Behind the Bastards: Part One – The First Shah of Iran

Podcast: Behind the Bastards (Cool Zone Media & iHeartPodcasts)
Host: Robert Evans
Guest: Dr. Kaveh Hoda (podcaster, doctor, and musician)
Date: March 24, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode delves into the origins of modern Iran’s political turmoil by tracing its roots back to the 18th and 19th centuries and, more specifically, to the rise of the first Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty, Reza Khan. With historical context on imperial meddling by Britain and Russia, Robert Evans and guest Dr. Kaveh Hoda reveal how external powers—through manipulation, bribery, and violence—shaped Iran’s monarchy, economy, and relations with the West, ultimately sowing the seeds for revolution and resentment lasting to the present day.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why the World’s Relationship with Iran Is So Broken

• The US’s role in Iran is shaped heavily by earlier British and Russian interference (00:36).
• To understand modern tensions, you must start with “the Great Game”—British and Russian imperial rivalry in the 18th and 19th centuries (01:54).
• The first Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty, Reza Khan, is central to the story (03:47).

2. The Great Game and Imperial Meddling

• The “Great Game” refers to the contest for control of Central Asia, especially as Russia advanced toward British India (10:01).
• Persia (Iran) became a pawn—“one of the pieces on a chessboard upon which is being played out a game for the domination of the world.” – Lord Curzon (11:33).
• Russia expanded at an average of 55 square miles per day in the 19th century, squeezing Persia between two empires (10:27).
• Both Britain and Russia used bribes, banks, and manipulation to control the Persian court (23:10, 27:59).

3. The Qajar Dynasty: Weak Kings, Foreign Puppets

• The Qajar dynasty (1785+) lacked legitimacy, facing internal ethnic divisions and constant foreign manipulation (16:07, 33:10).
• Fath Ali Shah—the “Super Procreant”—famously fathered hundreds of children and gave the world the “Peacock Throne,” supposedly named after his favorite concubine, who’s called “Peacock” (“tavu” in Persian) (17:23).
• The dynasty was seen as “an incompetent, ridiculous group of people who are only interested in procreating and wasting money on things.” – Dr. Kaveh (32:28).

4. Economic Plunder: Oil, Banks, and Bribes

• Early 20th-century Iran saw its resources leased out—often for paltry sums—to British firms (notably Burma Oil and William Knox D’Arcy), and both Russia and Britain established banks just to bribe officials (40:09).
• “Basically Persia’s just like a satellite state of the Russian Empire now.” – Robert (21:25).
• “Regular people in the country know they’re being fleeced…they are not unaware of that.” – Robert (41:35).

5. Popular Resistance, the Majlis, and Foreign Sabotage

• Amid mass discontent, Iranians formed a parliamentary assembly (Majlis) for constitutional government in 1905.
• “There’s this mass uprising that pushes the Cossack guards out of the capital.” – Robert (47:41).
• Russia responded by using the Cossack Brigade (trained and led by Russians) to dissolve the parliament by force, killing eight and burning parliamentary records (46:11).
• “The Russian officer Persian Cossack brigade moved rapidly to dissolve parliament and to impose martial law.” (46:52).
• Every attempt at Persian self-government was sabotaged by foreign-backed agents, often using the clergy as a wedge (45:56, 47:08).

6. The British and Russian Empire’s Cruelty—The Great Persian Famine

• World War I turned Persia into a battleground. Russians and British requisitioned food, causing a devastating famine (64:13–68:11).
• “Eight to ten million people, roughly half the pre-war population of Persia, perish in the great Persian famine.” – Robert (68:11).
• “I never knew about this.” – Dr. Kaveh (67:30).

7. The Rise of Reza Khan (the First Shah of the Pahlavi Dynasty)

• Born 1878, Reza Khan was the child of a Persian army officer and a Caucasian immigrant (mother abandoned him at 1 year old) (55:35).
• He joined the Persian Cossack Brigade as a teenager, rose through the ranks, gained the nickname “Machine Gun Reza” for his military prowess and brutality (57:19–59:14).
• “Basically this guy’s kind of stupid, but he’s well liked by his peers…he's the heavy, right? He’s the tough that you send out…cooked up in a lab to be a Western-backed dictator.” – Robert (59:12).

8. The Key Role of Oil and Naval Policy

• The episode details the British geopolitical obsession with Persian oil, especially after the Royal Navy decided to switch from coal to oil under figures like Winston Churchill (62:42).
• “[Persian oil] arguably led to Allied victory. The conversion of the British fleet to oil gave them advantages…” – Robert quoting Fair Observer (63:47).
• Britain paid Persia a “pittance” for oil (63:47).

9. The Playbook of Imperial Control

• Both Britain and Russia repeatedly propped up weak leaders, stoked uprisings, or used economic levers to keep Persia/Iran divided and dependent (Throughout).
• “We learned how to play the great game.” – Dr. Kaveh (27:36).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the impact of foreign meddling:

  "The US’s imperial ambitions cribbed off the notes of the Brits and the Russians from like a century or so ago." – Robert (02:36)

• On shifting influences:

  "What bothers me the most is that it's a story that most people in the United States do not know. They don't know the real reason why people in Iran may have taken over that Embassy back in ’79." – Dr. Kaveh (03:51)

• On the bureaucracy of occupation:

  "The British Resident is, to this hour, the umpire to whom all parties appeal... He may be entitled the Uncrowned King of the Persian Gulf." – Quoting Curzon, Robert (25:07)

• On the famine:

  "Eight to ten million people, roughly half the pre-war population of Persia, perish in the great Persian famine." – Robert (68:11)

• On oil exploitation:

  "In keeping with their imperial tradition, Britain paid a pittance to Persia for oil." – Robert (63:47)

• On failed reforms:

  "Historian Ruhollah Ramazani writes that [the Russians] destroyed the foundations of this new government twice in about four years." – Robert (45:56)

• On popular resistance:

  "There's this mass uprising that pushes the Cossack guards out of the capital, and Muhammad Ali Shah becomes one of the shortest reigned shahs in history." – Robert (47:41)

• On Reza Khan:

  "He was particularly good with a machine gun... They call him Machine Gun Reza, that's his nickname, which is pretty cool." – Robert (58:55)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro & Current Events Context – 00:05–03:00
• Why We’re Starting with the Great Game – 03:00–07:25
• British and Russian Imperial Rivalry Explained – 07:25–13:13
• The Qajar Dynasty and the Peacock Throne – 15:43–19:39
• Economic Bribery, Banks, and Tea – 21:25–24:05
• Foreign-Backed Coups and the Majlis (Parliament) – 41:35–49:26
• WWI, Famine, and Massive Death Toll – 64:07–68:11
• Origins and Early Life of Reza Khan – 55:35–59:12
• British Oil Politics & Military Transformation – 62:42–64:07

Episode Takeaways

• The roots of modern Iran’s politics, and Western antagonism, go deep, tracing back to a century of British and Russian machinations rather than US policy alone.
• Attempts at Iranian self-determination—democratic or otherwise—were repeatedly sabotaged by outside forces, usually using a combination of economic pressure, propaganda, bribery, and violence.
• The effects were catastrophic: mass death by famine, national humiliation, and the rise of strongmen like Reza Khan who were often elevated precisely because they served outside interests.
• Much of this devastating history is unknown—even by many Iranians—because the scale of suffering and the details of foreign manipulation are vastly under-discussed.

Memorable Closing

"When we're looking at the hideous death toll of US actions already in Iran, it's also important to just, like, know this is the latest in a long string of just horrific human consequences to imperialists fucking around in that part of the world. It's all bad stuff." – Robert (69:42)