List of wars involving Iran

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The following is an historical overview of the list of wars and conflicts involving Iran (Persia). This list is far from complete.

Conflict	Iran and allies	Opponents	Results
Median Empire (678–549 BC)
Battle of Nineveh (612 BC)	Medes Babylonia	Assyrian Empire	Victory Destruction of Assyria's capital Founding of Neo-Babylonian Empire
Fall of Assur (614 BC)	Medes Babylonia	Assyrian Empire	Victory
Battle of Eclipse (585 BC)	Medes	Kingdom of Lydia	Undecided
Battle of Hyrba (552 BC)	Medes	Persis	Decisive Persian victory
Battle of the persian border (551 BC)	Medes	Persis	Victory Persian retreat to Pasargadae
Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC)
Persian Revolt (552–549 BC)	Persis	Median Empire	Victory By conquering Media, Iran became an empire.
Conquest of Lydia (547 BC)	Achaemenid Empire	Lydian Empire	Victory Lydia annexed by Iran.
Conquest of Babylonia (540–539 BC)	Achaemenid Empire	Neo-Babylonian Empire	Victory Neo-Babylonian Empire annexed by Iran.
Conquest of Egypt (525 BC)	Achaemenid Empire	Kingdom of Egypt	Victory Egypt annexed by Iran.
Invasion of Indus Valley (518 BC)	Achaemenid Empire	Haryanka dynasty	Victory Gandhara and Taxila annexed by Iran.
European Scythian camopaign (513 BC)	Achaemenid Empire	Scythians in European Scythia	Expansive stalemate Achaemenid domination of the European Black Sea regions.
Greco-Persian Wars (499–449 BC)	Achaemenid Empire	Greek city states Delian League	Defeat Macedon, Thrace and Ionia gained independence.
Battle of Cunaxa (401 BC)	Achaemenid Empire	Cyrus the Younger	Victory Artaxerxes II still in full control of the kingdom.
Artaxerxes' II Cadusian Campaign (385 BC)	Achaemenid Empire	Cadusii	Defeat, but diplomatic success Negotiated peace with rival chiefs.
Revolt of the Satraps (372–362 BC)	Achaemenid Empire	Rebel satrapies	Victory Rebellions chrushed.
Battle of Pelusium (343 BC) (343 BC)	Achaemenid Empire	Egypt	Victory Egypt is conquered for a second time by Iran.
Macedon invasion of Iran (355–328 BC)	Achaemenid Empire	Macedon	Defeat Iran conquered by the army of Alexander the Great.
Parthian Empire (247 BCE–224 B)
Seleucid–Parthian Wars (238 BC–129 BC)	Parthian Empire	Seleucid Empire	Victory Expulsion of the Seleucids from Iran.
Armenian–Parthian War (87–85 BC)	Parthian Empire	Kingdom of Armenia	Defeat Osroene and Atrpatakan loyalty to Tigranes the Great.
Roman–Parthian Wars (66 AD–217 AD)	Parthian Empire Kingdom of Armenia	Roman Republic Pontus	Status quo ante bellum Borders changed several times.
Sassanid Empire (224–651)
Roman-Sassanid Wars (232–440)	Sassanid Empire	Roman Empire	Status quo ante bellum Borders changed several times.
Byzantine–Sassanid Wars (502–628)	Sassanid Empire	Byzantine Empire	Status quo ante bellum Borders changed several times.
Ethiopian–Persian Wars (570–578)	Sassanid Empire	Kingdom of Aksum	Victory Ethiopians expelled from the Himyarite Kingdom.
First Perso-Turkic War (588–589)	Sassanid Empire	Hephthalite Empire Göktürks	Victory The Sassanids captured Balkh.
Second Perso-Turkic War (588–589)	Sassanid Empire	Western Turkic Khaganate Hephthalite Empire	Victory Turkic invasion of Iran repelled.
Third Perso-Turkic War (627–629)	Sassanid Empire	Western Turkic Khaganate Byzantine Empire	Defeat Byzantine control of Georgia.
Muslim conquest of Persia (633–644)	Sassanid Empire Arab Christians	Rashidun Caliphate	Defeat Fall of the Sassanid Empire
Saffarid Dynasty (861–1003)
Ghaznavid Dynasty (962–1186)
Seljuq Empire (1037–1194)
Battle of Manzikert (1071)	Seljuk Empire	Byzantine Empire	Victory Seljuks enter Anatolia.
Byzantine–Seljuq wars (1048–1308)	Seljuk Empire	Byzantine Empire Empire of Trebizond Crusader states	Victory Most of Anatolia conquered by the Seljuks.
Khwarazmian Dynasty (1077–1231)
Mongol invasion of Khwarezmia (1218–1221)	Khwarazmian dynasty	Mongol Empire	Defeat Khwarezmia added to the Mongol Empire.
Timurid Dynasty (1370–1507)
Campaigns of Timur (1380–1402)	Timurid dynasty	Golden Horde Ottoman Empire Muzaffarids Jalayirid Sultanate Tughlaq dynasty	Victory Rise of the Timurid Empire in Iran. The Delhi Sultanate became a Timurid vassal. Outbreak of the Ottoman Civil War.
Timurid Civil Wars (1405–~1501)	Various factions	Various factions	Collapse of the dynasty Rise of the Shiite Safavid dynasty.
Safavid Dynasty (1501–1736)
Persian-Uzbek Wars (1502–1510)	Safavid dynasty	Shaybanids	Victory Fall of the Shaybanid Empire.
Battle of Chaldiran (1514)	Safavid dynasty	Ottoman Empire	Defeat End of Shia uprisings in the Ottoman Empire.
Ottoman–Safavid War of 1523 (1532–1555)	Safavid dynasty	Ottoman Empire	Defeat Ottomans captured Lower Mesopotamia and Baghdad. First partition of the Caucasus between the Ottomans and Persians. Western Armenia falls in Ottoman hands, Eastern Armenia remains in Persian hands
Battle of Digomi (1567)	Safavid dynasty	Kingdom of Kartli	Defeat The Battle of Digomi was part of a campaign launched by the Georgian king Simon I of Kartli aimed at the liberation of the capital Tbilisi from the Persians in 1567. Daut Khan attempted to make a sortie with his Persian force, but was routed by Simon’s cavalry and found shelter within the walls of Tbilisi Fortress.
Ottoman–Safavid War of 1578 (1578–1590)	Safavid dynasty Kingdom of Kartli	Ottoman Empire * Crimean Khanate	Defeat Treaty of Constantinople (1590).
Ottoman–Safavid War of 1603 (1603–1618)	Safavid dynasty	Ottoman Empire	Victory Persian reconquest of all of the Caucasus, Mesopotamia, and East Anatolia
Ottoman–Safavid War of 1623 (1623–1639)	Safavid dynasty	Ottoman Empire	Defeat Permanent partition of the Caucasus; Western Georgia and Western Armenia goes to the Ottomans, while Eastern Armenia, Dagestan, Eastern and Southern Georgia, and Azerbaijan remain under Persian rule. Ottomans decisively gain control over Mesopotamia.
Russo-Persian War of 1651 (1651–1653)	Safavid dynasty	Russia	Political, strategic, and tactical victory. Military stalemate. Iran gains more influence in the North Caucasus.
Hotaki-Safavid War (1709–~1722)	Safavid dynasty	Hotaki dynasty	Regime change Afghan control of most of Iran.
Russo-Persian War of 1722 (1722–1723)	Safavid dynasty	Russian Empire Cossack Hetmanate Georgia Armenia	Defeat Russians capture Derbent, Baku, and the provinces of Shirvan, Gilan, Mazandaran, and Astrabad for about a decade.
Safavid-Hotaki War (1726–1729)	Hotaki dynasty	Safavid dynasty[1]	Regime change End of the Afghan rule in Persia.
Afsharid Dynasty (1736–1796)
Afsharid–Ottoman War War of 1730 (1730–1735)	Afsharid dynasty Erivan Khanate	Ottoman Empire Crimean Khanate	Victory Persian reconquest of the entire Caucasus.
Nadir Shah's invasion of India (1738–1739)	Afsharid dynasty	Mughal Empire	Victory Persian plundering of India.
Afsharid–Ottoman War War of 1743 (1743–1746)	Afsharid dynasty	Ottoman Empire	Stalemate Treaty of Kerden
Civil War between Afsharid and Qajar (1747–1796)	Afsharid dynasty	Qajar Dynasty	Regime change Mohammad Khan Qajar became the Shah of Iran.
Qajar Dynasty (1785–1925)
Battle of Krtsanisi (1795)	Qajar dynasty	Kartli-Kakheti Imereti	Victory Tbilisi captured and sacked by Iranian troops. Persian reconquest of the Caucasus and Georgia.
Persian Expedition (1796)	Qajar dynasty	Russian Empire	Victory Tactical Russian withdrawal from Iran.
Russo-Persian War of 1804 (1804–1813)	Qajar dynasty	Russian Empire	Defeat Treaty of Gulistan. Russia held on to disputed territories. Iran irrevocably cedes most of its Caucasus territories (Dagestan, Georgia, and most of the Azerbaijan Republic) to Russia.
Ottoman–Persian War of 1821 (1821–1823)	Qajar dynasty	Ottoman Empire	Stalemate Treaty of Erzurum, status quo ante bellum.
Russo-Persian War of 1826 (1826–1828)	Qajar dynasty	Russian Empire	Defeat Treaty of Turkmenchay. Iran irrevocably cedes the remainder of its Caucasus territories comprising parts of the contemporary Azerbaijan Republic that were not ceded yet in 1813, as well as all of what is nowadays the Republic of Armenia.
Siege of Herat (1838)	Qajar dynasty	Afghanistan	Defeat Persian withdrawal from Herat.
Anglo-Persian War (1856–1857)	Qajar dynasty	United Kingdom East India Company Afghanistan	Defeat Persian withdrawal from Herat.
Pahlavi Dynasty (1925–1979)
Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran (1941)	Iran	Soviet Union United Kingdom  India	Defeat Abdication of Rezā Shāh, Allied occupation of Iran.
Iran-Azerbaijan Crisis (1945–1946)	Iran	Mahabad Azerbaijan	Victory Dissolution of Mahabad and Azerbaijan.
Dhofar Rebellion (1973–1976)[2]	Iran  Oman	PFLOAG PFLO	Victory Defeat of insurgents, modernization of Oman.
Islamic Republic of Iran (1979–)
Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988)	Iran KDP PUK Badr Brigades	Iraq MEK PDKI	Stalemate Both Iraq and Iran accepted UNSC Resolution 598. Return to status quo, observed by UNIIMOG.
Iran–PJAK Conflict (2004–present)	Iran	PJAK	Ongoing Clashes renew in 2013.
Syrian Civil War (2011–present)	Syria Hezbollah  Iran	Free Syrian Army Islamic Front al-Nusra Front Islamic State	Ongoing Rebel and Islamist uprising in much of Syria Much of Syria controlled by the Islamic State.
Iranian intervention in Iraq (2014–present)	Iraq  Iraqi Kurdistan  Iran Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq Badr Organization Hezbollah Kata'ib Hezbollah	Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant	Ongoing Iran launches airstrikes on ISIL positions in Iraq. Iranian military troops engage ISIL on ground. Much of Iraq controlled by the Islamic State.

See also

• History of Iran
• Cyrus in Babylon and the Jewish connection
• Persian Corridor (AKA Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran)
• Consolidation of the Iranian Revolution (1979–1982/83)

Notes

1. De facto ruled by Nader Shah.
2. The rebellion started already in 1962, but Iran did not intervene before 1973.

External links

• BBC WW2 People's War - Persia Invaded
• The Document Collection on the 1945–46 Iranian Crisis at the Cold War International History Project
• Dr. Mohammad Mosaddeq: Symbol of Iranian Nationalism and Struggle Against Imperialism by the Iran Chamber Society
• GlobalSecurity.org