Iran

Description

On June 24, 2005, after nearly ten years of supporting liberal reform, the people of Iran surprised the world by electing the conservative mayor of Tehran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as their new president. Soon after, the new president announced Iran would restart its uranium enrichment program, drawing international criticism and condemnation from leaders in Europe and the United States. Many observers suspect it is the desire to produce not nuclear energy but nuclear weapons that lies behind Iran's controversial decision.

Ever since President George W. Bush described Iran, Iraq, and North Korea as the "Axis of Evil," Iran has garnered increased international attention and threatens to become the new focus of European and American foreign policy. Now you can have at your fingertips up-to-date, must-know details on this complex, pivotal country-straight from one of the most trusted sources of information around the globe.

The first in a major new series from Encyclopedia Britannica, Iran presents a balanced, sophisticated examination of Iran's social, cultural, and political landscape, past and present. From the constitutional revolution to the hostage crisis to weapons of mass destruction, this thorough guide provides the necessary background to comprehend all the important, ongoing issues surrounding this enigmatic country.

Information on such leaders as Cyrus the Great and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, as well as on historical events like the Iran-Contra Affair and the Iran-Iraq War, place current developments into the broader context of world history, the Muslim world, the War on Terror, and the push for democratic reform in the Middle East. Every concise entry-from Afghanistan and Ayatollah Khomeini to Shari'ah law and the Shah-promotes the deeper understanding of issues and events that only Encyclopedia Britannica can provide.

Since 1768, Encyclopedia Britannica has been a leading provider of learning products and one of the world's most trusted sources of information.

www.britannica.com
Note to the Reader.

Introduction by Stephen Kinzer.

Afghanistan: "Operation Enduring Freedom".

Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud.

Armed Forces.

"Axis of Evil".

A Closer Look: Bush, Iraq, and the World, by Strobe Talbott.

Clerics.

The Constitutional Revolution.

Culture.

Cyrus the Great.

Darius I.

Dynastic History.

Ebadi, Shirin.

Economy.

Farsi and Other Languages.

Flag.

Iran-Contra Affair.

Iran Hostage Crisis.

Iran-Iraq War.

Iraq: "Operation Iraqi Freedom".

A Closer Look: Warfare in the 21st Century, by Peter Saracino. 

Islamic Revolution.

The Islamic World.

Judicial System.

Khamenei, (Ayatollah) Ali.

Khatami, Mohammad.

Khomeini, (Ayatollah) Ruhollah.

Kurds.

Land.

Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.

Mosaddeq, Mohammad.

Oil.

People.

Persia.

Political System.

Rafsanjani, Ali Akbar Hashemi.

Reforms.

The Revolutionary Guards.

Reza Shah Pahlavi.

Schools.

Shah 'Abbas I. 

Shah Isma'il. 

Shari'ah.

Shi'ites.

Sunni.

Tehran.

The United Nations.

A Closer Look: The UN Security Council, Edward C. Luck.

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).

The White Revolution (1963).

World Heritage Sites.

Xerxes I.

Bibliography

Index.

Sujets

• Middle Est
• Histoire
• Mahmud Ahmadineyad
• Irán
• Egypt
• Foreign policy of the United States
• History
• Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
• Iran

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 24 août 2007
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780470255414
• Langue: English

Extrait

Iran
The Essential Guide to a Country on the Brink

Encyclop dia Britannica
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Copyright 2006 by Encyclop dia Britannica. All rights reserved
Photo credits: page 70: Bettmann/Corbis; page 77: Fran oise de Mulder/Corbis; page 81: United States Department of Defense/Petty Officer 1st Class Brien Aho, U.S. Navy; page 83: United States Department of Defense/Airman 1st Class Kurt Gibbons III, U.S. Air Force; page 85: United States Department of Defense/Specialist Katherine M. Roth/U.S. Army; page 113: Raheb Homavandi-Reuters/Corbis; page 115: Morteza Nikoubazl-Reuters/Corbis; pages 119, 126: Credit AFP/Getty Images; page 128: Alain Keler/Sygma; page 131: UPI/Compix/EB Inc.; page 134: Fred J. Maroon-Photo Researchers; page 21: Mohsen Shandiz/Corbis; page 164: Keystone; page 191: Kaveh Kazemi/Corbis; page 193: Robert Harding Picture Library; page 214: Ray Manley; Shostal Assoc./EB Inc; page 216: Robert Harding Picture Library/Sybil Sassoon; page 219: By courtesy of the Oriental Institute, the University of Chicago.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Iran : the essential guide to a country on the brink / Encyclop dia Britannica.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN-13 978-0-471-74151-5 (pbk.)
ISBN-10 0-471-74151-0 (pbk.)
1. Iran. I. Encyclop dia Britannica, inc.
DS254.5.I748 2005
955.05-dc22
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Note to the Reader
Introduction by Stephen Kinzer
Afghanistan: Operation Enduring Freedom
Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud
Armed Forces
Axis of Evil
A Closer Look: Bush, Iraq, and the World, by Strobe Talbott
Clerics
The Constitutional Revolution (1905)
Culture
Cyrus the Great
Darius I
Dynastic History
Ebadi, Shirin
Economy
Farsi and Other Languages
Flag
Iran-Contra Affair
Iran Hostage Crisis
Iran-Iraq War
Iraq: Operation Iraqi Freedom
A Closer Look: Warfare in the 21st Century, by Peter Saracino
The Islamic Revolution (1978-1979)
The Islamic World
Judicial System
Khamenei, (Ayatollah) Ali
Khatami, Mohammad
Khomeini, (Ayatollah) Ruhollah
Kurds
Land
Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi
Mosaddeq, Mohammad
Oil
People
Persia
Political System
Rafsanjani, Ali Akbar Hashemi
Reforms
The Revolutionary Guards
Reza Shah Pahlavi
Schools
Shah Abbas I
Shah Isma il
Shari ah
Shi ites
Sunni
Tehran
The United Nations
A Closer Look: The UN Security Council, by Edward C. Luck
Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
The White Revolution (1963)
World Heritage Sites
Xerxes I
Bibliography
Note to the Reader
Encyclop dia Britannica is one of the most trusted sources of information around the globe. Its 44-million-word encyclopaedia is often cited as the most authoritative reference work in the world, and its 32-volume print set, first published in 1768, is the oldest continuously published and revised work in the English language. And so it is with great pleasure that we offer today, in conjunction with John Wiley Sons, yet another way to access Britannica s wealth of information: the Essential Guide series.
The first volume in this series, Iran: The Essential Guide to a Country on the Brink , looks at a key country in the Middle East, one at the center of great controversy concerning its relations with its neighbors, its interest in nuclear power, and its purported role in what President George W. Bush has called an axis of evil. Iran s people, culture, resources, and politics are all examined in the concise but informative entries that follow.
The entries derive from Encyclop dia Britannica s extensive coverage of Iran and Persian history, and they are arranged alphabetically for easy access to specific subjects. But many readers will doubtless choose to read this book straight through, from beginning to end, and we ve developed the entries with this in mind. So whether you choose to skip around or to read this book cover to cover, we trust you ll find the information and explanations you re looking for.
To help put these entries in the context of contemporary world affairs, we ve supplemented them with contributions from several noted writers. For example, Stephen Kinzer, longtime correspondent for the New York Times and author of All the Shah s Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror , has written the introduction to the book. He surveys the state of Iranian politics and wonders what it will take to see a reconciliation between Iran and the United States. There are also special sidebar essays, such as Strobe Talbott s Bush, Iraq, and the World. Talbott, a former journalist for Time and U.S. deputy secretary of state and now president of the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., highlights the U.S. war on terrorism and America s military operations in Iraq, Iran s neighbor to the west.
The combination of these various article types, all arranged in this easy-to-use format, should provide you with a quick, concise, and informative introduction to this important (but often puzzling) country in the Middle East. And if more detailed information on any aspect of Iran is desired, there are additional sources listed in a bibliography at the end of this book. We also invite you to visit www.britannica.com , where authoritative answers are always just a click away.
Theodore Pappas
Executive Editor
Encyclop dia Britannica, Inc.
Introduction
Steven Kinzer
One spring afternoon in 1997, the telephone at the New York Times bureau in Istanbul rang. I was then serving as bureau chief, and the caller was my boss, the Times foreign editor. An election was soon to be held in Iran, he said, and he had chosen me to cover it.
Get yourself a visa, he told me, buy a plane ticket, go to Iran, and then tell us what s really happening there.
Trying to find out what is really happening in Iran has been a challenge to outsiders for centuries. This is a country whose history stretches back over millennia, one that has known both the heights of world power and the depths of poverty and isolation. In its modern incarnation, it puzzles outsiders as much as ever. Its people seem to embrace tradition while they thirst for modernity. Their society appears both terribly repressive and vibrantly democratic. Iranian leaders have done much to stabilize and pacify the Middle East, but at least as much to destabilize and try to dominate it. These contradictions, along with Iran s enormous potential to influence the course of world events, make it one of the world s most fascinating countries.
In the weeks leading up to the 1997 election, I traveled across Iran and spoke to hundreds of people, ranging from government ministers to illiterate peasants. Like almost everyone who visits there, I stopped at places that evoke the country s rich history, from the haunting ruins of Persepolis, the former royal capital that Alexander the Great sacked in 330 BC, to the spectacular mosques and palaces of Esfahan. Everywhere I found Iranians torn between hope and fear, wanting to believe that their country could once again rise to greatness but deeply uncertain that it could.
The election campaign perfectly reflected these competing impulses. One candidate was a colorless bureaucrat who had been handpicked by the ruling elite. One of his opponents, Mohammad Khatami, a former minister of culture who had lived abroad and liked to quote Western philosophers, was all but unknown, and seemed for most of the campaign to be nothing more than a sacrificial lamb offered up for electoral slaughter. Then, less than two weeks before the vote, something happened that no one had expected. Khatami caught the imagination of his people. He told them Iran needed to change, open its society, and launch a dialogue of civilizations with the rest of the world. In the last days of his campaign, as defenders of the old order watched in dismay, he took on rock-star popularity, thronged wherever he went by admirers who chanted his name. He won the presidency in a lan