User blog comment:Jeremiah Garland/The REAL World Powers/@comment-3432656-20121017224305/@comment-3112181-20121018021333

I wouldn't say the Persians were weak, so much as cut off from the rest of the civilised world. While in Europe they had established overseas empires, entered the imperial age, and were masters of modern warfare, the Persians were still somewhat desert people... They'll have their moments in the 1970s, though ^_^