Iran, also called Persia, and officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a country in Western Asia. With 82 million inhabitants, Iran is the world’s 18th most populous country. Its territory spans 1,648,195 km², making it the second-largest country in the Middle East and the 17th largest in the world
Iran is a very rugged country of plateaus and mountains, dominated by the Elburz Mountains in the north, and the Zagros Mountains along its western borders. The central and eastern portion is covered by the Plateau of Iran. The Dasht-e Kavir is sandstone and salty desert plateau, that in the heat of summer is one of the hottest places on the planet. The most significant river is the Karun, in the southwestern corner of the country. Lake Urmia (in the far-northwest) is the country’s largest body of water. Iran’s highest point, Mt. Damavand reaches 18,934 ft (5,771m).
Key Cities
Key cities in Iran include Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, Karaj, Tabriz, Shiraz, Qom, Ahvaz, Urmia, and Kermanshah.
Historical, Cultural facts & Religion
Iran is home to one of the world’s oldest continuous major civilizations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to 4000 BC. The Medes unified Iran as a nation and empire in 625 BC. The Islamic conquest of Persia (633–656) and the end of the Sassanid Empire was a turning point in Iranian history. Iranian culture is one of the oldest in the region, and it has influenced cultures like Italy, Macedonia, Greece, Russia, the Arabian Peninsula, and parts of Asia. The Persian calendar is a solar calendar, however, some of the official religious Islamic and Shia holidays are based on a lunar calendar
Religion in Iran. Sunni and Shi’i are the two largest branches of Islam, with the overwhelming majority of Iranians practicing Shi’i Islam. About 90 percent of Iranians practice Shi’ism, the official religion of Iran. By contrast, most Arab states in the Middle East are predominantly Sunni.
Brief Country History
At the outset of the 20th century, Iran was embroiled in a bifurcated struggle. On the one hand, Iranians struggled to maintain their national independence in the face of growing colonial pressures. Iran’s geopolitical importance made it a central focus of the colonial “Great Game” between Russia and Great Britain. Ultimately, in August 1907, the two great powers decided to carve Iran up into spheres of influence; the agreement sealed Russian supremacy in the north and British supremacy in the south of Iran.
At the same time, a struggle was taking place within Iran’s borders, as the country was undergoing the Constitutional Revolution (1905–11). A dispute over sugar prices finally sparked the first public protests of that revolution. In 1905, the governor of Tehran ordered that some sugar merchants be bastinadoed for refusing to lower their prices. A group of merchants, tradesmen, and mullahs took sanctuary (bast) in a Tehran mosque. Government officials dispersed the group, who then took refuge in a shrine south of Tehran. By January 1906 the Muzaffar al-Din Shah Qajar agreed to their demands, which included the formation of an ‘adalatkhanah (house of justice).
In the summer of 1883, the first American minister to the Persian court, S.G.W. Benjamin, traveled to Tehran and reported his impressions to the US Secretary of State:
No city in the east after Canton, Bombay, Calcutta, and Constantinople surpasses it in the appearance of vitality. The number of carriages owned by Persian and European gentlemen is nearly 500, all imported. Teheran also contains a European bakery, a European carriage maker, a European cabinet maker and upholsterer, a corps of foreign instructors of the army, a steam engine at the arsenal, a mint formed on [a] European system, several town clocks, a hose in the public garden imported from the United States, gas in the grounds surrounding the palace, and public squares besides other evidence of a progressive tendency.
Language (s) Written & Spoken
Although Persian (Farsi) is the predominant and official language of Iran, a number of languages and dialects from three language families—Indo-European, Altaic, and Afro-Asiatic—are spoken. Roughly three-fourths of Iranians speak one of the Indo-European languages.
Important Types of Commerce in Iran
Iran is a country in the Middle East that is strategically located on the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. Both of these areas are important pathways for the shipment of crude oil. Iran has a mixed transitional economy that is dominated by gas and oil production industries. Iran has 10% of the world’s oil reserves. Iran has high development potential and is a member of the Next Eleven countries (N-11). Iran has a centrally controlled economy with a large public sector. The government controls prices, and there are subsidies on some products leading to a strain on the economy. Iran initially existed as a financially isolated country but was forced to sign agreements with other nations after the sanctions relating to nuclear programs.
Language Services US and others will provide working with Iran
Farsi, also known as Persian, is the national language of Iran. To meet the needs of your clientele in the Iranian market it is important to translate and localize all your technical documentation, sales, and marketing literature, copyright, trademark and patent applications, M & A and partnership agreements, incorporations employment contracts, trusts and wills from and to Farsi. To target the Farsi-speaking market, you should have a complete understanding of Farsi translation and localization to enable your content (website, documents, software, etc.) to fully function for your intended audiences.
Looking for a Persian (Farsi) translation company? Look no further. American Language Services (AML-Global) offers certified translations, native interpreting services, and turn-key localization solutions for any language. Call us today @ 1-800-951-5020 for further information, visit our website https://www.alsglobal.net/ or for a quick quote click http://alsglobal.net/quick-quote.php.
