History of Iran

• Historical Background
  • 19th Century
    • Social Structure:
      • The social structure of 19th century Iran was shaped in part by the geography of the land itself. Iran was constantly in a drought, and the four major mountain ranges, the Zagros, the Elborz, the Mekran and the Uplands, fragmented the population. Tiny villages and towns existed along with many nomadic groups.
      • These small towns were isolated, and they functioned as self-sufficient states.
      • Trade was limited because of the poor travel conditions, and when communication improved, trade did not proportionally increase.
      • Many religious, language and ethic barriers existed between the various communities and this further complicated the ethic mosaic. In general, Iran was a diverse land.
    • Communal Organizations:
      • The communal organization reflected the social structure. Each community had its own local network.
      • This network consisted of common people, villagers and townsmen.
      • Certain members of the community, like the khans (tribal chiefs), the a 'yen (local notables), and the tujjar-i 'amadeh (wealth merchants), held more power.
      • The nomadic groups had their own pyramid of power comparable to the villagers.
    • Communal Conflicts and Class Distinctions:
      • Scarcity of resources led to a struggle for survival.
      • The local economies could no longer grow unless the expansion was at someone else's expense.
      • Fierce competition for local positions of power was arising.
      • Class was determined by one's accumulation of land and wealth and power
  • Constitutional Revolution 1905-1906
    • Events leading up to the Constitutional Revolution
      • The middle class became aware that the rulers offered them no protection or opportunities for progress.
      • The general population suffered a decline in living standards and it was apparent to most that the rulers were corrupt.
      • Contact with the West was increasing, and there was a demand for progress that the rulers were ignoring.
      • In 1896 there was a shift in power from Naser al-Din Shah to Muzaffer al-Din Shah (1896-1906). Tariffs on merchants were raised, and foreign and national policies were altered.
        • The new ruler accepted foreign loans and allowed foreign businesses to enter Iran.
        • Police activity was relaxed.
      • Merchants merged together to form the Islamic Company and their collective goal was to use craft to preserve the country's independence
      • A similar group of intellectuals formed the Society of Learning.
      • By 1904 there were five main organizations: the Secret Center, the Social Democratic Party, the Society of Humanity, the Revolutionary Committee and the Secret Society.
      • By 1905 Iran was on the brink of a political revolution.
      • The middle class was alienated from the ruling party, which created the push for revolution.
    • The Revolution (June 1905-August 1906)
      • Three major protests occurred, and shortly afterwards two demonstrations were scheduled.
        • The threat was that if the rulers continued to be unjust, then the capital would be left without spiritual guidance (and therefore also without judicial actions and legal transactions).
      • The Revolution ended on August 5, 1906 when the Constituent Assembly convened.
    • Post-Constitutional Revolution - 1906-1909
      • An electoral law for the National Assembly was established.
      • Political organizations and radical newspapers developed.
      • The press in general became more active.
      • As the Moderates gained more and more power, the royal court was losing money and power. This created more strife and led to a brief Civil War from June 1908-July 1909.
    • Period of Decline - 1909-1921
    • By 1910 the National Assembly was divided into two rival parties: the Democrats and the Moderates.
    • By 1911 warfare had broken out amongst the provinces and the central government was weaken as a result of the fighting.
    • By 1912 British and Russian troops were moving into the main northern and southern cities and the central government only existed in the capital.
    • By 1920 congress had adopted the title Communist Party of Iran. They merged with the Soviet Socialist Republic of Iran.
  • Reza Shah - 1926-1941
    • Rising of the New Order included a new army, the government bureaucracy, and the court patronage. The state was able to control society through regulation for the first time since the Safavids.
    • Reza Shah relied heavily on the army, and the annual defense budget was huge. The modern state bureaucracy reinforced the army. Reza Shah was able to maintain complete control because he was armed with the military, bureaucracy and court patronage.
    • As a result, the Shah was able to pick all administrators and pass any measure. To ensure his power the Shah shut down independent newspapers and destroyed political parties. He aimed to reform Iran via nationalism, antitribalsim, secularism and state capitalism.
    • The traditional middle class did not support the Shah and they protested in 1926-7 and again in 1925-6.
    • In 1941 British and Russian troops defeated Reza Shah and claimed he was a greedy leader.
• Politics of Social Conflict
  • From Military to Monarchy - 1941-1979
    • The Anglo-Soviet invasion created political instability and highlighted the class antagonisms and the ethnic rivalries.
    • When Reza Shah fell, the army lost moral and the tribes gained power again. The government was faced, once again, with the problem of controlling many tribal regions.
    • After the fall of Reza Shah, the government was ruled by his son, Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, and this young ruler relied heavily on his appointed prime minister and cabinet members. Over the next three years the premier and cabinet members changed many times.
    • New issues involving language and religion were surfacing.
    • The main issue at hand was preserving the monarchy, and the new Shah was left with Reza Shah's handpicked cabinet. So the new Shah did not have the bureaucracy or the court patronage that Reza Shah relied on. As a result, four new groups emerged: the National Caucus, the Patriotic Caucus, the Azerbaijani Caucus and the Justice Causus.
    • This nationally political instability resulted in a monarch who was not constitutionally accountable; however, he was the most powerful individual in the country and this resulted in royal authoritarianism after 1953.
    • The government was also faced with international issues. By 1953 there was a growing conflict involving the U.S. and the oil industry. The U.S. did not feel that Iran was a neutral and stable country; instead, Washington felt that the government was leaning on the Tudeh Party for support. So the U.S. joined arms with the British and the monarchists in Iran. The prime minister had only two choices, either to claim emergency powers or rely on the Tudeh for more support. The prime minister found himself shifting further to the left to search for support, but the U.S. felt that this hinted at a possible communist takeover. Musaddiq then proceeded to ask President Truman to provide a loan, but the request was denied.
    • The public was demanding reform, there was an international oil crisis, and hostility around the palace reached an all time high.
  • The Tudeh Party - 1941-1959
    • The Tudeh Party was founded by Marxists and was formed at the fall of Reza Shah. This group named Sulayman Iskandari chairman and they set four immediate goals:
      1. The release of the rest of the political prisoners
      2. Recognition of the Tudeh as a legitimate organization
      3. The publication of a daily newspaper
      4. The formulation of a broad program that would attract new members
    • The Tudeh Party expanded to the north and to the south and grew significantly and they are noted for their labor organization.
    • The Tudeh Party allied themselves with newspapers and smaller organizations, and they established a youth section and a women's organization that strived for better working conditions.
    • The Tudeh Party evolved into a very powerful group. They held rallies and demonstrations that attracted 10,000s of people. While the group expanded, so did its political alliances. The Tudeh Party was very popular in Tehran, Shiraz, Yazd and in the oil providence of Khuzistan.
    • By 1946 the party was at its peak, with 100,000 active members, and the group was ready for to take over in Tehran. However, the British government instructed the Tehran embassy to weaken the Tudeh by searching for blackmail information.
• Contemporary Iran
  • Pre-Revolution
    • The Politics of Uneven Development
      • The Shah worked hard to consolidate his power from 1953-1963. He signed a contract with several international oil companies, and as a result of the new agreement, Iran experienced a sharp increase in revenues from oil.
        • The Shah did not support the working class at all, but he developed a dual policy that kept both the large land-holding families and the bazaar middle class happy.
        • He lost control of this balance in 1960 because America was pressuring for land reform. This led to an economic crisis and forced the government to borrow money and seek emergency aid from the International Monetary Fund and the U.S. Government.
        • In 1962 the Land Reform Act was passed, and its goal was to create a class of independent farmers. However, this land act only lasted fourteen months.
        • The new elections were rigged, and funding for farmers was drastically reduced - the people were outraged.
      • The Shah was responsible for the socioeconomic development from 1963-1977, but its clash with his political system resulted in a revolution.
        • This can be simplified by saying that the shah did not find the correct balance and speed for modernization. He expanded the ranks of the modern middle class and the industrial working class, but he failed to modernize on a political level, and thus the link between the government and society was weakened.
        • By the mid-1970's, there were the following four classes in urban Iran:
          1. The Upper Class: This class was comprised of no more than 1,000 individuals from only six groups.
          2. The Propertied Middle Class: This class consisted of nearly one million families that can be divided into three closely knit groups: the bazaar community, the urban entrepreneurs and the clergymen.
          3. The Salaried Middle Class: This group had over one million members by 1977 and it included civil servants, teachers, college students and many others.
          4. The Working Class: This class surpasses three million members if you include the growing army of the urban poor and the rural wage earners.
        • The problem is that a political system was not developed to support this new society. The Shah still focused on the military, and he continued to increase the budget for provisions and arms for the army. The government became highly centralized and the average citizens were feeling the strict bureaucracy.
  • The Revolution
    • The oil industry generated a lot of money for Iran, and by 1972 the country was beginning to experience steady increases in the rate of inflation. The Shah was convinced that this problem could be solved by imposing strict regulations on small businesses, so he imposed a recession to control inflation.
    • There was an increasing gap between the workers and the elite. Many peasants were going to work for the extremely rich, and then returning to their poor, shanty neighborhoods. The people were unsettled, and the economy was unstable There was a huge influx of people to the cities and levels of insecurity were at an all time high. In general, Iran had become a land of unfulfilled promised and the people were upset.
    • By October of 1978 the mood had not changed, and violent demonstrations were common events. Oil workers and postal workers and many others went on strike to demand for higher pay.
    • The general public wanted the Shah out of power. The government attempted to calm the masses by passing bills granting them freedoms, but it was clear that the people would not be satisfied until the Shah was gone.
    • The final drama began on February 9, 1979. Intense fighting broke out between the guerrilla organizations and the Tudeh party. Civilians were armed and ready to fight for their beliefs. Weapons flowed freely throughout the city, and two days later the fighting and the 2,500-year monarchy came to an end.
    • The Fall of the Shah (January-February 1979)