Curated playlist
Former countries in West Asia
- Safavid IranIn July 1501, Ismail entered Tabriz and made Twelver Shi'ism the required faith of Iran.
- Republic of MahabadThe Republic of Mahabad, a Kurdish state in Iran, lasted exactly 327 days. Iranian forces ended it in December 1946.
- Mandate for Syria and the LebanonFrance split its Syria and Lebanon mandate into six states within months. The lines followed sectarian divisions.
- PhoeniciaThe Phoenicians never called themselves Phoenicians. The name came from the Greeks.
- Roman RepublicThe Roman Republic began with one act of violence and ended with another.
- Kingdom of JerusalemThe first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem refused a golden crown. Godfrey of Bouillon took a humbler title in 1099.
- Byzantine EmpireThe Byzantine Empire never called itself Byzantine. Its citizens called themselves Romans, and the name came later.
- Mandatory PalestineEvery other Class A Mandate had reached independence by 1946, but Palestine had not. Britain ruled it from 1920 to 1948.
- Roman SyriaRoman Syria began in 64 BCE, when Pompey had the last Seleucid king executed.
- ColchisAccording to Greek and Roman sources, between 70 and 300 languages were spoken in one city of ancient Colchis.
- Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet RepublicThe Transcaucasian republic was born from a Soviet invasion and helped found the USSR.
- Soviet UnionOn December 26, 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev officially recognized the Soviet Union's dissolution.
- Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire began as a republic run by elected officials. It still lasted, in one form or another, until 1453.