List of monarchs of Persia

Rulers of Iran and imperial areas from ancient times

This article lists the monarchs of Iran (Persia) from the establishment of the Medes around 678 BC until the deposition of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979.

Median Dynasty (671–549 BC)

The Median Kingdom at its greatest extent

Teispid Kingdom (c.705–559 BC)

Achaemenid Empire (559–334/327 BC)

The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent

Note: Ancient Persia is generally agreed to have ended with the collapse of the Achaemenid dynasty as a result of the Wars of Alexander the Great.

Macedonian Empire (336–306 BC)

The Macedonian Empire at its greatest extent

Seleucid Empire (311–129 BC)

The Seleucid Empire at its greatest extent

Fratarakas (?-140BC)

The Fratarakas appear to have been Governors of the Seleucid Empire.

Kings of Persis (140 BC-224AD)

Parthian Empire (247 BC – AD 228)

The Parthian Empire at its greatest extent

The Seleucid dynasty gradually lost control of Persia. In 253, the Arsacid dynasty established itself in Parthia. The Parthians gradually expanded their control, until by the mid-2nd century BC, the Seleucids had completely lost control of Persia. Control of eastern territories was permanently lost by Antiochus VII in 129 BC.

For more comprehensive lists of kings, queens, sub-kings and sub-queens of this Era see:

• List of Parthian monarchs
• List of rulers of Parthian sub-kingdoms

Sasanian Empire (224–651)

The Sasanian Empire at its greatest extent

Note: Classical Persia is generally agreed to have ended with the collapse of the Sasanian Empire as a result of the Muslim conquest of Persia.

Dabuyid (651–760)

Dabuyids (c. 720)

A Zoroastrian Persian dynasty that held power in the north for over a century before finally falling to the Abbasid Caliphate.

Rashidun Caliphate (642–661)

The Rashidun Empire reached its greatest extent under Caliph Uthman, in 654

For more comprehensive lists of kings and sub-kings of this Era see:

• Muslim dynasties of Iran

Umayyad Caliphate (661–750)

Umayyad Caliphate at its greatest extent (c. 750)

For more comprehensive lists of kings and sub-kings of this Era see:

• Islamic dynasties of Iran

Notable Governors

Abbasid Caliphate (748–861)

Abbasid Caliphate at its greatest extent (c. 850), Abbasids ruled Persia until the start of Anarchy in 861

For more comprehensive lists of kings and sub-kings of this Era see:

• Muslim dynasties of Iran

Notable Governors

Samanid Empire (819–999)

Samanid Empire at its greatest extent

For more comprehensive lists of kings and sub-kings of this Era see:

• Muslim dynasties of Iran

Saffarid Kingdom (861–1003)

Saffarid Empire at its greatest extent

For more comprehensive lists of kings and sub-kings of this Era see:

• Muslim dynasties of Iran

Ghurid Kingdom (879–1215)

Map of the Ghurid dynasty at its greatest extent by the year 1202

For more comprehensive lists of kings and sub-kings of this Era see:

• Muslim dynasties of Iran

Ziyarid Kingdom (928–1043)

Ziyarid dynasty at its greatest extent

Buyid Kingdom (934–1062)

Buyid dynasty at its greatest extent

The Buyid Kingdom was divided into a number of separate emirates, of which the most important were Fars, Ray, and Iraq. Generally, one of the emirs held a sort of primus inter pares supremacy over the rest, which would be marked by titles like Amir al-umara (which tied them into the hierarchy of the Abbasid Caliphate) and Shahanshah (which the dynasty revived as a sign of independence from the Abbasid caliphs).

For more comprehensive lists of kings and sub-kings of this Era see:

• Muslim dynasties of Iran

Ghaznavids Empire (977–1186)

Map of the Ghaznavid dynasty at its greatest extent

For more comprehensive lists of kings and sub-kings of this Era see:

• Muslim dynasties of Iran

Seljuk Empire (1037–1194)

A map showing the Great Seljuk Empire at its height, upon the death of Malik Shah I in 1092

For more comprehensive lists of kings and sub-kings of this Era see:

• Muslim dynasties of Iran

Khwarazmian Empire (1153–1220)

Khwarazmian Empire at its greatest extent

An empire built from Khwarezm, covering part of Iran and neighbouring Central Asia.

For more comprehensive lists of kings and sub-kings of this Era see:

• Islamic dynasties of Iran

Mongol Empire (1220–1256)

Mongol Empire at its greatest extent

For more comprehensive lists of kings and sub-kings of this Era see:

• Muslim dynasties of Iran

Ilkhanate (1256–1357)

Ilkhanate at its greatest extent

Ilkhanate (1256–1335)

Sarbadars (1332–1386)

Sarbadars in 1345

Chobanids (1335–1357)

Chupanids at their greatest extent

Jalayirids (1335–1432)

Jalayirids at their greatest extent

Injuids (1335–1357)

Injuids at their greatest extent

Muzaffarids (1314–1393)

Muzaffarids at its greatest extent

Timurid Empire (1370–1467)

Locator map of the Timurid Empire, c. 1400

Qara Qoyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu (1375–1497)

Qara Qoyunlu

Qara Qoyunlu (greatest extent)

Aq Quyunlu

Ag Qoyunlu (greatest extent)

Sources:^[26][27]

Note: Medieval Persia is generally agreed to have ended with the rise of the Safavid Empire

Safavid Empire (1501–1736)

The maximum extent of the Safavid Empire under Shah Abbas I

Afsharid Empire (1736–1796)

Afsharid dynasty at its greatest extent

Zand Kingdom (1751–1794)

Map of the Zand dynasty during the reign of Lotf Ali Khan

Qajar Empire (1794–1925)

Map of the Qajar dynasty during the reign of Agha Mohammad Shah

Pahlavi Empire (1925–1979)

Map of the Pahlavi dynasty with modern international borders

See also

• Achaemenid Empire
• Great Civilization
• History of Iran
• List of ancient Persians
• List of royal consorts of Persia
• Monarchism in Iran
• 2,500-year celebration of the Persian Empire
• Iranian National Jewels
• List of rulers of the pre-Achaemenid kingdoms of Iran
• List of rulers of Parthian sub-kingdoms
• Islamic dynasties of Iran

Notes and references

1. Behistun Inscription: This is Phraortes. He lied, saying: "I am Khshathrita, of the dynasty of Cyaxares. I am king in Media."
2. G. Posener, La première domination perse en Égypte, Cairo, 1936, pp. 30–36.
3. Jürgen von Beckerath, Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen (= Münchner ägyptologische Studien, vol 46), Mainz am Rhein: Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 1999. ISBN 3-8053-2310-7, pp. 220–21.
4. Hoschander, Jacob (1918). "The Book of Esther in the Light of History". The Jewish Quarterly Review. 9 (1/2). Dropsie College for Hebrew and Cognate Learning, Oxford University: 1–41. doi:10.2307/1451208. JSTOR 1451208. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
5. CNG: KINGS of PERSIS. Vādfradād (Autophradates) II. Early-mid 2nd century BC. AR Tetradrachm (25mm, 16.23 g, 11h). Istakhr (Persepolis) mint.
6. Rezakhani, Khodadad (2010). "The "Unbekannter König III" and the Coinage of Hellenistic and Arsacid Persis". Nameye Iran-E Bastan, 15.
7. Assar, 2004.Assar, 2005. Assar, "Moses of Choren & the Early Parthian Chronology", 2006.
8. Qashqai, H., "The successors of Mithridates II"
9. Assar, G.R.F., "A Revised Parthian Chronology of the Period 165–91 BC" Qashqai, H., "The successors of Mithridates II"
10. Assar, G.R.F., "A Revised Parthian Chronology of the Period 165–91 BC"
11. Josephus Flavius, Antiquities of the Jews, Book XVI, Ch.8.4
12. Tacitus, The Annals, 11.10
13. See: Unknown King (III) (c. AD 140)
14. See: Tiridates III (c. AD 224 – 228?)
15. In Persian it means "King of Kings"
16. "The great king of Armenians"
17. "The penetrator of the shoulders"
18. "Queen"
19. Bosworth 1996, p. 168-169.
20. In arabic, ibn means son of. so muhammad ibn suri means: muhammad son of suri (so suri is his father)
21. Bosworth 1977, p. 22-24.
22. Bosworth 1977, p. 45.
23. Bosworth 1977, p. 90.
24. Bosworth 1977, p. 93-95.
25. Bosworth 1996, p. 297.
26. Muʾayyid S̲ābitī, ʻAlī (1967). Asnad va Namahha-yi Tarikhi (Historical documents and letters from early Islamic period towards the end of Shah Ismaʻil Safavi's reign.). Iranian culture & literature (46). Kitābkhānah-ʾi Ṭahūrī., pp. 193, 274, 315, 330, 332, 422 and 430. See also: Abdul Hussein Navai, Asnaad o Mokatebaat Tarikhi Iran (Historical sources and letters of Iran), Tehran, Bongaah Tarjomeh and Nashr-e-Ketab, 2536, pages 578,657, 701–702 and 707
27. H.R. Roemer, "The Safavid Period", in Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. VI, Cambridge University Press 1986, p. 339: "Further evidence of a desire to follow in the line of Turkmen rulers is Ismail's assumption of the title 'Padishah-i-Iran', previously held by Uzun Hasan."
28. بزرگ.
29. "Ottoman and Persian Empires 1730–1875 by Sanderson Beck".
30. Lang, David Marshall (1957), The Last Years of the Georgian Monarchy, 1658–1832, p. 148. Columbia University Press

Bibliography

• Assar, G.R.F., "Genealogy & Coinage of the Early Parthian Rulers. I", Parthica, 6, 2004, pp. 69–93.
• Assar, G.R.F., "Genealogy & Coinage of the Early Parthian Rulers, II a revised stemma", Parthica, 7, 2005, pp. 29–63.
• Assar, G.R.F., "Moses of Choren & the Early Parthian Chronology", Electrum, vol. 11, 2006, pp. 61–86.
• Assar, G.R.F., "A Revised Parthian Chronology of the Period 165–91 B.C.", Electrum, vol. 11, 2006, pp. 87–158.
• Assar, G.R.F., "A Revised Parthian Chronology of the Period 91–55 B.C.", Parthica, 8, 2006, pp. 55–104.
• Briant, Pierre, "From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire", 2002.
• Bosworth, C. E. (1977). The Later Ghaznavids: Splendour and Decay : the Dynasty in Afghanistan and Northern India, 1040-1186. ColumbiaUniversity Press. ISBN 978-0-231-04428-8.
• Bosworth, C.E. (1996). The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual. New York City: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-10714-5.
• Cameron, George, "History of Early Iran", Chicago, 1936 (repr., Chicago, 1969; tr. E.-J. Levin, L’histoire de l’Iran antique, Paris, 1937; tr. H. Anusheh, ایران در سپیده دم تاریخ, Tehran, 1993)
• D’yakonov, I. M., "Istoriya Midii ot drevenĭshikh vremen do kontsa IV beka de e.E" (The history of Media from ancient times to the end of the 4th century BC), Moscow and Leningrad, 1956; tr. Karim Kešāvarz as Tāriḵ-e Mād, Tehran, 1966.
• Dandamaev, Muhammad A., "Persien unter den ersten Achämeniden (6. Jahrhundert v. Chr.)", tr. Heinz-Dieter Pohl, Wiesbaden, 1976.
• Qashqai, H., "The successors of Mithridates II", Bulletin of Ancient Iranian History (UCLA), vol. 5, March 2009.(in Persian)
• Henkelman, wouter. Defining Neo-Elamite History. ARTA, 2003.
• Hinz, W., "The Lost World of Elam", London, 1972 (tr. F. Firuznia, دنیای گمشده ایلام, Tehran, 1992)
• Josephus Flavius, Antiquities of the Jews.
• Justi, Ferdinand, "Iranisches Namenbuch", Tehran, Asatir, 2003.
• Legrain, Leon, "Historical Fragments", Philadelphia, The University of Pennsylvania Museum Publications of the Babylonian Section, vol. XIII, 1922.
• Majidzadeh, Yusef, "History and civilization of Elam", Tehran, Iran University Press, 1991.
• Majidzadeh, Yusef, "History and civilization of Mesopotamia", Tehran, Iran University Press, 1997, vol.1.
• Miroschedji, P. de, 'La fin du royaume de l’Ansˇan et de Suse et la naissance de l’empire perse', 1985, ZA 75, pp. 265–306.
• Nöldeke, Theodor, "Geschichte der Perser und Araber zur Zeit der Sasaniden. Aus der arabischen Chronik des Tabari übersetzt" (1879)
• Olmstead, A. T., "History of the Persian Empire", Chicago, 1948
• Plutarch, Lives.
• Polybius, The Histories.
• Potts, D. T., The Archaeology of Elam, Cambridge University Press, 1999.
• Reade, Julian E. Elam after the Assyrian Sack of Susa in 647 B.C. NABU, 2000.
• Tacitus, The Annals.
• Tavernier, Jan. Some Thoughts on Neo-Elamite Chronology. ARTA, 2004.
• The Cambridge Ancient History (14 vols.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1970–2005.
• Fischer, William B., ed. (1968). The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 1: The Land of Iran. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-06935-1.
• Gershevitch, Ilya, ed. (1985). The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 2: The Median and Achaemenian Periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-20091-1.
• Yarshater, Ehsan, ed. (1983). The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 3(1): The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian Periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-20092-X.
• Yarshater, Ehsan, ed. (1983). The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 3(2): The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian Periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-24693-8.
• Frye, Richard N., ed. (1975). The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 4: From the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-20093-8.
• Boyle, John Andrew, ed. (1968). The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 5: The Saljuq and Mongol Periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-06936-X.
• Lockhart, Laurence; Jackson, Peter, eds. (1986). The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 6: The Timurid and Safavid Periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-20094-6.
• Avery, Peter; Hambly, Gavin R. G.; Melville, Charles Peter, eds. (1991). The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 7: From Nadir Shah to the Islamic Republic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-20095-4.
• Vallat, Francois. Elam: The History of Elam. Encyclopædia Iranica, vol. VIII pp. 301–313. London/New York, 1998.
• Vallat, Francois. Shutruk-Nahunte, Shutur-Nahunte et l'imbroglio neo-elamite. NABU, 1995.
• Vallat, Francois. Le royaume elamite de SAMATI. NABU, 1996.
• Vallat, Francois. Les pretendus fonctionnaires Unsak des texts neo-elamites et achemenides. ARTA, 2002.
• Vallat, Francois. Le royaume elamite de Zamin et les 'Letters de Nineveh'. Iranica Antique, 33, 1998. pp. 95–106.