Iran's geographical position at the center of one of the world's major cross-roads has had a direct bearing on her long history and ethnic composition. Some of the world's oldest settlements have been found in Iran, and the name Iran derives from the generic term "Arya" by which the various tribes inhabitating the Iranian Plateau have referred to themselves since the Second Millennium BC. when Indo-European tribes settled in the area1. Among the ancient tribes of the Iranian Plateau, the Elamites, circa 2,700 B.C, were among the foremost. The plateau was the scene of many invasions, but one of the strongest tribes to invade were the Aryans. A branch of the Aryans, the Medes, settled in the western portion of the plateau , making their capital at ancient Ekbatan, today's Hamadan. From there, the Medes extended their power to Azerbaijan and the Caspian littoral. Concurrently, another branch of the Aryans, the Pars (Fars) settled in the south-east portion of the plateau with their capital at Pasargard, in the vicinity of today's Shiraz. In a subsequent war, the Pars defeated the Medes and the two people were united laying the foundation for what was to become by 520 B.C the Persian Empire . With subsequent conquests, the Persian Empire at its zenith defeated the Greek Empire and extended from the Sind to the Danube and from Central Asia to the heart of Africa . History has shown that the Persians were known for their fair administration of justice, system of coinage, weights and measures, construction of roads and dams and the encouragement and development of trade. It was during this period that the foundation of the Silk Road and the first attempt to build the Suez Canal so as to connect the Persian Gulf and facilitate trade to the Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean took place .
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The Iran of today is a multi-ethnic society. Though, according to
Article 15 of the Iranian Constitution the common language of Iran is Farsi
(Persian) the language of the ancient Pars, approximately 23% of the populace
also speak a second Indo-Aryan dialect or language as well. Among these
people are the Kurds, who are of Iranian origin, and whose language is
a north-west dialect of the Indo-European family of languages and who reside
primarily in the province of Kurdistan; the Azeri's who reside primarily
in the north-west of Iran and who speak a dialect of Turkish known as Oghoz
which is associated with the Turkish spoken in the Caucasus regions surrounding
Iran; the Lurs a tribe living in the Zagros Mountains west of Isfahan who
speak Luri, a Persian dialect as do the Baluch, an agrarian, semi-nomadic
group residing in the south -eastern part of the Iranian plateau and who
are renowned for their horsemanship; the Armenians, who despite a different
ethnic heritage, have maintained their Indo-European linguistic identity
and are concentrated primarily between Tehran, Isfahan and Azerbaijan.
Additional national and ethnic groups include the Assyrians, the Zorastrians
followers of the oldest monotheistic religion in the world and who have
congregated primarily around the city of Yazd, where their rituals, temples
and language can be witnessed first hand and the Jews who as the Armenians
have retained their ethnic, linguistic and religious identity. South-western
Iran has a substantial Arab population who are descended from migrants
from the Arabian peninsula to Khuzestan province, in the early centuries
A.D. According to Article 16 of the Iranian Constitution, the teaching
of the Arabic language
1-The name Persia originated through the ancient Greeks who came into
contact with Iran when it was dominated by the Persians, and as such, the
adjective "Persian " is often used when referring to relics of previous
dynasties.
as the language of the Holy Quran is mandatory as part of the religious
studies curriculum of Iran's school system.
The advent of Islam to the region in 640 A.D not only affected Iran
but that of Western Asia and resulted in the assimilation of various peoples
who together shaped and vitalized Islamic culture. In Iran particularly,
the assimilation of its pre and post Islamic heritage led to a close mingling
of national identity with Islamic heritage. As such, approximately
98.8% of Iranians are adherents of Islam with 91% belonging to the Shia
branch and 7.8% belonging to the Sunni branch.
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Additionally, followers of the Christian faith command a population of 0.7%, members of the Jewish faith comprise 0.3% of the population and Zoroastrians approximately 0.1 %. Accordingly, the Iranian Constitution has been drafted in a manner so as to fully secure the cultural, social and political liberties of Iran's religious minorities. As per Article 13 of the Constitution, Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians are officially recognized as religious minorities and are free " to perform their religious rights and ceremonies and shall act according to their canons as far as their personal status and religious teachings are concerned."
Major Newspapers & Periodicals
One of the most notable changes since the 1979 revolution has been the gradual expansion and diversification of Iran's press as exemplified by the number of press licenses that have been issued. In 1978, only eighty six publications existed across Iran. By 1992, this figure had increased to 500, in 1996 to 743 to a total of 1,155 in existence today.
Across Iran there are several dailies that qualify as mass circulation
papers. The largest ones are based and published in Tehran and include
five morning dailies Jomhouri Islami (Islamic Republic), Salaam (Peace),
Hamshahri (Fellow Citizen), Iran and Abrar (Free People). The three largest
afternoon dailies consist of Etelaat (Information) Kayhan (Universe) and
Resalat (Mission). Several other regional dailies are in mass publication
in major population centers such as Shiraz, Mashad and Rasht.
In addition, four English language dailies are also published in Tehran.
The Tehran Times, Iran News, Iran Daily and Keyhan International. Furthermore,
locally published Arabic, German and French language newspapers are also
widely available.
Periodicals in Iran range from mass circulation weekly magazines such as Kayhan-e-Bacheha (Children's Universe) with a circulation of over 400,000 and the bi-weekly Danestaniha (Knowledge) with a circulation of 60-70,000. More specialized magazines such as 'Film' with a circulation of over 30,000 issues per month are also available. Locally published English , French and Arabic periodicals are readily available.
The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) is the national news agency of Iran. The agency disseminates news and information on a twenty four hour basis and publishes daily news bulletins in Farsi, English and Arabic which are available through subscription.
Several international news agencies are also represented in Iran such as Agence France Press (AFP), Kyodo of Japan and Reuters.
Iran's radio and television network (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting
(IRIB)) is known by its official moniker as the Voice and Vision of the
Islamic Republic of Iran. Radio is broadcast via some 151 transmitters
by over 162 stations. Iranian television has five networks and screens
programs through some 500 stations. The Jaam-e-Jam television network transmits
in English and Farsi for overseas viewers whereas radio broadcasts in English,
Arabic, and a broad amalgamation of other languages are also transmitted
across the globe.
