1. John McCarthy IV
Alison Russell
Politics of the Middle East
November 7, 2016
The Reign of the Shah and the Lasting Impact
The thirty seven year autocratic rule in Iran of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, from his
father’s deposition during the Second World War until his own in 1979 had a profound and
lasting impact on the modern Iranian society that continues to this day. Not only the violent
revolution that led to his flee into exile, but also what he was able to accomplish throughout his
reign has shaped the very fabric of Persian life. The second and ultimately last ruler of his
dynasty, was the Shah, his direct influence in the management of the state in the 1960s and
1970s allowed him to become one of the last remaining absolute monarchs in history.
Ultimately, it was this authority that led to his downfall and the subsequent creation of an Islamic
Republic at the heart of Central Asia. Modern Iran is cast in the pall of the actions taken during
the Imperial era not only in its relations with other regional countries in the Middle East, but also
culturally, institutionally and politically.
The notion of unrest in Iran was not a foreign concept to its citizens nor to the Royal
Family who had witnessed several popular movements during their rule. In 1949, the Shah was
wounded in an assassination attempt on his life only eight years into his stewardship, the bullet
cut into his cheek and required a brief hospitalization. The rise of his political enemy,
Mohammad Mossedeq, was Prime Minister of Iran in 1951 and the frictions between the two

2. forced the Shah to leave the country in exile in 1953. Fear at the continued consolidation of
power under the Prime Minister at the expense of the crown fueled a CIA coup d’état with the
Shah out of the country1. Iranians took to the streets of Tehran to protest the Prime Minister’s
actions and royalist forces forced Mossedeq under house arrest to precipitate the return of the
Shah. Religious led insurrection, in 1963, forced the presence of Imperial troops in the streets of
the major cities and the forced exile of an imam by the name of Ruhollah Khomeini frustrated
the Shah to the point of taking serious action2. At that point in time he had remained mostly
above the fray in the political sphere, but after the attempted usurpation of his authority, the Shah
took power away from the Majles or Iranian Parliament and began to rule by Royal decree,
launching what he called the “White Revolution.”
The westernization of Iran through these autocratic methods spread discontent among the
conservative elements within the country, particularly among the religious groups. The grant of
women’s suffrage further infuriated many in the country, but the modernization continued
unabated. In part these actions were driven by the American pressure emanating from
Washington D.C. to overhaul the political system in Iran that it saw as backwards, but also these
steps toward the future were the natural progression of the hopes and goals not only of the Shah
but also his father, who had previously sought to move Iran into a position on par with the rest of
the Western world3. The shifts that took place within the Iranian society at large were a
significant cause of the civil unrest that would permit the fall of the Pahlavi Dynasty in 1979,
1 Evan Thomas, Ike's Bluff: President Eisenhower's Secret Battle to Save the World. New York: Little, Brown, 2012.
Print.357-58.
2 Ervand Abrahamian, “The Guerrilla Movement in Iran,1963-1977.” Middle East Research and Information
Project, 1986.
3 James Nadeau, “Why Saudi 2030 is not Iran 1963.” The National Interest, nationalinterest.org.September 25,
2016.Web.

3. however lasting effects have remained and can be felt everyday by the citizens of what was once
Persia.
Cultural changes that took place under the Pahlavi rule are much the result of measures
under taken by the Shah’s government to better the lives of the people that he ruled over. A
major component of the White Revolution was the land reform that broke apart the massive
feudal estates in the countryside that were then sold to over one million peasants who had
previously worked on the estates4. While this angered the major landowners, the expansion of
commercial farming allowed greater political freedoms to emerge for this new class of
landowners that were no longer practical slaves to the land that they worked. Similar to the
emancipation of the serfs in Russia however, things did not become better for everyone of these
peasant groups; some were forced to sell off the land and move towards the burgeoning urban
areas5. Within the urban centers there grew a budding arts movement cultivated by the Shah’s
wife, the Shahbanou Farah, who began a series of arts festivals across the country and nurtured a
performing arts community that drew foreign tourists from across the world and placed Iran at
the center of the avant-garde movement in the East. The focus by the Shah on promoting the
ancient Persian image of the country can be felt in Iran today immensely. In 1971, the Shah
celebrated 2,500 years of monarchical rule in Persia/Iran with a lavish ceremony that brought
together monarchs and world leaders from the farthest corners of the globe. Held outside of the
ruins of Persepolis the ancient capital of Persia, the Shah entranced the world leaders in a
spectacular demonstration of wealth and power and claimed the romanticism and exotic nature of
4 “Iran: The White Revolution.” Time Magazine, February 11, 1966. Web.
5 Ervand Abrahamian, A History of Modern Iran. Cambridge University Press,2008. Print. Pp. 131-39.

4. the past grandeur of the Persian empires6. Four years before he had crowned himself
Shahanshah, or King of Kings, elevating the status he had held since he ascended to power in
1941. In 1976 he changed the calendar that Iranians had known their whole lives from the
Islamic calendar to the Persian one, so that in the course of a night, the year changed from 1355
to 2535.7 This concentration on the Persian roots of the Pahlavi Dynasty led to backlash
amongst the citizens of Iran. In order to temper this, the palace, particularly the Shahbanou,
focused on revitalizing the past culture, promoting a Festival of Popular Traditions that
highlighted tribal arts and customs. It was involved in the Reza Shah Cultural Foundation,
opening a museum of Iranian folk art and a Museum of Persian Carpets and a Museum of
Contemporary Art8. While the rise of the Islamic Republic has contracted the long-term
influence this might have had, there is no doubt that the public’s interest had been peaked
because of this and it can be seen in the new interest in Zoroastrianism9.
Iran has some of the largest oil reserves in the world, and with the boom in oil prices that
occurred in 1973, a flood of capital came into the country that the Shah quickly decided he
would put towards projects. Infrastructure had always been of immense interest to him and he
had pet projects all across the country being worked on. This influx of billions of dollars made it
possible to do many things at once. This goes back farther though with projects being
accelerated for his coronation in 1967, opening the Tehran stock exchange, the Rudaki concert
hall, and new docking facilities in the Persian Gulf. The rush of capital was poured into the
Iranian economy in the auto, petrochemical, manufacturing and textile industries; by the mid-
6 James A.F. Watson,“Stop, Look and Listen: Orientalism,Modernity and the Shah’s Quest for the West’s
Imagination.” The UBC Journal of Political Studies, Vancouver. March 2015.Pp. 22-36.
7 Mir M. Hosseini,“Iran switches to Imperial calendar.” The Iranian History Article. March 15, 2014.Web.
8 Andrew Scott Cooper, The Fall of Heaven: The Pahlavis and the Final Days of Imperial Iran. New York: Henry Holt
and Company. 2016.Pp. 133,301-302.
9 Rudaw, “Hopes for Zoroastrian Revival in Kurdistan asfirsttemple opens.” Rudaw. September 21, 2016.Web.

5. 1970s the Shah was competing head to head with the leading Western economies. Major steps
were taken across the countryside to build dams and irrigation wells to provide more arable land,
the rail and air traffic lines were expanded and broadened as well as the roads. Attempts were
made to better the living conditions within the urban population centers, improving air quality
and sewage and services which were then expanded to have more buses on the streets and
electric lines above them10. Reforms in the cities however could not keep up with the rush of
poor rural Iranians into the already crowded outskirts of Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz and others,
therefore services suffered. Though these issues arose, the shah was able to provide and ensure
the survival of much of the Iranian agricultural industry through his water, animal and
environmental conservation methods, as well as through the creation of national parks and state
forests11. The arguably most consequential infrastructure project that the Shah undertook was
the creation of the Green Belt around Tehran, whose impact is felt everyday in the capital. This
strip of cultivated land outside of the city not only protects against some air pollution, but has
virtually eliminated the sand and dust storms that used to sweep through the capital to
devastating effect. All around Iran, but particularly Tehran, an Iranian cannot escape the lasting
influence of the last Shah.
The Shah’s influence continues in the form of the education and health care systems that
provide Iran with a healthy and erudite society. Amid the boom of infrastructure building of
monuments and transportation systems came also the expansion of the number of hospitals
across the country. Healthcare was a very serious concern for the Shah for much of his reign,
and providing clean drinking water was an essential component of this. Through the water
10 “Mohammad Reza Pahlavi:Shah of Iran.”Encyclopedia Britannica, Britannica.com.September 19, 2016.Web.
11 Andrew Scott Cooper, The Fall of Heaven: The Pahlavis and the Final Days of Imperial Iran. New York: Henry Holt
and Company. 2016.Pp. 133,pp. 9.

6. conservation methods he was able to provide clean water for ordinary consumption, farming
needs. Also through the elimination of standing water, he was able to nearly eradicate malaria as
a serious issue within Iran. The major expansion of the social welfare system under the Shah
allowed millions access to state run healthcare and was able to drop the rate of infant mortality
down to levels just shy of the other western powers12. Education and the problem of illiteracy
was also on the top of the Shah’s list of domestic issues and were one of the first tasks in the
White Revolution that was undertaken. In 1963 the Literacy Corps was formed were fresh
recruits straight out of high school were conscripted by the government to be sent into the rural,
and sometimes urban, sectors of the nation in order to teach fundamental literacy skills to the
populace13. At the time, the rural population had illiteracy rates over 60% so the regime sought
to alleviate this crisis and was able to educate over two million children and over half a million
adults. The Shah was also able to partner with American universities and model what are now
the best centers of higher education on their American equivalents, quadrupling the number of
colleges during his reign14. He also used Iranian funds to provide scholarships for Iranian
students to study abroad at the best American and European universities, including his future
wife, Farah, who studied at École Speciale d’Architecture in Paris, and many of his future
adversaries in the Revolution15. Under the Shah, Iran had the distinction of being the most
educated country in the East and a growing hub for students from all over the world.
The Shah’s rule had profound impact on Iran’s foreign policy not only when he was in
power but after he was deposed as well. The relationships he developed with other world leaders
12 “Infant Mortality Rate (per 1000 livebirths)” The World Bank, 2015.Web.
13
Ben M. Harris "Literacy corps Iran'sgambleto conquer illiteracy." International Review of Education 9, no. 4
(1963): 430-437.
14 Ervand Abrahamian,“Structural causes of the Iranian Revolution.”MERIP Reports, (87). May 1980.Pp. 21 -26.
15 Andrew Scott Cooper, The Fall of Heaven: The Pahlavis and the Final Days of Imperial Iran. New York: Henry Holt
and Company. 2016.Pp. 133,pp. 90.

7. and countries around the globe not only shaped Iran’s policies but also the post-Revolution
ruling class. While Iran’s affairs had always been meddled in to some extent by the Great
Powers, the greatest intrusion on the Persian land occurred when the Shah’s father, Reza Shah
was overthrown by a joint Anglo-Soviet force in 194116. The Allied nations had become
increasingly concerned with the Shah’s neutral policies in regards to the Second World War and
what they regarded as too friendly an atmosphere between Tehran and Berlin. In order to get a
more pliable subject, they replaced Reza Shah with his twenty-two year old son who would rule
for the next thirty-eight years. After the fall of Nazi Germany and the withdrawal of foreign
troops from Iranian soil, the divide that grew between the Soviets and the other Allies increased
and soon forced Iran to make a choice. The contracts with Western companies and interest
groups placed Iran under the Shah into the United States side of the Cold War. The belief that
Mossedeq has socialist sympathies and tendencies made his rise to the position of Prime Minister
so worrying to the ruling class in Washington and London, and the belief that should Iran fall to
the communists the other Middle Eastern countries would soon follow. This very salient fear led
them to back the coup against Mossedeq and throw their weight behind the Shah’s rule fully. As
a major trading partner with the United States, the US received oil and strategic benefits from
backing Iran, and Iran received war materiel of the like that made the Imperial Air Force the best
in the region17.
Iran’s relationship within the Middle East was also starkly different from today, with Iran
being the number one oil exporter to Israel and enjoying cordial relationships with many states it
does not have a good relationship with today. The relationship between Iran and Iraq was even
16 “Historic Personalitiesof Iran:Reza Shah Pahlavi.”History of Iran, Iran Chamber Society. November 13, 2016.
17 Kuang Keng Kuek Ser, “Where did Iran get its military arms over the last70 years?” PRI World, Public Radio
International. June 1, 2016.Web.

8. polite if strained. On two different occasions in the late 1970s, Saddam Hussein who at the time
was only the vice president of Iraq but still firmly in control of the country, had offered to
execute the Ayatollah Khomeini who was living in exile in Najaf, Iraq. The inflammatory
pronouncements from the Ayatollah had awoken the passions of the Shiite majority in Iraq that
the Sunni Hussein wanted to quash18. Though both times the Shah refused, it was an interesting
offer, when only a few years after, Iraqi forces swarmed over the Iranian border on the orders of
Saddam. The fall of the Shah did not thrust the country into the grips of the Soviets, who the
clerics believed were godless, but the stable rock of American interest on the Soviet border was
no longer what they were used to.
When the Shah fled in exile in 1979, Anwar Sadat was one of the few world leaders to
take him in and provide him sanctuary. After Sadat’s assassination, his replacement, Hosni
Mubarak, continued to house the Shah’s family which spoiled relations between the Islamic
Republic and Egypt until Mubarak’s ouster in 201119. The relations the Shah had with the other
monarchies in the region, particularly the other main US ally in the region, Saudi Arabia had
fostered a brotherhood of rulers who were comfortable with one another. The earthquake that
was the Iranian Revolution completely disrupted the normal state of affairs in the region and
other monarch’s worried about the influence this would have in their own states. As a result of
this, Iran was spurned by many Middle Eastern countries after the Revolution and found the
chaos in Lebanon and Syria much easier to deal with than its direct neighbors. At the moment,
the battle for supremacy between Iran and Saudi Arabia rages in proxy fights across the region,
18 Andrew Scott Cooper, The Fall of Heaven: The Pahlavis and the Final Days of Imperial Iran. New York: Henry Holt
and Company. 2016.Pp. 133,pp. 456.
19 Declan Walsh and Nour Youssef, “The Strange and Unending Limbo of Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak.” The New York
Times, The New York Times Company. May 16, 2016.

9. particularly in Yemen20. The faith that many of these states had in the stability of Iran under the
Shah has been replaced by uncertainty in the irrational actions of the Islamic Republic.
The reign of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was one of the most consequential periods
of rule in world history, particularly in Iran. The effects of that rule can be felt by Iranians every
day of their lives. The roads they drive on, the colleges they go to, the hospitals that treat them,
and the healthcare that is needed for that were all created under the directive of the Shah. The
irrigation projects and land reform provided greater arable land for Iran to live off of and the
environmental undertakings continue to have lasting effects on the living conditions across the
country. The Shah strove to eradicate the scourges of disease and illiteracy across Iran and left
in place the military infrastructure that is feared across the globe. The decisions he made during
his thirty-eight years as sovereign continue to shape the international community and the
responses of the Islamic Republic. The Shah’s lasting legacy is that he was able to take a third
world nation and make a political powerhouse that sat just below the Western powers in terms of
advancement and prestige. Iranians are fully aware of this effect that the Pahlavis had, and as the
Islamic Republic crawls into its thirty-eighth year, serious questions need to be raised as to the
sustainability of the state and perhaps the return of the dynasty on the Peacock Throne.
20 Mohammad Ghobari,“At least10,000 killed in Yemen Civil War.” The Huffington Post, Aol.com. August 30,
2016.Web.

10. Bibliography
Mohammad Ghobari, “At least 10,000 killed in Yemen Civil War.” The Huffington Post,
Aol.com. August 30, 2016. Web.
Declan Walsh and Nour Youssef, “The Strange and Unending Limbo of Egypt’s Hosni
Mubarak.” The New York Times, The New York Times Company. May 16, 2016.
Andrew Scott Cooper, The Fall of Heaven: The Pahlavis and the Final Days of Imperial Iran.
New York: Henry Holt and Company. 2016. Pp. 133, pp. 456.
Kuang Keng Kuek Ser, “Where did Iran get its military arms over the last 70 years?” PRI
World, Public Radio International. June 1, 2016. Web.
“Historic Personalities of Iran: Reza Shah Pahlavi.” History of Iran, Iran Chamber Society.
November 13, 2016.
Ervand Abrahamian, “Structural causes of the Iranian Revolution.” MERIP Reports, (87). May
1980. Pp. 21-26.
Ben M. Harris "Literacy corps Iran's gamble to conquer illiteracy." International Review of
Education 9, no. 4 (1963): 430-437.
“Infant Mortality Rate (per 1000 live births)” The World Bank, 2015. Web.
“Mohammad Reza Pahlavi: Shah of Iran.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Britannica.com. September
19, 2016. Web.
Rudaw, “Hopes for Zoroastrian Revival in Kurdistan as first temple opens.” Rudaw. September
21, 2016. Web.

11. Mir M. Hosseini, “Iran switches to Imperial calendar.” The Iranian History Article. March 15,
2014. Web.
James A.F. Watson, “Stop, Look and Listen: Orientalism, Modernity and the Shah’s Quest for
the West’s Imagination.” The UBC Journal of Political Studies, Vancouver. March 2015. Pp.
22-36.
Ervand Abrahamian, A History of Modern Iran. Cambridge University Press, 2008. Print. Pp.
131-39.
“Iran: The White Revolution.” Time Magazine, February 11, 1966. Web.
James Nadeau, “Why Saudi 2030 is not Iran 1963.” The National Interest, nationalinterest.org.
September 25, 2016. Web.
Ervand Abrahamian, “The Guerrilla Movement in Iran, 1963-1977.” Middle East Research and
Information Project, 1986.
Evan Thomas, Ike's Bluff: President Eisenhower's Secret Battle to Save the World. New York:
Little, Brown, 2012. Print. 357-58.