28 photos show what Iran looked like before the 1979 revolution transformed the country into an Islamic republic

• From 1941 to 1979, Iran was ruled by King Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah.

• On February 11, 1979, the Islamic Revolution ravaged the country.

• The government was replaced by an Islamic republic, which still exists today.

In the decades before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran was ruled by the Shah, whose dictatorship suppressed dissent and restricted political freedoms.

But it also pushed the country to embrace secular, Western-oriented modernization, allowing a certain degree of cultural freedom.

Under the Shah’s rule, Iran’s economy and educational opportunities expanded. Britain and the United States considered Iran their main ally in the Middle East, and the Shah forcefully industrialized large swaths of the country.

But the Shah’s increasingly authoritarian measures and eventual rejection of multipartyism paved the way for the infamous revolution.

Yet for nearly 40 years, the Shah led Iran through a series of radical changes.

From 1941 to 1979, Iran was ruled by King Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah.

Due to Iran’s large oil reserve, its proximity to India, and its shared border with the Soviet Union, Britain and the United States fully supported the Iranian government.

However, even before the Islamic Revolution, the Shah’s hold on power was unstable.

Communists and religious members of society disliked the Shah and his pro-Western government.

In 1953, the Shah had to flee Iran after a Western-backed coup to overthrow Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh failed. A second coup succeeded in overthrowing Mosaddegh, who wanted to nationalize Iran’s oil industry to Britain’s dismay, and the Shah returned to the country.

Reza Shah undertook a series of reforms aimed at transforming Iran into a modern westernized nation.

These reforms included the structuring of Iran around a central Iranian identity, the often brutal suppression of tribes and their laws in exchange for a central government, and the expansion of women’s rights.

Reza Shah attempted to subordinate religious observance to the state.

Part of Iran’s method of achieving this was to ban the wearing of the veil in public.

Women were also encouraged to attend school and receive an education.

Although Reza Shah’s intentions were to turn Iran into a modern Westernized state, his bans on religious clothing alienated and frustrated conservatives and religious traditionalists.

Despite negative reactions from religious members of society, the Shah managed to create a seemingly cosmopolitan urban life.

Women and men mixed freely and educational opportunities were greatly expanded. Western clothing and standards have also become ingrained in large segments of the Iranian population.

The Iranian royal family has led the charge for Westernization. Pictured below is Empress Soraya.

The Shah and Soraya were married on February 12, 1951. Soraya wore a Christian Dior dress embroidered with 6,000 diamonds and 20,000 marabou feathers, according to Tatler.

Source: Tatler

Soraya and the Shah divorced in 1958 after failing to produce an heir. Soraya’s departure from the royal family was welcomed by some, who believed her German and Catholic background made her untrustworthy.

Source: Tatler

Under the invitations of the royal family, Iran has become a popular destination for celebrities and heads of state. Here, an Italian actress and her husband attend a sports competition as guests of Iranian Princess Ashraf.

The Iranian royal family reciprocated and visited world capitals extensively. Here the Shah and Soraya met Winston Churchill in London.

In 1959, the Shah married Farah Diba. They welcomed four children, but none had the opportunity to become heirs because of the revolution.

Towards the end of the Shah’s reign, the royal family attempted to rally the country around an increasingly historical nationalism based on previous Persian empires.

In 1967, the Shah assumed the old Persian title of “Shahanshah”, or King of Kings, at a coronation ceremony in Tehran.

Government-funded celebrations were also launched across the country to honor Iran’s Persian roots. Here, gymnasts participate in an October 16, 1975 celebration honoring the founding of the Persian Empire.

Despite Iran’s views on the past, the government continues to value education and child development.

Tehran funded study abroad in Europe for Iranians, and schools and clinics were built throughout the Iranian countryside to care for poorer children as part of the Shah’s “White Revolution.”

High oil prices and relative stability in the Middle East have contributed to the growth of the business sector in major Iranian cities.

Here, Iranians swim in an octagonal pool at the Iranian National Oil Company guest house.

In 1975, Reza Shah abolished Iran’s multi-party system and concentrated more and more power in his hands under the leadership of the government-sanctioned Rastakhiz (Resurrection) party.

On January 16, 1979, Reza Shah fled Iran during the Iranian Revolution. The revolution began as a popular movement fueled by outrage against government extravagance, corruption, brutality and suppression of individual rights before being taken up by Ayatollah Khomeini.

Read the original article on Business Insider