List of monarchs of Iran

The monarchs of Iran, including three queens regnant, ruled for over two and a half millennia, beginning as early as the 8th century BC and enduring until the 20th century AD. The earliest Iranian monarch is generally considered to have been either Deioces of the Median dynasty or Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty. The last Iranian monarch was Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of the Pahlavi dynasty, who was overthrown in the Iranian Revolution. Since then, Iran has been governed by theocratic supreme leaders.
In classical antiquity, Iran reached the peak of its power and prestige under the Achaemenid Empire, which stretched from Egypt and parts of Southeast Europe in the west to the Indus Valley and parts of Central Asia in the east. By 323 BC, the Achaemenid Empire's territories had been conquered by the Macedonian Empire during the Wars of Alexander the Great, bringing Iran into the Hellenistic sphere. In the Wars of the Diadochi, the Seleucid Empire assumed control of Iran. Native Iranian rule was revived with the expansion of Parthian Empire in the Seleucid-Parthian Wars. The Parthians were succeeded by the Sasanian Empire, which oversaw a golden age in the history of Iranian civilization and existed until the Arab conquest of Iran.
Medieval Iran alternated between being ruled by large foreign empires and being divided into several smaller kingdoms. Most of the Sasanian lands were annexed by the Rashidun Caliphate, which was succeeded by the Umayyad Caliphate and then by the Abbasid Caliphate. Under the Abbasids, many Iranian figures took part in shaping the Islamic Golden Age, while also leveraging the decline of Arab power to establish independent dynasties and kingdoms – those including the Saffarids, Samanids, Ziyarids and Buyids – thus allowing their native languages to flourish and reviving Sasanian royal iconography and ideology in what became known as the Iranian Intermezzo. In the 11th century, Iran was conquered by the Seljuk Empire, which was Turkic in origin, but culturally Persianate. Further conquests by entities coming from Central Asia occurred over the course of the next five centuries, most notably including the Turkic Khwarazmian Empire, the Mongol Empire, the post-Mongol Ilkhanate, and the Turco-Mongol Timurid Empire. Most of the Timurid territory in Iran was later conquered by the Qara Qoyunlu, followed by the Aq Qoyunlu, both are Turkic tribal confederations.
The year 1501 is considered the beginning of modern Iranian history, as the Safavid dynasty rose to power and oversaw the conversion of Iran to Shia Islam, marking the region's largest religious shift since the Arab conquests. The collapse of the Safavids led to an intermediate period of turmoil, with rule of Iran contested between Safavid dynasts as well as the Afghan-origin Hotak dynasty. Nader Shah replaced these with the Afsharid Empire, but after his assassination in 1747, the Afsharids competed with the Zand dynasty under Karim Khan Zand and his successors for supremacy. Iran was eventually reunified by the Qajar dynasty, which was succeeded by the Pahlavi dynasty of Reza Khan. The Pahlavi dynasty was the last to reign before the Iranian monarchy was abolished in 1979.

Ancient Iran ( 727 BC–AD 651)

Medes ( 727–550 BC)

The Median dynasty is traditionally considered to have ruled the earliest Iranian state. Whether the Medes ruled an imperial state or merely a loose tribal confederation is disputed among historians. Median history is reconstructed almost solely through ancient Greek sources and disregards Near Eastern sources, which are fragmentary and do not support the existence of a unified Median Empire. There is also no material or textual evidence left behind by the supposed empire itself. The chronology and names of the Median kings mainly derives from the work of Herodotus.
No ruling title is securely attested for the Median rulers. They might have used xšāyaθiya xšāyaθiyānām, later used by the Achaemenids. Ecbatana was the Median capital.

Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC)

The Achaemenid dynasty originated as local rulers of Anshan under Median suzerainty. They are attributed various ancestors in later legends, including an eponymous figure called "Achaemenes". The earliest securely historical Achaemenid ruler is Cyrus I, king of Anshan in the second half of the seventh century BC. The Achaemenids united all Persian tribes under Cyrus I's son Cambyses I. Under Cambyses I's son, Cyrus II, the Achaemenids defeated the Medes and established the Achaemenid Empire, the largest ever Iranian state.
The standard title used by Achaemenid rulers in Iran from Cyrus II onwards was xšāyaθiya xšāyaθiyānām, xšāyaθiya dahyūnām. The royal title varied in other parts of the empire. The Achaemenids had several royal cities, including Pasargadae, Susa, Ecbatana, Babylon, Bactra, and Persepolis.

Portrait	Name	Reign	Succession
	Cyrus I	620–590 BC	Earliest historical Achaemenid ruler
	Cambyses I	590–559 BC	Son of Cyrus I
	Cyrus II	559–550 BC	Son of Cambyses I

Portrait	Name	Tenure	Succession
	Artaxerxes V	July 330 – spring 329 BC	Satrap of Bactria, part of the Achaemenid dynasty. Murdered Darius III and proclaimed himself as his successor, ruling several eastern satrapies in opposition to Alexander the Great.

Hellenistic rule (331–129 BC)

Alexander's empire (331–305 BC)

The Achaemenid Empire was defeated and conquered by Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia, in 331–329 BC. After Alexander's death in 323 BC, the Wars of the Diadochi broke out between his successors, leading to the rapid disintegration of the empire.
Alexander did not assume the former Achaemenid royal title of 'King of Kings'. His main royal title, appearing on coins intended for his Asian territories, was instead basileus. To mark his rule over the Achaemenid territories he also sometimes used the new title "Lord of Asia". The only royal title recorded for Alexander's two immediate heirs is basileus. Alexander ruled his empire from Babylon and planned to establish Babylon and Alexandria in Egypt as the twin imperial capitals. From 319 BC onwards, Alexander's heirs resided in Macedonia while the regency in Asia was contested by several generals.

Portrait	Name	Reign	Succession
	Alexander the Great	1 October 331 – 10/11 June 323 BC	Conquered the Achaemenid Empire
	Philip Arrhidaeus	June 323 – late 317 BC	Brother of Alexander the Great
	Alexander Aegus	August 323 – 309 BC	Son of Alexander the Great

Seleucid Empire (305–129 BC)

The main Hellenistic successors of Alexander's empire in Iran were the Seleucids, descendants of the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator and the Iranian noblewoman Apama. Seleucus seized most of the east, including Babylonia, in the Wars of the Diadochi and was firmly in control in the region from 312 BC onwards. After Alexander IV's death became public knowledge in 305 BC, Seleucus proclaimed himself king.
The main royal title used by the Seleucids was basileus, as was the case for the other Macedonian successor kingdoms. Only two Seleucid rulers used the greater megas basileus, the style applied to Achaemenid kings in ancient Greek sources. The Seleucids at first ruled from Seleucia in Mesopotamia, though Antioch was soon made the main capital.

Portrait	Name	Reign	Succession
	Seleucus I Nicator	305 – September 280 BC	Former general under Alexander the Great. Held most of the east of his empire from 312 BC onwards and proclaimed king in 305 BC.
	Antiochus I Soter	September 280 – 261 BC	Son of Seleucus I
	Antiochus II Theos	261–246 BC	Son of Antiochus I
	Seleucus II Callinicus	246–226 BC	Son of Antiochus II
	Seleucus III Ceraunus	226–223 BC	Son of Seleucus II
	Antiochus III the Great	223–187 BC	Son of Seleucus II
	Seleucus IV Philopator	187–175 BC	Son of Antiochus III
	Antiochus IV Epiphanes	175 – late 164 BC	Son of Antiochus III
	Antiochus V Eupator	Late 164 – 162 BC	Son of Antiochus IV
	Demetrius I Soter	162–150 BC	Son of Seleucus IV. Overthrew Antiochus IV.
	Alexander Balas	152–145 BC	Alleged son of Antiochus IV. Rival king against Demetrius I, supported by the Roman Empire.
	Antiochus VI Dionysus	145–142 BC	Son of Alexander Balas
	Demetrius II Nicator	147–139 BC	Son of Demetrius I. Revolted against Alexander Balas with support from the Ptolemaic Kingdom. Sole king after Antiochus VI's death.
	Antiochus VII Sidetes	139–129 BC	Son of Demetrius I