Persian Empire

The Persian Empire is an Empire located east of the Ottoman Sultanate, Northeast the Maharajahnate of Mesopotamia and the Gulf States, South of Soviet Rus and the Turkestan Caliphate and west of all of it's puppet states in South Asia.

## History

### Early History

The Sublime State of Persia entered the twentieth century in the middle of a financial crisis. Under Muzaffar al-Din Shah, who had ascended to the throne in 1896, government expenditures far outpaced revenues. To solve this problem, the Shah turned to European creditors. In 1901 he awarded Persia’s first concession to British businessman William D’Arcy for exclusive rights to the exploration, extraction, and sale of oil. In addition, the Shah had taken out two large loans from the Russian crown. Britain and Russia had fought for influence in Persia as part of the Great Game and both used such economic agreements as a means of furthering their control of the country.

This combination of economic decline and foreign interference angered the populace against Mozaffar ad-Din Shah’s incompetent rule. Discontent proved strong enough to bring together three key segments of Persian society to favor radical change. The first were the bazaaris: the traditional merchant class, economically powerful and most directly affected by the financial crisis. The second, rather unexpectedly, was the ulema: the Shi’a religious leaders. Though traditionally conservative, the ulema had formed an alliance with the bazaaris during the Tobacco Protests of 1892, as each group opposed the growth of Western influence in Persia. Lastly came Persia’s small intellectual class, which despised the corrupt imperial court and desired modernization. Together these groups coalesced into the Nezhat-e-Mashrooteh: the Constitutional Movement.

Events soon came to a head. In December of 1905 three prominent merchants were bastinadoed (caned on the soles of their feet) for charging exorbitant prices. In protest, the merchants of Tehran closed the bazaar. Discontent mounted over the following year, and violent reprisals by the Russia-backed Persian Cossack Brigade caused yet more outrage. Leaders of the ulama, speaking from the sanctuary of a mosque, demanded the adoption of a constitution and house of justice; Mozaffar ad-Din Shah, in response, ordered the mosque cleared. This violation of sanctuary backfired, turning popular opinion even further against the Shah, and the rebels simply fled to another mosque in the city’s outskirts. By June, bazaari leaders had likewise claimed sanctuary in the British Legation and mounted their own calls for a democratically-elected parliament. In August, the Shah agreed to the first elections, which were held that fall and won overwhelmingly by representatives of the bazaaris. Meeting in October, this First Majlis (parliament) immediately converted itself into a Constitutional Convention. The first draft of the Fundamental Law (as the constitution is known in Persia) was rejected by the Shah, who desired that the monarchy retain some power, including the ability to appoint and dismiss the prime minister. The majlis begrudgingly accepted most of these demands. On December 31st, 1906, the second draft of the Fundamental Law was signed into law by the ailing Mozaffar ad-Din Shah. Mass celebrations broke out in Tehran, and only five days later the Shah died of natural causes.

The new ruler, Mohammed Ali Shah, was a determined absolutist and at once plotted the overthrow of the constitutionalists. A number of events helped him to that end. On August 31st, 1907 in St. Petersburg, the Anglo-Russian Convention was concluded, forming the basis of what would become the Triple Entente. As part of this new partnership, Britain and Russia agreed to divide Persia into two spheres of influence: the Russians in the north, the British in the south. Britain withdrew its support from the constitutionalists and joined Russia in backing the Shah. At the same time, attempts by the majlis to centralize the tax system upset local notables whose wealth was maintained by traditional tax farming. Proposals aimed at increasing secularism and women’s rights were denounced by conservative religious leaders.

### Constitutional Civil War

Now with European support on his side, Mohammed Ali Shah moved to crush the constitutionalists. On June 23, 1908, the Shah declared Vladimir P. Liakhov, commander of the Persian Cossack Division, military governor of Tehran. His forces shelled the Parliament building, captured it, and executed several constitutionalist leaders. The Cossacks effectively took over the city, banning public meetings and closing down newspapers, in what became known as the ‘Minor Tyranny’. However, most of the majlis deputies were able to flee to the provinces where they organized resistance.

The constitutionalist army drew from many sources: from the major cities, socialists from the Caucasus, the personal armies of feudal landlords, and most importantly the 12,000 Bakhtiyari tribesmen. Fighting raged throughout the country, but come July 1910 the disparate forces were converging on Tehran. Mohammed Ali Shah was forced to flee to the Russian Legation and agreed to abdicate the throne and go into exile; Succeeding to the throne was eleven-year-old Ahmad Shah under the regency of his uncle. The Grand Majlis came into power, punishing the former Shah’s loyalists and dramatically expanding the electorate. Thanks to their major role in the constitutionalist victory, the Bakhtiyari saw their influence increase dramatically.

The Civil War had devastated the country, and the Second Majlis struggled to restore a sense of order. The former Shah Mohammed Ali attempted with Russian backing to reclaim the throne in July of 1910 and was defeated, but only just. Persia’s finances were still in a very bad state and tax reform remained out of reach. Besides extracting harsh concessions, the British and Russians also commonly made deals directly with local or tribal leaders, further undermining the idea of centralized government. When the majlis hired an American lawyer named Morgan Shuster as financial advisor and he began collecting taxes from Russian-connected officials, Russia delivered an ultimatum, demanding among other things the removal of Shuster from his post. The majlis refused, and in December of 1911 Russian forces occupied Persia’s northwest, slaughtering those who resisted. The ability of the majlis itself was hampered by infighting between the liberal Democrats Party and the conservative Moderate Socialists. With Russia poised to attack Tehran and the constitutionalists still intransigent, the Prince Regent dissolved the Second Majlis and acceded to the Russians’ demands.

### World War I

The young Ahmad Shah reached his majority in July of 1914, just as the Weltkrieg was beginning. Despite declaring its neutrality, Persia was quickly dragged into the conflict. The Russians had continued their occupation of the northwest, and in that region they clashed repeatedly with the Ottoman Turks. The British maintained a heavy presence in their sphere of influence along the Persian Gulf. The domestic situation was in turmoil. The Third Majlis had to flee the capital for Qom than Kermanshah before finally disbanding as most of the parliamentarians were forced to flee the country. Although Persia had a standing army on paper, it was never an effective force. The only military units of strength were the Persian Cossack Brigade, essentially a Russian proxy force, and the Swedish-trained gendarmerie. Most power was held by dozens of groups of tribal irregulars that openly defied the central government. The Jungle Movement in Gilan province under Mirza Kuchak Khan carried on a guerilla war in the northwest. All of these groups were at constant, shifting cross-purposes, aligning themselves with the Russians, British, Turks, and Germans as fighting went back and forth.

The Germans recently gained Japan as an ally and the Germans and Japanese had the sneaky Idea to overthrow the weak Qajars and replace them with a new Persian ruler. They first decided to try to place a Mughal Prince on the throne, but they unfortunately found that despite being descendants of Tamerlane, who was once a ruler of the Persians, the Mughals were sadly Sunni Islamic and they were too Indian, however these were exscuses because the Mughals were nervous about taking the throne of Persia, especially with the British having influence over the region. Instead the Japanese met with a man named Reza Khan Mir Panji who was one of the leaders of the Persian Cossack Brigade, the only army of Persia that is the official Military. Reza Khan was not satisfied with the situation in Persia and felt that the Qajars were failures due to the struggles Persia is infested with and the fact they have been invaded with ease. The Germans were skeptical about this because Reza is probably not a royal by birth unless they were able to do a DNA test and the Constitutionalists want a Monarchy that ain't dominated by the Qajars. However the Japanese helped with the creation of a myth that Reza is a descendant of the legendary King of Persia, Cyrus the Great, a myth that could boost the popularity of Reza Khan and make him a great candidate for monarch of Persia.

Reza Khan joined the Japanese and Germans as he united the tribal irregulars and the Persian Cossack Brigade into one army. Reza Khan joined the Japanese and Germans as he united the tribal irregulars and the Persian Cossack Brigade into one army. Reza Khan and his comrades visited Japan during a Pan-Asian event, As he did, Reza had learned about Japan's Imperial Cult which influenced him to create the belief that he is descended from Cyrus the Great, the legendary King/General of Persia who was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire which was the first of the largest Empires in the world as an Imperial cult. Reza creating this Imperial Cult was a way for him to make the Qajars illegitimate rulers of Persia which will gain massive support for his campaign. The Japanese were pleased that influencing Reza to create an Imperial cult was successful and the Germans were okay with him as King. The Germans and Japanese with Reza's henchmen discussed how they will deal with the Qajar Dynasty after the overthrow.

Their coup had started when Ahmad Shah Qajar was assassinated after having a stroke and his father Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar returned to the throne to end the constitution and turn Persia back into an feudalistic autocratic monarchy to appease the Allied powers and root out any influence they don't like. This caused anarchy in Persia as the people of Persia started to rebel against the Qajar monarchs and even called them European Puppets. Ahmad Shah Qajar's wife and daughter had fled to Switzerland to be safe from the turmoil of Persia.

The coup was successful as the people supported Reza and his forces in their rise to power and overthrow of the Qajar Dynasty and prevent Persia from becoming a client state of the Allied powers. Reza overthrew the Qajars with success as his army with the aid of Germany and Japan had fought off the British, Russian and Ottoman Soldiers occupying the nation. However stabilizing the rule of Reza Shah was not easy as the British, Ottomans and Russians were working hard to overthrow the Reza Pahlavi dictatorship, but they failed when the Bulgarians sacked Constantinople and the Russian Revolution occurred.

Ahmad Shah's wife and daughter fled to Switzerland for safety after the coup, Prince Abdol-Hossein Farman Farma had become Reza's first Prime Minister and helped organize the economy under the revival party. The Army with German and Japanese help had conquered the Caucasus Viceroyalty, Turkmenistan and the Emirate of Bukhara. The Army then gained allegiance from Afghanistan who wanted to commit Jihad against the British Raj. Afghanistan joined Persia and they both invaded India with German and Japanese help. The invasion was successful due to the Raj having instability issues with protests and riots and the forces in the colony becoming too depleted due to the British constantly drafting them off to war in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Many soldiers in the Middle East defected to Persia after constant discrimination and mistreatment by their British counterparts and having to loose comrades in a European War. India was conquered with ease due to this and various Rulers of Princely States supporting them in order to prevent themselves from being seen as British agents.

The Persians then split up India and turned the most loyal Princely States into Puppet States of Persia and they even restored the Maratha and Mughal Empires. The Puppet States of Persia and Persia itself are in an Economic, Political and Military Alliance as a way to strengthen themselves and make themselves strong enough to defend themselves from invaders. Japan, Italy and Germany are also in this alliance as a way to make Persia lean towards them.

### Aftermath of World War I

In the year 1918, Mohammad Hassan Mirza, an inconsequential figure in Iranian politics and a Qajar Prince met up with Reza Shah and told Reza and Farman Farma to give the throne to him. Reza said no because his dynasty is not popular with the people. Mirza told Reza that Reza is not a monarch and that Mirza should be monarch now. Abdol-Hossein Farman Farma told Mirza that he can only become an aristocrat like Farman Farma himself or become a commoner because the Qajars had lost their legitimacy since Reza took over. Mirza refused and tried to rally support against Reza, but his plan backfired and it gained attention from Japan, Italy and Germany. Mirza had fled to his residence in Tabriz after being chased out of Tehran by the angry populace.

Mirza, his wives and children were captured by the Japanese and deported to Nippon Caliphate. They were revoked of their Persian citizenship and became citizens of the Nippon Caliphate and his children were taken to Tokyo and raised by a Japanese family where they went to the Peers School that Japan's royals and aristocrats and various royals and aristocrats from Asia go to. Reza's children and various young royals of the Princely States also go to that school to be indoctrinated in Japan's Pan-Asian Ideology so that Japan can maintain influence over it's Asian Puppet States and Asian allies.

Persia has become a prosperous state, except for the fact that the nation has committed massive discriminatory relocations of various Turkic peoples to Persianify Persia's puppet state of Bukhara. This had resulted in the creation of a potential enemy for Persia that directly borders the nation. Persia also has paranoia of a Soviet invasion as the Soviets are becoming expansionist. However Persia hopes that the Soviets wage war against the Russian Republicans instead of planning to expand into Persia.

## Government

### Main Government

Persia is a semi-constitutional monarchy in which the Shah is a ceremonial ruler who holds the power to make descisions, but he cannot make those decisions without the approval of the Majilis. Most power rests in the elected, unicameral parliament, known as the majlis. Most male citizens have the right to vote, with elections being held generally every four years. The two dominant political parties are the Revival Party and the National Military Party.

#### Cabinet

* **Shahanshah:** Reza Shah
* **Prime Minister:** Mohammed Ali Foroughi
* **Foreign Minister:** Abdolhossein Teymūrtāsh
* **Economics Minister:** Mostowfi ol-Mamalek
* **Minister of the Interior:** Mohammad Taqi-Khan Pessian
* **Armament Minister:** Reza Mizani
* **Minister of Defense:** Mehdi Manjarani
* **Minister of Intelligence:** Ali Sepahbodi Qajar
* **Chief of Staff:** Hassan Majid Firooz
* **Chief of Army:** Mir Afkhami
* **Chief of Navy:** Schapur Khisrabadi
* **Chief of Air Force:** Mohammed Mir Mohanna

### Empire

The Empire's Puppet States are under control of the government, the Satraps are elected by the Majilis and are appointed by Reza Shah himself to take the position. Reza will not appoint any Satrap until they see and learn of the puppet state they are governing and representing in the Majilis and representing diplomatically.

## Military

Before the Constitutional Revolution, the Imperial Persian Armed forces existed chiefly on paper. The fighting in the civil war was dominated by tribal militias, the Russian-funded Persian Cossack Brigade, and the new, Swedish-trained national gendarmerie. That was until Japan and Germany unified these groups into one Military body trained by Japanese and German drills. The Military had contributed in the invasion of India with it's puppet states of Bukhara and Afghanistan.

### Army

The Army is the largest and most powerful faction of the Persian Armed forces and the first faction to exist. The Army has become a strong force armed with modern equipment given to them by Germany and drilled by Japan, the most powerful Asian Empire since they defeated Russia and China. The Army has introduced conscription reforms in 1922 to solve the issue of the Indian soldiers who are not soldiers of Persia's Puppet States and to include them into the army. The Inclusion of the former British Indian Army has made Persia's army the second largest Army in the world behind Germany.

### Navy

The Imperial Persian Navy was only able to patrol the waters in the Persian gulf, until the former British Indian Navy merged with the Persian navy. The merge of the British Indian Navy with the Persian Navy has resulted in Persian Navy now becoming a large unit that is able to patrol the Persian gulf and the coast of India.

### Air Force

The Imperial Persian Air Force was founded in 1932 by Mohammad Taghi Khan Pessian, a colonel in the gendarmerie who had served in the German air force during World War I. The service uses German instructors and German-made aircraft, although it does have its own pilot training academy.

## Foreign Relations

Persia is a pro-German and pro-Japanese state, however Persia has better relations with Japan for acknowledging Reza as a great ruler and helping him get support in the coup against the Qajars and helping Persia become a prosperous state. This special relationship even results in Persian royals of the Pahlavi Dynasty and Indian royals of Persia's puppet states in getting educated in schools used for the Japanese elite in which they are indoctrinated in the Japanese Pan-Asian ideology with many Persians, Indians, Tajiks and Afghans.

## Economy

Persia’s economy was traditionally dominated by agriculture and the commerce of the bazaar. Both of these sectors have been increasingly eclipsed by the importance of the petroleum industry. In 1913 the Anglo-Persian Oil Company built Persia’s first oil refinery at Abadan. Since nationalization after Reza's takeover, oil exploration has discovered reserves in the north of the country as well.

Persia's economy has resulted in Persia exporting barrels of oil to it's puppet states to help fund their economies and power their industrial technology, the Puppet States in return then pay for the oil by funding the economy of Persia and strengthen their master state's armed forces and fund them with equipment imported to Persia by Germany and Japan.

## Culture

Persia is a highly multicultural country, being inhabited by many ethnic groups other than the majority Persian people, these peoples are Azeris, Kurds, Turkmen, Arabs, and Balochis. Even many Persians belong to a number of ethnic sub-groups such as the Gilaks, Mazandarani, and Lurs, which break down even further into many separate tribes. For instance, the traditionally nomadic Bakhtiyari tribesmen played a critical role fighting in the Constitutional Revolution and chaos of World War I. Ever since Reza's coup, unification of Persia and the creation of the Persian Empire, the Persian peoples had unified into one group of people as the minorities such as Kurds, Turkmen and Arabs were expelled from Persia and the rest of it's Empire.