Harry Turtledove has altered the long lived monarchy of Persia, later known as Iran, in several works.
Agent of Byzantium
The Persian Empire was the Roman Empire's chief rival. It was ruled by the King of Kings, assisted by the Grand Wazir.
Known Kings of Kings:
Khosrau II, incumbent in "Departures", set c. 605.
Unnamed monarch, whose reign includes 1316 ("Archetypes") and 1320 ("Superwine").
"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.
King of Kings | Dynasty | |
---|---|---|
Khsrish I | ![]() |
Achaemenid |
Numerous unnamed kings (Presumably including Khsrish II and Khsrish III) | ||
Marduniya | ![]() | |
Khsrish IV | ![]() | |
Kurash (Incumbent at story's end) |
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Crosstime Traffic
The Iranian monarchy was overthrown in 1979 by the Islamic Republic, which was controlled by the Ayatollahs. In the 21st century, the international community overthrew the Republic and restored the monarchy. In 2097, the incumbent Shah and Prime Minister ruled from a precarious position.
Other monarchs
Darius II is referenced as the incumbent monarch in "The Daimon."
Khusrau I is referenced in "The Fake Pandemic", a story by Harry Turtledove set in the timeline of Lest Darkness Fall by L. Sprague de Camp.
In The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump, an unnamed Shahanshah was deposed c. 1979 by a secularist government, which is still in power at the novel's end in 1993.
See also
- Shah of Iran
- Grand Ayatollah of Iran
- President of Iran
- King of Kings of Makuran, a fictional monarchy in the Videssos Series, closely modeled on the historical Persian monarchy.