User blog:JonathanMarkoff/Rulers of Persia and Iran

Throughout its long history, Persia, later known as Iran, has had a variety of governments, most of them monarchical in nature. Since 1979, Iran has been a republic. The fiction of Harry Turtledove has altered the history and government of Persia aka Iran in numerous ways.

"Counting Potsherds"
Under Khsrish I the Conqueror, the Persian Empire completely subdued the Yauna. While Persia remained master of the Western world four centuries later, its royal family was not immune to the temptation of kinslaying.

Other rulers
Khosrau II is the incumbent monarch, c. 605, in "Departures," the prequel to Agent of Byzantium. While the Persian Empire is the primary antagonist in most of the Agent stories, its succeeding monarchs go unnamed.

In the Crosstime Traffic, Iran, after nearly a century of Ayatollah rule, had its monarchy was restored by an international coalition, either before or during the Second Iranian Intervention (the details are unclear). In 2097, the incumbent Shah and Prime Minister rule from a precarious position.

In Supervolcano: Eruption, the Grand Ayatollah and President of Iran initiate a nuclear exchange with Israel. Following the destruction of Qom, these individuals' status is unknown, and the question is not answered at any later point in the series.

Historical rulers in non-ruling roles
Ruhollah Khomeini appears in Colonization as the leader of an insurgency against the Race. His movement is defeated not with a bang, but with a whimper.