My personal Visit / National Museum of Iran

ancient and medieval Iranian antiquities

Trip Advisor

learn about the history of Persia

Above photo and the below Azadi Tower: from Google images. All others are originals taken on-site by me, author/photographer.

Azadi Cultural Complex

Azadi Tower

The Azadi Tower, formerly known as the Shahyad Tower, is a monument located on Azadi Square in Tehran, Iran. A major landmark marking the west entrance to the city, it was commissioned by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, to mark the 2,500th year of the foundation of the Imperial State of Iran. The architect, Hossein Amanat, based his design upon classical and post-classical Iranian architecture. Image: Courtesy of Upslash 2017.

Dual Complexes

National Museum of Iran, Tehran, Iran (Persia)

Collections: The oldest artifacts kept at the museum are from Kashafrud, Darband, and Shiwatoo, which date back to the Lower Paleolithic period. Mousterian stone tools made by Neanderthals are also on display, and the most important Upper Paleolithic tools are from Yafteh that date back about 30,000 to 35,000 years. There are also 9,000-year-old human and animal figurines from Sarab mound in Kermanshah, among many other ancient artifacts.

Museum of Ancient Iran
Museum of the Islamic Era
Ancient & Medieval Iranian Antiquities

During my six-weeks stay in Iran some years ago I traveled extensively throughout the country. My time spent in Tehran included a visit to the National Museum of Iran. Through a friend, I was granted after closing access to explore its offerings. I took many photographs that will be made available via slide presentations.

I found the statue to the right to be most intriguing but no description or historical reference was provided. Perhaps a well-informed viewer can help.

University of Chicago

History of the Persian Empire

PDF Format

maritime travel

Contact between Persia and Africa

From early times monsoon winds have permitted rapid maritime travel between East Africa and Western Asia. Persian relations with the African coastal regions were via this maritime trade network. The only known Persian inscription in East Africa comes from an imported glazed tile, now lost, decorating a tomb at Tongoni (Kongoni?). Nonetheless, Persian cultural and religious influences were felt. Ki-Swahili, the language of the East African coastal regions, contains Persian loan words. Archeological evidence from East Africa reveals economic connections with the ports of southern Persia, and African traditional history connects the founding of some of the East African ports with Shiraz.

chronology

THE PERSIAN KINGS

Even in the latter part of the twentieth century, the history and archaeology of the second half of the Achaemenid period of the ancient history of the Middle East remain insecure in many details.

Note that Josephus reduces the names of Persian kings from the Eratosthenian figure of ten (which has been extended to twelve in modern times, but includes some short reign lengths) to only six. Such a number is close enough to the biblical number of Cyrus plus four mentioned in Daniel, though the names do not all match. Incidentally, the name Mithridates does tally with a name in Ezra 1:8.

PDF Article

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World Digital Library

History of Persia. Sir John Malcolm (1769–1833), diplomat and historian.

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World Digital Library

Kajar Dynasity, ʻAbd-al-Razzaq Beg Donboli (1763‒1827), poet & historian.

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The Persian Empire

Leadership of Cyrus the Great, brilliant & powerful Persian king.

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Empires (PDF Handout)

Athenian, Persian, Alexander, Ptolemaic, Seleucid, and Mauryan.

Research

Make Your Own Opportunities

One type of qualitative research is historical research, which involves examining past events to draw conclusions and make predictions about the future. The steps in historical research are: formulate an idea, formulate a plan, gather data, analyze data, and analyze the sources of data.

Historical Method

My personal Visit / National Museum of Iran