As the Achaemenides Empire dominated Mesopotamia, Syria and Egypt and got familiar with different centers of glassmaking, this industry entered a new phase of its life. Glass vessels of this era have mostly been discovered in excavations in Persepolis. Glassware of this era were made through engraving or molding.

Glassworks of the Parthian period included bottles, alabastrons, bowls, cups, legged glasses and ornaments. Glassware were mainly green and greenish; however, other colors such as azure, pale white and brown could be seen as well. The technique used for making glass during the Parthian era was mainly free blowing; however, previous methods were used to some extent, too. Majority of glassware of this period was simple and void of any decorations but some of them bore some circular threads and decorations.

Glassware industry grew both qualitatively and quantitatively in most parts of Persian Plateau. Not only did they make use of various methods for making glassware such as smoothing, cutting and polishing, but also they made use of the free-blown method to make thin glasses and the mold-blown method for thick glasses. The free-blowing method of glassmaking results in increasing the volume of production and diversity in the early forms. Glassware of Sassanians era included alabastrons, bases and bodies of vessels, cosmetic containers and ornaments. The forms of bodies of discovered vessels were mainly cylinder-shaped and circular that mostly were void of any decorations. However, some hive-shaped decorations as well as concentric circles could be seen on them. Ornaments (such as glass bracelets) are all covered in shells and bear some groove-shaped and spiral decorations. Shades of colors seen in these items are green, pale white, yellow, reddish, and brown.

Glassworks of early Islamic centuries were actually a continuation of glassmaking art of the Sassanians period. As the Abbasids took power over the Umayyads, this industry regained its prosperity as their caliphs supported production of glassware in Iran and Mesopotamia. During 9^th and 10^th centuries A.D., cities such as Neyshabur, Rey, Jorjan and Samarkand were main centers of glassmaking. Blowing into molds and/or glassblowing to form bubbles were the main technique for glassmaking and this glassware was cut, decorated, compressed and shaped adding some other elements. It is worth mentioning that the glass cut in Neyshabur was of a great quality since it carried the glassmaking tradition of the Sassanians. The only difference between glasswork of the Islamic period and that of the Sassanians period is that during the glass cut during the Islamic period focused more on the linear cut rather than the surface cut. Additionally, glass vessels of the Islamic era in Iran do not look like those of the Sassanians. The glass was mainly cut as hollow ovals and circles during the Sassanids whereas various geometric, plant and animal designs became popular during the Islamic period that were enormously attractive.

The Islamic glassware of 8^th and 9^th centuries A.D. include small and thick alabastrons that are like prisms and formed into molars using vertical and horizontal lines and grooves. These alabastrons are made of glass that is mixed with the lead. These types of glass are blue and green and they are found in all Islamic counties and territories