@Killian

Yer good fam

Sublime State of Persia (دولت علیّه ایران - Dolate Aliyye Iran)







Persia entered the Great War only half a state. It left it even less than that.

Under the unstable tutelage of Russian and British imperialisms, it quite naturally became a battlefield between Ottoman and Russian forces in the Caucasus. The central government in Tehran, officially led by Ahmad Shah Qajar, held only nominal authority on its own country, and what little powers it did have depended entirely on the whims of the imperial powers.

The only force of some strength was the Persian Cossack Brigade, firmly held by its Russian commander, Vladimir von Maydell. However, as the war dragged on, and the Russian empire found itself embroiled in civil war, the nationalism always latent in Persian opinion reemerged. Reza Khan, the Persian commander of the Tabriz division of the Cossacks, set out to harness this power when he took over the entire brigade, and launched a coup in 1921 to take over the state and drive out the meddling foreigners. But the time was not ripe, and the foreigners still strong, despite years of an exhausting carnage. The czar had seen off the Bolshevik challenge, and the end of the war meant he could focus his attention on the semi-protectorate on his southern border. His troops promptly occupied Tehran, captured Reza Khan and executed him.

There was no more government to speak of. All of the institutions still existed: the monarchy, the Majlis, the government, the tribunals. They existed and that was all. Separatists and rebels of all stripes had planted their flag across the country. What saved the Persian State was ultimately what caused its most spectacular subjection in the short term: a Soviet Republic had been declared in 1920 in the province of Gilan. This was intolerable to the czar, who was in the midst of defeating his own Bolsheviks. The Republic was eliminated. Russia and Britain saw the necessity of stabilizing the country, in a way conducive to their interests. A board of regents was established to preside over the Shah and his government. Pro forma, it was helmed by a respected Persian general, loyal to the Qajar dynasty, Gassem Khan Vali. The reality of power lay in the hands of the British and Russian representatives, two for each country.

Under the helm of the regents, the country's fractious provinces were brought back under the control of the central government ie its protectors. Russia occupied the North, and Britain the South, continuing their pre-war arrangements. But the world had changed. Both great powers had seen their lustre pale significantly. Britain was confronted with regular troubles in its colonial dependencies, while Russia had been amputated of large sections of its European territories by the German empire.

Ahmad Shah, always full of goodwill, but inefficient and commanding little respect, was in no measure to reclaim Persia's sovereignty. Gassem Khan Vali proved to be a much shrewder politician. Loyal but with no illusions regarding the Qajars, he knew that power would come only from other quarters. Relying alternatively on the monarchy, the Majlis, which essentially represented the urban bourgeoisie, and the clergy, playing one imperial power against the other, he progressively reclaimed some autonomy. The Cossack brigade came under full Persian command in 1932, and became the core of something ressembling a functional modern army. Britain allowed a Persian to sit in the place of one of their representatives in 1938, knowing full well that the Anglo-Persian gave them ample leeway in any case. This place was garnered by another general.

Ahmad Shah and Gassem Khan Vali both died in 1939, replaced respectively by Fereydoun Mirza Shah Qajar and Arash Khan. Fereydoun was only 17; Arash Khan, with as few illusions about the monarchy as his illustrious predecessor, but far less loyal than him, completed its transformation into a purely ceremonial function. The regency became under his stead an essentially Persian affair, as Russia's and Britain's woes only increased during this time. When the czar was assassinated in 1952, leading to the collapse of his empire into dust and blood, he seized the occasion to reclaim the country's sovereignty. Britain made no fuss. Now there were 5 Persian generals leading the state.

Persian self-rule did not mean internal tranquility. The progressive transition from foreign to military government was not equally well received in all sectors of society. The bourgeois liberal heirs of the 1907 and 1909 revolutions were tolerated in the Majlis, insofar as a third of delegates were appointed by the regents and all had to be approved before elections. The communists had gone underground for a while after the repression in Gilan. They resurfaced as the Tudeh Party (Party of the Persian masses) in 1944, to be met with the full force of the state's repressive apparatus. Despite this, they garnered some support among the population, and were firmly rooted in the labor movement. The clergy, finally, was satisfied enough with the regents, though the army tended to treat it as an afterthought.

The 1950's were a decade of nationalist fervor in Iran. The end of foreign rule had whipped popular sentiment into a frenzy, abetted by the regents. The balkanization of the Russian empire created an ideal opportunity to rally a divided nation by reclaiming lands long lost to the northern invaders. The war over Artsakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan allowed Persian troops to annex the latter and wash off the humiliation of the Gulistan and Turkmenchay treaties of 1813 and 1828. Troops have been occupying Dagestan since, under the pretense of maintaining a buffer zone with the ongoing devastation in what used to be Russia.

It is 1960, and Persia is on the brink of something new, as has been the rule for its past century of history.

Accidental doublepost.

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He got voided.

@Byrd Man

The previous Persia?

Yeah

@Keyguyperson, are you still in the game?

He said in a PM three days ago that he's still in the game.

He said in a PM three days ago that he's still in the game.

Ah, I didn't know.

Stuck in Kuala Lumpur, mein gott.

And ooooo, Persia. This is gonna be interesting for the Arab World (which consists of me right now)

Stuck in Kuala Lumpur, mein gott.

And ooooo, Persia. This is gonna be interesting for the Arab World (which consists of me right now)

Ottomans are technically Arabs ain't they?

<Snipped quote by SgtEasy>

Ottomans are technically Arabs ain't they?

NO SIR.

You just started a war.

<Snipped quote by SgtEasy>

Ottomans are technically Arabs ain't they?

Naw man #FuckOtto

I finally finished the app for Persia, guys. Am I officially readmitted?

@Veoline

We've opted to call in Hugs, although from what I can tell must of what we need him to review is effectively historical in the first place. I should bitch at Evan to post his opinions outside of the super sekrut club too.

@Veoline

We've opted to call in Hugs, although from what I can tell must of what we need him to review is effectively historical in the first place. I should bitch at Evan to post his opinions outside of the super sekrut club too.

veo's in the super sekrut club too

Gonna struggle posting with barebones internet and slow connections. Wll try and keep up to date but not sure about posting (gonna be in the mountains)