Military ranks of Imperial Iran

Last updated January 21, 2026

The military ranks of Imperial Iran are the military insignia used by the Military of Imperial Iran.

Commander-in-chief insignia

Branch	Army	Navy	Air force
Insignia
Persian	آریابد
Romanization	Aryabod
Literal translation	Chief/Guardian of the Aryans

Commissioned officer ranks

The rank insignia of commissioned officers.

Rank group	General / flag officers					Senior officers			Junior officers
Imperial Iranian Ground Force ^[1]^[2]
		ارتشبد Arteshbod	سپهبد Sepahbod	سرلشکر Sarlashkar	سرتیپ Sartip	سرهنگ Sarhang	سرهنگ دوم Sarhang dovom	سرگرد Sargord	سروان Sarvān	ستوان یکم Sotvān yekom	ستوان دوم Sotvān dovom	ستوان سوم Sotvān sevom
		General	Lieutenant general	Major general	Brigadier general	Colonel	Lieutenant colonel	Major	Captain	First lieutenant	Second lieutenant	Third lieutenant
Imperial Iranian Navy ^[1]^[2]
		دریابد Daryabod	دریاسالار Daryasalar	دریابان Daryaban	دریادار Daryadar	ناخدا یکم Nakhoda yekom	ناخدا دوم Nakhoda dovom	ناخدا سوم Nakhoda sevom	ناوسروان Navsarvan	ناوبان یکم Navban yekom	ناوبان دوم Navban dovom	ناوبان سوم Navban sevom
		Admiral	Vice admiral	Rear admiral	Commodore	Captain	Commander	Lieutenant commander	Lieutenant	Lieutenant (junior grade)	Ensign	Ensign junior grade
Imperial Iranian Air Force ^[1]^[2]
		ارتشبد Arteshbod	سپهبد Sepahbod	سرلشکر Sarlashkar	سرتیپ Sartip	سرهنگ Sarhang	سرهنگ دوم Sarhang dovom	سرگرد Sargord	سروان Sarvān	ستوان یکم Sotvān yekom	ستوان دوم Sotvān dovom	ستوان سوم Sotvān sevom
		General	Lieutenant general	Major general	Brigadier general	Colonel	Lieutenant colonel	Major	Captain	First lieutenant	Second lieutenant	Third lieutenant
Rank group	General / flag officers					Senior officers			Junior officers

Other ranks

The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.

Rank group	Senior NCOs					Junior NCOs			Enlisted
Imperial Iranian Ground Forces ^[1]^[2]										No insignia
Imperial Iranian Ground Forces ^[1]^[2]	سراستوار یکم Sarostovār yekom	سراستوار دوم Sarostovār dovom	استوار یکم Ostavār yekom	استوار دوم Ostavār dovom	گروهبان یکم Goruhbān yekom	گروهبان دوم Goruhbān dovom	گروهبان سوم Goruhbān sevom	سرجوخه Sarjukhe	سرباز یکم Sarbāz yekom	سرباز صفر Sarbāz sefr
Rank group	Senior NCOs					Junior NCOs			Enlisted

References

1 2 3 4 Rudolph, James P. (1978). "Armed Forces". In Nyrop, Richard F. (ed.). Iran: a country study. Area Handbook (3rd ed.). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. p. 413. LCCN 78-11871 . Retrieved 11 January 2022.
1 2 3 4 US Department of Defence (1962). "Iran". Military Uniforms DOD Pam 1-14.

External links

"Iran 1925-1979 (Imperial State of Persia)". uniforminsignia.org. The International Encyclopedia of Uniform Insignia. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
"قانون ترفیعات ارتش شاهنشاهی ایران" [Law on Promotions of the Imperial Iranian Army] (in Persian). 1936. Retrieved 5 October 2025.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[Area_Handbook-1] 1 2 3 4 Rudolph, James P. (1978). "Armed Forces". In Nyrop, Richard F. (ed.). Iran: a country study. Area Handbook (3rd ed.). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. p. 413. LCCN 78-11871 . Retrieved 11 January 2022.

[Pam-2] 1 2 3 4 US Department of Defence (1962). "Iran". Military Uniforms DOD Pam 1-14.

[1]

[2]