ABSTRACT
The origins of Persian history are shrouded in the dim past prior to the establishment of the Achaemenid dynasty in the sixth century BC. After the successors of Cyrus the Great were defeated by the Greeks (445 BC) the Persians turned their attention eastward and developed a civilization which was to dominate the region between the Central Asian steppes and the Indus Valley in the east to Anatolia and modern Iraq in the west for more than 2,000 years. In the seventh century AD the Arabs invaded Persia, bringing with them the Islamic faith which was eventually embraced by the majority of Persians, and thus replacing the indigenous Zoroastrian tradition which had prevailed since the time of Cyrus. Although there is little information about the status of women in pre-Islamic Persia, Plutarch asserts that Persian women used to fight in battle and participate in public affairs (Shaikhulislami, 1972).
