Quote Originally Posted by QuintusSertorius View Post
I'd be a little careful with that assumption, two millenia is long enough for rivers to dry up, cut new channels and otherwise move long distances. It's also enough for desertification to turn what was once a fertile land into a trackless patch of sand. Or for sea levels locally to rise or fall, and coastal erosion/deposits move material enough to completely change the coastline.
Ordinarily, I'd agree with you, but Iran is a special case. Firstly, the region mainly comprises mountains and arid plains that receive very little rainfall. Significant temperate zones exist only at the fringes of Iran, along the Persian Gulf or Caspian Sea. No rivers comparable to the Nile, Tigris or Euphrates erodes the land, reducing deposition at the mouths of any stream. In the absence of global climactic shifts, the only sea-level change results from deposition, volcanic flows and land subsidence. Considering Iran lies in a tectonically active region, this is entirely possible, but minor alterations along the coast hardly affect my description. Lastly, fossil evidence indicates much of Iran has remained dry for thousands of years.

It's also important to note that deserts in Iran tend to form on the central plateaus, a consequence of the rainshadow effect. Not to mention most modern desertification occurs as a result of intensive human activity.