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A landlocked country of southwest-central Asia. Since ancient times the region has been crisscrossed by invaders, including Persians, Macedonians, Arabs, Turks, and Mongols. Afghan tribes united in the 18th century under a single leadership, but a fully independent state did not emerge until 1919. Kabul is the capital and the largest city. Population: 28,500,000.
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I·ran (Formerly Per·sia)
A country of southwest Asia. Inhabited since c. 2000 B.C. by Iranian peoples, the region later became the core of the Persian Empire. After being conquered by Alexander the Great and ruled by the Parthian Arsacid dynasty, Persia was reestablished under the Sassanian dynasty (A.D. 224_651) and, after invasions by Arabs (7th century), Turks (10th century), and Mongols (13th_14th centuries), was reestablished again under the Safavid dynasty (1502_1736). The country, officially renamed Iran in 1935, was ruled by the Pahlavi dynasty from 1925 until the ouster of Muhammad Reza Pahlavi (1979) in a revolution led by the Ayatollah Khomeini, who established an Islamic republic. Tehran is the capital and the largest city. Population: 69,000,000 .
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I·raq
A country of southwest Asia. Site of a number of ancient Mesopotamian civilizations, including Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, and Babylonia, the region fell to Cyrus the Great of Persia (6th century B.C.), Alexander the Great (4th century B.C.), Arabs (7th century), and later to the Ottoman Turks (16th century). It was established as an independent kingdom in 1921 and became a republic after the assassination (1958) of Faisal II. Baghdad is the capital and largest city. Population: 25,300,000.
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