Editing History of Iran (section)

===Constitutional Revolution and deposition===
{{main|1921 Persian coup d'état}}

The [[Persian famine of 1870–1872|Great Persian Famine of 1870–1871]] is believed to have caused the death of two million people.<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=617680|title=The Great Persian Famine of 1870–71|first=Shoko|last=Okazaki|date=1 January 1986|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London|volume=49|issue=1|pages=183–192|doi=10.1017/s0041977x00042609|s2cid=155516933 }}</ref>

A new era in the history of Iran dawned with the [[Persian Constitutional Revolution]] against the Shah in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Shah managed to remain in power, granting a limited constitution in 1906 (making the country a [[constitutional monarchy]]). The first [[Majlis]] (parliament) was convened on 7 October 1906.

The discovery of [[petroleum]] in 1908 by the British in [[Khūzestān Province|Khuzestan]] spawned intense renewed interest in Persia by the [[British Empire]] (see [[William Knox D'Arcy]] and [[Anglo-Iranian Oil Company]], now [[BP]]). Control of Persia remained contested between the United Kingdom and Russia, in what became known as [[The Great Game]], and codified in the [[Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907]], which divided Iran into spheres of influence, regardless of her national sovereignty.

During World War I, the country was occupied by British, Ottoman and Russian forces but was essentially neutral (see [[Persian campaign (World War I)|Persian Campaign]]). In 1919, after the [[Russian Revolution]] and their withdrawal, Britain attempted to establish a [[protectorate]] in Iran, which was unsuccessful.

Finally, the [[Constitutionalist movement of Gilan]] and the central power vacuum caused by the instability of the Qajar government resulted in the rise of Reza Khan,  later [[Reza Shah Pahlavi]], who established the [[Pahlavi dynasty]] in 1925. In 1921, Reza Khan, an officer of the [[Persian Cossack Brigade]], (along with [[Seyyed Zia'eddin Tabatabai]]) lead a military [[1921 Persian coup d'état|coup]] against governing officials (leaving the Qajar monarchy nominally head of state).<ref>according to ''[[Encyclopædia Iranica]]'' it was targeted at officials who were in power and actually had a role in controlling the government — the cabinet and others who had a role in governing Iran.
{{cite encyclopedia
| first = Niloofar | last = Shambayati
 | volume=VI/4 | pages = 351–354
| year = 2015 | orig-date= 1993
| title= Coup D'Etat of 1299/1921
 | encyclopedia= Encyclopædia Iranica | url= https://iranicaonline.org/articles/coup-detat-of-1299-1921 }}</ref> In 1925, after being prime minister for two years, Reza Khan did depose the Qajar dynasty and became the first shah of the Pahlavi dynasty.