The book provides a long historical perspective of Iranian military culture beginning with the fabled Persian Empire founded by Cyrus the Great and continuing with the Achaemenids, Parthians, and Sassanians. [21], Since 1979, there have been no foreign military bases present in Iran. Still, the United States continued to sell large amounts of weapons to Iran until the 1979 Islamic Revolution. [citation needed], A massive order was made by the Shah of Iran in an attempt to modernize the Iranian Imperial Navy. With his new army, Abbas Mirza invaded Russia in 1826. When the Pahlavi dynasty came through power the Qajar dynasty was already weak from years of war with Russia. The founder of the dynasty was Mardavij (from 927 to 935), who took advantage of a rebellion in the Samanid army of Iran to seize power in northern Iran. Hodges, Peter (1971). He did this through billions of dollars of some of the most sophisticated arms available. This alarmed the United States Congress, which strengthened a 1968 law on arms exports in 1976 and renamed it the Arms Export Control Act. The new Qajar dynasty was founded on slaughter and plunder of Iranians, particularly Zoroasterian Iranians. On April 18, 1988, the US retaliated for the Iranian mining of the USS Samuel B. Roberts in Operation Praying Mantis. Upon the fall of the Safavid dynasty Persia entered into a period of uncertainty. During the Persian Expedition of 1796, Russian troops crossed the Aras River and invaded parts of Azarbaijan and Gilan, while they also moved to Lankaran with the aim of occupying Rasht again. "[57], Iran has produced several unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which can be used for reconnaissance and combat operations. In the west the Qajars effectively stopped Ottoman encroachment and in the east the situation remained fluid. This was the beginning for a military system which served him and his successors for over 400 years, during which the Sassanid Empire was, along with the Roman Empire and later the East Roman Empire, one of the two superpowers of Late Antiquity in Western Eurasia. The Seleucid Empire was a Hellenistic successor state of Alexander the Great's dominion, including central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, Turkmenistan, Pamir and the Indus valley. [45] At the same time Iran began construction on a few military bases including the Chah Bahar military complex. Furthermore, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi embarked on an unprecedented modernization program for the armed forces. [21] The country's military budget is the lowest per capita in the Persian Gulf region besides the UAE. They use them with such facility that it does not hinder them drawing their bows nor handling their swords, keeping the latter hung at their saddle bows till occasion requires them. Other orders included 250 McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, 90 F-15 Eagles, 70 Fairchild A-10 attack bombers all of which were due by 1985. Iranian state television reported "dozens of missiles were fired including Shahab-2 and Shahab-3 missiles. Abbas Mirza sent a large number of Persians to England to study Western military technology and at the same time he invited British officers to Persia to train the Persian forces under his command. In the Russo-Persian War (1806-1813) the Russians were victorious. In the course of the sixteenth century, but still more in the seventeenth, the shahs of Iran took steps to acquire handguns and artillery pieces and to re-equip their forces with them. He was much helped by two English brothers, Anthony and Robert Sherley, who went to Iran in 1598 with twenty-six followers and remained in the Persian service for a number of years. Iran started a major campaign to produce and stockpile chemical weapons after a truce was agreed with Iraq after 1980-88 Iran–Iraq War. The dynasty was founded by Anush Tigin Gharchai, a former slave of the Seljuq sultans, who was appointed the governor of Khwarezm. In this period the Iranian Air Force was established and the foundation for a new Navy was laid. The Iran-Iraq War is one of the largest, yet least documented conflicts in the history of the Middle East. Since 1992, it has also produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, radar systems, guided missiles, marines, military vessels and fighter planes. Following the Iran–Iraq War an ambitious military rebuilding program was set into motion with the intention to create a fully fledged military industry. It was the third native dynasty of ancient Iran (after the Median and the Achaemenid dynasties). While the use of personal firearms was becoming commonplace, the use of field artillery was limited and remained on the whole ineffective. [5] Iran's military forces are made up of approximately 610,000 active-duty personnel plus 350,000 reserve and trained personnel that can be mobilized when needed, bringing the country's military manpower to about 960,000 total personnel. A History of Iran Empire of the Mind Michael Axworthy. According to Juan Cole, Iran has never launched an "aggressive war" in modern history, and its leadership adheres to a doctrine of "no first strike". The Saffarid dynasty ruled a short-lived empire in Sistan, which is a historical region now in southeastern Iran and southwestern Afghanistan. The Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics is responsible for planning logistics and funding of the armed forces and is not involved with in-the-field military operational command. [26], It has been reported that Iran is one of the five countries that has a cyber-army capable of conducting cyber-warfare operations. They were released three days later following diplomatic discussions between the UK and Iran. The indecisive eight year war wreaked havoc on the region and the Iranian military, only coming to an end in 1988 after it expanded into the Persian Gulf and led to clashes between the United States Navy and Iranian military forces between 1987-1988. The Seljuqs were a Turco-Persian[17][18] Sunni Muslim dynasty that ruled parts of Central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries. The Sassanid army protected Eranshahr ("the realm of Iran") from the East against the incursions of central Asiatic nomads like the Hephthalites, Turks, while in the west it was engaged in a recurrent struggle against the Roman Empire. Shah Abbas's new model army was massively successful and allowed him to re-unite parts of Greater Iran and expand his nations territories at a time of great external pressure and conflict. Several themes emerge as the military history of Iran and Persia is examined. The empire possessed a “national army” of roughly 120.000-150.000 troops, plus several tens of thousands of troops from their allies. Regionally, since the Islamic Revolution, Iran has sought to exert its influence by supporting various groups (militarily and politically). With the exceptions of Russian and Imperial British armies, the Qajar army of the time was unquestionably the most powerful in the region. The Persian army proved no match for the significantly larger and equally capable Russian army. Despite their initial reluctance, the Persians very rapidly acquired the art of making and using handguns. Several launch pads with very advanced radar systems were planned to be built. Steven Ward’s book Immortal is a detailed history of Iran’s military, starting with the Persians in 530 BC and ending with present-day Iran. CIA analyst Steven R. Ward shows that Iran's soldiers, from the famed "Immortals" of ancient Persia to today's Revolutionary Guard, have demonstrated through the centuries that they should not be underestimated. The usual tactic employed by the Persians in the early period of the empire, was to form a shield wall that archers could fire over. Tensions between the US and Iran hit a boiling point this month, but they’ve been simmering for decades. . The Persian army was divided into regiments of a thousand each, called hazarabam. ", "Iran's missile programme is non-negotiable, says Rouhani", "Khamenei says missiles, not just talks, key to Iran's future", "The top ten things you didn't know about Iran: The assumptions most Americans hold about Iran and its policies are wrong", "Russian Military Alliance With Iran Improbable Due To Diverging Interests", "Syria: Iran's elite Quds force 'advising Assad regime, "Pilot of Russian jet downed by Turkey was 'rescued by elite Iranian squad, "Iran sends special forces to Syria as 'advisors': report", "Iran reveals underground 'missile city' as regional tensions rise", "Government creates 4th military arm: Air Defense", "Appointment of Farzaf Esmaili as commander of IRIADF", "Appointment of Mohammad Pakvar as commander of IRGC Ground Force", "Iran's Khamenei reshuffles Revolutionary Guards top brass", "Appointment of Ali Fadavi as commander of IRGC Navy", "Iran names deputy commander of Quds Force to replace Soleimani after killing", "The Consequences of a Strike on Iran: The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy", "Air Defense Unit Added to Iran's Armed Forces", "How Iran's political battle is fought in cyberspace", "Iran among 5 states with cyber warfare capabilities: US institute", "BBC فارسی - ايران - سایت رادیو زمانه هک شد", BBC فارسی - ايران - قرارگاه های 'جنگ نرم' در اصفهان و زنجان راه اندازی شد, NTI: Country Overviews: Iran: Missile Chronology, PressTv: Advanced attack chopper joins Iran fleet, "Iranian drone plane buzzes U.S. aircraft carrier in Persian Gulf", Iran reports that Iran's Army has achieved self-suffiency in producing military equipment, "Iran admits to conducting 700 drone attacks in Syria", "Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen ramp up drone, missile attacks on Saudis", "A GERMAN CONCERN SOLD CHEMICALS TO IRAN, U.S. SAYS", Signatories of the Biological Weapons Convention, "Razi Institute produces dlrs 100 m worth of vaccines, serums a year", Centre for Strategic and International Studies, The Gulf: Military Forces in an Era of Asymmetric War: Iran, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Islamic_Republic_of_Iran_Armed_Forces&oldid=1020031102, Organisations under the direct control of the Supreme Leader of Iran, Pages with non-numeric formatnum arguments, Articles with dead external links from September 2010, Articles with dead external links from July 2017, Articles with permanently dead external links, Wikipedia extended-confirmed-protected pages, Articles containing Persian-language text, Articles with French-language sources (fr), Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. They were overthrown by the Saffarid dynasty, who annexed Khorasan to their own empire in eastern Persia. [35] From Russia it ordered many transport trucks and 300 BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers. Safavid military history had three phases. do business with Iran. Left: Median soldier. The Samanids (819–999)[8] were a Persian dynasty in Central Asia and Greater Khorasan, named after its founder Saman Khuda who converted to Sunni Islam[9] despite being from Zoroastrian theocratic nobility. A senior CIA intelligence analyst, the author researched many historical records prior to writing this interesting and complex history. Iran's interest in nuclear technology dates to the 1950s, when the Shah of Iran received technical assistance under the U.S. In 2007, Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces also took prisoner Royal Navy personnel when a boarding party from HMS Cornwall was seized in the waters between Iran and Iraq, in the Persian Gulf. The rise of the Qajars was very closely timed with Catherine the Great's order to invade Iran once again. The following Treaty of Turkmenchay in 1828 crippled Persia through the ceding of much of Persia's northern territories and the payment of a colossal war indemnity. They had placed an order for 6 anti submarine Grisha class corvette's, 400 ASU-85 anti tank guns, 400 BMP-1 light tank and storage facilities and a further 200 ZSU-23-4 artillery vehicles. He soon expanded his domains and captured the cities of Hamadan and Isfahan. The Iranian military, while very well armed and trained at this point was totally reliant on external suppliers for its equipment. Iran has more than half a million active service personnel (Picture: Iranian Presidency/DPA via PA). Pahlavi era [edit | edit source]. Iran enjoys a … According to Article 146 of the Iranian Constitution, the establishment of any foreign military base in the country is forbidden, even for peaceful purposes.[22]. [59], On November 2, 2006, Iran fired unarmed missiles to begin 10 days of military simulations. [49] The Iranian Defense Industries Organization was the first to succeed in taking a step into what could be called a military industry by reverse engineering Soviet RPG-7, BM-21, and SAM-7 missiles in 1979. Iran also dedicated underground ballistic missile programs. This listing allows you to trace back a particular nation's aviation history in reverse-chronological order. The barrels of the arquebuses are generally six spans long, and carry a ball little less than three ounces in weight. This vicious dynasty then defeated the Russian in several important battles[citation needed]. Along with this order were several minesweepers, patrol boats and further SR.N6 military hovercrafts. This view is not widely accepted however. This trend would continue with many other countries in the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. From Japan 4 mine layers were ordered but only was delivered the Iran Ajr, which was subsequently captured by the USA in the Iran-Iraq war. There are a total of [ 69 ] Iran Infantry Arms List (Current and Former Types) entries in the Military Factory. The previously highly organized military fragmented and the pieces were left for the following dynasties to collect. From the USA an incredible order for more than $15 billion in fighter jets were placed, for 300 F-16 Fighting Falcons, 16 McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II RF-4E reconnaissance planes and a further 71 Grumman F-14 Tomcats on top of the 79 that had arrived. Unlike the Mamluks they lived to apply the lessons they had learnt on the battlefield. 1963-1973: Decade of growth. [citation needed]. Iranian experts have made some changes to Shahab-3 missiles installing cluster warheads in them with the capacity to carry 1,400 bombs." Parthia was an Iranian civilization situated in the northeastern part of modern Iran, but at the height of its power, the Parthian dynasty covered all of Iran proper, as well as regions of the modern countries of Armenia, Iraq, Georgia, eastern Turkey, eastern Syria, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, the Persian Gulf, the coast of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine and the UAE.[1]. The last known orders were for several planes full of light weapons and ammunition's. . [citation needed] 3000 trucks and 6000 Jeeps were being manufactured in Iran with the help of the USA were on their way to the front as well as a booming technological industry. After Tamerlane's death in 1405, there was a brief unsuccessful attempt to re-establish the Jalayirid sultanate and Jalayirid sultanate was ended by Kara Koyunlu in 1432. Like the Mamluks they were taught the error of their ways by the powerful Ottoman armies. [10] Unable to import weapon systems from abroad due to international and U.S. sanctions, and suffering from an increasingly aging air force fleet, Iran has invested considerable funds into an ambitious ballistic and cruise missile program for long-range strike capability,[11] and has manufactured different types of arms and munitions, including tanks, armoured vehicles and drones, as well as various naval assets and aerial defense systems. The arquebus is then put away behind the back so that one weapon does not impede the use of the other.". [contradiction] A $3 billion order was placed for 3 Invincible class aircraft carrier able to carry 18 jets and 4 helicopters and the aircraft carrier's to be equipped with Sea Sparrow missiles and Goalkeeper CIWS. [29][30][citation needed] 1 British destroyer (HMS Sluys),[31] 4 British frigates (Alvand class frigate),[32] 8 Bayandor class corvette from the USA, 2 Gearing class destroyer, 8 light repair ships from Germany, 16 Osa class missile boat from the Soviet Union, 200 ZSU-23-4 artillery vehicles, 300 American Bell AH-1 SuperCobra helicopters, thousands of laser guided missiles, 500 M109 howitzer, 24 MQM-107 Streaker drones, 30000 TOW missiles as well as thousands of air to air missiles such as the AIM-54 Phoenix, AGM-65 Maverick and the AIM-9 Sidewinder. "[3] This view further more holds that once politically conquered, the Persians began engaging in a culture war of resistance and succeeded in forcing their own ways on the victorious Arabs.[4][5]. Knowing Iran’s history, of course, does not provide easy answers for such a complex country. The need to manage the treatment of such a large number of casualties has placed Iran's medical specialists in the forefront of the development of effective treatment regimens for chemical weapons victims, and particularly for those suffering from exposure to mustard gas. The Saffarid empire did not last long after Ya'qub's death. Tahir's military victories were rewarded with the gift of lands in the east of Persia, which were subsequently extended by his successors as far as the borders of India. Following the capture of Georgia, Agha Mohammad Khan was murdered by two of his servants who feared they would be executed. In May 1723, the first major Russo-Persian War occurred and the invasion came as far as the northern city of Rasht. However, the achievements of the previous Persian civilizations were not lost, but were to a great extent absorbed by the new Islamic polity. Persia's efforts would also be weakened due to continual economic, political, and military pressure from outside of the country (see The Great Game), and social and political pressures from within would make matters worse. In this, though the Afghans were no match for the Persian Army, the Persians were not successful, this time because of British Intervention as part of The Great Game (See papers by Waibel and Esandari Qajar within the Qajar Studies source). Hatch Dupree, Nancy. Russia backed the Persian attacks, using Persia as a 'cat's paw' for expansion of its own interests. Another theme is geographic and economic. Some authors have for example used mostly Arab sources to illustrate that "contrary to the claims , Iranians in fact fought long and hard against the invading Arabs. These included the Boeing AH-64 Apache and Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk as well as further Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters. These missiles and their launch sites which were jointly built by the USA (80%) and the Europeans (20%) would make Iran capable of defending itself from any seaborne, land or airborne attack. The emphasis is on achievements, rather than motives. [12][13][14][15][16], Iran's ballistic missile and space program is an internationally hot political topic over which it has consistently refused to negotiate. In 1622 Persian artillery managed to conquer the powerful walls of Kandahar, and again in 1649 during the Mughal–Safavid War. Kaveh Farrokh, Iran at War: 1500–1988, Osprey Hardcover, released May 24, 2011; This page was last edited on 26 April 2021, at 19:57. [63] Iran has advanced biological and genetic engineering research programs supporting an industry that produces vaccines for both domestic use and export. [citation needed] Iran also had contracted them for training, construction of bases and further development of Iranian made military products. Following the end of the Second World War Iran's independence was respected and both countries withdrew. The Timurids were a Central Asian Sunni Muslim dynasty of originally Turko-Mongol descent whose empire included the whole of Central Asia, Iran, modern Afghanistan, as well as large parts of Pakistan, India, Mesopotamia, Anatolia and the Caucasus. [39] Iran placed an order for 10 new Boeing E-3 Sentry (AWACS), and when finding the USA reluctant to sell made it known that Britain was interested. A painting on the wall of the Chel-Sooton Palace in Isfahan of Shah Abbas at war, Shah Abbas (1587–1629) was instrumental in bringing about a 'modern' gunpowder era in the Persian army. In the 16th century, Timurid prince Babur, the ruler of Ferghana, invaded India and founded the Mughal Empire, which ruled most of the Indian subcontinent until its decline after Aurangzeb in the early 18th century, and was formally dissolved by the British Raj after the Indian rebellion of 1857. [34] Iran ordered large quantities of medium and heavy artillery ranging in the tens of thousands and to this day has the largest stockpile of these types of weapons in the Middle East. This marked a turning point in the Qajar attitude towards the military. From here onwards the Qajar dynasty would face great difficulty in its efforts, due to the international policies mapped out by some western great powers and not Persia herself. At the top is the Supreme Leader, selected by the Assembly of Experts, who is Commander-in-Chief of the military and oversees the civilian government. The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) today released “Iran Military Power,” an intelligence product that examines the core capabilities of Iran's military. To refill their vast air force they had ordered 12 Boeing 707 tankers capable of refueling planes in midair. Iranian Armed Forces are the largest in the Middle East in terms of active troops. Parthian Empire at its greatest extent, c60 BCE. The new king Reza Shah Pahlavi, was quick to develop a new military. Reconstruction of a Sassanid-era cataphract. [2] Later, at the height of their power, Parthian influence reached as far as Ubar in Arabia, the nexus of the frankincense trade route, where Parthian-inspired ceramics have been found. Immortal is the only single-volume English-language survey of Iran's military history. The Parthian empire was led by the Arsacid dynasty, which reunited and ruled over the Iranian plateau, after defeating and disposing the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, beginning in the late 3rd century BC, and intermittently controlled Mesopotamia between 150 BC and 224 AD. After their defeat some of the soldiers and generals of the Alavids joined the Samanid dynasty. [40], The Iranians placed a $7 billion in ordering 2000 Challenger tanks from the British along with a further 300 Chieftain tanks and 250 FV101 Scorpion light tanks. Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces by Steven R. Ward. relations, has a … [64], In 2013, Iran was reported to supply money, equipment, technological expertise and unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) to the Syrian government and Hezbollah during the Syrian civil war, and to the Iraqi government and its state-sponsored organizations the Popular Mobilization Forces, and Peshmerga during War on ISIL. Drawing on a wide range of sources including declassified documents, the author gives primary focus to the modern era to relate the build-up of the military under the last Shah, its collapse during the Islamic revolution, its fortunes in the Iran-Iraq War, and its rise from the ashes to help Iran become once again a major regional military power. Before the Iranian revolution of 1979, Iran contributed to United Nations peacekeeping operations. It had almost 500,000 soldiers in its rank and was ordering tens of billions in weapons. [citation needed]. [47] The best known haivarabam were the Immortals, the King's personal guard division. [27] The bow was the most widely used weapon of the Persians. Book Review published on: June 30, 2017 Michael Axworthy’s A History of Iran was first published in 2008, and the only change to the 2016 edition is an epilogue that covers the period between 2008 and 2015. In neighbouring Afghanistan, Iran supported the Northern Alliance for over a decade against the Taliban, and nearly went to war against the Taliban in 1998. [43], Most of the orders placed from Russia were lighter weaponry such as arms and trucks. It was founded by the militant conqueror Timur (Tamerlane) in the 14th century. In the 1960s it purchased Canada's fleet of 90 Canadair Sabre planes equipped with AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles. Overview. Both saw the newly opened Trans-Iranian Railroad as a strategic route to transport supplies from the Persian Gulf to the Soviet region. [15] Sebuktigin's son, Shah Mahmoud, expanded the empire in the region that stretched from the Oxus river to the Indus Valley and the Indian Ocean; and in the west it reached Rey and Hamadan. [47] [48] The company was set up in a first attempt to organize the assembly and repair of foreign-delivered weapons. The Tahirid dynasty ruled the northeastern Persian Empire region of Khorasan (parts that are presently in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan). In 1979, the year of the Shah's departure and the revolution, the Iranian military experienced a 60% desertion from its ranks. Ten dathabas formed the hundred man sataba. Following the Iranian revolution in 1979, deteriorating relations with the U.S. resulted in international sanctions led by the US, including an arms embargo being imposed on Iran. The army's transformation was phenomenal as can be seen from the Battle of Erzeroum (1821) where the new army routed an Ottoman army. At first, deliveries came via Israel and later, from the US. [50], After the Islamic revolution, Iran found itself severely isolated and lacking technological expertise. In the aftermath of the coup, the US pours resources into Iran, shoring up its military and political power. As eloquent as it is insightful, Immortal is readily accessible to Iran specialists and nonspecialists alike."—. Since they lacked siege-engines, the Iranians under the Parthian dynasty made no use of Roman machines whenever they captured them. Military History – Iraq-Iran War. During this conflict, there were several conflicts against the United States. Iran was also manufacturing with the help of the Soviets RPG-7, SA-7, and the BM-21 Grad. [44][citation needed], The Americans had actually started construction on missile sites to guard the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean which involved Iran buying missiles like the P-15 Termit from Russia, Exocet from France, 9K115 Metis from Russia, MIM-104 Patriot from USA, and the Tomahawk (missile) from the USA. [44][45] It has also been reported in early 2010, that two new garrisons for cyberwarfare have been established at Zanjan and Isfahan. CIA analyst Steven R. Ward shows that Iran’s soldiers, from the famed “Immortals” of ancient Persia to today’s Revolutionary Guard, have demonstrated through the centuries that they should not be underestimated.