Iranian monarchy

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"Shah of Iran" redirects here. For a list of Persian monarchs, see List of kings of Persia.

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What is known as the Iranian monarchy went through many transformations over the centuries, from the days of the Persian Empire to the establishment of modern day Iran.

Though the title, when used by Westerners today, generally refers to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shahanshah. According to royal order of precedence, the Shahanshah was equal in status to an Emperor. Although, from the time of the Islamic conquest of Persia until 1967, when Farah Pahlavi was crowned empress, the monarch's wife usually bore the title of Shahbanou.

The modern Iranian monarchy was established in 1501 after the Safavid dynasty came to power under Shah Ismail I, and ended the so-called "fourth era" of political fragmentation.^{[citation needed]}

For most of its existence, Iran has been ruled by absolute monarchy. During the Persian Constitutional Revolution in 1905-11, Iran became a constitutional monarchy, which it remained until 1925. Reza Shah overthrew Ahmad Shah Qajar, the last Shah of the Qajar dynasty, and founded the Pahlavi Dynasty.

The monarchy was abolished in 1979 when a revolution, led by Ayatollah Khomeini, pressured the last Pahlavi shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, into exile, and established an Islamic Republic.