History of Iran see also Kings of Persia · Timeline of Iran Before Common Era Prehistory Proto-Elamite period 3200–2800 Elamite dynasty 2800–550 Kassites 16th–12th cent. Mannaeans 10th–7th cent. Median Empire 728–550 Achaemenid Empire 550–330 Seleucid Empire 330–150 Parthian Empire 248 BCE–226 CE Common Era Sassanid Empire 226–651 Islamic conquest 637–651 Umayyad Caliphate 661–750 Abbasid Caliphate 750–1258 Tahirid dynasty 821–873 Alavid dynasty 864–928 Sajid dynasty 889/890–929 Saffarid dynasty 861–1003 Samanid dynasty 875–999 Ziyarid dynasty 928–1043 Buyid dynasty 934–1062 Sallarid 942–979 Ma'munids 995-1017 Ghaznavid Empire 963–1187 Ghori dynasty 1149–1212 Seljuq dynasty 1037–1194 Khwarezmid dynasty 1077–1231 Ilkhanate 1256–1353 Muzaffarid dynasty 1314–1393 Chupanid dynasty 1337–1357 Sarbadars 1337–1376 Jalayerid dynasty 1339–1432 Timurid dynasty 1370–1506 Qara Qoyunlu 1407–1468 Aq Qoyunlu 1378–1508 Safavid dynasty 1501–1722/36 Hotaki dynasty 1722–1729 Afsharid dynasty 1736–1750 Zand dynasty 1750–1794 Qajar dynasty 1781–1925 Pahlavi dynasty 1925–1979 Interim Government 1979–1980 Islamic Republic since 1980 Jiroft civilization (Persian تمدن جيرفت) is a postulated early Bronze Age (late 3rd millennium BC) archaeological culture, located in what is now Iran's Sistan and Kermān Provinces. The hypothesis is based on a collection of artifacts that were confiscated in Iran and accepted by many to have derived from the Jiroft area in south central Iran, reported by online Iranian news services, beginning in 2001. By the new discoveries in Jiroft, it is proved that Jiroft citizens were the first people who created writing, not Sumerians.

The proposed type site is Konar Sandal, near Jiroft in the Halil River area. Other significant sites associated with the culture include; Shahr-e Sukhteh (Burnt City), Tepe Bampur, Espiedej, Shahdad, Iblis, and Tepe Yahya. The proposition of grouping these sites as an "independent Bronze Age civilization with its own architecture and language", intermediate between Elam to the west and the Indus Valley Civilization to the east, is due to Yousef Majidzadeh, head of the archaeological excavation team in Jiroft. Yousef Majidzadeh speculates they may be the remains of the lost Aratta Kingdom. Yousef Majidzadeh's conclusions have met with skepticism from some reviewers. Other conjectures (e.g. Daniel T. Potts, Piotr Steinkeller) have connected the Konar Sandal with the obscure city-state of Marhashi, that apparently lay to the east of Elam proper. Contents 1 Discovery and excavation 2 Jiroft site 3 Writing system 4 Jiroft and Aratta 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Discovery and excavation Many artifacts associated with Jiroft were recovered from looters described as "destitute villagers" who had scavenged the area south of Jiroft before 2001, when a team led by Yousef Madjidzadeh began excavations. The team uncovered more than two square kilometers of remains from a city dating back to at least the late 3rd millennium BC. The looted artifacts and some vessels recovered by the excavators were of the so-called "intercultural style" type of pottery known from Mesopotamia and the Iranian Plateau, and since the 1960s from nearby Tepe Yahya in Baft. The "Jiroft civilization" hypothesis proposes that this "intercultural style" is in fact the distinctive style of a previously unknown, long-lived civilization.citation needed location of Jiroft in Iran

This is not universally accepted. Archaeologist Oscar Muscarella of the Metropolitan Museum of Art criticizes that the excavators resorted to sensationalist announcements while being more slow in publishing scholarly reports, and their claims that the site's stratigraphy shows continuity into the 4th millennium as overly optimistic. Muscarella does nevertheless acknowledge the importance of the site. Earlier excavations in Kerman were conducted by Sir Aurel Stein around 1930. One of the most notable archaeological excavations done in Kerman Province was one done by a group led by Professor Joseph Caldwell from Illinois State Museum in 1966 (Tal-i-Iblis) and Lamberg Karvolski from Harvard University in 1967 (Tepe Yahya Sogan Valley, Dolatabad). Archeological excavations in Jiroft led to the discovery of several objects belonging to the fourth millennium BC. According to Majidzadeh, geophysical operations by French experts in the region indicate the existence at least 10 historical and archaeological periods in the region belonging to different civilizations who lived in this area during different periods of time in history. According to the French experts who studied this area, the evidence remained from these civilizations may be traced up to 11 metres under the ground. “What is obvious is that the evidence of Tal-i-Iblis culture in Bardsir can be traced in all parts of the region. Tal-i-Iblis culture, known as Ali Abad period (fourth millennium BC) was revealed by Joseph R. Caldwell, American archaeologist,”citation needed said Majidzadeh. Jiroft site Main article: Konar Sandal

The primary Jiroft site, consists of two mounds a few kilometers apart, called Konar Sandal A and B with a height of 13 and 21 meters, respectively (approximate location 28°30′N 57°48′E / 28.5°N 57.8°E / 28.5; 57.8). At Konar Sandal B, a two-story, windowed citadel with a base of close to 13.5 hectares was found. Writing system Madjidzadeh claims to have discovered inscriptions in a previously unknown script, allegedly comparable to linear Elamite, dated to ca. the 22nd century BC.1 The announcement of this discovery was received with skepticism. Lawler (2007) quotes Jacob Dahl, specialist in ancient texts at Berlin's Free University, as saying "No specialist in the world would consider these to be anything but absolute fakes." But professor Piotr Steinkeller, professor of Assyriology in Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations of Harvard University, called it eastern script instead of Elamite script.2 Jiroft writing Jiroft and Aratta According to a theory by Iranian historian Jahanshah Derakhshani (born 1944), an ancient Aryan people known as the Aratti, or Artaioi, inhabited a country in the eastern Iranian Plateau called Aratta by the Sumerian sources in the 3rd millennium BC3. Around 1000 BC, the Aratti moved southwest to Persis and became direct ancestors of the Persians. According to Derakhshani, the Aratti may also have been ancestors of the Parthians, Bactrians, and Arachosians, based on his observations of ancient sources. Derekhshani says that according to Herodotus the Parthians were also called Artaioi = Artaians4, and that Hellanicus of Lesbos described them as inhabitants of a Persian region called Artaia5. The Greeks called the inhabitants of the region Barygaza Arattii, Arachosi and Gandaraei, who had been subjected by the bellicose Bactrians 6citation needed See also Prehistoric Iran Kulli culture International Rankings of Iran in History References Constructs such as ibid. and loc. cit. are discouraged by Wikipedia's style guide for footnotes, as they are easily broken. Please improve this article by replacing them with named references (quick guide), or an abbreviated title. ^ 5000-Y-Old Inscribed Tablets Discovered in Jiroft ^ Jiroft Inscription Belongs to the Eastern Civilization ^ Derakhshani, Die Arier in den nahöstlichen Quellen des 3. und 2. Jahrtausends v.Chr., Tehran 1998, p. 41. ^ Herodotus VII, 61. 150 ^ Fr. cited from Marquart !--name spelling changed in 1922--! 1986, Untersuchungen zur Geschichte von Eran I: 234. ^ ibid.; The periplus of the Erythraean Sea, Ed. by W. Schoff, New York 1912, p. 41. Jiroft, Fabuleuse Decouverte en Iran, Dossiers Archeologica 287, October 2003. Yousef Mazidzadeh, Jiroft earliest oriental civilization (2004). O. White Muscarella, Jiroft and “Jiroft-Aratta”: A Review Article of Yousef Madjidzadeh, Jiroft: The Earliest Oriental Civilization, Bulletin of the Asia Institute 15 (2005) 173-198. Andrew Lawler, Ancient Writing or Modern Fakery?, Science 3 August 2007: Vol. 317. no. 5838, pp. 588 – 589. Andrew Lawler, Iranian Dig Opens Window on New Civilization, Science 21 May 2004: Vol. 304. no. 5674, pp. 1096–1097. M.R. Maheri The Early Civilizations Of Kerman (تمدّن های نخستین کرمان), Markaze Kerman Shenasaee (2000), 1st edition, ISBN 9646487211 External links Jiroft in Encycloapedia Iranica Jiroft and “Jiroft-Aratta” A Review Article of Yousef Madjidzadeh Jiroft civilization saudiaramcoworld.com: What Was Jiroft? (پایگاه خبری جیرفت /issue/200405/Jiroft.Artifacts/popup_content.html image gallery) mehrnews.ir: "New studies show Jiroft was ancient trade link" chnpress.com: Jiroft Inscription, Oldest Evidence of Written Language chnpress.com: New Discoveries in Jiroft May Change History of Civilization chnpress.com: Jiroft was an international trade center 5000 years ago v · d · e Iran topics History Pre-Islamic

Prehistory  · Proto-Elamite civilization BCE 3200– BCE 2800  · Elamite dynasties BCE 2800– BCE 550  · Bactria-Margiana Complex BCE 2200– BCE 1700  · Kingdom of Mannai BCE 10th– BCE 7th cent.  · Median Empire BCE 728– BCE 550  · Achaemenid Empire BCE 550– BCE 330  · Seleucid Empire BCE 330– BCE 150  · Greco-Bactrian Kingdom BCE 250– BCE 125  · Parthian Empire BCE 248–CE 224  · Kushan Empire CE 30–CE 275  · Sassanid Empire CE 224–CE 651  · Hephthalite Empire CE 425–CE 557  · Kabul Shahi kingdom CE 565–CE 879 Islamic Patriarchal Caliphate 637–651  · Umayyad Caliphate 661–750  · Abbasid Caliphate 750–1258  · Tahirid dynasty 821–873  · Alavid dynasty 864–928  · Saffarid dynasty 861–1003  · Samanid dynasty 819–999  · Ziyarid dynasty 928–1043  · Buyid dynasty 934–1055  · Ghaznavid Empire 975–1187  · Ghori dynasty 1149–1212  · Seljuk Empire 1037–1194  · Khwarezmid dynasty 1077–1231  · Ilkhanate 1256–1335  ·  · Kartids dynasty 1231–1389  · Muzaffarid dynasty 1314–1393  · Chupanid dynasty 1337–1357  · Jalayerid dynasty 1339–1432  · Timurid Empire 1370–1506  · Qara Qoyunlu Turcomans 1407–1468  · Aq Qoyunlu Turcomans 1378–1508  · Safavid Empire 1501–1722 or 1736  · Hotaki dynasty 1722–1729  · Afsharid dynasty 1736–1750  · Zand Dynasty 1750–1794  · Durrani Empire 1794–1826  · Qajar Dynasty 1794–1925 Modern

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