Iranian Revolution
In 1979 a coalition of clergy, bazaar merchants, and modern classes toppled the Pahlavi monarchy and created the Islamic Republic under Ayatollah Khomeini.
Overview
The shah white revolution had uprooted villages, enriched a narrow elite, and alienated the clergy, while the SAVAK secret police bred silent hatred. Strikes by oil workers in late 1978 paralyzed the state and millions marched. The army fractured, the shah left on 16 January 1979, and Khomeini returned from exile on 1 February to Found a new order. A referendum created the Islamic Republic on the principle of clerical rule, and students seizing the United States embassy in November 1979 hardened the break with Washington. Saddam Hussein invasion in 1980 consolidated the regime through eight years of war. The revolution ended monarchy in Iran, defied both superpower blocs, and made political Islam a state doctrine.
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