$20
billion
Estimated fortune of
the Pahlavi family when
they left Iran, in 1979
dollars.
• Iran was known as
Persia until 1935.
• It was ruled by dynasties
for thousands of years.
• Islam became the state
religion in 1501.
• Iran became a republic
in 1979.
TIMELINE
Around 550 BCE:
Persian
Empire is formed.
663 CE:
Arab invasion begins.
1501:
Start of the Safavid
Empire.
1906:
Iran adopts a
constitution.
1925:
Reza Khan becomes
ruler of Persia.
1935:
Persia is renamed Iran.
1941:
Mohammad Reza
Pahlavi becomes Shah of Iran.
1979:
Islamic Revolution
sends Pahlavi into exile. Iran
becomes a republic. It adopts a
new constitution.
1980:
War between Iran and
Iraq begins. It lasts eight years.
American embassy in Tehran, the
capital city. They took 52 Americans
hostage. They didn’t let them go
for more than 400 days. Relations
between the United States and Iran
have been tense ever since.
Today Iran has uneasy relations
with much of the world. The country
has been working on a nuclear
program. It has been accused of
many human rights violations. Other
countries and the United Nations
have tried to change Iran’s behavior
with sanctions.
11
