Constitutional Revolution

Iranian history

Also known as: Persian Constitutional Revolution

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Last updated

July 19, 2026

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The Constitutional Revolution in Iran, occurring in 1906, was a pivotal movement driven by widespread discontent with foreign pressures and a weak government. Various segments of society, including religious leaders, laborers, reformers, and merchants, united to challenge arbitrary rule and advocate for the establishment of law and a constitution. While this revolution led to the creation of a constitution and a parliament, its full impact was limited by economic decline and the onset of World War I. This period of reform was a significant step in Iran's long history of seeking self-determination and challenging external influence.1

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Shiʿi
Shiʿi dynasties
…also motivated the early 20th-century Constitutional Revolution, which established a constitution and a parliament in Iran to check the efforts of the Qājār shahs to further aggrandize their power.
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…also motivated the early 20th-century Constitutional Revolution, which established a constitution and a parliament in Iran to check the efforts of the Qājār shahs to further aggrandize their power.
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Iranian Revolution
Prelude to revolution
…previously come together in the Constitutional Revolution of 1905–11. Efforts toward satisfactory reform were continually stifled, however, amid reemerging social tensions as well as foreign intervention from Russia, the United Kingdom, and, later, the United States. The United Kingdom helped Reza Shah Pahlavi establish a monarchy in 1921. Along with…
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…previously come together in the Constitutional Revolution of 1905–11. Efforts toward satisfactory reform were continually stifled, however, amid reemerging social tensions as well as foreign intervention from Russia, the United Kingdom, and, later, the United States. The United Kingdom helped Reza Shah Pahlavi establish a monarchy in 1921. Along with…
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Tehran
The Constitutional Revolution (1906)
…traders came together in the Constitutional Revolution in 1906 to fight against foreign pressures and a weak government in a bid to supplant arbitrary rule with the rule of law. Tehran and other large cities were the main sites of this revolution, which resulted in the establishment of a constitution…
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…traders came together in the Constitutional Revolution in 1906 to fight against foreign pressures and a weak government in a bid to supplant arbitrary rule with the rule of law. Tehran and other large cities were the main sites of this revolution, which resulted in the establishment of a constitution…
Read More