Two Iranian revolutions

[edit] Two Iranian revolutions
The Iranian Constitutional Revolution took place between 1905 and 1911. The revolution marked the beginning of the end of Iran's feudalistic society and led to the establishment of a parliament in Persia and restriction of the power of Shah (king). The first constitution of Iran was approved. But after the final victory of revolutionaries over Shah, the modernist and conservative blocks began to fight with each other. Then World War I took place and all of the combatants invaded Iran and weakened the government and threatened the independence of Iran. The system of constitutional monarchy created by the decree of Mozzafar al-Din Shah that was established in Persia as a result of the Revolution was weakened in 1925 with the dissolution of the Qajar dynasty and the ascension of Reza Shah Pahlavi to the throne.

In 1979 the Iranian Revolution (also called "The Islamic Revolution" ) transformed Iran from a constitutional monarchy, under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, to a populist theocratic Islamic republic under the rule of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a Shi`i Muslim cleric and marja. Following the Revolution, an Iranian referendum established the Islamic republic as a new government, and a new constitution was approved, electing Ruhollah Khomeini Supreme Leader of Iran. During the following two years, liberals, leftists, and Islamic groups fought with each other, and ultimately Islamics captured power. At the same time, the U.S., USSR, and most of the Arab governments of the Middle East feared that their dominance in the region was challenged by the new Islamic ideology, so they encouraged and supported Saddam Hussein to invade Iran, which resulted in the Iran-Iraq war.