the Jewish religion.

From Artaxerxes II (404-359/358) onward, the inscriptions mention, besides Auramazda, Mithra and the goddess Anahita (Anahit), which proves only a change of emphasis, not the appearance of new deities.

In consequence of Alexander's conquest, the Iranian religion was almost totally submerged by the wave of Hellenism. At Susa, for instance, which had been one of the capital cities of the Achaemenids but where the religion of Auramazda was not indigenous, the coinage of the Seleucid and Arsacid periods does not represent a single Iranian deity.

Then the Iranian religion gradually emerged again. In Commagene in the middle of the 1st century bce, gods bear combinations of Greek and Iranian names: Zeus Oromazdes, Apollo Mithra, Helios Hermes, Artagnes Herakles Ares. The first proof of the use of a Zoroastrian calendar, implying the official recognition of Zoroastrianism, is found some 40 years earlier at Nisa (near modern Ashgabat in Turkmenistan). By then some form of orthodoxy must have been established in which Auramazda and the entities (powers surrounding him) adjoin other gods such as Mithra, the Sun, and the Moon.

In Persis (modern Fārs), from the beginning of the Christian Era to the advent of the Sasanians (early 3rd century ce), any allusion to the fire cult disappears. The coins seem to indicate, in not showing the fire altar, that the prince had lost interest in the Iranian religion.

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Zoroastrianism | Definition, Beliefs, Founder, Holy Book, & Facts

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Zoroastrianism, ancient pre-Islamic religion of Iran with both monotheistic and dualistic elements that likely influenced the other major religions, including in angelology and eschatology. Zoroastrian communities still exist in Iran and in India, where they are known as Parsis.

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After the Iranian Revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini established a theocracy which is a government ruled by divine guidance.

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Iranian Revolution, popular uprising in Iran in 1978-79 that resulted in the toppling of the monarchy on February 11, 1979, and led to the establishment of an Islamic republic.

Prelude to revolution

The 1979 revolution, which brought together Iranians across many different social groups, has its roots in Iran's long history. These groups, which included clergy, landowners, intellectuals, and merchants, had previously come together in the Constitutional Revolution of 1905-11. Efforts toward satisfactory reform were continually stifled, however, amid reemerging social tensions as well as foreign intervention from Russia, the United Kingdom, and, later, the United States. The United Kingdom helped Reza Shah Pahlavi establish a monarchy in 1921. Along with Russia, the U.K. then pushed Reza Shah into exile in 1941, and his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi took the throne. In 1953, amid a power struggle between Mohammed Reza Shah and Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the U.K. Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) orchestrated a coup against Mosaddegh's government.

Years later, Mohammad Reza Shah dismissed the parliament and launched the White Revolution-an aggressive modernization program that upended the wealth and influence of landowners and clerics, disrupted rural economies, led to rapid urbanization and Westernization, and prompted concerns over democracy and human rights. The program was economically successful, but the benefits were not distributed evenly, though the transformative effects on social norms and institutions were widely felt. Opposition to the shah's policies was accentuated in the 1970s, when world monetary instability and fluctuations in Western oil consumption seriously threatened the country's economy, still directed in large part toward high-cost projects and programs. A decade of extraordinary economic growth, heavy government spending, and a boom in oil prices led to high rates of inflation and the stagnation of Iranians' buying power and standard of living.

In addition to mounting economic difficulties, sociopolitical repression by the shah's regime increased in the 1970s. Outlets for political participation were minimal, and opposition parties such as the National Front (a loose coalition of nationalists, clerics, and noncommunist left-wing parties) and the pro-Soviet Tūdeh ("Masses") Party were marginalized or outlawed. Social and political protest was often met with censorship, surveillance, or harassment, and illegal detention and torture were common.

For the first time in more than half a century, the secular intellectuals-many of whom were fascinated by the populist appeal of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a former professor of philosophy in Qom who had been exiled in 1964 after speaking out harshly against the shah's recent reform program-abandoned their aim of reducing the authority and power of the Shiʿi ulama (religious scholars) and argued that, with the help of the ulama, the shah could be overthrown.

In this environment, members of the National Front, the Tūdeh Party, and their various splinter groups now joined the ulama in broad opposition to the shah's regime. Khomeini continued to preach in exile about the evils of the Pahlavi regime, accusing the shah of irreligion and subservience to foreign powers. Thousands of tapes and print copies of Khomeini's speeches were smuggled back into Iran during the 1970s as an increasing number of unemployed and working-poor Iranians-mostly new migrants from the countryside, who were disenchanted by the cultural vacuum of modern urban Iran-turned to the ulama for guidance. The shah's dependence on the United States, his close ties with Israel-then engaged in extended hostilities with the overwhelmingly Muslim Arab states-and his regime's ill-considered economic policies served to fuel the potency of dissident rhetoric with the masses.

Outwardly, with a swiftly expanding economy and a rapidly modernizing infrastructure, everything was going well in Iran. But in little more than a generation, Iran had changed from a traditional, conservative, and rural society to one that was industrial, modern, and urban. The sense that in both agriculture and industry too much had been attempted too soon and that the government, either through corruption or incompetence, had failed to deliver all that was promised was manifested in demonstrations against the regime in 1978.

Revolution

In January 1978, incensed by what they considered to be slanderous remarks made against Khomeini in Eṭṭelāʿāt, a Tehrān newspaper, thousands of young madrasah (religious school) students took to the streets. They were followed by thousands more Iranian youth-mostly unemployed recent immigrants from the countryside-who began protesting the regime's excesses. The shah, weakened by cancer and stunned by the sudden outpouring of hostility against him, vacillated between concession and repression, assuming the protests to be part of an international conspiracy against him. Many people were killed by government forces in anti-regime protests, serving only to fuel the violence in a Shiʿi country where martyrdom played a fundamental role in religious expression. Fatalities were followed by demonstrations to commemorate the customary 40-day milestone of mourning in Shiʿi tradition, and further casualties occurred at those protests, mortality and protest propelling one another forward. Thus, in spite of all government efforts, a cycle of violence began in which each death fueled further protest, and all protest-from the secular left and religious right-was subsumed under the cloak of Shiʿi Islam and crowned by the revolutionary rallying cry Allāhu akbar ("God is great"), which could be heard at protests and which issued from the rooftops in the evenings.

The violence and disorder continued to escalate. On September 8 the regime imposed martial law, and troops opened fire against demonstrators in Tehrān, killing dozens or hundreds. Weeks later, government workers began to strike. On October 31, oil workers also went on strike, bringing the oil industry to a halt. Demonstrations continued to grow; on December 10, hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets in Tehrān alone.

During his exile, Khomeini coordinated this upsurge of opposition-first from Iraq and after 1978 from France-demanding the shah's abdication. In January 1979, in what was officially described as a "vacation," the shah and his family fled Iran. The Regency Council established to run the country during the shah's absence proved unable to function, and Prime Minister Shahpur Bakhtiar, hastily appointed by the shah before his departure, was incapable of effecting compromise with either his former National Front colleagues or Khomeini. Crowds in excess of one million demonstrated in Tehrān, proving the wide appeal of Khomeini, who arrived in Iran amid wild rejoicing on February 1. Ten days later, on February 11, Iran's armed forces declared their neutrality, effectively ousting the shah's regime. Bakhtiar went into hiding, eventually to find exile in France.

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Iranian Revolution | Summary, Causes, Effects, & Facts

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Iranian Revolution, popular uprising in 1978-79 that resulted in the fall of the Pahlavi dynasty and the establishment of an Islamic republic. It came about as the culmination of decades of popular discontent mixed with economic turmoil and an increasingly repressive regime.