Rough outline from ancient through end of Middle Ages * Achaemenid - Cyrus the Great, Xerxes, etc * Alexander - Conquered Persian Empire * Seleucid - Alexand

Rough outline from ancient through end of Middle Ages * Achaemenid - Cyrus the Great, Xerxes, etc * Alexander - Conquered Persian Empire * Seleucid - Alexander's General * Parthian - Nomadic invaders who ruled Persia from horseback * Sassanian - Native Persians who expelled the Parthians and saw themselves as the heirs of the Achaemenids * Arab Caliphate - Part of the Muslim conquest * Mongol Ilkhanate - Conquered by Hulagu, Grandson of Genghis Khan * Safavid - Founded by Ismail. It was under this dynasty that Iran/Persia became Shiite as opposed to Sunni