Iran, officially the Islamic Republic
of Iran, country in southwestern Asia, located on the
eastern shore of the Persian Gulf. One of the world's
most mountainous countries, Iran contains Mount Damavand,
the highest peak in Asia west of the Himalayas. The country's
population, while ethnically and linguistically diverse,
is almost entirely Muslim. For centuries, the region has
been the center of the Shia branch of Islam (see Shiites).
Iran ranks among the world's leaders in its reserves of
oil and natural gas. As is the case in other countries
in the petroleum-rich Persian Gulf region, the export
of oil has dominated Iran's economy since the early 20th
century.
In the 6th century BC the territory of present-day
Iran was the center of the Persian Empire, the world's
preeminent power at that time. For more than 2,000 years,
the region's inhabitants have referred to it by the name
Iran, derived from the Aryan tribes who settled the area
long ago. However, until 1935, when the Iranian ruler
demanded that the name Iran be used, the English-speaking
world knew the country as Persia, a legacy of the Greeks
who named the region after its most important province,
Pars (present-day Fars). Iran was a monarchy ruled by
a shah, or king, from 1501 until 1979, when a yearlong
popular revolution led by the Shiite clergy culminated
in the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment
of an Islamic republic.
Iran lies at the easternmost edge of the geographic and
cultural region known as the Middle East. The country
is bordered on the north by Armenia, Azerbaijan, the Caspian
Sea, and Turkmenistan; on the east by Afghanistan and
Pakistan; on the south by the Gulf of Oman, the Strait
of Hormuz, and the Persian Gulf; and on the west by Iraq
and Turkey. Iran's capital and largest city is Tehran,
located in the northern part of the country. -- quoted
from encata.msn.com
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