Throughout the vast canvas of world history, few regions have been so persistently pivotal—and perilous—as Persia. Situated at the crossroads of empires, from the Mediterranean to the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia, Persia (modern-day Iran) has not merely witnessed the march of conquerors. It has absorbed them, transformed them, or destroyed them. It has earned a dark and paradoxical honorific among historians and soldiers alike: the Graveyard of Empires.Unlike Afghanistan, which is often more popularly dubbed as such due to modern examples of imperial overreach, Persia’s graveyard status is rooted in a deeper and longer narrative. From Alexander the Great to Genghis Khan’s descendants, from Rome’s eastern ambitions to the British and Russian “Great Game,” Persia has stood as a proving ground where empires’ dreams came to die—or to decay.
