Historical Dates of Iran

The Elamite civilization in southwestern Iran was among the oldest in the world.

Zoroaster, the Iranian prophet and founder of Zoroastrianism, was born (approximate date).

The advanced Jiroft civilization flourished in southeastern Iran.

Cyrus II became King of Anshan, founding the Achaemenid Empire. This marks Year 1 of the Shahanshahi calendar.

Cyrus the Great defeated the Median Empire, unifying the Persian kingdom.

Cyrus defeated Croesus, the wealthy king of Lydia, adding Asia Minor to the empire.

Cyrus conquered Babylon and issued the Cyrus Cylinder - the first declaration of human rights in history.

Cyrus the Great died in battle against the Massagetae. His tomb remains in Pasargadae.

Darius I became king after suppressing revolts and reorganized the empire.

Darius the Great began construction of Persepolis, the most magnificent palace of the ancient world.

Darius created the Behistun Inscription in three languages - the key to deciphering cuneiform script.

The Battle of Marathon between Persia and Greece during Darius the Great's reign.

Darius the Great died and was succeeded by his son Xerxes.

Xerxes defeated the 300 Spartans and their allies at the Battle of Thermopylae.

Ardashir I founded the Sasanian Empire, reviving Persian civilization.

Shapur I became king and expanded the Sasanian Empire.

Shapur I captured Roman Emperor Valerian in battle - Rome's greatest defeat.

Khosrow I Anushirvan, the most just Sasanian king, ascended to the throne.

The Academy of Gundeshapur reached its peak - the scientific center of the ancient world.

Reza Shah Pahlavi founded the Pahlavi dynasty and modernized Iran.

The Trans-Iranian Railway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea was completed.

The University of Tehran, Iran's first modern university, was established.

The 2500th anniversary celebration of the Persian Empire was held at Persepolis.

Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi officially adopted the Shahanshahi calendar based on Cyrus's coronation.

After the rial collapsed to a record low of about 1.45 million per US dollar, merchants at Tehran's Alaeddin and Charsou bazaars went on strike. Within a day the strike reached the Grand Bazaar and spread nationwide, igniting the largest national uprising against the Islamic Republic.

On the tenth day of the uprising, Prince Reza Pahlavi issued his first national call in a video message: on Thursday and Friday, 18–19 Dey, at exactly 8 PM, chant together — in the streets and from your homes. The video drew tens of millions of views within two days, and seven Kurdish parties called a general strike in support.

Answering Prince Reza Pahlavi's call, some 1.5 million people filled the streets of Tehran alone, joined by hundreds of other cities. That same evening the Islamic Republic imposed a total nationwide internet and phone blackout and issued shoot-to-kill orders to its security forces.

The uprising reached some 400 cities across all 31 provinces; by intelligence assessments relayed by a European diplomat, nearly five million people took to the streets — the largest Iranian uprising since 1979. The crackdown was brutal: HRANA confirmed more than 7,000 killed, with estimates running into the tens of thousands.

In his next call, Prince Reza Pahlavi asked Iranians to come out on Saturday and Sunday, 20–21 Dey, from 6 PM with flags and national symbols, and called for nationwide strikes in key sectors. The goal, he declared, was no longer merely to march but to prepare to seize and hold city centers — and he vowed to return to Iran.

In a message to Iranians abroad, Prince Reza Pahlavi announced six specific demands of the international community: cripple the IRGC repression machine, apply maximum economic pressure, provide free internet access, expel regime diplomats and prosecute its criminals, secure the unconditional release of political prisoners, and recognize a transitional government. He urged unity under the Lion and Sun flag.

At the Munich Security Conference, Prince Reza Pahlavi presented his transition roadmap: stabilizing the country in the first hundred days, courts for the regime's criminals, a constituent assembly, a constitutional referendum, and free elections. "It is time to end the Islamic Republic," he declared, as more than 200,000 Iranians rallied in Munich that weekend.

As the new semester opened — on the fortieth-day mourning of the Dey uprising's fallen — a second wave rose from the universities: a sit-in at Shahid Beheshti, street blockades at Amirkabir, and a rally at Sharif that was attacked by Basij militiamen. Students in Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan and Yazd chanted "Death to the dictator" and called for Prince Reza Pahlavi.

In the opening hours of the 2026 war, the United States and Israel carried out nearly 900 strikes in twelve hours; Khamenei, the Islamic Republic's leader, was killed in an airstrike on his underground compound in Tehran — a death the regime confirmed the next day. Iranians celebrated in the streets of Isfahan, Karaj and Kermanshah, and his statue was toppled in Dehloran.

Under documented IRGC pressure — and despite his father's own will reportedly opposing it — the Assembly of Experts installed Mojtaba Khamenei as supreme leader with 59 of 88 votes. The hereditary succession was answered that very night with chants of "Death to Mojtaba" from rooftops and windows; he has not appeared in public since.

By decree of Prince Reza Pahlavi, the Transitional Justice Regulations Drafting Committee was established, chaired by Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi with Iraj Mesdaghi, Leila Bahmani and Afshin Ellian as members. Its mandate: design a special court to try the Islamic Republic's crimes against humanity and a truth commission to document the repression since 1979.