Background: Iran before the Shah

Persia (renamed Iran in 1935) had been a major civilization for over 2,500 years. By the early twentieth century it was a poor country under the Qajar dynasty, subject to British and Russian commercial penetration. Reza Shah Pahlavi, an army officer, took power in 1921 and established the Pahlavi dynasty in 1925. He pursued aggressive top-down modernization on the Turkish model, building roads, schools, and a modern army, banning the veil for women, and adopting Western dress. He was forced to abdicate by Britain and the USSR during WWII because of his pro-German sympathies. His son, Mohammad Reza Shah, succeeded him.