1979 Iranian Revolution, Explained | Last Persian Shah

[Music] in 1979 a revolution topples Iranian ruler sham muhameda and with that a monarchy of more than 2,500 years habit that's the way authoritarian regimes fall first gradually and then suddenly the Sha's mistake was to want to do too much too fast sham Muhammed rahavi Persia's Last Emperor was a key figure in World politics in the second half of the 20th century his fiercest opponent Rola musavi Ki the Ayatollah becomes the bearer of Hope for all those who are against the Sha for they became very Fierce antagonist absolutely and the Sha developed a an almost obsession with them the Rivalry lasted for almost their entire lives in the end the Sha is defeated the Ayatollah is Victorious and with him Islamic fundamentalism A new challenge for World politics in September 1941 a young man becomes the new ruler of Iran at just 21 years of age sha Muhammed Risa Pahlavi is sworn in as the new head of state in the Iranian Parliament in the middle of the second world war his father Risa Shah Pahlavi had remained neutral but he made no secret of his sympathies for the Nazi regime the Allies demanded his [Music] resignation since Hitler's attack on the Soviet Union the British and the Americans depend on Iran for their transport of heavy War materials to Russia for the fight against the German [Music] [Music] [Music] R Muhammad Raa had been prepared for this task by his father from an early age among his siblings he has a special role as Crown Prince his father selects his Playmates and sends him to a Swiss Elite boarding school to give him a western [Music] education finally he tells him who to marry it's the Egyptian princess FIA with the arranged marriage between the two dynasties the father wants to reinforce the Pav's power in Iran and he was a very very powerful charismatic figure who completely dominates the son's life 300 km Southwest of Teran The Oasis town of Kain is situated in 1902 rahula musavi Kini is born in a house on the outskirts of that town the youngest of six children he never meets his father his father is murdered when he is 5 months old under suspicious circumstances Ki will later hold rasa accountable until the end of his daysy thought that Rasha personally had intervened and to save the murder that was that bitterness left in him because in his writings you know every then he says those whose fathers have been killed by Rasha Ki grows up without a father this will impact him all his life his mother takes Ki to a wealthy Aunt who makes sure he receives a good education at 5 years of age keni starts school a village teacher teaches him how to read and write he's a fast learner among his classmates he's the most gifted While others play He studies and reads the [Music] Quran before Rasha was forced to abdicate he had started extensive reforms in Iran he wanted Persia to become a modern State this included the fact that women were no longer allowed to wear a shador the traditional Veil the clergy saw this as an assault on religious matters and protested for Coman who was studying Islamic theory of law by then this was a fundamental violation of the principles of [Music] Islam R's abdication ation under pressure from the Allies must have been greatly gratifying for him he demands that Iran will now be ruled According to Islamic law again this demand doesn't have any effect yet rasa dies in Exile in South Africa in 1944 if not before now with his son transferring the body all eyes are on the newa people wonder how he will solve the conflict with the clergy which he in inited from his father so far he'd been perceived as rather restrained by the [Music] public as Shakespeare says some have greatness thrust upon them and some seiz greatness Muhammad rasa had the monarchy seized thrown upon him and there was a big difference with someone who goes and grabs power and creates the modern state to with someone who was a itially a reluctant King the young sha acts surprisingly resolutely like his father he wants to modernize State and Society but end his father's confrontational course with the clergy his subsequent opponent Ki now teaches Islamic theory of law he finds a sympathetic ear in younger students who become radicalized one group named names themselves fan Islam these Martyrs of Islam are Shiite fundamentalists they come from the ghettos of Tran and demand the establishment of a Theocratic State on the basis of the Quran any Western influence is to be banned women must wear veils in public again within a couple of years they really became very important because they first of all they assassinated the top intellectual Mr Ahmed kasravi who campaigned against Islam as a whole then they proceeded further and assassinated the Prime Minister General rasara Andi was the cleric who gave them clerical cover because you know in in Islam or at least in Shi Islam you can't just go and kill somebody unless a clerical Authority writes a fatwa as for example like wrot against Sal rushi in early 1949 there's an assassination attempt on the sh as well it was probably carried out by a terror group but this has never been proven the Iranian Parliament blames the mosow following today party and bans it this comes in useful for the Sha for communist ideology is equally as suspicious to him as his radical Islam his political path is directed towards the West I'm looking forward with the keenest anticipation to all that I have to experience here in the greatest of the democracies in a free world in November 1949 the American president Harry S Truman and the American people welcome sha muhamed Risa exuberantly but not exactly selflessly they want to secure access to the huge oil reserves in Iran the Sha on the other hand needs support for his plans to modernize Iran from the bottom he's interested in all Technical Innovations like the Hoover Dam not Everyone likes his enthusiasm for the West that's fantasy myths ancient Beginnings elevate your historical exploration to unparalleled Heights with a history hit subscription don't miss out on our latest releases where classicist n Haynes travels to Corfu to unravel the story of the Gorgon Medusa one of the most iconic yet misconstrued figures of Greek mythology join Jasmine Elma as she dives into something that people have been obsessed with throughout history dragons where did they come from what exactly is a dragon finally Dan snow explores the ancient history of the Isles of silly and discovers burial grounds built thousands of years ago discover hundreds of hours of award-winning documentaries and adree podcasts with history hit sign up for a special offer via the link in the description the global economic boom after the war requires fuel oil in abadan near the Persian Gulf the world's greatest Refinery is built since the beginning of the 20th century oil production had been mainly in British hands in Iran the Anglo Iranian oil company is like a state within a state when the Iranian Parliament decides to nationalize the oil industry in March 1951 Great Britain pulls the oil plug on Iran many British experts have to leave the country the Takeover of the oil facilities by a national company is cheered on boisterously but the oil embargo soon forces the country's economy to its knees extremist parties like the Communist today party take advant Advantage they become very popular the Sha temporarily flees into Exile out of the line of fire the mullers and their followers and different political groups like the Communists who aim for the abolition of the monarchy and a People's Republic fight for dominance in Iran the Sha only manages to stay in power through the intervention of the USA the American Secret Service CIA supports him with a lot of money and helps him to establish his own secret service the savak arsha became a kind of Roman Caesar you know involved in day-to-day business involved in day-to-day Wars and if like the Roman Caesar you become involved in day today like Julius Caesar somebody will kill you during this time Ki doesn't make any public statements on political questions he withdraws to his house in the holy city of Comm where he lives with his wife and children only his most dedicated followers come to see him but they don't say a word about what Ki discusses with them either in solitude the clergyman continues his work on his ideas for the islamization of the Iranian State discreetly but with confidence he is extremely confident when he meets the shy in person on behalf of the grand Ayatollah Ki asks the Sha to Pardon one of the assassins from the terror group fayan Islam successfully the Sha definitely wants dialogue with the mullers he keeps going on pilgrimages to Mecca in Saudi Arabia Islam's Central pilgrimage site as a Muslim he shows respect for Islam and accepts the religious authority of the imams but such publicity performances always serve multiple interests his religious feelings I think came from his mother uh we know his mother was very religious uh his father clearly was not his politics towards religion has nothing to do with his religiosity his politics to religion has to do with his fear that the greatest threat to Iran will come from the communist and that the way to fight the Communist is by strengthening religion and that's exactly what he does any Ally in the fight against the influence of the Communist Soviet Union is fine with the SHA therefore he tries to win over the clergy which was traditionally anti-communist and monarchist it's a calculation which won't add up he certainly thought that that ideological backing was religion U and that's again another mistake that he made um uh religion as particularly as incarnated by the Shia clergy could never have become um the ideological framework on which to build modernization and westernization in December 1959 there are pompous festivities in tan tabloid reporters from all over the world fight for the best picture of Muhammad Rasha and farba after two divorces the new Queen needs to produce the desired successor to the throne so that the pavi dynasty can live on farba becomes an influential woman at the side of her husband she also accompanies him on his trip to America in April 1962 where the couple are received frenetically the Sha seeks to deepen iranian-american relations with President John F Kennedy both agree that only a strong military can fend off the latent threat of the Soviet Union arming Iran is a done deal for the Americans it's a valuable business weapons for [Music] oil for in the 1960s Iran was still a developing country most of the people were farmers without their own land the land belonged to feudal Masters and land Barons including a number of mullers and religious trusts on the 11th of January 1963 the Sha introduces an extensive program of reforms he calls it the white Revolution its aim is to marketly improve the conditions of life for the people a national referendum strengthens the ambitious program which includes the abolition of the feudal system privatization of state-owned companies the fight against illiteracy and the introduction of women's voting rights women are not allowed to take part in the referendum yet however they flock to the polling stations to demonstrate their approval he wanted Iran to modernize the white Revolution was intended to make Iran better and it did in many many ways it did it ended feudalism in Iran that's not an easy thing to do the starting point of the white Revolution was a land reform against the determined resistance of the clergy the Sha hands over more than 500,000 hectares of land an area twice the size of Luxembourg to some 30,000 destitute families [Music] in order for children to learn Reading Writing and maths soldiers teach them in Village Schools adult farmers and Nomads have to go back to school the Sha involves all strata of the population in his campaign [Music] made [Music] takes on the role of a mouthpiece for a group of mullers who reject this policy as Pro [Music] Western for [Music] Ki takes advantage of his gain in power he abandons his hitherto withdrawn position and openly opposes the Sha's politics for the first time he publicly warns him not to carry on with his father's ways sent a couple of letters directly addressed to the Sha and the Sha gave a couple of lectures speeches directly responding to them uh I've quoted those at length in the Sha book and they're remarkable for his Defiance telling the Sha boy don't do something so that I throw you out of the country like your father and the Sha saying these little uh uhet the word is uh like ants like uh uh who survive in feces we're not going to let them rule this country strengthening the role of women in Iranian Society is an integral part of the white Revolution Iranian women grasp this opportunity to make public use of their newly acquired rights and the associated self-confidence women can not only vote now they can also become political candidates for Iranian women this is a milestone on their path to emancipation [Music] but there was a lot of uh resistance and and uh uh the the first revolution in 63 happened led by happened specifically uh on this particular item of the voting uh decree for KI and his followers the new role of women in politics and Society is a threat to the foundation of their faith they mount a Counterattack Ki denounces corruption State violence and the torture used by the state secret service savak he threatens the Tyrant of our time in a speech with a black reaction to the white Revolution had in in [Music] [Music] into Oran there are demonstrations and counter demonstrations the Sha deploys the military to the holy city of K blood is shed Ki is arrested and sentenced to death thanks to the pleading of numerous clerics the sentence is changed and Kini is exiled to NAA in Iraq in the meantime the implementation of the white Revolution is more difficult for the rural population than expected the farmers now have their own fields to till but they often lack seeds water and modern agricultural machines if you're going to end feudalism and you're going to bring millions of people into the city you have to be prepared for it you have to think who is going to teach these people the political rules of the new game and then he made it impossible for anyone other than the clergy to have a political organization in Iran at first keni completely secludes himself in his Exile in Naf a stronghold of Shiite Islam in Iraq at 60 he believes he's finished he's isolated many Iraqi scribes don't want to have anything to do with his political activities he immerses himself in his studies of the Holy scriptures again he only communicates with very few of his pupils to stay a breast of the situation in Iran one of his few pillars is his family who have followed him into [Music] Exile he was this distant figure very little interest in anything other than his mosque and his books he never went once two blocks from his house the other side to see a river he went to his mosque and came home for 14 [Music] years meanwhile in Iran in October 1967 the Sha continues the Grandeur of the old days the Sha had always stressed that he wanted to achieve something for his country before ascending the Peacock Throne with all honors now he has himself crowned emperor in Tian the clergy supports him the Sha has always factored the clergy into his public appearances he knows how important it is especially for the Ordinary People to reference the religious foundation of the ruling Dynasty now it seems he has arrived he is the shahan Sha the king of kings and he also crowns his wife Empress something that has never happened before in Persia's long history in May and June 1967 the Glamorous couple is on a state visit in West Germany they are welcomed by federal president lubka and federal Chancellor kinger the visit mainly serves economic interests the Sha visits the big steel companies along the r and ruer rivers because he needs support for the industrialization of his country for instance with the construction of new Reservoir dams for the irrigation of Farmland it's a lucrative opportunity for the German economy when the ruling couple visits the German Opera in Berlin the ugly face of the Sha regime is revealed members of his secret service savak attack demonstrators who are protesting against suppression and torture in Iran the situation escalates the visit of the Sha and the protests against his politics Mark a turning point in the history of West [Applause] Germany in tan the Sha's Monument which faradiba had commissioned is meant as an archit Ural expression of the new modern identity of the empire in the old Imperial City of pepolis on the other hand the Sha commemorates the Persian Empire's 2,500 years of history with an ostentatious celebration in 1971 the biggest party in the world is held in the middle of the desert monarchs heads of state and dictators attend the population is not invited [Music] it was one of those things that the intention was well but the execution uh went so much in exaggerated way mixed with cronyism and Corruption that I think could backfire them in order to lead the white Revolution to success the Sha upgrades the technology of the country with the help of cap assistance from abroad he invests billions in electrification and numerous other Industries he wants Iran to get in with modernity and become great again just like the Persian Empire was historically I think that our our country in the next 10 years will be what you are today in the next 25 years according to other people I'm not saying that will be among the five most prosperous country countes of the world to this end the Sha also invests in nuclear energy us American and French companies want to do this lucrative deal in the end however it's West German businesses who signed the deal with Iran the motivation came from the necessity of his time whether we like it or not um modernization is to a large extent westernization you can't modernize without [Music] westernizing the capital Tian in particular opens itself up to the cultural lifestyle of the West and becomes a modern Metropolis veiled women are now hardly to be seen anywhere in the town young people allowed to travel without restrictions and educate themselves they enjoy all the advantages of a Cosmopolitan City and show no inhibitions on the other hand the political power structures don't change at all they remain traditionally monarchist and tailored to the Sha for the g d in contrast in nav in Iraq time seems to have Stood Still Ki holds lectures for a small circle of students he thinks about what an Islamic legal system could be like with the clergy taking on a leading role he condemns the shallowness and pure sensual pleasures of the West attacks the colonial powers and Israel and demands the end of separation of politics and religion the transcripts of the lectures are published in a book about the Islamic [Music] State I think I was one of the maybe first people to read it I was shocked by it but I like a lot of other simple people like me thought this would never work this is a medieval idea Iran that has had a constitutional revolution in 19057 is not going to let the clergy come and cut off people's hands in public squares and it's not going to let the clergy rule because they know Sharia I was wrong as were a lot of other countries and [Music] forces in Iran this B about the Islamic state is not published but banned they want to prevent the radical ideas and Theological demands of the Shiite cleric from spreading but the censorship only increases the fascination Cain's book holds for the opponents of the ruling class those who politically oppose the Sha's regime face imprisonment in the Iranian Secret Service savak prison where torture and executions are daily Fair this was one thing the students had demonstrated against when the Sha visited Germany there is no getting out of the dreaded Detention Center which was built by German architects in the 1930s Iranian politicians who are active today like the current supreme religious leader Ali Kam were imprisoned there during the reign of the Sha did they do bad things absolutely did they torture people absolutely you can't forget that they actually did torture people they tortured a lot of people they executed a lot of people uh but the opposition was also very successful in exaggerating the number of people who were in prison we used to say in the Confederation that there that there are hundreds of thousands of prisoners in Iran the actual number was about 4,000 descent or Worse resistance had no place in the Sha's regime there is no open political Dialogue on the country's social and political development the parties from left to right are mostly silenced the opposition has fled abroad or is imprisoned the Sha's autocratic regime results in him losing contact with the people in his country more and more [Music] stand is protested democ for instance the dealers on the markets play an important social role in Iran millions of people come and Shop with them every day Thea however doesn't really take the bazaaris the market dealers into consideration in his politics of westernization department stores chain stores and supermarkets like the ones you can find in the west threaten their livelihood the Sha doesn't realize the consequences of his policies and how many enemies he creates for himself with [Music] Teran in particular with its modern high-rise buildings becomes the symbol of this belief in progress but many people can't keep up with the Sha's pace so they turn to that institution which is familiar to them and which gives them Security in their insecurity it completely went after the left whether it was the left that was dependent on the Soviet Union or whether it was a Social Democratic left the only people who were allowed to build mosques build uh schools teach their own cadres were the religious works and you you bring Millions into the cities in Shanty towns concentrate them made them easy to mobilize and allow the clergy to uh be the only one who's active there and then people are surprised that the Revolution was won by the clergy the Sha has many mosques renovated in the 1970s the number of Quran schools Also Rises immensely this way he wants to assure the clergy how important Islam as an essential Foundation of Iranian Society is to him despite focusing his Politics on the [Music] west with his public appearances and his annual pilgrimages to the city of mashad which is one of the seven holy cities of Islam he hopes to keep the clergy securely on his [Music] side he saw religion as as his last line of defense he saw religion as his most powerful uh stronghold within the country and that's where he made a massive miscalculation massive strategic and ideological miscal and political miscalculation because what he thought of as his most powerful stronghold and backing turned out to be his most uh fatal and dangerous enemy the first protest marches against the Sha take place in K in 1978 the reason is a defamatory article against Ki which is published in a big Iranian Daily Newspaper the article accuses him and the clergy of counterrevolution his followers organize a demonstration of support it was a very the fast moving Revolution maybe it is the fastest revolution in human history because everything happened within four months with every passing day the resolve of the Sha's regime to stay in power uh was weakening and the resolve of the opposition to demand his removal was increasing there were fatalities during this demonstration in Comm According to Islamic custom the dead are commemorated every 40 days soon hundreds of thousands take to the streets each time there are more of them the Sha wasn't anticipating this kind of resistance it catches him and his regime completely off guard The Growing Power of the streets paralyzes him on August the 19th 1978 an arson attack on Cinema recks in the oil city of abadan kills 422 people the opposition blames the Iranian Secret Service and the Sha later on there's a growing body of evidence for the clergy being behind the attack with Ki as The Mastermind in the background after sinet it was a different story both in magnitude in the anger and in the slogans for the first time I heard thousands of people say death to the Sha that would have been unimaginable in 77 the protest of the masses turns into open violence tan is Ablaze the military intervenes on the 8th of September 1978 a day which will go down in Iranian history as Black Friday 64 people are killed on the Central jalet Square the opposition claims there were 15,000 deaths a general strike ensues paralyzing the country [Music] at the behest of the Sha the government declares Ki a persona grata he's forced to leave his Exile in Naf his Confidant advise him to leave for Europe which he declines at first what is he to do in a non-islamic country he is wrong when he goes to n chat a little suburb of Paris thousands of his followers from all over the world flock there West politicians and intellectuals like Jean Paul satra Michelle fuk and franois meton also support Ki in France he suddenly finds himself the center of the global public he was suddenly catapulted into an International Celebrity and was much more clever than the Sha the British the Iranian opposition uh gave him credit for because initially the idea was that they would send him toau and he would become an embarrassment he would say reactionary things and would frighten people well he didn't say the reactionary things he was very careful he never once in aund I think 10 interviews never once mentioned the word [Music] [Music] Ki mentions none of the radical ideas he expressed in his book on the Islamic State since his writings are banned in Iran and unknown in the west no one can confront him with them his speeches against the Sha are recorded and distributed in Iran the generals in Iran are waiting for the Sha to give them the order to crack down on the insurgents but he is weakened by cancer and doesn't signal anything of that sort the military is perplexed and backs [Applause] off when the soldiers sto shooting at the people the people put flowers in their guns and give them pictures of of Ki they celebrate their new leader in a televised appeal to the Iranian people the Sha wants to change Tac one more time he looked weak he looked absolutely despondent uh he couldn't read the text um and the point that he was saying is that I have heard that's the famous phrase I have heard the uh call of your Revolution and uh give me another chance uh and people saw it rightly as a sign of his weakness if ever there was a sign that he is not going to be able to master the situation that was to me the speech the crisis in Iran also causes ripples at International level French president of State jisang invites the German Chancellor Helmut Schmid US President Carter and British prime minister kalahan to guadaloop for a conference here they decide on the fate of Iran this means that the Western Powers drop the Sha and his regime on the 16th of January 1979 the Sha and his family leave Iran the Sha expects the crisis to be over soon so that he can return it turns out out to be a farewell for good the show was a good King for the time of Peace he wasn't a good King for the time of big trouble he was really uh double personality uh when he felt strong he was extremely uh self assur and the first signs of weakness made him uh very very timid there was no other figure mred became the point of Union 14 days later on the 1st of February 1979 Ki flies from Paris to tan no one knows how this journey will end will the Shah's military forc the plane to turn back or even shoot it down to prevent Ki from returning for after 14 years of Exile Ki now steps onto Iranian soil again millions of people frenetically celebrate his return after 2,500 years the Persian monarchy has outlived its usefulness Ki is received as the new savior no one has any idea of the consequences which the Islamic revolution will have for the Iranian state virually all our intellectuals supported Ki from right to left including those who have supported the Sha uh all our big business you know our big tycoons you know our billionaires they all support him so he had created degree of unity uh among uh all these different factions in ter on which was impressive Ken's first visits are to the bees zakra cemetery on the outskirts of Teran where the victims of the Sha regime are buried and to the holy city of K where his resistance began many years [Applause] before the confrontation between these two could be summarized to the confrontation of two opposing will and in such a confrontation it is always the stronger will that will win you know and that's what uh exactly what happened in Iran uh's will was Far stronger to conquer power than the Shaw's will to keep power after an odyssey through several countries the Sha dies of terminal cancer in Cairo on the 27th of July 1980 he lived to be 60 years of age his body is buried in the Ali mosque in the Egyptian Capital Ayatollah Ki dies of a heart attack on the 3rd of June 1989 in tan his resting place is a morum during his 10-year Reign he implemented his ideas of an Islamic revolution with uncompromising vigor and turned Iran into a theocracy thus setting a dynamic in motion which even today keeps the world in suspense [Music] [Music] for

Channel: Timeline - World History Documentaries

Views: 450,566

Keywords: Full Length Documentary, learn history, Iran, Iranian History, Iranian Monarchy, The Last Persian Shah, The Supreme Leader Of Iran, Iran President, 1979 Iranian Revolution, Islamic Revolution, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Ali Khamenei, Ruhollah Khomeini, Ebrahim Raisi

Id: FXlHxrBJoik

Length: 53min 33sec (3213 seconds)

Published: Mon May 20 2024