Pahlavi Iran

Iran, 1925–1979. Draft, not yet reviewed

The Imperial State of Iran, commonly referred to as Pahlavi Iran, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Pahlavi dynasty. On 12 December 1925, Iran's Majles, convened as a constituent assembly, deposed the Qajar dynasty and proclaimed Reza Khan, then serving as prime minister, shah, thereby establishing the Pahlavi dynasty. Although Iran declared neutrality during World War II, it was invaded and occupied by British and Soviet forces in 1941, forcing Reza Shah to abdicate in favor of his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. It existed from the establishment of the dynasty in 1925 until its overthrow during the Iranian Revolution in 1979, which ended Iran's over 2,500-year-old monarchy.

Seat of power: Tehran

Rulers

Reza Shah

shah, 1925–1941

He was Shah of Iran from 1925 to 1941 and founder of the Pahlavi dynasty. Originally an army officer, he became a politician, serving as minister of war and prime minister of Iran, and was elected shah following the deposition of Ahmad Shah, the last monarch of the Qajar dynasty.

Portrait of Reza Shah: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Mohammad Reza I of Iran

shah, 1941–1979

He was the last Shah of Iran, reigning from 1941 to 1979 as the second monarch of the Pahlavi dynasty. Supported by rising oil revenues and Western backing during the Cold War, he pursued an extensive military buildup and launched the White Revolution, a broad reform program that implemented sweeping land reform while expanding state investment in education, healthcare, infrastructure, and industrial development.

Portrait of Mohammad Reza I of Iran: Ghazarians, Public domain, file

Culture

In 1935, Reza Shah requested that foreign governments refer to the country as "Iran" rather than "Persia" in official correspondence.
Iran became a centralized unitary state and underwent a series of modernization reforms, including infrastructure development, the expansion of education, and the secularization of state institutions.
The rise of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and the nationalization of the Iranian oil industry culminated in a constitutional crisis that forced the Shah into temporary exile in 1953. Following Mosaddegh's overthrow in the 1953 Iranian coup d'état, however, the Shah returned to Iran and further consolidated his rule.

Picture

The Azadi Tower, a monument in Tehran formerly known as the Shahyad Tower, was commissioned by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran.

Image: Blondinrikard Fröberg from Göteborg, Sweden, CC BY 2.0, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.