Persia

Republic in the Middle East, bordered by Armenia, the Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan to the north; Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east; the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf to the south; and Iraq and Turkey to the west. Its capital and largest city is Teheran.

Note: Core of the ancient Persian Empire, Iran was known as Persia until 1935.

Note: The United States supported the regime of the shah (king) Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, who was forced by popular opposition to leave the country in 1979.

Note: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini ruled from 1979 until his death in 1989, imposing strict Islamic law.

Note: In 1979, Iranian militants attacked the U.S. embassy and seized hostages, including sixty-two Americans, who were held until 1981.

Note: Iraq unsuccessfully invaded Iran in 1980.

Note: The Iranian government was widely believed to have controlled the taking of U. S. hostages in Lebanon. (See Iran-Contra affair.)

Note: The 1990s saw some moderating elements emerge to challenge the conservative heirs to Khomeini.

Persia

an ancient empire, extending from the Indus to Thrace, and from the Caspian Sea to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. The Persians were originally a Medic tribe which settled in Persia, on the eastern side of the Persian Gulf. They were Aryans, their language belonging to the eastern division of the Indo-European group. One of their chiefs, Teispes, conquered Elam in the time of the decay of the Assyrian Empire, and established himself in the district of Anzan. His descendants branched off into two lines, one line ruling in Anzan, while the other remained in Persia. Cyrus II., king of Anzan, finally united the divided power, conquered Media, Lydia, and Babylonia, and carried his arms into the far East. His son, Cambyses, added Egypt to the empire, which, however, fell to pieces after his death. It was reconquered and thoroughly organized by Darius, the son of Hystaspes, whose dominions extended from India to the Danube.