After viewing President Trump's piece on the Iran Treaty and his kind words over the old history.....I went back to the general history....when they were Persia.
For roughly 1,100 years....from 550 BC to 651 AD....they were among the three most dominant and advanced civilizations on Earth (the Romans and the Chinese were their only equals). The dynasty groups responsible? The Sasanian Empire, and Achaemenid Empire.
In fact, you can go back and look over the efforts of the Achaemenid Empire (550 BC to 330 BC) and marvel at what they did (long before the Romans). They were guys who built a professional standing army. They were also the ones who developed the postal system. They were the folks who staked out roads and trails, and giving way to commerce (traders) to use them. A governmental process of rules and expectations? That goes back to the Achaemenid Empire. They were the ones that the Greeks and Romans copied.
At some point, there's a Greek historian/traveler by the name of Herodotus who comes up to write a short piece on observations of the Achaemenid Empire. In his mind (remember, he was a Greek), they had this odd standard of leadership. He noted that Persians were the type of folks who tended to drink a fair bit of wine.....in significant amounts. So when moments of discussion came with the King and the various counselors.....they'd go and sip wine to a great extent....reaching a level of.....well....being drunk, and then they'd talk about some crazy idea or some vision they had. Then they'd lay down and sleep this off. The next day....kinda like Otis from the Andy Griffith Show....they'd awaken and realize (A) man, that was a stupid idea, or (B) man, that was a brilliant idea. And then they'd toss or accept the idea.
Trying to suggest stiff drinks to most folks today....won't sell. But you an admire these Achaemenid folks.
Things that the Persians gave us? Algebra. The guitar. Chess. You can go down a list of more than 500 items that came out of Persia originally.
Just about every advancement in medicine in this 1,100 year period seen across the globe? Well...most of them start off with an idea seen in Persia.
Now, you note that I kinda limited this 1,100 year period, and that it ends around 651 AD. What happens in the next hundred years after that? The arrival of Islam. It's a funny thing....up until 651 AD....Persia is mostly an open religious state (like Rome was prior to Christianity arriving and dominating the Rome Empire).
Had Islam never come to Persia? They would likely be one of the three major countries existing in the world today. They would have stretched from Iran, through Turkey, and on down to most of Egypt,....then encompassing all of Syria, Iraq, and Israel.
