The 1979 uprisings were aimed at getting rid of the Pahlavi dynasty which contained only two kings, Reza Shah and Mohammed Reza Shah. Before the Pahlavi’s, Iran was ruled by the Qajar dynasty, and before that the Safavids. The safavids and Qajar’s were responsible for two of the most important aspects of Iran: The safavids made Shia Islam the official state religion in Iran, starting with Ismail 1 in 1501, and the Qajar’s gave the muslim clergy- The ulema- political power. The first major revolution in Iran was in 1906. It forced the ruling Qajar’s to accept a constitution, it created a parliament and put some limits on the king. It ultimately failed party because the clergy withdrew their support, partly because the Shah worked very actively against it, and the Russian and the British worked to keep Persia weak so they could continue to try to dominate the region. After WW1, Europeans rivalries heated up because of the discovery of oil in the Middle East. The British established Iranian Oil company and they helped to engineer the change in dynasty by supporting military commander Reza Khan. Later on Reza Khan became Shah and he attempted to turn Persia, which he re-named Iran 1935, into a modern, secular, western-style state. Reza Shah is remembered for his dictatorial repression, which led the clergy against him. During WW2 Reza Shah abdicated and his young son Mohammad Reza Shah became the leader of Iran until 1979. The Shah in 1979 was an autocrat and he employed a
Both Iranian art and Iranian politics have undergone many drastic transformations during the 20th and 21th centuries. In the early 20th century, Iranian modern art was born. Reza Pahlavi took power, ending the Qajar dynasty. The new Pahlavi dynasty would only last 54 years, but under Reza Shah, Iran began the process towards westernization. The conflict between this rapid modernization and Iran’s strong cultural tradition affected the art of the period- visual culture blended western styles with Persian and Islamic imagery. The 1979 revolution brought a wave of traditionalism and Islamization to Iran, and art reflected this trend. Western influence was shunned, and more and more political and religious themes began to appear. During the turn
The reformation of the country of Iran toward Islam caused turmoil among the people because the drastic changes forced on the people were not easily accepted. One of the major changes is that
In the late 1970's, the world was hit with the events of the Iranian Revolution, a movement in which the Shah was overthrown in replacement with Ayatollah Khomeini. Causes for this movement included the economic, political, and socio-economic conditions in Iran before the Revolution. Economically, the Shah's hopes for the country ended up being their downfalls while politically, the Shah's ruling as a dictator prohibited the freedom of the Iranians. Socio-economically, the Shah didn't place much emphasis on religion, angering the majority of the population. The overthrow of the Shah led to the uprise of a religious leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, a figure supported by many. Unlike advice
Various factors influenced the 1979 Iranian revolution, but at the core of this significant event was Islamic fundamentalism. The Iranian religious leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, led this movement to end the thirty-seven-year reign of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, also known as the Shah of Iran (Diller 1991, p.152). The revolution was a combination of mounting social, economic, political and religious strains. The nation of Iran was never colonized, unlike some of its bordering countries, making its people intolerant of external influences. The Shah had gradually westernized and secularized his country, creating a strong American presence that was being felt
To begin, a few key events that caused the Iranian Revolution must be known to understand the politics and major changes that Satrapi grew up with in Tehran. The Iranian Revolution began on February eleventh, 1979 when the Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was succeeded by the Islamic Republic. This took place partly due to an event that occurred about a year earlier; on January ninth, 1978 in the city of Qum,
Leading up to, and throughout the first World War is when the tension started to build in Iran. The overthrow of Qajar regime, which was replaced by Reza Shah, lead to what is known as modern Iran. Iran was divided up by many powers. They were controlled by the imperial nations of Britain, Russia, Ottoman, and Germany. Because of a lack of government, it allowed nationalist groups to move in and develop in Iran. When World War 1 broke out, it increased foreign pressure in Iran, causing the flows of their government widen. “Following the approval of the Iranian Constitutional Code by the Qajar king in 1906, Anglo-Russian
Firstly, Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi was the extremely isolated leader of Iran who was extremely concerned, by any means necessary, with consolidating his power. Not only did the Shah completely remove himself from the suffering society and ignore the injustice surrounding him but he ruled with absolute power meaning that everyone else had little say in government, if any at all. The Shah also created a force known as the SAVAK, and it was largely and widely feared by those who opposed the regime as it was known for extreme surveillance, torture and even execution. Mohammed Reza Shah completely overlooked the fact that up to 70%of Iran’s population of 20 million was living in poverty without basic liberties and at the mercy of their landlords. This evidence proves that the needs of the Iranian people were not being met which in many cases, like the case of the English Civil War sets the stage for revolution. Charles Stuart I, was a leader who also ruled by divine right with the belief that he was superior to everyone, including parliament whom he, due to this
The Iranian Revolution was an uprising by the common people of Iran who were upset about the doings of their Shah and his government. The Shah’s treatment of his own people can be characterized as unjust and cruel. After all, he severely limited the rights of groups whom he felt threatened his power to rule. He opposed the political rights of religious Shiite groups, which especially enraged Iranians, and led to the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini. The Ayatollah was a religious leader who would overthrow the Shah and establish a proper Islamic State in the nation. Ever since, the so called Islamic Revolution has raised concern over the dangers that Iran may pose to the Western world. Nevertheless, the Iranian Revolution was a progressive movement that reflected the major concerns of Iranians towards corruption in government, all with the intention of removing injustices and enforcing rightful liberties and common needs.
The Islamic Revolution (Iranian Revolution) lead by Ayatollah Kjomeini began in 1977. Interminable protests against the Shah’s dynasty commenced, and by January 1978, the protests became deadly. “Hundreds of Islamist students and religious leaders in the city of Qom were furious over a story in the government-controlled press they felt was libelous.” (Wikipedia) It was estimated that over seventy
When the Iranian Revolution succeeded in 1979, Iran wanted to gain the admiration and the support of Arab countries, benefiting in particular from the support by the Shah of Iran and his relationship with Israel before the collapse of his regime. On this very first day of the victory of the revolution, Iran was keen to extend its bonds with the Islamic world, and when this was not possible in most cases, because of many complex causes of the revolution, Iran began to look for «organizations» instead of «regime’s or countries», in order to continue its role in Islamic issues. Iran was keen to show that this role was one of the foundations of the revolution and its beliefs, in
After the communist revolution in Russia, the British install Reza Shah Pahlavi as shah of Iran in 1925 to prevent the spread of communism. Then because of his relations to Hitler in World War II the Russians and British invaded Iran again. The forced Reza Shah Pahlavi and his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi became the Shah of Iran (White, 2014, pp. 207-208).
During Satrapi’s early childhood, the traditions and history of Iran had been going through drastic changes. The Iranian Revolution was when Iran’s monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown and replaced with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who led the revolution. ii
Iran has always, it seems, been the breeding ground for some kind of political upheaval or another. In recent times, back in 1979, there was a major revolution which was, in some ways, similar to the revolution we are seeing today. The people were angry and they were tired of being controlled by the government that was in power. They had concrete ideals and were incredibly passionate about their revolution. The revolution Iran is experiencing today does not appear to be quite as passionate and does not appear to maintain a belief in any real solid political system. They just know they want something different. In the following paper we present an illustration of the current revolution that is taking
Iran was included in the territory of what was then the ancient Persian Empire. For centuries Iran (land of the Aryans) was also referred to as Persia, which was the official name until 1935. Fourteen years had passed before the Iranian government allowed the use of both names. Few groups of people today have significant history like the Iranians, descending from the ancient Persians, who possess one of the world’s richest and oldest cultures. Historically, a variety of other cultures and groups had once occupied the ancient Iranian plateau as early as 4,000 B.C.E, with little importance. Beginning by the third millennium, Persia was ruled by some of the greatest kings of all time, from Cyrus the Great to Darius the III, who turned the
The Iranian revolution or the 1979 Islamic Revolution refers to an uprising that occurred in Iran between 1978 and 1979 that led to overthrow of Pahlavi Dynasty leading to the establishment of the Islamic Republic. The revolution which began as a democracy movement, ended with establishment of the first Islamic republic in the world and although it may have turned the Iranian state upside down, it become one of the defining 20th Century event. Many believe that the revolution lacked customary causes of a revolution and thus came as a surprise because Iran seemed to enjoy relative prosperity and was experiencing change at a great speed. However, the Iranians seemed unsatisfied with the way its government was run. They