This week in Arab Spring: A History we turn to Persia. As bad as things were for the Ottomans, things were worse for the Qajars. We look at the Constitutional Revolution, the weakness of the central government, the weakness of the army, issues with the Majlis, the discovery of oil and Reza Khan's 1921 Coup.

Episode 5 - The Not So Constitutional Revolution

The Arab Spring: A History is a podcast seeking to explore just how the Arab Spring happened. If you've ever wondered just what has been happening in the Middle East for the last few years, this is the podcast for you. So, how are we going to do this? We're going to tell the story of the Middle East since 1900, and take it up to the present day. We'll look at a mixture of revolutions, social reform, political developments, global diplomacy and economic boom and bust across the region that attracts so much attention from the rest of the world. From Turkey to Egypt, Dubai to Syria, Iran to Israel, Afghanistan to Tunisia, we'll follow how the world of 1900 became the world we live in today.

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This week we continue in Turkey to cover the events of the 1980s.

Episode 34 - 1980s Turkey

This week we briefly cover the solidification of Khomeini's regime and the succession of Khameni and Rafsanjani. We then move on to cover Turkey in the 1970s as it undergoes a series of coups.

Episode 33 - Turkish Coups

This week we recap events in Iran, more specifically the hostages in the American embassy in Tehran. We also introduce Ronald Reagan, and cover the 1980 US Presidential election.

Episode 32 - Hostages

This week we examine the aftermath of the Islamic Revolution. Ayatollah Khomeini is now in power, and he is determined to change the world. This involves ending his alliance with the communists, going to war with Iran, and, of course, the infamous capture of the American embassy in Tehran.

Episode 31 - Khomeini Supreme

This week we watch the Shah's regime try to become a regional power before entering its death spiral. Finally the people snap and a year long revolution follows, forcing the Shah out of the country and heralding the return of Ayatollah Khomeini.

Episode 5 - The Not So Constitutional Revolution

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