Pahlavi Research Articles

Educational Policies in Iran and Their Intellectual Roots; The First Pahlavi Era (1925-1941)

This article examines the roots and educational policies of Iran during the first Pahlavi era (1925-1941). During this period, Reza Shah initiated serious efforts to modernize and centralize public education, aiming to create a strong, unified central government through educational and cultural policies that emphasized the Persian language and limited linguistic diversity. Schools were mandated to use standardized textbooks approved by the Ministry of Education, and non-Persian languages were restricted. Similarly, ethnic and religious minority schools faced pressure to adopt Persian as the language of instruction. These policies, with a nationalist focus on Aryan identity, aimed at cultural homogenization. The article also notes that these policies and educational structures have persisted beyond the 1979 revolution and continue to influence Iran’s educational system today.

Persepolis, 1960-1971: Material Culture, State Ideology, and Melancholic Contemplation on National Identity

The ruins of Persepolis, the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (559–330 BCE), are celebrated as a cultural heritage site and national monument in Iran. In 1971, these ruins became the setting for the Celebration of the 2,500th Anniversary of the Founding of the Persian Empire, orchestrated by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The Pahlavi regime aimed to fabricate a monarchical lineage that positioned the Pahlavi dynasty as the pinnacle of an uninterrupted historical continuum beginning with the Achaemenids and Cyrus the Great. The ceremonies featured a grandiose military parade with soldiers in historical costumes symbolically reenacting theprocessions of foreign emissaries depicted on Persepolis' walls, emphasizing the glory and grandeur of Iran's imperial past and its uninterrupted history. Conversely, a decade earlier, Iranian filmmaker and poet Fereydoun Rahnema's short documentary captured Persepolis in a starkly different light, presenting it as enigmatic ruins devoid of grandeur, prompting reflections on their lost original meaning. Utilizing Walter Benjamin's concepts of natural history, melancholia, and allegory, this article explores the allegorical implications of Rahnema's film. It argues that the documentary signifies the disintegration of the sublime image of Iran’s imperial origin, marking a shift where the imperial past becomes too eclipsed a signifier to serve as a cornerstone of national identity.

‘Social psychology of the emergence of Iranian neo-nationalism discourse in present-day Iran: a case study of the Persian Gulf Facebook channel’

ABSTRACT The discourse of Iranian nationalism exhibits distinct attributes, including Aryanism, anti-Arabism, and a yearning to restore ancient Iran. Originating during the Qajar period and prevailing throughout the Pahlavi era, this discourse faced marginalization following the Islamic Revolution, remaining dormant for three decades. However, in the past decade, it has experienced a gradual resurgence and gained media representation, termed ‘Iranian neo-nationalism’ for reasons elucidated in the introduction. This study aims to investigate the factors underlying this resurgence. Utilizing the qualitative content analysis method and the theory of politicized group identity from a social psychology perspective, the paper contends that this re-emergence is grounded in enduring political, cultural, and global processes, as well as immediate cognitive and psychological processes. These intertwined processes reveal an ‘identity security dilemma’ in Iran.

Supremasi Pemerintahan di bawah Agamawan: Menilik Strategi Diskursif Ruhulloh M. Khomeini dalam Revolusi Islam Iran

Abstract: Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini was a multifaceted revolutionary figure. His engagement with various scholarly discourses, prophetic historicity, and the political realities of his era profoundly influenced him. The synthesis of these influences eventually formed the new Khomeini, characterized by a pragmatic socio-political outlook. This outlook was manifested in his mission to oppose the secular regime of Reza Shah and establish an Islamic government. Based on this phenomenon, this research aims to discuss academic questions regarding Khomeini’s strategy in founding an Islamic government. It concludes that Khomeini’s political involvement in Iran was closely linked to the political realities he faced and the horizontality of Shia theology. His primary strategy was non-military, involving the integration and reinterpretation of various ideas, including monotheism, Shia theological doctrines, ‘irfani (mystical knowledge), Islamic law, and the texts of the Qur’an and the Prophet’s hadiths. This religio-political strategy effectively toppled the Pahlavi regime, leading to the establishment of an Islamic government

REVIEW OF THE IRANIAN AZERBAIJAN IN THE SOVIET PRESS IN THE 1940S

The article presents an overview on the “21 Azer” (December 12, 1945) movement in Iranian Azerbaijan1 , its national and cultural issues, including literature, based on the publications of the Soviet press. It especially focuses on the articles, published in the 1940s in the newspaper “Communist”, printed under the ideological control and run by the Communist Party of the Soviet Azerbaijan. The Soviet media publications of the time, expressing a condemnatory attitude towards the Pahlavi government, contains an analysis and critique of socio-political, economic and cultural processes, samples of the contemporary intellectuals’ pieces. They also reflected the activities of the Azerbaijan Democratic Party (ADP), national and ideological issues of the movement. Moreover, the subtext of these publications shows how the Soviet government exploited the fraternal feelings of Azerbaijanis on both sides of the Aras River. For a comprehensive exposition of the topic, this research paper considers diverse sources and scholarly literature that shed light on the historical context of the period.

Pedalling in Pahlavi Iran: Cycle mobility and competing masculinities

Using Persian memoirs, periodicals, and photographs, this essay examines how Iranians integrated the bicycle into their everyday lives in the rapidly changing socioeconomic contexts of the Pahlavi period (1925–1979). It seeks to achieve two goals. First, by drawing comparisons from different geographical contexts, it illustrates how Iran's comparatively belated encounter with bicycle technology shaped its use and social meanings, revealing the agency of consumers of small technologies in the global South. Second, by examining competing ideals of manhood associated with the bicycle, it expands Middle Eastern historiography on masculinity beyond the modern middle class. As growing Iranian working-class men developed peculiar aesthetics and practices around the bicycle that distinguished themselves from modern middle-class men, cycle mobility became highly contested along class and gender lines, raising aspirations and anxieties in the Iranian urban space.

The Visual Narratives of the 1979 Iranian Revolution

This article analyzes a series of documentaries on the 1979 Iranian Revolution broadcast by Iran International and Manoto television channels. While covering the era of the Pahlavi dynasty, especially since the Second World War under Mohammad Reza Shah, the documentaries’ main goal is to present the era as a progressive epoch interrupted by a disastrous revolution. At the same time, they explain the Islamic government as a deviation from the path of progress led by the Pahlavis. By doing so, they dismiss the Pahlavi state as a root cause of the revolution, absolving it of the responsibility for its consequences, i.e. establishing an Islamic government. In contrast, this article highlights state politics as one of the main factors decisively shaping a historical process which culminated in the revolution. This makes the Pahlavi political order central to understand how the events in 1979 and afterwards unfolded.

The Nation-State and the (Re)Construction of Religious, Ethnic and Gender Relations

Nationalism, nationhood, and ethnicity, as Eric Hobsbawm argued, are social processes constructed essentially from above, yet cannot be understood unless also analyzed from below.1 Inspired by European Orientalism, the intellectual advocates of Western-oriented nationalism attempted to establish a new Iranian identity based on Persian language and Iran's pre-Islamic past.2 This made Iranian nationalism an attractive ideology for some political elites, and was later endorsed by the Pahlavi dynasty (1925–79) when nationalist ideology replaced Iranianness with Persianity. In this conception, there was no room for the ethnic diversity of a nation-state that is the heir of an ancient empire. The elites’ aspirations to uniformity put pressure on members of ethnic groups to conform their way of life to a new model of Iranianness, Persianized and pro-Western. Every nonconforming element was regarded as a sign of backwardness and possible threat to the modern nation and its territorial integrity.

The Role of the Second Pahlavi Government in the Establishment and Promotion of the Tourism Industry in the Persian Gulf

The tourism industry, in its modern form, emerged in Iran for the first time during the Pahlavi era. Initially, in 1935, an office titled "Office for Foreign Travelers and Publicity" was established, and its activities were limited to publishing tourism brochures and guidebooks. The growth and development of this industry were realized through the establishment of the "Tourism Attraction Organization" in 1966 and the formation of the "Ministry of Information and Tourism" in 1974. One of the destinations that has always been attractive and of interest to tourists is the southern ports and islands of Iran. These places, with their various historical, environmental, and cultural attractions, have always drawn tourists to them. Among these regions, Kish Island, with features such as favorable weather, beautiful nature, historical sites, and rare plant and animal species, became one of the islands receiving special attention for tourism development in southern Iran during the Second Pahlavi period. In the present research, based on sources such as memoirs of Pahlavi officials and available documents, and using a descriptive-analytical method, an attempt has been made to answer the question of how the tourism industry grew and developed in the Iranian ports and islands of the Persian Gulf during the Second Pahlavi era, particularly Kish Island, which became an international tourist island during this period.

Economic Transformations in Iran During Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi's Era: Development Plans and Their Consequences

This paper examines the economic transformations in Iran during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, focusing on the development plans and their consequences. Shah's domestic and foreign economic policies were heavily influenced by his political objectives. From the late 1940s onwards, various development plans were implemented, significantly aiding infrastructure and industrial development. The first and second development plans focused on infrastructure and agriculture, while the third and fourth plans emphasized heavy industry and supporting infrastructure. These plans led to significant economic growth, but also brought issues such as inflation, corruption, and social dissatisfaction. The sudden increase in oil revenues in the 1970s, instead of strengthening the economy, caused structural problems. The inability to modernize the political system and suppress dissent also increased social dissatisfaction. Despite the ambitious goals of the fifth and sixth development plans, they failed to achieve their objectives due to a lack of human resources and necessary infrastructure. This study shows that the imbalance between economic development and political modernization, coupled with heavy reliance on oil revenues, led to economic and social instability. Ultimately, the failure to establish a stable and responsive political system was a key factor in the fall of the Pahlavi regime. This paper emphasizes the importance of the interaction between economic development and political modernization as key factors in the sustainability and success of governance systems.

Domestic Agents: Dowries, homes, and infrastructures in Iran

AbstractWhile framing the importance of everyday life as a drive for institutional exhibitions, this paper investigates the process of home making in Tehran from 1925 to 2013. The period 1925–1979 marks the rule of the Pahlavi dynasty when modernization was systematically implemented in Iran. This period ended with the Iranian revolution, which laid the foundation for a welfare state, which in spite of great promises declined in essence at the end of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency in 2013 when the country moved towards privatization while welcoming non‐Western imperialism. Using domestic objects and cultural rituals, the investigation reveals how the domestic realm reflects local and global politics that have shaped the country for the last hundred years. The paper argues that the domestic realm has been a significant everyday context for mediating two grounds simultaneously: On the one hand, it pursues central planning strategies to secure various states' political gains; and, on the other, it serves as a platform for tactics that resist these strategies through spatial and material expressions.

Explanation and Analysis of Imam Khomeini's Stance on Pahlavi Policies Regarding Women, with an Emphasis on the Unveiling Policy

Addressing women's issues and providing innovative solutions has always been part of modernization in the contemporary world and Iran. In his authoritarian modernization, Reza Shah, with a quasi-modernist approach to the issue of women, adopted the policy of banning and unveiling the hijab. This policy, while maintaining its foundations, continued during the reign of the second Pahlavi with changes in method. This policy provoked widespread social reaction and resistance from segments of society and religious leaders. Among them, Imam Khomeini, in his speeches, repeatedly referred to this government action, criticizing these policies and condemning the Pahlavi regime's approach to the issue of women and the hijab. The present study, aiming to explain Imam Khomeini's stance toward these actions, adopts a descriptive-analytical method using library resources, seeking to answer the question: What was Imam Khomeini's position on Pahlavi's modernist policies regarding women, particularly on the issue of the hijab? The research findings indicate that on one hand, he defended women's hijab and explicitly opposed the unveiling policy of Reza Shah and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. On the other hand, while raising awareness and warning the public about Pahlavi's negative propaganda against the hijab, he praised the fighters and leaders who stood against the unveiling policy. The influence of Imam's approach in society led to political challenges and increasing divergence between the people and the government, which also played a role in the occurrence of the Islamic Revolution.

SHAH MOHAMMED REZA PAHLAVI AND AYATOLLAH KHOMEINI: IN LIGHT OF SHI'I HISTORY

The Iranian Revolution talks about to happenings involving the rebellion of the Pahlavi dynasty under Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who was held up by the United States, and its subsequent removal with an Islamic Revolution of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who was helped by various leftist and Islamist organizations and Iranian student movements. The Iranian Revolution was a mainstream, nationalist and Shi’a Islamic revolution that ousted an autocratic kingdom with a theocracy built on “Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists” (or velayat-e faqih). This research goes to light the relationship between Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran, in the context of Shi'i history. This research paper hypothesizes three types of human relationships which are grounded on, the exchange system, the integrative system, and the threat system. Reza Khan (the father of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi) had established it through a military coup d'etat in 1921; the threat system looked to lead in Iran throughout the Pahlavi rule which was finished in December, 1979 by Ayatollah Khomeini. Under threat system, detachment and legality occur as major variables. Actions, events, writings, and vocalizations of main community figures are engaged to establish the inequality between intent and outcome of the Shah's policies, and between world views and consequent activities of the Shah and Khomeini. This paper also argues the nature of the rule of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, and into the role of Ayatollah Khomeini as voice of the opposition, charismatic leader, and as "prince" who legitimates his own threat system.

Revolutionary Transnationalism in the Persian Gulf

This article analyzes the material networks, connections, and solidarities formed between revolutionary Iranian and Arab organizations in the Persian Gulf in the 1970s. In the context of decolonization and the Cold War, it explores how the Iranian Left engaged with the Dhufar Revolution (1965–76), which was crushed by a British-led colonial war that the shah of Iran and his forces supported. Using Persian, Arabic, and English sources, the author shows how a radical internationalism was forged through regional networks, a praxis of guerrilla warfare, and a common political struggle against imperialism and reactionary Gulf monarchs, tying together revolutionaries from both sides of the Gulf.

Obesity from a sign of being rich to a disease of the new age: A historical review.

Obesity has historically been seen as a sign of wealth and social privilege, as can be inferred from studying the ancient works. We aimed to report the causes, diagnostic approaches, and treatment among the authentic books of traditional Iranian medicine. We searched the original versions of historical books and used a narrative approach to report the history of obesity. Obesity was often seen as an indicator of complete health. Obesity in healthy women was a requirement for beauty, based on descriptions of women from the Zoroaster period and from antiquity to the late Qajar period. This point of view existed during various ages. However, after the constitutional period, the view of obesity changed into that of an illness, due to modern ideas and offshore role models, especially during the Pahlavi era. This change led to serious attempts to treat obesity. Obesity is a critical problem that needs immediate attention to prevent substantial health consequences. Different medical paradigms have presented their criteria and foundations throughout history. The emphasis of Iranian alternative medicine was on prevention and the maintenance of health, with the next step being treatment. Prevention, treatment, consuming medicinal plants, and recovery have often been written about in the traditional books of medicine. Throughout the traditional Iranian medical texts, physicians have made recommendations about maintaining an appropriate body weight. The best treatment was prevention and a healthy lifestyle. The treatments for controlling and restricting obesity included paying attention to nourishment, mobility, and even the habitat.

An investigation into the impacts of the existence of “Dowrehs” on Dynamism of Social Capital in the Second Pahlavi Government

An investigation into the impacts of the existence of “Dowrehs” on Dynamism of Social Capital in the Second Pahlavi Government

A Historical Review of House Entrances in Sabzevar from Safavid Era to Pahlavi Era

A house entrance does not just serve as a communication space; rather, it also has social and cultural functions. A house entrance is not only a doorway to the building but also a passage that helps to recognize the position of the house and to indicate the stature and character of the house members. A house entrance is a gate to enter the building, establish communications with the house members, and engage with their culture. A house entrance is the first point of contact between the outside and the inside of the house, representing the cultural, social, and economic position of the house members. House entrances are influenced by the situation prevailing in society and transforming social, economic, and cultural factors. Thus, they have a special role and position. The main research questions are: What were the characteristics of the entrances in the past architecture? How did entrances maintain a special position in the spatial organization of house architecture? Furthermore, were entrances influenced by various factors in a historical context? Hence, we seek to respond to these questions by focusing on entrances to Sabzevar’s houses. In this connection, we aim to investigate the role and position of the entrances in the traditional architecture using case studies and fields surveys in Sabzevar and address the historical development of entrances from the Safavid era to the Pahlavi era. The features of the entrances in these areas are described, and their key and identity-making architectural elements are discussed. This will help us better understand traditional Iranian architecture.

THE KURDISH PROBLEM AS A LEGACY OF THE VERSAILLES SYSTEM OF THE WORLD ORDER

The article analyzes the roots and origins of the Kurdish problem. The author puts forward the thesis that the unresolved Kurdish issue is closely related to the unfair redistribution of the borders of the Ottoman Empire by the victorious countries after the First World War. The Treaty of Sevres in 1920 and the subsequent Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, in fact, divided the borders of three new states of ethnic Kurdistan. Thus, the Kurds were deprived of the opportunity to create their own national state and found themselves in the position of oppressed minorities in Turkey, Iraq and Syria, as well as in Shah Iran. Having received a League of Nations mandate to govern Iraq and Syria, Great Britain and France cared least of all about the rights and freedoms of the Kurds. The so-called neo-colonizers relied in their rule on the comprador bourgeoisie from among the Arab tribal nobility and the military. The national liberation movement of the Kurds was brutally suppressed by local nationalists and the colonial troops supporting them. The problem of self-determination of Kurdish communities in the region is still relevant. At the level of an age-old dream and idea, the Kurds are unlikely to give up broad autonomy, a nation-state or a confederation.

Institutional resilience in Modern Iranian Shiʿism: solidification of the ḥawza ʿilmīya of Qum between 1961 and 1979

ABSTRACT The modern history of the intellectual resilience within the ḥawza ʿilmīya of Qum and its contribution to the downfall of the Pahlavi regime in 1979 is of particular importance. Following the death of Ayatollah Borujerdi (1875–1961), the ḥawza ʿilmīya of Qum was led by Ayatollahs Golpaygani (1899–1993), Shariʿatmadari (1906–1986), and Marʿashi Najafi (1887–1990), offering informally structured collective leadership. The intention behind this article is twofold: firstly, to critically review the impact of the ʿulamāʼs political, social, and religious contributions in this period, secondly, to assess their involvement in positioning the ḥawza institution against the Shah’s regime prior to the exile (1964–1979) of Ayatollah Khomeini (1900–1989) from Iran and afterwards.

Gordāfarid of Šāh-nāma, the woman, who revolutionized the naqqāli tradition

Šāh-nāma of Firdowsī and the naqqāli tradition are two distinctive traditions of Iran. Šāh-nāma, an epic that tells the story of pre-Islamic Iran, focuses on a heroic narrative. The naqqāli’s distinctive feature, against the background of other oral traditions, is the combination of heroic and religious narrative in order to spread Shiism in a way that is interesting to the audience. Ferdowsī's work and the naqqāli tradition represent two periods in Iran’s history and its traditions and culture. These periods are separated by the Islamic invasion and the fall of the Sasanid dynasty. Despite some ideological differences, the Šāh-nāma was for a number of centuries one of the sources for naqqāli and from the early period of the Pahlavi dynasty became its main focus. The article briefly discusses the naqqāli tradition, Šāh-nāma of Firdowsī and the relationship between the two. It also introduces the figure of Gordāfarid, daughter of Gaždaham, who, being the heroine of the Persian national epic, became the inspiration for a revolutionary change in the naqqāli tradition – the first naqqāl woman.