The Iranian Revolution
6 Bahman 1341 SH – 12 Azar 1358 SH48 items
iranrevolutionFrom 19 Dey to 22 Bahman, and on to an Islamic Republic
In January 1978 Iran was a monarchy with the largest army in the region and the confidence of Washington. Thirteen months later the Shah was gone, the army had declared itself neutral, and an ayatollah who had spent fourteen years in exile was naming the government. By December 1979 a new constitution had made him Supreme Leader.
A little context comes first: the 1963 White Revolution and the uprising that sent Khomeini into exile. The weight is on 1978 and 1979, month by month, and on the ten days of February 1979 almost hour by hour.
In the Iranian calendar
Every date here is entered in the Solar Hijri calendar, the one Iranians used and still use, and Timescrolly shows the Gregorian date alongside. Iranians name the revolution’s days by it: 17 Shahrivar is Black Friday, 12 Bahman Khomeini’s return, 22 Bahman the victory. The calendar itself was a battleground: in 1976 the Shah replaced its year count with an imperial one, and restoring it was among the first concessions of 1978.
How it is laid out
Governments as bands: Sharif-Emami, the generals, Bakhtiar and Bazargan, with a week in February 1979 when Iran had two prime ministers.
Bands for the phases: Khomeini’s exile, the forty-day mourning cycle of 1978, the month of Muharram, and the Ten Days of Dawn.
Threads to filter by:
protest,mourning,exile,monarchy,religion,uprising,usaandelections.
Death tolls are given as the ranges the sources give, with who gave them. The Islamic Republic has spoken of 60,000 dead in the revolution; Emadeddin Baghi, counting names for its own Foundation of Martyrs, found 2,781 for 1978–79.
Items
The White Revolution referendum
Khomeini’s Ashura sermon
The 15 Khordad uprising
- ≈ 1 year, 5 months
Khomeini exiled to Turkey
Khomeini moves to Najaf
The lectures on Islamic government
The Rastakhiz party
The imperial calendar
Mostafa Khomeini dies in Najaf
“An island of stability”
The Ettela’at article
Shooting in Qom
Tabriz rises
Mourning in Yazd
Troops enter Shariatmadari’s house
The Cinema Rex fire
The Eid al-Fitr march
Black Friday
The oil strike
Students shot at the University of Tehran
“I heard the voice of your revolution”
The Tasua march
The Ashura march
The Shah leaves
Khomeini lands at Mehrabad
The speech at Behesht-e Zahra
The airmen salute Khomeini
Fighting at Doshan Tappeh
Curfew defied
The army declares itself neutral
The US embassy overrun, the first time
The first executions
Women march on 8 March
The Islamic Republic referendum
The Shah admitted to the United States
Bazargan meets Brzezinski
The US embassy seized
The constitution ratified