The Iranian Revolution
Further information: Iranian Revolution, Causes of the Iranian RevolutionIn Iran by early 1978, a number of factors contributed to the internal dissatisfaction with the Imperial Government becoming more pronounced.
Discontent within the country continued to escalate and later in the year led to demonstrations against the monarchy. The Empress could not help but be aware of the disturbances and records in her memoirs that during this time "there was an increasingly palpable sense of unease". Under these circumstances most of the Empress's official activities were cancelled due to concerns for her safety.
As the year came to a close, the political situation deteriorated further. Riots and unrest grew more frequent, culminating in January 1979. The government enacted martial law in most major Iranian cities and the country was on the verge of an open revolution.
It was at this time, in response to the violent protests, that the Shah and Empress Farah determined to leave the country. Both the Shah and Shahbanu departed Iran via aircraft on 16 January 1979.
Read more about this topic: Farah Pahlavi
Famous quotes containing the word revolution:
“If the Revolution has the right to destroy bridges and art monuments whenever necessary, it will stop still less from laying its hand on any tendency in art which, no matter how great its achievement in form, threatens to disintegrate the revolutionary environment or to arouse the internal forces of the Revolution, that is, the proletariat, the peasantry and the intelligentsia, to a hostile opposition to one another. Our standard is, clearly, political, imperative and intolerant.”
—Leon Trotsky (1879–1940)