Long before oil made Iran a focal point of global politics, this land was home to one of history’s greatest empires. The Persian Empire once stretched from India to Greece, ruling over nearly half the known world with a tolerance and sophistication that was centuries ahead of its time. Yet the same geographic position that made Persia a natural empire also made it a target for foreign powers seeking to control the crossroads between East and West.
Understanding modern Iran’s tumultuous relationship with the West requires first understanding the glorious imperial past that shaped Iranian identity and the gradual erosion of sovereignty that made the country vulnerable to foreign interference. This is the story of how the heirs of Cyrus the Great went from ruling continents to fighting for control over their own oil—a transformation that would set the stage for one of the most consequential covert operations of the 20th century.
The Persian Empire: Ancient glory and cultural foundation
The rise of Cyrus the Great
In 550 BCE, a Persian chieftain named Cyrus overthrew his Median overlords and began building what would become the largest empire the ancient world had ever seen. The Achaemenid Empire, as it came to be known, represented a revolutionary approach to imperial rule that emphasised tolerance, integration, and respect for local customs rather than brutal subjugation.
Under Cyrus the Great and his successors, Persian territory expanded at an unprecedented rate. Within a generation, Persian armies had conquered the wealthy kingdom of Lydia in modern-day Turkey, the ancient civilisation of Babylon in Mesopotamia, and eventually pushed into Egypt and the Indus Valley. At its peak under Darius I, the Persian Empire stretched over 2,000 miles from east to west, encompassing modern-day Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Bernd81 via Wikimedia Commons
This vast empire was notable not merely for its size but for its remarkable approach to governance. While other ancient empires ruled through fear and cultural destruction, the Persians embraced diversity as a source of strength. The famous Cyrus Cylinder, often called the first charter of human rights, proclaimed religious freedom and the repatriation of displaced peoples. When Cyrus conquered Babylon in 539 BCE, he freed the Jewish exiles and provided funds to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. This act earned him the title of messiah (anointed one) in the Hebrew Bible.
Persian administration and culture
The Persian genius lay in creating institutions that could effectively govern this vast, diverse territory. The empire was divided into satrapies—provinces ruled by appointed governors called satraps who answered directly to the Persian king, known as the “King of Kings” or Shahanshah. This system balanced central control with local autonomy, allowing Persian rule to adapt to different cultures and traditions while maintaining imperial unity.
The Persians invested heavily in infrastructure to unify their empire. The Royal Road, stretching 1,600 miles from Sardis in western Turkey to Susa in southwestern Iran, enabled rapid communication across vast distances. A sophisticated postal system allowed messages to travel the length of the empire in just over a week—a remarkable achievement for the ancient world.
Persian culture evolved as a synthesis of influences from across its vast domains while maintaining distinctive characteristics. Zoroastrianism, founded by the prophet Zoroaster, emerged as the empire’s dominant religion, emphasising the cosmic struggle between good and evil, the importance of individual moral choice, and concepts of judgment after death that would later influence Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Persian art and architecture incorporated elements from Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Greek traditions while developing a distinctive imperial style that can still be seen in the ruins of Persepolis.
The Persian court became renowned for its sophistication, luxury, and relatively enlightened governance. Unlike many ancient rulers, Persian kings were expected to follow the law and could not arbitrarily change established customs. This legal tradition, combined with religious tolerance and cultural pluralism, created a model of empire that was remarkably stable and enduring.
The decline and fall

Despite its strengths, the Persian Empire faced increasing challenges as it matured. The vast distances that had once been a source of strength became a weakness as communication became more difficult and provincial governors grew increasingly independent. Religious and cultural tensions emerged as Zoroastrian priests gained influence and began pushing for less tolerant policies toward subject peoples.
External pressures mounted as well, particularly from the Greek city-states to the west. The Greco-Persian Wars of the early 5th century BCE, featuring legendary battles at Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis, demonstrated that Persian military might was not invincible. Although the Persians ultimately failed to conquer Greece, they continued to dominate the Near East for another 150 years.
The decisive blow came from an unexpected direction. Alexander of Macedon, later known as Alexander the Great, launched his invasion of the Persian Empire in 334 BCE with an army of just 35,000 men. Persian forces, weakened by internal strife and led by the inexperienced Darius III, proved unable to stop the Macedonian advance. By 331 BCE, Alexander had conquered the heart of the empire, and the last Achaemenid king was dead.
Alexander’s conquest marked the end of the first Persian Empire, but it did not end Persian influence. Alexander himself adopted many Persian customs and administrative practices, and after his death, his generals established Hellenistic kingdoms that blended Greek and Persian traditions. More importantly, Persian culture, language, and administrative expertise continued to influence the region for centuries to come.
The restoration and later empires
Parthian and Sassanid revival
The Persian imperial tradition was far from dead. In 247 BCE, a people called the Parthians, related to the original Persians, established a new empire that controlled much of the former Achaemenid territory. The Parthian Empire lasted nearly 500 years, serving as Rome’s primary rival in the East and preserving many Persian traditions while adapting to new circumstances.
The Parthians were eventually overthrown by the Sassanids in 224 CE, who established what many consider the true heir to the Achaemenid Empire. The Sassanid Empire explicitly claimed descent from the ancient Persian kings and worked to revive Zoroastrian religion and Persian culture. Under rulers like Khosrow I, the Sassanid Empire became one of the world’s great powers, rivalling the Byzantine Empire and serving as a centre of learning and culture.
The Sassanid period saw remarkable achievements in art, architecture, and scholarship. Persian poetry and literature flourished, establishing traditions that would later influence Islamic culture. The Sassanids also served as preservers of Greek philosophical and scientific works, translating and maintaining texts that might otherwise have been lost during the chaos of the early medieval period.
The Arab conquest and cultural survival
The Arab conquest of Persia between 637 and 651 CE marked the end of the ancient Persian imperial tradition, but it did not mean the end of Persian civilisation. While the new Islamic rulers imposed their religion and political system, the Persian language, literature, and administrative traditions proved remarkably resilient.
Within a few generations, Persians had become some of the most influential figures in the Islamic world. Persian administrators helped govern the expanding Islamic empire, Persian scholars contributed to Islamic theology and philosophy, and Persian poets like Ferdowsi helped preserve pre-Islamic Iranian traditions while adapting them to the new Islamic context.
The Persian language, written in Arabic script but maintaining its Indo-European grammatical structure and much of its vocabulary, became one of the great literary languages of the Islamic world. Persian poetry, exemplified by masters like Hafez, Rumi, and Omar Khayyam, influenced literary traditions from Turkey to India.
The transformation from Persia to modern Iran
The Safavid renaissance
After centuries of Arab, Mongol, and Turkic rule, Persia experienced a dramatic renaissance under the Safavid dynasty (1501-1736). The Safavids made a decision that would profoundly shape Iranian identity: they established Shia Islam as the state religion, distinguishing Persia from its predominantly Sunni neighbours and creating a religious identity that became central to Iranian nationalism.
This religious transformation was as much political as spiritual. By embracing Shia Islam, the Safavids differentiated their realm from the Sunni Ottoman Empire to the west and the Sunni Uzbek states to the north. Shia Islam became a unifying force that bound together the diverse peoples of the Iranian plateau and provided ideological justification for resistance to foreign domination.
The Safavid period witnessed a remarkable flowering of Persian culture. Shah Abbas I (1588-1629) transformed Isfahan into one of the world’s most beautiful cities, with stunning architecture that blended Persian, Islamic, and local traditions. Persian carpet weaving, miniature painting, and poetry reached new heights of sophistication. The Safavids also established diplomatic relations with European powers, welcoming merchants and missionaries while maintaining their independence.
However, the Safavid Empire gradually weakened due to internal strife, economic difficulties, and external pressures from the Ottomans and Russians. The dynasty’s emphasis on Shia orthodoxy sometimes alienated non-Persian minorities, while economic problems and military defeats eroded the government’s effectiveness.
The Qajar Dynasty and early Western penetration
The Qajar dynasty (1789-1925) succeeded in reunifying much of Persia after a period of chaos; however, it also presided over an era of increasing foreign interference and territorial losses. The Qajars faced the full force of European imperial expansion, as both Russia and Britain sought to extend their influence into Persian territory.
Russian expansion proved particularly devastating. Through a series of wars and treaties, Russia annexed Georgia, Armenia, and much of the Caucasus region—territories that had been part of Persia for centuries. The Treaty of Gulistan (1813) and the Treaty of Turkmenchay (1828) formalised these losses and established Russian influence over northern Persia.
British pressure came from the south as the expanding British Empire in India sought to secure its northwestern frontier. The Anglo-Persian Wars (1856-1857) demonstrated British military superiority and further reduced Persian sovereignty. More insidiously, British influence grew through economic penetration and the granting of commercial concessions.
The discovery of oil in Persia would soon transform this economic relationship into something far more consequential. In 1901, a British entrepreneur named William Knox D’Arcy obtained a concession from the Qajar Shah, giving him exclusive rights to explore for oil throughout most of Persia. This seemingly innocuous agreement would eventually lead to decades of foreign control over Iran’s most valuable resource.
European powers began to view Persia primarily through the lens of strategic and economic interests rather than as a sovereign nation with its own aspirations. The Qajar shahs, desperate for revenue and often poorly advised, granted numerous concessions to foreign companies and governments. Telegraph lines, railways, mining rights, tobacco sales—everything was potentially for sale to the highest bidder.
The Constitutional Revolution
Growing resentment over foreign interference and royal autocracy erupted in the Constitutional Revolution of 1905-1911. This movement, influenced by constitutional developments elsewhere and frustrated by Qajar weakness, brought together an unlikely coalition of clerics, merchants, intellectuals, and ordinary citizens demanding limits on royal power and the establishment of a parliament.
The revolution succeeded in establishing Iran’s first constitution and parliament (Majles), creating hope that the country might evolve into a constitutional monarchy capable of resisting foreign pressure. However, the new democratic institutions remained fragile, and foreign powers viewed them with suspicion.
The Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 demonstrated the limits of Persian sovereignty even under the new constitutional system. Britain and Russia divided Persia into spheres of influence without consulting the Persian government, with Britain controlling the south and Russia the north, leaving only a small central zone under nominal Persian control.
This agreement revealed a fundamental truth that would shape Iranian politics for the next century: foreign powers would tolerate Persian independence only as long as it served their interests. When democracy threatened foreign control, democracy would have to go.
The stage is set
By the early 20th century, Persia stood at a crossroads. The discovery of oil had made the country strategically vital to global powers, but Persia lacked the military and economic strength to resist foreign pressure. The constitutional experiment had raised hopes for democratic governance and national independence, but it also demonstrated the limits of what Persia could achieve without external support.
The Qajar dynasty was exhausted, unable to defend Persian interests or implement meaningful reforms. The stage was set for a new kind of leader, someone who could modernise the country, resist foreign interference, and restore Persian pride. That leader would emerge from the ranks of the military, and his rise would fundamentally transform Persia into modern Iran.
But the story of oil, democracy, and foreign interference was far from over. The patterns established during the Qajar period—Western control over Iranian resources, Iranian resistance to foreign domination, and the clash between democratic aspirations and imperial interests—would soon play out on a much larger stage. The discovery of vast oil reserves had made Iran too important for global powers to ignore, setting the stage for a confrontation that would reshape not only Iran but the entire Middle East.
The transformation of ancient Persia into modern Iran was nearly complete, but the most dramatic chapters lay ahead. In our article Iran: Modernisation and nationalism, we explore how a military officer named Reza Khan would seize power and attempt to drag Iran into the modern world by force and how his son would face the greatest challenge to foreign control in Iranian history, embodied by a man whose name would become synonymous with Iranian nationalism: Mohammad Mossadegh.
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