All Topics  
Iranian monarchy

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Iranian monarchy
 
 
  Topics Iranian monarchy Topic Home

What is known as the Iranian monarchy went through many transformations over the centuries, from the days of the Persian Empire
Persian Empire

The 'Persian Empire' was a series of successive Iranian or Persianization empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland, and beyond in Southwest Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus....
 to the establishment of the modern day Persia, Iran
Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persian Empire until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea....
.

Though the title, when used by Westerners today, generally refers to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, List of kings of Persia, , styled His Imperial Majesty, and holding the imperial titles of Shahanshah , and Aryamehr , was the monarchy of Iran from September 16, 1941, until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on February 11, 1979....
, the last Shahanshah. According to royal order of precedence
Order of precedence

An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance of items. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments....
, the Shahanshah was equal in status to an Emperor
Emperor

An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress is the female equivalent. As a title, "empress" may indicate the wife of an emperor or a woman who rules in her own right ....
. Although, from the time of the Islamic conquest of Persia
Islamic conquest of Persia

The Islamic conquest of Persian Empire led to the end of the Sassanid Persian Empire and the eventual extirpation of the Zoroastrianism religion in Iran....
 until 1967, when Farah Pahlavi
Farah Pahlavi

Empress Farah of Iran , is the widow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the late Shah of Iran, and only Empress of modern Iran.Though the titles and distinctions of the Iranian imperial family were abolished by the new government, she often is styled Empress or Shahbanu, out of courtesy, by foreign media as well as by supporters of the former monar...
 was crowned empress, the monarch's wife usually bore the title of Shahbanou.

The modern Iranian monarchy was established in 1501 after the Safavid dynasty
Safavid dynasty

The Safavids were an Iranian Shia dynasty of mixed Azerbaijani people and Kurdistan origins which ruled Persia from 1501/1502 to 1722. Safavids established the greatest Iranian empire since the Islamic conquest of Persia and established the Twelvers of Imamah as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turni...
 came to power under Shah Ismail I
Ismail I

Shah Isma'il Abu'l-Mozaffar bin Sheikh Haydar bin Sheikh Junayd Safawi , was a Shah of Iran and the founder of the Safavids, which survived until 1736....
, and ended the so-called "fourth era" of political fragmentation.

For most of its existence, Iran has been ruled by absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy

Absolute monarchy is a monarchy form of government where the king or queen has absolute power over all aspects of his/her subjects' lives. Although some religious authorities may be able to discourage the monarch from some acts and the sovereign is expected to act according to custom, in an absolute monarchy there is no constitution or legal...
.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Iranian monarchy'
Start a new discussion about 'Iranian monarchy'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


What is known as the Iranian monarchy went through many transformations over the centuries, from the days of the Persian Empire
Persian Empire

The 'Persian Empire' was a series of successive Iranian or Persianization empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland, and beyond in Southwest Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus....
 to the establishment of the modern day Persia, Iran
Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persian Empire until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea....
.

Though the title, when used by Westerners today, generally refers to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, List of kings of Persia, , styled His Imperial Majesty, and holding the imperial titles of Shahanshah , and Aryamehr , was the monarchy of Iran from September 16, 1941, until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on February 11, 1979....
, the last Shahanshah. According to royal order of precedence
Order of precedence

An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance of items. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments....
, the Shahanshah was equal in status to an Emperor
Emperor

An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress is the female equivalent. As a title, "empress" may indicate the wife of an emperor or a woman who rules in her own right ....
. Although, from the time of the Islamic conquest of Persia
Islamic conquest of Persia

The Islamic conquest of Persian Empire led to the end of the Sassanid Persian Empire and the eventual extirpation of the Zoroastrianism religion in Iran....
 until 1967, when Farah Pahlavi
Farah Pahlavi

Empress Farah of Iran , is the widow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the late Shah of Iran, and only Empress of modern Iran.Though the titles and distinctions of the Iranian imperial family were abolished by the new government, she often is styled Empress or Shahbanu, out of courtesy, by foreign media as well as by supporters of the former monar...
 was crowned empress, the monarch's wife usually bore the title of Shahbanou.

The modern Iranian monarchy was established in 1501 after the Safavid dynasty
Safavid dynasty

The Safavids were an Iranian Shia dynasty of mixed Azerbaijani people and Kurdistan origins which ruled Persia from 1501/1502 to 1722. Safavids established the greatest Iranian empire since the Islamic conquest of Persia and established the Twelvers of Imamah as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turni...
 came to power under Shah Ismail I
Ismail I

Shah Isma'il Abu'l-Mozaffar bin Sheikh Haydar bin Sheikh Junayd Safawi , was a Shah of Iran and the founder of the Safavids, which survived until 1736....
, and ended the so-called "fourth era" of political fragmentation.

For most of its existence, Iran has been ruled by absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy

Absolute monarchy is a monarchy form of government where the king or queen has absolute power over all aspects of his/her subjects' lives. Although some religious authorities may be able to discourage the monarch from some acts and the sovereign is expected to act according to custom, in an absolute monarchy there is no constitution or legal...
. During the Persian Constitutional Revolution in 1905-11, Iran became a constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy

A constitutional monarchy is a form of constitutional government, where in either an elected or hereditary monarch is the head of state, unlike in an absolute monarchy, wherein the king or the queen is the sole source of political power, as he or she is not legally bound by the constitution....
, which it remained until 1925. Reza Shah
Reza Shah

'Reza Shah, also Reza Shah Pahlavi , , was the Shah of Iran from December 15, 1925 until he was forced to Abdication by the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in September 16, 1941....
 overthrew Ahmad Shah Qajar
Ahmad Shah Qajar

Ahmad Shah Qajar ? was Shah of Persia from July 16, 1909, to October 31, 1925 and the last of the Qajar dynasty....
, the last Shah of the Qajar dynasty
Qajar dynasty

The Qajar dynasty is a common term to describe Iran under the ruling Qajar royal family that ruled Iran from 1794 to 1925. In 1794 the Qajar family took full control of Iran as they had eliminated all their rivals, including Lotf 'Ali Khan, the last of the Zand dynasty, and had reasserted Persian sovereignty over the former Iranian terr...
, and founded the Pahlavi Dynasty
Pahlavi dynasty

The Pahlavi dynasty ruled Iran from the crowning of Reza Shah in 1925 to the overthrow of Reza Shah Pahlavi's son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in the Iranian Revolution of 1979....
.

The monarchy was abolished in 1979 when a revolution
Iranian Revolution

The Iranian Revolution was the revolution that transformed Iran from a Iranian monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution and founder of the Islamic Republic....
, led by Ayatollah Khomeini, pressured the last Pahlavi shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, List of kings of Persia, , styled His Imperial Majesty, and holding the imperial titles of Shahanshah , and Aryamehr , was the monarchy of Iran from September 16, 1941, until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on February 11, 1979....
, into exile, and established an Islamic Republic
Islamic republic

Islamic Republic is the name given to several states in the Muslim world including the Islamic Republics of Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan and Mauritania....
.

Rulers of Persia/Iran since Safavids


Safavid Dynasty


  • Ismail I
    Ismail I

    Shah Isma'il Abu'l-Mozaffar bin Sheikh Haydar bin Sheikh Junayd Safawi , was a Shah of Iran and the founder of the Safavids, which survived until 1736....
     1501-1524
  • Tahmasp I
    Tahmasp I

    Tahmasp I was an influential Shah of Persian Empire of the Safavids Dynasty.Tahmasp was born in Shah Abad and came to power at the age of 10, when he succeeded to the throne of Persia in 1524 after the death of Ismail I....
     1524-1576
  • Ismail II
    Ismail II

    Ismail II was third Safavid Shah of Iran. Although often referred to as the successor of his father, Tahmasp I, Ismail did not succeed his father immediately after his death....
     1576-1578
  • Mohammed Khodabanda
    Mohammed Khodabanda

    Mohammed Khodabanda of Khudabanda, also known as Mohammed Shah, was the fourth Safavid Shah of Iran .He succeeded to the throne of Persia upon his brother Ismail II's death in 1578....
     1578-1587
  • Abbas I 1587-1629
  • Safi
    Safi

    Safi may refer to:*Safi, Burkina Faso*Safi, Morocco*Safi of Persia, the founder of the iranic Safavid dynasty of Persia*Safi, Malta, a local council on Malta...
     1629-1642
  • Abbas II
    Abbas II

    Abbas II may refer to:* Abbas II of Persia, , Shah of Iran from 1642 to 1666* Abbas II of Egypt, , , last Khedive of Egypt and Sudan ...
     1642-1666
  • Suleiman I
    Suleiman I of Persia

    Suleiman I was a Safavid shah of Persian Empire who reigned between 1666 and 1694. He was the elder son of the previous shah Abbas II of Persia and a Circassians slave, Nakihat Khanum....
     1666-1694
  • Soltan Hosein 1694-1722
  • Tahmasp II
    Tahmasp II

    Tahmasp II was one of the last Safavid rulers of Persian_Empire .Tahmasp was the son of Husayn , the Shah of Iran at that time. When Husayn was forced to abdicate by the Afghanistan in 1722, Prince Tahmasp wished to claim the throne....
     1722-1732
  • Abbas III
    Abbas III

    Abbas III was a son of Shah Tahmasp II of the Safavid dynasty. After the deposition of his father by Nadir Shah Afshar in 1732 the eight month old Abbas was appointed nominal ruler of Persia ....
     1732-1736


Afghan Dynasty


  • Mir Mahmud Hotaki
    Mir Mahmud Hotaki

    Mir Mahmud Hotaki was an Afghan tribal leader who overthrew the Safavid dynasty to become Shah of Persia in 1722. He was the eldest son of Mirwais Khan Hotak, the leader of the Ghilzai of Kandahar, who had successfully rebelled against the Safavid shah of Persia, Soltan Hosein....
     1722-1725
  • Ashraf Hotaki
    Ashraf Khan

    Ashraf Khan was the last ruler of the Hotaki dynasty. He was an ethnic Pashtun people from the Ghilzai tribe, who succeeded to the throne after the death of Mir Mahmud Hotaki in 1725....
     1725-1730


Afsharid Dynasty


  • Nader Shah
    Nader Shah

    Nader Shah Afshar ruled as Shah of Iran and was the founder of the Afsharid Persian Empire. Because of his military history genius, some historians have described him as the Napoleon I of France of Persia or the Second Alexander the Great....
     1736-1747
  • Adil Shah
    Adil Shah

    Adil Shah Afshar or Ali Qoli was Shah of Persia from 1747 until 1748. Subsequent to the assassination of Nadir Shah in Fathabad , his nephew declared himself Adil Shah , and shah of Persia....
     1747-1748
  • Ebrahim Afshar
    Ebrahim Afshar

    Ebrahim Shah Afshar was king of Iran from July to September of 1748. He was Adil Shah's brother and Nader Shah's nephew. He toppled his brother in order to seize the power, and blinded him on July 6....
     1748
  • Shah Rukh
    Shah Rukh of Persia

    Shahrokh Shah Afshar was a king of Afsharid dynasty and a contemporary of Zand kings. He reigned until 1796.As the teenage son of Reza Gholi Mirza and Nader Shah's grandson, he was elected by the nobles following the assassination of Ebrahim Afshar....
     1748-1796


Zand Dynasty


  • Karim Khan
    Karim Khan

    Karim Khan Zand, , , was the ruler and de facto Shah of Iran from 1760 until 1779. He founded the Zand dynasty. He never styled himself as "shah" or king, and instead used the title President ....
     1750-1779
  • Abol Fath Khan
    Abol Fath Khan

    'Abol Fath Khan Zand' , was the third Shah of Zand dynasty, who ruled the Persian Empire from March 6, 1779 until August 22, 1779.After the death of Karim Khan in 1779, Zaki Khan, his half brother declared Muhammad Ali Khan, the second son of Karim Khan and his son-in-law as the second ruler of the Zand dynasty, but soon after, he made ...
     1779
  • Mohammad Ali Khan
    Mohammad Ali Khan

    Mohammad `Ali Khan Zand , was the second Shah of the Zand dynasty. He ruled Persian Empire from March 6, 1779 until June 19, 1779.After the death of Karim Khan in 1779, Iran disintegrated once again....
     1779
  • Sadiq Khan
    Sadiq Khan

    Sadiq Aman Khan is a United Kingdom Labour Party politician. He was elected Member of Parliament for Tooting in the UK general election, 2005, succeeding Tom Cox as the Labour MP for the seat....
     1779-1781
  • Ali Murad Khan
    Ali Murad Khan

    Ali Murad Khan Zand the sixth Shah of the Zand dynasty, reigned from March 15, 1781 until February 11, 1785.After the death of Karim Khan Zand, Agha Muhammad Khan who was a hostage--in light of preventing an outbreak of war between the Qajar tribes in the northern Persian Empire and the Zands--escaped promptly and reached Mazandaran....
     1781-1785
  • Jafar Khan
    Jafar Khan

    Jafar Khan Zand, was a Shah of Persian Empire who reigned from February 18, 1785 - January 23, 1789. He was the seventh king of Zand dynasty....
     1785-1789
  • Lotf Ali Khan
    Lotf Ali Khan

    Lotf Ali Khan was the last Shah of Persia of the Zand dynasty.The son of Jafar Khan, he came to the throne in 1789. He faced the resurgent Agha Mohammad Khan of the Qajar dynasty from 1792....
     1789-1794


Qajar Dynasty


  • Mohammad Khan Qajar
    Mohammad Khan Qajar

    Muḥammad Khan Qajar ?‎ was the chief of the Qajar tribe. He became the Emperor/List of kings of Persia in 1794 and established the Qajar dynasty....
     1794-1797
  • Fat'h Ali Shah Qajar
    Fat'h Ali Shah Qajar

    Fat'h Ali Shah QajarFat'h Ali was a son of Hossein Qoli Khan and nephew of Agha Mohammad Khan He ascended to the throne of Persia after his uncle was assassinated....
     1797-1834
  • Mohammad Shah Qajar
    Mohammad Shah Qajar

    Mohammad Shah Qajar ?? was a List of kings of Persia of the Qajar dynasty between 23 October 1834 and 5 September 1848.Rise to Power ...
     1834-1848
  • Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar 1848-1896
  • Mozzafar al-Din Shah Qajar 1896-1907
  • Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar
    Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar

    Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar ? was the Shah of Persia from January 8 1907 to July 16 1909. He was against the Iran Constitution of 1906 that was ratified during the reign of his father, Mozzafar-al-Din Shah....
     1907-1909
  • Ahmad Shah Qajar
    Ahmad Shah Qajar

    Ahmad Shah Qajar ? was Shah of Persia from July 16, 1909, to October 31, 1925 and the last of the Qajar dynasty....
     1909-1925


Pahlavi Dynasty

After 1935, Persia becomes known to West by its native name, Iran.

  • Reza Shah Pahlavi
    Reza Shah

    'Reza Shah, also Reza Shah Pahlavi , , was the Shah of Iran from December 15, 1925 until he was forced to Abdication by the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in September 16, 1941....
     1925-1941
  • Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi
    Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

    Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, List of kings of Persia, , styled His Imperial Majesty, and holding the imperial titles of Shahanshah , and Aryamehr , was the monarchy of Iran from September 16, 1941, until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on February 11, 1979....
     1941-1979


Post-Imperial Heads of Pahlavi Dynasty (1979-Present)


  • Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
    Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

    Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, List of kings of Persia, , styled His Imperial Majesty, and holding the imperial titles of Shahanshah , and Aryamehr , was the monarchy of Iran from September 16, 1941, until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on February 11, 1979....
     (1979-1980)
  • Reza Pahlavi
    Reza Pahlavi

    Reza Pahlavi may refer to:*Reza Shah , Iranian monarchy of Persian Empire from 1925 until 1935 and Shah of Iran from 1935 until 1941.* Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , Shah of Iran from 1941 to 1979, son of Reza Shah...
     (1980)


External links