Family Origins and Early Life
Reza Shah was born on 14 Esfand 1256 (March 1878) in the village of Alasht in the Savadkuh district of Mazandaran. He was the seventh son of Abbas Ali Bey, an officer (major) in the Savadkuh regiment. His father died a few days after Reza’s birth. His mother, Noosh Afarin, left with the sickly child for Tehran, where they lived in modest conditions.
In contrast to the Qajar elite, who prided themselves on aristocratic ties and Turkic heritage, Reza Shah’s family was of local Mazandarani stock. His grandfather had served with distinction in wars against Afghanistan, while his father commanded a regiment in Mazandaran. For Reza, this military tradition became both burden and inspiration: though he was fatherless from infancy, he inherited a family identity rooted in service and courage.
His childhood was marked by poverty. Yet the narratives later constructed — by himself and by his son — highlighted this poverty as a badge of authenticity, symbolizing his closeness to ordinary Iranians. In Mission for My Homeland, Mohammad Reza Shah emphasized that his father belonged to a “pure Iranian family,” contrasting him with the foreign-connected Qajars.
Entry into the Cossack Brigade
At age fourteen, Reza was recruited into the Savadkuh and Tabin regiment by Samsam, a relative of Ali Asghar Khan Amin al-Sultan, then prime minister. Reza himself later remarked that he was so young that other soldiers had to lift him onto a horse.
In 1896, after the assassination of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, the Savadkuh regiment was called to Tehran to guard embassies and government buildings. During this time, Reza
