Reza Shah

Reza Khan, commander of the Persian Cossack Brigade, led a coup that seized Tehran. This action overthrew the Qajar government and established Reza Khan as Minister of War, setting the stage for his eventual rise to the throne.

The Constituent Assembly voted to depose the Qajar dynasty and crown Reza Khan as Reza Shah Pahlavi. This founded the Pahlavi dynasty, which ruled Iran until 1979.

Reza Shah issued a decree banning the wearing of the hijab (headscarf) in public. Police forcibly removed veils from women, and the policy aimed to modernize Iranian society by adopting Western dress, causing widespread resentment among religious conservatives.

Reza Shah oversaw the completion of the Trans-Iranian Railway, connecting the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf. The railway was a major infrastructure project funded by a national tax on tea and sugar, facilitating trade and military transport.

British and Soviet forces invaded Iran to secure oil fields and supply routes to the USSR. Reza Shah's refusal to expel German nationals triggered the invasion, leading to his forced abdication and exile.

Following the Anglo-Soviet invasion, Reza Shah abdicated in favor of his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. He was forced into exile by the British, first to Mauritius and then to South Africa, where he died in 1944.