History 77900 the iranian revolution in comparative. The strong presence of religion in middle eastern societies today make it difficult to realize how secular they used to be in the earlier part of the twentieth century. The russian revolution of 1905 was followed by a series of revolutions in iran 1906, turkey 1908, mexico 1910, and china 1911 that marked a new stage in the history of the developing world and brought several competing ideologiesnationalism, democracy, religion. Islamic fundamentalists and conservative muslims are involved. The demonstrations against the shah regime started. Widely scattered across national archives, private and public collections, and family estates, partly gathered just after the event, partly collected across decades thereafter, this visual legacy has come to constitute a collective memory of an emerging nation.
The roots of the islamic revolution can be traced to developments that long predated it. The revolution of february 1979 was a revolt of the society against the state. The iranian revolution of 1979 is an even that is poorly understood in the west. The qajar dynasty began its rule of persia in 1794, but by the 20th century there was growing resistance to the weak and corrupt monarchy led by moazaferedin shah. In 1953 when it appeared that the monarchy was about to be overthrown, the central intelligence agency cia helped to orchestrate a countercoup that kept shah mohammad reza pahlavi in.
The iranian revolution 1977 1979 download pdf version by stephen zunes april 2009. In a reappraisal of irans modern history, ervand abrahamian traces its traumatic journey across the twentieth century, through the discovery of oil, imperial interventions, the rule of the pahlavis and, in 1979, revolution and the birth of the islamic republic. In some of its basic characteristics, the revolution did not conform to the usual norms of western revolutions, because the state did not represent just an ordinary dictatorship but an absolute and arbitrary system that lacked political legitimacy and a social base virtually across the whole of the society. That is because it is a complex mixture of twentiethcentury cold war politics, a modern strain of political islam, and both these elements mixed with a persian culture thousands of years old that predates the great monotheistic religions this article will look at the origins of persian culture, the events that. Iranian revolution background 1 the revolution heats up 2 effects 3 bibliography 4 a revolution is a mass movement that aims to establish a new political regime by violently transforming the existing government. Islamist revolutionaries opposed the western secular policies of the authoritarian shah of iran mohammed reza pahlavi supporters of ayatollah khomeini organized protests in opposition to the authoritarian government of the shah. The iranian revolution began on january 7, 1978 the islamic revolution could be said to have begun on january 7, 1978, when an article published in the newspaper ittilaat vilified khomeini, who was now the preeminent symbol of the resistance. From the first major protest of the postrevolutionary era to todays social media campaigns, iranian women have played crucial roles in contesting irans revolution, and. Protests against the regimemartial law, 8 september 1978troops attacked a protest in teheran on the same day martial law. Strong shii opposition against the shah, and the country came close to a situation of civil war. Iranian revolution the outcome of the iranian revolution was a positive one for iran. Revolts in 1979 started when a well respected shiite man named khomeini who spoke against the white revolution was spoken badly of in a magazine. The iranian revolution of 1979 was a defining moment in modern iranian history.
With issues about sanctions in the news, many people are once again asking questions about the islamic republic of iran and just why it matters so much. I am quite late in start reading this one, but better then never. For much of its history, persiathe name of iran until 1935was ruled by monarchs, known as shahs. Irans islamic revolution shook the world in 1979, with currents that continue to be felt today. Those the capitalist media hold up as leaders of the revolution are, in fact, leaders of the counterrevolution a throughthelookingglass vindication of false claims by these bourgeois iranian figures and. Covering the late nineteenth century to the early twentyfirst and addressing documentaries, popular genres, and art films, it explains irans peculiar cinematic production modes, as well as the role of cinema and media in shaping modernity and a modern national.
The revolution transformed iran from a monarchy to an islamic republic. The opposition was lead by ayatollah khomeini, who lived in exile in iraq and later in france. Iran is now a theocracy a country ruled by religious leaders which could suggest that the revolution that brought the ayatollah. Iranian history wikibooks, open books for an open world. It was a precursor to bringing islam and shia clerics into the center of political authority, an unprecedented notion in the middle east and the islamic world of modern times. The iranian revolution kent as the islamic revolution or 1979 revolution an aw. Causes and consequences for regional stability leicester university dissertation.
The government responded violently to the protests and as a result, the demonstrations grew. The iranian revolution past, present and future glittering achievements, the sassanid empire was characterised by extreme oppression of the downtrodden masses. Irans constitution recognizes islam, christianity, judaism, and zoroastrianism persias main. The islamist revolution of 1979 sought the radical transformation of a state and society perceived by many as overly secular and tainted by western values and culture. The iranian revolution of 1979 placed shia clergy in positions of political power. The iranian revolution at 30 middle east institute. The iranian constitutional revolution 19051911 has left an enormous visual legacy, largely consisting of photographs and postcards. The iranian revolution of the late 20th century provides yet another model of revolution. Causes and outcomes of the iranian revolution 1979 sutori.
Irans leaders arguewith some justicethat their revolution is unique in the modern history of the. Hamid naficy is one of the worlds leading authorities on iranian film, and a social history of iranian cinema is his magnum opus. The real reckoning occurred only after his departure, when the revolution turned on itself. The iranian revolution placed nationalist, islamic values at the center of government and. Under pressure from merchants and the clergy, the shah agreed to sign a new constitution in 1906 that restricted the power. Understanding the story behind the iranian revolution will help you see. Much persecution had ended and their ideologies, religious, and cultural traditions were preserved. The 1979 revolution, which brought together iranians across many different social groups, has its roots in irans long history.
The shah and his wife fled iran and created a short period of confusion before khomeini assumed control. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Causes and effects of iranian revolution flashcards quizlet. The iranian revolution, 19781979mohammed reza shah the white revolution, 1963august 1978 speech by the shah announcing a program of liberalization of iranian politics. The islamic revolution occurred in 1979, in the muslim majority country of iran. Start studying causes and effects of iranian revolution. The role and contribution of ayatollah ruhollah khomeini article pdf available may 2012 with 12,278 reads how we measure reads. The iranian revolution of february 1979, by homa katouzian. Despite economical growth, there was much opposition against the mohammad reza shah, and how he used the secret police, the savak, to control the country. The present study endeavors to present the facts about early elamite and iranian history in.
It came about as the culmination of decades of popular discontent mixed with economic turmoil and an increasingly repressive regime. Irans constitutional revolution of 1906 and narratives of. It is to them and their resilience that this book is dedicated, as iran emerges at the beginning of the twentyfirst century as one of the most powerful states in the middle east. It resulted in peace in iran and a better government. A history of modern iran in a radical reappraisal of iran s modern history, ervand abrahamian traces its traumatic journey across the twentieth century, through the discoveryofoil,imperialinterventions,theruleofthepahlavis,and,in 1979, revolution and the birth of the islamic republic. The iranian revolution was one of the pivotal events that define many aspects of international relations today. Iran and the islamic revolution watson institute brown university. Decades later, the details of this watershed eventwhich redrew the geopolitical order in many.
Lessons from the iranian revolution and the iraq war why intelligence fails. In revolutionary iran, michael axworthy guides us through recent iranian history from shortly before the 1979 islamic revolution through the summer of 2009, when iranians poured into the streets of tehran by the hundreds of thousands, demanding free, democratic government. Lessons from the iranian revolution and the iraq war filesize. This is a transcript of the why was there a revolution in iran in 1979. The shah introduced the socalled white revolution programme of agrarian. Download file to see previous pages this research will begin with the statement that the iranian revolution also referred to as the islamic revolution1979 revolution details the events entailing the overthrow of the pahlavi dynasty ruled by shah mohammad reza pahlavi, who was considered a close ally to western governments such as the u. The iranian revolution essay example topics and well. The iranian revolution, past, present and future iran chamber. Eventually, mohammad reza shah was forced to resign and the iranian revolution ended. The first great dynasty in iran was the achaemenid which ruled from 550 to 330 bc. This is the more regrettable since the history of a section of the plateau, elam, cannot be neglected by any serious student of the ancient near east.
The iranian revolution a history and analysis of the revolution in which socialists aligned themselves with islamists to overthrow the westbacked shah. Ideology and irans revolution tony blair institute for global. The iranian revolution of february 1979 middle east. Nevertheless, for the iranian world the advent of islam meant not liberation but defeat and conquest by an alien people. Iranian revolution, popular uprising in 197879 that resulted in the fall of the pahlavi dynasty and the establishment of an islamic republic. Today, iran is vastly different to how it was in 1979. The iranian revolution of 197779 was the first in a series of mass popular civil insurrections which would result in the overthrow of authoritarian regimes in dozens of countries over the next three decades. Iranian revolution essay the iranian revolution of 1979 overthrew the pahlavi dynasty and established an islamic republic. Following the success of the revolution, the islamists instituted a theocratic dictatorship and wiped out the workers movement and the left. Within hours, the newspaper office was ransacked, and a popular uprising began in qom. The iranian revolutionary ebrahim yazdi liked to comment that the real leader of the islamic revolution was, in fact, the shah, because only he was able to unite the disparate groups into a single opposition. Pdf this paper intends to explore the role and key contributions that ayatollah ruhollah played in the iranian revolution. Axworthy explains how that outpouring of support for an end to tyranny in iran paused and then moved on to other areas in.
A history and analysis of the revolution in which socialists aligned themselves with islamists to overthrow the westbacked shah. The iranian revolution of 197879 was a decisive watershed in the modern history of the middle east. The shialed islamist revolution undoubtedly played its part in this transformation. Brief overview of the history of iran throughout much of early history, the land known today as iran was known as the persian empire. Islamic revolution simple english wikipedia, the free. What to read to understand the 1979 iranian revolution.