1921 Persian coup d'état

1921 Persian coup d'état
Date	22 February 1921
Location	Tehran, Qajar Persia
Result	Persian Cossack Brigade victory takeover by Sayyed Ziaoddin Tabatabaee; Suppression of Colonel Pessian's revolt and dissolution of the Autonomous Government of Khorasan; Dissolution of the Persian Socialist Soviet Republic; Continuing conflict with Simko Shikak until 1922; Deterioration of Persian control over Sheikh Khazal's Emirate of Muhammara until 1925;
Government-Insurgents
Persia Qajar dynasty;	Persian Cossack Brigade Supported by:; United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Fathollah Khan Akbar	Reza Khan Mirpanj; Ziaoddin Tabatabaee; Ahmad Amir-Ahmadi; Edmund Ironside
Strength
	1,500 Persian Cossacks
Casualties and losses
	Several policemen killed or injured in Tehran during the coup

1921 Persian coup d'état, known in Iran as 3 Esfand 1299 coup d'état (Persian: کودتای ۳ اسفند ۱۲۹۹ with the Solar Persian date), refers to several major events in Qajar Persia 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.^[1] The precise level of Great Britain involvement in the coup remains a matter of historical debate, but it is almost certain that Edmund Ironside provided advice to the plotters.^[4]^[5]^[6] With this coup Ziaoddin 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 eventually concluding with Iranian success.

Background

In late 1920, the Persian Soviet Socialist 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."^[7]

By 1921, the ruling Qajar dynasty of Persia had become corrupt and inefficient.^[8] The oil-rich nation was somewhat reliant on the nations of 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.^[9]

The Qajar shah in 1921 was Ahmad, who had been crowned at the age of eleven. He was considered to be a weak, incompetent ruler,^[10] 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 Bakhtiaris tribesmen, rather than Iranian regular troops, expelled the invaders.^[10] This further diminished the government's reputation, rendering it almost powerless in time of war.^{[citation needed]}

Britain, which played a major role in Persia, was perturbed by the Qajar government's inability to rule efficiently.^[8] This inefficiency was the background of a power struggle between Britain and Soviet Russia, each nation hoping to control Persia.^[11]

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.^[1] About a month later, under British direction, Reza Khan's 3,000-4,000 strong detachment of the Cossack Brigade reached Tehran.^[12]

The coup and subsequent events

Reza Khan seizes Tehran

On 18 February 1921 the Cossacks reached Tehran meeting little resistance.^[9] In the early morning of 21 February they entered the city.^[13] Only several policemen, taken by surprise, are said to had been killed or wounded in the center of Tehran.^[13] 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 Sayyed Ziaoddin Tabatabaee^[8] as prime minister.

Treaty with the USSR

On 26 February the new government signed a treaty of friendship with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, formerly the Russian Empire. As a result of the treaty, the Soviet Union gave up some of its former Russian facilities in Iran, although the Soviet diplomats ensured that their nation was allowed to intervene with its military in Iran, as long as the intervention was "self-defense".^[8] The USSR also gave up any Russian-owned railroads and ports in Iran.^[14]

Change of prime ministers

Prior to the coup, Ahmad Qavam, governor of Khorasan, had asserted his loyalty to the Qajar regime. When he refused to recognize the government installed by Reza Khan,^[8] he was jailed in Tehran. During his imprisonment, Qavam cultivated a hatred of the man who had arrested him, Colonel Mohammad Taghi Pessian, now the gendarmerie chief.^{[citation needed]}

Sayyed Ziaoddin Tabatabaee, who had been installed as prime minister, was removed from office on 25 May by Shah Ahmad's decree. Shortly afterward, Qavam was released from prison and given Tabatabaee's former post.^{[citation needed]} 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 formidable 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 Taghi 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.^[8] The Kurds of Khorasan also revolted in the same year.^[15]^{[verification needed]}

Gilan campaign

The campaign on the Republic of Gilan was taken in early July 1921, by the main Cossack force, led by Vsevolod Starosselsky.^[13] Following a gendarme operation, led by Habibollah Khan (Shiabani), they cleared up Mazandaran and moved into Gilan.^[13] On 20 August, ahead of the arrival of the Cossacks, the insurgents pulled out of Rasht, retreating towards Enzeli.^[13] The Cossacks entered Rasht on 24 August.^[13] Though further pursuit after the revolutionaries turned successful at Khomam and Pirbazar, they have become heavily assaulted later on by the Soviet fleet, which bombed them by heavy artillery fire.^[13] First, it had been believed that the entire force of 700 men, led by Reza Khan, became 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.^[13] As a result, Starosselski ordered evacuation of Rasht.^[13]

The Soviet Republic of Gilan officially came to an end in September 1921. Mirza^[who?] and his German friend Gauook^[who?] (Hooshang) were left alone in the Khalkhal Mountains, and died of frostbite.^{[citation needed]}

Kurdish revolt

Aftermath

In the aftermath of 1921 events, relations of Persian government with the Sheikhdom of Mohammerah had also become strained. In 1924, Sheikh Khazal rebellion^[16] 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 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 a new monarchy, 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.^{[citation needed]} Reza Khan was finally declared Shah, taking the surname Pahlavi and thus founding the Pahlavi dynasty. The Pahlavis ruled in Iran until the revolution of 1979, when the government was toppled and replaced with that of the Islamic Republic of Iran, headed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.^[9] 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.^{[citation needed]}

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Cyrus Ghani; Sīrūs Ghanī (6 January 2001). Iran and the Rise of the Reza Shah: From Qajar Collapse to Pahlavi Power. I.B.Tauris. pp. 147–. ISBN 978-1-86064-629-4.
^ ... 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]
^ The Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 7 (1991); pp. 210, 219–220
^ p. 313 of Keddie, Nikki R. (1978). "Class Structure and Political Power in Iran since 1796". Iranian Studies. 11 (1/4): 305–330. doi:10.1080/00210867808701547. JSTOR 4310304.
^ p. 538 of Katouzian, Homayoun (1978). "Nationalist Trends in Iran, 1921–1926". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 10 (4): 533–551. doi:10.1017/s0020743800051321. JSTOR 162216. S2CID 163139538.
^ Abrahamian, Ervand (1982). Iran Between Two Revolutions. Princeton University Press. pp. 116–117. ISBN 0691053421.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "The Iranian History 1921 AD". Archived from the original on 2010-11-03. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
^ ^a ^b ^c History of Iran: Pahlavi Dynasty
^ ^a ^b History of Iran: Qajar Dynasty
^ "New Great War Episode: Persian Coup D'Ètat February 1921". RTH - Real Time History GmbH. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
^ "Top 10 Amazing Facts about Rezā Shāh". Discover Walks Blog. 2022-09-21. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Katouzian, Homa (2006). "The 1921 Coup". State and Society in Iran: The Eclipse of the Qajars and the Emergence of the Pahlavis. London: Tauris. pp. 242–267. ISBN 1845112725.
^ Foundation, Encyclopaedia Iranica. "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica". iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
^ Cottam, Richard W. (1979). Nationalism in Iran. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 0822952998.
^ Price, 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

External links

[GhaniGhanī2001-1] Cyrus Ghani; Sīrūs Ghanī (6 January 2001). Iran and the Rise of the Reza Shah: From Qajar Collapse to Pahlavi Power. I.B.Tauris. pp. 147–. ISBN 978-1-86064-629-4.

[2] ... 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

[3] [English amongst Persians by Denis Wright]

[4] The Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 7 (1991); pp. 210, 219–220

[5] . 313 of Keddie, Nikki R. (1978). "Class Structure and Political Power in Iran since 1796". Iranian Studies. 11 (1/4): 305–330. doi:10.1080/00210867808701547. JSTOR 4310304.

[6] . 538 of Katouzian, Homayoun (1978). "Nationalist Trends in Iran, 1921–1926". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 10 (4): 533–551. doi:10.1017/s0020743800051321. JSTOR 162216. S2CID 163139538.

[7] Abrahamian, Ervand (1982). Iran Between Two Revolutions. Princeton University Press. pp. 116–117. ISBN 0691053421.

[fouman.com-8] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "The Iranian History 1921 AD". Archived from the original on 2010-11-03. Retrieved 2010-10-29.

[iranchamber.com-9] History of Iran: Pahlavi Dynasty

[ReferenceA-10] History of Iran: Qajar Dynasty

[11] "New Great War Episode: Persian Coup D'Ètat February 1921". RTH - Real Time History GmbH. Retrieved 2023-04-11.

[12] "Top 10 Amazing Facts about Rezā Shāh". Discover Walks Blog. 2022-09-21. Retrieved 2023-04-11.

[katouzian-13] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Katouzian, Homa (2006). "The 1921 Coup". State and Society in Iran: The Eclipse of the Qajars and the Emergence of the Pahlavis. London: Tauris. pp. 242–267. ISBN 1845112725.

[14] Foundation, Encyclopaedia Iranica. "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica". iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 2023-04-11.

[15] Cottam, Richard W. (1979). Nationalism in Iran. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 0822952998.

[16] Price, 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

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v t e Changes in political power in Iran
Revolution	1905–06 1979
Coup d'état	1908 1921 1953 1980 attempt
Deposition	1909 1941
Politics of Iran

v t e List of modern conflicts in the Middle East
1910s	Italo-Turkish War World War I Middle Eastern theatre Battle of Robat Karim Arab Revolt Armenian genocide Assyrian genocide Mount Lebanon starvation Unification of Saudi Arabia Simko Shikak revolt 1919 Egyptian revolution Turkish War of Independence Anglo-Turkish War Al-Jazeera Front Greco-Turkish War Turkish–Armenian War Franco-Turkish War Revolts United States Mahmud Barzanji revolts
1920s	Franco-Syrian War Iraqi Revolt (1920) Intercommunal conflict in Mandatory Palestine Adwan Rebellion Arab separatism in Khuzestan Great Syrian Revolt Sheikh Said rebellion
1930s	Ararat rebellion Ahmed Barzani revolt Simele massacre Saudi–Yemeni War (1934) Goharshad Mosque rebellion 1935–1936 Iraqi Shia revolts 1935 Yazidi revolt 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine Dersim rebellion
1940s	World War II Italian bombing of Palestine Allied invasion of Iraq Syria–Lebanon campaign Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran 1943 Barzani revolt Al-Waziri coup Al-Wathbah uprising Kurdish separatism in Iran Iran crisis of 1946 Arab–Israeli conflict 1948 Arab–Israeli War Suez Crisis 1967 Six-Day War 1973 Yom Kippur War 1982 Lebanon War
1950s	1952 Egyptian revolution 1953 Iranian coup d'état Jebel Akhdar War Cyprus Emergency Suez Crisis Yemeni–Adenese clan violence 1958 Lebanon crisis 1958 Iraqi revolution 1959 Mosul uprising
1960s	Cyprus crisis of 1963–1964 Iraqi–Kurdish conflict First Iraqi–Kurdish War Second Iraqi–Kurdish War Dhofar Rebellion North Yemen Civil War Feb. 1963 Iraqi coup Mar. 1963 Syrian coup Nov. 1963 Iraqi coup Aden Emergency 1964 Hama riot Israeli–Palestinian conflict 1948 Palestine war First Intifada Second Intifada 1966 Syrian coup d'état
1970s	Black September in Jordan 1972 Sharjawi coup d'état attempt Yemenite War of 1972 Turkish invasion of Cyprus Shatt al-Arab clashes Lebanese Civil War Political violence in Turkey Islamist uprising in Syria 1977 Shia uprising in Iraq NDF Rebellion Yemenite War of 1979 Iranian Revolution Consolidation of the Iranian Revolution 1979 Qatif Uprising Grand Mosque seizure 1979–1980 Shia uprising in Iraq
1980s	Iran–Iraq War 1980 Turkish coup d'état Kurdish–Turkish conflict Turkey–PKK conflict South Yemen civil war 1986 Egyptian conscripts riot 1986 Damascus bombings 1987 Sharjawi coup d'état attempt Abu Nidal's executions
1990s	Gulf War (1990–1991) 1991 Iraqi uprisings Terror campaign in Egypt (1990s) Yemeni Civil War (1994) Iraqi Kurdish Civil War Islamic insurgency in Saudi Arabia (2000–present) Operation Desert Fox al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen 1999 Shia uprising in Iraq
2000s	Iraq War Balochi insurgency in Iran 2004 Qamishli riots Houthi insurgency in Yemen Iran–Israel proxy conflict 2006 Lebanon War Fatah–Hamas conflict South Yemen insurgency
2010s	2011 Bahraini uprising Egyptian Crisis Sinai insurgency Insurgency in Egypt (2013–present) Syrian civil war Turkish involvement in Syria Syrian War spillover in Lebanon Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013) War in Iraq (2013–2017) Islamic State insurgency in Iraq (2017–present) Yemeni crisis Yemeni civil war (2014–present)
2020s	2021 Beirut clashes Israel–Hamas war Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present) Red Sea crisis
This list includes World War I and later conflicts (after 1914) of at least 100 fatalities each Prolonged conflicts are listed in the decade when initiated; ongoing conflicts are marked italic, and conflicts with +100,000 killed with bold.