A Brief History of Iran from 1851

A Brief History of Iran from 1851

Qajar Dynasty

1851-1906 -- The Qajars (ruling family) lost central Asian provinces to the Russians

and were forced to give up all claims on Afghanistan to the British. These two

European powers dominated Iran's trade and manipulated its internal politics. The

Qajars and influential members of their court were bribed to sell many valuable

concessions to the British, such as the Tobacco Concession which triggered a

massive popular uprising.

1906 -- Discontent with Qajar corruption and mismanagement led to the

Constitutional Revolution and the establishment of Iran's first parliament or

Majles. The constitutional aspirations for a limited monarchy were never to be fully

realized. Although Iran never became an actual colony of imperial powers, in 1907 it

was divided into two spheres of influence. The north was controlled by Russia and

the south and the east by Britain. By the end of WW I, Iran was plunged into a

state of political, social and economic chaos.

1921 -- Reza Khan, an officer in the army, staged a coup. Initially the minister of

war and then the prime minister, in 1925 Reza Khan decided to become the Shah

himself. Although Reza Khan's initial objective was to become the president of a

republic, the clergy, fearing a diminished role in a republic, persuaded him to

become the Shah.

Pahlavi Dynasty

1925-1940 -- Reza Shah Pahlavi's first priority was to strengthen the authority of

the central government by creating a disciplined standing army and restraining the

autonomy of the tribal chiefs. He embarked upon a series of modernizing and

secular reforms, some of which were designed specifically to break the power of

the clergy over Iran's educational and judicial systems. He provided public

education, built Iran's first modern university, opened the schools to women and

brought them into the work force. He initiated Iran's first industrialization

program and dramatically improved Iran's infrastructure by building numerous

roads, bridges, state-owned factories and Iran's first transnational railway. In

1935, he officially requested all foreign governments to no longer refer to Iran as

Persia, but as Iran. (The Iranian people themselves had always referred to their

country as Iran.) Politically, however, Reza Shah forcibly abolished the wearing of

the veil, took away the effective power of the Majles and did not permit any forms

of free speech. With the outbreak of WW II, Reza Shah, wanting to remain

neutral, refused to side with the Allies.

1941 -- In need of the Trans-Iranian railway to supply the Soviets with wartime

materials, the Allies invaded and occupied Iran for the duration of the war. Reza

Shah was forced to abdicate in favor of his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and died in