The Parthians were a group of North Western Iranian people, they were the Eastern enemies of the Roman Empire
The Parthian infantry was mainly made up of cavalry

The Sasanians were a Persian people who lived under the Parthians until defeating them in 224
In it’s peak the empire encompassed Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Abkhazia, Dagestan, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, parts of Afghanistan, Turkey, Syria, parts of Pakistan, Central Asia, Eastern Arabia, and parts of Egypt.

The Sasanian Empire took part in the continuation of the Roman – Parthian wars, the Byzantine–Sasanian wars and the Roman – Persian wars
In 633 the Sasanian king Yazdegerd III, the Muslims under Umar invaded and houses began to mutiny their Sasanian leaders.
Yazdegerd III fled and was killed, the Muslims took over in 651

Iran became a province of the Umayyad Caliphate. Persian culture was preserved but Arabisation and Islam spread
The Abbasid Caliphate overthrew the Umayyads in 750
Small Persian dynasties such as the Tahirids, Saffarids and Samanids began to emerge in the 800s. Ruling smaller regions, while still under Abbasid rule
The Ghaznavids (originally Turkish slave soldiers) established a powerful empire in eastern Iran and Afghanistan, expanding into India
In 1037 the Seljuks conquered much of Iran including Baghdad
Regional powers such as the Seljuks grew in power and the Abbasids power began to wain from the 10th to 12th centuries
The Khwarazmian empire began to aquire power in the north east of Iran from 1077-1219

The Mongols began to invade and devistate Iran. Led by Genghis Khan destroying cities and raising Ilkhanate, a Mongol state that ruled Iran
The Mongols adopted Islam and embraced Persian culture

The Timurid Empire was established by Timur in 1370 in an attempt to restablish the Mongol Empire
The empire was divided between Timur’s descendants after his death in 1405

The Safavid Empire was started by Shah Ismail I who established Shia Islam as the state religion in Iran
The Safavids flourished from 1588 to 1629
The Empire began to fall from the late 17th century, due to internal strife and pressures from the Ottomans and Afghans

The Quajar Dynasty was founded by Agha Mohammad Khan, establishing Tehran as their capital and centralising power
In the 19th century, European powers, especially Britain and Russia began getting involved in Iranian affairs
The Constitutional revolution (1905 – 1911) limited the Shah’s powers and the Quajar Dynasty came to an end in 1925

Led by Reza Shah Pahlavi began to reform the country, especially women’s rights. However it’s authoritarian rule was disliked

Led by Ayatollah Khomeini the Islamic revolution shaped Iran to be anti-western and emphasises religious conservatism