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Reza Shah

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Military People

   CAPTION: Reza Shah Pahlavi

   Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Iran
   Reign       December 15, 1925 – September 16, 1941
   Predecessor Ahmad Shah Qajar
   Successor   Mohammad Reza Shah
   Spouse      Tadj ol-Molouk
   Father      Abbas Ali
   Mother      Noush Afrin
   Born        March 16, 1878
   Died        July 26, 1944

   Reza Shah the Great, also Reza Pahlavi ( Persian: رضا پهلوی‎ - Rezâ
   Pahlavi) ( March 16, 1878 – July 26, 1944), styled His Imperial
   Majesty, was Shah of Persia from December 15, 1925 until 1935, at which
   time he requested that other countries address his nation by its native
   name, Iran, and Shah of Iran from 1935 until September 16, 1941. He was
   the first monarch of the Pahlavi dynasty, and is credited with greatly
   modernizing the nation.

Early life

   Reza Pahlavi was born in the city of Alasht in Savad Kooh county,
   Mazandaran in 1878. His father, Colonel Abbas Ali, had been a member of
   the provincial army. When Pahlavi was fifteen years old, he joined the
   Persian Cossack Brigade, in which, years later, he would become a
   commander.

   He also served in the Iranian Army, where he gained the rank of Gunnery
   Sergeant under Qajar Prince Abdol Hossein Mirza Farmanfarma's command.
   He was also one of the last individuals to become an Officer of the
   Nishan-e-Aqdas prior to the collapse of the Qajar dynasty in 1925.

Rise to power

Overthrow of the Qajar dynasty

   Reza Shah during his time as Minister of War.
   Enlarge
   Reza Shah during his time as Minister of War.

   On February 21, 1921, under the new name of Reza Khan Mirpanj (Persian:
   رضا خان میرپنج), Pahlavi staged a coup d'état together with Seyyed
   Zia'eddin Tabatabaee.

   Commanding a Russian-trained Cossack Brigade, General Reza marched his
   troops from Qazvin, 150 kilometres to the west of Tehran, and seized
   key parts of the capital city almost without opposition and forced the
   government to resign.

   With the success of the coup, Tabatabaee became the Prime Minister of
   Iran. Reza's first role in the new government was as commander of the
   army, which, in April 1921, he combined with the post of Minister of
   War. At the same time, he took the title Reza Khan Sardar Sepah (رضا
   خان سردار سپه).

Ascension to the Persian throne

   Personal flag of Reza Shah from 1925 to 1964.
   Enlarge
   Personal flag of Reza Shah from 1925 to 1964.

   On October 26, 1923, Ahmad Shah Qajar formally named him Prime
   Minister, and left to live in exile in Europe. The National Assembly of
   Iran, known as the Majlis, officially deposed the Qajar dynasty in
   1925, four years after the coup had taken place. On December 12, 1925,
   the Majlis, convening as a constituent assembly, voted to crown Reza
   Pahlavi as the new Shah of Persia.

   Three days later, on December 15, 1925, he took his imperial oath and
   thus became the first Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty. However, it would
   not be until April 25, 1926, that Reza Shah would receive his
   coronation and first place the Imperial Crown on his head. At the same
   ceremony, his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was proclaimed the Crown
   Prince of Persia – to rule after his father.

Reign and modernization

   Reza Shah at the opening ceremony of the University of Tehran's Faculty
   of Medicine.
   Enlarge
   Reza Shah at the opening ceremony of the University of Tehran's Faculty
   of Medicine.

   During Reza Shah's sixteen years of rule, major developments, such as
   large road construction projects and the Trans-Iranian Railway were
   built, modern education was introduced and the University of Tehran was
   established. The government sponsored European educations for many
   Iranian students.

   Under Reza Shah's watch, the country changed its name as well.
   According to The New York Times, "At the suggestion of the Persian
   Legation in Berlin, the Teheran government, on the Persian New Year,
   March 21, 1935, substituted Iran for Persia as the official name of the
   country. It has been suggested that this decision was the result of the
   Nazi revival of interest in the so-called Aryan races, cradled in
   ancient Persia. As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs set forth in its
   memorandum on the subject, 'Perse,' the French designation of Persia,
   connoted the weakness and tottering independence of the country in the
   nineteenth century, when it was the chessboard of European
   imperialistic rivalry. 'Iran,' by contrast, conjured up memories of the
   vigor and splendor of its historic past." The very name “Iran” means
   “Land of the Aryans”.

   At the expense of religion, the Shah backed a strong policy of
   industrialization to ensure that the country was not dependent solely
   on its fossil fuel reserves and agricultural revenues. While Persia was
   once an advanced empire, the Iran of the early 20th century had become
   technologically backwards compared to the Western world. The Shah's new
   policies helped his country enter modern times.

   Though his achievements were great, by the mid-1930s, Reza Shah's
   constructive, but dictatorial style of rule had caused intense
   dissatisfaction to the Shi'a clergy throughout Iran, thus widening the
   gap between religion and government. He forbade photographing aspects
   of Iran he considered backwards, like camels, he banned Iranian dress
   and chadors in favour of Western dress. Women who resisted this
   compulsory unveiling had their veils forcibly removed. He dealt harshly
   with opposition: troops were sent to massacre protesters at mosques and
   nomads who refused to settle; newspapers were closed and liberals
   imprisoned. He also used his power to vastly increase his fortune,
   becoming the biggest landowner in Iran, proprietor of nearly three
   thousand villages, as well as many factories and enterprises.

Deposition and death

   During World War I, Britain had ignored protests from the Qajar rulers
   and stationed troops in the province of Khuzestan. When World War II
   began, the United Kingdom again wished to station troops in Khuzestan.

   Reza Shah had declared Iran neutral so it could reconstruct Iran as a
   modern state without having to deal with the Soviets and British, whom
   the Shah feared had plans to seize control of the country and its
   resources. Having previously declared neutrality, Reza Shah protested
   against this challenge to central government authority. Britain
   interpreted this refusal as favouring Nazi Germany, especially as the
   Shah refused the Allies the right to use the trans-Iranian railroad
   used to transport Western supplies to Stalin. Fearing that Reza Shah
   was about to align his petroleum-rich country with Nazi Germany during
   the war, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union occupied Iran and
   forced Reza Shah to abdicate in favour of his son (see also Persian
   Corridor).

   The Shah's son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, officially replaced his father
   on the throne on September 16, 1941. Reza Shah soon went into exile,
   first to Mauritius, then to Johannesburg, South Africa, where he died
   on July 26, 1944, aged 66. After his death, a mausoleum was built in
   his honour in Iran, where his body was buried. His son later designated
   the title "the Great" to be added to his name.

   Following the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Reza Shah's mausoleum was
   destroyed under the direction of Ayatollah Sadeq Khalkhali, which was
   sanctioned by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Family

   Reza Shah's first wife, whom he married in 1894, was Maryam Khanum
   (died 1904). They had one daughter:
     * Princess Fatemeh Pahlavi ( 1903- 1992)

   His second wife was Tadj ol-Molouk, by whom he had five children:
     * Princess Shams Pahlavi ( 1917- 1996)
     * Shahanshah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ( 1919- 1980)
     * Princess Ashraf Pahlavi (b. 1919)
     * Prince Ali Reza Pahlavi ( 1922- 1954)

   In 1922 (divorced 1923), Reza Shah married Turan (Qamar al Molk) Amir
   Soleimani (1904 – 1995), by whom he had one son:
     * Prince Gholam Reza Pahlavi (b. 1923)

   Reza Shah's fourth wife was Esmat Dowlatshahi ( 1904- 1995), by whom he
   had five children:
     * Prince Abdul Reza Pahlavi ( 1924- 2004)
     * Prince Ahmad Reza Pahlavi ( 1925- 1981)
     * Prince Mahmud Reza Pahlavi ( 1926- 2001)
     * Princess Fatimeh Pahlavi ( 1928- 1987)
     * Prince Hamid Reza Pahlavi ( 1932- 1992)

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reza_Shah"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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