Dr. Sahar Joakim, Veiled Voices of Iran and the Middle East

Here, Sahar Joakim briefly discusses, in order, the following topics:
Early Persia & Foundations
• Geography of Iran (Caspian Sea, Persian Gulf, Silk Road)
• Persian Contributions (culture, science, governance, innovation)
Zoroastrianism (c. 1500 BCE)
• Prophet Zarathustra
• Core beliefs: monotheism, dualism, moral action
Achaemenid Empire (559–330 BCE)
• Cyrus II (“the Great”)
• Darius I (“the Great”)
• Xerxes I
• Darius III (defeated by Alexander)
• Conquest of Babylon and effects on the Jews (539 BCE)
• Religious freedom policies: The Cyrus Cylinder
• Persia’s Fall to Alexander the Great
Women of Ancient Persia
• Pantea Arteshbod – commander
• Artemisia I of Caria – naval admiral
• Irdabama – influential businesswoman
• Youtab Aryobarzan – military defender against Alexander
Hellenistic & Sasanian Periods
• Alexander’s empire & successors (Seleucids, Ptolemies)
• Cleopatra VII (Macedonian-Greek-Persian background)
• Sasanian Empire (224–651 CE)
– Key rulers: Ardashir I, Shapur I
– Zoroastrian state; conflict with Byzantine Empire
Islamic Conquests & Rise of Persian Intellectualism
• Islamic expansion (7th–9th c.)
• Abbasid era’s Translation movement in Baghdad
• Al-Khwarizmi – algebra, algorithms
• Avicenna (Ibn Sina) – medicine, philosophy
• Al-Ghazali – theology & skepticism
• Ferdowsi – Shahnameh
• Rumi – mystic poet
• Hafez – poet-philosopher
Mongols, Ilkhanate, Safavids
• Hulagu Khan conquers Persia (1250s)
• Ilkhanate: Persian language revival
• Transition to Safavid dynasty → foundation of modern Iranian state
Colonial Pressures & World War Era
• Russian & British influence in Iran (1800s–1910s)
• Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916)
• Balfour Declaration (1917)
• Formation of new Middle Eastern states post-Ottoman collapse
Reza Shah Pahlavi (1925–1941)
• Centralization & modernization
• Infrastructure expansion
• Forced unveiling (1936)
Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (1941–1979)
• WWII occupation of Iran
• 1951: Mossadegh nationalizes oil
• 1953: CIA/MI6 Operation Ajax removes Mossadegh
• SAVAK intelligence organization
• White Revolution (1960s): reforms & women’s rights
Key Figures: Mossadegh, Khomeini, Carter, Nixon
1979 Iranian/Islamic Revolution
• Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns
• Monarchy falls → Islamic Republic
• Mandatory hijab & major legal shifts
• U.S. Embassy hostage crisis
• Iran–Iraq War
• 1988 mass executions
• Persecution of minorities (e.g., Bahá’ís)
2010s–2020s
• Continued restrictions on women & dissent
• Mahsa Zhina Amini death (2022) sparks international protests
• The Women Life Freedom Movement
• Internet shutdowns & protest crackdowns in Iran
• Hijab & Chastity Law (2023–2025 in progress)
• President Masoud Pezeshkian (2024– )
• Iran’s water shortage crisis