Located in the Middle East, with an area of 1.65 million square kilometers, Iran is ranked as the 16th-largest country of the world, and it enjoys a diverse range of lands and climates that give it the advantage of having four seasons across the country at any one time. Officially known as the Islamic Republic of Iran (since the 1979 revolution), the country was called Persia at the international level until 1935. Iran is home to one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Human habitation in the country dates back some 100,000 years. However, recorded history began with the Elamites in circa 3000 b.c.e. Cyrus the Great (558–529 b.c.e.) is the most famous ancient emperor who appears in the Bible as the liberator of ...