TEHRAN Reza Khan toppled the Qajar dynasty in Iran in a coup in 1921 and was crowned with the help of the British, subsequently on April 25, 1926.During the last years of the Qajar Dynasty (1789-1925), Iran was grappling with insecurity.
Armed robbery was rampant, something that the British did not favor, as they found insecurity as detrimental to their colonial goals.
They were looking for a new ruler who could stabilize the country in line with their self-indulgent goals.Years prior to the 1921 coup that brought Reza Khan to powerThe last Qajar king, Amad Shah, was too young and incompetent, and his cabinet was weak and corrupt.
He spent much of his time in Europe, allegedly undergoing treatment for health problems.After the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, the new Soviet regime abandoned the former Russian sphere of influence in the northern Iranian provinces.
The Russians departure left Britain as the sole power in the region.
They seized the opportunity to broaden their gains in Iran.In the years before the rise of Reza Khan, British Foreign Secretary Lord Curzon had concluded the 1919 agreement with Iranian Prime Minister Vossug ed Dowleh, hoping to make Iran a protectorate of Britain.
Nevertheless, the deal was never ratified by the Majlis (Iranian parliament) due to strong opposition from the patriotic and religious political factions.Tired of the Qajar monarchs inability to exert control over the country, the British were looking for a military ruler who could ensure security for their domination.
Therefore, they brought young military officer Reza to fame and power.1921 coupBorn to a military family in Iran in 1878, Reza Khan rose from humble beginnings to become the country's shah after a successful coup in 1921 orchestrated by the British.Serving as an officer in the Persian Cossack brigade, Reza Khan staged the February 22, 1921, coup.
On 14 January 1921, the commander of the British Forces in Iran, General Edmund "Tiny" Ironside, promoted Reza Khan, who had been leading the Tabriz battalion, to lead the entire Persian Cossack Brigade.The young officer Reza Khan and his forces marched towards the capital, Tehran, from Qazvin.
They faced no resistance on their way to the capital.
Forces loyal to him, occupied the city by seizing control of police stations, ministries, and government offices.After he laid his tight control over Tehran with the help of the British troops, he forced the dissolution of the government.
He did not remove Ahmad Shah from power, but pressured him to appoint Sayyed Ziaoddin Tabatabaee as the new prime minister.Herman Norman, the British minister in Tehran, wrote in a telegraph to his respective country's Foreign Minister Lord Curzon, saying that he went to Ahmad Shah on the morning of the day of the coup and told him that he had no choice but to compromise with the leaders of the revolutionary forces (coup).Initially, after the coup, he oversaw his own appointment as minister of war.
Indeed, was the real power behind several prime ministers in succession until 1923, when he became prime minister himself.His ascension was supported by the British throughout all those years.CoronationBacked by the British, Reza Khan, who had then become the prime minister, decided to get rid of the Qajar dynasty once and for all.
On October 26, 1923, he pressured the parliament to depose Ahmad Shah and send him into permanent exile.
Historians describe disposing of Qajars last shah as Reza Khans second coup.Three days after Reza Khan's second coup in Iran, Ataturk established the Turkish Republic.
Such a move seemed logical to Reza as well.
So, he followed suit and declared Iran a Republic that never was.On December 12, 1925, the parliament declared Reza the new shah.
At ceremonies held four months later, Reza crowned himself and proclaimed his young son, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, heir to the throne.During Reza Shahs 20-year reign, the British effectively took control of Iran and its resources after helping him to establish a military dictatorship in the country.But, Reza Shah's neutralism and lack of interest in facing off the Nazi Germany during World War II was detested by Britain and the Soviet Union, leading to his abdication in 1941.
He spent his final years in exile, passing away in South Africa in 1944..
This article first appeared/also appeared in Tehran Times