Free Republic

SJackson It was on the Acre plain that Cambyses assembled his army that would sweep down to Egypt, in the 520s BCE. Why were the Persians so adamant about conquering Egypt, aside from the usual human weakness for building empires? One reason is because the various empires in the Levant and Middle East considered Egypt to be a major threat. That is just one more reason for their desire to control the land of Israel—a fertile land with a long coast, and a convenient [place from which to launch] attacks on Egypt. Or, at least, to contain Egypt’s influence over...

Christmas 2018: Who Were the Wise Men? By Philip Cottraux The Nativity scene. Amongst the yearly plethora of Christmas trees, gifts, same radio songs playing over and over, and Santa Claus, we constantly look to the Nativity to remind ourselves of the reason for the season. But this year I want to focus solely on one of the strangest aspects of the Christmas story. The wise men are one of the most iconic images of Christmas. Somehow mixed in all the winter imagery is a forlorn desert-scape under a starry night. Three men dressed as Persian royalty ride camels toward...

I, brother Odoric, a Czech from Turlania,...crossed the sea and visited the land of the unbelievers intending to harvest some of their souls. I will not mention all that I have seen...For I would have not believed it myself, if I had not heard it and seen it with my own ears and eyes. Thus begins the 'The Journey into the Empire of the Great Khan', a book of recollections written in the 14th century by Czech priest, Odoric of Pordenone, who set out for China in 1318, after being commissioned by the Pope to establish contact with the its...

Military equipment has been unearthed in the ancient city of Sardis in the western province of Manisa's Salihli district. Officials believe they might have been used in an ancient war between the Lydians and the Persians. The ancient city of Sardis, which was the capital of the Lydian Kingdom in the ancient ages and had been home to many civilizations from seventh B.C. to seventh A.D., is now undergoing excavation works. This year's works continue in an area called the "Palace" region... The military equipment is believed to have been used in the war that caused the end of the...

More than a thousand years before the first European explorer reached Korea’s shores, the Persian Empire was writing love stories about Korean princesses. Recently, historians took a second look an old Persian epic written around 500 AD and realized that, at the center of the tale, was the unusual story of a Persian prince marrying a Korean princess. It’s an incredible discovery. Up until recently, we weren’t sure that the Persians of that time even knew Korea existed. This new revelation shows Persia didn’t just make contact with Korea – these countries were intimately connected. The story is called the...

There’s a major war brewing in the Middle East between Iran and Israel. It is now getting nasty and ugly, and for the first time, Iranian rockets hit Israel mainland targets. After President Trump decided to withdraw the US from the Iran nuclear deal, within hours of his decision, Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu, fearing a massive buildup of Iranian forces that have been taking place in Syria over the last several months, began to “retaliate” (read attack them on sovereign Syrian territory) via massive missile and air-strikes, pounding positions held by Iranian soldiers (Iran has a mutual defense treaty with...

Who Was Tamerlane? Timur was a 14th Century Turko-Mongol military leader who conquered most of the Muslim world, central Asia, and parts of India. His Timurid Empire rivaled the size and power of the Mongolian domain forged by Genghis Khan a century earlier.Known by his nickname, Tamerlane, it's unclear why many people in the Western world have never heard of this brutal and ingenious warlord. To rectify this neglect, the following is a list of interesting facts about Tamerlane. The list includes notable events in his life; analyzes his acerbic personality, and remarks on current impressions of this fascinating...

Al Quds Al Arabi on Saturday cited reliable sources in Tehran who said Iranian authorities ordered the arrest of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his visit to the city of Shiraz and that the arrest was made with the approval of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei after his remarks had been described as inciting unrest. The independent pan-Arab daily newspaper, published in London, learned that the authorities intended to impose house arrest on Ahmadinejad. Two weeks ago, on the Thursday that saw the start of anti-government protests in Iran, the former president, said in a speech to a crowd of residents...

Like New Yorkers, Iranians were out on the streets over New Year’s — except rather than braving ever-dropping temperatures, they faced tear gas, nasty riot cops and bullets. Think we’ve seen this before? Wrong. The ongoing days of rage (five and counting) are remarkably different than the failed protest in the aftermath of the rigged 2009 Iranian election. They may signal the start of an evil regime’s downfall and reshape the entire Mideast. But Iranians need our help. The 2009 Green Revolution started after the rigged re-election of then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. His regime’s rivals led street protests in Tehran. They...

Months before the protests that are shaking the Islamic Republic of Iran began, President Trump stood before the entire world at the United Nations and boldly declared that the terror regime would fall. “The good people of Iran want change, and, other than the vast military power of the United States, that Iran’s people are what their leaders fear the most,” he correctly predicted. As another day of protests begins, as the Islamist thugs of the IRGC face a choice between an outraged populace and a failing regime, his words in that September speech ring truer than ever. “The longest-suffering...

anti Islam protests grow in Iran - more cities join " We are Aryans , we dont worship a Arab (mohammad)" "Aryai hastim, arab nemiparastim" for the 3rd day iranians all over iran are protesting against the ruling Clerics (islam), after yesterday even the youth of irans "Most religious city" " Irans vatican " Qom joined the protests more and more cities are joining. The youth of Iran is sick of Islam and want go back to their roots ( pure iranian culture - Zoroastrianisim-Aryan identity) Today the most popular slogan was "Aryai hastim , arab nemiparastim " translation "...

This past Oct. 29, Iranians marked the international day of Cyrus the Great, the ancient ruler of the Persian empire whose legacy is credited with forging the Iranian national identity. King Cyrus II is held in great regard in Iran for creating the largest empire of civilized nations then known in the world, around 600 years before Christ. King Cyrus was not only a master military strategist, he differed from other conquerors of the time in his tolerance of the customs and cultures of those who came under his rule. He was the author of the world’s first human rights...

And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling...

On the eve of President Trump's decision on the certification of the Iran nuclear deal, CIA Director Michael Pompeo lashed out Thursday at the Islamic Republic in a speech at the University of Texas, calling it "a thuggish police state" and a "despotic theocracy," and comparing its ambitions to those of ISIS.

Zbigniew Brzezinski, the hawkish strategic theorist who was national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter in the tumultuous years of the Iran hostage crisis and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the late 1970s, died on Friday at a hospital in Virginia. He was 89. His death, at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, was announced on Friday by his daughter, Mika Brzezinski, a co-host of the MSNBC program “Morning Joe.” Like his predecessor Henry A. Kissinger, Mr. Brzezinski was a foreign-born scholar (he in Poland, Mr. Kissinger in Germany) with considerable influence in global affairs, both before and long...

WASHINGTON — When President Trump sent greetings to the Iranian people on Wednesday for the Persian New Year, or Nowruz, it offered a glimpse into an administration that is still debating how to deal with a country that Mr. Trump has painted as an implacable foe. The five-paragraph statement went through multiple drafts, according to two people involved in the process. Hard-liners in the White House first tried to kill the message, and when that failed, stripped it of references to engaging with the Iranian government or a future in which Iran and the United States might peacefully coexist. Instead,...

In the mid twentieth century, US-Iran relations prospered. Many Americans celebrated Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi as a model king. President Lyndon B. Johnson pronounced in 1964: "What is going on in Iran is about the best thing going on anywhere in the world". During the 1970's Iran's Shah propelled Iran into becoming a dynamic middle-east regional power. The Shah implemented broad economic and social reforms, including enhanced rights for women, and religious and ethnic minorities. Economic and educational reforms were adopted, initiatives to cleanse politics of social upheaval were systematized, and the civil service system was reformed. When sectors of...

The social makeup of Iran's population is very complex, because there is actually no such thing as the Iranian people. There are, instead, Iranian citizens divided into many ethnic groups: Persians make up about 60% of the population, while the rest are Azars, Kurds, Blouchis, Arabs, Turkmen and tens of smaller ethnic groups. The main religion in Iran is Shia Islam, adhered to by 90% of the country's people, while Sunnis - mainly Kurds and Blouchis - make up about 10%. The country recognizes Judaism, Christianity and Zoroastrianism and reserves a parliamentary seat for each religion. Zoroastrianism is based on...

In the modern day, the nation of Iran in the Middle East has become synonymous with Islamic extremism and terrorism. This is because the country is ruled by a religious dictator, the Grand Ayatollah, and is known to support radical organizations that share its uncompromising Muslim ideology. People worry, with good reason, that Iran will acquire nuclear weapons or otherwise strengthen itself. And this condition persists even as a majority of Iran’s population is young, progressive, and, unlike its government, not at all hostile towards the West. Iran wasn’t always like this. It has a long and venerable history as...

And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before...