Pahlavi Iran

Origins

Reza Khan, an officer of the Persian Cossack Brigade, seized power in a coup in 1921 and became prime minister in 1923. In 1925 the Majlis deposed the last ruler of Qajar Iran, and Reza Khan was crowned Reza Shah Pahlavi.

Rule and society

Reza Shah built a centralised state with a conscript army, the Trans-Iranian Railway (completed 1938), the University of Tehran and secular law, banned the women's veil in 1936 and asked foreign states to call the country Iran from 1935. The Anglo-Soviet invasion of 1941 forced his abdication in favour of his son Mohammad Reza Shah. Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh nationalised oil in 1951 but was overthrown in a 1953 coup backed by the CIA and MI6. The shah's White Revolution of 1963 brought land reform and women's suffrage, while the SAVAK secret police suppressed opponents.

Decline and legacy

Inflation, repression and religious opposition led by Ayatollah Khomeini produced mass protests in 1978. The shah left Iran in January 1979, and the Islamic Republic of Iran was proclaimed that April.