List of historical states of Greater Iran

This is a list of historical states of Greater Iran. The Greater Iran (Persian: ایران بزرگ, ), also known as Persosphere, refers to a sociocultural region in which the Iranian traditions and the Iranian languages have had a significant impact. It spans parts of the West Asia, the Caucasus, the Central Asia, the South Asia, and the Xinjiang.

 Antiquity 
 Achaemenid Empire (550 BC–330 BC) – of Persian origin
 Parthian Empire (247 BC–224 AD) – of Parni origin
 Sasanian Empire (224–651) – of Persian origin

 Medieval 
 Qarinvand dynasty (550s–11th-century) – of unknown Iranian origin
 Dabuyids (642–760) – of unknown Iranian origin
 Bavand dynasty (651–1349) – of unknown Iranian origin
 Baduspanids (665–1598) – of unknown Iranian origin
 Sadakiyans (770–827) – of Kurdish origin 
 Justanids (791–11th-century) – of unknown Iranian origin
 Tahirid dynasty (821–873) – of Persian origin
 Samanid Empire (819–999) – of unknown Iranian origin
 Saffarids (861–1003) – of eastern Iranian originBaumer, Christoph (2016). The History of Central Asia: The Age of Islam and the Mongols. Vol. Three. I.B. Tauris. p. 24. .
 Alid dynasties of northern Iran (864–900/914–928) – of Arab origin
 Sajids (889–929) – of Sogdian origin
 Ghurids (before 879–1219) – probably TajikBosworth, C. E. (2001). "Ghurids". Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition, Vol. X, Fasc. 6. pp. 586–590: "Nor do we know anything about the ethnic stock of the Ḡūrīs in general and the Šansabānīs in particular; we can only assume that they were eastern Iranian Tajiks."Wink, André (2020). The Making of the Indo-Islamic World: c. 700–1800 CE. Cambridge University Press. . p. 78.
 Sallarids (919–1062) – of Daylamite origin
 Ziyarid dynasty (931–1090) – of Gilak origin
 Buyid dynasty (934–1062) – of Daylamite origin
 Shaddadids (951–1199) – of Kurdish origin
 Rawadids (955–1070/1116)   – of Arab origin, later Kurdicized
 Hasanwayhids (959–1015) – of Kurdish origin
 Ghaznavids (977–1186) – of unknown Turkic origin
 Marwanids (983/990–1085) – of Kurdish origin
 Annazids (990/991–1117) – of Kurdish origin
 Kakuyids (1008–1141) – of Daylamite origin
 Seljuk Empire (1037–1194)  – of Oghuz Turkic origin
 Kerman Seljuk Sultanate  (1041–1187) – of Oghuz Turkic origin
 Khwarazmian Empire (1077–1231) – of unknown Turkic origin
 Hazaraspids (1115–1425) – of Kurdish origin 
 Ahmadilis (1122–1225) – of Oghuz Turkic (Turkoman) origin 
 Eldiguzids (1136–1225) – of Kipchak origin
 Atabegs of Yazd (1141–1319) – of Persian origin
 Salghurids (1148–1282) – of Oghuz Turkic (Turkoman) origin
 Qutlugh-Khanids (1222–1306) – of Khitan origin
 Ilkhanate (1260–1335) – of Mongol origin 
 Kartids (1244–1381) – of Tajik origin
 Jalayirids (1335–1432) – of Mongol origin
 Muzaffarids (1314–1393) – of Arab origin
 Injuids (1335–1357) – of Persian origin
 Chobanids (1338–1357) – of Mongol origin
 Afrasiyab dynasty (1349–1504) – of unknown Iranian origin
 Timurid Empire (1370–1507) – of unknown Turkic and Mongol origin
 Qara Qoyunlu (1374–1468) – of Oghuz Turkic (Turkoman) origin
 Aq Qoyunlu (1378–1503) – of Oghuz Turkic (Turkoman) origin
 Safavid Iran (1501–1736) – of Kurdish origin: "Of Kurdish ancestry, the Ṣafavids started as a Sunnī mystical order (...)": "The Safavids, as Iranians of Kurdish ancestry and of nontribal background, did not fit this pattern, although the stat they set up with the aid of Turkmen tribal forces of Eastern Anatolia closely resembled this division in its makeup. Yet, the Turk versus Tajik division was not impregnable.": "As Persians of Kurdish ancestry and of a non-tribal background, the Safavids did not fit this pattern, though the state they set up with the assistance of Turkmen tribal forces of eastern Anatolia closely resembled this division in its makeup.": "This official version contains textual changes designed to obscure the Kurdish origins of the Safavid family and to vindicate their claim to descent from the Imams.": "The Safavids originated as a hereditary lineage of Sufi shaikhs centered on Ardabil, Shafeʿite in school and probably Kurdish in origin." "The Safavi house originally was among the landowning nobility of Kurdish origin, with affinity to the Ahl-e Haqq in Kurdistan (chart 1). In the twelfth century, the family settled in northeastern Azarbaijan, where Safi al-Din Ardabili (d. 1334), the patriarch of the Safavid house and Ismail's ancestor dating back six generations, was a revered Sufi leader.": "The Safavid Shahs who ruled Iran between 1501 and 1722 descended from Sheikh Safi ad-Din of Ardabil (1252–1334). Sheikh Safi and his immediate successors were renowned as holy ascetics Sufis. Their own origins were obscure; probably of Kurdish or Iranian extraction, they later claimed descent from the Prophet.": "The Safavid dynasty was of Iranian – probably Kurdish – extraction and had its beginnings as a Sufi order located at Ardabil near the eastern border of Azerbaijan, in a region favorable for both agriculture and pastoralism."
 Afsharid Iran (1736–1796) – of Oghuz Turkic (Turkoman) origin
 Zand dynasty (1751–1794) – of Lur origin

 Modern period 
 Qajar Iran (1789–1925) – of Oghuz Turkic (Turkoman) origin
 Pahlavi Iran (1925–1979) – of Mazanderani and Georgian origin

 Short-lived governments 
 Socialist Soviet Republic of Iran (1920–1921)
 Azadistan (1920–1920) 
 Interim Government of Iran (1979–1979)

 Small entities 

 Antiquity 
 Atropatene ()
 Kings of Persis (after 132 BCE–224 CE)
 Elymais (147 BC–221/222 AD)

 Medieval 
 Khoy Khanate (1210–1799)
 Mukriyan (–)
 Ardalan (14th century–1865/1868)

 Modern period 
 Qara Bayat Amirdom (1747–1800)
 Ardabil Khanate (1747–1808)
 Karadagh Khanate (1747–1828)
 Marand Khanate (1747–1828)
 Khalkal Khanate (1747–1809)
 Sarab Khanate (after 1747–?)
 Tabriz Khanate (1757–1799)
 Hasan Khan dynasty in Pish-e Kuh (1795–1820)

 References 

 Sources 











Notes

Category:History of Iran