Iran

Ancient Persia — a land of poets and gardens

Iran is ancient Persia, which 2,500 years ago was the largest empire in the world (Persepolis). Iranian poets — Hafez, Saadi, Ferdowsi — are loved across the East, in Uzbekistan too. The word 'garden' (bog') and the Nowruz festival came from Iran: we celebrate Nowruz on 21 March as well! Iran is famous for carpets, pistachios and saffron. Snowy mountains surround Tehran — people ski there.

Capital: Tehran. Language: Persian (Farsi).

The Islamic Republic of Iran covers 1.65 million km² (17th) with 89 million people: Persians (61%), Azerbaijanis, Kurds. Nature: the Alborz (Damavand 5,610 m), the Zagros, the Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut deserts (the hottest surface on Earth — 70 °C), the Caspian, the Persian Gulf. History: Elam, the Achaemenids (Cyrus II — the 'Cyrus Cylinder', Darius, Persepolis), Alexander, Parthia, the Sasanians, the Arab conquest (651), the Safavids (Shia Islam, Isfahan — 'half the world'), the Qajars, the Pahlavis, the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Persian is the same language as Tajik and Dari; Rudaki, Ferdowsi ('Shahnameh'), Omar Khayyam, Hafez, Rumi. The Persian garden (chahar bagh — which influenced Mughal and Samarkand gardens), the qanat irrigation system, Nowruz. Economy: oil (3rd in reserves), gas (2nd), pistachios (1st–2nd in the world), saffron (90%). With Uzbekistan: a shared cultural heritage; al-Khwarizmi and Biruni are linked to Iranian science.

Fun facts

• The hottest surface temperature on Earth, 70 °C, was measured in the Dasht-e Lut.
• 90% of the world's saffron grows in Iran.
• Nowruz is a 3,000-year-old Iranian festival now celebrated by 300 million people.