Coup of 1921 · Kudeta-ye 1299

Culture of origin: Iranian · Historical

Holiday sources: Iran

The coup was carried out by the Persian Cossack Brigade under Reza Khan, whom the British general Edmund Ironside had promoted to lead it; the exact extent of British involvement is still debated. The Cossacks entered Tehran almost without resistance, the cabinet was dissolved, and the young reformist journalist Seyyed Zia ol-Din Tabatabaee became prime minister, with Reza Khan as minister of war. The coup set in motion the end of the Qajars and the founding of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1925.