Figure 1.--Iran languished in great poverty since medieval times, unlike the West. The Mullahs want to blame Iranian poverty on the West. In fact it was largely due to Iran's conservator Islamic society imposed by the Mullahs. Here we see Iranian children at about the same time oil was discovered. The poverty here was not imposed by the West, but a continuation of the endemic poverty of the medieval era.

Pastoral tribes from the central Asia Steppe north of the Caspian moved south into the area between the Fertile Crescent and India. Eventually these pastoral people dominated the area between the the Zagros and the Hindu Kush. Some tribes adopted a settled life style. Other tribes retained their semi-nomadic lifestyle. This was the Iranian peoples as they appeared in history. They were strongly influenced by the Medes. They formed the Achaemenid or Persian Empire. They were not noted for their economy, but rather their military prowess. There were several dynasties who proved to be both capable military commanders and effective administrators. Their great patron was Cyrus the Great who not only was a powerful military ruler, but an important law giver. The Persians prospered by creating a stable state and the rule of law under which the more economically advanced conquered people could prosper and pay bountiful tribute to the Persian state. Rather than destroy local economies as many ancient conquerors did, the Persian economic policy from an early point was to increase trade and commerce throughout the Empire. They standardized weights, minted official (meaning dependable metal content) coinage, built roads, and enforced universal (meaning Empire-wide laws. The Empire required obedience and imposed a 20 percent tax on all agriculture and manufacturing. They began taxing religious institutions, which despite acquiring great wealth had previously been untaxed. The Persians themselves paid no taxes. The whole system came crashing down as a result of Alexander conquests. Persia and the Persian economy never recovered. Feudalism is often associated with medieval Europe. In fact is a virtually world-wide phenomenon. We see a feudal-like system emerging in Persia centuries before it appeared in Europe. The population needed protection from the same central Asia peoples from the Asian Steppe that at times swept over China and even Eastern Europe. Persia was conquered by Arabs fired with the faith of Islam (651 AD). This led to a golden age of Islamic culture. Both Persian and the Arab Caliphate was destroyed by the Mongols (13th century). This began with Khwarezmia (1221). Neither the Persians or Arabs ever recovered. This was because after the demise of the Moguls, both the Arabs and Persians pursued a narrow focus on Islam and, unlike the Golden Age, no longer pursued the arts, math, medicine, and science. All of this had economic consequences. During the Golden Age of the Islamic Middle East they had led backward Europe. Beginning with the European Renaissance this relationship flipped (14th century) . Europe began its economic accent with the Renaissance and the Middle declined into poverty relying on technologies little changed since ancient times. This was the situation when Persia entered modern times. The Iranian economy remained stagnant, poor, and largely agrarian, with a marginal role in the world economy for centuries. This only began to change with the 20th century. This meant the discovery of oil (1911). Henry Ford's Model-T Tin Lizzy had begun to create a huge market for oil. Oil as in many Arab countries fundamentally changed the Iranian economy. This was brought changes to Iran's deeply conservative society. Britain discovered the oil and was responsible for the early development of the oil industry. This set in motion a struggle between Britain and the Iranians for control of the oil. Only 3 years later, World War began and oil became a vital strategic resource. Reza Khan leading a force of Persian Cossacks seized control (1921). He then founded the Pahlavi Dynasty. The new shah launched a modernization effort and attempted to gain control of the oil. The struggle for Britain led to moving toward the NAZIs. During World War II, British and the NAZIs. As a result, the British and Soviets intervened in Iran and replaced Reza with is young son. The Americans proceeded to build Iran's first modern infrastructure (ports, rails, and roads) to get Lend Lease supplies to the the Red Army. After the War the Shah launched a substantial modernization effort with the oil money leading t building a real economy. Unfortunately, he refused to share power with the rising middle class. He also underestimated the influence of the conservative clerics leading to the Islamic Revolution. This gave the Mullahs control of enormous sums of oil money. They used it rather than to modernize the county, to wage war on the West, kill Jews, and build an atomic bomb. As a result, unlike the Shah's era, the Iranian people saw little or no benefit from the oil money. Today, the Iranian Rial is virtually worthless, the economy is in shatters, and Iran is a sanctioned, pariah country with a badly damaged atomic program But that is not the worst, Iran is an arid country and because of climate change getting dryer. Rather than using he oil money to address the problem, Iran's Islamic rulers have not just ignored the water crisis, but has actually made it worse.

Created: 10:45 PM 11/23/2025
Last updated: 10:45 PM 11/23/2025