Bahram Aryana

Who was Bahram Aryana?

Artesh-Boad Bahram Aryana was a philosopher of Zoroastrianism, Persian nationalist and humanist as well as a top Iranian military commander during the reign of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi.

Born in March 17, 1906 in Tehran from a Georgian mother, whose ancestor was King Heraclius II, and from a Judge father, Bahram Aryana was educated in France at the Ecole Superieur de Guerre and received his PhD in 1955 from the Faculty of Law of Paris with his thesis "Napoleon et l'Orient".

After the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in 1941 during World War II, he went on with armed struggle and resisted the occupation before being arrested by the British forces. He was instrumental in many of the nationalist policies in the 1950-1960s. During the military campaign of 1964-65 he successfully pacified rebellious tribes in the south of Iran stirred-up by ayatollah Rouholla Khomeini, without shedding blood.

Following his military success in the south, General Aryana was named Chief of Staff of the Shah's Army, position he maintained from 1965 to 1969. During his posting as Chief of Staff, he met with various head of states including Richard Nixon, Yitzhak Rabin and General de Gaulle.