Nowruz with Pahlavi's family

Over the centuries, this age-old rite has developed and expanded. Gradually, the celebrations accumulated more social, religious and cultural influences as they spread along established trade routes and among an estimated 300 million people. It has survived centuries of conquests, from the seventh- and eighth-century Arab forces which invaded the Persian world to governments in the former Soviet republics in Central Asia; from the Taliban in Afghanistan to secular authorities in Turkey, Syria and Iraq, which have tried to curtail Kurdish cultural identity.