Pahlavi dynasty (Redirected from Pahlavi Iran)

Pahlavi
Royal house
CountryImperial State of Iran
Place of originMazandaran
Founded15 December 1925 (1925-12-15)
FounderReza Shah
Current headReza Pahlavi
Final rulerMohammad Reza Pahlavi
Connected familiesMuhammad Ali dynasty (1941–1948)
Deposition11 February 1979 (1979-02-11)

The Pahlavi dynasty (Persian: دودمان پهلوی) is one of the most important dynasties of 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 took on the name of the Pahlavi language spoken in the pre-Islamic Sasanian Empire to strengthen his nationalist credentials.

The dynasty replaced the Qajar dynasty in 1925 after the 1921 coup d'état, beginning 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 in what became known as the 1921 Persian coup d'état. 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 new 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 Atatürk had done in Turkey, but abandoned the idea in the face of British and clerical opposition.

The dynasty ruled Iran for 28 years as a form of constitutional monarchy from 1925 until 1953, and following the overthrow of the democratically elected prime minister, for a further 26 years as a more autocratic monarchy until the dynasty was itself overthrown in 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 Shah's birth. His father was a Mazandarani, commissioned in the 7th Savadkuh Regiment, and served in the Anglo-Persian War in 1856.

Heads of House of Pahlavi

Name Portrait Family relations Lifespan Entered office Left office
Shahs of Iran
1 Reza Shah Pahlavi Reza Shah Son of Abbas Ali 1878–1944 15 December 1925 16 September 1941
(Abdication)
2 Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Shah Son of Reza Shah 1919–1980 16 September 1941 11 February 1979
(Iranian Revolution)
In pretence
1 Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Son of Reza Shah 1919–1980 11 February 1979 27 July 1980
(Death)
Farah Pahlavi Wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi 1938– 27 July 1980 31 October 1980
2 Reza Pahlavi Reza Pahlavi II Son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi 1960– 31 October 1980 Incumbent

Consorts

Picture Name Father Birth Marriage Became Consort Ceased to be Consort Death Spouse
Tadj ol-Molouk Teymūr Khan Ayromlou 1896 1916 15 December 1925 16 September 1941
husband's abdication
1982 Reza Shah
Esmat Dowlatshahi Gholam Ali Mirza Dowlatshahi 1905 1923 1995
Princess Fawzia of Egypt Fuad I of Egypt 1921 1939 16 September 1941 17 November 1948
divorced
2013 Mohammad Reza Shah
Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary Khalil Esfandiary-Bakhtiary 1932 12 February 1951 15 March 1958
divorced
2001
Farah Diba Sohrab Diba 1938 21 December 1959 11 February 1979
husband's deposition
Alive

Heirs

Prince Ali-Reza Pahlavi, the heir presumptive until his death in 1954

The former constitution of Iran specifically provided that only a male who was not descended from 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

Current Line of Succession

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 Mohammad Reza Shah Eldest son 25 April 1926 16 September 1941

(Became king)

Office vacant from 16 September 1941 to 26 October 1967
2 Reza Pahlavi II Eldest son 1 November 1960 (Proclaimed)

26 October 1967 (Designated)

11 February 1979

(Father deposed)

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 King's Son), followed by first name and surname (Pahlavi), and style His Imperial Highness.
  • Daughters: Princess (Shâhdokht, or King'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.

See also


This page was last updated at 2024-03-18 18:26 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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