,
, spouse = Maryam Savadkoohi
Tadj ol-Molouk Ayromlu (queen consort)
Turan Amirsoleimani
Turan Amirsoleimani ( fa, توران امیرسلیمانی, born Qamar ol-Molouk Amirsoleimani, (); 4 February 1905 – 24 July 1995) was an Iranian royal and the third wife of Reza Shah, with whom she had a son named Gholam Reza Pahlavi.
Biograp ...
Esmat Dowlatshahi
Esmat Dowlatshahi ( fa, عصمتالملوک دولتشاهی; 1905 – 25 July 1995) was an Iranian royal and the fourth and last wife of Reza Shah.
Early life
Dowlatshahi was born in 1905. She was a member of the Qajar dynasty. Her father ...
, issue =
Princess Hamdamsaltaneh Princess ShamsMohammad Reza Shah
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ( fa, محمدرضا پهلوی, ; 26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980), also known as Mohammad Reza Shah (), was the last ''Shah'' (King) of the Imperial State of Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow in the Irani ...
Princess Ashraf
Ashraf ol-Molouk Pahlavi ( fa, اشرفالملوک پهلوی, , 26 October 1919 – 7 January 2016) was the twin sister of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran (Name of Iran, Persia), and a member of the Pahlavi dynasty. She was consi ...
Prince Ali Reza Prince Gholam Reza Prince Abdul Reza Prince Ahmad Reza Prince Mahmoud Reza Princess Fatemeh Prince Hamid Reza
, house =
Pahlavi
Pahlavi may refer to:
Iranian royalty
*Seven Parthian clans, ruling Parthian families during the Sasanian Empire
*Pahlavi dynasty, the ruling house of Imperial State of Persia/Iran from 1925 until 1979
**Reza Shah, Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878–1944 ...
, father = Abbas-Ali Khan
, mother = Noush-Afarin
, religion =
, birth_date =
, birth_place =
Alasht
Alasht ( fa, آلاشت, ', meaning ''Eagle Sanctuary'', also Romanized as Ālāsht) is a city in the Central District of Savadkuh County, Mazandaran Province, Iran. At the 2016 census, its population was 1,193.
Alasht is isolated by surroundin ...
,
Savadkuh
Savadkuh County ( fa, شهرستان سوادكوه, ''Ŝahrestāne Sawādkuh''; also Savadkooh and Savadkouh) is located in Mazandaran province, Iran. The capital of the county is Pol Sefid. At the 2006 census, the county's population (includ ...
,
Mazandaran,
Sublime State of Persia
Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...
, death_date =
, death_place =
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
,
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Trans ...
, burial_place = 7 May 1950
Mausoleum of Reza Shah
The mausoleum of Reza Shah ( fa, آرامگاه رضاشاه), located in Ray south of Tehran, was the burial ground of Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878–1944), the penultimate ''Shahanshah'' (Emperor) of Iran. It was built close to Shah-Abdol-Azim sh ...
,
Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine
The Shāh Abdol-Azīm Shrine ( fa, شاه عبدالعظیم), also known as Shabdolazim, located in Rey, Iran, contains the tomb of ‘Abdul ‘Adhīm ibn ‘Abdillāh al-Hasanī (aka Shah Abdol Azim). Shah Abdol Azim was a fifth generation de ...
,
Rey Rey may refer to:
*Rey (given name), a given name
*Rey (surname), a surname
* Rey (''Star Wars''), a character in the ''Star Wars'' films
* Rey, Iran, a city in Iran
* Ray County, in Tehran Province of Iran
* ''Rey'' (film), a 2015 Indian film
*The ...
, signature =
![Reza Khan signature](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Reza_Khan_signature.svg)
, module =
Reza Shah Pahlavi ( fa, رضا شاه پهلوی; ; originally Reza Khan (); 15 March 1878 – 26 July 1944) was an Iranian
military officer
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service.
Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...
, politician (who served as
minister of war
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
and
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
), and first
shah
Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
of the
House of Pahlavi
The Pahlavi dynasty ( fa, دودمان پهلوی) was the last Iranian royal dynasty, ruling for almost 54 years between 1925 and 1979. The dynasty was founded by Reza Shah Pahlavi, a non-aristocratic Mazanderani soldier in modern times, who ...
of the
Imperial State of Iran
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, Texas
...
and father of the
last shah of Iran. He reigned from 15 December 1925 until he was forced to
abdicate
Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...
by the
Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran on 16 September 1941. Reza Shah introduced many social, economic, and political reforms during his reign, ultimately laying the foundation of the modern Iranian state. Therefore, he is regarded as the founder of modern Iran.
At the age of 14 he joined the
Iranian Cossack Brigade, and also served in the army. In 1911, he was promoted to first lieutenant, by 1912 he was elevated to the rank of captain and by 1915 he became a colonel. In February 1921, as leader of the entire Cossack Brigade based in Qazvin, he marched towards
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 ...
and
seized the capital. He forced the dissolution of the government and installed
Zia ol Din Tabatabaee
Seyyed Zia'eddin Tabataba'i (June 1889 – 29 August 1969; fa, سید ضیاءالدین طباطبایی) was an Iranian journalist and politician who, with the help of Reza Shah, Reza Khan Savadkuhi, led the 1921 Persian coup d'état, and su ...
as the new prime minister. Reza Khan's first role in the new government was commander-in-chief of the army and the minister of war.
Two years after the coup, Seyyed Zia appointed Reza Pahlavi as Iran's prime minister, backed by the compliant national assembly of Iran. In 1925, Reza Pahlavi was appointed as the legal monarch of Iran by the decision of Iran's constituent assembly. The assembly deposed
Ahmad Shah Qajar
Ahmad Shah Qajar ( fa, احمد شاه قاجار; 21 January 1898 – 21 February 1930) was Shah of Persia (Iran) from 16 July 1909 to 15 December 1925, and the last ruling member of the Qajar dynasty.
Ahmad Shah was born in Tabriz on 21 Janu ...
, the last
Shah
Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
of the
Qajar dynasty
The Qajar dynasty (; fa, دودمان قاجار ', az, Qacarlar ) was an IranianAbbas Amanat, ''The Pivot of the Universe: Nasir Al-Din Shah Qajar and the Iranian Monarchy, 1831–1896'', I. B. Tauris, pp 2–3 royal dynasty of Turkic peoples ...
, and amended Iran's 1906 constitution to allow selection of Reza Pahlavi as the Shah of Iran. He founded the Pahlavi dynasty that lasted until overthrown in 1979 during the
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
.
In the spring of 1950, he was posthumously named as Reza Shah the Great () by Iran's
National Consultative Assembly
The National Consultative Assembly ( fa, مجلس شورای ملی, Mad̲j̲les-e s̲h̲ūrā-ye mellī) or simply Majles, was the national legislative body of Iran from 1906 to 1979.
It was elected by universal suffrage, excluding the armed for ...
.
[''تاریخ بیست ساله ایران''، حسین مکی، نشر ناشر، ۱۳۶۳ تهران][نجفقلی پسیان و خسرو معتضد، ''از سوادکوه تا ژوهانسبورگ: زندگی رضاشاه پهلوی''، نشر ثالث، ۷۸۶ صفحه، چاپ سوم، ۱۳۸۲، ویژه:منابع کتاب/]
His legacy remains controversial to this day. His defenders assert that he was an essential reunification modernization force for Iran (whose international prominence had sharply declined during Qajar rule), while his detractors assert that his reign was often despotic, with his failure to modernize Iran's large peasant population eventually sowing the seeds for the
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
nearly four decades later, which ended
2,500 years of Persian monarchy. Moreover, his insistence on
ethnic
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
and cultural unitarism, along with forced detribalization and
sedentarization
In cultural anthropology, sedentism (sometimes called sedentariness; compare sedentarism) is the practice of living in one place for a long time. , the large majority of people belong to sedentary cultures. In evolutionary anthropology and ar ...
, resulted in the suppression of several ethnic and social groups. Although he himself was of Iranian
Mazanderani descent,
his government carried out an extensive policy of
Persianization
Persianization () or Persification (; fa, پارسیسازی), is a sociological process of cultural change in which a non-Persian society becomes "Persianate", meaning it either directly adopts or becomes strongly influenced by the Persian ...
trying to create a single, united and largely homogeneous nation, similar to
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 Surname Law (Turkey), until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish Mareşal (Turkey), field marshal, Turkish National Movement, re ...
's policy of
Turkification
Turkification, Turkization, or Turkicization ( tr, Türkleştirme) describes a shift whereby populations or places received or adopted Turkic attributes such as culture, language, history, or ethnicity. However, often this term is more narrowly ...
in
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
after the fall of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
.
Early life
![Museum of Reza Shah Pahlavi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Museum_of_Reza_Shah_Pahlavi.jpg)
Reza Shah Pahlavi was born in the town of
Alasht
Alasht ( fa, آلاشت, ', meaning ''Eagle Sanctuary'', also Romanized as Ālāsht) is a city in the Central District of Savadkuh County, Mazandaran Province, Iran. At the 2016 census, its population was 1,193.
Alasht is isolated by surroundin ...
in
Savadkuh County
Savadkuh County ( fa, شهرستان سوادكوه, ''Ŝahrestāne Sawādkuh''; also Savadkooh and Savadkouh) is located in Mazandaran province, Mazandaran province, Iran. The capital of the county is Pol Sefid, Mazandaran, Pol Sefid. At the 20 ...
,
Mazandaran Province, in 1878, to son of
Major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
Abbas-Ali Khan and wife Noush-Afarin.
His mother was 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 ...
Muslim immigrant from
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
(then part of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
), whose family had emigrated to
Qajar Iran
Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...
when it was forced to cede all of its territories in the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
following the
Russo-Persian Wars
The Russo-Persian Wars or Russo-Iranian Wars were a series of conflicts between 1651 and 1828, concerning Iran, Persia (Iran) and the Russian Empire. Russia and Persia fought these wars over disputed governance of territories and countries in th ...
several decades prior to Reza Shah's birth. His father was a
Mazanderani,
commissioned in the 7th
Savadkuh
Savadkuh County ( fa, شهرستان سوادكوه, ''Ŝahrestāne Sawādkuh''; also Savadkooh and Savadkouh) is located in Mazandaran province, Iran. The capital of the county is Pol Sefid. At the 2006 census, the county's population (includ ...
Regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...
, and served in the
Siege of Herat in 1856. Abbas-Ali died suddenly on 26 November 1878, when Reza was barely 8 months old. Upon his father's death, Reza and his mother moved to her brother's house in Tehran. She remarried in 1879 and left Reza to the care of his uncle. In 1882, his uncle in turn sent Reza to a family friend, Amir Tuman Kazim Khan, an officer in the Persian Cossack Brigade, in whose home he had a room of his own and a chance to study with Kazim Khan's children with the tutors who came to the house. When Reza was sixteen years old, he joined the
Persian Cossack Brigade
, image = Persian Cossack Brigade.jpg
, caption = Persian Cossack Brigade in Tabriz in 1909
, dates = 1879–1921
, disbanded = 6 December 1921
, count ...
. In 1903, when he was 25 years old, he is reported to have been guard and servant to the Dutch consul general
Fridolin Marinus Knobel
Fridolin Marinus (Frits) Knobel (18 May 1857 – 16 October 1933) was a Dutch diplomat and politician.
He was born in Amsterdam to parents who owned a confectionary and lunch room in the Kalverstraat. After graduating from secondary school he wor ...
.
He also served in the
Imperial Army. His initial career started as a private under Qajar Prince
Abdol-Hossein Farman Farma
Prince Abdol-Hossein Farman Farma ( fa, عبدالحسین فرمانفرما 1857 – November, 1939) was one of the most prominent Qajar princes, and one of the most influential politicians of his time in Persia. He was born in Tehran to P ...
's command. Farman Farma noted that Reza had potential and sent him to military school where he gained the rank of gunnery sergeant. In 1911, he gave a good account of himself in later campaigns and was promoted to First Lieutenant. His proficiency in handling machine guns elevated him to the rank equivalent to captain in 1912. By 1915, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel. His record of military service eventually led him to a commission as a
brigadier general
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
in the
Persian Cossack Brigade
, image = Persian Cossack Brigade.jpg
, caption = Persian Cossack Brigade in Tabriz in 1909
, dates = 1879–1921
, disbanded = 6 December 1921
, count ...
. He was the last commanding officer of the Brigade, and the only Iranian commander in its history, succeeding to this position the Russian colonel
Vsevolod Starosselsky Vsevolod Starosselsky (Vsevolod Dmitryevich Staroselsky, russian: Все́волод Дми́триевич Старосе́льский; 7 March 1875 – 29 June 1935) was a Russian military officer of Russian and Georgian noble background, known f ...
, whom Reza Shah had helped, in 1918, take over the brigade.
In November 1919, he chose the last name
Pahlavi
Pahlavi may refer to:
Iranian royalty
*Seven Parthian clans, ruling Parthian families during the Sasanian Empire
*Pahlavi dynasty, the ruling house of Imperial State of Persia/Iran from 1925 until 1979
**Reza Shah, Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878–1944 ...
for himself, which later became the name of the dynasty he founded.
Rise to power
1921 coup
![رضا خان پشت مسلسل](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/%D8%B1%D8%B6%D8%A7_%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%86_%D9%BE%D8%B4%D8%AA_%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%84.jpg)
In the aftermath of the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
, Persia had become a battleground. In 1917, Britain used Iran as the springboard for the launching of an expedition into Russia as part of their
intervention in the
Russian Civil War
, date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...
on the side of the
White movement. The
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
responded by annexing portions of northern Persia, creating the
Persian Socialist Soviet Republic
The Persian Socialist Soviet Republic ( fa, ), also known as the Soviet Republic of Iran or Socialist Soviet Republic of Gilan, was a short-lived unrecognized state, a Soviet republic in the Iranian province of Gilan that lasted from June 1920 ...
. The Soviets extracted ever more humiliating concessions from the Qajar government, whose ministers
Ahmad Shah was often unable to control. By 1920, the government had lost virtually all power outside its capital: British and Soviet forces exercised control over most of the Iranian mainland.
In late 1920, the Soviets in
Rasht
Rasht ( fa, رشت, Rašt ; glk, Rəšt, script=Latn; also romanized as Resht and Rast, and often spelt ''Recht'' in French and older German manuscripts) is the capital city of Gilan Province, Iran. Also known as the "City of Rain" (, ''Ŝahre B ...
prepared to march on Tehran with "a guerrilla force of 1,500
Jangalis,
Kurds ug:كۇردلار
Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ir ...
,
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...
, and
Azerbaijanis
Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. They are the second-most numer ...
", reinforced by the Soviet
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
. This, along with various other unrest in the country, created "an acute political crisis in the capital."
![Reza Khan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Reza_Khan.jpg)
On 14 January 1921, the commander of the British Forces in Iran, General
Edmund "Tiny" Ironside, promoted Reza Khan, who had been leading the Tabriz battalion, to lead the entire brigade.
About a month later, under British direction, Reza Khan led his 3,000-4,000 strong detachment of the Cossack Brigade, based in
Niyarak
, native_name_lang = fa
, settlement_type = Village
, image_skyline =
, imagesize =
, image_alt =
, image_caption =
, image_flag =
, flag_alt =
, ...
, Qazvin, and Hamadan, to Tehran and
seized the capital. He forced the dissolution of the previous government and demanded that
Seyyed Zia'eddin Tabatabaee
Seyyed Zia'eddin Tabataba'i (June 1889 – 29 August 1969; fa, سید ضیاءالدین طباطبایی) was an Iranian journalist and politician who, with the help of Reza Khan Savadkuhi, led the 1921 Persian coup d'état, and subsequently ...
be appointed Prime Minister.
[ para. 2, 3] Reza Khan's first role in the new government was as commander of the Iranian Army, which he combined with the post of
Minister of War
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
. He took the title Sardar Sepah ( fa, سردار سپاه), or Commander-in-Chief of the Army, by which he was known until he became Shah. While Reza Khan and his Cossack brigade secured Tehran, the Persian envoy in Moscow negotiated a treaty with the
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
s for the removal of Soviet troops from Persia. Article IV of the
Russo-Persian Treaty of Friendship allowed the Soviets to invade and occupy Persia, should they believe foreign troops were using it as a staging area for an invasion of Soviet territory.
As Soviets interpreted the treaty, they could invade if events in Persia should prove threatening to Soviet national security. This treaty would cause enormous tension between the two nations until the
Anglo-Soviet Invasion of Iran.
The
coup d'état of 1921 was partially assisted by the British government, which wished to halt the Bolsheviks' penetration of Iran, particularly because of the threat it posed to the
British possessions in India. It is thought that the British provided "ammunition, supplies and pay" for Reza's troops. On 8 June 1932, a British Embassy report states that the British were interested in helping Reza Shah create a centralizing power.
General Ironside
Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal William Edmund Ironside, 1st Baron Ironside, (6 May 1880 – 22 September 1959) was a senior officer of the British Army who served as Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom), Chief of the Impe ...
gave a situation report to the British War Office saying that a capable Persian officer was in command of the Cossacks and this "would solve many difficulties and enable us to depart in peace and honour".
Reza Khan spent the rest of 1921 securing Iran's interior, responding to a number of revolts that erupted against the new government. Among the greatest threats to the new administration were the Persian Soviet Socialist Republic, which had been established in
Gilan, and the
Kurds ug:كۇردلار
Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ir ...
of
Khorasan
Khorasan may refer to:
* Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan
* Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...
.
Overthrow of the Qajar dynasty
![Militaryparadetehran](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Militaryparadetehran.jpg)
From the beginning of the appointment of Reza Khan as the minister of war, there was ever increasing tension with
Zia ol Din Tabatabaee
Seyyed Zia'eddin Tabataba'i (June 1889 – 29 August 1969; fa, سید ضیاءالدین طباطبایی) was an Iranian journalist and politician who, with the help of Reza Shah, Reza Khan Savadkuhi, led the 1921 Persian coup d'état, and su ...
, who was prime minister at the time.
Zia ol Din Tabatabaee wrongly calculated that when Reza Khan was appointed as the minister of war, he would relinquish his post as the head of the
Persian Cossack Brigade
, image = Persian Cossack Brigade.jpg
, caption = Persian Cossack Brigade in Tabriz in 1909
, dates = 1879–1921
, disbanded = 6 December 1921
, count ...
, and that Reza Khan would wear civilian clothing instead of the military attire.
This erroneous calculation by Zia ol Din Tabatabaee backfired and instead it was apparent to people who observed Reza Khan, including members of parliament, that he (and not Zia ol Din Tabatabaee) was the one who wielded power.
By 1923, Reza Khan had largely succeeded in securing Iran's interior from any remaining domestic and foreign threats. Upon his return to the capital he was appointed Prime Minister, which prompted Ahmad Shah to leave Iran for Europe, where he would remain (at first voluntarily, and later in exile) until his death. It induced the Parliament to grant Reza Khan dictatorial powers, who in turn assumed the symbolic and honorific styles of ''
Janab
Janab, Janaab or Janob (Persian spelling) (; ) is an Islamic honorary title, which means "Sir" in English. The title has been carried by many Islamic poet and writers. The compound style Janab-e-Ashraf (جانبِ الشرف ''janāb-i ashraf'' - ...
-i-Ashraf'' (His Serene Highness) and ''
Hazrat
''Hazrat, , ,'' or ' ( ar, حَضْرَة, ḥaḍra, pl. ''ḥaḍrāt''; Persian: pronounced or ) is a common Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani, Iranian, Afghan, and honorific Arabic and Turkish title used to honour a person. It literally deno ...
-i-Ashraf'' on 28 October 1923. He quickly established a political cabinet in Tehran to help organize his plans for modernization and reform.
By October 1925, he succeeded in pressuring the
Majlis
( ar, المجلس, pl. ') is an Arabic term meaning "sitting room", used to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups of administrative, social or religious nature in countries with linguistic or cultural conne ...
to depose and formally exile Ahmad Shah, and instate him as the next Shah of Iran. Initially, he had planned to declare the country a
republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
, as his contemporary Atatürk had done in Turkey, but abandoned the idea in the face of British and clerical opposition.
The Majlis, convening as a
constituent assembly
A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
, declared him the
Shah
Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
(King) of Iran on 12 December 1925, pursuant to the
Persian Constitution of 1906
The Persian Constitution of 1906 ( fa, قانون اساسی مشروطه, Qanun-e Asasi-ye Mishirutâh), was the first constitution of the Sublime State of Persia (Qajar Iran), resulting from the Persian Constitutional Revolution and it was w ...
. Three days later, on 15 December, he took his imperial oath and thus became the first shah of the
Pahlavi dynasty
The Pahlavi dynasty ( fa, دودمان پهلوی) was the last Iranian royal dynasty, ruling for almost 54 years between 1925 and 1979. The dynasty was founded by Reza Shah Pahlavi, a non-aristocratic Mazanderani soldier in modern times, who ...
. Reza Shah's
coronation
A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...
took place much later, on 25 April 1926. It was at that time that his son,
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
, title = Shahanshah Aryamehr Bozorg Arteshtaran
, image = File:Shah_fullsize.jpg
, caption = Shah in 1973
, succession = Shah of Iran
, reign = 16 September 1941 – 11 February 1979
, coronation = 26 October ...
, was proclaimed
crown prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...
.
Rule as the Shah
![Reza shah coronation](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Reza_shah_coronation.jpg)
While the Shah left behind no major thesis, or speeches giving an overarching policy, his reforms indicated a striving for an Iran which—according to scholar
Ervand Abrahamian
Ervand Abrahamian; hy, Երուանդ Աբրահամեան (born 1940) is an Iranian-American historian of the Middle East. He is Distinguished Professor of History at Baruch College and the Graduate Center, CUNY, Graduate Center of the City Un ...
—would be "free of clerical influence, nomadic uprisings, and ethnic differences", on the one hand, and on the other hand would contain "European-style educational institutions, Westernized women active outside the home, and modern economic structures with state factories, communication networks, investment banks, and department stores."
Reza is said to have avoided political participation and consultation with politicians or political personalities, instead embracing the slogan "every country has its own ruling system and ours is a one man system." He is also said to have preferred punishment to reward in dealing with subordinates or citizens.
Reza Shah's reign has been said to have consisted of "two distinct periods". From 1925 to 1933, figures such as
Abdolhossein Teymourtash
Abdolhossein Teymourtash ( fa, عبدالحسین تیمورتاش; 25 September 1883 – 3 October 1933) was an influential Iranian statesman who served as the first minister of court of the Pahlavi dynasty from 1925 to 1932, and is credited w ...
,
Nosrat ol Dowleh Firouz, and
Ali-Akbar Davar
Ali-Akbar Dāvar ( fa, علیاکبر داور also known as Mirza Ali-Akbar Khan-e Dāvar, 1885 – 9 February 1937) was an Iranian politician and judge and the founder of the modern judicial system of Iran.
Biography
Born in 1885 and many other western-educated Iranians emerged to implement modernist plans, such as the construction of railways, a modern judiciary and educational system, and the imposition of changes in traditional attire, and traditional and religious customs and mores. In the second half of his reign (1933–41), which the Shah described as "one-man rule", strong personalities like Davar and Teymourtash were removed, and secularist and Western policies and plans initiated earlier were implemented.
Modernization
![OpeningCeremony-TehranUMedicine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/OpeningCeremony-TehranUMedicine.jpg)
During Reza Shah's sixteen years of rule, major developments, such as large road construction projects and the
Trans-Iranian Railway
The Trans-Iranian Railway ( fa, راهآهن سراسری ایران) was a major railway building project started in Pahlavi Iran in 1927 and completed in 1938, under the direction of the then-Iranian monarch Reza Shah. It was entirely built ...
were built, modern education was introduced and the
University of Tehran
The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching pro ...
, the first Iranian university, was established. The government sponsored European education for many Iranian students The number of modern industrial plants increased 17-fold under Reza Shah (excluding oil installations), and the number of miles of highway increased from 2,000 to 14,000.
![RezaShahBozorgRailway](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/RezaShahBozorgRailway.jpg)
Along with the modernization of the nation, Reza Shah was the ruler during the time of the Women's Awakening (1936–1941). This movement sought the elimination of the
chador
A chādor (Persian, ur, چادر, lit=tent), also variously spelled in English as chadah, chad(d)ar, chader, chud(d)ah, chadur, and naturalized as , is an outer garment or open cloak worn by many women in the Persian-influenced countries of Ira ...
from Iranian working society. Supporters held that the veil impeded physical exercise and the ability of women to enter society and contribute to the progress of the nation. This move met opposition from the Mullahs from the religious establishment. The unveiling issue and the Women's Awakening are linked to the Marriage Law of 1931 and the
Second Congress of Eastern Women in Tehran in 1932.
Reza Shah was the first Iranian Monarch in 1400 years who paid respect to the
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
by praying in the synagogue when visiting the Jewish community of
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 ...
; an act that boosted the self-esteem of the
Iranian Jews
Persian Jews or Iranian Jews ( fa, یهودیان ایرانی, ''yahudiān-e-Irāni''; he, יהודים פרסים ''Yəhūdīm Parsīm'') are the descendants of Jews who were historically associated with the Persian Empire, whose successor s ...
and made Reza Shah their second most respected Iranian leader after
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...
. Reza Shah's reforms opened new occupations to Jews and allowed them to leave the
ghetto
A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...
. This point of view, however, may be refuted by the claims that the anti-Jewish incidents of September 1922 in parts of Tehran was a plot by Reza Khan.
He forbade photographing aspects of Iran he considered backwards such as camels, and he banned clerical dress and chadors in favor of Western dress.
Parliament and ministers
![RezaShahOpeningMajlis](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/RezaShahOpeningMajlis.jpg)
Parliamentary elections during the Shah's reign were not democratic. The general practice was to "draw up, with the help of the police chief, a list of parliamentary candidates for the interior minister. The interior minister then passed the same names onto the provincial governor-general. ...
hohanded down the list to the supervisory electoral councils that were packed by the Interior Ministry to oversee the ballots. Parliament ceased to be a meaningful institution, and instead became a decorative garb covering the nakedness of military rule."
Reza Shah discredited and eliminated a number of his ministers. His minister of Imperial Court,
Abdolhossein Teymourtash
Abdolhossein Teymourtash ( fa, عبدالحسین تیمورتاش; 25 September 1883 – 3 October 1933) was an influential Iranian statesman who served as the first minister of court of the Pahlavi dynasty from 1925 to 1932, and is credited w ...
, was accused and convicted of corruption, bribery, misuse of foreign currency regulations, and plans to overthrow the Shah. He was removed as the minister of court in 1932 and died under suspicious circumstances while in prison in September 1933. The minister of finance, Prince
Firouz Nosrat-ed-Dowleh III
Prince Firouz Nosrat-ed-Dowleh III, GCMG (1889–1937) was the eldest son of Prince Abdol-Hossein Farmanfarma and Princess Ezzat-ed-Dowleh Qajar. He was born in 1889 and died in April 1937. He was the grandson of his namesake, Nosrat Dowleh Firouz ...
, who played an important role in the first three years of his reign, was convicted on similar charges in May 1930, and also died in prison, in January 1938.
Ali-Akbar Davar
Ali-Akbar Dāvar ( fa, علیاکبر داور also known as Mirza Ali-Akbar Khan-e Dāvar, 1885 – 9 February 1937) was an Iranian politician and judge and the founder of the modern judicial system of Iran.
Biography
Born in 1885 , his minister of justice, was suspected of similar charges and committed suicide in February 1937. The elimination of these ministers "deprived" Iran "of her most dynamic figures ... and the burden of government fell heavily on Reza Shah" according to historian Cyrus Ghani.
Replacement of ''Persia'' with ''Iran''
![RezaShahBozorgTakhteJamshid32](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/RezaShahBozorgTakhteJamshid32.jpg)
In the
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and state (polity), states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania. , Persia (or its cognates) was historically the common name for
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. In 1935, Reza Shah asked foreign delegates and
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
to use the term Iran ("Land of the
Aryans
Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...
"), the endonym of the country, used by its native people, in formal correspondence. Since then, in the Western World, the use of the word "Iran" has become more common. This also changed the usage of the names for the Iranian nationality, and the common adjective for citizens of Iran changed from Persian to Iranian. In 1959, the government of
Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ( fa, محمدرضا پهلوی, ; 26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980), also known as Mohammad Reza Shah (), was the last ''Shah'' (King) of the Imperial State of Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow in the Irani ...
, Reza Shah Pahlavi's son and successor, announced that both "Persia" and "Iran" could officially be used interchangeably, nonetheless use of "Iran" continued to subplant "Persia", especially in the West. Though the predominant and official language of the country was the
Persian language
Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and ...
, many did not consider themselves
ethnic Persians, whereas "Iranians" made for a much more neutral and unifying reference too all the
ethnic groups of Iran, further, "Persia" (locally known as
Pars
Pars may refer to:
* Fars Province of Iran, also known as Pars Province
* Pars (Sasanian province), a province roughly corresponding to the present-day Fars, 224–651
* ''Pars'', for ''Persia'' or ''Iran'', in the Persian language
* Pars News A ...
) was geographically confusing at times as it was also the name of one of Iran's significant cultural provinces.
[Yarshater, Ehsa]
Persia or Iran, Persian or Farsi
, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) Although (internally) the country had been referred to as Iran throughout much of its history since the
Sasanian Empire
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...
, many countries including the
English-speaking world
Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest languag ...
knew the country as Persia, largely a legacy of the Ancient
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
name for the
Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...
.
Support and opposition
Support for the Shah came principally from three sources. The central "pillar" was the military, where the shah had begun his career. The annual defense budget of Iran "increased more than fivefold from 1926 to 1941." Officers were paid more than other salaried employees. The new modern and expanded state bureaucracy of Iran was another source of support. Its ten civilian ministries employed 90,000 full-time government workers. Patronage controlled by the Shah's royal court served as the third "pillar". This was financed by the Shah's considerable personal wealth which had been built up by forced sales and confiscations of estates, making him "the richest man in Iran". On his abdication Reza Shah "left to his heir a bank account of some three million pounds sterling and estates totaling over 3 million acres."
Opposition to the Shah came not so much from the landed upper class as from "the tribes, the clergy, and the young generation of the new intelligentsia. The tribes bore the brunt of the new order."
Clash with the clergy
As his reign became more secure, Reza Shah clashed with Iran's clergy and devout Muslims on many issues. In March 1928, he violated the sanctuary of
Qom
Qom (also spelled as "Ghom", "Ghum", or "Qum") ( fa, قم ) is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. Qom is the capital of Qom Province. It is located to the south of Tehran. At the 2016 census, its popul ...
's
Fatima Masumeh Shrine
The Shrine of Fatima Masumeh ( fa, حرم فاطمه معصومه translit. ''haram-e fateme-ye masumeh'') is located in Qom, which is considered by Shia Muslims to be the second most sacred city in Iran after Mashhad.
Fatima Masumeh was the ...
to beat a cleric who had angrily admonished Reza Shah's wife for temporarily exposing her face a day earlier while on pilgrimage to Qom. In December of that year he instituted a law requiring everyone (except Shia jurisconsults who had passed a special qualifying examination) to wear Western clothes. This angered devout Muslims because it included a hat with a brim which prevented the devout from touching their foreheads on the ground during
salat
(, plural , romanized: or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːh, ( or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːtʰin construct state) ), also known as ( fa, نماز) and also spelled , are prayers performed by Muslims. Facing the , the direction of the Kaaba wit ...
as required by Islamic law.
[Abrahamian, ''History of Modern Iran'', (2008), pp. 93–94] The Shah also encouraged women to discard
hijab
In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While ...
. He announced that female teachers could no longer come to school with head coverings. One of his daughters reviewed a girls' athletic event with an uncovered head.
![Abolitionofveil](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Abolitionofveil.jpg)
The devout were also angered by policies that allowed
mixing of the sexes. Women were allowed to study in the colleges of law and medicine,
and in 1934 a law set heavy fines for cinemas, restaurant, and hotels that did not open their doors to both sexes. Doctors were permitted to dissect human bodies. He restricted public
mourning observances to one day and required mosques to use chairs instead of the traditional sitting on the floors of mosques.
By the mid-1930s, Reza Shah's rule had caused intense dissatisfaction of the
Shia clergy
In Shi'a Islam the guidance of clergy and keeping such a structure holds a great importance. The clergy structure depends on the branch of Shi'ism is being referred to.
Twelver
Usooli and Akhbari Shia Twelver Muslims believe that the study o ...
throughout Iran. In 1935, a
rebellion
Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority.
A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
erupted in the
Imam Reza Shrine in
Mashhad
Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of R ...
. Responding to a cleric who denounced the Shah's "heretical" innovations, corruption and heavy consumer taxes, many bazaaris and villagers took refuge in the shrine, chanting slogans such as "The Shah is a new
Yezid." For four full days local police and army refused to violate the shrine. The standoff was ended when troops from
Iranian Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan ( fa, آذربایجان, ''Āzarbāijān'' ; az-Arab, آذربایجان, ''Āzerbāyjān'' ), also known as Iranian Azerbaijan, is a historical region in northwestern Iran that borders Iraq, Turkey, the Nakhchivan ...
arrived and broke into the shrine, killing dozens and injuring hundreds, and marking a final rupture between the clergy and the Shah. Some of the Mashed clergy even left their jobs, such as the Keeper of the Keys of the shrine Hassan Mazloumi, later named Barjesteh, who stated he did not want to listen to the orders of a dog.
The Shah intensified his controversial changes following the incident with the ''
Kashf-e hijab
On 8 January 1936, Reza Shah of Iran (Persia) issued a decree known as ''Kashf-e hijab'' (also Romanized as "Kashf-e hijāb" and "Kashf-e hejāb", fa, کشف حجاب, lit=Unveiling) banning all Islamic veils (including hijab and chador), a ...
'' decree, banning the
chador
A chādor (Persian, ur, چادر, lit=tent), also variously spelled in English as chadah, chad(d)ar, chader, chud(d)ah, chadur, and naturalized as , is an outer garment or open cloak worn by many women in the Persian-influenced countries of Ira ...
and ordering all citizens – rich and poor – to bring their wives to public functions without head coverings.
Foreign affairs and influence
![Reza Shah and Atatürk](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Reza_Shah_and_Atat%C3%BCrk.jpg)
Reza Shah initiated change in foreign affairs as well. He worked to balance British influence with other foreigners and generally to diminish foreign influence in Iran.
One of the first acts of the new government after the 1921 entrance into Tehran was to tear up the treaty with the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. The
Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
condemned the aggressive foreign policy of
Imperial Russia
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...
, promised never to interfere in Persia's internal affairs, but reserved the right to occupy it temporarily in the event another power used Persia for an attack on Soviet Russia.
In 1934 he made an official state visit to
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
and met Turkish President
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 Surname Law (Turkey), until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish Mareşal (Turkey), field marshal, Turkish National Movement, re ...
. During their meeting Reza Shah spoke in
Azerbaijani, and Atatürk in
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
.
In 1931, he refused to allow
Imperial Airways
Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to South Africa, India, Australia and the Far East, including Malaya and Hong Kong. Passenger ...
to fly in Persian airspace, instead giving the concession to German-owned
Lufthansa Airlines. The next year, 1932, he surprised the British by unilaterally canceling the oil concession awarded to
William Knox D'Arcy
William Knox D'Arcy (11 October 18491 May 1917) was a British businessman who was one of the principal founders of the oil and petrochemical industry in Persia (Iran). The D’Arcy Concession was signed in 1901 and allowed D'Arcy to explore, o ...
(and the
Anglo-Persian Oil Company
The Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) was a British company founded in 1909 following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjed Soleiman, Persia (Iran). The British government purchased 51% of the company in 1914, gaining a controlling number ...
), which was slated to expire in 1961. The concession granted Persia 16% of the net profits from APOC oil operations. The Shah wanted 21%. The British took the dispute before the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
. However, before a decision was made by the League, the company and Iran compromised and a new concession was signed on 26 April 1933.
He previously hired American consultants to develop and implement Western-style financial and administrative systems. Among them was U.S. economist
Arthur Millspaugh
Arthur Chester Millspaugh, PhD, (1883–1955) was a former adviser at the U.S. State Department’s Office of the Foreign Trade, who was hired to re-organize the Finance Ministry of Iran from 1922–1927 and 1942-1945.
With his help, Iran became ...
, who acted as the nation's finance minister. Reza Shah also purchased ships from Italy and hired Italians to teach his troops the intricacies of naval warfare. He also imported hundreds of German technicians and advisors for various projects. Mindful of Persia's long period of subservience to British and Russian authority, Reza Shah was careful to avoid giving any one foreign nation too much control. He also insisted that foreign advisors be employed by the Persian government, so that they would not be answerable to foreign powers. This was based upon his experience with Anglo-Persian, which was owned and operated by th
British government
![Signed Photograph of Adolf Hitler and His Best Wishes for Reza Shah Pahlavi - Sahebgharanie Palace - Niavaran Palace](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Signed_Photograph_of_Adolf_Hitler_and_His_Best_Wishes_for_Reza_Shah_Pahlavi_-_Sahebgharanie_Palace_-_Niavaran_Palace.JPG)
In his campaign against foreign influence, he annulled the 19th-century capitulations to Europeans in 1928. Under these, Europeans in Iran had enjoyed the privilege of being subject to their own consular courts rather than to the Iranian judiciary. The right to print money was moved from the
British Imperial Bank to his
National Bank of Iran (Bank-i Melli Iran), as was the administration of the telegraph system, from the
Indo-European Telegraph Company
Siemens Communications was the communications and information business arm of German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG, until 2006. It was the largest division of Siemens, and had two business units – Mobile Networks and Fixed Networks; and En ...
to the Iranian government, in addition to the collection of customs by Belgian officials. He eventually fired Millspaugh, and prohibited foreigners from administering schools, owning land or traveling in the provinces without police permission.
Not all observers agree that the Shah minimized foreign influence. One complaint about his development program was that the north–south railway line he had built was uneconomical, only serving the British, who had a military presence in the south of Iran and desired the ability to transfer their troops north to Russia, as part of their strategic defence plan. In contrast, the Shah's regime did not develop what critics believe was an economically justifiable east–west railway system.
On 21 March 1935, he issued a decree asking foreign delegates to use the term ''Iran'' in formal correspondence, as ''Persia'' is a term used for a country identified as ''Iran'' in the
Persian language
Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and ...
. It was, however, attributed more to the Iranian people than others, as ''Iran'' means "Land of the Aryans". This wisdom of this decision
continues to be debated.
Tired of the opportunistic policies of both Britain and the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, the Shah circumscribed contacts with foreign embassies. Relations with the Soviet Union had already deteriorated because of that country's commercial policies, which in the 1920s and 1930s adversely affected Iran. In 1932, the Shah offended Britain by canceling the agreement under which the Anglo-Persian Oil Company produced and exported Iran's oil. Although a new and improved agreement was eventually signed, it did not satisfy Iran's demands and left bad feeling on both sides.
To counterbalance British and Soviet influence, Reza Shah encouraged German commercial enterprise in Iran. On the eve of
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 ...
, Germany was Iran's largest trading partner. The Germans agreed to sell the Shah the steel factory he coveted and considered a ''sine qua non'' of progress and modernity. Reza Shah's foreign policy, which had consisted largely on playing the Soviet Union off against the United Kingdom, failed when the German invasion of the USSR in 1941, resulted in those two powers becoming sudden allies in the fight against the Axis powers. Seeking to guarantee the continued supply for to United Kingdom and in order to secure a route of supply to provide Soviet forces with war material, the two allies jointly launched a
surprise invasion in August 1941. Caught off guard, out gunned and diplomatically isolated, Reza Shah decided not to the resist the Anglo-Soviet invasion, ordering his forces to surrender before agreeing to abdicate the throne in favor of his son. Reza Shah then went into exile while Iran would remain under Allied occupation until 1946.
Later years of reign
![RezaShahBozorg1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/RezaShahBozorg1.jpg)
The Shah's reign is sometimes divided into periods. All the worthwhile efforts of Reza Shah's reign were either completed or conceived in the 1925–1938 period, a period during which he required the assistance of reformists to gain the requisite legitimacy to consolidate this modern reign. In particular, Abdolhossein
Teymourtash
Abdolhossein Teymourtash ( fa, عبدالحسین تیمورتاش; 25 September 1883 – 3 October 1933) was an influential Iranian statesman who served as the first minister of court of the Pahlavi dynasty from 1925 to 1932, and is credited ...
assisted by
Farman Farma,
Ali-Akbar Davar
Ali-Akbar Dāvar ( fa, علیاکبر داور also known as Mirza Ali-Akbar Khan-e Dāvar, 1885 – 9 February 1937) was an Iranian politician and judge and the founder of the modern judicial system of Iran.
Biography
Born in 1885 and a large number of modern educated Iranians, proved adept at masterminding the implementation of many reforms demanded since the failed constitutional revolution of 1905–1911. The preservation and promotion of the country's historic heritage, the provision of public education, construction of a national railway, abolition of capitulation agreements, and the establishment of a national bank had all been advocated by intellectuals since the tumult of the constitutional revolution.
The later years of his reign were dedicated to institutionalizing the educational system of Iran and also to the industrialization of the country. He knew that the system of the constitutional monarchy in Iran after him had to stand on a solid basis of the collective participation of all Iranians, and that it was indispensable to create educational centers all over Iran.
![RCEG](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/RCEG.jpg)
Reza Shah attempted to forge a regional alliance with Iran's Middle Eastern neighbors, particularly
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. The death of
Ataturk in 1938, followed by the start of
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 ...
shortly thereafter, prevented these projects from being realized.
The parliament assented to his decrees, the free press was suppressed, and the swift incarceration of political leaders like Mossadegh, the murder of others such as Teymourtash,
Sardar Asad, Firouz, Modarres,
Arbab Keikhosro and the suicide of Davar, ensured that any progress towards democratization was stillborn and organized opposition to the Shah, impossible. Reza Shah treated the urban middle class, the managers, and
technocrats
Technocracy is a form of government in which the decision-maker or makers are selected based on their expertise in a given area of responsibility, particularly with regard to scientific or technical knowledge. This system explicitly contrasts wi ...
with an iron fist; as a result his state-owned industries remained underproductive and inefficient. The bureaucracy fell apart, since officials preferred sycophancy, when anyone could be whisked away to prison for even the whiff of disobeying his whims.
[Rubin, ''Paved with Good Intentions''.] He confiscated land from the Qajars and from his rivals and into his own estates. The corruption continued under his rule and even became institutionalized. Progress toward modernization was spotty and isolated as it could only take place with Shah's approval.
[Nikki R. Keddie and ]Yann Richard
Yann is a French language, French male given name, specifically, the Breton language, Breton form of "Jean (male given name), Jean" (French for "John (given name), John").
Notable persons with the name Yann include:
__NOTOC__
In arts and enterta ...
, ''Roots of Revolution'' (Yale University, 1981: ). Eventually the Shah became totally dependent on the military and secret police to retain power; in return, these state organs regularly received funding up to 50 percent of available public revenue to ensure their loyalty.
Although the landed aristocracy lost most of their influence during Reza Shah's reign, his regime aroused opposition not from them or the
gentry
Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past.
Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies
''Gentry'', in its widest ...
but from Iran's: "tribes, the clergy, and the young generation of the new intelligentsia. The tribes bore the brunt of the new order."
World War II and forced abdication
![Reza Shah train](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Reza_Shah_train.jpg)
In August 1941 the
Allied powers, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, and the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
invaded and occupied
neutral
Neutral or neutrality may refer to:
Mathematics and natural science Biology
* Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity
Chemistry and physics
* Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...
Iran by a massive air, land, and naval assault without a
declaration of war
A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state (polity), state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the signing of a document) by an authorized party of a nationa ...
. By 28–29 August, the Iranian military situation was in complete chaos. The Allies had complete control over the skies of Iran, and large sections of the country were in their hands. Major Iranian cities (such as Tehran) were suffering repeated air raids. In Tehran itself, the casualties had been light, but the Soviet Air Force dropped leaflets over city, warning the population of an upcoming massive bombing raid and urging them to surrender before they suffered imminent destruction. Tehran's water and food supply had faced shortages, and soldiers fled in fear of the Soviets killing them upon capture. Faced with total collapse, the royal family (except the Shah and the Crown Prince) fled to
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 ...
.
The collapse of the army that Reza Shah had spent so much time and effort creating was humiliating. Many Iranian commanders behaved incompetently, others secretly sympathized with the British and sabotaged Iranian resistance. The army generals met in secret to discuss surrender options. When the Shah learned of the generals' actions, he beat armed forces chief General Ahmad Nakhjavan with a cane and physically stripped him of his rank. Nakhjavan was nearly shot by the Shah on the spot, but at the insistence of the Crown Prince, he was sent to prison instead.
![رضا شاه در ژوهانسبورگ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/%D8%B1%D8%B6%D8%A7_%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%87_%D8%AF%D8%B1_%DA%98%D9%88%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%B1%DA%AF.gif)
The Shah ordered pro-British
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Ali Mansur
Ali Khan Mansur ( fa, علی خان منصور, also known as ''Mansur ul-Mulk'' (); 1886 – 8 December 1974) was the Prime Minister of Iran for two terms between 1940 and 1941 and in 1950.
Biography
Born in Tehran, he served as Govern ...
, whom he blamed for demoralising the military, to resign,
replacing him with former prime minister
Mohammad Ali Foroughi
Mohammad Ali Foroughi ( fa, محمدعلی فروغی; early August 1877 – 26 or 27 November 1942), also known as Zoka-ol-Molk ( Persian: ذُکاءُالمُلک), was a writer, diplomat and politician who served three terms as Prime Mini ...
.
Within days, Reza Shah ordered the military to cease resistance and entered into negotiations with the British and Soviets. Foroughi was disobliged towards Reza Shah, having been previously forced into retirement years earlier for political reasons with his daughter's father in-law being executed by firing squad. When he entered into negotiations with the British, instead of negotiating a favorable settlement, Foroughi implied that both he and the Iranian people wanted to be "liberated" from the Shah's rule.
The British and Foroughi agreed that for the Allies to withdraw, Iran would have to expel the German minister and his staff should leave Tehran; the German, Italian, Hungarian and Romanian
legation
A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, minister. Ambassadors diplomatic rank, out ...
s would be closed; and all remaining German nationals (including all families) would be handed over to the British and Soviet authorities. The last order would mean almost certain imprisonment or, in the case of those handed to the Soviets, possible death. Reza Shah stalled on the last demand, choosing instead to secretly evacuate German nationals from the country. By 18 September, most of the German nationals had escaped via the Turkish border.
In response to the Shah's defiance, the Red Army on 16 September moved to occupy Tehran. Fearing execution by the Communists, many people (especially the wealthy) fled the city. Reza Shah, in a letter handwritten by Foroughi, announced his
abdication
Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...
, as the Soviets entered the city on 17 September. The British wanted to restore the Qajar Dynasty to power, but the heir to
Ahmad Shah Qajar
Ahmad Shah Qajar ( fa, احمد شاه قاجار; 21 January 1898 – 21 February 1930) was Shah of Persia (Iran) from 16 July 1909 to 15 December 1925, and the last ruling member of the Qajar dynasty.
Ahmad Shah was born in Tabriz on 21 Janu ...
since that last Qajar Shah's death in 1930,
Hamid Hassan Mirza, was a
British subject
The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...
who spoke no
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
. Instead (with the help of Foroughi),
Crown Prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi took the oath to become the Shah of Iran.
The British left the Shah a face-saving way out:
The Anglo-Soviet invasion was instigated in response to Reza for having denied the request to remove the German residents, who could threaten the Abadan refinery. Reza Shah further refused the Allies' requests to expel German nationals residing in Iran, and denied the use of the railway to the Allies. However, according to the British embassy reports from Tehran in 1940, the total number of German citizens in Iran – from technicians to spies – was no more than one thousand.
Because of its strategic importance to the Allies, Iran was subsequently called "The Bridge of Victory" by Winston Churchill.
![Shah's Legs statue](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Shah%27s_Legs_statue.JPG)
Reza Shah was forced by the invading British to
abdicate
Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...
in favor of his son
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
, title = Shahanshah Aryamehr Bozorg Arteshtaran
, image = File:Shah_fullsize.jpg
, caption = Shah in 1973
, succession = Shah of Iran
, reign = 16 September 1941 – 11 February 1979
, coronation = 26 October ...
who replaced his father as Shah on the throne on 16 September 1941.
Critics and defenders
Reza Shah's main critics were the so-called "new intelligentsia", often educated in Europe, for whom the Shah "was not a state-builder
[Parcham, 16 August 1942] but an 'oriental despot' ... not a reformer but a plutocrat strengthening the landed upper class; not a real nationalist but a jack-booted
Cossack
The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
trained by the
Tsarist
Tsarist autocracy (russian: царское самодержавие, transcr. ''tsarskoye samoderzhaviye''), also called Tsarism, was a form of autocracy (later absolute monarchy) specific to the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its successor states ...
s and brought to power by British imperialists." His defenders included
Ahmad Kasravi
Ahmad Hokmabadi Tabrizi ( fa, سید احمد حکمآبادی تبریزی, Ahmad-e Hokmabadi-ye Tabrizi; 29 September 1890 – 11 March 1946), later known as Ahmad Kasravi ( fa, احمد کسروی, Ahmad-e Kasravi), was a pre-eminent Irani ...
, a contemporary intellectual and historian of constitutional movement, who had strongly criticized participation of Reza Shah in the
1909 siege of Tabriz. When he accepted the unpleasant responsibility of acting as defense attorney for a group of officers accused of torturing political prisoners, he stated; "Our young intellectuals cannot possibly understand and cannot judge the reign of Reza Shah. They cannot because they were too young to remember the chaotic and desperate conditions out of which arose the autocrat named Reza Shah."
Clarmont Skrine, a British civil servant who accompanied Reza Shah on his 1941 journey to
British Mauritius
Mauritius was a Crown colony off the Southeast coast of Africa. Formerly part of the French colonial empire, British rule in Mauritius was established de facto with the Invasion of Isle de France in November 1810, and de jure by the subsequent T ...
, writes in his book, ''World War in Iran'': "Reza Shah Pahlavi, posthumously entitled 'The Great' in the annals of his country was indeed, if not the greatest, at any rate one of the strongest and ablest men Iran has produced in all the two and a half milleniums of her history".
Death
![RezaShahBozorgTombRay1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/RezaShahBozorgTombRay1.jpg)
Like his son after him, Reza Shah died in exile. After the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union invaded and occupied Iran on 25 August 1941, the British offered to keep his family in power if Reza Shah agreed to a life of exile. Reza Shah abdicated and the British forces quickly took him and his children to
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
, where he lived at Chateau Val d'Ory on Bois-Cheris Road in the Moka neighborhood of
Port Louis
Port Louis (french: Port-Louis; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Polwi or , ) is the capital city of Mauritius. It is mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's ec ...
. Subsequently, he was sent to
Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
and then to a house at 41 Young Avenue in the
Parktown
Parktown is a wealthy suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, the first suburb north of the inner city (both chronologically and geographically). It is affectionately known as one of the Parks, others including Parkview, Parkwood, Westcliff, Parkt ...
neighborhood of
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
, South Africa, where he died on 26 July 1944 of a
heart ailment
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, ...
about which he had been complaining for many years. His personal doctor had boosted the King's morale in exile by telling him that he was suffering from chronic indigestion and not heart ailment. He lived on a diet of plain rice and boiled chicken in the last years of his life.
[Historical Iranian Sites and People]
12 December 2010 He was sixty-six years old at the time of his death.
After his death, his body was carried to
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, where it was embalmed and kept at the royal
Al Rifa'i Mosque
Al-Rifa'i Mosque ( ar, مسجد الرفاعي, transliterated also as ''Al-Rifai'', Al-Refai, Al-Refa'i, locally known as El-Refa'i, and in English: the Refaai Mosque) is located in Citadel Square, adjacent to the Cairo Citadel. Now, it is als ...
in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
(also the future burial place of his son, the exiled
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
, title = Shahanshah Aryamehr Bozorg Arteshtaran
, image = File:Shah_fullsize.jpg
, caption = Shah in 1973
, succession = Shah of Iran
, reign = 16 September 1941 – 11 February 1979
, coronation = 26 October ...
).
[ In May 1950, the remains were flown back to Iran where the embalming was removed, and buried in a ]mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...
built in his honor in the town of Ray, in the southern suburbs of the capital, Tehran
Satellite map
The Iranian parliament (Majlis) later designated the title "the Great" to be added to his name. On 14 January 1979, shortly before the Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
, the remains were moved back to Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
and buried in the Al Rifa'i Mosque in Cairo.[ However, in a 2015 documentary "From Tehran to Cairo," his daughter-in-law, ]Empress Farah
Farah Pahlavi ( fa, فرح پهلوی, née Farah Diba ( fa, فرح دیبا, label=none); born 14 October 1938) is the widow of the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and was successively Queen and Empress (''Shahbanu'') of Iran from 1 ...
claimed that the remains of the late Reza Shah remain in the town of Ray.
After the 1979 revolution and during the period of the Interim Government of Iran
The Interim Government of Iran ( fa, دولت موقت ايران, Dowlat-e Movaqat-e Irân) was the first government established in Iran after the Iranian Revolution. The regime was headed by Mehdi Bazargan, one of the members of the Freedom ...
, Iran faced a series of rampages at the hand of an extremist mob led by the cleric Sadeq Khalkhali
Mohammed Sadeq Givi Khalkhali (27 July 1926 – 26 November 2003) ( fa, صادق خلخالی) was an Iranian Shia cleric who is said to have "brought to his job as Chief Justice of the revolutionary courts a relish for summary execution" that ...
. During this rampage, happening all over the nation, any construction depicting or even citing the name of the Shah and his family was destroyed. This included the destruction of Reza Shah's mausoleum
The mausoleum of Reza Shah ( fa, آرامگاه رضاشاه), located in Ray south of Tehran, was the burial ground of Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878–1944), the penultimate ''Shahanshah'' (Emperor) of Iran. It was built close to Shah-Abdol-Azim s ...
, but they were unable to find his dead body.
In 2018, a mummified body believed to be Reza Shah's was found in the vicinity of his former mausoleum site in Tehran. Officials said that they reburied the body.
Amendments and foundations
Under Reza Shah's reign, a number of new concepts were introduced between 1923 and 1941. Some of these significant changes, achievements, concepts and laws included:
* Successful suppression of separatist movements and reunification of Iran under a powerful central government.
* Foundation of the first judicial system of Iran
A nationwide judicial system in Iran was first implemented and established by Abdolhossein Teymourtash under Reza Shah, with further changes during the second Pahlavi era.
After the 1979 overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty by the Islamic Revolut ...
.
* Foundation of the first national health care system and public hospitals across the country.
* Reestablishment of Iranian Gendarmerie and Shahrbani in order to enforce law and order.
* Foundation of Trans-Iranian Railway
The Trans-Iranian Railway ( fa, راهآهن سراسری ایران) was a major railway building project started in Pahlavi Iran in 1927 and completed in 1938, under the direction of the then-Iranian monarch Reza Shah. It was entirely built ...
which connected Caspian Sea to Persian Gulf.
* Nationalizing Iranian forests and jungles.
* Creation of an Iranian modern military.
* Creation of Iran's first radio stations.
* Founding of the national Museum of Iran.
* Rebuilding Iran's historical sites, including the tombs Tomb of Ferdowsi, of Ferdowsi and Tomb of Hafez, Hafez.
* Organizing the Ferdowsi Millenary Celebrations to commemorate the thousandth anniversary of Ferdowsi's birth as the savior of Persian language
Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and ...
and Iranian identity.
* Creation of Iran's Academy of Persian Language and Literature in order to protect Iran's official language.
* The first scientific excavations at Persepolis, the ancient capital of the Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...
, were carried out by the initiative of Reza Shah. Ernst Herzfeld and Erich Schmidt (archaeologist), Erich Schmidt representing the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago conducted excavations for eight seasons, beginning in 1930, and included other nearby sites.
* Creation of the Iran's first national bank known as Bank Melli Iran and other Iranian banks such as Bank Sepah and Keshavarzi Bank.
* Creation of the first university in Iran which is known as University of Tehran
The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching pro ...
.
* Transferring and providing full scholarships for the Iranian students to European countries for studying abroad.
* Eradication of corruption in civil servants, paying wages in time so people did not have to rely on bribes.
* Creation of the first Education in Iran, national school system and schoolbooks in Iran; before Reza Shah Pahlavi, the Islamic madreseh and Quran was the only form of schooling available.
* Establishment of the first Iranian kindergarten and school for deaf people.
* Creation of the Iran Scout Organization.
* Creation of birth certificates and Identification cards for all Iranians.
* Creation of the first Iranian airplane factory with buying license from Germany.
* Building the first Iranian airport known as Mehrabad International Airport, Mehrabad airport.
* Changing Iranian currency from Iranian toman, Toman to Iranian rial, Rial.
* Restoring Persian calendar and making it the official calendar of Iran.
* Kashf-e hijab
On 8 January 1936, Reza Shah of Iran (Persia) issued a decree known as ''Kashf-e hijab'' (also Romanized as "Kashf-e hijāb" and "Kashf-e hejāb", fa, کشف حجاب, lit=Unveiling) banning all Islamic veils (including hijab and chador), a ...
(''Unveiling''). On 8 January 1936, Reza Shah issued a decree banning all Hijab, veils (headscarf and chador
A chādor (Persian, ur, چادر, lit=tent), also variously spelled in English as chadah, chad(d)ar, chader, chud(d)ah, chadur, and naturalized as , is an outer garment or open cloak worn by many women in the Persian-influenced countries of Ira ...
), an edict that was swiftly and forcefully implemented.[Homa Hoodfar, Hoodfar, Homa (fall 1993). ''The Veil in Their Minds and on Our Heads: The Persistence of Colonial Images of Muslim Women'', Resources for feminist research (RFR) / Documentation sur la recherche féministe (DRF), Vol. 22, n. 3/4, pp. 5–18, Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE), ][Milani, Farzaneh (1992). ''Veils and Words: The Emerging Voices of Iranian Women Writers'', Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, pp. 19, 34–37, ][Paidar, Parvin (1995): ''Women and the Political Process in Twentieth-Century Iran'', Cambridge Middle East studies, Vol. 1, Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 106–107, 214–215, 218–220, ][Majd, Mohammad Gholi (2001). ''Great Britain and Reza Shah: The Plunder of Iran, 1921–1941'', Gainesville: University Press of Florida, pp. 209–213, 217–218, ][Curtis, Glenn E.; Hooglund, Eric (2008). ''Iran: A Country Study'', 5th ed, Area handbook series, Washington, DC: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, pp. 28, 116–117, ] The government also banned many types of male traditional clothing.[Katouzian, Homa (2003). "2. Riza Shah's Political Legitimacy and Social Base, 1921–1941" in Cronin, Stephanie: ''The Making of Modern Iran: State and Society under Riza Shah, 1921–1941'', pp. 15–37, London; New York: Routledge; Taylor & Francis, ][Katouzian, Homa (2004). "1. State and Society under Reza Shah" in Atabaki, Touraj; Erik-Jan Zürcher, Zürcher, Erik-Jan: ''Men of Order: Authoritarian Modernisation in Turkey and Iran, 1918–1942'', pp. 13–43, London; New York: I.B. Tauris,
][
Katouzian, Homa (2006). ''State and Society in Iran: The Eclipse of the Qajars and the Emergence of the Pahlavis'', 2nd ed, Library of modern Middle East studies, Vol. 28, London; New York: I.B. Tauris, pp. 33–34, 335–336,
]
* In the Western world, Name of Iran, Persia (or one of its cognates) was historically the common name for Iran. In 1935, Reza Shah asked foreign delegates to use the term Iran, the historical name of the country, used by its native people, in formal correspondence.
* Reconstruction of old cities.
* Abolition of slavery.
* Abolition of Harem.
Family and personal life
Reza Shah married, for the first time, Maryam Savadkoohi, who was his cousin, in 1894. The marriage lasted until Maryam's death in 1904, the couple had a daughter:
* Princess Hamdamsaltaneh Pahlavi (1903–1992)
Reza Shah's second wife was Nimtaj Khanoum, later Queen Tadj ol-Molouk (1896–1982). The couple married in 1916 and when Reza Khan became king, Queen Tadj ol-Molouk was his official wife. They had four children together:
* Princess Shams Pahlavi (1917–1996)
* Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (1919–1980)
* Princess Ashraf Pahlavi (1919–2016)
* Prince Ali Reza Pahlavi (born 1922), Ali Reza Pahlavi (1922–1954).
The third wife of Reza Shah was Queen Turan Amirsoleimani
Turan Amirsoleimani ( fa, توران امیرسلیمانی, born Qamar ol-Molouk Amirsoleimani, (); 4 February 1905 – 24 July 1995) was an Iranian royal and the third wife of Reza Shah, with whom she had a son named Gholam Reza Pahlavi.
Biograp ...
(1905–1995), who was from the Qajar dynasty
The Qajar dynasty (; fa, دودمان قاجار ', az, Qacarlar ) was an IranianAbbas Amanat, ''The Pivot of the Universe: Nasir Al-Din Shah Qajar and the Iranian Monarchy, 1831–1896'', I. B. Tauris, pp 2–3 royal dynasty of Turkic peoples ...
. The couple married in 1922 but divorced in 1923 and together they had a son:
* Prince Gholam Reza Pahlavi (1923–2017)
Reza Shah's fourth and last wife, Queen Esmat Dowlatshahi
Esmat Dowlatshahi ( fa, عصمتالملوک دولتشاهی; 1905 – 25 July 1995) was an Iranian royal and the fourth and last wife of Reza Shah.
Early life
Dowlatshahi was born in 1905. She was a member of the Qajar dynasty. Her father ...
(1905–1995), was a Princess of the Qajar dynasty
The Qajar dynasty (; fa, دودمان قاجار ', az, Qacarlar ) was an IranianAbbas Amanat, ''The Pivot of the Universe: Nasir Al-Din Shah Qajar and the Iranian Monarchy, 1831–1896'', I. B. Tauris, pp 2–3 royal dynasty of Turkic peoples ...
. She married Reza Shah in 1923 and accompanied him to his exile. Queen Esmat was Reza Shah's favorite wife, who resided at Marble Palace (Tehran), Marble Palace. The couple had five children:
* Prince Abdul Reza Pahlavi (1924–2004)
* Prince Ahmad Reza Pahlavi (1925–1981)
* Prince Mahmoud Reza Pahlavi (1926–2001)
* Princess Fatemeh Pahlavi (1928–1987)
* Prince Hamid Reza Pahlavi (1932–1992).
List of prime ministers
* Mohammad Ali Foroughi
Mohammad Ali Foroughi ( fa, محمدعلی فروغی; early August 1877 – 26 or 27 November 1942), also known as Zoka-ol-Molk ( Persian: ذُکاءُالمُلک), was a writer, diplomat and politician who served three terms as Prime Mini ...
(''1st Term'') (1 November 1925 – 13 June 1926), was a close colleague / friend of Reza Shah (before he became king), was probably also Reza Shah's favorite prime minister.
* Mostowfi ol-Mamalek (''6th Term'') (13 June 1926 – 2 June 1927)
* Mehdi Qoli Hedayat (2 June 1927 – 18 September 1933)
* Mohammad Ali Foroughi (''2nd Term'') (18 September 1933 – 3 December 1935)
* Mahmoud Jam (3 December 1935 – 26 October 1939), Mahmoud Jam's son Fereydoun Djam, Fereydoun Jam marries Reza Shah's daughter, Princess Shams. 1937
* Ahmad Matin-Daftari (26 October 1939 – 26 June 1940). Reza Shah removed him from office and imprisoned him in 1940 for spying on the United Kingdom, UK and Winston Churchill on behalf of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany.
* Ali Mansur
Ali Khan Mansur ( fa, علی خان منصور, also known as ''Mansur ul-Mulk'' (); 1886 – 8 December 1974) was the Prime Minister of Iran for two terms between 1940 and 1941 and in 1950.
Biography
Born in Tehran, he served as Govern ...
(26 June 1940 – 27 August 1941)
Titles, styles and honours
Following the overthrow of the Qajar dynasty and becoming the Shahanshah of Iran, he commanded all offices of Iran to address him with his surname and title, "Reza Shah Pahlavi". In the spring of 1950, after the foundation of the National Consultative Assembly
The National Consultative Assembly ( fa, مجلس شورای ملی, Mad̲j̲les-e s̲h̲ūrā-ye mellī) or simply Majles, was the national legislative body of Iran from 1906 to 1979.
It was elected by universal suffrage, excluding the armed for ...
, he was given the title "Reza Shah the Great".
Honours
* Czechoslovakia: Collar 1st Class of the Order of the White Lion (1935)
* Denmark: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (20 January 1937)
* Sweden: Knight of the Royal Order of the Seraphim (10 November 1934)
Notes
References
External links
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*
IRANNOTES.com , High Quality IRANIAN Banknotes and Coins
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shah, Reza
People of Pahlavi Iran
1878 births
1944 deaths
20th-century monarchs of Persia
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Commanders-in-Chief of Iran
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Iranian anti-communists
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Leaders who took power by coup
Mazandarani people
Prime Ministers of Iran
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Collars of the Order of the White Lion
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