大象传媒

Many in the west have described Iran as a rogue state. Yet this so-called rogue state has a recorded history that tracks back more than 3000 years. It is a civilization that has given rise to philosophies and religions, to science and medicine, to architecture and the arts.

By the end of the 18th century Iran was emerging from nearly a century of political and economic turmoil. Imperial frontiers were in disarray and under threat; while its population and economy had suffered the depredations of war. The state was a shadow of its former self.

Professor Alli Ansari begins part three with the story of a very peculiar despot, Agha Mohammad Khan, the founder of the Qajar dynasty. Castrated at the age of 6 - an act of mercy we are told since the alternative was death - Agha Mohammad Khan grew into a very angry young man, determined to secure the throne at all costs. With a combination of ruthlessness and political agility he succeeded in restoring Iranian greatness.

But within a short period Iran faced the new challenge of European imperialism from both north and south as the Russian and British empires competed for dominance. The modern age had arrived and the Iranian response was typically diverse: resistance, rebellion, revolution and modernisation as despots and democrats fought for the soul of modern Iran. That is a struggle that in the 20th century brought in two great revolutions, one in 1906 was constitutional and the second with Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979 was theocratic. And that struggle between constitutional and theocratic revolutions continues today.

Professor Ansari is one of the world's leading experts on Iran and its history. Professor Ansari's books include Confronting Iran and The Politics of Nationalism in Modern Iran.