Iran and the Shia

The history of Iran is a long, rich, multi-layered one. Iran was once known as Persia and was devoted to an ancient religion known as Zoroastrianism. The Persian people converted to Islam following the Arab conquest. Persia contributed as much to Islam as it received. Indeed, it eventually developed along a separate path from most Arab Muslims, as it adopted the Shia branch of the faith. Though th...