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Islamic Republic of Iran
Iran map
IranianRevolutionFlag.svg
Country
Continent: Asia
Capital: Tehran
National Language: Persian
Government: Unitary theocratic presidential republic
Status in OTL: Active

Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively for centuries, and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was generally known in the west as Persia. The name Iran is a cognate of Aryan, and means "Land of the Aryans".

Iran is home to one of the world's oldest continuous major civilizations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to 7000 BC. The first Iranian dynasty formed during the Elamite kingdom in 2800 BC. The Iranian Medes unified Iran into an empire in 625 BC. They were succeeded by three Iranian Empires, the Achaemenids, Parthians and Sassanids, which governed Iran for more than 1000 years. Iranian post-Islamic dynasties and empires expanded the Persian language and culture throughout the Iranian plateau. Early Iranian dynasties which re-asserted Iranian independence included the Tahirids, Saffarids, Samanids and Buyids.

IranUnderShah(1907-1979)

Flag of Iran under the Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty, which is applicable in most Turtledove alternate histories.

The blossoming of Persian literature, philosophy, medicine, astronomy, mathematics and art became major elements of Muslim civilization and started with the Saffarids and Samanids. Iran was once again reunified as an independent state in 1501 by the Safavid dynasty—who promoted Twelver Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning points in the history of Islam. "Persia's Constitutional Revolution" established the nation's first parliament in 1906, within a constitutional monarchy. Iran officially became an Islamic republic on 1 April 1979, following the Iranian Revolution.

The political system of Iran, based on the 1979 Constitution, comprises several intricately connected governing bodies. The highest state authority is the Supreme Leader, sometimes referred to in international media by the half-accurate title Grand Ayatollah. Shia Islam is the official religion and Persian (Farsi) is the official language.

Literary comment[]

As the naming transition from Persia to Iran was not universally accepted overnight, some Harry Turtledove stories refer to "Persia" but describe a nation that more closely resembles Iran, and are included here.

Iran in Alpha and Omega[]

Iran played a crucial role in the End Times.

Iran in The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump[]

In the late 20th century, Persia experienced a revolution in which the Shahanshah was overthrown and replaced by a secularist government.[1]

The Confederated Provinces' Central Intelligence determined that Persia was the most dangerous potential enemy of the Confederation, followed by Aztecia, Ukraine, and India.[2]

Iran in Crosstime Traffic[]

In the home timeline, Iran had seen the Shah restored in the 21st century, although this did little to stabilize the country. American and European troops had intervened in Iran in the middle decades of the century, which did not turn out the way the US and the EU wanted. Randolph Brooks was an American combat veteran who even years later had traumatic memories from a battle near the holy city of Qom. In 2097, the Shah's secret police began the latest in a round of mass executions of ayatollahs. The prime minister of the country was very nearly blown up in retaliation.[3]

Iran in In the Presence of Mine Enemies[]

Persia was conquered by Germany during World War II. Persia became a member state of the Greater German Reich and was administrated by the Colonial Ministry.

Due to their Aryan ancestry, Persians were declared "Aryans" by the Institute for Racial Studies, and thus avoided the persecution suffered by other conquered races like the Arabs, Jews, Slavs and Africans. Persians were among the Reich's few groups of non-German subjects invited to study at German universities.[4]

Iran in "The Last Article"[]

Simon Wiesenthal made his way across Persia to India to escape from German-occupied Poland in the 1940s.[5]

Iran in "Manuscript Tradition"[]

By 2219, tension between Iran and its neighbor Kurdistan was reaching a boiling point. The Shah denied the Kurd Prime Minister's allegation that he had released a plague weapon on the other nation, but forensic evidence leaned toward indicating that the Shah was a "lying Shiite dog" as the Prime Minster claimed.[6]

Iran in "Ready for the Fatherland"[]

By 1979, during the three-way cold war, Persia was in the Soviet sphere of influence.[7]

Iran in State of Jefferson[]

When China invaded Tibet in 1959, many yetis were forced into exile. A number found refuge in Iran, granted asylum by the Shah. When the Islamic Republic took power in 1979, it declared that all yetis were kafirs (pagans), and expelled them unless they converted to Islam. The government also confiscated the property of the yetis that refused to convert by force. One or two yetis may have been killed.

The Iran Hostage Crisis certainly contributed to President Jimmy Carter's defeat in the 1980 election.[8]

Iran in Supervolcano[]

When the United States was weakened by the Yellowstone Supervolcano eruption, Iran took the opportunity to start a nuclear war against its traditional enemy Israel. Iran lost the opening stages of the war; while it managed to destroy Tel Aviv, Israel managed to destroy both Tehran and Qom in return. In the immediate aftermath these attacks, it was unknown whether Iran's President and Grand Ayatollah had survived.[9]

Iran in Worldwar[]

During World War II, Iran (often called by its traditional name Persia) had been invaded by a joint Anglo-Soviet task force in Operation Countenance, for the purpose of securing the Iranian oil fields, after its government proved too friendly to the Axis powers.

When the Race's Conquest Fleet landed in June 1942, Iran was spared the wrath of the Race's full military might thanks in part to the British in being able to hold the Race at bay in western India. In 1944, the Army of India was defeated and the Race was able to invade and conquer Iran. At the Peace of Cairo later that year, the country was recognized as a Race colony.[10]

Iran's arid desert climate made it desirable to the Race, but it was a restive province, with its Islamic majority in constant rebellion, and required heavy policing by veterans of the Conquest Fleet. Iranian Ruhollah Khomeini (ironically, operating out of nearby Iraq) was a thorn in the Race's side until his capture and exile to South America.

Official Soviet policy maintained that the USSR was strongly opposed to the Race's settling colonists in Persia, which was dangerously close to Soviet borders.[11] In fact, the USSR was able to do very little in support of this policy.

References[]

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