Iran in World History

2000 bce
Indo-Aryans occupy southern Ural 
region; begin southward migrations
1500 bce
Indo-Aryan tribes split; some migrate 
southeastward over the Hindu Kush 
region and into the Indian subcontinent, 
while others (the proto-Iranians) move 
southward to the east of the Caspian 
Sea and onto the Iranian plateau
ca. 1200–1000 bce (?)
Life of Zarathushtra (Zoroaster), 
founder of the Zoroastrian religion
881 bce
First written mention of an Iranian 
tribe, the Medes, in Assyrian sources
678–549 bce
Mede Confederation
549–330 bce
Achaemenid Empire; conquest of 
Babylonia by Cyrus the Great, lib-
eration of Israelites and other subject 
peoples; wars with Greek city-states; 
Alexander’s conquests
312–62 bce
Seleucid Empire; spread of Hellenism 
throughout Western and Central Asia 
and the northwestern Indian subconti-
nent; emergence of Graeco-Buddhist art
247 bce–224 ce
Parthian Empire; competition with 
Romans; Iranian merchants dominate 
the Silk Road; contacts with China; 
spread of Mithraism throughout 
Roman Empire
224–651
Sasanian Empire; wars with Rome; 
codification of Zoroastrianism; 
Mazdakite movement
633–749
Arab conquests; Iranian lands come 
under rule of Syrian-based Umayyad 
dynasty; Iranian urban elites begin con-
verting to Islam
749–51
Abbasid revolution; Iran-based revolt 
topples Umayyad Caliphate, shifts 
Islamic power base to Iranian world
751–1258
Abbasid Empire; Iranian cultural and 
political norms infuse the develop-
ment of Islamic civilization; regional 
religio-cultural rebellions throughout 
Iran; Iranian Shi‘ite Buyids dominate 
government of Islamic Caliphate