Pahlavi dynasty

Iranian royal dynasty (1925–1979) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Pahlavi dynasty (Persian: خاندان پهلوی, romanized: Xândâne Pahlavi) is an Iranian royal dynasty that was the last to rule Iran before the country's monarchy was overthrown by the Iranian Revolution in 1979. It was founded in 1925 by Reza Shah Pahlavi, born Reza Khan, a non-aristocratic Iranian soldier of Mazanderani origin,^[3] who took on the name of the Pahlavi scripts of the Middle Persian language from the Sasanian Empire of pre-Islamic Iran.^{[citation needed]} The dynasty largely espoused this form of Iranian nationalism rooted in the pre-Islamic era (notably based on the Achaemenid Empire) during its time in power, especially under its last Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

CountryImperial State of Iran

Place of originMazandaran, Iran^[1]

Founded15 December 1925; 100 years ago

FounderReza Shah Pahlavi

Quick facts Country, Place of origin ...

Pahlavi
Royal house
Arms of dominion of the Shahs, and therefore coat of arms, of Pahlavi Iran from 1932. The emblem of the dynasty is the mountain and sun in the blue circle in the middle.
Country	Imperial State of Iran
Place of origin	Mazandaran, Iran^[1]
Founded	15 December 1925; 100 years ago (1925-12-15)
Founder	Reza Shah Pahlavi
Current head	Reza Pahlavi
Final ruler	Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Traditions	Twelver Shia Islam (de jure) Iranian nationalism (de facto)
Motto	مرا داد فرمود و خود داور است Marâ dâd farmud o xod dâvar ast (Justice He bids me do, as He will judge me^[2])
Estate	Niavaran Palace in the Niavaran Complex (most recently)
Deposition	11 February 1979; 47 years ago (1979-02-11) (Iranian Revolution)

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.^[8] About a month later, under British direction, Reza Khan's 3,000–4,000 strong detachment of the Cossack Brigade reached Tehran.^[9]^[10] The rest of the country was taken by 1923, and by October 1925 the Majlis agreed to depose and formally exile Ahmad Shah Qajar.^[11] The Majlis declared Reza Pahlavi as the Shah of Iran on 12 December 1925, pursuant to the Persian Constitution of 1906.^[12] Initially, Pahlavi had planned to declare the country a republic, as his contemporary Mustafa Kemal Atatürk had done in Turkey, but he abandoned the idea in the face of British and clerical opposition.^[13]

The dynasty ruled Iran as an autocratic monarchy, with a pluralistic period from 1941 to 1953, when Mohammed Mossadegh was overthrown, returning to authoritarianism, with a brief one party state period until the dynasty was removed from power 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.^[14]^[9] His mother was a Muslim immigrant from Georgia (then part of the Russian Empire)^[15]^[16] 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's birth.^[17] His father was a Mazandarani, commissioned in the 7th Savadkuh Regiment, and served in the Anglo-Persian War in 1856.

Pahlavi monarchs, regents, and heads of the house

– In pretence

More information Number, Picture ...

Number	Name	Title	Family relations	Lifespan	Reigned from/Assumed title	Reigned until/Relinquished title	Reign duration^[a]
I	Shah Reza Pahlavi	Shah	—	1878–1944 (aged 66)	15 December 1925	16 September 1941 (abdicated)	15 years
II	Shahanshah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi	Shah (1941–1967) Shahanshah (1967–1979)^[18]^[19]	Son of Reza Pahlavi	1919–1980 (aged 60)	16 September 1941	11 February 1979 (deposed)	37 years
II	Shahanshah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi	Shah (1941–1967) Shahanshah (1967–1979)^[18]^[19]	Son of Reza Pahlavi	1919–1980 (aged 60)	16 September 1941	27 July 1980 (died)	37 years
—	Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi (née Diba)	Regent	Third wife and widow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi	1938–current (age 87)	27 July 1980	31 October 1980 (regency expired)	—
III	Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi^[b]	Head of the House of Pahlavi	Son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Farah Pahlavi	1960–current (age 65)	31 October 1980	Incumbent	—
	Pahlavi dynasty			1878–current (aged 148)	15 December 1925	11 February 1979	53 years

[a]
Full years reigned
[b]
"Reza II" in pretense.

Reign of Pahlavi monarchs and tenure of later pretenders; and their lifespan

Source:^[20]^[21]

Consorts

– In pretence

More information Number, Picture ...

Number	Name	Father	Lifespan	Marriage	Became consort	Ceased to be consort	Spouse
I	Tadj ol-Molouk	Teymūr Khan Ayromlou	1896–1982	1916	15 December 1925	16 September 1941 (husband abdicated)	Reza Pahlavi
II	Esmat Dowlatshahi	Gholam Ali Mirza Dowlatshahi	1905–1995	1923	15 December 1925	16 September 1941 (husband abdicated)	Reza Pahlavi
III	Princess Fawzia of Egypt	Fuad I of Egypt	1921–2013	1939	16 September 1941	17 November 1948 (divorced)	Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
IV	Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary	Khalil Esfandiary-Bakhtiary	1932–2001	12 February 1951		15 March 1958 (divorced)
V	Farah Diba	Sohrab Diba	1938–current	21 December 1959 (as queen consort)		11 February 1979 (husband was deposed)
V	Farah Diba	Sohrab Diba	1938–current	26 October 1967 (as empress consort)		27 July 1980 (widowed)
Office vacant from 27 July 1980 to 12 June 1986
VI	Yasmine Etemad-Amini	Abdullah Etemad-Amini	1968–current	12 June 1986		Incumbent	Reza Pahlavi

Heirs

The 1906 constitution of Iran specifically provided that only a male who was not descended from the Qajar dynasty could become the heir apparent.^[22] This made all half-brothers of Mohammad Reza ineligible to become heirs to the throne.^[22] Until his death in 1954, the Shah's only full brother Ali Reza was his heir presumptive.^[22] The constitution also required the Shah to be of Iranian descent, meaning that his father and mother are Iranian.^[23]

Line of succession in February 1979

Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878–1944)
- Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (1919–1980)
  - (1) Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi (b. 1960)
  - (2) Prince Ali-Reza Pahlavi (1966-2011)
- Prince Ali-Reza Pahlavi (1922–1954)
  - (3) Prince Patrick Ali Pahlavi (b. 1947)
    - (4) Prince Davoud Pahlavi (b. 1972)
    - (5) Prince Houd Pahlavi (b. 1973)
    - (6) Prince Mohammad Pahlavi (b. 1976)

Current line of succession

Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878–1944)
- Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (1919–1980)
  - Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi (b. 1960)
  - Prince Ali-Reza Pahlavi (1966–2011)
- Prince Ali-Reza Pahlavi (1922–1954)
  - (1) Prince Patrick Ali Pahlavi (b. 1947)
    - (2) Prince Davoud Pahlavi (b. 1972)
    - (3) Prince Houd Pahlavi (b. 1973)
      - (4) Prince Rafaël Pahlavi (b. 2006)
    - (5) Prince Mohammad Pahlavi (b. 1976)

List of crown princes

More information Name, Portrait ...

Name		Relationship to monarch	Became heir	Ceased to be heir; reason
Office vacant from 15 December 1925 to 24 April 1926
1	Mohammad Reza Pahlavi	Eldest son	25 April 1926^[24]	16 September 1941 (Became Shah)
Office vacant from 16 September 1941 to 26 October 1967
2	Reza Pahlavi	Eldest son	1 November 1960 (proclaimed)^[24] 26 October 1967 (designated)^[24]	11 February 1979 (Father deposed)

Heirs to the headship (since 1979)

More information No., Name ...


No.	Name	Relationship to head	Became heir	Ceased to be heir; reason
1	Reza Pahlavi	Eldest son	11 February 1979	31 October 1980 (Became head)
2	Ali Reza Pahlavi	Younger brother	31 October 1980	4 January 2011 (died)
3	Patrick Ali Pahlavi	First cousin	4 January 2011	Incumbent

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

References

[1]
"پرتال جامع علوم انسانی" (PDF). سندی نویافته از نیای رضاشاه.
[2]
"The Imperial Standards of Iran".
[3]
Aghaie, Kamran Scot (1 December 2011). The Martyrs of Karbala: Shi'i Symbols and Rituals in Modern Iran. University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0-295-80078-3.
[4]
کوروش, نوروز مرادی; نوری, مصطفی (1388). "سندی نویافته از نیای رضاشاه" (PDF). پیام بهارستان. د۲،س ۱،ش۴.
[5]
معتضد, خسرو (1387). تاج های زنانه (چاپ اول ed.). تهران: نشر البرز. pp. 46 47 48 49 50 51 جلد اول. ISBN 9789644425974. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
[6]
نیازمند, رضا (1387). رضاشاه از تولد تا سلطنت (چاپ ششم ed.). تهران: حکایت قلم نوین. pp. 15 16 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 39 40 43 44 45. ISBN 9645925460. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
[7]
زیباکلام, صادق (1398). رضاشاه (اول ed.). تهران: روزنه،لندن:اچ انداس. pp. 61, 62. ISBN 9781780837628. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
[8]
Cyrus Ghani; Sīrūs Ghanī (6 January 2001). Iran and the Rise of the Reza Shah: From Qajar Collapse to Pahlavi Power. I.B.Tauris. pp. 147–. ISBN 978-1-86064-629-4.
[9]
Zirinsky, Michael P. (1992). "Imperial power and dictatorship: Britain and the rise of Reza Shah, 1921-1926". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 24 (4): 639–663. doi:10.1017/s0020743800022388. S2CID 159878744. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
[10]
Brysac, Shareen Blair. "A Very British Coup: How Reza Shah Won and Lost His Throne." World Policy Journal 24, no. 2 (2007): 90–103. Accessed 8 August 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40210096
[11]
Amrullah (3 February 2026). "Kronologi Runtuhnya Dinasti Qajar dan Berdirinya Dinasti Pahlavi". Tinta Emas (in Indonesian). Retrieved 13 March 2026.
[12]
"Mashallah Ajudani". Ajoudani. Archived from the original on 22 October 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
[13]
Curtis, Glenn E.; Hooglund, Eric. Iran: A Country Study: A Country Study. Government Printing Office. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-8444-1187-3.
[14]
Gholam Reza Afkhami (27 October 2008). The Life and Times of the Shah. University of California Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-520-25328-5. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
[15]
Afkhami, Gholam Reza (2009). The Life and Times of the Shah. University of California Press. p. 4. (..) His mother, who was of Georgian origin, died not long after, leaving Reza in her brother's care in Tehran. (...).
[16]
GholamAli Haddad Adel; et al. (2012). The Pahlavi Dynasty: An Entry from Encyclopaedia of the World of Islam. EWI Press. p. 3. (...) His mother, Nush Afarin, was a Georgian Muslim immigrant (...).
[17]
Homa Katouzian. "State and Society in Iran: The Eclipse of the Qajars and the Emergence of the Pahlavis" I.B.Tauris, 2006. ISBN 978-1845112721 p 269
[18]
Sanghvi, Ramesh (1968). The Shah of Iran. Stein and Day. p. 329.
[19]
Afkhami, Gholam Reza (2009). The Life and Times of the Shah. University of California Press. p. 475.
[20]
Pahlavi, Reza. "About Reza Pahlavi".
[21]
Kazemzadeh, Masoud (2022). The Iran National Front and the Struggle for Democracy. Walter de Gruyter GmbH. pp. 123–124. ISBN 978-3-11-078205-9.
[22]
Dareini, Ali Akbar (1999). The rise and fall of the Pahlavi dynasty. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 446. ISBN 81-208-1642-0. 2. The Shah gives another account for his separation with Fawzia. "For reasons still obscure to medical science, Queen Fawzia bore only one child; thus unfortunately no male heir issued from our marriage. Under the Persian Constitution the crown must pass by direct line of descent to a male heir. This rules out not only my daughter but also my three sisters. The Constitution further stipulates that no one descended from the previous Qajar dynasty is eligible to become king. Since two of my father's wives were of Qajar blood, my half-brothers who are their sons are ineligible. In fact I had only one brother not related to the Qajar line, and to my sorrow he was to die in an aeroplane crash in 1954. With these limitations it is no wonder that my advisors felt it important for my wife to bear a son. It is true that the Constitution might have been amended, but the dimate of opinion seemed opposed to tampering with the provisions relating to the royal succession. Besides, I was young and, quite apart from the constitutional factor, I wanted more children. When Queen Fawzia went to Egypt on an extended stay, we decided on a divorce." Please see Mission for My Country His Imperial Majesty Mohammad Reza Shah Pahiavi, Hutchinson and Co. (Publishers) Ltd., London, 1961–1968; pp. 219–220
[23]
Hoyt, Edwin Palmer (1976). The Shah: The Glittering Story of Iran and Its People. P. S. Eriksson. p. 49. ISBN 9780839777533.
[24]
Curtis, Glenn; Hooglund, Eric (April 2008). Iran, a country study. Washington, D.C., US: Library of Congress. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-8444-1187-3.