History of Iran

In February 2026 the United States went to war with Iran in a massive military operation. In this class, we will not only explore the origins of the decades-long antagonism between the countries that eventually resulted in all-out conflict, but also examine Iran's long history and magnificent cultural heritage, dating back from the first great Persian Empire of Cyrus the Great, the many empires that followed it, along with Iran's decline in the modern age, the rise of the Islamic Republic, and the current conflict. We will learn about Iran's peoples, literature, architecture, and poetry, all of which have combined to form a distinct Iranian sense of nationhood. We will examine how Iran turned from America's ally under the last Shah to the enemy of the West it became under the Ayatollahs, until the two sides went to war.