Mohammed Zahir Shah

to westernizing. He began this process by introducing a new reform program called the White Revolution. It was named white (pure) in contrast to black, representing evil. These new sets of laws were meant to appease the people and their demands. The Shah wanted these reforms to be a nonviolent “rebirth” of Iranian society through large economic and social reforms with the end goal being a global economic power. This was his vision for Iran. The revolution…

Another deciding factor in the fall of the Shah’s rule during the revolutionary period was influenced by the reliance of the Shah on American intelligence and intellectual support. The effective mismanagement and misreading of the situation by the Central Intelligence Agency resulted in misperceptions on the Shah’s grip on power, as well as the true magnitude of Khomeini’s power, intention and influence on his followers both in Iran and in exile. Ofira Seliktar sums up the underestimation of…

images of pure white marble against clear blue skies to spring to my mind. After a quick Google search of the building, I anticipated expected my trip to act as an eye opener portraying the beauty of the Taj Mahal as representative of the true love of Shah Jahan towards his wife Mumtaz. When I arrived, I was sorely mistaken. I was surrounded by clouds accompanying a light drizzle of rain, hundreds of people packed together, and street children forcing Taj Mahal knickknacks in my face, trying to…

The Mughal Dynasty, 1520 CE to 1850 CE, is an Islamic dynasty that invaded Hindu India. Akbar the Great, Aurangzeb, and Shah Jahan were the most famous leaders of the Mughal Dynasty. However, the most useful leader is Akbar the Great. To begin with, the Divine Faith was a huge contribution to making the Mughal successful. Secondly, the Mughal dynasty expanded to a significant extent due to Akbar the Great. The importance of education was valued in the Mughal Empire during Akbar’s reign. Lastly,…

Throughout the architectures history, these architecture have different designs and styles that depicts power and propaganda. This essay will cover three different architecture from different time period such as Baroque, Southeast Asian, and Japan. Comparing these architectures help us know the reason behind these buildings, their influences, their symbolism. The Baroque period of architecture began in late sixteenth century Italy, took the Roman terms of Renaissance architecture and used it in…

In the autobiography “An American Childhood” written by Annie Dillard, Dillard wrote about one of her unforgettable memories that left her disillusioned because of her misconception about an adult’s view of life. On the other hand, Saira Shah, in her article, “Longing to Belong”, she wrote about how her dreams of being part of her “original culture” crashed by a single incident that make her realize that the reality is not the same as what she expected. Therefore, it is clear that both of the…

Shah Jahan, Taj Mahal, c. 1632-1647. Marble, 580m by 300m The Taj Mahal is a powerful and famous building worldwide and according to Let’s Go, The Taj Mahal is “Featured on signs of a million and one restaurants, T-shirts, and biscuit tins…” (176) The Taj Mahal is famous because of the builder, Shah Jahan’s, sad love story and the “unique beauty” (Bradnock & Bradnock 243) of the architecture. Built with white marble and different stones from across Central Asia, engraved with different floral…

Revolution of 1979 consists of a series of events concerning the takeover of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi’s reign. The revolts against Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi began in 1977 by reason of a conservative reaction against Pahlavi’s nonreligious efforts, a liberal reaction against social injustices and a sharp economic shortening. These strikes and demonstrations shocked the country. During that time, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi left Iran for deportation in 1979, leaving his responsibilities to Prime…

city, Agra, Akbar built the Red Fort to serve as a fortress and palace One of the most known architectural works from the Mughal Empire is, the Taj Mahal. In 1627 Shah Jahan became ruler and married a woman named Mumtaz Mahal, they had fourteen children together. Mumtaz Mahal died during the birth of their last child which prompted Shah Jahan to build the Taj Mahal as her tomb…

Critical Analysis: Daughter of Persia Daughter of Persia is about a young girls journey through life after being born in Iran. She was born to the third wife of her father and was his 15th child. Shazdeh, her father, had 36 children to eight different wives. She lived in Tehran on a compound with the rest of her family. Shazdeh believed in all of his children being educated and active, even though this wasn’t common for girls at the time. This set Saitti apart from other woman throughout her…