One of the most extravagant events of the Shah’s reign was the celebration of the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian monarchy in 1971. The event, held in Persepolis, was the largest gathering of world leaders at the time and was intended to showcase Iran’s cultural heritage and modernization. However, many Iranians viewed the lavish celebrations as wasteful and disconnected from the realities of their daily lives.
In 1975, the Shah made a controversial decision to change the official Iranian calendar, replacing the Islamic lunar calendar with the imperial calendar, which began in 559 BC, marking the establishment of the Achaemenid Empire. This move alienated many religious Iranians and further fueled resentment against his rule. Just two years later, amid growing revolutionary fervor, the Islamic solar Hijri calendar was reinstated.
From the early 1970s onward, terrorist activities and opposition movements intensified. Iran found itself trapped in a cycle of violence, with increasing incidents of terrorism followed by brutal crackdowns from the security forces. Organizations such as the Mujahideen-e-Khalq and Marxist-Leninist guerrilla groups escalated their attacks against the regime, prompting harsh responses from the government. The use of torture and execution by SAVAK, the Shah’s intelligence agency, was widely condemned by international organizations such as Amnesty International and the International Commission of Jurists.