Qajar Dynasty 1794-1925

Early 1800s, Russians wanted access to

Persian Gulf and the British wanted to keep
their trade route to India.
The Qajars needed the money, so they made
deals with both countries.
British and Russian had banks, mining, and
control of Iranian industries.
The Qajar shahs grew wealthy, but the
Iranian economy declined.
The Iranian people grew angry and, in
response, the shah at the time (see picture)
created a constitution.

1908

In 1908, oil was discovered in Iran; the British took control

over the oil industry and most of the profits.
The people of Iran obviously did not like this arrangement
and discontent spread.

Reza Shah
Reza Shah Pahlavi was a general in the Persian
army who:
Led the coup detat to overthrow the last Qajar
shah in 1923.
Sought to modernize Iran.
Reduced the power of the clergy.
Built a national education system and opened the University of Tehran.
Ordered the first railroad to cross the country to be built.
Gave women the right to vote
He forbade photographing aspects of Iran he considered backwards such
as camels
He banned clerical dress for men and chadors for women in favor of
Western dress

World War II
The Allied forces, especially Britain and the Soviet Union, wanted to
ensure that Iranian oil would continue to reach the front.
Both nations sent troops into Iran to prevent Nazi Germany from
gaining control there.
However, Reza Shah favored Germany because 1) he resented
British and Soviet intrusions and 2) many Germans were living and
working in Iran at the time.

Mohammad Reza Shah

In 1941, the British and the Soviets
forced Reza Shah Pahlavi out of
power.
His twenty-one year old son,
Mohammad Reza, replaced him as
shah (see pic).
Early on, he was heavily influenced by
the British, who still controlled the
Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. Most of
the money produced by Irans oil
industry went to the British.

Battle Over Irans Oil

In 1951, Iranian politician Muhammad Musaddiq spoke out against
the British control and many supported this stance.
In response, the Iranian government nationalized the oil industry.
In 1953, the British began a boycott of Iranian oil.
People lost jobs and the nations oil industry suffered.
Supporters of Musaddiq (now Irans prime minister) fought
supporters of the shah. The shah fled the country.
The British convinced the U.S. to help remove Musaddiq.
He was forced out and Reza Shah returned.
Oil industry was denationalized, only now the British did not control it
all. The U.S. now had 40% control.

Modernization and Corruption

Like his father, Reza Shah wanted to modernize the
countryschools, hospitals, roads, etc. Women could
now hold public office.
He also, however, grew more and more dictatorial.
The shah outlawed all political parties but his own.
Freedom of speech was limitedthose who spoke out
against him were imprisoned, while some were killed.
Meanwhile, the economy suffered.

Celebs, 1973: Iranian Actors,

Directors, and Singers
2

Opposition to the Shahs Rule

Huge protests against the shah became common.

Opposition grew in the 1970s, especially among two groups:
1. Communist-inspired students and intellectuals who wanted
genuine and democratic reform
2. Muslim fundamentalists, or believers in the strictest possible
interpretation of Islamic doctrine. Many religious leaders felt
his changes were a threat to Islam.

Khomeini
A Muslim leader named
Ayatollah Khomeini was
one of the shahs most
vocal opponents.
He condemned the shah
for being corrupt and in
the pocket of the United
States.

Built in 1971 in commemoration of the 2,500th anniversary

of the Persian Empire, this "gateway into Tehran" was
named the "Shahyad" (King's Memorial) in honor of the
Shah, but was changed to "Azadi" (Freedom) after the
Revolution of 1979.

The Islamic Revolution

The Shah fled in 1979.
Ayatollah Khomeini became
real leader
Declared Iran an Islamic
Republicthe clerics must rule.
Iran became a true theocracy:
official religion is also the
supreme government authority.

Khomeini and The Islamic Revolution

Khomeini ruled with an iron fist:
Death to those who supported/worked with the shah
Women forced to wear chador and walk only with male relatives in
public
The University of Tehran closed for two years
Newspapers shut down
History books re-written
Schools divided by sex
Many Iranians fled (Westernized intellectuals, those associated with
the shah, or those who simply had grown accustomed to the
Western style)

Troops loyal to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi arrive to

control a crowd of demonstrators outside a burning
government building at the height of Islamic revolutionary
fervor in Tehran, November 4, 1978.

Women demonstrators carrying posters of

Ayatollah Khomeini gather around a statue of the
ruling Mohammad Reza Pahlavi at 24 Esfand
square, December 11, 1978.

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Empress Farah walk

on the tarmac at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran to board a
plane to leave Iran, on Jan. 16, 1979.

More than a million supporters of an Islamic

republic assembled around the Shayad (Shah
Memorial) monument in Tehran, Jan. 19, 1979.

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini emerges from a

plane after his arrival at Mehrabad airport after 14
years of exile, Feb. 1, 1979.

Armed women on guard in one of the main

squares in Tehran at the beginning of the Iranian
Revolution.

10

An army officer guarding the SAVAK (National Intelligence and Security

Organization) headquarters in Tehran stands on top of an armored
personnel carrier, with three demonstrators as a gesture of unity, on the
afternoon when the army conceded and the Iranian Revolution was
declared victorious, February 11, 1979.

11

Two men with guns looted from army garrisons

celebrate on the afternoon of the victory of the
Islamic revolution in Tehran, February 11, 1979.

12

Iran Hostage Crisis

In 1979, Reza Shah allowed

to enter U.S.
Iranian students went to U.S.
embassy in Tehran and took
50 people hostage.
They demanded that the U.S.
send the shah back to Iran to
stand trial, but the U.S.
refused.
The hostages were held for
more than a year.

Iran-Iraq War
In 1980, Iraq invaded
Iran.
Saddam Hussein
wanted to take
advantage of Irans
chaos
War lasted eight years
and affected cities,
oil facilities, people

Iran-Iraq War
Each country maintained an
army of 600,000
To keep forces staffed, both
sides enlisted boys as
young as 11 or 12 years
old
Each side claimed this as a
holy war.
Cease-fire was declared in
1988

After Khomeini
Khomeini died in 1989 and millions of people mourned in the streets.
Sayyid Ali Khamenei took over as spiritual and political leader of Iran
A moderate cleric named Ayatollah Muahmmad Khatami became
president in 1997.
Hoping to improve the status of women and give more people a voice,
he was also friendlier to the West. He was unable to accomplish much
due to resistance from more conservative and powerful government
leaders.

Modern Day Iran

In 2005, Moahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former
mayor of Tehran, won the presidency.
He turned Iran in a more conservative, religious
direction.
Iran continues to have strained relations with the
West, especially the United States.
In 2009, he won re-election, though most feel
electoral fraud took place.
Issues: Human rights violations, denial of the
Holocaust, nuclear development
On 15 June 2013, Hassan Rouhani was elected
as Ahmadinejads term ended

This picture depicts how most modern girls in Tehran, Iran

wear shayla or hijab vs. the more traditional chador.

13

A group of young Iranian men and women known as the Happy

in Tehran dancers, arrested in May for videotaping themselves
cavorting to Pharrell Williamss popular dance hit, received
sentences of 91 lashes and six months of imprisonment for each.

14

 ACCORDING TO THE NEW YORK TIMES: All of the

punishments were suspended, one of the dancers said. But
they could be carried out if the six defendants committed
further wrongdoing over the next three years, a common form
of deterrence in Irans judicial system.
All were convicted of vulgarity and illicit relations because the
video showed the female dancers, their heads illegally bared,
jumping and jiving with the men. Public dancing is outlawed in
Iran. One of the defendants said the prosecutors and judge
presiding over the case described the video as pornography.

 The conservative Islamic authorities in Iran are deeply

suspicious of Western influence on the countrys youthful
population.
The crackdown on the video also was seen as a warning
signal to President Hassan Rouhani, who had promised after
his election last year to loosen some of the political and
cultural strictures imposed in the country.