
So significant is the role of Iran in history that Georg Hegel considers Iranians to be "the first historic people" and states:
"In Persia first arises that light which shines itself and illuminates what is around...The principle of development begins with the history of Persia; this constitutes therefore the begining of history".[1]
And Richard Nelson Frye further verifies:
"Few nations in the world present more of a justification for the study of history than Iran."[2]
Golden Cup excavated at National Museum of Iran. First half of first millennium BC.
There are records of numerous ancient civilizations on the Iranian plateau before the arrival of Aryan tribes from the north, many of whom are still unknown to historians today. Archeological findings place knowledge of Iranian prehistory at Lower Paleolithic times (800,000 years ago). These evidence are in form of stone tools made on quartz which have been found at Kashafrud.[3] There are more cultural remains of Neanderthal man in Iran which mainly have been found in the Zagros region and fewer in central Iran. Some of these important Neandertal sites are Bisetun, Kunji, Warwasi, Qaleh Bozi [4]. Evidence for Upper Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic periods are known mainly from the Zagros region in the caves of Kermanshah and Khoramabad. The earliest sedentary cultures date from 10,000-7,000 years ago. This evidence comes from archaeological sites such as Ganj Dareh, Sarab, Mushki,tepe Chaxmaq. In 6000 BC the world saw a fairly sophisticated agricultural society and proto-urban population centers. The south-western part of Iran was part of the Fertile Crescent where most of humanity's first major crops were grown. 7000 year old jars of wine excavated in the Zagros Mountains (now on display at The University of Pennsylvania) and ruins of 7000 year old settlements such as Sialk are further testament to this. Many dynasties have ruled Persia throughout the ages. Scholars and archeologists are only beginning to discover the scope of the independent, non-Semitic Elamite Empire and Jiroft civilizations [5] 5000 years ago. At the end of second millennium, the Aryan nomads from central Asia settled in Persia. These are some of the civilizations in Iran before the Aryans: Zayandeh Rud civilization, Ganj Dareh,Teppe Sialk, Shahr-e Sukhteh, Marlik culture, Luristan culture, Mannaeans kingdom,Kassites, Kingdom of Jiroft, Elamite kingdom.














