- Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last Shah of Iran, reigning from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown in the Islamic Revolution led by Ruhollah Khomeini, which abolished the Iranian monarchy to establish the Islamic Republic of Iran. In 1967, he took the title Shahanshah (lit. ‘King of Kings’), and held several others, including Aryamehr (lit. ‘Light of the Aryans’) and Bozorg Arteshtaran (lit. ‘Grand Army Commander’). He was the second and last ruling monarch of the Pahlavi dynasty.