About the Shahanshahi Calendar

The Shahanshahi (Imperial) calendar is the Iranian solar calendar restored to its true epoch: the coronation of Cyrus the Great in 559 BC. Months, seasons and leap years are identical to the Shamsi calendar — only the year count changes. Today is year 2585, not 1405: a number that carries the full span of Iranian civilization.

Iran's current official calendar counts from the Islamic Hijra, leaving 1180 years of Iranian civilization — from Cyrus and Darius to the Sasanians — before its "year one". The Shahanshahi calendar closes that gap, counting from the first universal Iranian state. Every time someone writes 2585 instead of 1405, the erased continuity is restored.

Cyrus II took the throne in 559 BC and founded the Achaemenid empire — the first world state governed with religious tolerance and respect for its many peoples. His Cylinder is widely regarded as the first declaration of human rights; this calendar's epoch commemorates that beginning.

This is no modern invention: in 2535 Shahanshahi (1976), under Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, it became Iran's official calendar, anchoring the national count to the founding of the Iranian state. The Islamic Republic abolished it after 1979 — proof that a year number is never just a number; it is a statement of identity.

This calendar carries the ancient Persian festivals:

• · Nowruz — the Iranian New Year
• · Mehregan — festival of love and friendship
• · Yalda Night — the longest night of the year
• · Sadeh — the discovery of fire
• · Chaharshanbe Suri — the fire festival before Nowruz
• · Tirgan — the water festival