Khomeini called for the shah’s immediate overthrow, and on December 11 a group of soldiers mutinied and attacked the shah’s security officers. His regime collapsed, and on January 16, 1979, he fled the country. The funeral was attended by President Sadat, members of the Egyptian government, and the Shah’s family, including Empress Farah Pahlavi and their children. The story of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah, reached its poignant conclusion in Cairo, far from his homeland.
Once one of the most powerful monarchs in the Middle East, the Shah’s final days were spent in quiet exile, surrounded by a few loyal friends, family members, and the compassionate hospitality of Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat. The Iranian Revolution of 1979 brought an end to over 2,500 years of monarchy. Faced with mounting protests, political unrest, and loss of support from the military and the United States, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Empress Farah Pahlavi left Tehran in January 1979, officially for a “vacation.”
