The book was based on the lecture course at eth Oriental faculty of the Leningrad State University. It is a kind of manual on the Islamic history, in general, and in Iran and neighbouring countries – it was designed for students, post-graduate students, and teachers in humanitarian disciplines. From the chronological point of view, the book covers the period from the moment of Arabic conquest of Persia till the victory of the Shia movement of the Sefevids/ Kyzylbashi. The book contains many aspects and problems of the origin of Islam, Moslem doctrine and rituals, the Quran, Moslem law and its sources, the history of dogmatic disputations, and shaping of the main trend of Islam. But the special attention was put to the Shia movement and its dissemination in Iran. At the same time, the author set a task to present a comparative and rather short survey of the main conclusions of the contemporary Islamic studies.