Persepolis, October 21, 2016
An Abbreviated History of Modern Iran
by Tara Ann Carter*
*Hyperlinks and words in red are my additions. - B. Ray
"In the 1920s, Iran had become dependent
on economic support from Britain and other countries, which angered many of the
citizens. The loans from Britain were not of disinterested generosity, but
rather calculated to produce a profit from oil ventures. On February 21, 1921,
Reza Khan (later known as Reza Shah) and 3,000 men marched into Tehran and “requested the shah appoint a
young civilian reformer, Sayyid Zia Tabatabi (more commonly spelled Tabataba'i), as prime minister” (Cleveland
185). Tabatabi was merely a figurehead; Reza Khan eventually strong-armed Tabataba'i out
of his position and took over himself.
"The public that was angered and active
before the reign of Reza Shah, though hesitant at first, came to respect and
revere Reza Shah as a national icon (Cleveland 186). The conception of the
Pahlavi dynasty is said to be signaled when “Reza Shah, a former officer in the
Cossack Brigade, seized the royal crown and placed it on his own head”
(Cleveland 175). The former Qajar dynasty was dissolved in all aspects by 1925.
"Reza Khan was a reformer who concerned
himself with bringing Iran into the modern industrialized marketplace. In 1935,
the name of the country was officially changed from “Persia” to the modern-day
“Iran.” Reza Shah focused on revitalizing the army, drawing on the masses of
peasants for use as moldable bodies and minds. The need to educate the soldiers
in order for them to perform their duties increased literacy and led to a focus
on education within Iran as a whole (Axworthy). For a time, it appeared that
Iran was flourishing.
"Then, amongst the turmoil of World War
II, Reza Shah made the fateful decision not to deport German nationals. This
led to the Allied occupation of Tehran and the abdication of the Shah; he was
exiled to South Africa and remained there until he died in July 1944 (Axworthy
230). Reza Shah’s son, Mohammed Reza came into power proving him to be more
connected to books and theories than the needs and pulse of the Iranian people.
"After a power struggle between other
political factions, the shah eventually regained power and in a measure to
further modernize Iran enacted what has become known as “The White Revolution.”
The Revolution is called white because there was no bloodshed during this
transition (Cleveland 295). Agriculture, railways and ports, literacy,
education and labor organizations became the focus of the government. The shah
granted women increased rights and sought to Westernize Iran as much as
possible. SAVAK, the shah’s security service, became increasingly cunning and
brutal, peaking after the White Revolution with the Shah relying on their
services to make problems “disappear” quickly and quietly. All of these
elements combined to lead to the eventual conservative backlash in which the
Revolution of 1979 was rooted. The Revolution brought back Islamic ideals and
mores, which were welcomed at first before becoming constricting and
overbearing. Iran has always been an Islamic theocracy in some fashion; the
time period after the Revolution of 1979, during which Persepolis is set, is
demonstratively one of the more severe upswings in the enforcement of
fundamentalist Islam."
Works Cited
Axworthy, Michael. Empire of the Mind: A History of Iran. New York: Basic Books, 2010. Print.
Cleveland, William L. A History of the Modern Middle East. 3rd ed. Boulder: Westview, 2004. Print.
------------------------
Highlights in the Last 100 Years of Iran's History
1920: Iran is poor and dependent upon foreign countries for aid. Citizens are unhappy with economy and state of the nation following years of war and mismanagement by former rulers.1921: Reza Khan marches on Tehran with 3000 men and demands Tabataba'i be named Prime Minister, while Khan himself takes control of the military.
1923: Khan becomes Prime Minister.
1925: Khan becomes shah,beginning the Pahlavi dynasty. He is now called Reza Shah.
1934: Iran's first university, the University of Tehran, is opened. As shah, Khan also focuses on building roads, schools, and hospitals; democratizing the country; and liberating Iran from foreign control.
1935: Khan emancipates women, instructing them to discard their veils.
1935: Name of country is officially changed from Persia to Iran.
1941: Iran takes neutral stance in WWII, but Reza Shah refuses to deport German nationals, many of whom are responsible for the engineering of Iran's oil industry. In response, both Russia and Britain occupy western Iran. Reza Shah is deposed and succeeded by his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
1950: Ali Razmarra becomes Prime Minister in June of 1950. He is assassinated March 7, 1951 and succeeded by nationalist Mohammad Mossadeq.
1951: Under Mossadeq, Parliament votes to nationalize the oil industry. Britain, which is largely in control of Iran's oil, institutes blockades and embargoes which hurt the Iranian economy.
1953: Amidst the economic struggles following the nationalization of the oil industry, Mossadeq and the shah enter into a power struggle which results in the shah leaving the country in August of 1953. Later that month, the a U.S.-backed coup overthrows Mossadeq and the shah returns.
1963: The White Revolution, so called because there was no blood drawn, begins. This movement, led by the shah, is an attempt to modernize the country through land redistribution and social reform. It includes expanding rights for women, including the right to vote.
1964: Ruhollah Musawi Khomeini, a philosophy professor and member of the ulama (a particular body of scholars of Islam) who spoke out against the White Revolution, is exiled. As a Shiite religious leader in Iran, Khomeini was given the honorific ayatollah, which is why you probably know him better as Ayatollah Khomeini.)
1978: Citizens who feel alienated by the shah's policies begin rioting. There are also strikes and mass protests around the country.
1979: January 16th - The shah and his family go into exile.
1979: February 1st - Ayatollah Khomeini returns from his 14+ year exile.
1979: April 1st - The Iranian Revolution is successful. Khomeini takes power and declares Iran a theocratic state: The Islamic Republic of Iran.
1979: October - The exiled shah of Iran enters the U.S. for medical treatment.
1979: November 4th - Students seize the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and take 52 Americans hostage. They demand that the U.S. send the shah back to Iran to stand trial, and Ayatollah Khomeini applauds their actions. (The hostages are held for 444 days.)
1979: December - Iran's constitution, which establishes a religious authority, the Supreme Leader, at the top of the country's power structure, is ratified. The first Supreme Leader is, of course, Ayatollah Khomeini.
1980: April - The U.S. and Iran sever diplomatic ties over the hostage crisis.
1980: July - The exiled shah dies in Egypt.
1980: September - Iraq invades Iran. The Iraq-Iran War lasts for 8 years, and millions are killed.
1989: February - Ayatollah Khomeini places a fatwa on Indian author Salman Rushdie following the publication of Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses. Khomeini says the book is blasphemous to Islam and offers a $3 million bounty for Rushdie's head.
1989: July - Khomeini dies and Ali Khamenei, who has served as President of Iran since 1981, becomes the new Supreme Leader.
1995: Under President Bill Clinton, the U.S. places trade sanctions on Iran after accusing Iran of committing human rights offenses and sponsoring terrorism.
1997: May - Mohammad Khatami is elected president with 70% of the vote, winning over the conservative party that has controlled the country since Khomeini's return and the 1979 revolution.
1999: July - Pro-democracy students protest at the University of Tehran after the Iranian court ordered the closing of the newspaper Salam, a newspaper backing President Mohammad Khatami.
2000: Khatami supporters and liberals win many seats in Parliament, taking control for the first time since the Republic's 1979 founding.
2001: June - President Khatami is re-elected.
2002: U.S. President George Bush calls Iraq, Iran, and North Korea the "axis of evil."
2003: June - Thousands of students in Tehran protest the clerical establishment.
2003: September-November: Iran is suspected of enriching uranium. The International Atomic Energy Agency investigates and gives Tehran a few weeks to prove it is not pursuing atomic weapons. Iran agrees to suspend its uranium enrichment program and allow regular inspections by the IAEA.
2004: February - Conservatives regain control of Parliament.
2004: More issues arise around Iran's nuclear enrichment. Tehran says it has begun enrichment again, but for peaceful purposes. Iran is rebuked by the IAEA and once again agrees to suspend most of its uranium enriching operations in a deal with the EU.
2005: June - Ultra conservative Mayor of Tehran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who campaigned on a promise of returning to the values of 1979, wins the presidential election.
2006: Iran breaks IAEA seal on one of its nuclear research facilities.
2007: The U.S. announces new sanctions against Iran.
2009: Ahmadinejad is declared the victor in an election which is protested and unsuccessfully appealed by opposition candidate Mir Hossein Musavi. At least 30 people are killed and 1000 arrested in the protests that ensue.
- Compiled by Belinda Ray
Sources:
BBC News, Iran Profile - Timeline
PBS NewsHour Timeline: A Modern History of Iran
PBS Frontline Chronology of U.S.-Iran Relations, 1906-2002
Encylopaedia Brittannica: The White Revolution
And One More
Finally, a timeline compiled by Philadelphia One Book that places events from the book Persepolis and Persepolis 2 side by side with events from Iranian history.A Raisin in the Sun, December 16, 2015
Clybourne Park
This play by Bruce Norris revisits the real estate transaction from A Raisin in the Sun from the perspective of the family selling the house. They, too receive a visit from Karl Lindner, who tries to get them to reconsider their decision to sell. The first scene is available online at the PBS site, A Raisin in the Sun Revisited.
From our discussion of:
Lord of the Flies, October 21, 2015
The Id-Ego-Superego Iceberg
Sigmund Freud
(1856 – 1939) proposed a theory that the human psyche was made up of three
distinct parts: the id, the ego, and the superego. According to Freud’s theory,
the id is instinct-based, pleasure seeking, and driven by passions; the
superego is critical and moralizing; and the ego is essentially the mediator
between the two. The ego is grounded in reality. It seeks to meet the drives of
the id in an acceptable and appropriate way.
In Lord of the Flies, there are three particular characters who are used to represent the id, ego, and superego, respectively. Can you guess who these three are?
Rebecca, December 4, 2014
- The Elements of Gothic Fiction - a nice summary from VirtualSalt.com
From our discussion of :
American Born Chinese, November 13, 2014
If you like graphic novels, be sure to check out Art Spiegelman's comic book style chronicle of the Holocaust, MAUS.
The story continues in MAUS II, and both books are available in the compilation, The Complete MAUS. Finally, Spiegelman has a 2011 publication that explores the making of his groundbreaking original book and the reasons for various artistic choices (Meta MAUS).
You also might want to check out:
From our discussion of :
Catcher in the Rye, October 23, 2014
The Odyssey, September 25, 2014
And here, for your reference and enjoyment, is the Hero's Journey graphic from StoryBoardThat.com.
And, for those of you who want more information, here's an article describing the various steps of the Hero's Journey with slightly different terminology in places.
One more thing: Joseph Campbell's book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces was first published in 1949.
And one more (help! I can't stop linking!): Joseph Campbell talking with Bill Moyers about "The Power of Myth: The Hero's Adventure" in 1988. (You have to sign up for a PRX account to listen to this.)
You also might want to check out:
- Journey to the West - A modern (1983) translation of the classic Chinese tale about the pilgrimage of a monk and his three supernatural disciples, one of whom just happens to be the Monkey King.
- Mr. Magoo featuring Charlie - I told you there was a lot of racist stuff around when I was a kid. This is a cartoon I saw regularly on Saturday afternoons. Yikes.
From our discussion of :
Catcher in the Rye, October 23, 2014
- Clinical Assessment of Holden Caulfield by Charles E. Cote, LCSW
The Odyssey, September 25, 2014
- The Banned Books Week Poster from 2009 (the one with all of the darts!)
- A game of Odyssey Jeopardy! at Jeopardy Labs
And here, for your reference and enjoyment, is the Hero's Journey graphic from StoryBoardThat.com.
And, for those of you who want more information, here's an article describing the various steps of the Hero's Journey with slightly different terminology in places.
One more thing: Joseph Campbell's book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces was first published in 1949.
And one more (help! I can't stop linking!): Joseph Campbell talking with Bill Moyers about "The Power of Myth: The Hero's Adventure" in 1988. (You have to sign up for a PRX account to listen to this.)
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