The Shahnameh, also transliterated Shahnama, is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,000 distichs or couplets, the Shahnameh is one of the world's longest epic poems, and the longest epic poem created by a single author. It tells mainly the mythical and to some extent the historical past of the Persian Empire from the creation of the world until the Muslim conquest in the seventh century. Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and the greater region influenced by Persian culture such as Armenia, Dagestan, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan celebrate this national epic.
Reza Shah Pahlavi was an Iranian military officer and the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty. As a politician, he previously served as minister of war and prime minister of Qajar Iran and subsequently reigned as Shah of Pahlavi Iran from 1925 until he was forced to abdicate after the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in 1941. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Mohammad Reza Shah. A modernizer, Reza Shah clashed with the Shia clergy and introduced many social, economic, and political reforms during his reign, ultimately laying the foundation of the modern Iranian state. As a result, he is regarded by many as the founder of modern Iran.
The Pahlavi dynasty was the last Iranian royal dynasty that ruled for a little over 53 years between 1925 and 1979. The dynasty was founded by Reza Shah Pahlavi, a non-aristocratic Mazanderani soldier in modern times, who took on the name of the Pahlavi language spoken in the pre-Islamic Sasanian Empire to strengthen his nationalist credentials.
Ehsan Yarshater was an Iranian historian and linguist who specialized in Iranology. He was the founder and director of the Center for Iranian Studies, and Hagop Kevorkian Professor Emeritus of Iranian Studies at Columbia University.
The Party of Resurrection of the Iranian Nation, or simply the Rastakhiz Party, was Iran's sole legal political party from 2 March 1975 until 1 November 1978, founded by Mohammad Reza Shah.
Aryamehr was the title used in the Pahlavi dynasty by Shahanshah Mohammad Reza Shah of Iran. It means Light of the Aryans.
The Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Iran is an educational and research institution overseeing numerous associated museum complexes throughout Iran. It is administered and funded by the Government of Iran. It was first established in 1985 by legislation from the Majlis merging 11 research and cultural organizations. In 2019, the Iranian Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) was converted into the Ministry. The current Minister is Reza Salehi Amiri Since 21 August 2024.
Iranian studies, also referred to as Iranology and Iranistics, is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the research and study of the civilization, history, literature, art and culture of Iranian peoples. It is a part of the wider field of Oriental studies.
Mahnaz Afkhami is an Iranian women's rights activist who served in the Cabinet of Iran from 1976 to 1978. She is founder and president of Women's Learning Partnership (WLP), executive director of the Foundation for Iranian Studies and former Minister of Women's Affairs in Iran's pre-Revolution government. She has lived in exile in the United States since 1979.
The Iranian Women's Rights Movement, is the social movement for women's rights of the women in Iran. The movement first emerged after the Iranian Constitutional Revolution in 1910, the year in which the first women's periodical was published by women. The movement lasted until 1933 when the last women's association was dissolved by the government of Reza Shah Pahlavi. It rose again after the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
Gholam Reza Afkhami was an Iranian-born American scholar, author, educator, and a Pahlavi Iran government official. He was the senior scholar and director of Social Science Research and International Studies at the Foundation for Iranian Studies. The Foundation for Iranian Studies is a Bethesda, Maryland-based research institution dedicated to the study of Iranian history, culture, economy and politics, created with the financial support from Princess Ashraf Pahlavi.
Gholām-Hossein Sā'edi MD was a prolific Iranian writer.
Farzaneh Milani is an Iranian-born American scholar, author, poet, translator, and educator. Milani teaches Persian literature and women's studies at the University of Virginia; and serves as the Chair of the Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures. She is also a poet, award-winning translator, and a recipient of the Carnegie Fellowship and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Milani's 1992 book Veils and Words: the Emerging Voices of Iranian Women Writers, has seen its sixteenth printing.
Farah Pahlavi is the widow of the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and was successively Queen and Empress of Iran from 1959 to 1979. She was born into a prosperous Iranian family whose fortunes were diminished after her father's early death. While studying architecture in Paris, she was introduced to Mohammad Reza at the Iranian embassy, and they were married in December 1959. The Shah's first two marriages had not produced a son—necessary for royal succession—resulting in great rejoicing at the birth of Crown Prince Reza in October of the following year. Farah was then free to pursue interests other than domestic duties, though she was not allowed a political role. She worked for many charities, and founded Iran's first American-style university, enabling more women to become students in the country. She also facilitated the buying-back of Iranian antiquities from museums abroad.
The Association for Iranian Studies (AIS), formerly the International Society for Iranian Studies (ISIS), is a private, non-profit academic organization founded in 1967 in the United States, though it now counts upwards of 1,000 members around the world. The current president is Naghmeh Sohrabi, Brandeis University.
Gholam Reza Pahlavi was an Iranian prince and a member of the Pahlavi dynasty, as the son of Reza Shah and half-brother of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran.
Hassan Alavikia was an Iranian general and businessman in the Pahlavi-era. Along with Teymur Bakhtiar and Hassan Pakravan, he was a co-founder of the SAVAK.
Alinaghi Alikhani was an Iranian economist who held government posts in the 1960s and was the first minister of economy of Iran. He also served as the chancellor of Tehran University.
Nameh-e Banuvan was a women's magazine published between 1920 and 1921. It was one of the publications that were started following Reza Shah's establishment his rule in Iran. Its founder was Shahnaz Azad who was also the publisher. The magazine was based in Tehran. The magazine was published biweekly and stated its aim as to encourage the emancipation of the Iranian women. It also attempted to remind male audience that women were their primary teachers.
The 1973 Sale and Purchase Agreement was a 20-year agreement pressured by the Shah of Iran on the oil consortium that nullified The Consortium Agreement of 1954 and provided the National Iranian Oil Company with complete control of Iranian petroleum nationalizing the nation's oil reserves. By 1975, western oil companies complained of the agreement and demanded renegotiation marking the first time in history that oil companies rather than the oil producing nations sought to negotiate an oil contract.
