1921 Persian coup d'état

Overthrow of Iran's Qajar Dynasty by Reza Khan 1921 Iranian coup d'état YaranKudeta3Esfand1299.jpg On the picture: Reza Khan, Masoud Keyhan, Colonel Gleerup (Commander of the Gendarmerie), Zia ol Din Tabatabaee, Hossein Dadgar, Hassan Moshar, Ali Riazi, Kazem Khan Sayah. (1921) 22 February 1921 Tehran, Iran Persian Cossack Brigade victory Takeover by Sayyed Ziaoddin Tabatabaee Dissolution of the Autonomous Government of Khorasan and Persian Socialist Soviet Republic Continuing Simko Shikak revolt until 1922 Deterioration of Iranian control over the Emirate of Muhammara until 1925 Persian Cossack BrigadeSupported by:United Kingdom Government-Insurgents Qajar Iran Qajar dynasty Qajar Iran Reza KhanQajar Iran Ziaoddin TabatabaeeQajar Iran Ahmad Amir-AhmadiQajar Iran Mahmud Mir-Djalali fa سید محمود میرجلالیUnited Kingdom Edmund Ironside... as a result of his forcefulness and military achievements, had been chosen by Major General Edmund Ironside, head of Norperforce ... COUP D’ETAT OF 1299/1921 [English amongst Persians by Denis Wright] Qajar Iran Fathollah Khan Akbar 1,500 Persian Cossacks100 Gendarmerie ... as a result of his forcefulness and military achievements, had been chosen by Major General Edmund Ironside, head of Norperforce ... COUP D’ETAT OF 1299/1921 Several policemen killed or injured in Tehran during the coup 1921 Iranian coup d'état, known in Iran as 3 Esfand 1299 coup d'état (fa کودتای ۳ اسفند ۱۲۹۹ with the Solar Persian date), refers to several major events in Qajar Iran in 1921, which eventually led to the deposition of the Qajar dynasty and the establishment of the Pahlavi dynasty as the ruling house of Iran in 1925. The events began with a coup by the Persian Cossack Brigade headed by Reza Khan on 22 February 1921. The precise level of British involvement in the coup remains a matter of historical debate, but it is almost certain that Edmund Ironside provided advice to the plotters.The Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 7 (1991); pp. 210, 219–220p. 313 of 10.1080/00210867808701547 Class Structure and Political Power in Iran since 1796 Keddie Nikki R. Iranian Studies 11 1/4 1978 305–330 4310304p. 538 of Nationalist Trends in Iran, 1921–1926 Katouzian Homayoun International Journal of Middle East Studies 10 4 1978 533–551 162216 10.1017/s0020743800051321 163139538 With this coup Zia ol Din Tabatabaee took over power and became prime minister. The coup was largely bloodless and faced little resistance. With his expanded forces and the Cossack Brigade, Reza Khan launched successful military actions to eliminate separatist and dissident movements in Tabriz, Mashhad and the Jangalis in Gilan. The campaign against Simko and the Kurds was less successful and lasted well into 1922, though it eventually concluded with Iranian success. Background In late 1920, the Persian Socialist Soviet Republic in Rasht was preparing to march on Tehran with "a guerrilla force of 1,500 Jangalis, Kurds, Armenians and Azerbaijanis", reinforced by the Bolsheviks' Red Army. This fact, along with various other disorders, mutinies and unrest in the country created "an acute political crisis in the capital."Abrahamian Ervand Iran Between Two Revolutions 1982 116–117 0691053421 Princeton University Press By 1921, Qajar Persia had become corrupt and inefficient.http://www.fouman.com/history/Iranian_History_1921.html The Iranian History 1921 AD 2010-10-29 2010-11-03 https://web.archive.org/web/20101103070537/http://fouman.com/history/Iranian_History_1921.html dead The oil-rich nation was somewhat reliant on Britain and Russia for military and economic support. Civil wars earlier in the decade had threatened the government, and the only regular military force at the time was the Cossack Brigade.History of Iran: Pahlavi Dynasty Ahmad Shah Qajar, the shah of Iran at the time, had only been crowned in 1909 at the age of eleven and was considered to be a weak, incompetent ruler,History of Iran: Qajar Dynasty especially after British, Russian, and Ottoman occupations of Persia during World War I. In 1911, when the capital city, Tehran, had been seized by the Russians, armed Bakhtiari tribesmen, rather than Iranian regular troops, expelled the invaders. This further diminished the government's reputation, rendering it almost powerless in time of war. February 2013 Britain, which played a major role in Persia, was perturbed by the Qajar government's inability to rule efficiently. This inefficiency was the background of a power struggle between Britain and Soviet Russia, each nation hoping to control Persia.New Great War Episode: Persian Coup D'Ètat February 1921 https://realtimehistory.net/blogs/news/new-great-war-episode-persian-coup-detat-february-1921 2023-04-11 RTH - Real Time History GmbH en On 14 January 1921, the British General Edmund Ironside chose to promote Reza Khan, who had been leading the Tabriz battalion, to lead the entire brigade.Cyrus Ghani Sīrūs Ghanī Iran and the Rise of the Reza Shah: From Qajar Collapse to Pahlavi Power https://books.google.com/books?id=VGZItY9kL0AC&pg=PA147 6 January 2001 I.B.Tauris 978-1-86064-629-4 147– About a month later, under British direction, Reza Khan's 3,000-4,000 strong detachment of the Cossack Brigade reached Tehran.2022-09-21 Top 10 Amazing Facts about Rezā Shāh https://www.discoverwalks.com/blog/iran/top-10-amazing-facts-about-reza-shah/ 2023-04-11 Discover Walks Blog en-US The coup and subsequent events Reza Khan seizes Tehran On 18 February 1921, the Cossacks reached Tehran meeting little resistance. In the early morning of 21 February, they entered the city. Only several policemen, taken by surprise, are said to have been killed or wounded in the center of Tehran.Katouzian Homa 2006 The 1921 Coup State and Society in Iran: The Eclipse of the Qajars and the Emergence of the Pahlavis London Tauris 242–267 1845112725 https://books.google.com/books?id=FzVANM0p29kC&pg=PA242 Backed by his troops, Reza Khan forced the Cabinet to dissolve and oversaw his own appointment as minister of war. Reza Khan also ensured that Ahmad, still ruling as shah, appoint Zia ol Din Tabatabaee as prime minister. Treaty with the RSFSR On 26 February, the new government signed a treaty of friendship with the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, formerly the Russian Empire. As a result of the treaty, the RSFSR gave up some of its former Russian facilities in Iran, although Soviet diplomats ensured that their nation was allowed to intervene with its military in Iran, as long as the intervention was "self-defense". The RSFSR also gave up any Russian-owned railroads and ports in Iran.Foundation Encyclopaedia Iranica Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica https://iranicaonline.org/ 2023-04-11 iranicaonline.org en-US Change of prime ministers Prior to the coup, Ahmad Qavam, governor of Khorasan, had asserted his loyalty to the Qajar dynasty. When he refused to recognise the government installed by Reza Khan, he was jailed in Tehran. During his imprisonment, Qavam cultivated a hatred of the man who had arrested him, Colonel Mohammad Taqi Pessian, now the gendarmerie chief. February 2013 Zia ol Din Tabatabaee, who had been installed as prime minister, was removed from office on 25 May by Ahmad Shah's decree. Shortly thereafter, Qavam was released from prison and given Tabatabaee's former post. February 2013 Colonel Pessian refused to accept this betrayal of the coup's ideals of a democratic Iran and began to gather popular support and many tribes flocked to make up his force. Quelling local uprisings Pessian's revolt After Qavam was made prime minister, one of the coup leaders and now the gendarmerie chief Colonel Mohammad Taqi Pessian opposed the new order and erosion of the democratic principles for which he and many of his fellow Iranians had fought and so departed Tehran. Soon at the head of a rebel army, Pessian went to battle with the armies of several regional governors. However, the rebels were eventually defeated and Reza Khan ordered that Pessian be beheaded and that the head be returned to Tehran and put on display to prove that Pessian, now a national hero, was dead to quell further rebellions. The Kurds of Khorasan also revolted in the same year.Cottam Richard W. 1979 Nationalism in Iran Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh Press 0822952998 Piscatori James Law, Personalities, and Politics of the Middle East: Essays in Honor of Majid Khadduri 13 March 2019 Routledge 978-0-429-72868-6 https://books.google.com/books?id=55mfDwAAQBAJ&dq=1921+Kurds+of+Khorasan+revolt&pg=PT160 en Gilan campaign The campaign on the Republic of Gilan was taken in early July 1921, by the main Cossack force, led by Vsevolod Starosselsky. Following a gendarme operation, led by Habibollah Khan (Shiabani), they cleared up Mazandaran and moved into Gilan. On 20 August, ahead of the arrival of the Cossacks, the insurgents pulled out of Rasht, retreating towards Enzeli. The Cossacks entered Rasht on 24 August. Though further pursuit of the revolutionaries turned successful at Khomam and Pir Bazar, they came under heavy artillery bombardment from the Soviet fleet in the Caspian Sea. First, it had been believed that the entire force of 700 men, led by Reza Khan, was annihilated in this event, though later the actual casualty rate was determined to be about 10%, with the rest of them scattering upon the bombardment. As a result, Starosselsky ordered an evacuation of Rasht. The Soviet Republic of Gilan officially came to an end in September 1921. Mirza and his German friend GauookSeptember 2023 (Hooshang) were left alone in the Khalkhal Mountains, and died of frostbite. February 2013 Kurdish revolt Simko Shikak revolt (1918–1922) Aftermath thumb|Reza Shah In the aftermath of the 1921 events, relations of the Persian government with the Emirate of Muhammara had also become strained. In 1924, the Sheikh Khazal rebellionPrice, M. Iran`s diverse peoples: a reference sourcebook. p.159. "... and finally supporting a rebellion by Shaykh Khazal." CEIQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=sheikh%20khazal%20rebellion&f=false broke out in Khuzestan, being the first modern Arab nationalist uprising led by the Sheikh of Mohammerah Khaz'al al-Ka'bi. The rebellion was quickly and effectively suppressed with minimal casualties. Rezā Khan was placed on the throne by the constitutional assembly in 1925, and many of those involved in the coup were either killed or put in prison. One general, Sepahbod Amir Ahmadi, tried to stand up against the establishment of the new dynasty, but on a visit to his now imprisoned brother-in-law, General Heydargholi Pessian, who had been one of the leaders of the coup that defeated the Qajar dynasty, Amir Ahmadi confessed that his efforts to prevent Reza Khan being made Shah and the monarchy reinstated were being thwarted by the British.September 2023 The source of what Ahmadi said or didn't say needs to be stated. Reza Khan was finally declared Shah, taking the surname Pahlavi and thus founding the Pahlavi dynasty. The Pahlavis ruled in Iran until the 1979 Iranian Revolution, when the government was toppled and replaced with that of the Islamic Republic of Iran, headed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The day after the Shah left Iran, the revolutionary leaders declared Colonel Mohammad Taghi Pessian the first Martyr of the Revolution, although Pessian was a Secularist.February 2017 See also Persian Constitutional Revolution (1905–1907) Iran crisis of 1946 Iranian Revolution (1979) List of modern conflicts in the Middle East References External links "The Persian Coup d'Etat (1921)", Advocate of Peace through Justice. Vol. 88, No. 2 (February, 1926), pp. 86–88 "Coup d'Etat of 1921". Encyclopedia Iranica "Persian Coup d'Etat". Kalgoorlie Miner, Saturday 26 February 1921, p. 5 Category:Rebellions in Iran Category:Foreign relations of the Soviet Union Category:Iran–Soviet Union relations Category:Military history of Pahlavi Iran Persian Persian crisis of 1921 Persian crisis in 1921 Persian crisis of 1921 Iran crisis of 1921 Category:Civil wars in Iran Category:Coups d'état in Iran Category:Military operations involving the United Kingdom Category:Politics of Qajar Iran Category:February 1921 in Asia Category:1920s coups d'état Category:Military history of Qajar Iran Category:Iran–United Kingdom military relations