CivStory — Stories of Civilization
Explore world history on an interactive map and timeline: events, empires, encounters, and the ideas that connected civilizations — in English and Persian.
Read & explore: all articles and guides
Dynasties and empires
- Abbasid Caliphate and Iran: History, Timeline & Map
- Achaemenid Empire: History, Timeline & Map
- Afsharid and Zand Dynasties: Nader Shah and Karim Khan (1736–1794)
- Ilkhanid Dynasty: Mongol Rule in Iran (1256–1335)
- Pahlavi Dynasty: Iran under Reza Shah and Mohammad Reza Shah (1925–1979)
- Parthian Empire: History, Timeline & Map
- Qajar Dynasty: Iran from 1789 to 1925
- Safavid Dynasty: The Empire That Shaped Modern Iran (1501–1736)
- Sasanian Empire: History, Timeline & Map
- Seleucid Empire in Iran: History, Timeline & Map
- Seljuk Empire: History, Timeline & Map
- Timurid Dynasty: Timur, Herat and the Timurid Renaissance
Topics
- 1953 Iranian Coup: Mosaddegh, Oil Nationalization and the CIA–MI6 Role
- 1979 Iranian Revolution: Causes, Coalition and Outcomes
- Al-Khwarizmi: Algebra, Algorithm and a Scholar from Khwarazm
- Alexander's Conquest of Persia: Issus, Gaugamela and the Burning of Persepolis
- Avicenna (Ibn Sina): Life, Canon of Medicine and Legacy
- Battle of Carrhae (53 BCE): How Surena Defeated Crassus
- Battle of Chaldiran (1514): Safavids vs Ottomans
- Battle of Thermopylae (480 BCE): The Persian Side, the Sources and the 300 Myths
- Cyrus Cylinder: What It Says and Why It Matters
- Hafez of Shiraz: Life, Poetry and Legacy of Iran's Beloved Poet
- Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988): Causes, Major Phases and Legacy
- Nader Shah: The Delhi Campaign of 1739 and the Peacock Throne
- Nowruz: History, Origins and Traditions of the Persian New Year
- Omar Khayyam: Mathematician, Astronomer and Poet of the Rubaiyat
- Persepolis: History of the Achaemenid Royal City
- The Persian Empire: Every Dynasty, Size, Capitals and Fall
- Rumi: Life, Poetry and Legacy of the Persian Sufi Poet
- Shah Abbas the Great: Safavid Iran's Most Famous Ruler
- Shapur I and Valerian: The Roman Emperor Captured by Persia (260 CE)
- Xerxes I: The Persian King Beyond the Greek Legend
Comparisons
- Achaemenid Empire vs Roman Empire: How Did They Compare?
- Iran and China on the Silk Road: 2,000 Years of Contact
- Iran and India: Shared Roots, Languages and History
- Persia vs Rome: 700 Years of Rivalry
- The World in 550 BCE: What Was Happening When Cyrus Founded Persia
Guided storylines
- Cyrus the Great: From Anshan to Empire
- Persian Minds: Scholarship Across the Medieval World
- Conquest and Continuity: Iran after the Sasanians
- Darius: Governing an Empire
- The Greco-Persian Wars: Conflict and Memory
- Iran in the Hellenistic Age
- Baghdad's Learning Networks: Beyond the House of Wisdom Myth
- Islam and Iran: Exchange, Institutions, and Change
- The Magi: Priests, Tradition, and the Western Imagination
- The Medes: Confederation, Kingdom, and Memory
- Destruction and Uneven Recovery: Mongol Iran
- Pahlavi Iran: State Building, Oil, Reform, and Revolution
- Parthia and Rome: Conflict, Contact, Interpretation
- Qajar Iran: War, Reform, and Constitutionalism
- The Sasanian Empire: Power, Religion, and Continuity
- Zoroastrian Afterlives: Parallels, Contacts, and Debate
- Zoroaster: What the Sources Permit
- Shahnameh: Epic, Memory, and Persian Literary Culture
- New Persian: Courts, Scribes, and a Shared Literary World
- The Safavid Transformation: State, Faith, and Empire
- The Abbasid Revolution: Coalition and Caliphate
- Persian Poetry: Voice, Mysticism, and Reception
- Alamut: Nizari History beyond the Legends
- Isfahan: Layered Capital, Living City
- Routes Across Iran: Trade and Exchange
- Women and Power in Iranian History
- Architecture and Power: Building Authority
- Parsi Beginnings: Migration, Memory, and Community
- Parthia: Empire and Compressed Memory
- Iran's Constitutional Revolution: Coalition, Parliament, and Pressure