List of wars involving Iran

This is a list of wars involving the Islamic Republic of Iran and its predecessor states. It is an unfinished historical overview.

Conflict	Iran (and allies)	Opponents	Results	Notes
Median Empire (678–549 BC)
Assyrian invasions of Media (the 10th – the late 7th centuries BC)	Medes	Assyrian Empire	Defeat	Kingdoms and city-states of Western Iran became Assyrian vassals
Median invasion of Assyria (the late 7th century BC)	Medes Scythians Other Iranian peoples	Assyrian Empire	Victory	Invasion of the Assyrian Empire by a coalition of Iranian peoples, led by Kashtariti of Media End of Assyrian rule in Media Formation of an independent Median kingdom Median invasion of Assyria repelled
Scythian invasion of Media (624–597 BC)	Median Kingdom	Scythians	Defeat, and eventual Victory	War between two groups of Iranian peoples. Conquest of Media by Scythians End of Scythian rule in Media in 597 BC, during reign of Cyaxares
Medo-Babylonian invasion Assyria (626–609 BC)	Median Kingdom Babylonia Persians	Assyrian Empire	Decisive Victory	Alliance between various people of the region against the Assyrian Empire, led by the Median Kingdom and Babylonia. End of the Neo-Assyrian Empire Founding of Neo-Babylonian Empire
Siege of Harran (609 BC)	Medes Babylonia	Assyria Egypt	Victory	The Assyrian insurgency.
Battle of Eclipse (585 BC)	Medes	Kingdom of Lydia	Undecided	The battle ended due an eclipse.
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.
European Scythian campaign (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.
Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC)	Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta) Supported by: Achaemenid Empire	Delian League (led by Athens)	Victory	Dissolution of the Delian League. Spartan hegemony over Athens and its allies.
Battle of Cunaxa (401 BC)	Achaemenid Empire	Cyrus the Younger	Victory	Artaxerxes II still in full control of the kingdom.
Corinthian War (395–387 BC)	Athens Argos Corinth Thebes Achaemenid Empire Other allies	Sparta Peloponnesian League	Peace treaty dictated by Iran (Peace of Antalcidas)	Ionia ceded back to Achaemenid Iran. Boeotian league dissolved. Union of Argos and Corinth dissolved
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 and western Georgia falls in Ottoman hands, Eastern Armenia, eastern Georgia, Dagestan and the contemporary Republic of Azerbaijan remain in Persian hands
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
Mughal–Safavid War of 1622 (1622–1623)	Safavid dynasty	Mughal Empire	Victory	Kandahar falls to Persia
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.
Mughal–Safavid War of 1649 (1649–1653)	Safavid dynasty Khanate of Bukhara	Mughal Empire	Victory	Persia recaptured Kandahar
Russo-Persian War of 1651 (1651–1653)	Safavid dynasty	Russia	Victory	Russian fortress on the Iranian side of the Terek River destroyed, and its garrison expelled.
Hotaki-Safavid War (1709–~1722)	Safavid dynasty	Hotaki dynasty	Regime change	Afghan control of most of Iran.
Omani Invasion of Bahrain (1717)	Safavid dynasty	Imamate of Oman	Defeat	Omani victory, Bahrain sold back to the Safavids.
Russo-Persian War of 1722 (1722–1723)	Safavid dynasty	Russian Empire Cossack Hetmanate Kingdom of Kartli Melikdoms of Karabakh and Armenian rebels	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, Status Quo Ante Bellum
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 Iran	Kartli-Kakheti Imereti	Victory	Tbilisi captured and sacked by Iranian troops. Persian reconquest of the Caucasus and Georgia.
Persian Expedition (1796)	Qajar Iran	Russian Empire	Status quo ante bellum	Tactical Russian victory Strategic Persian victory Russian withdrawal after the death of Catherine II
Russo-Persian War of 1804 (1804–1813)	Qajar Iran	Russian Empire	Defeat	Treaty of Gulistan. 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 Iran	Ottoman Empire	Military victory	Treaty of Erzurum, status quo ante bellum.
Russo-Persian War of 1826 (1826–1828)	Qajar Iran	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 Iran	Afghanistan	Defeat	Persian withdrawal from Herat.
Anglo-Persian War (1856–1857)	Qajar Iran	United Kingdom East India Company Afghanistan	Defeat	Persian withdrawal from Herat.
Revolt of Salar-al-Daulah (1911–1913)	Qajar Iran	Forces of Salar-al-Daulah	Victory	Rebellion suppressed
Persian Campaign (1914–1918) (Part of World War I)	Qajar Iran	Russian Empire  British Empire  British Raj	Stalemate	Ottoman withdrawal after signing of Armistice of Mudros.
Pahlavi Dynasty (1925–1979)
Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran (1941) (Part of World War II)	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 (1963–1976)[2]	Iran  Oman	PFLOAG PFLO	Victory	Defeat of insurgents, modernization of Oman.
Islamic Republic of Iran (1979–)
Iranian Revolution and Consolidation (1979–1983)	Iran	Imperial State and various armed opposition, including: Tudeh Party MEK PDKI	Islamic Republic victory	Rival political factions and separatist movements crushed. Tens of thousands of political executions in the aftermath (7,900 from 1981 to 1985, 3,800 to 33,000 in 1988, unknown in 1986–1987 or 1979–1980).
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.
Sistan and Baluchestan insurgency (2004–2005)	Iran	Jundallah (Iran)	Victory	Capture of Abdolmalek Rigi. Dissolution of Jundallah
Iran–PJAK Conflict (2004–2013)	Iran  Turkey	PJAK	Victory	PJAK withdraws from Iranian territory
Syrian Civil War (2011–present)	Syria Hezbollah  Iran  Russia	Free Syrian Army Islamic Front al-Nusra Front Islamic State	Ongoing	Rebel and Islamist uprisings quelled in much of Syria. Most of Syria now controlled by Syrian Government, which is supported by Iran. Islamic State in Syria defeated near the end of 2017.
Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017)	Iraq  Iraqi Kurdistan  United States  Iran Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq Badr Organization Hezbollah Kata'ib Hezbollah	Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant	Victory	Iraqi government and allied victory against ISIL. End of ISIL territorial control in Iraq; ongoing ISIL insurgency

See also

• History of Iran
• Cyrus in Babylon and the Jewish connection
• Persian Corridor (a.k.a. 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