My journey all begins in Tehran, Iran on the 26th of October in 1919. I am the eldest son of Reza Shah Pahlavi. My journey begins with me becoming the crowned prince of Iran at the age of just 6 years old, as the Shah was my father. As I grow into a teenager, I am constantly being taught and getting prepared for my future life as the Shah by my father. I completed my primary school in Switzerland, then returned to Iran in 1935, and enrolled in a Tehran military school, from which I graduated from in 1938. I was married a total of three times to the women of a sister of Farooq I, Soraya Esfandiari, and Farah Diba. I formally replaced my father, Reza Shah, on the throne on September 16, 1941, at the age of 21. My goal was to continue the reform policies of my father.
Two years after my throning, September of 1943, Iran declared war on Nazi Germany which included ourselves in the second World War. This broke the neutrality agreement in the war my father declared at the beginning. This involvement greatly impacted Iran economically, socially, and politically. The effects were very disruptive.
Our resources and food became very scarce and limited. Lower and middle classes experienced major hardships due to severe inflation. This unfortunately created a society of poverty. This was never my intention. However, individuals that had the scarce items and sold them earned a lot of income. Few people were able to make a living off of the possession of the scarce essentials. Foreign troop presence accelerated social change and also fed xenophobic and nationalist sentiments. To add to the political unrest, an influx of rural migrants were imported into the cities. The communist Tudeh Party was especially active in organizing industrial workers. With many other political parties, this called for political and social reform.
Works Cited
“Affordable, ReliableWeb Hosting Solutions.” Welcome Persian-News.net – BlueHost.com, www.persian-news.net/mohammad-reza-shah/.
“Iran in World War II.” Battle of the Atlantic, history.sandiego.edu/gen/WW2Timeline/iran.html.
“Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi and Mosaddeq.” Fanack.com, fanack.com/iran/history-past-to-present/mohammad-reza-shah-pahlavi-and-mosaddeq/.