Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Religion in Iran has been shaped by multiple religions and sects over the course of the country's history. Zoroastrianism was the main followed religion during the Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BC), Parthian Empire (247 BC-224 AD), and Sasanian Empire (224-651 AD). Another Iranian religion known as Manichaeanism was present in Iran during this period.
The Faravahar is one of the symbols of Zoroastrianism, an Iranian religion. The Iranian religions, also known as the Persian religions, are, in the context of comparative religion, a grouping of religious movements that originated in the Iranian plateau, which accounts for the bulk of what is called "Greater Iran".
Iran was reunified as an independent state in 1501 by the Safavid dynasty, which established Shia Islam as the empire's official religion, [18] marking a significant turning point in the history of Islam. [19] Iran functioned again as a leading world power, especially in rivalry with the Ottoman Empire.
The Arab conquest of Iran, which culminated in the fall of the Sasanian Empire to the nascent Rashidun Caliphate, brought about a monumental change in Iranian society by purging Zoroastrianism, which had been the Iranian nation's official and majority religion since the time of the Achaemenid Empire.
Apart from the legendary kings of eastern Iran, the Kavis, of whom Zoroaster's patron Vishtaspa (Hystapes) was the last, the only historical information about the relationship between religious and political authority come from the Achaemeneid period in western Iran. The ideology of kingship was closely connected to Ahura Mazda, the supreme deity.
The eight-year-long Iran–Iraq War (September 1980 – August 1988, known as The Imposed War in Iran [99]) was the most important international event for the first decade of the Islamic Republic and possibly for its history so far. It helped to strengthen the revolution although it cost Iran much in lives and treasure.
Additionally, Iran is home to various religious minorities—Sunni Muslims, Christians, Jews, Bahá’ís, Zoroastrians, and others—some of whom identify as Persian while others do not. [92] The denial of this diversity stems not only from ignorance but also from Persian-centric nationalism rooted in mid-20th century Iranian state policies.
Religion in the Achaemenid Empire (Persian: دین در دوران هخامنشی ), continues to be a source of debate among academics.The available knowledge about the religious orientation of many of the early Achaemenid kings is incomplete, and the issue of Zoroastrianism of the Achaemenids has been a very controversial issue.