Persian Army

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A national army of sorts has existed in Iran since the establishment of the Persian Empire. National armies usually appeared throughout the country's points of strength, while in times of weakness mercenaries and conscript armies were recruited temporarily from fiefdoms.

The original core of full time troops and imperial body guards were called the Immortals, these were established in 580BC by Cyrus the Great. These were replaced by the Junishapur Shahanshah (King of Kings) in the Sassanid Dynasty after a period of disunity and chaos in the country.
Following the Arab invasion of Iran and eventual resurgence of Iranian dynasties a new full time army was formed by the name of Qezelbash in the Safavid Dynasty. The Qajar period saw several attempts to re-model the traditional Persian military based on western models.
Training over the centuries has varied wildly, however until the Qajar era it was common to see many train for combat in Zurkhaneh (Persian: House of Strength زورخانه).