Best Iranian history movies

Muhammad: The Messenger of God is an 2015 Iranian film directed by Majid Majidi. The story revolves around the childhood of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The film marks Iran's biggest-budget production to date and is the first part of the planned trilogy on the life of the Prophet. Barring a few scenes filmed in South Africa, the majority of the filming was done at a colossal set created in the city of Qom near Tehran. The film was officially announced in October 2011 and its filming was completed by 2013. The cinematography is done by Vittorio Storaro and film score is composed by A. R. Rahman. The film was selected for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Oscar ceremony in 2016, but was excluded from the short list.

Kurdish-Iranian poet Sahel has just been released from a thirty-year prison sentence in Iran. Now the one thing keeping him going is the thought of finding his wife, who thinks he's been dead for over twenty years.

Qader, a bricklayer from Sardasht in Kurdistan Iran whose wife is pregnant with her 4th child, suddenly found himself amid a war crime perpetrated by the Saddam regime. On June 28th, 1987 Iraqi air fighters dropped mustard gas bombs on the city...

In 1981, Islamic Republic intelligence agents work to track down MEK operatives trying to assassinate Iranian officials in the aftermath of the resignation of President Banisadr.

During the Iran-Iraq war, a television cinematographer, having financial problems, needs to get a loan from the TV to complete his half-built flat so one of his colleagues suggests him going to the war zone under the pretext of making a documentary about the Iraqi captives for the sake of accompanying another man who is so influential in TV's treasury, so that he can take his loan more easily. However he doesn't want to get to the line of fire, his sanctimonious demeanor leads him to something more precious than what he started his journey for.

The story of Imam Hossein's battle in Karbala, an unfair war which made one the most important effects in Islam history.

Itinerant Kurdish teachers, carrying blackboards on their backs, look for students in the hills and villages of Iran, near the Iraqi border during the Iran-Iraq war. Said falls in with a group of old men looking for their bombed-out village; he offers to guide them, and takes as his wife Halaleh, the clan's lone woman, a widow with a young son. Reeboir attaches himself to a dozen pre-teen boys weighed down by contraband they carry across the border; they're mules, always on the move. Said and Reeboir try to teach as their potential students keep walking. Danger is close; armed soldiers patrol the skies, the roads, and the border. Is there a role for a teacher? Is there hope?

M. Sadeghi stars as the title character in filmmaker Reza Varzi's epic retelling of the life and times of Abraham, known as the patriarch of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the world's three most prominent monotheistic religions. Led by God from Mesopotamia to the land of Canaan, Abraham entered into a covenant with the Lord that, once fulfilled, would see him father a great nation of kings.

In the year 16 BCE, the people of Jerusalem are awaiting the birth of the son of Imran. Instead of the much-anticipated "Messiah", a girl is born to Imran and Anna. The latter names her ...

Solomon, Prophet and the King, has asked God to give him an ideal kingdom which has never been given to anybody before. He is told to prepare himself and his subjects with evil and unearthly creatures that haunt the men.

When a windstorm happens in life, love is the first victim. In Iran, Tehran, 1953.

Bahram Beyzai's poetic imagining of the circumstances that led to the death of Yazdgerd III, the last of the Sassanid kings of Iran. His death in 651, during the Arab invasions that brought Islam to this Zoroastrian realm, was mysterious: his corpse was discovered in a mill, but the cause of his death—and the whereabouts of his remains—are unknown.

Based on an ancient story Sang-e Sabor it's the story of a girl Nardaneh who one day hears a voice telling her that soon she will marry with a dead man. One day she enters a castle and in one of it's room finds a dead body with a book beside it. She begins to read the book and follows the instructions step by step.

Sohrab, a provincial young writer, is lost in the desert on the way to Tehran to get a publication license for his book on old Persian poetry, but the trip involves some bizarre events.

The movie Okht al-Reza (Reza's sister) narrates the journey of the Lady of Dignity, Hazrat Masoumeh PBUH from Madinah to Qom. While portraying the events of the Prophet's path, her time, Ma'mun's conspiracies and efforts for her martyrdom, the work tries to express a mystical narrative of the character of Hazrat Masoumeh. It deals with the story of this journey, and includes passages about the political and social atmosphere of the time, where the general atmosphere of the storytelling is somewhat close to the documentary.

A Pharaoh dreams of a future conqueror who will threaten his rule. As persecution begins, Moses is born secretly and rescued from Infanticide. Raised under divine guidance, he matures to confront tyranny and lead his people toward liberation.

The movie chronicles the life of the famous painter Kamololmolk, and his relationship with various kings.

The film follows a character known as The Cinematographer, who is looking for someone called Atieh (Future). As he calls out to her, he is magically transported back in time from the early twentieth century to the reign of Naser al-Din Shah in 19th century Iran. Captured by the Shah's guards, he shows films from the history of Iranian cinema to the Shah. The Shah is entranced and eagerly shows his family the apparently magical medium.

A group of Iranian classical musicians in the Ghajar era try to release their first record, which takes them on a journey to France.

During one of his campaigns, Malkoçoğlu Ali Bey was taken prisoner by Homer and spent years in a dungeon, enduring torture. He eventually escapes. Separated from his beloved wife and his unknown son Polat, he continues his life as a cavalry leader on horseback. His son's desire to become a cavalryman brings together the father and son, who do not know each other. They are given a mission: to prevent Cem Sultan, the son of Fatih Sultan Mehmet and the blood brother of Malkoçoğlu Ali Bey, from falling into the hands of the Venetians. This film tells the story of Malkoçoğlu Ali Bey, the son of the famous raider Malkoçoğlu Bali Bey, who was educated at the Enderun-ı Hümayün, the palace university founded by Fatih Sultan Mehmed Han. He served as the governor of Sofia and was martyred in the Battle of Çaldıran in 1514.

A band of 14th-century warriors with some very unique combat skills protect a princess during an attempted coup.

The story follows Joseph's journey from being sold by his brothers to Egypt, his trials in Potiphar's house, imprisonment, rise to power interpreting dreams, reunion with his family after proving his brothers' remorse.

An examination of the work and lives of actresses in the Iranian film industry prior to the 1979 revolution, featuring myriad interviews and rare film clips.

A director of a television series on the history of cinema, who has been grappling with the screenplay of his first feature film, receives an assignment to oversee the installation of a television relay station in a remote region of Zahedan province. He has already hired Turkmen tribespeople for his film and selected his filming location. Meanwhile his wife, who is working on her Ph.D. dissertation about the Mongol invasion of Iran, attempts to dissuade him from accepting the assignment. One night, while working on his history of the cinema series, the director fantasizes a diegetic world that consists of clever juxtapositions of his different worlds: the history of cinema, the history of the mongol invasion, his own film idea and his imminent assignment to the desert.

Story of Rumi, his friendship with Shams Tabrizi, the love he had for him and the great influence of Shams over him in his life, his poetry and his love for God.

Prince Ehtejab, one of the last remaining heirs of the Qajar royal family, is suffering from tuberculosis, which he knows is fatal. He spends his last days alone in the magnificent rooms of his wintry palace, from where he recollects the glory days of his ancestors as well as days of degradation. Among the latter are the gruesome manner in which his cruel grandfather murdered his mother and brother, and the way that he himself caused the death of his wife.

The Last Days of Winter is an Iranian television documentary series directed and written by Mohammad Hossein Mahdavian, which aired on IRIB TV1 from 28 September to 6 December 2012 for 10 episodes.

Hajji Hossein-Gholi Noori (Haji Baba) goes to Washington D.C. as the first Iranian (Persian) ambassador to the United States of America. After he opens the embassy, he is unable to invite statesmen to visit him. Haji fires the embassy staff due to the inability of the Persian government to meet the embassy's needs. One night he is visited by President Grover Cleveland.

Based on Ghassan Kanafani's novel, 'Returning to Haifa,' this film, set in 1967, centres on a Palestinian couple who return to the war-torn city to search for their young son Farhan, whom they were forced to abandon when fleeing Zionist acts of terrorism in 1948. Saeed and Atefeh's own house has even been taken over by a Polish Jewish family, who, it transpires, are holding Farhan hostage. It is up to the couple, with the assistance of Farhan's steely grandmother, to find a way to reclaim their lost son. One of the few Iranian films to tackle the Palestinian issue from a historical perspective, this stunning piece of work from Seifollah Daad features meticulous attention to period detail and moving performances.

A minstrel named Kamous is standing before Rostam. One out of many stories he has recited for people is: What befell Sohrab with Rostam. Rostam believes that the story the minstrel is narrating-- the Tragedy of Sohrab, is inverted, gone astray and wrongful. And he questions the minstrel "why?" Here, with Rostam questioning the minstrel another story begins which is the opening of our narrative.

Princess of Rome, Mellika, granddaughter of Great Caesar. The story talks about her move from Byzantium in the 9th century, to avoid her marriage with Krytos, and brings her to Baghdad to become the mother of Imam Mahdi, the Savior.

After the Iranian coup in 1953, Col. Takin is commissioned to find and recover 11 tons of gold from Russia. The subject of this film is the reclamation money that was supposed to be paid by England, America and Russia to Iran because of the World War II and is about the year 1951. This film is a historical drama about the War events and the issues that opened the door to Iran for the allies and axis forces, and points to the reclamation payment to Iran.

An Iranian diplomat who miraculously survived Taliban's raid on the Iranian consulate in Mazar E Sharif (Afghanistan) narrates his 19 days of hide and escape to reach Iran's borders meanwhile on the other side, the Iranian troops are preparing for retaliation.

When a British officer is found dead on a pipeline, tensions rise between a local tribe and authorities.

The whole story about Imam Ali, the friend and companion of Prophet Muhammad.

Tehran, 1948. A young Jewish couple, Danial and his wife Munes, decide to immigrate to the recently founded state of Israel. But their application is rejected on the ground of the documents against Danial's uncle, Yaghub, how is suspected of betrayal. A Zionist agent, named Yezghel, finds out Yaghub's home and stabs him. One of Yaghub's neighbours who witnesses the crime is blamed for murder. Fearing for their lives, Munes and Danial escape to the north of Iran in order to leave the country. The Neighbour's brother, Nuri, a journalist, sets off on their heels to bring them to the court to give testimony on his brother's innocence.

The film depicts the Christian West's attack on Jerusalem and the defense of Muslims led by Saladin. Believing that they will become rich and go to heaven if they capture Jerusalem, Christians led by Richard the Lionheart launch an attack. Saladin cannot find the support he expects from Muslim emirs. The Crusader armies are approaching Jerusalem, committing massacres along the way. Saladin, who has been wearing down the Crusaders with hit-and-run tactics for a long time, will defeat the Christians in the great battle and protect Jerusalem.

In coincidence with the Nationalization of Iranian Oil Industry, when the Iranian government faces budget deficits due to the fact that the entire world stops acquiring oil from the country, Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh asks the people for support. So a group of university students decide to rob the National Bank of Iran for good, but simultaneously some robbers enter the bank and steal the money. It seems that the destiny would be marked in the confrontation of the student activists and the opportunist thieves…

In Tehran 1916 during first world war a group of patriots make a punishment committee to punish the traitors. With the lead of Abolfatooh Mirza, Reza Tofangchi begins the assassinations.

One evening in a grand royal palace, a frivolous and grotesque sultan has a nightmare. The great diviner concludes that on a full moon evening arrows of doom will fall on his head. Frightened, the sultan feels discomfort and falls ill in bed...

1322 Islamic Calendar year; Iran before the constitutional revolution. People have formed a revolutionary committee to fight Khan. Cossack brigades are torturing and executing people, and Sheikh Saleh and his brother Esrafil with the help of an old man named Khajeh Isaa are prepared to fight against Khan and his steward Hollakoo.

During the Second World War and the occupation of Iran by the Allied army, Dr. Rastan goes to Ih Qashqai to treat his sister's husband. There, he is introduced to Amir Houshang, the elders of the tribal elders, and Ghobad's rebels. He returns to Shiraz. His younger brother, Ali, has been thrown into the city, and ...

Domrol is a young and strong guy. He wins the title of “the champion of champions” after defeating all the other athletes. After a while though, he starts missing real fights and the fact that he has no opponents to fight anymore saddens him. As a result, he starts hurting people in order to satisfy his need for quarrel. He later finds a proper opponent, but he dies of a bee sting. This enrages Domrol no end, and he starts cussing at God. At that moment, the angel of death appears before him and informs him that should he fail to find a volunteer who would be willing to die for him before the sunrise, his own life will be taken. Domrol begs his parents, but they refuse to do such a sacrifice. Finally his wife accepts to surrender to the angel of death instead of Domrol, but after God sees their pure love, he forgives them.

"Nader shah" surrounded Isfahan by his soldiers and captured the puppet ruler. Then it turns out that Hakim is his former friend who treacherously set fire to his house and killed his wife many years ago, but his son is the freedom-loving young man who has fought many battles in the advancement of patriotic goals. In this situation, when it is announced that the ruler has been caught, the city has been conquered without bloodshed, and the puppet ruler will also be punished for his actions.

Based on the true story of the Azari war hero, Satar Khan, during the time of the Constitutional Revolution. The story follows Satar and Heidar as they join another hero Bagher Khan.

The brothers of Yusuf (Joseph), jealous of their father Yaqub’s (Jacob's) love for him, throw him into a well. A caravan rescues Yusuf, and years later he is sold as a slave in the market of Egypt. Zulaikha, Yusuf's owner, falls in love with him, and after an incident, the Aziz of Egypt (Zulaikha’s husband) has him imprisoned. Seven years later, Yusuf is released due to his interpretation of the Pharaoh’s dream and rises to the rank of Aziz of Egypt.

When an attempted breakout of a prisoner ends in mass bloodshed, a power struggle erupts between the lawmen and a group of civilians in a rural province. As hostilities between the two sides slowly escalate, the animosity felt by the rebel leader towards his enemies slowly grows. Violence only begets more violence as a brutal attack is met with an act of revenge. A Bloody historical epic from Jamshid Heydari.

Year 4, on the eve of the US President's arrival in Tehran, Reza Dargahi, an airport facility worker, is following the high speed of the car, the Passer Rahmati, the Posting Patrol. The guard gun becomes missing. Captain Kiani and Captain Ghasemi officer offers the case. The security agency considers the security of the weapon to be the assassination of the US president. Reza and some of the witnesses are pressured. Reza is killed. Police find the gun at the scene. Captain Kiani and Qasemi are arrested for failing to do so and ordered that the two are not arrested along with other detainees.