Iran

http://youtu.be/FfrJ2rBobGs

Iran

The modern day Iranian sphere of influence is actually very similar to the process that happened two millenia ago, when the Persian Empire was founded. In the ancient times the Persian armies conquered, Babylon, the capital of Mesopotamia. Only after this conquest were the Persians able to exert their power throughout the region. And with no regional power to oppose them, the Persians quickly established an empire that stretched from the Hindu Kush to the Sinai and it all started with Babylon. Names have changes but strategy remains the same and with the fall of Saddam and his Ba'ath Party, Tehran was quick to fill the gap of power. This triggered Iran's new sphere of influence.

http://youtu.be/TEC9uM1h4i0?list=PLD6AC8E04915265CA

Pre-Islamic history of the Middle East

http://youtu.be/kBpQiJt3MUQ