Iranian calendar

The Iranian calendar, introduced in the reign of Reza Shah Pahlavi (1925 – 1941), modified the Islamic calendar, introducing a solar year with Farsi names for the months. The year begins on March 21 of the Gregorian calendar, roughly corresponding to the spring equinox. Years are numbered by the years since the Hegira, so the Iranian year will be 621 less than the Gregorian year that began on January 1. For example, the Iranian year that began on 21 March 2002, was 1381.

The first six months all have 31 days; the next five have 30 days, and the last month has 29 days except in every fourth year, when it has 30. Because the last month begins near the end of February, 13 days later, at the end of Esfand, the insertion of a leap day into the Iranian calendar brings the correspondence between the Gregorian and Iranian calendars back into sync.

An interactive, Java-based Iranian calendar is available at www.alavi.us/jcal/

The tables below may be used to convert a date in the Iranian calendar to a date in the Gregorian calendar. For example, to find the Gregorian equivalent of 16 Azar, look up Azar in the first table, which shows that Azar is pattern D and that 1 Azar falls in November. In the second table, row 16 and column D gives “7.” Also note that row 1, column D, is “22,” meaning the first of Azar fell on November 22. Sixteen days later, it would have been December. So 16 Azar is December 7th.

(Dates in parentheses in column G are for Gregorian leap years.)

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Last revised: 1 September 2004.