Arteshbod A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Bahram Aryana ( fa, بهرام آریانا); also spelled Bahram Ariana born Hossein Manouchehri; 17 March 1906 – 21 June 1985) was a top Iranian military commander during the reign of

Mohammed Reza Pahlavi Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monoth ...

and an Iranian nationalist and

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

. Professor Monica M. Ringer described Aryana as probably the most notorious “converted Zoroastrian” of the Pahlavi era.

Biography

He was born on 17 March 1906 in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

from a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

mother, whose ancestor was King Heraclius II, and from a judge father, Sadr-ed-din. His name was ''Hossein Manouchehri'', which he would change it to Bahram Aryana in 1950. Professor Monica M. Ringer has described Aryana as probably the most notorious “converted Zoroastrian” of the Pahlavi era. He was educated in France at the École Supérieur de Guerre and received his PhD in 1955 from the Faculty of Law of Paris with his thesis "Napoleon et l'Orient" (published in 1957). Aryana is known to have styled himself on

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

and dressed in the Imperial French style. After the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in 1941 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he went on with armed struggle and resisted the occupation before being arrested by the British forces. He was instrumental in many of the nationalist policies in the 1950-1960s. During the military campaign of 1964-65 he successfully pacified rebellious tribes in the south of Iran ( Pars,

Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...

and

Khuzestan Khuzestan Province (also spelled Xuzestan; fa, استان خوزستان ''Ostān-e Xūzestān'') is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the southwest of the country, bordering Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Its capital is Ahvaz and it covers ...

) stirred-up by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, without shedding blood. De Gaulle Pahlavi Aryana

Following his military success in the south, General Aryana was named Chief of Staff of the Shah's Army, position he maintained from 1965 to 1969. During his posting as Chief of Staff, he met with various head of states including

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

, who received him at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; he, יִצְחָק רַבִּין, ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77, and from 1992 until h ...

(then the Chief of Staff of the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

), who received him in Israel and

General de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

, during his visit to Iran. Aryana left Iran in 1969 on the order of the Shah. This was due to the Arvand Rud (Shatt al-Arab) crisis. Unlike his fellow

and exiled leader, Gholam-Ali Oveissi. Aryana was 'beloved' by the Kurdish population of Iran from his time as the military governor of Kurdistan. He died in exile in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in June 1985 and is buried at the

Montparnasse cemetery Montparnasse Cemetery (french: link=no, Cimetière du Montparnasse) is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, in the city's 14th arrondissement. The cemetery is roughly 47 acres and is the second largest cemetery in Paris. The cemetery ...

. General Aryana was a of the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

. His last published book, was a call for unity against the obscurantist forces driving Khomeini and the mullahs' fundamentalist revolution.

Party affiliation

Aryana described himself as being an Iranian nationalist and moderate socialist, not a monarchist. Although he received a great deal of support from monarchists who considered him to be a supporter. Aryana held dual membership of

Aria Party Aria Party ( fa, حزب آریا, Ḥezb-e Āryā, lit=Aryan Party; also spelled Arya and Ariya) was a monarchist and nationalist political party in Iran known for its pro-British policy and staunch anti-Communist tendency. It was alleged to hav ...

and

SUMKA The National Socialist Workers Party of Iran ( fa, حزب سوسیالیست ملی کارگران ایران, Ḥezb-e Sosīālīst-e Mellī-e Kārgarān-e Īrān; Hezbe Sosiâliste Mellie Kârgarâne Irân), better known by its abbreviation SUM ...

. He founded Azadegan, a nationalist opposition group which had "developed a full command staff structure and support from all nationalist elements from the moderate left to the monarchists". while in exile in Paris. Aryana combined his forces with not just Gholam Ali Oveissi but also Shapour Bakhtiar, Ahmad Madani and

Ali Amini Ali Amini ( fa, علی امینی; 12 September 1905–12 December 1992) was an Iranian politician who was the Prime Minister of Iran from 1961 to 1962. He held several cabinet portfolios during the 1950s, and served as a member of parliame ...

. Azadegan, meaning Born Free, was an anti-Khomeini movement which claimed as many as 12,000 followers in Iran, many of them in the armed forces.Bahram Aryana Dies; Ex-Iran Chief of Staff
''New York Times''.(Paris). 27 June 1985. Retrieved 4 January 2015. The daring seizing by Azadegan's officers of ''Tabarzin'', an Iranian Navy's Combattante II class fast attack craft just built by France and en route to Iran while in the Mediterranean in August 1981, attracted media attention to Azadegan and its members' armed resistance against the clerical regime of Iran.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aryana, Bahram 20th-century Iranian politicians 1906 births 1985 deaths Converts to Zoroastrianism Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in France Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Imperial Iranian Armed Forces four-star generals Iranian collaborators with Nazi Germany Iranian emigrants to France Iranian people of Georgian descent Prisoners and detainees of the British military People from Tonekabon SUMKA politicians Politicians from Tehran École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni