INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
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, A?mad 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
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
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,
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
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
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
