Pahlavi dynasty

The Pahlavi dynasty () was an Iranian royal dynasty that was the last to rule Iran before the country's monarchy was overthrown in the Iranian Revolution in 1979. It was founded in 1925 by Reza Shah Pahlavi, born Reza Khan, a non-aristocratic Iranian soldier of Mazanderani origin, who took on the name of the Pahlavi scripts of the Middle Persian language from the Sasanian Empire of pre-Islamic Iran. The dynasty largely espoused a form of Iranian nationalism rooted in the pre-Islamic era (notably based on the Achaemenid Empire) during its time in power, especially under its last Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

The dynasty replaced the Qajar dynasty in 1925 following the 1921 coup d'état, which began on 14 January 1921 when 42-year-old soldier Reza Khan was promoted by British General Edmund Ironside to lead the British-run Persian Cossack Brigade. About a month later, under British direction, Reza Khan's 3,000–4,000 strong detachment of the Cossack Brigade reached Tehran.Brysac, Shareen Blair. "A Very British Coup: How Reza Shah Won and Lost His Throne." World Policy Journal 24, no. 2 (2007): 90–103. Accessed 8 August 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40210096 The rest of the country was taken by 1923, and by October 1925 the Majlis agreed to depose and formally exile Ahmad Shah Qajar. The Majlis declared Reza Pahlavi as the Shah of Iran on 12 December 1925, pursuant to the Persian Constitution of 1906. Initially, Pahlavi had planned to declare the country a republic, as his contemporary Mustafa Kemal Atatürk had done in Turkey, but he abandoned the idea in the face of British and clerical opposition.

The dynasty ruled Iran autocratically, with a more pluralistic period beginning in 1941 and ending in 1953, when Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh was overthrown in a coup d'état instigated by the United States and the United Kingdom. The Shah then consolidated an increasingly autocratic rule, culminating in a brief one party state period which ended shortly before the dynasty was overthrown by the Iranian Revolution of 1979.

Family background

In 1878, Reza Khan was born at the village of Alasht in Savadkuh County, Mazandaran Province. His parents were Abbas Ali Khan and Noushafarin Ayromlou. His mother was a Muslim immigrant from Georgia (then part of the Russian Empire) whose family had emigrated to mainland Qajar Iran after Iran was forced to cede all of its territories in the Caucasus following the Russo-Persian Wars several decades prior to Reza's birth.Homa Katouzian. "State and Society in Iran: The Eclipse of the Qajars and the Emergence of the Pahlavis" I.B.Tauris, 2006. p 269 His father was a Mazandarani, commissioned in the 7th Savadkuh Regiment, and served in the Anglo-Persian War in 1856.

Pahlavi monarchs, regents, and heads of the house

Number PictureNameTitle Family relations Lifespan Reigned from/Assumed title Reigned until/Relinquished title Reignduration I Reza Pahlavi Shah— 1878–1944(aged ) 15 December 1925 16 September 1941(abdicated) 15 years II Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Shah (1941–1967)Shahanshah (1967–1979) Son of Reza Pahlavi 1919–1980(aged ) 16 September 1941 11 February 1979(deposed) 37 years 27 July 1980(died) — Farah Pahlavi() Regent Third wife and widow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi 1938–current(age ) 27 July 1980 31 October 1980(regency expired) — III Reza Pahlavi Head of the House of Pahlavi Son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Farah Pahlavi 1960–current(age ) 31 October 1980 Incumbent — Pahlavi dynasty 1878–current(aged ) 15 December 1925 11 February 1979 53 years

Reign of Pahlavi monarchs and tenure of later pretenders; and their lifespan Source:*

Consorts

Number Picture Name Father Lifespan Marriage Became consort Ceased to be consort SpouseI Tadj ol-Molouk Teymūr Khan Ayromlou 1896–1982 191615 December 192516 September 1941(husband abdicated)Reza PahlaviII Esmat Dowlatshahi Gholam Ali Mirza Dowlatshahi 1905–1995 1923IIIPrincess Fawzia of EgyptFuad I of Egypt1921–2013193916 September 1941 17 November 1948(divorced)Mohammad Reza PahlaviIVSoraya Esfandiary-BakhtiaryKhalil Esfandiary-Bakhtiary1932–200112 February 1951 15 March 1958(divorced)VFarah DibaSohrab Diba1938–current 21 December 1959(as queen consort) 11 February 1979(husband was deposed)26 October 1967(as empress consort)27 July 1980(widowed)Office vacant from 27 July 1980 to 12 June 1986VIYasmine Etemad-AminiAbdullah Etemad-Amini1968–current12 June 1986IncumbentReza Pahlavi

Heirs

The 1906 constitution of Iran specifically provided that only a male who was not descended from the Qajar dynasty could become the heir apparent. This made all half-brothers of Mohammad Reza ineligible to become heirs to the throne. Until his death in 1954, the Shah's only full brother Ali Reza was his heir presumptive. The constitution also required the Shah to be of Iranian descent, meaning that his father and mother are Iranian.

Line of succession in February 1979

Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878–1944) Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (1919–1980) (1) Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi (b. 1960) (2) Prince Ali-Reza Pahlavi (1966-2011) Prince Ali-Reza Pahlavi (1922–1954) (3) Prince Patrick Ali Pahlavi (b. 1947) (4) Prince Davoud Pahlavi (b. 1972) (5) Prince Houd Pahlavi (b. 1973) (6) Prince Mohammad Pahlavi (b. 1976)

Current line of succession

Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878–1944) Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (1919–1980) Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi (b. 1960) Prince Ali-Reza Pahlavi (1966–2011) Prince Ali-Reza Pahlavi (1922–1954) (1) Prince Patrick Ali Pahlavi (b. 1947) (2) Prince Davoud Pahlavi (b. 1972) (3) Prince Houd Pahlavi (b. 1973) (4) Prince Rafaël Pahlavi (b. 2006) (5) Prince Mohammad Pahlavi (b. 1976)

List of crown princes Name Portrait Relationship to monarch Became heir Ceased to be heir; reason Office vacant from 15 December 1925 to 24 April 1926 1 Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Eldest son 25 April 1926 16 September 1941(Became Shah)Office vacant from 16 September 1941 to 26 October 1967 2 Reza Pahlavi Eldest son 1 November 1960 (proclaimed) 26 October 1967 (designated) 11 February 1979(Father deposed)

Heirs to the headship (since 1979) +NamePortraitRelationship to headBecame heirCeased to be heir; reason1Reza PahlaviEldest son11 February 197931 October 1980 (Became head)2Ali Reza PahlaviYounger brother31 October 19804 January 2011 (died)3Noor PahlaviEldest daughter4 January 2011Incumbent3Patrick Ali Pahlavicousin4 January 2011Incumbent The Persian Constitution of 1906 specifically provided that only a male could become the heir, with the current candidate being Patrick Ali Pahlavi. However, Pahlavi has declared his eldest daughter, Noor Pahlavi, as his heir

Royal jewels

Monuments

Use of titles

Shâh: Emperor, followed by Shâhanshâh of Iran, with style His Imperial Majesty Shahbânu: Shahbânu or Empress, followed by first name, followed by "of Iran", with style Her Imperial Majesty Valiahd: Crown Prince of Iran, with style His Imperial Highness Younger sons: Prince (Shâhpūr, or Shah's Son), followed by first name and surname (Pahlavi), and style His Imperial Highness. Daughters: Princess (Shâhdokht, or Shah's Daughter), followed by first name and surname (Pahlavi), and style Her Imperial Highness. Children of the monarch's daughter/s use another version of Prince (Vâlâ Gohar, "of superior essence") or Princess (Vâlâ Gohari), which indicate descent in the second generation through the female line, and use the styles His Highness or Her Highness. This is then followed by first name and father's surname, whether he was royal or a commoner. However, the children by the last Shah's sister Fatemeh, who married an American businessman as her first husband, are surnamed Pahlavi Hillyer and do not use any titles.

Pahlavi dynasty

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